New Gods #4

Many Years Ago…

Thick black smoke rose into the air, choking the once pure atmosphere with its noxious fumes, so that it became difficult to see anything more than a few metres away. The stench of rotting corpses and burning plants pervaded, so that it became impossible not to inhale its pungent odour. Sounds of war filled the air- colossal explosions, battle cannons firing, the clash of weaponry, the roaring of flame- and above all, the screams and howls of terror-struck innocents. For beneath the winding trail of smog that spread across the once clear clue skies, the world of Genesis burned.

Green and gold armoured parademons swarmed like hornets around the planet, their hideously oversized fangs gnashing, claws tightened around their weapons. Some fired barrages of lasers at anything that moved, others were equipped with monstrous black weapons which spouted napalm flame into the lush green undergrowth of the paradise world, adding to the infernos which had once been forests, grasslands, fields. From the ground, scattered beams fired in response- the surviving defenders of the world mounted what little resistance they could in the face of overwhelming adversity, knowing full well that they fought a doomed battle. Only near the planet’s northern pole was the resistance substantial. Here, a final knot of the planet’s inhabitants had gathered in a loose ring around a golden city in the sky, as final preparations in that city were underway.

In the very centre of the city known as Supertown, in a trampled and dirty courtyard that had been a garden recently before the world became a warzone, an old and white-bearded God waited, leaning on his staff, deep sadness on his face as the sounds of death filled the smoke-shrouded sky. Genesis was dead, he knew, and all that they had worked for on the paradise was for nought- but even if his plan failed and Supertown died with the planet, the forces of evil would not be allowed complete victory. He looked up, and saw that the five young Gods he had sent for had arrived, confused and uncertain as to what he wanted.

“Welcome, children,” He addressed them, and to the Gods they were children indeed. “I’m afraid the enemy are closing in- we have little time.” He closed his eyes for a moment, and then opened them once more. “If our plans fail, you may be our final hope. Big Bear, Vykin, Serifan, Beautiful Dreamer, Mark Moonrider…. You may soon be the last of the Gods… our eternal memory…” He gave a sad smile. “Our Forever People…”



Present Day….

Armagetto, once the dread capital of Darkseid’s empire of evil, was a much changed city. Now the people who walked along its corridors were free, slaves no more- now they walked by choice, to wherever they wished to go, rather than at the whim of some brutal slave driver. It had been hard work in itself to train the people to know freedom, to teach them not to mindlessly obey any orders given, to teach them to know life rather than the dark forces of Anti-Life, but the city unmistakeably bore more signs of that life than ever before. In one central plaza, commerce bustled for the first time, the blacks and greys of the squat buildings disturbed by the bright colours of a stand selling small, crudely made homemade goods. For the first time in its history, Armagetto was alive.

“DIE FOR DARKSEID!” roared a voice, and the frightened citizens turned in terror at the all too familiar cry. A wild looking creature rode into the sky, more monster than beast, seated atop a rabid, raving creature which looked like an unholy blend of tiger and dog. It gave a savage yowl as the being atop spread his arms and gave a final cry, galloping into the midst of the square. Then, the Sigma-bomb strapped to him exploded in a massive blast of crackling energy, so bright it could be seen for over a mile across the city. One moment, there had been a bright square, full of laughter, noise and living beings. The next… there was nothing. Nothing at all.



The Dog of War barrelled relentlessly through the parademons, raining blows down upon them. A demon leapt at him from behind and he drove his elbow into its face without pause, then used the force of the impact to push his fist into the gut of another beast. As it doubled over, he sprayed a hail of fire from his Astro-Harness to end its wretched life, before lashing out at another with a well-aimed kick and then, as it reeled, snapping its neck with a quick slash of his other hand. With a rattling cry, the last one of the creatures fell, and he looked around cautiously, but the room seemed empty. It was the latest in a series of underground bunkers they had found constructed in the Grey Wastes, one of thousands of munitions stockpiles Darkseid had built in case he ever needed to fight for his dark world.

