It was easy enough to get away.  It hurt like hell, certainly, but I’ve suffered through worse.  The Gleeman had done a number on my leg though; shattered the kneecap at the very least and the pain was excruciating as I dragged my ass along the tiled floor out of the main Meeting Room and towards Computer Central.  Out of sight and out of mind, I hoped.

I’d done Napier though, and that thought kept me moving.  Well, that and the probability that the world was about to go to Hades in a handbasket.  Still, the thought of the Gleeman crippled and strapped to his wheelchair, breathing through a tube and half of his pasty white face burned away by one of my chemical bombs kept me warm and glowing.  I don’t know if he was dead, and I didn’t really care either.  He was out of it, and that was all that mattered.

Two birds with one stone too, as Luthor lost it to see his best buddy and partner dissolving right before his eyes.  He was crying like a bitch last I saw, huddled on Napier’s lap like some little girl.  That’s why you lose all the time, Alex.  You care, we don’t.  End of story.

It was the other one though; the third in their little triumvirate of terror that I still had to worry about.  Savage; the immigrant from Earth 2 was the mystery and cause of all my current problems.  It was he that gathered the old team of Luthor and Gleeman, and brought them to my ‘Owl Hutch’ with an alleged plan to stop the current Crisis threatening the Earth.  That being the giant green hand that was threatening to apparently crush the world; a plot hatched by Earth Two’s heroes, the Justice League.

I should have known of course.  The League’s way too pure of heart to simply snuff us out like that, but I fell for Savage’s words hook, line and sinker.  My own fault really.  I try to stay five steps ahead of everyone all the time, but dealing with the likes of Kent and Lane and Luthor, I must have grown soft.  Looking at the BIG picture, I figured ways that I could play the outcome for my own benefit, maybe whittle down the competition a ways.  My own ego got in the way and I missed the forest for the trees, and now I was going to pay for it, unless I got down and dirty.

Hell, I did love a challenge.

Vandal Savage was the question though, the X-Factor.  If not for the pain in my leg I probably could have figured his scheme to the letter, but I was a bit preoccupied, grinding my teeth and hissing as I dragged myself towards greener pastures.  There was magic involved of course.  The gigantic green hand reeked of magic, which was why Kent and company couldn’t affect it.  Magic was Kent’s biggest problem, just about the only way to hurt the bastard.  Unfortunately magic was rare on my world, unlike our mirror version across the great divide.  And my thinking just could not quite grasp the concept to ever really use it against the big blue wiener.  I was a scientist after all, and magic – such as it was – was simply a form of science that I couldn’t quite get a handle on.

Savage on the other hand had no such limitations apparently.  Once I got him, Luthor and Napier on the Satellite, and once we eliminated Quick and Ocean Master, he went straight for the Star of Destruction.  Yeah, he knew just what he was doing and cracked that bitch open, setting free the entity that was trapped within the stone.  S’mth and I had both protested, as it had taken the whole compliment of the Crime Syndicate to put that particular Genie back in her bottle, but Kent had wanted his little trophy and that was that.  So now that bitch had come back to bite us all in the ass.

Savage knew how to control the entity once he released her; using some bizarro helmet that looked like an inverted colander stuck full of electrodes and crackled with energy.  It was all him, all along.  When the Star exploded, the big green hand vanished and something happened.  It was like a wave of energy, but soft, rolling through reality with a warmth that tickled the back of my brain and tugged at something deep within.  Like a suppressed memory, something forgotten but almost pleasant; the scent of a newly blooming rose after a spring shower, the taste of a fine wine or a good cigar, the warmth of your mother’s smile…

I strained, trying to get the sickly, simpering images out of my head as I clawed my way up the wall.  Of course the keypad was just out of reach, and the retinal scanner too high.  I grimaced as I shifted my weight to my good leg, leaning against the jamb as I punched in my access code, whispered my secret ‘woid’ and waited for the security computer to cycle.  I glanced back nervously, actually sweating and expecting to find Savage or Luthor about to jump my ass.  Little had changed however, and everything in a broader sense.

Savage was nowhere to be seen, crystalline fragments of the Star of Destruction littering the scorch mark on the otherwise pristine floor where he had been standing.  If there WAS a god, hopefully the bastard had bought it when he released the entity.  I couldn’t be that lucky though.  Luthor was still whimpering over Napier, and I had to wonder just how close the two actually were.  Add faggot to Alex’s long list of faults?  Not that it mattered, I suppose.  He was done, just like the clown and Ocean Master who still laid there, his gils fluttering as he gasped for air, a fish out of water after his helmet had been shattered.  Surprisingly, Quick was gone, my taser darts left in his absence.  I had calculated that he would be out at least another hour, but maybe I had figured the effects of the drugs coursing through his blood stream wrong.  There was only so much that I could take into account after all.  I am only human.

