Post by HoM on Jun 19, 2015 12:39:52 GMT -5
Last time in JUSTICE LEAGUE, our heroes discovered that the deadly terrorist cult KOBRA was hiding the stolen Science City Zero within the borders of the rogue nation of Naliiva, a secret state hidden from the rest of the world by extraordinary means!
With their roster numbering a meagre five, BATMAN, FLASH, GREEN LANTERN, SUPERMAN and WONDER WOMAN were reunited with AQUAMAN and MERA to face the insidious threat of LORD NAGA, and with the arrival of THE GUARDIAN, the team finally had what they needed to take the fight to KOBRA.
But with war on the horizon, the JUSTICE LEAGUE didn’t stop there-- they put out a call and their friends answered, and the roster of the team was bolstered by reservists!
Now the JUSTICE LEAGUE stands at their enemy’s gate, but what horrors does the city of Naliiva hold, and what monsters await unleashing from Science City Zero? Find out as the adventure continues--!
Superman charged at Lord Naga, and grabbed the villain by the shoulders. He couldn’t see through the villain’s mask, but he could see the explosive bolts on either side of the contraption, so he didn’t bother trying to tear it off. The true identity of their enemy could wait until the battle was done, and his was the first punch thrown!
The mighty blow sent Naga through the wall of Science City Zero and the Man of Steel followed, while the Justice League battled the Planetmasters outside.
Wonder Woman led the heroes on the outside, the heavy hitters grappling with the first wave of the warrior monks of the Planetmaster church, while the less-invulnerable contingent careened into Kobra’s foot soldiers as they scrambled to assist their master.
Big Barda smashed her Mega Rod into the mask of the Planetmaster who moved against her, and he crumpled as his nose broke on impact. She laughed, dove onto the man’s back, and used it to propel herself at the next villain. This was war.
Green Lantern deflected plasma fire that was being propelled at them from Kobra soldiers’ weapons, giving the other heroes the valuable cover they needed to take the fight to their enemies.
Inside Science City Zero, away from the fighting, Batman and the Guardian crept through the corridors, searching for the hostages that had been taken along with the physical building they journeyed through.
“Damned if I wouldn’t rather be outside right now,” said the Guardian. “I don't like the idea of a war going on outside and me sneaking around rather than fighting.”
“Your skills are better suited here,” said Batman.
“Faith to Kali Yuga,” declared a Kobra soldier, levelling his weapon at the two heroes.
The Guardian slammed his shield into the soldier’s chest and shrugged.
“Maybe I take that back, then,” said the Guardian. “Looks like things are about to heat up in here.”
As more soldiers swarmed in, Batman and the Guardian leapt forward, the latter grabbing his shield on the rebound, and they pummelled their opposition until they were unconscious.
“Hh,” said Batman. “We need to find the scientists.”
“They’re the least of your problems,” said Slipknot, as he appeared from around the corner.
The Guardian grimaced. “You think we’re scared of you, kid?”
“I’m just the mouthpiece,” said Slipknot. “Lord Naga was quite impressed with how Zebra Man handled himself in Midway City. Threw the Martian for quite the loop. So he used the folks at Science City to amp up his powers, and now he can’t talk. So I do it for him.”
“What?” said the Guardian.
A swirling mass of white-and-black energy spun past Slipknot and headed straight for the heroes. Batman dove into one of the rooms to the right, while the Guardian threw his shield up to deflect the onslaught, but instead he was propelled back and then up, right into the ceiling. The impact connected with an unholy crack as the concrete shattered on impact, and he fell to the floor in a daze. Zebra Man reformed above the Guardian’s prone body as Batman emerged from the corridor, only to be caught in a noose by Slipknot, who wrenched him backwards to choke the life out of him.
Zebra Man opened his mouth and shrieked indistinctly as Batman struggled for breath, while the Guardian struggled to stand. The white-and-black-striped villain slammed his hoofed foot onto the back of Harper, sending him back to the floor face first.
“You know, Superman,” said Lord Naga, deep inside Science City Zero. “I anticipated this.”
“Of course you did,” said Superman. “But that doesn’t mean you’ll win the day.”
Lord Naga gripped his mask and tore it free, to reveal the face of a beautiful, white-haired woman. “Remember me?”
Superman’s eyes widened in recognition. “You’re not Naga--”
The villainous Element Woman-- member of Kobra’s elite strikeforce-- grabbed Superman’s arm and transformed his costume into green Kryptonite, crippling the Man of Tomorrow and sending him to his knees.
“Always so obvious,” said the Element Woman. “Faith to Kali Yuga.”
Superman flicked her in the chin, knocking her out instantly. His costume reverted to normal, but he was severely weakened, and that was when the world went crimson.
Superman groaned as the red sunlight pierced his skin and drained his body of its solar charge.
“Look at you, weak as a pup,” said Lord Naga. The villain looked down at his disciple, laying unconscious next to Superman, who struggled to stand. “Such a shame to see such a powerful man reduced to a quivering mess.”
Superman swung a punch but Naga stepped backwards, dodging it easily.
“I’ve wanted to be alone with you for so long, ever since you allowed my brother to kill me months ago,” said Lord Naga. “Let him shoot me in the head.”
Superman could barely think. “Jeffrey…”
Lord Naga leaned forward. “You’ll never know for sure. And now you’ve given me access to all I need to bring an end to the world. Do you think they’ll remember you in their dying moments as a saviour, or the man who let Kobra run rampant in the end of days?”
The red sunlight descended onto the Man of Steel, and it was then that Superman realised he was being attacked by Kobra’s Spectrumonster, the sentient light form. Out of the corner of the Man of Tomorrow’s eye, he saw Element Woman drag herself up, and start glowing green. The world was pain, and he couldn’t fight it.
Lord Naga grabbed Superman by the hair but he didn’t count on the Man of Steel grabbing his foot and spinning him so he landed on his back beside him. Superman drove an elbow into Naga’s chest, but Spectrumonster solidified around Superman’s chest and the living energy beast drove the hero back against the wall.
Naga pulled himself to his feet. “I’m going to enjoy this next bit even more now.” He placed a hand within his cape and pulled out a needle gun. “Faith to Kali Yuga. Faith to me.”
Superman couldn’t escape the clutches of both the green-kryptonite-radiating Element Woman, or the-red sun-projecting Spectrumonster. He grit his teeth as Naga tore away his chest symbol, and raised the needle gun up in front of the Kryptonian’s face.
“Batman figured out how we got into Science City. Magic and ink. I added something else into the equation for you, Superman.” Whatever was inside the needle gun, whatever the ink was, it glowed green. Kryptonite. “So while you kill your friends, you’ll be dying along with them.”
Naga activated the needle gun.
“And yes, with the Justice League dead, I launch the end times for this world. I have every piece of confiscated horror tech this world, this multiverse has to offer. Every device used to enter this reality that the Global Peace Agency held? Every piece of technology used by your enemies that you entrusted into the hands of that insipid little group? I have it.”
“You can’t--”
“Even the Black Colossus, the device used by the Extremists to travel from one universe to another, riding the death knell of a reality*. I think I might tether myself to that and let Kali Yuga have this realm of existence, and find a better one for my followers and I.”
Superman could say nothing as Naga leaned in to begin his work.
The Flash backed himself up against the wall and looked down at the compound fracture that had already started healing in his shin. He struggled, leaned forward, and placed both hands against the exposed bone, then pushed down, sending the fractures back into his already knitted-back-together flesh.
The action was punctuated by a scream on his part, but he could feel his body responding, releasing the right chemicals at super-speed into his blood to numb the pain.