“Anything?” Orion snapped, looking around. These creatures, like the others they had found in recent days, posed little threat, and quick, methodical fighting easily crushed them. The other Gods who had attacked the bunker along with him were investigating its other rooms, but nothing had been found so far that he knew of. And if this failed, they would simply try again, and again. Despite his best efforts, the Gods had not yet colonised the whole world- it was just too big. They owned Armagetto, the Genicidocks, Monstrocity, and all the major population centres of Apokolips- under the tyranny of the Evil Gods, those hives had swollen with slaves and the industry of war to occupy more than half the planet’s surface, but that still left colossal regions where no God travelled, in deserts and remote mountain ranges- not to mention the underworld of the cities themselves. The Evil Gods could be anywhere, and Orion had no idea how to find them if their raids on the bunkers- which they had discovered and had under surveillance for months- proved futile.

“More of the same,” Magnar informed him with a sad shake of his head. “Scattered weapons, mines, plans for what look like another bombing raid on Armagetto, but… nothing else. Nothing that can link us to Vunderbar and Desaad’s base- or the Forever People.” Orion cursed under his breath. Commune with the Source had warned him of impending danger on Earth, but nothing about the location of his young quarry. They were under siege- there had been over fourteen bombing attacks on major population centres in the last three days, and a day ago, every God in Supertown had sensed the burgeoning darkness, as though a great evil had been unleashed on the universe- and Orion had little doubt that it was the work of the supposedly dead Granny Goodness or “Glorious” Godfrey or one of the other Dark Gods who had been missing since the invasion. He had dispatched Lightray on a mission to deal with that but…

“We need to find the youths,” He snarled to Magnar. “We need the power of the Infinity Man to defeat Vunderbar and Desaad. Every day we don’t, more Gods die.” What he did not mention was his virtual certainty that all of this was a distraction. He knew, deep within him, that his foes were going after the children even now, and they had to be found, at once. Every explosion, every attack, every raid, meant more Gods needed to help clean up and to defend the people, and less he could send to scour the planet’s surface for the missing young Gods. Vunderbar, he thought darkly, was canny indeed.
Magnar was not thinking of the war, but of his Highfather, who had been growing less and less patient in recent days, reverting more to his old ruthless self, though he was not that bad, not yet. Still, if things continued, he feared that Orion…

“Highfather!” came a voice, and it came through the Mother Box on his belt. At once, he lifted it- he recognised the voice of Seagrin, the experienced New God who was best at home underwater. “Highfather!” it called again, and there was no mistaking the excitement. “We’ve found something in the North Sea! The Forever People were here!”



Scott Free sat quietly on the small boat, waiting. He and Barda had been sailing for almost a day now- their craft was not as small as a rowing boat, but it was not large either- a motorised engine propelled it along in spurts. Had it not been for the treacherous turns and curves which would wreak havoc with a larger boat, Scott would have doubted their ability to catch their prey, but he just had to place his faith in the Source. Their boat had been one of the last few the Project had, not even close to the massive U.S.S. Judgement- but the Judgement had been taken by minions of the so-called “Evil Factory” along with a supply of Radion, the element that could slay Gods, and so the dark chase had begun.

“Nearly 24 hours,” Barda’s voice came from behind him, and he gave a half nod. Nearly an Earth-day, only minutes to go, and that was the point of no return. The only light now came from the soft lights of their ship itself- no sign of the Judgement. Barda steered the ship to the left so that it would not smash into an outcropping of rock in the underground river, shaking her head. “This seems to go on without end. That man-craft must have been a tight squeeze.” That was just what Scott had been thinking- it would have been difficult to fit the Judgement through here, but the thieves had done it. They must already be facing the perils Doctor Stromm had warned of- after 24 hours down the Zoomway, he warned, the traps kicked in, and none came out alive. But they couldn’t risk the Radion escaping- they had to find it and destroy it, and then go back and ensure the Evil Gods did not escape their imprisonment in the Project, though Scott feared that the great darkening he and Barda had both felt in their souls the previous day meant they were already too late. Still….

And then, with no warning at all, all the water ahead disappeared, and they were only feet from careening over a waterfall into a black abyss below.



The Hall of Justice was an impressive place indeed, home to the World’s Greatest Heroes- the Justice League. At this present moment, much of the League had assembled for another of their regular meetings- Wonder Woman, the Flash, Hawkman, Hawkgirl, the Elongated Man and the Atom were those currently present, others busy around the world.