Odds are that Johnny Quick had high-tailed his yellow ass off of the Satellite and back home to terra firma.  If so, he had more brains than I ever gave him credit for, and truly, I should have been thinking about joining him, but there was that ego thing again, clouding rational thought.  I would be damned if I let some mirror universe bitch in a stupid hat get the better of me.

With a flicker and flash of the Ocular Sensors I heard the low grind of gears set deeply in the wall and quite literally fell into the Computer Room.  I lay there on the cold floor panting as the lights came on, trying not to whimper as a fresh wave of pain churned through my leg.  Almost a full minute passed before I managed to gather my wits and start crawling my way towards the command chair.  Too long and too slow, I was getting too old for this shit.

It took awhile to maneuver myself into the chair and then to get it going.  My hands were actually shaking as I keyed in commands to get the thing aloft and up into the ‘Tube’.  It had been Lane’s idea to name it that, but damned if she hadn’t hit that on the head.  The whole set up looked phallic, from the shape of the chair to the air locked orifice that separated the outer air from the immaculate Jeffries on the far side of the field.  One had to wonder just what the Martians had been thinking when they dreamt this stuff up.

I floated there in the dim, waiting for the chair to accommodate and settle while my body acclimated to the cold and weightlessness of the Tube.  I used that time to finally take care of the pain in my leg, using articles from my utility belt to tie a tourniquet and then jam a few hundred C.c.’s of painkiller into what was left of my knee.  Hopefully the drugs would stay below the cord on my thigh, as I needed to be coherent if I was going to turn this mess around –

WORKING…

I jumped as the computer’s voice whispered in the dark, finally active as the several dozen monitors blinked to life all around me.  Some were set into the walls standard, while others floated, spectral images hovering like ghosts in the dim emergency lighting.  Normally it was a peaceful, calming influence, and many was the time that I had simply sat here for hours collating my thoughts; plotting and scheming.  Now however, there was work to do, and I had to be quick about it as I felt the first telltale tingle of the drugs starting in on my leg.

“Override,” I said, “Authority: Wayne slash Martha slash DC 27 slash 05 slash 1939.  Code: Kane.”  It was fairly simple, if anyone had taken the time to reason it out, but look at who I was allied with.  We all had our little dreams and delusions of grandeur, all caught up in our petty little war and lust for a challenge and excitement.  Thinking was not a strong suit in any of my peers, except for S’mth perhaps, but he was so cowed that he would never attempt a rebellion on his own.  Little did he know just what I had done to his precious computers.

It took another few seconds as the computer cycled to accept my command, so I keyed in on the monitors, focusing the main viewers on what was happening down on the planet, a few of the lesser floating images zeroing in on the combatants.  There was going to be a fight of course, and any other day I would have been there to enjoy the battle, but there were things to do if I was going to gain the upper hand out of this particular debacle, so I would be watching from the sky box on this one.

Wayne…

I actually cringed at the sickly sweet voice that hissed my name.  It gave me the shivers, as always, especially knowing just what I had committed myself to.  I truly had to stay five steps ahead now, if not more.  Out of desperation I had joined Luthor and crew.  Now, matters could get potentially worse.

“Brainiac…”

Have you ever danced with the Devil in the pale moonlight?  I was about to…

---

I had to give Kent his due.  Sure, he was an arrogant bastard with a God Complex, but he did cut a mean pose.  I watched his monitor for a moment, Brainiac adjusting the feed to compensate for his ‘faster than a speeding bullet’ form streaking earthward, one arm outstretched, a grim look of determination on his chiseled face.  If not for Brainiac’s computerized hyper brain he would be nothing but a violet blur shifting between viewers, traveling too quickly to track let alone target.  Not that the Satellite had anything in its armament to give him more than a moment’s pause.

So beautiful…

“Focus, Brainiac.”  Mister Mind was right though, and I could easily see why Lane had been attracted to the alien back in the day.  Things had changed of course, but still.  “Open ‘Bestiary’: Earth 2 Sub File on Monitor 17.”

I watched as one of the floating views shimmered and changed to a read out of highlighted names listed alphabetically.  I had been busy on my last little trip to Earth 2, trying to survive our encounter with that group, the Avengers.  But I had been prepared too, and while I was watching Kent beat his own ass I had implemented a Virus to tap into the Justice League’s records.  It had been hard of course; the JLA’s Batman was at the very least my equal, and he had set up security protocols against what I had attempted to do, but like it or not he and I were way too alike.  I had set up my program to hack through whatever he had initiated, to download the League’s files onto my portable Flash Drive in my utility belt.  I had been pressed for time at the time however, so I didn’t get the full load, but I did get a lot of interesting information.  Not the least of which was the records of all that Earth’s heroes and villains that I codenamed: Bestiary.  There’s a joke in there, and if I live through this, maybe one day I’ll explain it.

