Seven Soldiers of Victory #5 (of 5)

2008:

Big as life and twice as ugly. Jay Garrick couldn’t recall where he’d first heard that phrase, but it certainly seemed to apply to the monster before him. The seven smaller creatures that made up Neh Buh Lah had fully integrated once more, and the result now towered about twenty feet over him and Doctor Fate. It still resembled the smaller ones to a degree, but the starry marks that covered its inky-black skin had grown exponentially with its body, to the point where seemed as though the entire universe was mapped out across its massive frame. It tilted its head back and let out a roar, making the marks upon it flare up like supernovas, then it focused its shining-white eyes on the two heroes below, its tongue flicking out from between its needle-like teeth.

“How long until the others get back?” Jay asked Fate.

<I cannot say,> Fate replied. <The journey through time should be instantaneous for them, but from our perspective, there may be a slight delay.>

“Guess we’ll just have to keep it busy in the meantime!” The speedster bolted towards the creature, delivering a flurry of blows at its legs in an effort to knock it down, while Fate began to unleash his magic upon it, but neither attack seemed to be having any effect. If fact, the harder Jay pushed himself to make a dent in the creature, the slower he could feel himself moving. He then recalled what Alan said earlier when the Green Lantern had investigated the strange darkness that was blotting out the sun. It’s draining me somehow, just being close to it, Flash thought. There was something else he noticed as well: voices in the back of his mind, like the gibbering language he’d heard the smaller aspects of Neh Buh Lah speaking in, and it seemed to be growing louder as Jay felt the speed evaporate from his body. He tried to ignore it and press on, but it soon filled his whole mind, pushing out every coherent thought and making him lose control of his own limbs so that he tripped and fell before the creature. Jay struggled to get up, to do anything, but all he could do was scream as the voices penetrated every cell of his being, preparing him to join the greater glory of Neh Buh Lah...

Then a golden light suddenly surrounded him, yanking him away from the monster and over to Doctor Fate's side. "What...what happened?” Jay asked in a shaky voice as he regained control of himself. “Felt like I was being torn apart.”

<Without the seven warriors present to oppose it, Neh Buh Lah has begun to force its influence over every living thing upon this Earth. Unless it is stopped, the entire world will unravel and become a part of it, forever enslaved to the whims of Chaos...and that includes you, Jay Garrick.> A twisting ribbon of light sprung forth from the mystic's hands and wrapped around the creature, pinning its arms to its sides momentarily before it snapped them like rubber bands. <Unfortunately, my magicks can only buy you a brief reprieve from that damnation: until it is driven from this realm, Neh Buh Lah’s very presence will continue to eat away at you -- mind, body, and soul -- so you must fight against it or you will be lost.>

“I’m trying,” the speedster replied. Even as he said the words, he could feel those unearthly voices reverberating throughout his body, as if they were shaking him apart from the inside out. “How the heck are we supposed to stop this thing if it can just wipe us out without a thought?”

<That, Jay Garrick, is why we need the Seven Soldiers of Victory. As the warriors chosen to fight Neh Buh Lah, they are immune to his influence.>

“What about yourself? Don’t the Lords of Order give you any sort of immunity?”

<A small measure.> Jay then noticed the beads of sweat rolling down Fate’s neck from under his helmet, and he realized that the voices the mystic heard were probably much, much louder.

The ground beneath their feet began to tremble, then ripped open as Neh Buh Lah let out a roar. Dirt and rock spewed up all around them, and soon coffins as well were flying out of the growing fissures as the surrounding graves were disinterred. Flash was in motion once again, trying to avoid falling into the fissures, while Fate lifted himself above the destruction. The mystic couldn’t completely escape it, however: debris began to swirl about him until he fell back to the ground, cocooned from head to foot within a shell of granite. The speedster immediately rushed to his side and began pounding his fists against the shell at super-speed, but it refused to crack. All the while, the voices in Jay’s mind were shrieking so loudly that he soon found he couldn’t concentrate on his task. “Shut up! Get out of my head!” he shouted, but it took everything he had just to do so. He could feel himself losing his grip once more, his thoughts drowning under those oppressive voices that were loud enough to make his bones rattle. Through a supreme effort, Jay managed to lift his head so he could look square at the creature...and he found it looking right back at him, grinning with a mouth full of needles. Letting out something akin to a laugh, it reached towards him with a massive clawed hand, and Flash found that he couldn’t do so much a twitch a finger to avoid it. Before it could get hold of him, however, there was an explosion of blinding light in the middle of the cemetery. Though there was no visible cause for the light, there was a sound coming from somewhere deep within it: the flapping of wings, followed by a horse’s whinny.

“Have at thee, monster!” Shining Knight bellowed as he and Winged Victory flew out of the light, his enchanted sword held high. Katar Hol was right behind him, his own weapon at the ready, and the two heroes rushed straight at Neh Buh Lah without hesitation. The creature roared and made to swat them out of the air, but both men evaded the blows, Sir Justin breaking left and Hawkman to the right. They swept around behind it, then struck as one at the back of the creature’s head -- both mace and sword found their mark, though only Sir Justin’s weapon appeared to make any sort of wound.

With the creature distracted, Jay felt its influence over him abate enough to move again, but his relief over that was soon overtaken by a new concern. “Katar!” he yelled as best he could. “Fall back right now, before it’s too late!”

“Not until some of the others arrive!” Katar answered. “We can’t expect Shining Knight to do this all on his own!”

“Until the others get here, he’s gonna have to! Now get down here, that thing can take you out before you even know it!”

Katar ignored the speedster’s pleas and pressed on with his attack, pounding on the creature with all the force he could muster...though it seemed like his mace was getting harder to lift with each passing second. Sir Justin didn’t appear to be having any trouble, however, landing three blows for every one that Katar managed.