“Hey, Barry,” said Mister Miracle, zipping over to the fallen speedster’s side. “You look like you could use a hand.”
“In a world of hurt right now, Scott. You’d be surprised how many times I’ve had my legs broken since I got my speed,” said Barry.
“I probably wouldn’t,” said Scott Free. He unclipped his Mother Box from his shoulder and handed it to the Flash. “Hold this for a moment.”
Barry did as he was told and felt a wave of Zen wash over him as the machine pinged.
Scott manipulated Barry’s shin with one hand, while his other held up the Mother Box for Barry to touch. The circuit they formed gave Scott the intuition to know the state of the Flash’s leg, and with one deft movement, he finally set the bone so that the speedster’s body could finish the job, and within seconds, Barry was being helped up by his comrade.
“I love these things,” said Barry, releasing his grip on the Mother Box.
“She likes you too,” said Scott. “That the guy causing you speed problems?” He motioned toward the Turtle, cowering behind his Planetmaster guard.
“Yup, he’s the one,” said the Flash.
“You may not be able to run, but can you throw a punch?”
Flash nodded, and the two men stormed toward their opposition.
Elsewhere…
Batman threw his weight forward, taking the pain in his throat even as his vision grew blurry. Slipknot lurched forward with him, and then Batman crouched, and somersaulted over Slipknot’s head, freeing himself from the hangman’s noose. He threw a hard elbow into Slipknot’s face, smashing his nose, and then followed up with another elbow against the man’s temple, knocking him out instantly.
Zebra Man watched this unfold and shrieked once more. He took a step forward and his body began to unravel, but the Guardian grabbed his ankle, causing the villain to look down at his opponent. With that distraction, Batman jumped toward Zebra Man and landed a punch against his small chin, sending him stumbling back.
The Guardian lurched up, joined Batman, and readied himself.
Zebra Man unravelled and hurtled toward the two men once more.
Wonder Woman could see the battle going their way. The Planetmasters were the hardest part, while the foot soldiers were just fodder. But as hard as their heads might be, the Planetmasters fell, and soon the assembled force of thirty-plus Justice Leaguers had done the job, and there was silence apart from some banter exchanged between some of the heroes who had fought for the side of good.
“Are you all right, Diana?” said Big Barda, noticing the concerned expression on Wonder Woman’s face.
“Something’s not right,” came the reply. “That was too easy.”
The ground rumbled, and Wonder Woman took a step back. Science City was shaking, and she felt as if the action was one of acknowledgement to her words.
There was a massive explosion above their heads, and John Stewart projected a shield to protect them from the debris that clattered down. A dozen figures emerged from the smoke that filled the sky, and they landed on Green Lantern’s shield and began to pummel it with super-powered fists. The emerald shield began to creak, and cracks ran through it. John looked confused, then saw what was slamming against his work-- emerald-encased-fists.
“Oh, no,” said Wonder Woman.
A dozen of Professor Ivo’s Amazos, in various stages of completion, had emerged from Science City Zero, and they did not look happy. When their eyes began to glow red, duplicating the heat vision of Superman, the assembled members of the Justice League knew they were in trouble.
Sometimes, along with the people of Earth, the members of the Justice League forgot Mister Miracle’s pedigree. They forgot that he was a New God, a member of a pantheon of extradimensional beings who descended to this plane of existence to help them make it to their next stage of existence.
The Planetmasters thought that Mister Miracle was just a man, not a God. So when their blows were deflected with a grace and ease that belied the stature of the New God, they also didn’t have time to block his flurry of attacks, backed up by super strength and durability.
Whilst not as powerful as Superman, Mister Miracle had the element of surprise on his side, along with the knowledge that the many nights spent training with his beloved wife Big Barda had not gone to waste.
“I didn’t think you had it in you,” said the Flash, as the unconscious bodies of the Planetmasters littered the scene, leaving the Turtle quivering by himself.
“What can I say,” said Mister Miracle. “I don’t get to flex those muscles often, but when I do, I can work wonders.”
“I thought you were going to say miracles then,” said the Flash, as he punched the Turtle in the face, knocking him out instantly. Ability to utilise the Speed Force returning to his being, Barry Allen couldn’t help but smile.
“I had to stop myself,” said Scott Free, diving back into the fray. He glanced over at Big Barda, who wore a hungry expression on her face.
Scott winked at Barda and she mouthed the word ‘Later’ at the love of her life.
Slipknot slipped away as Batman and the Guardian battled the Zebra Man. The inhuman, black-and-white humanoid continued to shriek as it switched between its contained form and the spiralling, force-of-nature aspect of its being, and the two heroes felt almost sympathy for the pain it sounded like it was experiencing.
{Batman, we have to shut this down ASAP,} said the Guardian. {Get clear.}
Batman somersaulted backwards and the Guardian unpinned a grenade from his belt and shoved it into the twisting vortex that comprised the Zebra Man’s chest. The explosive was swallowed instantly, and before the creature could process what it just ingested, a concussive blast detonated inside its belly, causing it to reform and collapse unconscious moments later.
As smoke rose from its inert form, Batman looked over at the Guardian. “You could have killed him.”
“But I didn’t,” said the Guardian. “C’mon.”
“Lord Naga, what’s wrong?” asked Element Woman.
“Broke the damn needle,” said Naga. “Even now, still the Man of damn Steel.”
“Sorry,” said Superman. With the last reserves of his dwindling solar charge, his eyes flared red hot, and the needle melted into slag in Naga’s hand.
The leader of Kobra didn’t cry out in pain, he simply dismissed the tool and slapped the Kryptonian in the face.
Superman spat blood, and began to laugh.
“What’s so funny, alien?” said the Element Woman.
Spectrumonster loosened his grip on Superman, and the hero fell to the floor. The creature shivered, seized up, caught up in some kind of trance, before exploding into fragments across the room.
“What’s happening?” said Element Woman. “Parker?”
“Looks like he needs a doctor,” said a woman at the door.
Element Woman turned, and saw Doctor Light standing there, her hands dimming after rendering Spectrumonster useless. The heroine grinned, and Aquaman and Mera, standing behind her, nodded in appreciation.
“Naga--” started Element Woman.
Before she could continue, there was a large rumbling from the floor beneath them.
Mera smiled. “That’d be me. I located whatever primitive plumbing system this strange little country uses, and redirected it, right about--”
A torrent of water engulfed Element Woman and slammed her into the ceiling, then drove her into the room above.
“--There.” Mera kissed her husband on the cheek then followed Element Woman up, while Aquaman trudged toward Lord Naga, cracking his knuckles.
“Last time we met, I lost a tooth at the hands of one of your followers,” said Aquaman. “How about I return the favour?”
Doctor Light darted toward Superman while Aquaman grabbed Lord Naga by the cape and swung him into the wall by the door they just came through. The wall crumbled, and Naga slammed into the corridor, dust and concrete following.
“How are you holding up, Superman?” asked Doctor Light.
As her hands shone bright with the simulated light of a yellow sun, Superman pulled himself up to his feet. “Better than ever, Doctor Hoshi.”
“Oh, call me Kimiyo,” said Doctor Light. “Kal, I always tell you…”
“Just the way I was raised, I’m afraid,” said Superman. They turned their attention to Aquaman, who had Lord Naga in his grips. “All under control?”
Mera’s voice emerged from the floor above. “Absolutely.”
Aquaman was about to answer in the affirmative when he was thrown into Superman and Lord Naga vanished in a cerulean blur. Doctor Light drew an afterimage of what happened with a wave of her hands, and the hard light projection showed the arrival-- and exit-- of Cobalt Blue, the speedster whose powers mirrored the Flash’s own. Naga had his exit strategy, and it was in full effect.
