Issue #4: Fade to Black

Now

Lex Luthor smiled to himself as he watched his monitors on the wall. Most of the League had been captured. The other heroes had turned against them, and, with the big seven almost out of commission, it was time to enact phase three of his plan. It was time to turn total control of the super soldiers back over to him. The plan was working perfectly.

“How much longer must we wait?” demanded Sinestro as he slammed his fist down on the long table. You promised us revenge, and power, and so far all we have done is sit in the shadows like a bunch of cowards!”

“Appearances can be deceiving, my friend,” Luthor replied. “We have already hurt them far more than you can imagine, and now most of them are in the custody of Checkmate. Once the other three are captured, I will make sure that they are all dissected and won’t bother us at all. In the meantime we will get ready for the final push. It’s time to take back control of the Checkmate soldiers, and let them create chaos in the world. Then, we shall come to the rescue, and glory will be ours.” And my bid for President will be assured, he thought to himself.

The Cheetah purred. “I do like the sound of that.”

“Grundy is ready to fight,” the reincarnated villain said sullenly.

“Oh you will have plenty of time to fight, my friend,” Luthor chuckled. “Plenty.”

He watched them all through the two-way mirror as they remained unconscious and suspended by bio-drainers that protruded from the walls. King Faraday examined them all closely, those that called themselves the Justice League.

He saw the two figures’ reflections in the glass as they walked up behind him. He turned and stared at the woman walking up to him, and the blond man in a wheelchair that was alongside of her.

“We still have three missing, White King,” the woman known as Lady Shiva stated.

“We will find them, and they will be taken into custody; do not worry, White Queen. The others will be sedated until acting President Stuart tells us what to do with them.”

Steve Trevor, known by them as the White Knight, nodded. “I would imagine a trial will be held. From what I have heard from the Black Bishop, President Stuart is considering taking the super soldiers into battle with the Atlanteans, if they do not give up Aquaman soon.”

Lady Shiva sneered. “He is the least of our concerns. Is President Stuart even aware of what condition these so-called heroes are in? Perhaps it would be better for this entire country if they were simply considered casualties of war? They are traitors to America; I doubt, in the end, there would be much questioning.”

“That’s not how we run things,” Faraday snapped. “But your idea is duly noted. What I suggest we do now is call another meeting. We need information on the other three; because I can guarantee you that they will be coming to rescue their friends. Checkmate needs to be prepared.”

“I’ll bring them in.” The White Queen nodded as she turned and left.

The other two were silent for a moment, both lost in their own thoughts. Both staring at the heroes that were in front of them.

“Has she contacted Luthor about them?” Faraday asked.

Trevor nodded. “Yes, we intercepted the message within ten minutes of their capture.”

“Alright, continue to keep an eye on both her and The Black Queen. If Luthor thinks he’s going to have control of this organization as well, he’s sadly mistaken. I know better,
I damn well know better. You’re doing a good job Steve, and I’m going to need your help very soon now, once Batman and the other two get here.”

“Good, once we do this, that means I can get out of this damn wheelchair. I have to admit, I’m getting tired of pretending my legs still don’t work.”

“I know, but it’s been a big help. Both Queens don’t suspect a thing, because, in their arrogance, they have found you not to be a threat. That’s exactly what I needed. I’m heading down to control central, see what our super soldiers have been up to.”

The Titans made their way around back to find at least three to four dozen clones guarding the rear entrance.

“How many of these things have they created?” Starfire exclaimed in frustration.

“Enough to make us feel like we’re at the Battle of Little Bighorn,” Nightwing said. “Cyborg, Starfire, try and clear us a path. We’ve got to get in there!”

As the two of them fired into the army, creating havoc, Wonder Girl was lassoing a clone of her own. She swung him around with the strength that had been blessed upon her, and then let go, flinging it into several of its own kind.

Nightwing leapt over two of the clones, trying to do his best to dodge their blasts and bounce off of one to the other. He had hoped that by moving quickly he could reach the rear door and set off an explosive that would get him inside. The plan was working too, until one of the Bizarros grabbed his ankle and held him upside down, getting ready to take a swing at his head.

Before he could do it though, the clone groaned in agony and then let go, falling forward. Kid Flash stood behind him, his arm outstretched. He had vibrated his hand into the creature’s back, blocking off just enough oxygen to knock him out.

Nightwing landed on his feet. “I think you’re on to something. Keep doing that.”

Wally sighed. “Fine, but I’m telling you right now, it’s one of the grossest things I’ve ever come up with.” And with that he was off in a flash of yellow and red, knocking down Bizzaros as he went.

A huge, green dinosaur was making its way through the packed area, its tail swinging out and knocking them off balance. “Does it creep anyone else out that these things don’t talk at all?”