There was another explosion of light within arm’s length of the monster, and Jay saw Superman emerge, carrying something human-sized bundled in his cape. “Oh dear God,” Jay said at the sight of it, “we were too late...”

The Man of Steel veered away from Neh Buh Lah’s grasp, then flew over to Flash, saying, “Watch after him, I don’t think he’s fully recovered yet.” He lowered the bundle to the ground, and Jay was surprised to see Star-Spangled Kid stand on his own two feet. The young man looked rather worse for wear, but he was indeed alive.

“Hi, Jay,” Sylvester said weakly, still holding the cape around his shoulders and shivering slightly. “Glad you could join the party.”

Had the situation not been so dire, Jay might have laughed. Instead, he took hold of Superman’s arm before he could to take to the sky again. “You can’t go. It’ll kill you...almost killed me a minute ago.”

“But we can’t just stand by and...” Superman began to say, then saw haggard and drained Jay looked...and then he began to hear the voices buzzing inside his skull.

“That’s how it starts,” Jay said, knowing just by the look on the Man of Steel’s face what was happening. “And if you let your guard down for a even a second, you’re done for. Fate said the Soldiers aren’t affected, but...” He paused, then turned back to where the mystic still lay entombed in stone. “Dammit! In all the commotion, I almost forgot! Come here and help me!”

As Flash and Superman tried in vain to break Fate free, Katar found himself barely able to stay airborne. He also could swear that he heard voices whispering in his ear. He stopped his attack and hovered in midair, his hands going to his helmet as the whispers became shouts, the words incomprehensible, but at the same time he couldn’t resist them. They echoed off the Nth metal in his costume, intensifying each syllable until there was no part of Katar Hol left that wasn’t flooded with promise of chaos.

Sir Justin didn’t see any of this, as all his attention was focused on driving the Nebula Man to its knees. He slashed at the creature over and over, never backing off for a moment -- just as during the first fight, he knew that it could not be allowed to leave the cemetery, lest it destroy the surrounding city. The knight was raising his sword for another blow when he spied Katar diving towards him. He thought at first that the Hawkman was trying another tactic, then realized that his flight path was taking him on a collision course with Sir Justin himself! He blocked the blow from Katar’s mace just in time with his sword, saying, “What madness is this? Cease this folly!” Then he saw the unholy white glow -- exactly like the one given off by Neh Buh Lah -- coming from Katar’s eyes. God save us, the demon has possessed him, Shining Knight thought, and tried to steer Winged Victory away, but it was no use, as Katar continued come after him with blind ferocity. Sir Justin did his best to parry each attack thrown at him, but he found it increasingly difficult to do so without injuring the Hawk-Knight, who showed none of the flagging strength that he’d been exhibiting minutes earlier. In fact, he appeared to be getting even stronger, as evidenced by the bone-rattling impacts his mace made against Shining Knight’s blade. “I beseech thee, Katar, end this,” he said, his attention so tightly focused on the man before him that he didn’t see the golden light forming above the cemetery. “If thou does not, I shall have no choice but to kill thee.”

Katar didn’t answer, he just continued to pound on the man with his mace...until a gout of fire struck Hawkman square in the chest and drove him back. “Get away from my husband!” Firebrand yelled.

Taking advantage of the momentary reprieve, Sir Justin pulled back sharply on Winged Victory’s reins, causing the horse to rear up and strike Katar’s helmet with one of its hooves. The blow would have likely killed an ordinary man, but between the Nth metal that made up his helm and his hardy Thanagarian physiology, Katar was merely stunned. He plummeted to the ground, but before he could make impact, the man’s body began to twist in the air, and a cry of agony ripped forth from him...then Katar seemed to disintegrate into bright stardust before their very eyes. It held the shape of the Hawk-Knight for a moment before swirling about and flying towards Neh Buh Lah, the starry marks covering it flaring even brighter now as it took the remains of Katar Hol into itself.

Firebrand stared in disbelief, saying, “What in God’s name just happened?”

“I do not know...but I do know who is responsible.” Shining Knight pulled at his mount’s reins again and steered it towards the Nebula Man. A cry of fury came to his lips as he renewed his attack, this time with his wife beside him.

Far below them, Batman was running over to where Flash, Superman, and Star-Spangled Kid were still staring up in mute horror over what they’d just seen. “What’s going on here?” Batman asked, calling their attention back to the here-and-now. “Where’s Doctor Fate? Did the same thing happen to him?”

“No, he’s in there,” Jay replied, gesturing towards Fate’s stony prison. “Superman and I have been doing our best to free him, but the Nebula Man’s got him locked up tighter than Fort Knox.”

Batman knelt next to the stone and immediately set to work, examining it for any sort of weakness that might have escaped their attention. Unfortunately, he wasn’t finding any. “Don’t you have a miniature torch on your belt?” Superman asked after a while. “We might be able to burn through it.”

“If your heat vision can’t penetrate it, I doubt my torch will,” Batman replied.

“Well, we should at least try,” Jay said to him. “Fate may be a powerful mystic, but he’s still a human being, he has to breathe. If we don’t get him out soon...”

The Dark Knight suddenly jerked his head up and snapped, “I know, dammit! Can’t everyone just shut up for a minute?” The outburst took everyone aback for a moment, but when they saw him clap his hands over his ears, they knew what the real problem was.

Superman dropped to his knees next to his old friend, staring straight into the man’s eyes. “Don’t listen to the voices, Bruce. I know they’re loud, I can hear them too, but you’ve got to fight it off! If anybody can do shake it off, it’s you! We need you!”

“No...no, not me...” It sounded like Batman was begging for his life at first, but then he lifted a trembling hand and pointed at Sylvester, saying, “Him...it’s him.”