“Straight to business,” nodded Diana, currently chairing the League. “You all know the situation- unfamiliar weapons appearing globally, of unknown origin, but deadly. I know Flash has had some trouble in Keystone, and I believe Ralph mentioned…” she gestured to the Elongated Man, who nodded.

“That’s right. I’ve been talking to a few of my old contacts, and most of the groups using those weapons appear to have ties to Interga…”

And then there came a crash like thunder, a noise feared across the world, that had come to mean death, horror- that meant the Gods had come.

BOOM[/i]

At once, all the members of the League stood, adopting battle positions- all were well used to the sound of the Boom Tube, and all knew full well that it never meant something good. As anticipated, the glowing tube of light materialised a moment later, and out of it came….

“Justice League!” came the familiar voice of Lightray as he floated out of the tube, expression solemn. “I bring grave news.”



The Oceans of Earth were not known for their tranquillity, but even by their standards, the harsh weather was unprecedented. Driving storms, like those that had swept much of the planet in the last day or so, raged unprovoked, causing unforeseen tsunamis, hurricanes and mass chaos, upsetting ships and driving others to port. The waves raged high across almost every sea, vast as they were, and as though nature itself was revolting, high tides came in when they should have been ebbing, defying the natural order, as scientists struggled to explain the bizarre climate.

Underwater, too, had the humans known it, animals were behaving in strange ways. Supposedly passive creatures became aggressive, and predators went on the prowl without rest, without ever seeming satisfied even when they slaughtered their targets, rarely even pausing to eat their corpses. Even the Seaweed and bright underwater plants seemed to gain new life, reaching out with green tentacles to ensnare passing fish, choking them and blinding them until their bodies were allowed to drift lifelessly through the blue. It seemed that the laws by which the world was governed had been overthrown in the depths, and now some new terror ruled the seas. Even the legendary Aquaman seemed powerless to command the sea that day, as though it served a new master.

And in six different oceans across the world, the six newly unleashed masters of the Deep smiled dark smiles and prepared to remake the planet in their image.



A world away, on Exodus, Highfather Orion emerged from a Boom Tube beside the North Sea, snarling-as ever- as he did so. He was in a black mood, more like the Orion of old than he had been in months. Before he had travelled, word had come of yet another attack- this time by the Female Furies themselves- they had attempted to burn down the First Forest, the evergreen glade planted by Highmother Bekka, and only the last ditch efforts of Himon had protected the trees- but more lives had been lost. It was impossible to tell where the raids were coming from thanks to boom tubes, and every second that was wasted, more people died. It was, Himon had noted, a reverse of the old days, when the Hunger Dogs had mounted guerrilla war on Darkseid, and Orion wanted it to end.

“What news, Seagrin?” he growled as he saw the familiar form of his old friend. “You said you had word of the younglings?” The seafaring God gave a nod of agreement, gesturing out to the water behind him. It was, despite his best efforts, pale and grey- lifeless. For all his attempts, no fish could live there yet, but in time, he was convinced, it would thrive as the life-giving springs of Genesis once had. Orion was not so sure- but he dismissed those thoughts from his mind as he surveyed the waters, unsure what the older God was indicating.

“Some of our youths were exploring the ocean, Highfather,” he said excitedly. “And they discovered instead a tunnel underwater- until we recently expanded the sea, it would have been dry, of course, and….”

“You found tracks?” Orion cut him off, not out of frustration this time, but of mounting excitement. Seagrin smiled wearily.

“We did, Highfather. Not just of the youths themselves, but also of the Supercycle, their vehicle!” Orion did not allow himself to show his satisfaction, but instead replaced his helmet on his head with a grim nod.

“We need to start tracking them at once,” he ordered, and as Seagrin turned to follow his orders, he looked out at the sea, eyes narrowing- there was every chance the trail might be cold already, but hope was renewed, and that was something. “…Where are you? We need you now…” he murmured, before turning to follow Seagrin.




Scott had a fully fledged escape plan in place by the time they went over the waterfall. Reaching out at once, he grabbed Barda around the waist, forcing her to let go of the controls to the boat. With his other hand, he brought out Mother Box, flipping a hidden switch and silently commanding it to release a grappling hook, which he then aimed towards the ceiling. Less than two seconds after the Waterfall appeared, he was prepared to latch onto the ceiling and off the doomed boat- as the boat reached the very edge, he tensed and prepared to jump, Barda in tow… when they continued sailing as though nothing had happened. It was another five or six seconds before he was certain, and then he lowered his hand in confusion. For her part, Barda shrugged off his hands, grabbing the wheel again though she was as bewildered as he was. They were now sailing on nothing, leaving the water behind.