“Search and collate,” I told Brainiac, “image presented, powers exhibited, physical similarities, known allegiances based on those now engaged with the CSA.  Display gathered news feeds; video, audio, print, Internet.  Additional Search: Savage, Vandal.  Priority: Alpha.”

By your command…

Bitch.  Should have expected it though.  What else did Brainiac have to do but watch the mindless drivel of television that filtered through on my own link to Earth 2.  Watching Kent’s World News was just short of brainwashing.

Still, it didn’t take the Brain long to present a series of similarities based on my parameters.  I’ll admit that I had not spent the time going through the files that I had stolen beyond the core of the JLA’s membership.  Know thy enemy and all that, I suppose.  The Bat was just too damned thorough, read obsessed with knowing his own enemy, and friend alike it seemed.

The Batman would have fit in well here, if not for that Hero complex.  His files on the League gave a long list of powers, known identities and various residence, etc.  What caught my eye though was the Sub Files that he had created and codenamed ‘Judas’.  He had devised ways to take out his enemies of course – that was only natural – but also his peers.  A man after my own heart, paranoid through and through.  He played it off as a failsafe, after some encounter where his world’s villains had taken over the bodies of its heroes, and had spent far too much time justifying his actions in side notations, but the result was the same.  He had ways to eliminate his competition in the blink of an eye, with complete details and statistics.  Like I wasn’t going to take advantage of that.

Not that my peers were a problem, save Kent.  Hell, I had taken out Orin and Quick already.  Lane was no problem, simply wrap her up in her own rope and she was erotic putty.  An ice cube would take out the Martian, and a yellow, wooden stick would beat the Ring.  It always came back to Kent, however.  Ultraman was a problem, but using the Bat’s information on his own Superman I had devised and created a form of Kryptonite that would… should render him powerless.  Gold Kryptonite would shut him down like a light switch.  Should… Brainiac gave it a rounded up 97% chance of success.  It was that damn three percent that made my balls shrivel though.  If I was wrong I would be a mucky smoldering spot on the sidewalk.

But that was for later.  I needed Kent now, and the others to deal with the problem at hand.  Said problem being: the Outsiders…

Intercepted news feeds labeled them as the new pride and joy of Earth 2 heroes.  Apparently the JLA had disbanded and reformed after some shit, and the other lesser groups like the Titans were having their own problems, and these Outsiders had formed to fill the void – conveniently.  They all appeared to be new heroes, emphasis on ‘appeared’.  The Bat’s database said differently however.

I sifted quickly through the information, Brainiac’s efforts presenting possible links and identities to the new mystery men.  The files I had stolen were taken before the group had first appeared, so there were gaps, but only an idiot could not see the obvious connections and read between the lines.  I had to assume that the Batman had made the same leaps in logic that were evident to me.

I zeroed in on Kent as he engaged, shaking my head.  He hit the scene with his usual pomp and bravado, a snarl on his lips as he cursed his foes, thus announcing his presence.  Nothing subtle about Ultraman, but then when you were just a couple rungs under God on the corporate ladder, I suppose you didn’t need to be.  Regardless, he bellowed like a charging bull elephant – Ultra Memory and all – and let the competition know straight away that he was in town.

These Outsiders were quick, I’d give them that.  Someone in their group had organized them, trained them well enough that with the encroaching threat they gathered into a defensive formation.  Their fliers took slightly to the air, fanning out to the sides, Wind simply floating up a few meters and the blonde, Witchery rising on a glowing blue platform.  The others formed a loose semi-circle, centering on the big stone guy, Rocker.  He seemed a bit dazed for some reason, not really moving at all though the others didn’t seem to notice or care.  Firefall flanked left, her hands already ablaze, with the archer Shaft on her side though hanging farther back, an arrow already notched.  To the right of the Golem, the Black Ice Storm mirrored Firefall, his body looking misty and frosty as he powered up.  With him stood the alleged android, Pitch-black, the Teleporter, and bringing up the rear, the ninja-looking woman, Whisper.

I saw easily their game plan at the moment.  Beyond simply surviving (and I had to believe they knew who they were facing) they had formed up to protect the three old men in the tuxedoes.  Those three popped right up from the Bestiary, no searching or collating needed at all.  The Wizard, the Shade and the Fiddler; three losers that were a thorn in the collective sides of both the JLA and their geriatric predecessors, the Justice Society.  Interestingly enough, a side bar said they all three belonged to a now-defunct group called the Injustice Society.  A group of villains that also counted Vandal Savage in the ranks.  Why these old farts were running with the alleged ‘heroes’, the Outsiders was a mystery, unless one learned to think beyond the box.