“What do you mean?”

“He can...he can crack it...chosen...ch-chuh...” Batman suddenly started thrashing about, screaming in agony...then he turned to stardust as well. Superman could do nothing but sit there, the voices in his own mind becoming deafening, as the stardust blew past him on its way to Neh Buh Lah.

“God, that’s three down, and the fight’s barely started.” Jay looked up at Shining Knight and Firebrand, who continued to strike at the monster. If it wasn’t for the Lords of Order protecting them, they’d probably be down for the count as well, he thought. Then it hit him. “Chosen...the Soldiers were chosen, they’re immune,” he said, then turned to Sylvester. “Start pounding rock, Kid.”

Sylvester looked flabbergasted. “Are you nuts? I’m still half-frozen, my belt’s gone, and you expect me to bust through that barehanded?”

“Flash is right,” Superman said, slowly dragging himself away from the madness that now seemed so welcoming. “Fate said only the Soldiers could defeat Neh Buh Lah, so you might be able to counteract anything it throws at us, even this.”

“You’re crazy, both of you.” Despite what he said, the young man knelt down beside Fate’s stony cocoon. Without his converter belt, Sylvester’s strength wasn’t that far above an average man’s, so he couldn’t fathom how he was supposed to blast through something that resisted both super-speed and super-strength. I’ve gotta try, though. That’s how it’s always been in the Law’s Legionnaires: You do whatever you can, no matter what the odds. Focusing his attention on a point dead-center on the stone, he cocked his fist back, and as he did so, he could swear that he felt some force surge out of his heart and up through his arm, driving the cold and pain from his body as it did so. Adrenaline, that’s all, he thought, and slammed down his fist as hard as he could. He cried out and jerked his hand away after impact, not surprised at all to see blood gushing out from his bare knuckles. The fist-shaped divot he’d left in the rock, however, was very surprising. “It worked...oh my God, how could that have worked?!?” he gasped.

“Never mind ‘how’, just keep doing it!” Jay told him.

As the Kid hammered away, a new portal burst to life, bringing back Stripe and Alan Scott. “Looks like they started the fun without us,” Stripe said, taking in the sight of the Nebula Man, then drawing the sword tucked under his belt. “Guess I’ll have a chance to try out my souvenirs.”

The two men started towards the creature, Alan flying and Pat running, but before the Lantern got anywhere near it, Superman flew over and blocked his path. “I’m sorry, but you’ve got to stay out of this fight. It’s too dangerous.”

“I know Fate said this is the Soldiers’ responsibility, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t at least help,” Alan replied.

“But we can’t help! We can’t do a damn thing!” Superman yelled, grabbing hold of Alan. “We’re helpless, don’t you understand that? We’re...” He stopped, squeezing his eyes shut, then said, “It’s getting harder to fight this off. Even Bruce couldn’t, and he was...” He looked hard at Alan. “Don’t let the voices in, or you’ll die. Understand?”

The elder Lantern didn’t in the least, but despite that, he followed Superman away from the battle, while Stripe continued on towards the monster. During the last battle, Pat had felt a little ineffectual, seeing as all he had to fight with was his fists, but now, with Viking sword in hand...well, at least he could do a little more damage. He took a swipe at one of Neh Buh Lah’s legs, and the monster let out a howl. It tried to grab him, but the man ducked out of the way, yelling at it, “What’s the matter? Did you think just because we took a break that the fight was over?” He stood in place until it reached for him again, then Pat switched his grip on the sword and rammed it deep into the creature’s palm. “Fat chance, pal!”

Neh Buh Lah screamed in pain, flinging its hand back in an effort to get way from its attacker, but Stripe held fast to the blade impaled in its ebony flesh and let the monster carry him up into the air. It tried to make a fist and crush him, but to no avail: Pat kept wrenching the blade about in the wound, cutting more and more as ichor spewed forth. Shining Knight soon flew to his friend’s side, hacking away with his own sword until the two men succeeded in lopping off the monster’s hand -- it turned to ash the moment it left the body, leaving nothing behind, and Sir Justin had to grab hold of Pat’s striped shirt before he fell to his death.

“Perhaps my mind is slipping in the heat of battle,” Justin said as he pulled Stripe onto the horse, “but I do not recall thee carrying a sword before.”

Pat grinned. “It’s a long story. After you hear it, you’ll probably wish you’d been there yourself.”

Firebrand flew over to join them, but before she could get there, the stump where Neh Buh Lah’s hand was suddenly began to glow, and a new hand made of pure energy sprung forth, lightning shooting from its fingertips and straight at them. Shining Knight tried to steer his mount away, but Winged Victory took the blast dead-on and fell right out of the air, taking its riders with it. “Justin!” Danette cried out, watching in horror as the two men crashed to the ground. She almost followed after them, but then she heard a noise rather like a chuckle come from behind her. “You think this is funny?” she said, turning towards Neh Buh Lah. “My brother died because of you...did you think that was funny, too?” The fiery aura around her grew until it became a white-hot blaze too bright to look at, then she let it loose in one massive blast straight into Neh Buh Lah’s face.

The creature howled again and raised its new hand, but it was too blind to see where it was aiming. Lightning lashed out wildly across the cemetery, racing towards the heroes gathered around Doctor Fate. Flash and Superman had broke cover to make sure the fallen Soldiers were all right, but Star-Spangled Kid was still beside the mystic, too focused on trying to break Fate free to notice the danger coming his way. Lucky for him, Alan wasn’t so preoccupied: he threw up an emerald barrier, and the lightning crackled fiercely against it as Lantern did his best to hold it back. He could feel the stress racing all the way up his arm, all the while the voices whispered to him, and he soon understood why Superman had been so insistent earlier. The voices made him feel like there were things crawling underneath his skin, swimming though his veins, coming up his throat. Alan tried to shake it off, tell himself that it wasn’t real, but the pain began to eat away at his concentration to the point that cracks began to appear in the barrier, and every effort he made to shore it up just made the voices grow louder. Then the barrier shattered...only to be replaced by a second one.