“Hologram,” He guessed, and his eyes narrowed. Their twenty-four hours had expired and the hidden traps of the Zoomway had set in. Well, at the very least, it should make things interesting. This presented problems, of course- if the humans had cloaked everything in holographics, then there would be no way to foresee traps or…

…And suddenly, they were back on the underground river, but now there were loud rumblings and they looked up to see a dozen or more boulders tumbling down the hill towards them. Scott didn’t even have two seconds to hatch a plan this time, but Barda reacted before him, standing and raising her Mega-Rod with a roar, blowing the rockslide apart before it could contact. Before either of them could react, they were suddenly going down a real waterfall, but this time holograms had been used to cloak it, and their boat pitched down through what seemed like solid rock, swept ever downwards by the current. It levelled off without warning and now they were in space, their boat sliding smoothly through empty nothingness, only distant stars and planets around them. They exchanged a silent glance and then Barda probed forwards with her Mega-Rod, firing a blast of energy which vanished with a crack against apparent nothingness only a few metres away- a dead end. She fired again in different directions until the blast carried on, straight and true, and then they turned the boat to face that way, struggling with the current.

“This is getting too dangerous,” Scott warned. “Maybe we should Boom Tube out of…” But before he could finish, they were no longer in space, but were back in the underground river, just after a sharp bend, and then they both felt their stomachs churn violently and gravity seemed to reverse itself, or maybe the world turned upside down, because they were sailing upside down along the ceiling, and below them was nothing. All tricks and traps, designed to confuse and bedazzle, to convince people trying to escape that they must turn back, and Scott had to wonder that mere humans could have devised all this, and then before he could think anymore, he saw that the path ahead split into nearly a dozen different exits, which no clue which was the right one.



Back at the Project, a scientist named Donovan shrugged as the captain of the facility’s guards complained doggedly.

“…have to go after them, sir,” He said loudly. “We can’t let them escape down the Zoomway and…”

“Relax, soldier,” Donovan waved one hand. “The traps of the Zoomway will stop them soon enough, and then we can deactivate them and go and retrieve the Judgement.” Traps, he had to admit, might be stretching it. After all, all the developers of the Project had put there was a single disguised laser bank, but it was enough, and they had spread the myth for security’s sake. Yes, he thought, the lasers would be more than enough.



In the depths of the Evil Factory, buried in the centre of the Project, Granny Goodness schemed her vengeance. How she despised this planet, with its foolish little mortals and its super-heroes. Twice now they had foiled her, and she hated them for it, she hated them for their simple existence. Her plans to seize the power of the underworld and destroy the False Gods had been undone by that insufferable little Amazonian witch, but now… this time, she would not fail. Now the Dark Gods were settling into place across Earth, and in conjunction with Vunderbar on Exodus they would utterly destroy the mortals who had dared toy with the Gods. From within the…

“Great one!” It was the call of Simyan, one of the two overseers of the Evil Factory, and she turned to see him running up to her. “Our machines are detecting the presence of another New God on Earth!” That was a blow, Granny had to admit- they were dealing with Free and Barda- the two ungrateful urchins who had dared defy Granny- and leading them into the Zoomway where the Evil Gods had installed a thousand different traps to ensnare any who dared enter and might find their other base, but a third God? She followed Simyan down to the monitors, walking past a howling prisoner begging for mercy without second thought. Nothing could be allowed to interfere with their impending assault on the Forever People. She took a single glance at the monitors, one of which was constantly keeping watch on the headquarters of the so-called Justice League, and a reptilian smile came to her face.

“Lightray. He will have most valuable information indeed.” She whirled to Simyan, her flesh hand curled into a claw-like fist. “Despatch the Gravi-Guards! Take him! Bring him to Granny!”