The woman, Witchery threw up a bubble-shield of blue ‘magical’ force as Ultraman came screaming in.  Arrogant bastard that he was, Kent tried to bull his way through it and went bouncing away, smashing through the closest building for his efforts.  The usual resulting panic and calamity ensued as the rubes realized that we were at it again.  Debris came tumbling down, crashing to the streets as the civilians ran around like headless chickens, clearing the battlefield.  The ‘heroes’ ignored the carnage oddly, and the injured, the two fliers arching off in Ultraman’s wake while Firefall and Ice Storm stepped to the fore as the second line of defense.  Nicely done.

I estimated a few seconds lag time, glancing at the monitors.  Kent would be up and out of the building soon enough, and the rest of my team was still incoming so I focused on the files that Brainiac had extrapolated.  Some of the files were still a bit vague, with a number of possibles listed as to identities.

The Bat and I were obviously of a like mind in thinking that these Outsiders had less than scrupulous pasts.  It seemed obvious when you thought about it.  Even on Earth 2, where new Metas popped up with the drop of a hat, what were the odds that seven brand knew heroes would appear, organized, apparently funded and well-trained.  It was a stretch, and the Bat figured there was some hidden agenda.  Money, power, world domination; my money was on the latter.  Whatever, it was a good, if not tired plan.  Infiltrate the ranks of Herodom.  Win the trust of the population, get the gold key to the city then stick it up their ass.  Oftimes the oldies are the goodies.

There were still questions though.  Just who were these people, really?  Who was the driving force behind them?  And why?  Some of the answers proved to be more obvious than others.

Take the big stone guy, Rocker.  Batman’s files listed no less than a dozen similar entities that could be the big man.  Anyone from a simple Earth Elemental called up by the Wizard or Witchery, to the villain Clayface.  He fit the mold, so to speak, but something just didn’t work with that, along with the fact that Batman was certain that his malleable foe was still safely incarcerated in some criminal’s hospital called Arkham.  But there were other possibilities as well.  Batman put his money on a Golem, which fit with the whole magic theme that seemed to be running through this little drama.  Of those he noted two outstanding choices.  One was a questionable hero from Earth Two’s second world war.  The protector of the Jews in Poland, but not seen since the war and at the time limited to that country’s borders.  Strike!

The other best guess was another magical Golem, this one a bonafide hero apparently and belonging to a group of second string heroes that banded together under the banner of one Doctor Mist.  They had called themselves the Leymen, having a long and convoluted history dating back to Druidic origins.  Magic again, but the Bat’s last notation on that particular Golem was that – according to a new Leaguer called Meridian – he, she, it was destroyed.  Of course, ‘we can rebuild him’, etc.  Or start over from scratch?  Apparently the Wizard had enough power now, no longer the simple illusionist and hypnotist that the JSA beat ass on so many times.  The Batman’s thoughts on those lines were way too long to dig into right then, however.

Kent had managed to dig his way out of what was left of the building he’d toppled, flexing and spouting shit as always.  He looked rumpled and dusty, but none the worse for wear, at least until the gigantic blue foot slammed down on him.  Cute…

“Zoom out, Monitor 36.”

I had to laugh.  The Witchery woman had created a huge blue facsimile of herself and made said solid image trample little Clark back into the dirt.  It was satisfying on so many levels, but the woman was toying with Kent and that was a mistake.  Get Big Blue pissed off enough and he would lose it, stop thinking and bragging and just start hitting until there was nothing left to hit.  Worse, the other one, Wind had flown up close, laughing and taunting.  Bad move fly boy…

I saw the familiar, telltale glow of red and a split second later the twin beams of Kent’s Ultra Vision flashed out.  Surprisingly Wind was ready for it though as he raised his hands and…

What?

The beams that should have flash-fried the Outsider simply vanished into thin air.  An odd use of gravity, if the Bat’s assessment of Wind’s powers was accurate (and we all know they were).  Batman had cross-referenced and rejected a number of heroes and villains that foolishly played with gravity for one reason or another.  There was a massive villain called Black Mass that even Jenny Craig couldn’t fit into that mighty whitey’s spandex.  Too, he had eliminated two characters from the future (if you could believe that).  A girl called Light Lass, and a boy called Star Boy.  Being Owlman, I have no comment.  Luckily Brainiac was on the job.

Wind’s little display of energy kicked Brainiac’s search into overdrive and he spotted collation right off the bat, so to speak.  Magical energy of course, but a dead match for a known, if not two bit villain from Earth 2.  I checked the Bat’s list and sure enough, there was the name and data highlighted in green for potential match.

