The members of the Justice Society of America sat around their marble-top meeting table, all of them staring up in disbelief at the scene before them. In a cloud of smoke rising from the Orb of Hotash, a crowd of almost-familiar figures seemed to be staring right back down at them.
“Is that…? Can that really be…?” Power Girl, along with Commander Steel the newest additions to the JSA roster, looked from the huddled phantoms down to Doctor Fate, and was met with only a dispassionate stare from the slit-eyed helm.
“… this is the JLA of Earth-Two, calling the Justice Society of Earth-One,” repeated the voice they all could have sworn belonged to Superman--- only this Superman was graying, his face more chiseled. Beside him, Wonder Woman looked as lovely as ever, except she wore the aspect of a queen, and in her eyes was a hitherto unseen maturity and wisdom. Iron-haired Bruce Wayne chewed a bushy moustache. Aquaman’s hair was long and his beard full. The Flash wore a silver Hermes helm, but the face that looked back was an older Wally West’s. The Martian Manhunter was recognizable, though his shape seemed to have evolved into a more alien--- more cerebral--- form. “A great crisis is upon us and we need your help...!”
Justice Society of America
Issue #7: “Crisis on Two Earths, Part One!”
Written by David Charlton
Cover and Additional Art by Alex Vasquez
Edited by David Charlton
JSA Roll Call!
Captain Marvel (Billy Batson):With one magic word, the World’s Mightiest Mortal battles the enemies of man with the power of Shazam! New Chairman of the JSA!
Green Lantern (Alan Scott): Dark things cannot stand the light of the original Emerald Gladiator!
Flash (Jay Garrick): The emotional core of the team, this original super-speedster is proud to mentor the next generation of heroes!
Wildcat (Ted Grant): The champ with nine lives, always ready to deliver the knockout punch to crime!
Sandman (Wesley Dodds): Donning a gas mask and a fedora, this haunted dreamer delivers the sleep of the just to wrongdoers!
Doctor Fate (James Brendan Corrigan): Separated from the Spectre, the ghost of Jim Corrigan dons the magical artifacts of his missing friend Kent Nelson as an agent of the balance between Order and Chaos!
Power Girl (Karen Starr): All the powers of Superman--- and twice the attitude! Her past is a mystery, but her future seems to be with the JSA!
Commander Steel (Henry “Hank” Heywood III): Grandson of the Golden Age Indestructible Man, this super-soldier with a cybernetic titanium-alloy body is unstoppable on his crusade for justice!
“Earth, too?” Power Girl looked around the table in confusion. “Somebody want to tell me just exactly what that means?”
The smoke from the Orb had dissipated, and the images had vanished. Power Girl’s words were the first to fall into the stunned silence. It was Jay Garrick who finally answered her, speaking tentatively.
“Earth Two,” he mulled the words, scratching his temple. “It exists at a different vibrational frequency from ours, and was discovered by accident a few months ago by Barry Allen using a device called a Cosmic Treadmill. The simplest way to put this is that it’s an alternate world, almost exactly like our own, but with subtle differences. Near as we can make out, most of us--- the JSA--- never existed there, and the age of heroes began in the early atomic era with the advent of their Superman, Batman, and others, leading to the formation of a Justice League
of America… Most of those original heroes are either dead or retired now, and a second and third generation of heroes carry on their legacies.”
“Dead or retired?” Wildcat scoffed and leaned back in his chair, his hands laced behind his head. “The geezers looked ready for action to me.”
“Me, too.” Commander Steel nodded approvingly; the young man looked ready for action himself. He sat ramrod-straight in his chair, but his whole body thrummed with urgency.
“Doctor Fate, any idea what this ‘crisis’ is they refer to?” Captain Marvel asked the mystic.
Dr. Fate stared deeply into the depths of the Orb of Hotash, and after a moment shook his head.
<I can’t even say for sure how the message is being transmitted. However, I am confident I can trace the source of the magicks backward, and open a portal to that universe, should we wish to respond.> Alan Scott got to his feet decisively. “I don’t think there’s any question: of course we’ll help. That’s Kal-El and Wally West out there, just as sure as the ones we know--- and they’re in trouble.