“Damnation,” said Aquaman. He looked up at the hole in the ceiling, and Mera tossed the unconscious form of Element Woman into the arms of Superman. “Where did he go?”
Wonder Woman sliced the head off an Amazo with a lighting fast whip crack of her lasso, and its eyes went dead as the head hit the ground pathetically. She wasn’t fast enough to dodge the attack of the second Amazo that went for her, but she drove her elbows into the back of the android hard enough to crack its shell, exposing circuitry for Big Barda to take advantage of. With a swing of her Mega Rod, the spine of the android was snapped, and there were suddenly only two Amazos left to deal with.
{Beetle, we’re being attacked by Amazos down here, what are you doing?} said Wonder Woman.
{Yeah, we’re being attacked by Amazos up here, so we know the feeling.}
{Do you need help?}
Wonder Woman watched as Animal Man tore through the throat of one of the Amazos. It was clear that these units were defective, their power-sets not up-to-date with other iterations of the Justice League. She thanked her gods the Amazos were partly decommissioned, and not at full power. If they had their full capabilities, the fact that there were nearly thirty superhumans in their vicinity would have led to the Justice League’s demise in seconds.
{We’ve got this--! I think that’s the last of the troublemakers, anyway. If anything else starts glowing red again, we’ll shout.}
Cobalt Blue came to a stop on the edge of Naliiva, and Lord Naga brushed himself off as he looked back toward Science City Zero, and the war that was finally dying down as the Justice League were reigning supreme against the forces of Kobra.
“It’s time, then,” said Lord Naga. “Time for the end of it.” He activated the comms link, and connected to Slipknot, back in Science City. “Activate the Black Colossus. This universe is broken. Best to end it before it can be allowed to rot down to the base of existence. Slipknot-- Christopher-- you know what you have to do. Make sure, no matter what, the men do what needs to be done.”
With that message sent, Naga turned back to Cobalt Blue.
“Demoralise them. Kill the Amazon first. Remove her head from her shoulders and show them. After that, take them apart however you see fit. Faith to Kali Yuga.”
“--Activate the Black Colossus,” said Lord Naga. “This universe is broken. Best to end it before it can be allowed to rot down to the base of existence. Slipknot-- Christopher-- you know what you have to do. Make sure, no matter what, the men do what needs to be done.”
Hearing the words over the radio in his cowl, Slipknot understood and sprinted through the corridors of Science City Zero, until he reached the main containment area where the most dangerous technology they had stolen was stored.
Instead of finding the Black Colossus, a device capable of destroying a world so as to propel travellers to the next one in vibrational proximity at that time, Slipknot was confronted by Blue Beetle and Booster Gold, the former in the process of defusing every doomsday device in the room, while the latter leaned against the wall, ready to blast Slipknot straight in the face with his energy-projecting gauntlets, knocking the villain out immediately. He fell down toward the last thing he saw-- a pile of unconscious Kobra agents that Booster had already taken down.
“When do you think Lord Naga will figure out Superman broadcast his little rant to the entire Justice League so we knew what to dismantle first?” said Booster Gold.
Blue Beetle looked out from the interior of the machine he was disabling. “Probably when the world doesn’t die.” He shook his head before ducking down to resume his work. “And what’s this ‘we’ business, I’m doing all the hard work.”
“I’m the moral support, Teddy, don’t forget that,” said Booster, blasting another Kobra foot soldier.
The last remaining Kobra loyalists in Science City Zero were standing outside a sealed vault, and Batman and the Guardian made short work of them. The Guardian prised the vault door open with his bare hands, revealing the kidnapped scientists that Kobra had taken when he transported Science City Zero into the rogue nation of Naliiva.
“How are you all doing in here?” said the Guardian.
“What’s going on?” asked one of the scientists. “What happened?”
“We’re getting you out of here,” said the Guardian. He turned and noted that the Dark Knight had vanished, and the old soldier shook his head. “C’mon, let’s get going.”
{Wonder Woman, how’s it looking out there?} said Superman.
{We have routed the last of Kobra’s military, have you secured Naga?}
{Naga’s speedster got him out ,} said Aquaman, joining the conversation. {Does anyone have eyes on--}
The Flash vanished for a split second, then appeared next to Wonder Woman, his costume in tatters and his face covered in bruises. In a chokehold was Cobalt Blue, in a similar condition. {I… got him... just let… me get… my breath… back…}
The Flash released the unconscious Cobalt Blue and pulled off his face mask-- and was shocked by the sight of his own face! Cobalt Blue was the spitting image of Barry Allen!
Wonder Woman had felt a gust of wind at the back of her neck a split second before The Flash vanished from sight, and a dozen questions came to mind after he arrived back looking bedraggled. Instead of asking them, she nodded in appreciation. {We have Cobalt Blue, but not Lord Naga.}
{Where is that bastard?} said Aquaman. {Without him in chains this will never end.}
{Let’s check in with our man on the inside,} said Superman. {And our friends across the globe.}
Lord Naga darted through the hidden catacombs of the rogue nation, searching for the means to his escape. He knew the labyrinth like the back of his hand because he built it. That was one nugget of truth that was allowed to slip through his psi-masked helm and enter the void.
Even before Naga placed his hand on its pristine surface, the white wall at the centre of the maze glowed unnaturally. When his palm met the wall, tendrils of sickening, red light spread from where glove met wall, and a doorway opened up into another place.
A mace crashed into his face with a colossal impact, and the leader of the Kobra cult fell backwards without crossing the threshold.
“You thought you could just run away?” said the revealed Hawkman. “You thought this was over?”
Beside the winged avenger stood a smiling Hawkgirl, tapping her mace into her open palm. “It was never going to be that easy.” Behind the duo, the staging ground of Kobra’s endeavours was a ravaged war zone, countless devotees to the cult in various states of beaten to all seven hells.
“What-- is-- this--?” growled Lord Naga.
Hawkman grabbed Lord Naga and lifted him up into the air. “You made me kill an innocent. A child*. All part of your twisted game-- but I’m afraid I’ve got some bad news.”
Lord Naga grabbed Katar Hol’s wrist and sent a thousand volts of electricity crackling into the Thanagarian’s body, but Kendra Saunders threw a punch into the mask of Naga that separated the two of them. Hol staggered back, his flesh smouldering, but he refused to give up.
“Do you think I’ve spent the months since a broken wreck?”
Hawkman smashed his mace into Naga’s gauntlets, shattering the microcircuitry beneath the surface, the feedback riding through the villain’s body.
“Wasn’t ever going to happen, Naga,” said Kendra. “Here’s a spoiler: You think the Justice League is the only team of superheroes you pissed off?”
Hawkman grabbed Naga by the foot and slung him into the converted temple in which the villain had hoped to find sanctuary. Kendra motioned to the bank of monitors that showed the interiors of all the installations across the world Kobra had embedded themselves into, and instead of cultists, there were only superheroes-- members of the Justice Society of America and the Outsiders. The Teen Titans fought on alongside Young Justice, while other heroes, not affiliated with any of the teams, were doing what needed to be done to purge the world of Kobra’s influence.
“There’s only one last piece of the puzzle,” said Kendra. “Just who exactly are you?”
“You don’t scare me,” said Lord Naga. “Strike me down and I will rise again and again and again. Faith to Kali Yuga.”
“Jeffrey Burr is dead, of course. Shot in the head by Jason, his twin brother. His poor, tortured brother,” said Kendra. “And Jason is a good guy now. We’ve all read the press releases.”