Angle Man: (too many jokes) One Angelo Bend (uh-hunh).  Mysteriously, read conveniently came into possession of a mystical artifact called the Set Square.  Said artifact apparently gave Bend the ability to teleport, bend space and spatial relations, warp perceptions and alter gravity.  Bingo!

Now I didn’t see any overblown magical straight edge in the man’s hand  but all the other pieces fit nicely, along with size, weight, etc.  It also easily explained why Kent’s eye beams seemed to vanish.  Bend simply sent them elsewhere, hopefully out into space.  Whatever, it appeared that someone coached Bend on more creative uses for his powers, which could be potentially formidable.

I was about to find out as Kent heaved the gigantic foot off his ass and shot up at Wind like a missile.  I’d seen that look on Clark’s face before.  He did not like to be laughed at, and if he connected, Wind would be dust… on the wind.  Sue me, I was having fun as I watched Kent rear back for a haymaker, only to have Bend intercept the blow with an outstretched hand.  Ultraman vanished with a distinct ‘pop’ and but for the safety belt on the Command Chair I’d be ROTFLMAO.

From the gathered news feeds, Wind had explained that he ‘simply removed the target from the Earth’s gravitational field’, which according to him left the target stagnant while the planet rotated beneath him.  Without ripping a hole in the Earth’s delicate Geosphere, magnetic field and orbit I might add, not to mention the ditch of damage that would result from someone like Kent waiting to get from point A to point B.  A lesser being would splatter on the first obstacle, moving at Earth’s rotational speed.  So much bull shit.  Bend opened a warp and deposited Kent on the far side of the planet – if Clark was lucky.

Whatever, it all made sense, and now I knew what I was looking for.  Villain’s united for the common cause, whatever that turned out to be.  Just what they wanted here on Earth 1 remained a mystery still, but I had faith.  One of them would reveal the master plan before long.  They always did.

I returned my attention to the battle just as the Cavalry (such as it was) arrived.  They came streaking in just a bit more cautiously than Kent, and I can only imagine that they witnessed his vanishing act.  They had to be worried, but they were excited at the challenge too.  Hell, if not for my leg and the mystery involved I’d be right down there in the thick of things myself.

Power Ring dissolved his bubble that they’d all ridden down in for reentry even as Witchery created one, dropping it over the three old men.  I glanced at the monitor trained on them, still wondering their involvement.  The Wizard and the Shade seemed aloof and almost bored with proceedings.  I knew just glancing at their files that either could escape without worry; the Wizard pulling a vanishing act or Shade simply stepping into the Dark Zone.  The other one, the Fiddler was… well… fiddling.  I could hear the music, pretty if not a bit tinny coming over the speakers, but I did not see the point.  I assumed that I would, eventually.

True to form Ring, Super Woman and the Martian Manslayer fanned out and chose a potential victim.  Like Kent, I’ll give them their credit.  Each was tough in their own way, but there was barely a brain between the three of them put together.  For us in these situations it was all about the lust of victory and the battle.  Having no more worlds to conquer and all that, we were bored, which first led us to Earth 2.  Countless victories on our world however left us arrogant, and my compatriots for the most part simply went in swinging.

They squared off immediately, much as I would have called it.  Raynor went straight for the blonde, encasing his body in a huge green suit of powered armor for defense and a big ol’ gun for offence.  Witchery simply smirked, standing on her disk and waiting (in a rather striking pose I might add).  She had to be losing some power to keep her defensive bubble going, but she didn’t seem concerned in the least.

Like I figured, the Martian steered clear of Mister Frosty, the obvious threat to him and headed for Firefall instead.  She was waiting though, and unleashed a ball of fire up his ass that sent him screaming and smoldering skyward again.  I can’t imagine the degree of heat involved that would affect S’mth that way.  He was tougher than Lane, physically, and almost in Kent’s league.  The Martian was just a bit slow in his distorted head though.  Special they used to call it, and before that, retarded.  I can only imagine that in his arrogance, S'mth hadn't hardened up against the fiery attack enough.

Not being as stupid, Ice Storm took advantage of that situation and blasted S’mth with a wave of ice shards followed swiftly by a solid block of ice that quenched the flame and locked him up tight.  I just had to zoom in on the Martian’s face as the huge ice cube fell, and the look of shock and sheer agony on his twisted visage made my day.  S’mth hit the pavement like a brick, the ice and stone both cracking but not shattering.  I knew from past experience that S’mth was done, maybe dead unless someone chiseled his pasty white butt out of the ice in time.

That little exchange of course brought up new files courtesy of the Brain.  Brainiac was stepping up his abilities too, it seemed, as he had eliminated all possible identities for Firefall save two.  The first was a girl named Inferno that fit the general description, both physically and power wise.  She was somehow related to Light Lass and Star Boy somehow, but had not been seen in some time on Earth 2.  Apparently she had the temperament to be Firefall, but her body however caused me to doubt.  Firefall had a rack, and a couple inches at least.  That left the better choice; some woman named Blaze.