Scott and Barda held on for dear life as their craft was sucked into a churning whirlpool. It felt like they had been in this river of death for days, and perhaps they had been, but they had endured. With the help of the Mega Rod and Mother Box they had escaped howling winged monsters, endured a deadly holographic maze, even discovered banks of hidden lasers, but the end seemed no nearer to coming. It was only the thought of what the Dark Gods might do with the Radio that pushed them onwards. Had they been mortals, he thought, they might already be dead of exhaustion or hunger or thirst, but fortunately they could live without such inconvenience and…

“DOWN!” roared Barda, and forced him to the floor of the boat, and a split second later, a burst of Sigma-energy tore a hole through the cavern where his head had been. “Scorch-marks on the wall,” she explained afterwards, as he looked back at the Purple crackling ray. “It’s fired before.” He nodded, but before he had a chance to thank her, he looked ahead and saw that the water there was black- not just a reflection of the dark cavern roof above, but an actual deep, murky black, and it looked thick, so thick that it was almost…. “…Oil…” Barda whispered, coming to the same conclusion as he. Then, by hidden signal, flame burst from one of the walls and suddenly the Zoomway was ablaze. It took Scott less than two seconds this time to grab Barda and fire a cable until they were both hanging from the roof of the cavern, even as their boat was utterly consumed by the blazing sea below. As he winced from the strain of carrying his armoured wife, they exchanged a second’s look- there would be no escape on that boat. No way of continuing, unless….

“Look!” he cried suddenly, pointing ahead, and obediently, she swivelled in his grasp. And there ahead at last, illuminated by the roaring fires which seemed to part around it, they could see the form of the U.S.S. Judgement.

They had reached their quarry.



“Useless!” Orion slammed his fist into the wall of the tunnel, scowling ferociously beneath his helmet. Beside him, Seagrin had paled in the face of his Highfather’s wrath, but did not look cowed. They both stood looking at where the tracks had suddenly come to a halt, but there was no clear sign of exit anywhere around them. The Forever People had come here on their SuperCycle, but judging by the markings on the walls of the cavern, they had Boom Tubed out, leaving no sign of their presence. Another dead end.

“At least now we know they seem to be travelling underground,” Seagrin offered in a placating tone. “These tracks are from the last Sun-cycle- they can’t have been long after Lonar reported meeting them. We will find them.” Orion froze for a moment, stroking his chin, and then, to Seagrin’s surprise, his frown faded.

“Well, that’s some consolation….” He murmured, before explaining himself to his companion. “If they moved after Lonar met them, that means any information the Dark Gods extracted is out of date- they’ve moved on.” Orion’s fury was now replaced by grim determination, and Seagrin had to remind himself that the Dog of War had not earned his title merely for his prowess in physical fighting- at strategy, tactics and quick thinking, there were none better. “We’re not out of this hunt yet…”



Most of the League had now left the Hall of Justice, and that left Lightray, preparing to depart. His briefing had gone as expected- he had warned this World’s Greatest Heroes of the warnings of the Source and the possibility that the Dark Gods were once more loose to wreak havoc on the world, and while he did not feel they appreciated the seriousness of the threat, there was nothing more to do here. Unless…. one quick sweep? He mused. Zip around the planet, just once, see if anything comes up out of the ordinary? I might find some trace of the Evil Ones I can warn the League about…. It was against orders, certainly, but what was the worst that could happen? He doubted Orion would reprimand him for caution. As he turned, he heard a cough from behind him and turned to see Diana standing there, holding something in one hand.

“Lady,” he nodded his head in respect, as befitted a representative of another pantheon of Gods, but she approached him, deep in thought.

“The Gods of Apokolips are loose here,” She told him simply, face inscrutable. “I battled Granny Goodness in the underworld not long ago. I stopped her, but…” Lightray’s eyes widened- that was unfortunate indeed. Granny was supposed to be dead, though none of the Gods had ever really believed it, and news of her survival, and her designs on Earth, would be sure to blacken Orion’s already foul mood unless they had stumbled onto the Forever People while he was gone- but he doubted it. Other than their altercation with Lonar, now in enemy hands, the Forever People had vanished without trace. But Diana was not done. “During that battle, I was left with this,” She produced what she had been holding- he recognised it at once as a Mother Box, though an unfamiliar one, belonging to no God he knew. “It doesn’t work,” she explained as he took it genially, examining it. “But I believe it may be important, and I was wondering…”

“…I’ll see what I can do, Lady,” he nodded. It was a fine piece of work indeed- Himon would doubtless be interested to examine it, though he would try to ensure the old God only fixed it, nothing more. “I will return it as swiftly as possible.” She nodded, a smile on her flawless face, and returned to a more formal role, ever the diplomat.

