Vanity, a strange place by any definition. From the bizarre architecture to one of the highest suicide rates in the nation, this city has seen its fair share of weirdness. And on this day the inhabitants of Vanity have yet another item to mark down.

An angel, bringing his flaming sword down on a magic staff held by a demon. 

Blaze and Satanus, demonic siblings, came to Vanity in order to track down the angel Zauriel of the Pax Dei. They found him ready and willing to battle for his freedom and he launched the opening salvo by unleashing a blast of holy fire from his blade. Satanus took the brunt of the attack, finding himself hurled from the hospital only to have Zauriel flying after him.

 The angel thrust forward with his blade, but by this point, Satanus had regained his composure and increased his mass to twelve feet, using his now-massive staff to swat Zauriel away like an insect.

“Foolish little angel,” said Satanus. “Did you think it so easy to resist me?”

“Can’t blame a guy for trying,” said Zauriel. He pulled himself to his feet and brandished his sword once more.

Satanus simply laughed. “Do you truly believe that matchstick of yours could harm me?”

Zauriel smiled. “Who said anything about the sword?”

His smile turned to a scowl and there was a glimmer in his red eyes as his mouth opened wide. Satanus realized now what Zauriel attempted but was too late to prepare an adequate defense. Sure enough, Zauriel opened his mouth and from the depths of his throat came a powerful sonic scream, strong enough to liquefy a mortal being.

For someone of Satanus’ stock, however, it served simply as a means of knocking the behemoth down and cause his twelve-foot form to crash onto the street.

Zauriel flew towards Satanus, hovering above him. A little crinkle appeared just about his nose as he tried to glean some information from Satanus’ mind. All he could perceive was a vast emptiness, however. As if there was nothing where Satanus’ conscious thoughts should reside.

The demon’s eyes opened and he brandished his staff. From its tip came a massive burst of hellfire energy, striking Zauriel with the force of a bomb and knocking the angel from the sky.

	The World's Greatest Superheroes! PARADISE LOST Part II: Call To Arms
JLA #43 October, Year Six	by Dino Pollard

MARTIAN MANHUNTER	BLACK LIGHTNING	ZAURIEL	AZTEK

“Aztek, go help Zauriel,” said the Martian Manhunter.

“Huh?” asked Aztek, looking at his new associate. “What about you and her?”

“Leave Blaze to me, I should have some assistance coming along shortly,” said the Martian Manhunter. “They’re here for Zauriel, so he should be our priority.”

“You’re the boss,” said Aztek. He ran past Blaze and leapt from the hole in the side of the hospital, taking flight towards Satanus and Zauriel’s fight.

“Interesting to see you and your brother working together,” said the Martian Manhunter. “With the way you always try to kill each other, one would assume you weren’t exactly close.”

“Our reasons are ours alone, Martian,” said Blaze in a raspy voice.

“Why the angel?” asked the Martian.

“I’ll die before I tell you that!” she shouted.

The Martian Manhunter’s response came in the form of a powerful burst of heat from his eyes, what he referred to as his Martian vision. The Manhunter flew into Blaze, connecting his fist with her jaw. She flew into the air and J’onn flew after her like a blue and green streak. He hovered above her as she reached the apex of her rise and then slammed both his hands on her chest, driving her back down to the earth.

Blaze rose from the crater caused by her fall. In the blink of an eye, she grew to the size of a giant and wrapped her hand around her enemy. The Martian Manhunter felt his body begin to crush under her grip. He concentrated hard and phased through her hand. Once he did, he grew to match Blaze’s size, taking full advantage of his shape-shifting powers. The Manhunter began to pummel her, giving the demoness no quarter.

As he pounded his fists against her seemingly emaciated body, J’onn’s mind worked in overdrive, trying to pierce Blaze’s own thoughts. He could not glean a single thought from her, though. Almost like she were an empty shell.

The Manhunter lifted her by her throat and spoke clearly. “Whoever you are, show yourself! I have no interest in dealing with underlings.”

Blaze started to laugh.

“Poor, poor little Martian,” she said. “Do you truly believe I would reveal myself to you this soon in the game?”

“Who are you?” asked J’onn.

Whoever spoke through Blaze began to laugh. Her eyes began to crackle with crimson energy and J’onn felt the temperature begin to rise. Sweat started to form on his brow when Blaze gripped his arm with both her hands. Her fingers felt like red-hot coals and the Martian Manhunter loosened his grip, allowing her to pull free.

“Pathetic little Martian, what made you believe you could stand up to a demon whose name derives from your very weakness?” asked Blaze, seemingly in control of her body once again. Her hand now began to glow brightly and she slammed her fist on the ground. In response, a column of fire and magma exploded beneath the Martian Manhunter’s feet, engulfing him in the flames as he screamed in agony.