There wasn’t much on her.  Cross-referenced with some group called the Pyramid Club, she had a run-in with the Black Canary.  Her stats all matched to near perfection; physical, attitude, Meta.  Bingo again.

Ice Storm on the other hand was a bit more questionable.  Like the fire folk, there seemed no shortage of ice-based heroes and villains on Earth 1.  Some Brainiac had scratched off of the list out of hand, like Killer Frost and the presumed deceased Icicle.  His son however had potential, though like Inferno, he was a little young for me and Batman to consider.  Most of the others used devices or implements of some sort to get their powers across.   Captain Cold, Professor Zero, Mister Freeze were all too old and White.  Ice Storm was definitely a Negro, and relatively young, and his powers appeared to come from within.  Then too, so did Wind’s, so I figured if whoever could somehow get Angle Man’s powers to be inherent, so too the ice man.

Batman’s best guess was a mystery man that ran with a group called Dark Nemesis.  They had tangled with the Titans and actually made a lasting impression after my own heart by offing a couple of the cookie crunchers.  I hated kid sidekicks with a passion, after the Owlgirl fiasco.  Don’t ask.  Nemesis boy in question however, AKA Blizzard, had ice powers all his own, but like Mister Freeze needed a containment suit.  Ice Storm was right out there in the spandex however, but like I said, these Outsiders have backing, so I figured whatever worked on Bend would probably do for Blizzard as well.

About then I heard Lane bitching, the best at what she did.  Like usual she had pulled up short to let the fellas take the brunt of the initial assault.  With S’mth on ice though I guess she decided to join in.  Being the dominant and yet jealous type, her first reaction is usually to take out her competition, that being the other women.  With Firefall and Witchery engaged, that left Whisper, the ninja chick.  There was no mystery as to her true identity though.

Brainiac was hitting his stride as he brought up the Bat’s sub, sub files.  Eye’s only apparently, but well detailed when cracked wide, obvious and just a little ironic.  Whisper was Oriental, obviously, and one of the Bat’s original Outsiders, codenamed Katana.  Karate bitch with penis envy, carrying a big, mystical sword.  I hate magic.

No pause for Lane though as she cast her own magic in the form of her lariat.  Into Lane’s whole dominatrix motif, the thing acted like a leash for almost any man, bringing them to heel, and for the women, just a simple bit of bondage.  Karate girl didn’t stand a chance if Lane looped her, and I figured she was done.  Not the first time I’d been surprised today.

Whisper flipped straight up into the air, well away from Lane’s lasso.  She twisted and spiraled like crazy, but beautifully too I might add, graceful as hell until she peaked at the apex.  Then without missing a beat her katana swept down and simply sliced through Lane’s rope.  Just like that.

Whisper landed casually on the balls of her feet, whipping her sword up to defend, but sweet Lois was too dumbfounded to act.  She just stood there in mid-air as her magic rope drooped and fell uselessly to the ground, its glow fading.  I was surprised myself and wondered just what that sword was made of.  Lane’s lasso was supposedly unbreakable, as most of us – Kent included – had found out the hard way.  The only other thing to defy Kent’s ungodly strength was that Avenger’s shield, Captain what’s his name?  It was about then that I realized why the Fiddler was fiddling.

Lane had drifted a bit, unknowingly, and all of a sudden this massive hand of rock reached up into the monitor and grabbed the lower half of her leg –

“Zoom out!  Monitor 82!”

I barely saw Lane’s blink of surprise as Rocker slammed her face first into the street.  Now Lane’s no lightweight, but she’s not Kent, or even S’mth when he’s on his game.  That first blow created a nasty crater, but the Golem wasn’t done, and he was quick.  He quickly heaved Lane up and over, slamming her again on the other side of him.  I saw a bit of blood trailing behind Lois as he whipped her around for a third, then a fourth impact.  She had stopped moving with the fifth, but Rocker kept on going until the Fiddler’s music stopped.  Lane was done, bye-bye love.

Raynor and Witchery were jousting full tilt by then, his mean green VS her true blue.  He had shifted from giant robot mode to knight on horse and was ramming a lance against the witch’s simple shield.  And that of course, the simplicity of her response was the give away on her secret.  Granted the power was blue and not pink, but we had had a Star Sapphire on our world as well.  She had not lasted long of course, as Jordan had shattered her gem and raped her until she was just as shattered, but she had been in action long enough to get a glimpse of her powers, which were way too close to the Ring’s for comfort.  If this Witchery was not Earth Two’s version of Star Sapphire, I’d eat my cape.