Big trouble by the sound of it.”
Jay Garrick stood, his mind made up as well. “Whatever’s got those heavy-hitters afraid must be pretty serious. When do we leave?”
The team was ready to go in minutes. With most of the support staff away at the Academy helping the Young All-Stars get settled-in, only Robotman was there to see them off. Captain Marvel gave their cybernetic-castellan some last-minute instructions, and asked him to appraise Sandman of their whereabouts the next time he checked-in. As Dr. Fate made the magical preparations, Cap tried to shake his uneasy feeling.
“Ya know, kid, the Wisdom of Solomon can be a curse, too.” Wildcat sidled up to the brand-new chairman, speaking discretely out of the corner of his mouth. “Don’t overthink this: someone called for our help, and we’re answerin’. This is what we do.”
The World’s Mightiest Mortal nodded distractedly as Dr. Fate beckoned them all closer. He was tracing blazing trails of light in the air, separating the fabric of reality, particle by particle. Soon, there was an ankh-shaped gateway, through which could be seen only swirling mists. Power Girl was the first one through, disappearing into the depths, followed closely by Commander Steel and Green Lantern.
“I know, I know,” Cap said to Wildcat as Flash sped into the portal. “It’s just, doesn’t anyone else find it odd that on a world where the Justice Society never existed that their heroes should
call for us by name…?”
Wildcat glanced back at him sharply.
<Hurry. I cannot keep it open very long! The multiverse itself cries out against this intrusion!> Captain Marvel looked grim but resolute as he stepped boldly into the unknown. Shaking his head, Wildcat muttered “In for a penny…” and leaped in. Lastly, Dr. Fate brought the shining ankh down upon himself, and the portal closed.
*******
The transition across the dimensions was bizarre and disorienting. Time and space seemed to stretch into impossible lengths, dilating into forever, awash in a chromatic dissolution that promised--- but kept just out of reach!--- a revelation of a profound magnitude.
A scream echoed like the reverberations from a drum that encompassed all of creation. It sounded liked Dr. Fate, surprised, angry--- and reeling in pain.
<No! I. Will. Fight you!> Struggling for actualization, Captain Marvel wanted only to go to his comrade’s aid. But he was
between: not quite on Earth One anymore, not yet on Earth Two, and unable to help.
<But… This cannot be! Stay back! Stay back, or I’ll---.> A piteous howling filled the void between universes, and then…
*******
The JSA emerged onto a cold steel floor, collapsed into a collective heap, afterimages of their crossing burning into their brains. Power Girl moaned, flopped onto her stomach and retched, unaware that she was laying across Wildcat.
“Sweetheart, if you puke on me, you’re washin’ the costume…” Ted groaned.
Cap was the first to recover, tossing back his cape and pulling himself--- a bit unsteadily--- to his feet. He did a quick survey of his team, confirming his worst fears: Dr. Fate was missing.
“GL…?”
“I’m on it, Cap,” Green Lantern lurched upright, and swept the area with the beam of his ring, squinting through his purple domino mask at the now-transparent walls and bulkheads. But the search yielded no sign of their comrade. He shared a grim glance with Cap, and shook his head. “No sign of Jim.”
“Where are we?” Commander Steel wondered aloud, using one hand each to help Power Girl and Wildcat to their feet while they bickered weakly with each other. “Where’s the Justice League?”
The room was dark and cold, their breath misting in front of them. A thin layer of frost lay over every unlit computer console and overturned chair, and the air was thin. This place, whatever it was, had fallen into disuse a long time ago. The Flash went to the long, panoramic window that stretched across the entire top portion of the room like a dome, revealing a broad expanse of night sky, and the starlight that provided the only illumination.
“Uh, you guys gotta see this…!” The speedster said, and there was no mistaking the awe in his voice.
His teammates joined him by the window--- Commander Steel gasped audibly. Visible outside was the long curve of the Earth, stretched out majestically below.
“We’re on a space station,” Steel remarked, somewhat unnecessarily. “But is that Earth Two?”