Hawkman drew a ceremonial dagger from his back and slashed it down against Naga’s armour at the front.
At that point, the Justice League began to emerge from the catacomb entrance, watching as this played out. Against the Nth metal weapon the armour was useless, torn away from Naga’s body like crepe paper.
The skin beneath was grey, desiccated. The smell that filled the room was horrendous, but Katar wasn’t deterred. He stripped Naga’s torso of his armour and then tore the mask off of Lord Naga’s face-- revealing--
“My God,” said Kendra. “That’s-- that’s--”
Katar tossed the mask away. “A trick.”
Jeffrey Burr’s head still had the entry wound present at his forehead. He’d been dead for the better part of a year, and yet here his body was. Twisted. Broken. Decomposing.
Blue Beetle examined a piece of the armour Hawkman had discarded, and held it up to Booster Gold. “Look familiar?”
“It’s an exoskeleton--! A remote control battlesuit--!”
The mask Lord Naga wore continued to talk. “Faith to-- oof--”
“‘Oof’?” said the Guardian. “Did we miss something?”
“Well, you won’t believe who we just found,” came another voice from Lord Naga’s mask, this time a woman’s. “Hey guys, some of us haven’t met, but this is Jonni Thunder on line 1.”
Beetle glanced over at Booster, confused.
“Jonni’s with the Birds,” said Kendra. “One of the best detectives in the world.”
“Well, we wouldn’t be here right now if I didn’t get us here,” said another voice inside the mask, another woman’s.
Beetle thought he recognised that one. “Is that--?””
The second voice continued: “Hey, it’s Dawn-- sorry, Manitou Dawn, we’re on the clock. Here’s the cliff notes version: after everything that happened a few months ago, Diana asked Katar and Kendra to look into this Lord Naga guy’s real identity. Well, considering that Hawkgirl’s part of the Birds of Prey, it made perfect sense for Jonni to do the detective legwork that led us here, which, by the way, is next to Jason Burr, who is operating some kind of, I don’t know--”
“Let’s take this outside,” said the Guardian. “My guys have remote hacked the security system here, they’re currently sending the information to the US military. GL, would you mind erecting a shield around the compound? Sending the Kobra cultists to the relevant authorities?”
John Stewart glanced over at Wonder Woman, who nodded. He lit up his ring, and the entire complex was illuminated emerald.
Glancing around, The Flash asked the first question that came to mind. “Where is this place, anyway?”
“Idaho,” said Hawkgirl. “Last place I’d think to look for a doomsday cult.”
“Lord Naga aka Jason Burr has been remanded into custody,” said Wonder Woman. “As of yet, he has made no statement to the authorities.” She paused. “It appears that he has been using a remote-controlled armoured suit, with the corpse of his brother inside, during his appearances as Lord Naga. This has allowed him to appear in two places at once, therefore taking us off the scent of his true identity. I don’t know how he was able to trick my lasso all those months ago* but we will hopefully find out soon enough.”
This was a sight few gathered had witnessed before. Justice League and Justice Society, Outsiders and Titans, Young Justice and the Birds of Prey and everyone in-between who answered the call when it needed, all mingling together, eating and drinking the food prepared by the automated systems on Laputa.
Noticeably absent was Batman, but he was never one to hang around in the moments of peace, preferring to throw himself back into the chaos. Hawkman too was absent, and again, the heroes gathered understood the reasons why.
“Sneaking into his compound was easy enough, and catching him in the act of operating the suit was even easier,” said Jonni Thunder. “Just glad that Hawkgirl put us on the scent while she and the big guy did their own investigation.”
“Just a case of knocking on the right doors and knocking together the right heads,” said Hawkgirl. “Katar and I have been taking out the smaller cells incognito, working our way up to the big leagues. When we had enough intel, and Jonni helped us connect all the right dots, we distributed it to you guys and here we are today.”
“I’m glad we can close the book on this,” said Superman. “Kobra has been a threat for far too long. It’s down to your help that we could settle the issue once and for all.”
“Hey, it’s all good,” said Booster Gold. “You needed an assist, we’re more than happy to step up, right?”
“You’re the Justice League, Booster,” said Aquaman. “Your work speaks for itself.”
Beetle leaned into Booster to whisper, “Is he making fun of you?”
“What my husband is trying to say is thank you,” said Mera.
“Is she joining in?” Booster asked Beetle.
“This war was never going to be won by fighting on one front,” said Wonder Woman. “And with that in mind, we are once again restructuring the membership of the Justice League. After discussions with the founding members, we have decided upon a process wherein there is a core team of active members, which can rotate when appropriate, as well as an open number of seats that can be filled at any time, depending on the needs of the case at hand.”
Cyborg of the Teen Titans piqued up all of a sudden, and cleared his throat. “Excuse me, but I think you might want to see this.”
Everyone’s attention turned to the young hero, who activated the monitor bay on the far wall, where dozens of news channels began playing. Cyborg isolated and enlarged one.
Jason Burr stood on the steps of Metropolis City Hall, surrounded by the press.
“--My brother continues to haunt me from beyond the grave. First he took my life, and now he’s trying to take my freedom. This imposter the Justice League have taken into custody seeks to undo all the good work I have been doing in the hopes of restoring some goodness to the Burr name. Some of you might recognise me, but for those who don’t, my name is Jason Burr, and I do not know who is in custody right now with the FBI, but it is not me .”
Jason Burr took a breath.
“I will be surrendering myself to Metropolis PD in an effort to clear my name, and ensure that the atrocities committed by my apparent doppelgänger are not blamed on me. I want to thank the Justice League for bringing this monster to justice, and I hope they accept my apologies that my brother is still thrashing against the world, even in death.”
“Good lord,” said Superman.
Aquaman bristled. “It’s not over.”
“You did good work,” said Batman.
Batman and Hawkman stood atop one of the tallest buildings Gotham City had to offer, shadows from the arcane architecture looming over their heads as they spoke.
“The work isn’t finished yet,” said Hawkman. “There are elements of Kobra still out there. Cells we couldn’t reach during the crackdown over the last 24 hours.”
“And according to the press conference in Metropolis, there are two Jason Burrs. One caught in the act as Lord Naga, and the other claiming innocence,” said Batman. “Things are never as simple as we originally think.”
“So it’s not over,” said Hawkman. “It won’t be over until Lord Naga-- whoever he is-- pays for what he made me do and what he’s done to the world.”
“Katar, you made an impossible decision in impossible circumstances,” said Batman. “I can’t imagine how that feels, but I know that if there was any other way, you would have found it.”
“You would have done the same thing I did, considering that it led to the death of a child?”
“I can’t say, Katar. I honestly don’t know,” said Batman. “Regardless, I asked you here tonight because you are welcome to return to the Justice League whenever you feel comfortable. We wouldn’t have asked you to leave when you did. We would never have asked you to go out there and do what you did alone.”
“I had Kendra,” said Katar. “I was never alone. Not really.” He looked down at the ground for a moment. “Not at all.”
Batman held his hand out. “I trust you with my life, Katar Hol. We all do. Come back to the Justice League.”
Hawkman silently considered Batman’s offer, and took his hand, shaking it sharply. “Thank you, Bruce. It’d be good to come home.”
NEXT ISSUE: A mysterious stranger lands in Gotham City with knowledge of events that could spell doom for the Justice League! What does Vandal Savage have locked away deep in his mountain fortress? What happens when the lone survivor of a once great race meets the Justice League, and intends to keep Earth safe-- at all costs?
With their roster numbering a meagre five, BATMAN, FLASH, GREEN LANTERN, SUPERMAN and WONDER WOMAN were reunited with AQUAMAN and MERA to face the insidious threat of LORD NAGA, and with the arrival of THE GUARDIAN, the team finally had what they needed to take the fight to KOBRA.