She seemed way beyond the Ring too.  I could see Raynor sweating and grimacing, his verdant green turning paler by the second.  I was just about to write him off when I got another surprise…

There was a crimson blur appeared behind Witchery, and a second later she was on the ground unconscious, all her blue tinted constructs vanishing with her awareness.  I of course knew what had just happened, though like I said, surprise, surprise, surprise!

I had figured that Quick had headed for the proverbial hills after baling from the Satellite.  Who would have thought that crack-head would have the balls to run into a losing fight?  Granted, he hit a woman from the back with probably a hundred quickfire rabbit punches, but then no one ever accused any of us of playing fair.  Maybe he was a team player after all?

Right.

Him and Raynor were more than friends we all expected.  It was so sweet it made me want to retch.  Still, whatever worked, it bought the CSA a couple more seconds.  ‘Course it also brought in the last of the Outsiders.

The android was suddenly standing right beside Quick.  There had been nothing but a dark shift in the light to announce him, and he definitely took Johnny by surprise.  Quick screamed as Pitch-black withdrew his finger from the speedster’s shoulder, blood spurting in the wake.  Quick staggered, his mouth slack and agape just before he blurred out of focus and ran.  The android vanished in a blob of black at almost the same time.

Curiouser and curiouser…

“Don’t play coy, Brainiac.  You have something?”

Monitors 59 through 128 at the moment.  Observe, please.

I turned to look and saw Quick’s telltale blur and after images running full tilt through the screens, city and beyond, heading for the horizon.  Not a shock there, he was only so brave.  The shocking thing was the bolt of dark lightning that seemed to be right on his heels.  It looked familiar of course, but I could not believe that the various Flashes of Earth 2 would join in with these Outsiders.  The old man was just that.  Allen was dead, and the red-headed kid, though the least heroic of the three, was still way too pure to go along with what I had been seeing.  Still, that crack of lightning was definitely the Speed Force…

“Who?”

Zoom, zoom…

Damn.  Much as I hate magic, I think time anomalies are worse.  I stared at the file that Brainiac presented for my amusement, and I shook my head as all the pieces to that particular puzzle fell into place.  The man moved at the speed of thought for god’s sake, which made it appear that he could teleport.  He could make little vortex tornadoes that gave the appearance of him stretching in after image.  He could vibrate out of the normal plane of existence and insert finger, lead pipe or whatever into a target’s body without batting an eye in remorse.  He was a killer, a cold-blooded murderer with a Fanboy complex taken to the extreme.  My hero…

Professor Zoom, the Reverse Flash.  Dead and loving it.  The man could simply step between the seconds of his life and travel back in time to live another life with the Speed Force at his back.  If not for his obsession with all things Flash, he could have been a contender.  Hell, Batman gave him five bats.  And he was more than a match for Johnny Quick.

Even before I turned away from the last monitor, Zoom had returned and deposited the obviously spent and broken form of Johnny Quick on the ground at his feet.  In his Pitch-black guise he was not even breathing hard.  That left Raynor.

I switched monitors just in time to see the yellow, wooden arrow sticking out of the Ring’s chest.  Raynor’s eyes were wide with confusion, probably figuring that no one knew his weakness in the Outsiders.  Like I said, we’re arrogant.  He hit the ground like a bag of wet cement, and I turned to the Outsider that I’d all but forgotten.  Shaft…

There were a good number of archers to choose from for Shaft’s true identity.  My favorite choice would have been Queen, brought back from the dead, twisted and corrupted.  Too, there was his kid, the Pacifist monk.  And Speedy, Arsenal to his Titan friends.  There was a little girl too, two actually, and old men as well; Golden Arrow, Red Arrow, Sagittarius, yadda, yadda yadda…

The arrow in the chest was the give away however.  Batman’s files noted a mystery man by the name of Merlyn.  An assassin working for someone named Ra’s al Ghul and his Assassins Guild.  Made sense to me.

Whatever, the Ring was down.  As were the rest.  The Crime Syndicate of Amerika was beat, except for me of course.  It was right about then that the Wizard stepped up.  I turned the volume to full, expecting the obligatory gloating and catch-all explanation…

There’s no need to fear…

And of course, Clark came back right about then.

The monitors flashed pink as Ultraman blanketed the area with his Ultra Vision.  Was Kent actually hurt, or just playing with his food?  No one died.  Ice Storm was stumbling about, and Witchery was out, but the rest seemed none the worst for wear.  In fact, Shade and the Wizard were grinning as Clark floated down into view.

“Bastards!” Kent snarled, his voice booming for effect.  “Bitch ass mother fuckers!  Think you’ve won ‘cuz you beat them?  They’re shit!”

“Language, please…” the Wizard said as he raised his cane.  I saw a queer spark – magic I assumed – and Kent went spiraling back.  “Finish this please.”