Cap had spotted something, ice-rimed and forgotten on the floor, and bent to pick it up. It was a picture-frame, the glass cracked and the photograph yellowed with age. In it, the smiling faces of costumed crime-fighters in this very compartment looked back from a simpler time. He held it up for them to see, and they recognized the figures as incarnations of their counterparts on the JSA’s own Earth: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Aquaman, the Flash, Martian Manhunter, Hawkman and Hawkwoman, Zatanna, Green Arrow, Black Canary, Elongated Man, Red Tornado, Firestorm and the Atom. Though the picture was at least twenty years old, all of them looked much older than their Earth One versions.
“And that overturned chair over there has the Atom’s electron insignia on the back of it,” Cap noted, setting the picture down on a nearby ledge. “This must have been the headquarters of the JLA.”
“Doesn’t look like it’s been used in an awful long time,” Jay Garrick wandered around what they now knew must have been an observation deck and control center.
“You did say they were supposed to be all dead or retired,” Power Girl shrugged, stretching out a kink in her back. The trans-dimensional crossing seemed to have taken the hardest toll on her.
“Yes, but the team survives.” Jay pointed out. “Led by the son of Superman, with new versions of Firestorm, Green Arrow, Wonder Woman…” He stopped to examine what appeared to be a statue in a shadowy alcove. It was of a deep crimson material, clad in a familiar costume with a yellow-fringed blue cape. Jay shook his head and turned back to his teammates. “Funny seeing folks like Red Tornado, Black Canary, Zatanna and Green Arrow, members of the Outsiders where we’re from--- not to mention Carter and Shiera!--- as members of the Justice League here---.”
He didn’t get a chance to finish his sentence; it was Wildcat who noticed first that the eyes of the “statue” behind the Flash flared to life, and the two arms were rising with an air of menace. “Flash,
move!”
That was what Jay Garrick did best. So it was that he was clear of the funneling jets of wind that burst like a two miniature cyclones from the reactivated Red Tornado, sweeping across the deck and scattering the other JSAers like so many leaves in the wind.
[Intruder alert. JLA Satellite compromised. Defense protocol Alpha initiated.]
The voice belonged to the Red Tornado they all knew, but the android that was blasting them with torrents of wind lacked the shred of humanity their Reddy had always striven for.
“No, we’re friends!” Captain Marvel yelled over the howling whine of the wind. He stood his ground, his cape flapping madly behind him. “We’re here to help the JLA…!”
But it was no use; however much it resembled him, this was not their Reddy. This was a cold, calculating, merciless machine with a simple imperative: repel the invaders. And it was no match for the JSA. Power Girl launched herself into the teeth of the hurricane-blasts, winding up for a massive haymaker. Her fist punched through the metal body of the android, sending sparks shooting into the air. The rigid, unmoving metallic face seemed to looked stunned, the lights of its optical sensors flaring then fading… The tempest in the control room subsided, and Power Girl pulled her hand from the sputtering, fizzling husk. Then without warning, Red Tornado exploded.
The force of the detonation shattered the observation window, and decompression began immediately, the breathable air rushing out through the gaping cracks into the void. Taken by surprise, Captain Marvel, closest to the window, was sucked out into space, and sent tumbling uncontrollably end over end, stunned. Debris from across the room hurled towards the gaping holes, which widened with every hit. Reacting quickly, Power Girl braced herself and caught the Flash as he flew by her, and Commander Steel was able to grab hold of a bulkhead and Wildcat at the same time. In seconds, Green Lantern had the holes plugged with a giant emerald riveted patch, but the storm that raged inside did not subside: a maelstrom of wind whipped furiously at them, and it was all they could do to stand their ground.
{The Tornado Tyrant lives again!} an eerie, high pitched voice was heard over the tumult.
{Constrained no longer by this android body of human design, I am free to blow and blast and wreak havoc!}Green Lantern peered into the swirling gale for the menace they had unwittingly unleashed, but the sentience was disembodied and all around them. It raged and cavorted like a mad genie released from centuries-long captivity in its bottle. But it wasn’t alone. Another voice spoke over the din.