But with war on the horizon, the JUSTICE LEAGUE didn’t stop there-- they put out a call and their friends answered, and the roster of the team was bolstered by reservists!
Now the JUSTICE LEAGUE stands at their enemy’s gate, but what horrors does the city of Naliiva hold, and what monsters await unleashing from Science City Zero? Find out as the adventure continues--!
JUSTICE LEAGUE ROLL CALL:
JUSTICE LEAGUE
Issue Seven: “When The Sun Finally Sets”
HoM / FLINCHUM / BOWERS
Inside the hidden nation of Naliiva, current host of the kidnapped Science City Zero building…
The mighty blow sent Naga through the wall of Science City Zero and the Man of Steel followed, while the Justice League battled the Planetmasters outside.
Wonder Woman led the heroes on the outside, the heavy hitters grappling with the first wave of the warrior monks of the Planetmaster church, while the less-invulnerable contingent careened into Kobra’s foot soldiers as they scrambled to assist their master.
Big Barda smashed her Mega Rod into the mask of the Planetmaster who moved against her, and he crumpled as his nose broke on impact. She laughed, dove onto the man’s back, and used it to propel herself at the next villain. This was war.
Green Lantern deflected plasma fire that was being propelled at them from Kobra soldiers’ weapons, giving the other heroes the valuable cover they needed to take the fight to their enemies.
Meanwhile…
Inside Science City Zero, away from the fighting, Batman and the Guardian crept through the corridors, searching for the hostages that had been taken along with the physical building they journeyed through.
“Damned if I wouldn’t rather be outside right now,” said the Guardian. “I don't like the idea of a war going on outside and me sneaking around rather than fighting.”
“Your skills are better suited here,” said Batman.
“Faith to Kali Yuga,” declared a Kobra soldier, levelling his weapon at the two heroes.
The Guardian slammed his shield into the soldier’s chest and shrugged.
“Maybe I take that back, then,” said the Guardian. “Looks like things are about to heat up in here.”
As more soldiers swarmed in, Batman and the Guardian leapt forward, the latter grabbing his shield on the rebound, and they pummelled their opposition until they were unconscious.
“Hh,” said Batman. “We need to find the scientists.”
“They’re the least of your problems,” said Slipknot, as he appeared from around the corner.
The Guardian grimaced. “You think we’re scared of you, kid?”
“I’m just the mouthpiece,” said Slipknot. “Lord Naga was quite impressed with how Zebra Man handled himself in Midway City. Threw the Martian for quite the loop. So he used the folks at Science City to amp up his powers, and now he can’t talk. So I do it for him.”
“What?” said the Guardian.
A swirling mass of white-and-black energy spun past Slipknot and headed straight for the heroes. Batman dove into one of the rooms to the right, while the Guardian threw his shield up to deflect the onslaught, but instead he was propelled back and then up, right into the ceiling. The impact connected with an unholy crack as the concrete shattered on impact, and he fell to the floor in a daze. Zebra Man reformed above the Guardian’s prone body as Batman emerged from the corridor, only to be caught in a noose by Slipknot, who wrenched him backwards to choke the life out of him.
Zebra Man opened his mouth and shrieked indistinctly as Batman struggled for breath, while the Guardian struggled to stand. The white-and-black-striped villain slammed his hoofed foot onto the back of Harper, sending him back to the floor face first.
Elsewhere…
“You know, Superman,” said Lord Naga, deep inside Science City Zero. “I anticipated this.”
“Of course you did,” said Superman. “But that doesn’t mean you’ll win the day.”
Lord Naga gripped his mask and tore it free, to reveal the face of a beautiful, white-haired woman. “Remember me?”
Superman’s eyes widened in recognition. “You’re not Naga--”
The villainous Element Woman-- member of Kobra’s elite strikeforce-- grabbed Superman’s arm and transformed his costume into green Kryptonite, crippling the Man of Tomorrow and sending him to his knees.
“Always so obvious,” said the Element Woman. “Faith to Kali Yuga.”
Superman flicked her in the chin, knocking her out instantly. His costume reverted to normal, but he was severely weakened, and that was when the world went crimson.
Superman groaned as the red sunlight pierced his skin and drained his body of its solar charge.
“Look at you, weak as a pup,” said Lord Naga. The villain looked down at his disciple, laying unconscious next to Superman, who struggled to stand. “Such a shame to see such a powerful man reduced to a quivering mess.”
Superman swung a punch but Naga stepped backwards, dodging it easily.
“I’ve wanted to be alone with you for so long, ever since you allowed my brother to kill me months ago,” said Lord Naga. “Let him shoot me in the head.”
Superman could barely think. “Jeffrey…”
Lord Naga leaned forward. “You’ll never know for sure. And now you’ve given me access to all I need to bring an end to the world. Do you think they’ll remember you in their dying moments as a saviour, or the man who let Kobra run rampant in the end of days?”
The red sunlight descended onto the Man of Steel, and it was then that Superman realised he was being attacked by Kobra’s Spectrumonster, the sentient light form. Out of the corner of the Man of Tomorrow’s eye, he saw Element Woman drag herself up, and start glowing green. The world was pain, and he couldn’t fight it.
Lord Naga grabbed Superman by the hair but he didn’t count on the Man of Steel grabbing his foot and spinning him so he landed on his back beside him. Superman drove an elbow into Naga’s chest, but Spectrumonster solidified around Superman’s chest and the living energy beast drove the hero back against the wall.
Naga pulled himself to his feet. “I’m going to enjoy this next bit even more now.” He placed a hand within his cape and pulled out a needle gun. “Faith to Kali Yuga. Faith to me.”
Superman couldn’t escape the clutches of both the green-kryptonite-radiating Element Woman, or the-red sun-projecting Spectrumonster. He grit his teeth as Naga tore away his chest symbol, and raised the needle gun up in front of the Kryptonian’s face.
“Batman figured out how we got into Science City. Magic and ink. I added something else into the equation for you, Superman.” Whatever was inside the needle gun, whatever the ink was, it glowed green. Kryptonite. “So while you kill your friends, you’ll be dying along with them.”
Naga activated the needle gun.
“And yes, with the Justice League dead, I launch the end times for this world. I have every piece of confiscated horror tech this world, this multiverse has to offer. Every device used to enter this reality that the Global Peace Agency held? Every piece of technology used by your enemies that you entrusted into the hands of that insipid little group? I have it.”
“You can’t--”
“Even the Black Colossus, the device used by the Extremists to travel from one universe to another, riding the death knell of a reality*. I think I might tether myself to that and let Kali Yuga have this realm of existence, and find a better one for my followers and I.”
* Justice League V1 #28-30, the aptly-named ‘Black Colossus’ arc
Superman could say nothing as Naga leaned in to begin his work.
Meanwhile…
The Flash backed himself up against the wall and looked down at the compound fracture that had already started healing in his shin. He struggled, leaned forward, and placed both hands against the exposed bone, then pushed down, sending the fractures back into his already knitted-back-together flesh.
The action was punctuated by a scream on his part, but he could feel his body responding, releasing the right chemicals at super-speed into his blood to numb the pain.
“Hey, Barry,” said Mister Miracle, zipping over to the fallen speedster’s side. “You look like you could use a hand.”
“In a world of hurt right now, Scott. You’d be surprised how many times I’ve had my legs broken since I got my speed,” said Barry.
“I probably wouldn’t,” said Scott Free. He unclipped his Mother Box from his shoulder and handed it to the Flash. “Hold this for a moment.”