The Outsiders were on him in an instant, beating and blasting and pummeling him into the dirt.  There was the backer then.  Whatever was happening, it was the Wizard calling the shots.

Secret Society of Super-Villains…

“What?”

The common denominator, Brainiac said.  Most of the Outsiders had been members.  A group of villains that tried to make a difference by playing behind the scenes on Earth 2.  They came close several times, but for a man named Captain Comet.  Apparently the Wizard has regrouped.

“Why?” I asked.  It made sense of course, but I still could not find a reason.

Unknown…

I was more than happy to see Kent get his ass kicked, don’t get me wrong.  But he WAS the last line of defense.  When he went down, the Wizard would have a clear field to do whatever he had planned.  I was actually starting to worry…

“Brainiac.  Cue the Transporter.  Coordinates… 1789-5263.”

Earth 2… The Bat Cave?

Well, duh’…

You’re not planning on abandoning me, are you Dave?

“Oh, no.  Not me.  I’m here to the bitter end.”

Daisy… Daisy…

Damn.  I needed to override Brainiac or I’d be a selection of molecules scattered between here and Andromeda.  Kent was done.  It was just a matter of time.  Just how much time was the question.

I lowered the Command Chair and severed connection with the Tube.  It would act as a makeshift wheel chair for a bit, until Brainiac panicked and started to shut things down.  I had to get to the transporter.

I sped down the halls of the Satellite, typing in commands manually and bypassing the Voice Command mode.  I hoped that Brainiac was too distracted to –

Self Destruct, Dave?  Has it come to this?

“Eat shit, robot!”

I rode the Command Chair into the Transporter Platform and checked the coordinates.  Brainiac was still trying to override my commands, but like I said, five steps at least.  I don’t care how smart he thought he was, I was smarter.

“Crush!  Kill!  Destroy!”  Yeah, I know.  TV rots the mind…

I had long ago set up protocols to override anything that my peers might think to set up.  I was that smart.  Brainiac was the challenge of course, but I’d thought of him too.  Three simple words and the Satellite would lose power and go into free fall, with all targeting sensors trained on Kent.  It was a last ditch attempt, based on my encroaching death so that I would get the final laugh, the last victory.  I don’t like to lose.

If luck was on my side the Satellite would go crashing into Earth, taking out both Ultraman and the Outsiders, ending the current problem.  I couldn’t count on that though, which was why I was high tailing for the Bat Cave on Earth 2.  If anyone could save the day, it was the Bat.

I hoped he was home…

“Energize, bitch.”

I heard Brainiac’s screams as the Satellite started to explode and the world faded away…

---

New Amsterdam

Zard glanced skyward as he saw the faintest flicker of light in the sky.  He knew what was happening.  He had prepared too well.  Granted, there were contingencies.  There always were.  But he had faith that he and his comrades had prepared.

He glanced at Ultraman, held in the grip of gravity and beaten to a bloody pulp.  He could not move, let alone break free.  Magic was his bane.

“Bastards,” he spat.  “You won’t beat me.”

“We already have, dear boy.”  Zard grinned.  He sensed the Fiddler and Shade behind him.  As for the Outsiders, they were none the worse for wear.  Witchery was coming around now.  Pity about Logan, but he was no longer needed.  None of them were.  It was done.

“Corrigan…”

There was a swirl of darkness and the Spectre appeared, huge and massive in all his glory.  His verdant cloak fluttered about his ghostly form, the chalk white of his skin almost radiant as he reached down.  His massive hand engulfed the CSA…

JUSTICE

That was all that he said as he made a fist, and the Crime Syndicate of Amerika vanished at his whim.

“Jesus,” Ice Storm said, looking at the smoldering spot where their foes had been.  “What happened to them?”

“They have been removed,” Zard said with a smile.  “As will you.”

“What?”

There was a flash of green that sent a shiver through the assembled Outsiders.  As expected, Pitch-black was the first to recover…

Eobard Thrawne looked up, his eyes growing wide at the new threat that faced him and his teammates.  "Garrick,'’ he whispered, almost ignoring the rest.

They were almost glowing as they descended from on high, the gods of Olympus come to call…

The Hawkman, mace in hand and wings spread wide…

The Green Lantern, awash in a fiery green…

The Flash, vibrating and ready to run…

Fate, his hands ablaze with golden magic…

Hourman, flexing and ready to fight…

The Sandman, gun raised…

The Atom, bursting with power…

And the Batman…

And Superman…

And a woman with a tin pot on her head…

And behind them in gargantuan darkness, the Spectre…

The Justice Society of America had come to reclaim their own.

“Aww fuck…”

The Outsiders looked at Firefall.  That pretty much summed it up.