“Looks like we came back just in time,” Hal Jordan said, flying to Alan’s side as his ring took up the defense. “How long has this been going on?”

“Don’t know, I just got here myself,” Alan replied, reconstructing his own barrier over the younger Lantern’s. “Watch out, this thing likes to climb inside your head.”

“I know, I can already hear it.” He pressed the heel of his left hand to his forehead. “The ring’s blocking some of it, but I don’t know for how long.”

“Just try and hang in there, son. If you slip, you won’t have time to recover.”

Meanwhile, Superman and Flash were helping Stripe and Shining Knight back to their feet. The two men hadn’t been gravely injured in their fall, but Winged Victory had suffered burns along its hide, making it too weak to fly at the moment. “This is getting ridiculous,” Pat muttered as Sir Justin tended to his mount. “What the Hell do we have to do to this bastard to stop him?”

“Hopefully, Fate will be able to answer that soon,” Jay replied. “In the meantime, you’ll just have to keep throwing whatever you’ve got at it.”

“A little help in that department would be nice.” He gave Superman a sour look, saying, “Why’d you hold back Lantern? A few blasts from his power ring would be pretty useful right now.”

The Man of Steel held up his hands. “You don’t understand: it’s useless for any of us to try and fight the creature. Only you and the other Soldiers can stand up to him.”

“That’s the biggest crock of...” Pat started to say, stepping towards Superman and making a fist, but Sir Justin cut in between them.

“He speaks the truth, Patrick,” the knight said. “I have already witnessed two of their companions being wiped from existence on a mere whim from that monstrosity. For whatever reason, we can face the Nebula Man without harm befalling us, whilst they are vulnerable no matter what their strengths. Now, dost thou wish to stand about asking why, or dost thou wish to end this cursed battle before it lays any others low?”

Pat looked at the other two men -- one an old friend, the other a complete stranger -- and in both faces he saw the same exhausted expression, the same tension building behind their eyes, as if each of them was silently fighting for their very sanity. “Tell Fate to hurry up with that answer,” Pat said, then retrieved the Viking sword from where he’d dropped it and headed back into battle, Shining Knight following behind as he coaxed Winged Victory into the air once more.

“If he’s still alive, I will,” Jay said under his breath.




Since the beginning of time, Order and Chaos have dwelled at opposite ends of the spectrum. They bring a balance to things, for one cannot exist without the other. But there are some places in the universe where only one can exist safely, and one of those places is within the body that houses the spirit of Nabu, known to mortals as Doctor Fate. As a servant of the Lords of Order, Fate is free of even the tiniest trace of chaos -- virginal, one might say -- and must remain that way for his magicks to flow freely. So when Neh Buh Lah encased Fate within a thick shell of granite and flooded it with pure, unadulterated chaos, it was, for Fate, the spiritual equivalent of being gang-raped.

He fought, of course, but as the chaos wheedled its way deeper and deeper into him, on both the physical and metaphysical planes, his defenses weakened to the point where he was seconds from being swept away like Batman and Hawkman had been. But before Neh Buh Lah could wipe him out completely, Doctor Fate’s prison was cracked wide open, and two pairs of hands reached in to pull the mystic out.

“I can’t believe that actually worked,” Crimson Avenger said as he and Star-Spangled Kid laid Fate on the ground -- after arriving with Hal Jordan, he’d run over to help Sylvester with his task. “It was solid rock, but it just gave way beneath our hands.”

“I don’t get it either, but I’m not going to question it.” The Kid began to check over the mystic, trying to tell if he was still alive, when Fate’s body suddenly convulsed, and black smoke began to pour out from beneath his helmet and through the eyeholes. The tendrils curled in the air, thickening until they resembled snakes with massive fangs, which then lashed out at the two Soldiers.

Sylvester was quickly entangled, but Lee managed to remain free long enough to reach into his coat and pull out an oddly-shaped pistol. “Hold your breath!” he yelled, and pulled the trigger, encompassing both them and their attackers in a crimson mist. The snake-things let out a shriek, then their smoky bodies dissipated along with the mist.

“You still carry that thing?” Sylvester said, coughing.

“Comes in handy sometimes.” He slipped the pistol back into his coat. “I figured if they were made of smoke, getting mixed in with the gas might disrupt their forms.”

A blinding light suddenly exploded nearby, and the two of them readied for another attack. Then the light faded, revealing a pair of elderly men, one of whom was dressed in turn-of-the-century clothes and brandishing a rifle. “Holy Hannah...it’s like lookin’ at a couple of ghosts,” Vigilante said as he walked up to his old teammates. “Glad to see the years were kinder to y’all than they was to me.”

Crimson found his voice first, choking out, “Greg?!? But you...you’re...”

“Damn glad to be home,” the cowboy finished for him, grinning. “Reckon maybe I took the longer way back compared to y’all, but that ain’t important right now.” He slipped the knapsack off his shoulder and tossed it at Speed, saying, “Watch that for me, will you, cousin? I want to go have a word with Mister Ugly over there.” With that, Vig started running towards the Nebula Man, letting out a whoop and a holler.

“Yeah, that’s Greg, alright,” Star-Spangled Kid said.

Speed knelt down next to Doctor Fate. “What happened to him? Is he okay?”

Crimson joined him, saying, “We’re not sure. The Nebula Man got a hold of him, and we just managed to get him loose.”