Barry did as he was told and felt a wave of Zen wash over him as the machine pinged.
Scott manipulated Barry’s shin with one hand, while his other held up the Mother Box for Barry to touch. The circuit they formed gave Scott the intuition to know the state of the Flash’s leg, and with one deft movement, he finally set the bone so that the speedster’s body could finish the job, and within seconds, Barry was being helped up by his comrade.
“I love these things,” said Barry, releasing his grip on the Mother Box.
“She likes you too,” said Scott. “That the guy causing you speed problems?” He motioned toward the Turtle, cowering behind his Planetmaster guard.
“Yup, he’s the one,” said the Flash.
“You may not be able to run, but can you throw a punch?”
Flash nodded, and the two men stormed toward their opposition.
Elsewhere…
Batman threw his weight forward, taking the pain in his throat even as his vision grew blurry. Slipknot lurched forward with him, and then Batman crouched, and somersaulted over Slipknot’s head, freeing himself from the hangman’s noose. He threw a hard elbow into Slipknot’s face, smashing his nose, and then followed up with another elbow against the man’s temple, knocking him out instantly.
Zebra Man watched this unfold and shrieked once more. He took a step forward and his body began to unravel, but the Guardian grabbed his ankle, causing the villain to look down at his opponent. With that distraction, Batman jumped toward Zebra Man and landed a punch against his small chin, sending him stumbling back.
The Guardian lurched up, joined Batman, and readied himself.
Zebra Man unravelled and hurtled toward the two men once more.
Meanwhile…
Wonder Woman could see the battle going their way. The Planetmasters were the hardest part, while the foot soldiers were just fodder. But as hard as their heads might be, the Planetmasters fell, and soon the assembled force of thirty-plus Justice Leaguers had done the job, and there was silence apart from some banter exchanged between some of the heroes who had fought for the side of good.
“Are you all right, Diana?” said Big Barda, noticing the concerned expression on Wonder Woman’s face.
“Something’s not right,” came the reply. “That was too easy.”
The ground rumbled, and Wonder Woman took a step back. Science City was shaking, and she felt as if the action was one of acknowledgement to her words.
There was a massive explosion above their heads, and John Stewart projected a shield to protect them from the debris that clattered down. A dozen figures emerged from the smoke that filled the sky, and they landed on Green Lantern’s shield and began to pummel it with super-powered fists. The emerald shield began to creak, and cracks ran through it. John looked confused, then saw what was slamming against his work-- emerald-encased-fists.
“Oh, no,” said Wonder Woman.
A dozen of Professor Ivo’s Amazos, in various stages of completion, had emerged from Science City Zero, and they did not look happy. When their eyes began to glow red, duplicating the heat vision of Superman, the assembled members of the Justice League knew they were in trouble.
Elsewhere…
Sometimes, along with the people of Earth, the members of the Justice League forgot Mister Miracle’s pedigree. They forgot that he was a New God, a member of a pantheon of extradimensional beings who descended to this plane of existence to help them make it to their next stage of existence.
The Planetmasters thought that Mister Miracle was just a man, not a God. So when their blows were deflected with a grace and ease that belied the stature of the New God, they also didn’t have time to block his flurry of attacks, backed up by super strength and durability.
Whilst not as powerful as Superman, Mister Miracle had the element of surprise on his side, along with the knowledge that the many nights spent training with his beloved wife Big Barda had not gone to waste.
“I didn’t think you had it in you,” said the Flash, as the unconscious bodies of the Planetmasters littered the scene, leaving the Turtle quivering by himself.
“What can I say,” said Mister Miracle. “I don’t get to flex those muscles often, but when I do, I can work wonders.”
“I thought you were going to say miracles then,” said the Flash, as he punched the Turtle in the face, knocking him out instantly. Ability to utilise the Speed Force returning to his being, Barry Allen couldn’t help but smile.
“I had to stop myself,” said Scott Free, diving back into the fray. He glanced over at Big Barda, who wore a hungry expression on her face.
Scott winked at Barda and she mouthed the word ‘Later’ at the love of her life.
Meanwhile…
Slipknot slipped away as Batman and the Guardian battled the Zebra Man. The inhuman, black-and-white humanoid continued to shriek as it switched between its contained form and the spiralling, force-of-nature aspect of its being, and the two heroes felt almost sympathy for the pain it sounded like it was experiencing.
{Batman, we have to shut this down ASAP,} said the Guardian. {Get clear.}
Batman somersaulted backwards and the Guardian unpinned a grenade from his belt and shoved it into the twisting vortex that comprised the Zebra Man’s chest. The explosive was swallowed instantly, and before the creature could process what it just ingested, a concussive blast detonated inside its belly, causing it to reform and collapse unconscious moments later.
As smoke rose from its inert form, Batman looked over at the Guardian. “You could have killed him.”
“But I didn’t,” said the Guardian. “C’mon.”
Elsewhere…
“Lord Naga, what’s wrong?” asked Element Woman.
“Broke the damn needle,” said Naga. “Even now, still the Man of damn Steel.”
“Sorry,” said Superman. With the last reserves of his dwindling solar charge, his eyes flared red hot, and the needle melted into slag in Naga’s hand.
The leader of Kobra didn’t cry out in pain, he simply dismissed the tool and slapped the Kryptonian in the face.
Superman spat blood, and began to laugh.
“What’s so funny, alien?” said the Element Woman.
Spectrumonster loosened his grip on Superman, and the hero fell to the floor. The creature shivered, seized up, caught up in some kind of trance, before exploding into fragments across the room.
“What’s happening?” said Element Woman. “Parker?”
“Looks like he needs a doctor,” said a woman at the door.
Element Woman turned, and saw Doctor Light standing there, her hands dimming after rendering Spectrumonster useless. The heroine grinned, and Aquaman and Mera, standing behind her, nodded in appreciation.
“Naga--” started Element Woman.
Before she could continue, there was a large rumbling from the floor beneath them.
Mera smiled. “That’d be me. I located whatever primitive plumbing system this strange little country uses, and redirected it, right about--”
A torrent of water engulfed Element Woman and slammed her into the ceiling, then drove her into the room above.
“--There.” Mera kissed her husband on the cheek then followed Element Woman up, while Aquaman trudged toward Lord Naga, cracking his knuckles.
“Last time we met, I lost a tooth at the hands of one of your followers,” said Aquaman. “How about I return the favour?”
Doctor Light darted toward Superman while Aquaman grabbed Lord Naga by the cape and swung him into the wall by the door they just came through. The wall crumbled, and Naga slammed into the corridor, dust and concrete following.
“How are you holding up, Superman?” asked Doctor Light.
As her hands shone bright with the simulated light of a yellow sun, Superman pulled himself up to his feet. “Better than ever, Doctor Hoshi.”
“Oh, call me Kimiyo,” said Doctor Light. “Kal, I always tell you…”
“Just the way I was raised, I’m afraid,” said Superman. They turned their attention to Aquaman, who had Lord Naga in his grips. “All under control?”
Mera’s voice emerged from the floor above. “Absolutely.”
Aquaman was about to answer in the affirmative when he was thrown into Superman and Lord Naga vanished in a cerulean blur. Doctor Light drew an afterimage of what happened with a wave of her hands, and the hard light projection showed the arrival-- and exit-- of Cobalt Blue, the speedster whose powers mirrored the Flash’s own. Naga had his exit strategy, and it was in full effect.
“Damnation,” said Aquaman. He looked up at the hole in the ceiling, and Mera tossed the unconscious form of Element Woman into the arms of Superman. “Where did he go?”