“Wally,” Starfire screamed as she watched him get struck by a laser blast that had obviously been set for a wide area burst. She watched in horror as he fell to the ground, his costume burned off his back, and his skin bubbling from the burns.

“Keep going!” Nightwing screamed at her. “Stay focused.” But he saw the rage in the alien princess’s eyes and knew it was too late. She was letting loose with everything she had, and, as was typical lately, when she did that, she was becoming reckless.

He went to yell another order, but was caught off-guard as he watched the green dinosaur flying through the air; a Bizzaro having obviously tossed Gar, who collided right into Kory. They both fell down into a heap.

Nightwing turned to give instructions to the last two remaining Titans that were with him, Donna and Vic, but as he looked around he saw that neither was still standing. Both lay unconscious on the ground.

“Nightwing to Batman, my team is down! I repeat, my team is down. We could use some back up here. Any word from Babs?”

“Negative on plan B,” came the gruff voice. “Raven is on her way to get you. The Flash and Martian Manhunter have sent the signal; they’ve got the others. It’s time for you to go. And Nighwing… be careful.”

As Raven appeared, Nightwing responded, “You too, Batman. I’ll see you soon.” With that, he grabbed the dazed Kory and let the daughter of Trigon envelop them in her soul-self and transport them to the building.

Lex sat at his computer, connected into both Cadmus and Checkmate. He was watching and listening to everything. Faraday knew about his ladies; that avenue was over. Not a problem. He adjusted his seat and began to enter the codes needed to remove Cadmus from the Bizzaro equation. They were his after all, borrowed by the government for what they thought was a good cause. It was, actually, but just as he had expected, they weren’t going to take it far enough. This country was full of uneducated Neanderthals who only played the game as long as it was going their way. Not this time, he thought.

He hit the manual override and began the process of using the chips that he had implanted in all the Bizzaros, so that he could take full control. The smug smile on his face seemed to fade as he found that his pathways were being cut off by an unknown source. He worked furiously, frantically trying to bring control back to himself, but every move he made… every route he tried to take, was being blocked.

Lex Luthor growled, there were only a few people who knew enough about computers to be able to thwart him, and he was pretty sure who the culprit was… Batman! A small amount of sweat began to form on his shiny forehead. Didn’t the idiot realize that if he didn’t get control, then he would use his last fail safe and fuse the chips that he had implanted in them. If that were the case, then nobody would have control… and the Bizzaros would go unchecked.

They were gone; out of his control. Lex slammed his fist down on the desk, then turned and grabbed a small remote device.

“Sorry, Batman, you don’t win this round, either.” With that, he pressed a button and watched the live feed. Now things were going to get interesting.

In D.C., for a brief moment, the soldiers had stopped what they were doing. A cry went out among the heroes as the Bizzaros had just stopped completely, and then, suddenly, all hell broke loose. The heroes were taken aback as suddenly the monsters began to lift cars and throw them towards the heroes, the civilians, and buildings in general.

“They’re out of control!” screamed Looker before she was struck from behind and fell unconscious.

“This is Batman to all available help. The Bizzaro soldiers are no longer under anyone’s control. Take them down hard, and permanently!”

They were being overwhelmed, though. These creatures were quicker than the master mold. Hawkgirl watched in horror as Kid Flash was suddenly hit by eye beams - something they had not been using before. The young man fell to the ground unconscious.

Kendra let out a large cry of anger as she flew down towards the mass of clones, only to be surprised as the outer wall of the Checkmate building exploded, and pouring out of it came Superman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern. As she struck one of the soldiers, she realized that Katar was nowhere to be seen. Where was he? What had happened to him? She was distracted just long enough to get struck in the back, and crumbled to the ground.

Batman and the Flash were surrounded as Hal began to make a path through the middle of the crowd. Superman took to the air to survey the consequences of what was going on, only to see devastation across the entire Washington D.C. area. He saw that almost all of the heroes had been taken down. Soldiers were everywhere, destroying property, causing people to trample each other as they ran for their lives. He searched around, looking for Firestorm or Booster Gold, but both of them were lying in a heap, taken out by Luthor’s creations. The same went for Green Arrow, Black Canary, and the rest of them.

He flew to the ground to join his comrades, only to find that two more had already fallen. Batman and Green Lantern had been overcome by the monsters. Wonder Woman and Flash were doing their best to maintain their position, but there were just too many of them.

J’onn, can you hear me?

Yes, but we’re having a bit of a problem down here. Can this wait?

We’re losing; we just don’t have the raw power. Anything you can do?