He groped at Fate’s neck, then said, “He’s got a pulse, and it looks like he’s breathing, so hopefully that means he’s not down for the count.” Speed then looked up as he saw Flash and Superman approach at a slow walk, each of them in obvious pain.

“Can’t fight it anymore...too much,” Jay managed to get out. “It’s everywhere...inside me...I...” The man’s legs suddenly buckled, and he pitched forward with a sharp cry. Superman tried to reach out for him, but Jay dissolved into stardust before he could even lift his arm. A look of pure anguish crossed the Kryptonian’s face, then he cried out as well, the sound still echoing as the remains of both him and the Flash went swirling away.

Speed’s gaze went from the spot where the two heroes once stood, then to Lee and Sylvester. He wanted to ask them about what just happened, but his mind was slowly filling with noise, like an endless cycle of voices bouncing around his skull, making it hard to think, to speak, to breathe...

“Speed? Are you...oh God, Speed!” Crimson caught his friend as Speed pitched backward, his hands scrabbling at the sides of his head. “What’s wrong with him?”

“The same thing that’s wrong with all of us,” Alan said, leaving Hal’s side. “It’s the Nebula Man: he’s tearing us apart from the inside out, just by...b-by...” He grunted and clutched at his own head. “God, the voices...it never stops...”

“What voices? I don’t hear a damn thing,” Crimson said.

“That’s because we can’t, apparently,” Sylvester answered. “I don’t know exactly why, but there’s something...different about us and the other Soldiers. I mean, look at what you and I did!” He gestured to the now-empty shell that had trapped Doctor Fate. “It’s obvious that we’ve got something going in our favor that everybody else here seems to be lacking.”

Alan regained his composure and said, “Fate told us the Seven Soldiers are the only ones that can stop this creature. I thought we could at least assist you, but it’s obvious now that we really are helpless in the face of this thing.” He started to wrap an arm around Speed, saying to Lee, “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of him. You and Sylvester have to get out there and help your teammates, before it’s too late for the rest of us.”

Crimson hesitated, then let the Green Lantern take up the burden. He drew his Colts as he and Star-Spangled Kid then began to race off to face their enemy, but stopped when they heard a pair of screams behind them. They looked to see two fading swirls of stardust where Alan Scott and Speed Saunders had been. “That monster’s gonna pay, simple as that,” Lee said quietly. Sylvester nodded, and they continued on their way.

Their compatriots were still deeply engaged in battle, each one doing their best to bring the Nebula Man down. The monster had no intentions of falling easily, however: in addition to the lightning strikes, it had somehow whipped up a maelstrom around itself, buffeting the airborne Firebrand and Shining Knight about, while those on the ground struggled to keep their footing.

“Nice of y’all to finally chip in!” Vigilante shouted at Lee and Sylvester as they pushed their way through the howling wind. “I don’t know ‘bout you fellas, but this certainly ain’t the day I was expectin’ to have when I woke up this mornin’!” He brought his rifle up and fired a few more shots in the Nebula Man’s direction.

“You guys manage to find a way to bring this bastard down yet?” Lee asked.

“Kind of a silly question, don’t you think?” Stripe said, holding his shield high as the wind threw bits of debris their way.

“But there’s got to be something we’re missing!” his young partner replied. “We’re still standing after nearly everyone else has fallen...even in the middle of this! So why us? What makes us so special?”

“Maybe we’re just too stupid to give up!” As the words left Pat’s mouth, there was a burst of light not far behind them, through which they saw a horse carrying two riders gallop. Once the maelstrom got hold of the horse, though, both the animal and its riders were dashed to the ground -- at the same moment, Neh Buh Lah let out a shriek of fury. Ignoring their enemy’s outburst, the four men made their way over to where the portal had opened. The horse was quickly vanishing into stardust, while Wildcat and Spider were laying sprawled out on the ground.

“What the Hell’s going on? It’s like we got sucked into a damn hurricane!” Spider said as Crimson pulled him to his feet. “Are we still in Philadelphia?”

“Same place, same problem!” Crimson answered, then looked over at Stripe, who was leaning over Wildcat. “Is he okay?”

“He’s out cold. Must’ve whacked his head when...” Stripe’s assessment was cut short when Ted’s hand suddenly wrapped around his windpipe. The man then sat up, his eyes shining white as he growled like his namesake. Stripe tried to pry Ted’s fingers loose with one hand, while striking him in the face with the other. It had no effect. Spider, Crimson, and Star-Spangled Kid joined in the struggle as well, finally managing to free Stripe, though that just served to apparently anger Wildcat even more. He lashed out at all four of them, eventually pinning Crimson to the ground and snapping at him with his teeth, nearly taking a bite out his old friend.

Then Vigilante came up and smashed Wildcat in the head with the butt of his rifle. It didn’t stop him, but it did make him turn his attention on the cowboy instead. Spittle dripping from his bared teeth, Wildcat leapt at Vig, who flipped the rifle around without hesitation and blasted the man in the chest. He dropped immediately, and seconds later, the stardust that had been his body was swept up by the maelstrom. The others stared in disbelief at Vigilante, wondering how the man they’d once known could do such a thing. As if he’d read the question on their faces, Vig looked at them and said, “Ain’t the first time I’ve had a good friend go loco on me.”

Having seen from above what happened, Shining Knight and Firebrand flew down to join them. “This madness seems to have no end, no matter what we throw at the creature,” Sir Justin said. “Is this our fate? To hold the line here for all eternity?”

“Are you saying you want to give up?” Crimson asked.

“To do so would be to break my vows as a knight,” he replied, bristling at the very notion. “But after watching so many of our compatriots fall, I am beginning to grow weary of this battle.”