{Not so long as lives the Tornado Champion!} This voice sounded more like the Red Tornado they had come to know. It seemed to answer the Tornado Tyrant from somewhere close by, alive somewhere in the chaos all around them. {Surrender, Ulthoon! You cannot defeat me!}
The winds blew harder, and the JSA held on for dear life, caught in the middle of this battle between tornado titans.
The next moment, the satellite was rocked by a muffled explosion from below; the raging battle had damaged something, and the whole structure began to list, causing the JSAers to roll across the deck, slamming into a bulkhead. Outside the observation window the Earth tilted into view--- and was getting closer!
“The orbital stabilizers must be out!” The Flash cried. “We’re falling!”
The pull of gravity increased exponentially, and the temperature went from sub-zero to burning hot in seconds. Outside the window, flames could be seen licking the exterior of the satellite as it re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere.
Around them, the tornado titans waged their eternal war, unconcerned with the danger.
The satellite shook and rattled, and Green Lantern was busy with his green beam flashing in a dozen directions at once, patching holes, strengthening support systems and shoring up the structural integrity of the whole space station.
“Let’s get outta here!” Wildcat yelled, pointing towards the JLA’s teleportation tube.
“We can’t just leave!” Green Lantern grunted with the strain of holding the satellite together. “Wherever this thing hits, it’s going to impact like a dozen atom bombs! Millions could die!”
“Then we have to make sure that doesn’t happen!” The Flash yelled back, holding his helm tightly to his head so it wouldn’t blow off. “Karen, can you stop this thing?”
Power Girl’s face was a mask of determination and confidence. “I’ll damn well try!” she called back. “GL, let me out of this tin can!”
“Go!” He answered, indicating a specific patch.
Power Girl flew at it and it dissolved briefly around her, only long enough to let her out. She had to put on a burst of speed as the satellite was in a rapid freefall. The backwash of flame actually singed her skin, and it was all she could do to position herself beneath the satellite. Straining with all her might, she was able only to change its course--- though not enough to halt its descent: the dimensional crossing had weakened her considerably!
But Power Girl would not fail. If she couldn’t stop the satellite from falling, she could do the next best thing: digging her fingers into the bulkhead and pushing it aside by brute force, she angled the massive structure off its course. Clouds rushed by her on either side, and when it was clear, she was relieved to see through the flames of re-entry the eastern seaboard of North America, and a big patch of the Atlantic Ocean. With another herculean effort, she adjusted the trajectory again, aiming for the quickly approaching water. She needed to get it as far away from land as possible to avoid creating a tidal wave.
Inside, the JSA could see what was going on. “Attagirl!” Jay Garrick muttered fiercely under his breath.
“Alright, get out of here!” Alan Scott called to them, nodding his head towards the transporter tube. “Power Girl and I have got this!”
It was clear that Power Girl needed to stay to keep the satellite from veering off course, and Green Lantern was needed to keep the thing from falling apart and causing multiple hits and mass destruction--- but Alan was showing the strain of his efforts, his brow drenched in sweat.
“We’ve already lost Jim and Billy, I’m not leaving anyone else---.”
“Power Girl’s invulnerable, and the ring will protect me!” Alan yelled back to Jay. “And we’ll find Jim and Billy! Now get them out of here, Jay! I don’t have the strength to shield all of us at once!”
The Flash hesitated only a moment--- an eternity for him!--- but in the end, he hustled both Wildcat and Commander Steel forward, pressing through the gusts towards the transporter tube. Commander Steel could not help looking back in awe at Alan Scott, braced boldly against the turmoil all around him.
The tornado titans raged their private battle, their fury ripping the JLA’s old headquarters apart, but they didn’t notice or care about the three JSAers staggering towards the transporter tube.
“Hope it’s still workin’,” Wildcat grumbled, holding onto Steel and pulling Flash up behind him against the wind and the incline of the descent. “This cat doesn’t have any lives left to lose…!”
Jay’s fingers flew across the darkened control panel, to no avail.
“Let me!” Commander Steel bent to the mess of exposed wires and circuits below the panel, twisting and patching quickly.