Meanwhile…
Wonder Woman sliced the head off an Amazo with a lighting fast whip crack of her lasso, and its eyes went dead as the head hit the ground pathetically. She wasn’t fast enough to dodge the attack of the second Amazo that went for her, but she drove her elbows into the back of the android hard enough to crack its shell, exposing circuitry for Big Barda to take advantage of. With a swing of her Mega Rod, the spine of the android was snapped, and there were suddenly only two Amazos left to deal with.
{Beetle, we’re being attacked by Amazos down here, what are you doing?} said Wonder Woman.
{Yeah, we’re being attacked by Amazos up here, so we know the feeling.}
{Do you need help?}
Wonder Woman watched as Animal Man tore through the throat of one of the Amazos. It was clear that these units were defective, their power-sets not up-to-date with other iterations of the Justice League. She thanked her gods the Amazos were partly decommissioned, and not at full power. If they had their full capabilities, the fact that there were nearly thirty superhumans in their vicinity would have led to the Justice League’s demise in seconds.
{We’ve got this--! I think that’s the last of the troublemakers, anyway. If anything else starts glowing red again, we’ll shout.}
Elsewhere…
Cobalt Blue came to a stop on the edge of Naliiva, and Lord Naga brushed himself off as he looked back toward Science City Zero, and the war that was finally dying down as the Justice League were reigning supreme against the forces of Kobra.
“It’s time, then,” said Lord Naga. “Time for the end of it.” He activated the comms link, and connected to Slipknot, back in Science City. “Activate the Black Colossus. This universe is broken. Best to end it before it can be allowed to rot down to the base of existence. Slipknot-- Christopher-- you know what you have to do. Make sure, no matter what, the men do what needs to be done.”
With that message sent, Naga turned back to Cobalt Blue.
“Demoralise them. Kill the Amazon first. Remove her head from her shoulders and show them. After that, take them apart however you see fit. Faith to Kali Yuga.”
Meanwhile…
“--Activate the Black Colossus,” said Lord Naga. “This universe is broken. Best to end it before it can be allowed to rot down to the base of existence. Slipknot-- Christopher-- you know what you have to do. Make sure, no matter what, the men do what needs to be done.”
Hearing the words over the radio in his cowl, Slipknot understood and sprinted through the corridors of Science City Zero, until he reached the main containment area where the most dangerous technology they had stolen was stored.
Instead of finding the Black Colossus, a device capable of destroying a world so as to propel travellers to the next one in vibrational proximity at that time, Slipknot was confronted by Blue Beetle and Booster Gold, the former in the process of defusing every doomsday device in the room, while the latter leaned against the wall, ready to blast Slipknot straight in the face with his energy-projecting gauntlets, knocking the villain out immediately. He fell down toward the last thing he saw-- a pile of unconscious Kobra agents that Booster had already taken down.
“When do you think Lord Naga will figure out Superman broadcast his little rant to the entire Justice League so we knew what to dismantle first?” said Booster Gold.
Blue Beetle looked out from the interior of the machine he was disabling. “Probably when the world doesn’t die.” He shook his head before ducking down to resume his work. “And what’s this ‘we’ business, I’m doing all the hard work.”
“I’m the moral support, Teddy, don’t forget that,” said Booster, blasting another Kobra foot soldier.
Elsewhere…
The last remaining Kobra loyalists in Science City Zero were standing outside a sealed vault, and Batman and the Guardian made short work of them. The Guardian prised the vault door open with his bare hands, revealing the kidnapped scientists that Kobra had taken when he transported Science City Zero into the rogue nation of Naliiva.
“How are you all doing in here?” said the Guardian.
“What’s going on?” asked one of the scientists. “What happened?”
“We’re getting you out of here,” said the Guardian. He turned and noted that the Dark Knight had vanished, and the old soldier shook his head. “C’mon, let’s get going.”
Meanwhile…
{Wonder Woman, how’s it looking out there?} said Superman.
{We have routed the last of Kobra’s military, have you secured Naga?}
{Naga’s speedster got him out ,} said Aquaman, joining the conversation. {Does anyone have eyes on--}
The Flash vanished for a split second, then appeared next to Wonder Woman, his costume in tatters and his face covered in bruises. In a chokehold was Cobalt Blue, in a similar condition. {I… got him... just let… me get… my breath… back…}
The Flash released the unconscious Cobalt Blue and pulled off his face mask-- and was shocked by the sight of his own face! Cobalt Blue was the spitting image of Barry Allen!
Wonder Woman had felt a gust of wind at the back of her neck a split second before The Flash vanished from sight, and a dozen questions came to mind after he arrived back looking bedraggled. Instead of asking them, she nodded in appreciation. {We have Cobalt Blue, but not Lord Naga.}
{Where is that bastard?} said Aquaman. {Without him in chains this will never end.}
{Let’s check in with our man on the inside,} said Superman. {And our friends across the globe.}
Beneath the city of Naliiva:
Lord Naga darted through the hidden catacombs of the rogue nation, searching for the means to his escape. He knew the labyrinth like the back of his hand because he built it. That was one nugget of truth that was allowed to slip through his psi-masked helm and enter the void.
Even before Naga placed his hand on its pristine surface, the white wall at the centre of the maze glowed unnaturally. When his palm met the wall, tendrils of sickening, red light spread from where glove met wall, and a doorway opened up into another place.
A mace crashed into his face with a colossal impact, and the leader of the Kobra cult fell backwards without crossing the threshold.
“You thought you could just run away?” said the revealed Hawkman. “You thought this was over?”
Beside the winged avenger stood a smiling Hawkgirl, tapping her mace into her open palm. “It was never going to be that easy.” Behind the duo, the staging ground of Kobra’s endeavours was a ravaged war zone, countless devotees to the cult in various states of beaten to all seven hells.
“What-- is-- this--?” growled Lord Naga.
Hawkman grabbed Lord Naga and lifted him up into the air. “You made me kill an innocent. A child*. All part of your twisted game-- but I’m afraid I’ve got some bad news.”
* Justice League #2
Lord Naga grabbed Katar Hol’s wrist and sent a thousand volts of electricity crackling into the Thanagarian’s body, but Kendra Saunders threw a punch into the mask of Naga that separated the two of them. Hol staggered back, his flesh smouldering, but he refused to give up.
“Do you think I’ve spent the months since a broken wreck?”
Hawkman smashed his mace into Naga’s gauntlets, shattering the microcircuitry beneath the surface, the feedback riding through the villain’s body.
“Wasn’t ever going to happen, Naga,” said Kendra. “Here’s a spoiler: You think the Justice League is the only team of superheroes you pissed off?”
Hawkman grabbed Naga by the foot and slung him into the converted temple in which the villain had hoped to find sanctuary. Kendra motioned to the bank of monitors that showed the interiors of all the installations across the world Kobra had embedded themselves into, and instead of cultists, there were only superheroes-- members of the Justice Society of America and the Outsiders. The Teen Titans fought on alongside Young Justice, while other heroes, not affiliated with any of the teams, were doing what needed to be done to purge the world of Kobra’s influence.
“There’s only one last piece of the puzzle,” said Kendra. “Just who exactly are you?”
“You don’t scare me,” said Lord Naga. “Strike me down and I will rise again and again and again. Faith to Kali Yuga.”
“Jeffrey Burr is dead, of course. Shot in the head by Jason, his twin brother. His poor, tortured brother,” said Kendra. “And Jason is a good guy now. We’ve all read the press releases.”
Hawkman drew a ceremonial dagger from his back and slashed it down against Naga’s armour at the front.