“Then let’s finish this, once and for all.” Spider nocked an arrow, then threw a glare at the Nebula Man and shouted, “For victory!”

“For victory!” the others answered, and as one they began to race forward, weapons at the ready...until a golden light suddenly swept the Seven Soldiers from the battlefield. Neh Buh Lah hissed and looked about the cemetery, expecting some new sort of trickery, then it spotted a man wrapped in a halo of green slowly flying towards it, his face pale and sweat-slick

“Hi there,” he said huskily. “My name’s Hal, and I’ll be your diversion for today.” With that, he brought up his ring hand and let loose with every ounce of energy he had remaining within. Neh Buh Lah was engulfed by an emerald firestorm, blinding it, but that didn’t stop it from lashing out at Hal with just as much force. It opened its mouth and spewed forth a geyser of pure chaos energy in Hal’s direction, which quickly swept over the man and smothered both him and his ring. When the chaos energy dissipated, there was nothing left but a faint trail of stardust, and the monster let out a roar of triumph. All of its opposition was gone, clearing the way for it to fully consume the world.

Praise Neh Buh Lah.




“What the Hell is the point of this?” Spider yelled at Doctor Fate. “We’re in the middle of a huge fight, and you just decide to yank us out of it for no good reason?”

<There is a very good reason, Thomas Hallaway,> Fate said. He was on his feet once more, but it was obvious from the hint of exhaustion in his voice that Neh Buh Lah’s attack earlier had taken a lot out of him. <The time has come for the Seven Soldiers of Victory to fulfill their true destiny.>

“What are you talking about?” Stripe asked. “What destiny? And where the heck are we?” He gestured to the dimly-glowing dome that encapsulated himself and the rest of the Soldiers, who had materialized in front of the mystic.

<We are still within the boundaries of Christ Church Burial Ground, though I have masked our presence from Neh Buh Lah. It was not an easy task, but the Green Lantern distracted it long enough for me to complete the spell.>

“But I thought the other heroes couldn’t...” Crimson started to say, then let the sentence trail off. “He’s gone now too, isn’t he?”

Fate nodded gravely. <He sacrificed himself so that I could prepare you to deliver the final blow. I had hoped that he would last longer, however. Now we must hurry, before Neh Buh Lah’s power grows beyond our control.>

“Then speak plainly to us, mage, not in riddles,” Shining Knight said. “Give us the knowledge we need to defeat this monster!”

<It was already given to you, long ago. Ever since that night in 1941, when you first came across the terror that Neh Buh Lah could bring, each of you has been granted the power to destroy the creature. The power -- and the knowledge of how to use it -- should have manifested fully when you faced the creature in all its glory in 1948...but it seems that the power somehow became dormant in the interim.>

The Soldiers looked at one another as they tried to comprehend what they’d been told. Star-Spangled Kid was the first to grasp the full meaning, saying to Fate, “That’s what has been keeping us safe, hasn’t it? And why Lee and I could overcome the Nebula Man’s magic when all those other guys couldn’t...it wasn’t just us, it was something in here.” He tapped his fingers against his breastbone. “But why us? Just because we were there at that first ceremony?”

<You were chosen before the ceremony, Sylvester Pemberton, and guided by the power within you to find it, though all of you thought you were seeking it out for other reasons. Seven warriors, their souls bound together by forces invisible, decreed by the Lords of Order to destroy an unholy evil. This has always been your destiny, even though none of you were consciously aware of it.>

Firebrand stared at him. “You mean, the only reason we remained together was...” She looked immediately to her husband, who dismounted and came to her side. The two of them wrapped their arms around each other, neither of them wanting to dwell on the implications of what Fate was saying.

“So now that we are aware,” Vigilante asked, “what damn good does it do us?”

<Now that destiny must be fulfilled.> Fate brought up his hands, which had begun to glow. <Though Neh Buh Lah has weakened me greatly, I believe I still have enough strength to awaken the power residing within each of you. Once that happens, you shall be transformed, and will be able to rip Neh Buh Lah asunder with ease, thus ending the threat upon this plane.>

“And what happens to us after we’ve done that?” Crimson asked. Fate didn’t answer him, so he pressed on, saying, “You said this power will transform us...but we won’t be changing back into our old selves once we’re done, will we? To fight something this powerful, we’re going to have to sacrifice everything that we are.”

<Your physical selves will be lost, yes,> Fate finally replied, <but not your souls. Those will join with the other warriors who have fought Neh Buh Lah in the past, and become part of the force that abides until the time comes to fight again.>

“That...that’s no different than what we were facing before,” Stripe said, his tone suggesting that he was trying to convince himself more than the others. “We thought we were going to die before, but we went ahead anyways. If we have to do it again, then...”

“No, we don’t.” Crimson strode up to Fate and stared hard into the eye-slits of his golden helm. “You said you could wake up whatever’s been laying inside us...so does that mean you can remove it as well?”

<That power cannot act on its own, Lee Travis. It requires a host.>

“Then give it one: me. Just take it out of them and pour it all into me.”

Vigilante shook his head, saying, “You don’t have to play the martyr, Lee, we’re all willing to do it.” He looked to the others. “Aren’t we?”

“But like Pat said, we’ve already done it once before. Luckily, it didn’t prove to be the end: we got sidetracked for a while, but we didn’t die. Now we’re in the same boat once more...but there’s no way I’m going to let you guys throw away your lives twice, not when my own life is almost over.” Crimson turned to look at his friends and said, “I didn’t want to tell you this, but...I’m already dying. Cancer. I’ve known for a while, and I kept it to myself because I didn’t want any pity. It was a selfish thing to do, and I...” He stopped talking for a moment, the muscles in his jaw tensing. “If we can do this with just one of us dying, let it be me. Let me go down fighting.”