The satellite plummeted to Earth, a hurtling mass of flame and metal.
“Try it now!”
Jay keyed the power sequence. Nothing. He groaned.
In frustration, Wildcat slammed his fist upon the panel--- and the thing lit up like a Christmas tree! There was no time to waste on surprise; Jay activated the transporter for its last destination, and the three of them leaped into the tube. They were instantly teleported away.
The next instant, the flaming JLA Satellite slammed into the middle of the Atlantic Ocean with the force of a nuclear explosion.
*******
Captain Marvel had been blown wide of the satellite by the fury of the Tornado Tyrant, and was sent hurtling into space. His invulnerability protected him against the exposure to the void, but it was many moments before he was able to slow his careening flight, and head back towards the fray.
A great showing he was making in his first outing as JSA Chairman. He was convinced more than ever now that this had been a trap, and it had somehow cost them Dr. Fate. He had to get the situation under control. They needed to regroup, find the Justice League and---
Just as he was approaching it, the JLA Satellite exploded. The heat wave of the blast engulfed him, but he was too stunned to feel a thing. The fireball lingered only briefly in space, the JLA’s former HQ reduced to bits of flaming debris.
“Holy---
NO!” Cap cried in disbelief. The wreckage floated around him, as he searched desperately for some sign of his teammates and friends. But there were all gone. Not even Power Girl and Green Lantern, who should have, by all rights, survived such a conflagration…
How could this be happening…? The core of the JSA dead, all but wiped out in a single stroke…
Something big came between the Earth and the Sun, casting a shadow that blanketed Captain Marvel in darkness. He turned with tears of rage and grief in his eyes, prepared to give battle to Darkseid, Black Adam, and the whole of the Injustice Society if he had to--- but what loomed there, like a pendant in space brought him up short.
Huh? What was that doing here? he thought.
Mystified, he flew towards it to investigate…
*******
Flash, Wildcat and Commander Steel materialized on the roof of a building. They stepped from the transparent transporter tube, which was hidden behind a smokestack, gazing around to get their bearings. It was dusk, and in the bustling city below, lights were coming on.
“Where are we, do you think?” Steel asked, putting one foot up on the ledge of the building, and staring across at the gothic architecture of the cathedral across the street.
“Gotham.” Wildcat answered with certainty.
“How do you know?”
Wildcat pointed and the others followed his gaze to a spotlight bolted to the floor of the rooftop, topped with the sign of a bat. But the thing was rusted and the metal corroded. It hadn’t been used in ages.
Just then, the door to the stairwell burst open and a crowd of police men emerged, guns and flashlights drawn and pointed at the JSAers.
“Just hold it right there!” One of them cautioned, his gun waving pointedly at them. “Put your hands in the air where we can see ‘em.”
Taken aback, the JSAers did as they were told.
“Look, kid, there’s no need for---.” Wildcat rolled his eyes, speaking in a calm tone.
“We’ve got ‘em, Commissioner.” The young cop called, just as an older man emerged from the stairwell. The new arrival was a middle aged man, very fit but graying, with a big, bushy mustache, and a tightly-clenched square jaw. A gun was strapped in a shoulder holster, but it was a smoking pipe that the commissioner held tightly in his hand.
“I don’t know who the devil the three of you are,” the commissioner rasped, pointing at them with the end of his pipe. “But Gotham City is off-limits to Mystery Men. Bad enough I have to deal with the Batman, I won’t have others jeopardizing the peace and order I’ve worked so hard to build here.”
Jay and Ted exchanged confused glances, and even Commander Steel seemed to have recognized the distinctive voice of the commissioner.
“We don’t want any trouble,” Wildcat said taking a small step forward. “If we could just talk to Bruce Wayne…”
The commissioner’s bright blue eyes flashed dangerously. “I’m Commissioner Bruce Wayne,” those eyes raked over the JSAers. “And the three of you are in violation of Municipal Statute 1013.9: no masked vigilantes are allowed within the city limits of Gotham City. You are under arrest.”
TO BE CONTINUED!