Huntress and Starfire were hit by a bolt of energy and are unconscious. I’ve lost contact with Atom, and Hawkman and I are barely holding our own. I’m afraid there’s nothing I can do for you at the moment. I am sorry, my friend. All I can say is that may our last stand be glorious and for the good of all humanity.

The remaining heroes were being beaten severely as hundreds of Bizzaro soldiers came upon them. It was like a repeat of their first battle. They were being overwhelmed, and this time they all knew that it had nothing to do with being captured. They were about to be annihilated.

Superman pushed out at the Bizarros, exerting more strength than he ever had before, and although he felt some give, there were too many of them. Just like the last time, he was being pinned down; his strength was slowly leaving him. Somewhere, one of them had kryptonite. He could tell… he knew the feeling.

This was it, he thought. Funny that his last thoughts were not of his mom or dad, or his real parents, but of how he had failed the planet he had come to love, the planet he had called home. And he thought about Lois… he should have told her… should have taken the chance.

His vision was blurred but he could see the horizon, the red streak that was coming their way. He had to squint. Was that Barry? No, Barry was next to him, nearly unconscious. So who was that? Not only that, but there were others, racing towards them, the sun coming up behind them. As they got closer he recognized the red streak; it was the original Flash! Jay Garrick was back! And he had brought others with him. He saw Alan Scott high above in the sky, lighting the way, his cape flapping in the wind. Next to him was a young woman of green skin… Jade was her name! His daughter! On the other side of him was someone he had read about, but had never expected to see… Katar Hol’s father! The original Hawkman, his wings spread majestically, his face grim and determined.

The Justice Society of America! They were all here: Wildcat, Starman, The Ray, Sandman, Bulleteer, Obsidian, Atomika, and Cyclone. They were coming in fast and hard, going through the Bizzaro soldiers like they were papier-mâché. It was a sight that Superman would remember for the rest of his life.

Jay Garrick and Cyclone were already there, lifting up dozens at a time, tossing them away like old rag dolls. One of the soldiers he threw must have been carrying the kryptonite, because suddenly he began to feel his strength coming back, and, with it, a renewed sense of hope, as he began to shove the clones off of him.

He was not the only one, he saw, that had sensed the cavalry and had their spirits lifted by it. He saw Jay stop for a second to help up both Batman and Flash. He heard their conversation.

“I couldn’t let anyone know,” Barry was explaining, quickly. “Jay and I both felt it was our ace in the hole, and he wanted to be able to call in his team, on his own. Although you could have been a bit quicker about it,” he said to his mentor in mock anger.

Jay tipped his hat back and grinned. “We just wanted to let you youngsters have a chance to get yourselves out of this before us old timers had to step in and save your butts.”

Batman turned to Jay. “We have another team underneath the Capitol Building. They’re fighting The Star Conqueror. We still don’t know how many people are infected by that thing, but we’ve lost contact with the team. Can you spare a couple of your guys to go help them?”

“Of course! Ray, Jade,” he shouted as his two comrades were taking down the gruesome figures. They flew right to him and he informed them of what was going on. In an instant, they were gone.

“Now let’s clean up this mess, once and for all,” Jay said as he and Barry took off.

Up in the sky, Bizzaros were battling a weakened Hal Jordan, whose ring was informing him that it was dangerously low on power. If he could just catch his breath for a second to summon the battery; he just needed a couple of minutes.

His prayers were answered as a brilliant emerald green beam came from above, enveloping several of the soldiers. Alan Scott was smiling down at him. “Looks like you could use a hand.”

“I wouldn’t turn one away. My ring is low; I need a moment to power up.”

“Then, by all means, take the moment. We can keep them busy,” replied Carter Hall as he and Starman flew up next to the original Green Lantern. Then the three of them began to carve their way through the clones.

Many of the unconscious heroes were beginning to stir, thanks much to the help of Sandman and Bulleteer. Captain Marvel, Green Arrow, Black Canary, and the others looked up in surprise to see their rescuers. However, like the heroes that they were, they did not take much time for reunion affairs. There would be time for that later… hopefully.

The Justice League, The Justice Society, The New Outsiders, and all the other heroes that had been beaten down, began to rise as one, working off of each other.

Green Arrow turned to see that, coming from the damaged construct that housed Checkmate, new soldiers were also streaming out; weapons drawn, and with King Faraday giving the orders, firing at the hundreds of Bizzaro soldiers that were still attacking.

“Nice to see you’ve decided to come out of hiding and give us a hand cleaning up your mess,” he growled.

From the sky, Batman dropped down, being dropped off by Wonder Woman as she flew back up to the battle in the sky.

“Did you get them?”

Faraday’s face turned red, “No, the Queens both escaped, and killed more than two dozen of my men doing it. That’s what kept us from getting out here to help.”

“You’re here now, and that’s what matters.”