“I would be grateful, Lightray. Give my greetings, and the greetings of Themyscira, to Highfather and Highmother. I will ensure the taint of Apokolips does not consume Earth.” Lightray nodded his thanks, and then turned to leave. Once he was clear of the Hall of Justice, into the raging storm outside, he opened a small Boom Tube and send the Mother Box to Exodus, booming it straight to Himon’s quarters, where it would be safe while he did his flyby.

No sooner had the young God flown outside Washington DC when a blast of ethereal light green energy struck him full-on and he tumbled out of the sky, mind whirling, to crash to the ground. Still groggy from the attack, he tried to stand, but a huge red-skinned monster had leapt onto him, crushing him against the ground by sheer weight. He knew them at once as he saw two others gather around him- Darkseid’s Gravi-Guards, who could wield the forces of gravity itself. While they could crush any mortal with ease, the Gods of Genesis were made of sterner stuff- but the blow had caught him off-guard, and another hit him with another blast from their Sigma-Cannon as he lay there, head reeling in pain. Their force was too much, he felt his form strain, spine tingling- they might destroy his body on the Earthly plane, he realised with a thrill of fear, and another blast struck home. Would he die like this, like a fool, ambushed by simple Gravi-Guards, alone due to his own selfish whims and….

“The answer to gravity,” came a loud, deep voice. “Is Anti-Gravity!” And with that, all three of the guards were thrown straight upwards, roaring in despair as they flew high, higher, so high that he lost sight of them completely, up into the atmosphere where there could be no gravity at all. “They can be dealt with later!” proclaimed the same deep, familiar voice, and suddenly Lightray placed it even as he rolled over and staggered to his feet. He caught a glimpse of a helmeted individual zooming away already, and, though his sides hurt and his head was still splitting, he awkwardly took off to fly after the figure. As they landed in a field miles away, he crashed roughly down in a neighbouring field and staggered to the fence to find his saviour… But instead, he heard a set of different voices.

“….Easy enough anyway,” a rich and hearty voice boomed. “I’ve played more dangerous games of lightball.”

“Dangerous for everyone playing with you, maybe,” came a quieter, wry voice. “It was a mistake to deploy Him like that when we said we wouldn’t…”

“I just can’t believe that was really Lightray! He’s Omega-class power, one of the best of Genesis, and he was being taken in a fight by those Gravi-Guards, who are like level seven at best! The hierarchy just doesn’t match up!” This voice was excited and higher than the others, but it was cut off by another, a female this time, sounding cloudy and vague.

“Hmm, them? Not really a fight, no, not compared to what’s to come and what’s been. And what is, that’s just… there. But it mightn’t be for long…” The speaker, whoever this one was, gave a giggle. “As long as it’s all like…this fun along the way, who cares, you know?”

“We don’t have that much time for fun, Dreamer,” came a more dour voice. “I think Lightray saw him, so he’ll know we’re here now… we need to get out of here before…”

“…So this is where you’ve been hiding…” Lightray murmured, and as one, all five of them heard and turned, alarm on their faces at being discovered. Lightray couldn’t believe it- after all that, all the questing up and down Exodus, they were here… on Earth. He looked up, finally able to see them clearly now that his head had cleared.

One towered over the others, a huge and muscled form with a wild mane of ginger hair, wearing a faded outfit Scott recognised as being for Lightball, a popular sport decades ago on Genesis. Beside him was a shorter being, black and dressed in a jumpsuit like anyone on Earth would wear, marked as strange only by the strange and ping-ing cube he carried in his hands. Then there was another, with wavy blonde hair, dressed, Scott was astonished to see, in what appeared to be a homemade costume of Orion, though he was currently carrying the helmet under his arm. The girl was dressed in a flowing dress of many wild and totally random colours, a swirling and endless pattern, her hair wild and her sharp face staring away dreamily. And finally, the last of the youths was dressed all in dark colours, with black hair hanging down and a frown on his face.

Their names were Big Bear, Vykin, Serafin, Beautiful Dreamer and Mark Moonrider. Collectively, they were called the Forever People.