Silence fell amongst them, even as they knew the world outside the protective dome was being destroyed. Then Fate said, <It can be done...but this power is meant to be held by seven people, not one. It will take all that I have left to keep your soul from tearing apart.>

“After what this cancer’s done to me, I think I can deal with a little more pain.”

<That remains to be seen.> He gestured to the others, saying, <Gather around us and link hands.> They did so, each of them pausing a moment in front of Crimson to say goodbye...not with words, for there were none that could sum up the feeling of the moment, but with a touch on the shoulder, a brief clasping of hands, a kiss on the cheek.

Once they had all fallen into place around him, Lee looked at each one in turn, saying, “I don’t know what’s going to happen to our little group after this is over, but I want you to remember something: It doesn’t matter that we were brought together because of some magic mumbo-jumbo...what matters is we stayed together because of friendship and loyalty. That’s not something you can just conjure up, that’s gotta come from your heart, and I’m glad...I’m proud to have had that with you guys.” He could feel tears coming, but he held them back as he said to Fate, “Okay, let’s get this over with.”

Without a word, Fate stepped behind him, laying one hand on the base of Lee’s neck and the other on the center of his back. Suddenly, Lee could feel a churning sensation inside his chest, squeezing his heart. His body stiffened, his face contorting from pain as the others looked on, not knowing what was happening. Then they began to feel it too, some of them crying out as it felt like something was trying to break through their ribcage. Despite that, they never let go of each other’s hands, their grips bearing down until their knuckles turned white.

Then, finally, came the release: ribbons of gleaming golden light burst forth from the chests of the six Soldiers, the ends pulsing and twisting in the air above Lee’s head. Somehow, he managed to turn his face up to them, and he saw that each one seemed to bear a different thread of color at its core. Green, blue, yellow, orange, indigo, violet...all the colors of the rainbow. Except red, he thought. Except crimson. He realized then that each of those threads was a tiny piece of his friends’ souls, a part of them forever bound to the power they’d each harbored within them for so long. And now a part of them will be within me....forever. A smile played across his pained features as he watched the ribbons braid around each other, then come slamming down into his chest. Moments later, the ends of the ribbons still attached to the other Soldiers broke off, and as one, they collapsed to the ground. Their hands were still linked, however, and none of them made any move to let go just yet.

“Is it over?” Spider asked weakly, his face mashed into the ground. When no one answered, he lifted his head and was soon transfixed by the same sight as the others. Lee was standing there, his mouth opened as if to scream, but nothing came out but light, endless light, boiling out of his mouth and his eyes and every pore in his body. Fate was still behind him, but the mystic’s knees were buckling as he focused all his energy on keeping the Crimson Avenger in one piece. Then it reached the point where Fate had nothing left to give, and he collapsed, his body turning to stardust just as all the other heroes had done. Unfortunately, the dome went with him, and the Soldiers found themselves in the middle of a wasteland: the cemetery was gone, as was most of the city surrounding it, leaving only barren, charred earth. In the midst of this stood Neh Buh Lah, laughing as great clouds of stardust -- the end result of its devastation -- swirled around it. It was so wrapped up in its revelry that it didn’t even notice their return.

Suddenly, the light coming from Lee seemed to explode outward. They all turned their heads, futile as the gesture was, and when they looked back again, Lee Travis was gone, his costume laying in a pile...while something new hovered in the air above them. It was crimson in color, and had a human shape, but was ghostly, its outline shifting like mist. A black void lay in the center of its chest, with a golden light pouring out along the edge of it like a sun’s corona. The same light poured out of its eyes, which were the only feature to be seen on its face. It turned those inhuman eyes downward to look at the Soldiers, who stared up at it with a mixture of awe and terror.

Shining Knight somehow managed to find his voice. “Remember thy task, my friend,” he said. “Go now...for victory.”

Its gaze lingered a moment longer, as if considering the words, then the figure ascended, heading straight for Nebula Man. The monster saw it approach and let out a roar, knowing instinctively what was this newcomer was. It brought up its hand and filled the air between them with lightning, but the crimson figure raised its own hands and dispersed the lightning like a man parting a curtain. The Nebula Man then let go with wave after wave of chaos energy, but again, it had no effect. Far below them, the Soldiers watched in amazement as the figure that had been Lee Travis brushed all of the monster’s attacks aside with ease. Then they saw a new wonder as Neh Buh Lah, who had shrugged off so many of their blows with barely any damage, began to stagger, the starry marks upon it dimming so much that they started to disappear. It was expelling all of its energy just to keep its foe at arm’s length...and the crimson figure had actually made no offensive move yet. When it finally did, it was a sight to behold: the crimson figure flew in close to the Nebula Man, throwing its arms wide, and the corona around the void in its chest became brighter, bursting outward until the creature before it was bathed in blinding golden light. Shrieking like a banshee, the Nebula Man tried to back away, but it was too late, its body was breaking apart wherever the light touched it. Tendrils of black rippled off the monster, swirling around in the air for a moment before being absorbed into the void at the center of the corona. Soon, Neh Buh Lah had lost so much mass that seven dark, misshapen gremlins tumbled out of the sky to land in the cemetery below -- they tried to scamper away as the crimson figure descended, but they seemed too weak to do more than crawl. It regarded these pitiful, hissing things for a moment, then with a wave of its hand, it drew them into the void as well, laying its hands over its chest afterward as if to hold them in.