Aztek activated his invisibility shield as he flew towards Satanus. As he approached, the four-dimensional battery generated plasma energy in his palms. Once he came in range, Aztek unleashed a massive burst of energy, causing Satanus to stumble.

The demon turned rapidly, trying to determine the source of the blast, but he saw nothing. Aztek hovered silently, then charged forward, throwing all his strength and weight into a body blow that toppled the giant.

The new hero landed by Zauriel’s side and deactivated the invisibility cloak. “You okay?” he asked.

“Barely,” said Zauriel, accepting Aztek’s hand and allowing him to help the angel to his feet.

“Still don’t know what this is about?” asked Aztek.

“Near as I can tell, I’m wanted by someone in Hell,” said Zauriel.

“Hell? You mean these guys are from Hell?” asked Aztek.

“Sort of,” said Zauriel. His eyes widened. “J’ONN!”

Zauriel took off like a rocket and Aztek followed. The angel plowed into Blaze, tumbling to the ground with her. Aztek meanwhile pulled the Martian Manhunter from the column of flames and did his best to pat out the cinders.

“You alright? Say something!” said Aztek.

J’onn coughed weakly, his green body badly singed and the scent of burning flesh polluted Aztek’s nostrils. “Damn… this is bad.”

A blast of hellfire knocked Aztek from his spot. He turned and saw Satanus, now returned to original size, standing and pointing his staff.

“That’s an apt assessment,” said the demon.

Aztek glanced over to Zauriel and saw he had Blaze occupied. He turned his attention to Satanus. “I dunno what you freakshows want, but there’s no way this is gonna go down in my city, understand?”

“Heh, your arrogance amuses me,” said Satanus. “It’s what I will enjoy most when I devour your soul.”

“Try it, I’ll make sure you choke on me,” said Aztek.

“Such bravado from one so inexperienced.”

Satanus charged forward with incredible speed, driving his staff into Aztek’s chest. Once he did, he unleashed a burst of hellfire. Aztek fell back and Satanus brought the staff down on the hero’s head. He lifted the staff and pointed it down, bringing it down hard, discharging another massive burst of hellfire as he did.

Satanus joined his sister in her attack on Zauriel. The angel fought bravely, parrying their blows with his flaming sword, avoiding the swipes when he could. But he found his stamina against them waning. This city, the hopelessness of Vanity… it drained on him. He found his connection to the angelic overmind weak. It gave Satanus the opportunity to bring Zauriel to his knees by engulfing him in a wave of hellfire.

Massive bursts of electricity surged through the demonic siblings and temporarily gave Zauriel a rest from the onslaught. The source of the electricity stood by the prone forms of Aztek and the Martian Manhunter. With the exception of J’onn, he was the only active member of the Justice League—Jefferson Pierce, Black Lightning.

“Think we’ve had just about enough of this,” he said. “Why don’t you two get the hell out of here before the rest of the JLA is breathing down your neck?”

“Hmph, no matter, we have all we need,” said Satanus, collecting the fallen angel. The two vanished in a flash of light, leaving Black Lightning alone with Aztek and the Martian Manhunter.

Aztek slowly woke and found himself in an infirmary. He could hear the sound of a machine beeping, monitoring his vital signs. He climbed out of bed and realized his costume was gone.

A moment of panic set in before he saw it nearby. Uno breathed a sigh of relief and quickly dressed. He looked to his side and saw J’onn lying nearby, unconscious. He seemed to be healing nicely, however. His skin had now returned to its green hue, although his appearance seemed slightly more… alien.

Uno shrugged it off and left the infirmary. Unsure of where he was or what he had to do, he stumbled about nervously. A pair of metal doors opened as he approached and he saw he was on some sort of observation deck. Through the large windows, he could clearly see the Earth.

“What the…?”

Aztek backed away and ran out from the observation deck. He sprinted through the corridors, wondering what had happened. Is this where Blaze and Satanus took them? Was it someone else? What was going on?”

He finally found himself inside the monitor womb. In this room, the Black Lightning sat before what seemed like hundreds of monitors. He heard the door opened and turned around.

“You’re awake,” he said, leaving his seat.

“Where am I? Who are you?”

“Black Lightning, I’m a member of the JLA. You’re in the Watchtower.”

“Oh.”

“And you are…?”

“Aztek,” he said. “I work out of Vanity. Met up with Zauriel and the Martian Manhunter right before those two attacked.”

“Blaze and Satanus,” said Black Lightning. “Do you know anything else?”

Aztek shook his head. “Zauriel said something about them being under someone else’s control, though. Said he knew they were sent by someone in Hell.”

“Great,” said Black Lightning. “That’s not exactly one of my specialties.”

“What are we gonna do?” asked Aztek.

“We rescue Zauriel.”