At that point, the Justice League began to emerge from the catacomb entrance, watching as this played out. Against the Nth metal weapon the armour was useless, torn away from Naga’s body like crepe paper.
The skin beneath was grey, desiccated. The smell that filled the room was horrendous, but Katar wasn’t deterred. He stripped Naga’s torso of his armour and then tore the mask off of Lord Naga’s face-- revealing--
“My God,” said Kendra. “That’s-- that’s--”
Katar tossed the mask away. “A trick.”
Jeffrey Burr’s head still had the entry wound present at his forehead. He’d been dead for the better part of a year, and yet here his body was. Twisted. Broken. Decomposing.
Blue Beetle examined a piece of the armour Hawkman had discarded, and held it up to Booster Gold. “Look familiar?”
“It’s an exoskeleton--! A remote control battlesuit--!”
The mask Lord Naga wore continued to talk. “Faith to-- oof--”
“‘Oof’?” said the Guardian. “Did we miss something?”
“Well, you won’t believe who we just found,” came another voice from Lord Naga’s mask, this time a woman’s. “Hey guys, some of us haven’t met, but this is Jonni Thunder on line 1.”
Beetle glanced over at Booster, confused.
“Jonni’s with the Birds,” said Kendra. “One of the best detectives in the world.”
“Well, we wouldn’t be here right now if I didn’t get us here,” said another voice inside the mask, another woman’s.
Beetle thought he recognised that one. “Is that--?””
The second voice continued: “Hey, it’s Dawn-- sorry, Manitou Dawn, we’re on the clock. Here’s the cliff notes version: after everything that happened a few months ago, Diana asked Katar and Kendra to look into this Lord Naga guy’s real identity. Well, considering that Hawkgirl’s part of the Birds of Prey, it made perfect sense for Jonni to do the detective legwork that led us here, which, by the way, is next to Jason Burr, who is operating some kind of, I don’t know--”
“Let’s take this outside,” said the Guardian. “My guys have remote hacked the security system here, they’re currently sending the information to the US military. GL, would you mind erecting a shield around the compound? Sending the Kobra cultists to the relevant authorities?”
John Stewart glanced over at Wonder Woman, who nodded. He lit up his ring, and the entire complex was illuminated emerald.
Glancing around, The Flash asked the first question that came to mind. “Where is this place, anyway?”
“Idaho,” said Hawkgirl. “Last place I’d think to look for a doomsday cult.”
ROLL CALL UPDATE:
Hawkgirl! Hawkman! Jonni Thunder! Manitou Dawn!
Laputa; headquarters of the Justice League, and currently hosting one of the largest gathering of superheroes since the last Crisis:
“Lord Naga aka Jason Burr has been remanded into custody,” said Wonder Woman. “As of yet, he has made no statement to the authorities.” She paused. “It appears that he has been using a remote-controlled armoured suit, with the corpse of his brother inside, during his appearances as Lord Naga. This has allowed him to appear in two places at once, therefore taking us off the scent of his true identity. I don’t know how he was able to trick my lasso all those months ago* but we will hopefully find out soon enough.”
* All the way back in Justice League #1
This was a sight few gathered had witnessed before. Justice League and Justice Society, Outsiders and Titans, Young Justice and the Birds of Prey and everyone in-between who answered the call when it needed, all mingling together, eating and drinking the food prepared by the automated systems on Laputa.
Noticeably absent was Batman, but he was never one to hang around in the moments of peace, preferring to throw himself back into the chaos. Hawkman too was absent, and again, the heroes gathered understood the reasons why.
“Sneaking into his compound was easy enough, and catching him in the act of operating the suit was even easier,” said Jonni Thunder. “Just glad that Hawkgirl put us on the scent while she and the big guy did their own investigation.”
“Just a case of knocking on the right doors and knocking together the right heads,” said Hawkgirl. “Katar and I have been taking out the smaller cells incognito, working our way up to the big leagues. When we had enough intel, and Jonni helped us connect all the right dots, we distributed it to you guys and here we are today.”
“I’m glad we can close the book on this,” said Superman. “Kobra has been a threat for far too long. It’s down to your help that we could settle the issue once and for all.”
“Hey, it’s all good,” said Booster Gold. “You needed an assist, we’re more than happy to step up, right?”
“You’re the Justice League, Booster,” said Aquaman. “Your work speaks for itself.”
Beetle leaned into Booster to whisper, “Is he making fun of you?”
“What my husband is trying to say is thank you,” said Mera.
“Is she joining in?” Booster asked Beetle.
“This war was never going to be won by fighting on one front,” said Wonder Woman. “And with that in mind, we are once again restructuring the membership of the Justice League. After discussions with the founding members, we have decided upon a process wherein there is a core team of active members, which can rotate when appropriate, as well as an open number of seats that can be filled at any time, depending on the needs of the case at hand.”
Cyborg of the Teen Titans piqued up all of a sudden, and cleared his throat. “Excuse me, but I think you might want to see this.”
Everyone’s attention turned to the young hero, who activated the monitor bay on the far wall, where dozens of news channels began playing. Cyborg isolated and enlarged one.
Jason Burr stood on the steps of Metropolis City Hall, surrounded by the press.
“--My brother continues to haunt me from beyond the grave. First he took my life, and now he’s trying to take my freedom. This imposter the Justice League have taken into custody seeks to undo all the good work I have been doing in the hopes of restoring some goodness to the Burr name. Some of you might recognise me, but for those who don’t, my name is Jason Burr, and I do not know who is in custody right now with the FBI, but it is not me .”
Jason Burr took a breath.
“I will be surrendering myself to Metropolis PD in an effort to clear my name, and ensure that the atrocities committed by my apparent doppelgänger are not blamed on me. I want to thank the Justice League for bringing this monster to justice, and I hope they accept my apologies that my brother is still thrashing against the world, even in death.”
“Good lord,” said Superman.
Aquaman bristled. “It’s not over.”
Meanwhile…
“You did good work,” said Batman.
Batman and Hawkman stood atop one of the tallest buildings Gotham City had to offer, shadows from the arcane architecture looming over their heads as they spoke.
“The work isn’t finished yet,” said Hawkman. “There are elements of Kobra still out there. Cells we couldn’t reach during the crackdown over the last 24 hours.”
“And according to the press conference in Metropolis, there are two Jason Burrs. One caught in the act as Lord Naga, and the other claiming innocence,” said Batman. “Things are never as simple as we originally think.”
“So it’s not over,” said Hawkman. “It won’t be over until Lord Naga-- whoever he is-- pays for what he made me do and what he’s done to the world.”
“Katar, you made an impossible decision in impossible circumstances,” said Batman. “I can’t imagine how that feels, but I know that if there was any other way, you would have found it.”
“You would have done the same thing I did, considering that it led to the death of a child?”
“I can’t say, Katar. I honestly don’t know,” said Batman. “Regardless, I asked you here tonight because you are welcome to return to the Justice League whenever you feel comfortable. We wouldn’t have asked you to leave when you did. We would never have asked you to go out there and do what you did alone.”
“I had Kendra,” said Katar. “I was never alone. Not really.” He looked down at the ground for a moment. “Not at all.”
Batman held his hand out. “I trust you with my life, Katar Hol. We all do. Come back to the Justice League.”
Hawkman silently considered Batman’s offer, and took his hand, shaking it sharply. “Thank you, Bruce. It’d be good to come home.”
NEXT ISSUE: A mysterious stranger lands in Gotham City with knowledge of events that could spell doom for the Justice League! What does Vandal Savage have locked away deep in his mountain fortress? What happens when the lone survivor of a once great race meets the Justice League, and intends to keep Earth safe-- at all costs?
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