A chill seemed to fall over the world for a moment as the crimson figure hovered above the cemetery, its blinding gaze sweeping over the devastated landscape. Then it saw the remaining Soldiers kneeling on the ground, their hands still linked as they stared at what had once been their friend. Its head inclined towards them slightly, as if giving them a nod, then the figure threw its arms wide once more. This time, however, the light spread out in every direction, engulfing first the cemetery, then the wasted city around it, and even reaching up into the blackened sky. Everything was awash in brilliance for what seemed like an eternity, then like mist stirred by a gentle breeze, it began to fade. The Soldiers let go of each other finally, rubbing their eyes in an effort to get rid of the spots floating in front of them. “Are we all still in one piece?” Stripe asked.

“And then some,” Star-Spangled Kid replied. “Everybody else see what I see?”

The rest of the Soldiers looked around them and were knocked speechless. Not only was Christ Church Burial Ground fully intact, with every headstone and handful of earth restored, but they could also see the city standing beyond it once more, not one building out of place, the sun shining brightly in the clear blue sky. It was as if the battle had never occurred. And standing in the middle of the cemetery, where the transformed spirit of Lee Travis had been only moments before, were all the heroes who’d been swept away by Neh Buh Lah -- they looked rather dazed, but every single one was accounted for. There also appeared to be some civilians mixed in, looking around just as confused as everyone else.

“What the heck’s going on?” a woman asked as she staggered over to Speed Saunders. “My boyfriend and I were at the Liberty Bar, and I felt something grab me...” She then caught sight of the Soldiers walking towards them. “Who are those guys?”

“An old team from the 1940s called the Law’s Legionnaires,” Speed told her. “Never really did much...except save the world twice over.” A grin split his face as he and the members of the Justice Society met them halfway, laughing and clapping the Soldiers on the back -- the fight was over, and now the real joy of the moment, of having friends believed long dead returned to them, swept over all. The Justice Leaguers stayed back a respectful distance, until those they’d personally rescued beckoned them over...though even then, one member was hesitant.

“Where’s Crimson Avenger?” Hal Jordan asked, looking around.

<He is gone from this plane of existence,> Doctor Fate answered. <Lee Travis gave his life for the good of his teammates, and for the world.>

Firebrand asked, “So there’s no way for him to come back?”

<Not as you knew him,> was all the mystic would say.

In a somber tone, Superman said, “At least its over now. The Soldiers are back home, Neh Buh Lah is gone...we accomplished everything we had to do.”

<Not quite.> Fate looked at the remaining Soldiers. <There is still one small task that must be completed.>




Daniel Leong drifted along in an involuntary drowse. A nurse had come in not long after Doctor Fate had carried off Speed and the others, and she’d misinterpreted his rapid heartbeat and anxious expression as distress over the strange situation outside. Despite his protests, she’d administered a sedative to his I.V. line in an effort to calm him, and though he’d struggled long and hard to shake it off, the drugs had finally taken effect, and the world slipped away from him. Though he didn’t think so at the time, his drugged state was to his advantage: when Neh Buh Lah’s influence began to creep over the hospital, his mind wasn’t enveloped by the endless gibbering voices that everyone else experienced. Instead, it folded into his dreams, twisting them around until they became a surreal nightmare.

He dreamed he was a little boy again, running down a maze of unfamiliar corridors in terror as a black, misshapen thing shambled after him -- he didn’t know what was chasing him, but he knew that it would kill him if he stopped moving. He also knew (though he didn’t know how he knew) that this thing had killed Greg without any hesitation, and that scared Daniel worst of all. He was alone in this place, so alone for so long, and he could feel the thing’s breath on his neck, stinking of rot and decay, the stench of the grave. His heart was pounding like a jackhammer, and the muscles in his legs were tearing themselves apart from the strain, until he reached the point where he just couldn’t go on and he collapsed on the ground. He curled into a ball, sobbing, arms laced over his head, as the thing loomed over him, its hungry maw opening wide...

Then the corridor filled with a crimson mist, making the thing stagger back with a shriek. Daniel stared in disbelief as the mist swirled in the air between him and the monster until it took the form of a man, which lashed out at the black thing until it vanished. The threat gone, the man turned to Daniel, who thought he recognized the face shrouded in mist. “Lee? Is that you?”

“You can call me Crimson,” the man replied...though Daniel wasn’t sure if the man actually spoke aloud or if the words just appeared in his head. The man then reached down and scooped the boy up, the mist covering both of them as they moved upwards, away from this nightmare maze, and Daniel could feel the weight of age return to his body, the young boy becoming an old man once more as he ascended back to the real world...where he was still alone.

No, that wasn’t true, he wasn’t alone. He had a family, one that he’d kept in the dark for too long. For sixty years, he’d stayed silent about a part of his life that had meant so much to him -- he thought he was protecting them, but all he succeeded in doing was making the grief in his heart that much heavier. But I’m not going to stay silent any more, he thought. I’m going to tell Victor everything, no matter how much it hurts me to speak the words. He’s my son, he should know...

As Daniel slowly came back to consciousness, he felt a hand brush the hair away from his brow. “Victor...” he said groggily, then opened his eyes. The room was so bright he couldn’t see anything clearly. Then he realized the curtains had been drawn away from the window, letting sunlight flood the room -- the darkness that had blocked out the sky was long gone -- and as his eyes adjusted, he could see people standing around the bed...people that he never thought he’d get to see again. His breath seemed to stop as he stared at the Soldiers, looking as if they’d only left him moments ago. “Still dreaming,” he managed to say. “Can’t...you can’t be...”

“I know how you feel, son,” said a voice he hadn’t heard in sixty years, outside of scratchy recordings. He looked beside him to see a man in his mid-fifties, a cowboy hat cocked back on his graying head and a familiar smile spreading across his face. Daniel tried to say something, but all the words he wanted to get out were caught in his throat, and all he could do was let the tears come as the man folded his arms around him.

“Good soldier,” Greg Saunders told him. “Always have been.”