“J’onn, you shouldn’t be up,” said Black Lightning. The door to the monitor womb opened and J’onn limped in, moving slowly.

“I’m fine,” he said.

“Right, that’s why you’re having trouble standing,” said Black Lightning. “Look, we’ve gotta be smart here. You’re in no shape to do anything, this kid’s a rookie and I’m not exactly the demon fighting type.”

“Thanks, really appreciate the condescension…” said Aztek.

“Nothing personal,” said Black Lightning. “Look J’onn, the smart move would be to get in touch with the JSA. They’ve got a line with Doctor Fate or the Spectre or someone who’s better equipped for this mystic crap than we are.”

“We don’t have time,” said J’onn. “We need a team of our own to locate Zauriel.”

“Okay then…” said Black Lightning. He turned to the computers and entered a few keystrokes. Images of dozens of metahumans appeared on the screen. “So who makes the cut?”

“We’ll need Zatanna,” said J’onn. “Her magicks will be useful where we’re going.”

“I vote for Superman,” said Black Lightning. J’onn nodded in agreement.

“Magic isn’t his strong suit, but Kal is never a bad choice,” said the Martian. “The Flash as well.”

Black Lightning looked at his friend. “I don’t know about that, J’onn. He seemed a little off his game last time we worked together.”

“Perhaps, but his speed is always an advantage,” said J’onn. He pointed to an image of another man dressed in a blue and red costume. “The Atom as well.”

“Agreed.”

“We should have a Green Lantern as well,” said J’onn.

“Which one?” asked Black Lightning. “Sentinel is with the JSA, so that leaves Stewart and Gardner.”

“Neither of them,” said J’onn. “Jade.”

“Including us, that makes seven,” said Black Lightning.

“Wait, I count eight,” said Aztek.

“No,” said Black Lightning. “You need to head back home and take care of your city.”

“Wait, you can’t leave me out of this, Zauriel said—“

“It’s not a discussion.”

“You’re right, it’s not,” said Aztek. “I’m going.”

J’onn laid a hand on his new ally’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, Aztek. But Lightning is correct. This is a serious mission and we don’t know enough about your abilities yet. You were a great asset against Blaze and Satanus, but now we need to focus on the task at hand. Besides, we need someone to stay behind at the Watchtower.”

Aztek sighed and J’onn turned to Black Lightning.

“Let’s go. We have a lot of work ahead of us.”

“Are you sure you’re up to this?” asked Black Lightning.

“No, but we don’t have a choice,” said J’onn. “Time is of the essence.”

Once Zauriel regained consciousness, he tried to move and found he couldn’t. His arms and legs were chained against a massive boulder. He tugged at them but found it did no good. He couldn’t tell where he was, but he knew it couldn’t be good.

“He finally wakes.”

The voice was deep, like an earthquake. Zauriel recognized it as Lord Satanus. He saw the demon standing there beside Blaze.

“And what do you think you’ll accomplish with this?” asked the angel.

“It’s not what we’ll accomplish,” said Blaze. She approached and ran her bony fingers along his face. Zauriel turned away from her. When she moved her fingers, she gestured with one towards their master.

Or rather, mistress.

Her body was lithe but fit. Long black hair and pale skin complete with a low-cut gown that was slit along the sides. Her eyes glowed with purple, ethereal energy.

“Hello angel,” she said with a sinister grin. “Don’t bother trying to break those chains, not even you are strong enough to overcome my magicks.”

“Tala,” he said. “We haven’t been properly introduced.”

“Yet apparently my reputation precedes me,” said Tala. “Perfect.”

“This is an affront against the Presence.”

“That’s the idea, lover,” said Tala. Now it was her turn to come to Zauriel and place a single hand gently on the back of his head. She pulled his face to hers and devoured his lips. It was a kiss that Zauriel refused to return, but one that drained him nonetheless.

“Not too fond of foreplay, I see,” she said. “Very well. Business before pleasure, I suppose.”

“And what are you going to do with me?” asked Zauriel. He tugged at his chains again. “Because to be honest, I’m not into the rough stuff.”

“Please, an angel of the Pax Dei, serving a master who would treat you so harshly,” said Tala. “Completely devoid of any true freedom, I’d say you’re very much a fan of punishment.”

“Let’s get this over with, then,” he said. “I forgot to set my TiVo and I’d hate to miss Scrubs.”

“Direct, I like that in a man,” said Tala. “When I’m finished here, I may just keep you as my pet.”

“No thanks, collars aren’t my style.”

“With Lucifer gone, Hell is in chaos but with the blood of an angel, I can increase my power base and usurp Neron’s tenuous hold over the underworld.”

“You have your own realm in Hell, but it’s never enough, is it?” Zauriel scoffed. “Typical of a woman.”