“There’s more. I think I have an idea of what The Society is planning on doing.”

“Wait a minute,” Ollie cut in as he fired off three arrows in a row. “You two have been working together? This entire time?”

“Not the whole time,” Batman said, throwing exploding batarangs at the renegade soldiers, “But for the last few days. Luthor had everyone duped, and we needed him to keep thinking that.”

“But why capture the League then? Why let everything go on like this?” Ollie demanded, getting angrier at the chaos that had been caused.

“Because we knew that once we had most of the League in custody, we could call back the Bizzaro soldiers and have them in one place. Then we were hoping it would be easier for us to take them out. Unfortunately, it seems that Luthor had a contingency plan that I wasn’t aware of.”

“The great Batman is outsmarted by Lex Luthor.” Arrow smirked, firing three more arrows that hit their mark. “Will wonders never cease?”

“I’m not done with Luthor,” Batman growled.

“Which leads me back to what I needed to tell you…” Faraday said, gravely.

The battle in D.C. had carried most of the heroes into the mall, where they were making their last stand. With everyone from the League and the Society, as well as the likes of Captain Marvel, Black Canary, and Captain Atom, fighting; the hundreds of Bizzaros dwindled fast.

Wildcat and Black Canary were throwing punches and kicks that, although not stopping the brick powerhouses, were causing them to stumble back and give the heavy hitters, like Alan and Wonder Woman, enough time to take them out.

Eventually, it was over. The soldiers lay in heaps, for nearly a mile in every direction. The heroes, their costumes torn and tattered, their bodies full of cuts and bruises, stood in the middle of the ruins of their once great nation.

“I think we won,” Kid Flash exclaimed.

“No, we’ve just taken them down,” Wonder Woman replied as she landed next to her sister. “They are unconscious, but they will wake up again, and then we will be back to where we started.”

“So what exactly do we do?” Atomika asked.

There was a flash of light and standing next to Wonder Woman and Wonder Girl were two missing heroes… Batgirl and Zatanna.

“Sorry, folks,” Babs said, a tad abashed, “I really thought I had control of them for a second.”

“You did the best you could do,” Green Arrow said. Black Canary walked up to her and gave her a hug, and then turned to Ollie. She went to speak but he put up his hand.

“I think we’ve said it all, Dinah. It’s over, just drop it.”

“We’ve still got the problem of what do with these things,” Cyclone reminded them all. “I can’t really think of a prison that can hold hundreds of these creatures for any amount of time.”

Zatanna stepped forward. Her face was still contorted in anger. “Allow me,” she snarled, as she raised her hands and began to chant a spell. For those who knew her, had seen her work her powers, they were surprised that she was not speaking backwards. Instead, she was using a language that no one recognized. Her body began to shimmer and a deep mahogany hue wrapped around her. Then she spat out one last word and the energy that had enveloped her shot outward, and everyone watched as each and every Bizzaro clone instantly turned to dust.

They all stood in stunned silence. Zatanna smiled a very self-satisfied smile. “That made me feel better than I’ve felt in a long time.”

“Did she just kill them?” Barry asked Hal as they stood there.

“I’m not sure, but you have to admit, she was kind of hot-looking when she was doing it.”

“There may still be others out there, ones that didn’t make it back here in time,” Donna Troy said.

“No, there is not,” Zee replied. “That spell was not contained to just this area. It was global. If there were any, anywhere on this planet, they are destroyed.”

“Do you need to sit down or anything?” Black Canary asked.

Zatanna shook her head nonchalantly. “No, I’m perfectly fine.”

BOOM!!!!

Everyone turned at the sound of the explosion and watched in horror as the Capitol Building blew apart, crumbling down on top of itself.

J’onn! J’onn, can you hear me! Wonder Woman cried out mentally, but there was no reply.

“Oh no…” Cyclone whispered as she watched both of the Flashes take off in that direction, with Captain Marvel and Superman not far behind. But then she saw them stop suddenly and almost as one they turned up towards the sky.

It was then that she realized how dark it had grown, when seconds ago it had been a perfectly sunny and cloudless morning.

The rest of the heroes raised their heads to the sky, each of them stunned by what could only be described as the one of the largest monstrosities they could ever imagine. It had to cover the entire D.C. area and almost all the surrounding areas as well. It hovered up there; the largest looking starfish they had ever seen in their lives.

“This isn’t over,” Alan Scott stated, his jaw clenching.

“I don’t think it could get any worse than this,” Plastic Man said as he gazed upon the sight of the Star Conqueror![/b] The mother-ship had arrived, and it began to drop small objects from its underbelly.

As thousands of small Starros fell from the sky, blanketing the city, Plastic Man groaned. “I stand corrected.”