#22: Injustice Unbound! Pt. 2 (Walsh / Rimmer)

Previously, in Justice League...
...Clock King and I.Q. decided to find a new member for the inner circle of Injustice, Unlimited as they begin to suspect Angle Man of treachery; Angle Man lived up to expectations as he secretly recruited the killers Merlyn and Cheetah for his true agenda, taking them to another dimension to meet his secret partner; the Justice League attempted to contain the Injustice organized crime spree as Elongated Man and Atom were surprised and unable to stop Merlyn and Cheetah from freeing Doctor 7; and the latest raid by Atomic Skull and Penny Dreadful to find Doctor Electron sent Kid Eternity racing to the Sanbourne Institute to intercept them.

And now...


There was the usual flurry of hushed activities going on inside the long, one-story building that clung to the promontory’s edge. Large windows faced out onto the Pacific Ocean as researchers, administrators, librarians and assistants set about the standard work-a-day tasks that engaged the interests of the Sanbourne Institute for Pacific Antiquities.

That was until the panes exploded into violent shards, blasting inward, slicing paper and wood and flesh in equal measure. The musical sounds of the shattering windows mingled with screams of fear and pain, followed soon after by gasps and cries of shock when the Atomic Skull stepped in through the entrance he’d just made, Penny Dreadful slipping in behind him and looking over the handiwork.

“Okay, here’s the deal, people!” Atomic Skull called out to the staff as they attempted to collect themselves, to look around for the injured and deal with the sudden attack. “I don’t really want to hurt anyone anymore than I already did. You guys are all just pawns, and I’m real sorry for those of you hurt. But until I get what I came for, then I am just gonna have to keep you all here, with me and my honey bunny here. So please, don’t anyone act up, no giving me lip, and we’ll get through all of this, I promise.”

“Wh-what do you want?” An older man stood slowly now, hands up and out to put the villains at ease. He glanced around at the employees under his watch, and pushed up at his wire-rim glasses. “I’m Dr. Keillor, and I’m sure we can work this out. Just tell me what you want.”

Atomic Skull kept his place just inside the windows, looking around as Penny stepped over to the manager, and slid her fingers along his weathered jaw. “Just Doctor Electron, sweetie. That’s all. My pumpkin is sure that some of his most important...” she took a moment to come up with the right technical term, “...stuff is here, and he’ll come to get it back. Or someone here can tell us where to find the good ole bad ole Doc E.”

“There’s no one here like that,” Keillor said as he flinched at the woman’s touch. “Nothing here like that. We deal in antiques, in historical research, in--”

“All that really valuable junk that I came here for, that’s got a surprisingly big black market,” Penny interrupted him as she walked around him and looked over the employees, huddled in small groups, some trying to tend to the injured, in particular a striking Native American woman who seemed to be taking quiet command of the others as the professor engaged the villains. “In the biz, we call those buyers Miskatonics, and I’m betting I don’t have to tell you why. So in a bit, you’ll give me a tour of the place and show me what goodies you got. Right now, you get your first aid kit and take care of these people. And keep them quiet!” She let a bolt of electricity arc from one finger to the matching finger on her other hand. “Got it?”

“Of course,” Keillor said as he scrambled to his office to get out the kit Penny had mentioned. Penny sauntered around the room, sliding her fingers over a long wooden table in the middle of the room, and glanced around at the workstations. She noticed how one woman in particular kept looking her and her lover over, and it made Penny suspicious. Almost nervous, as she eventually made her way back to the Skull.

“Don’t scare them too much, baby,” Skull chastened her. “Not their fault that they’re wrapped up in his games. They’ll behave, after the show we gave them. We just have to give the cops five or ten minutes to get here, and we can start announcing our demands.” He hugged her tightly, and she felt the excitement that made his bulky body shiver.

“My good guy, always thinking of the innocents,” Penny said as she rested her head against him. There was too much going on now that confused her. Doctor Electron was fictional, a mad scientist from a movie serial, and yet, the man who held her right now, Joseph Martin (though he refused to use that name), had insisted he was real. The fact that the pair found a trail leading them here, of all places, just made no sense. Her pumpkin was vicious, with dangerous powers, and yet, there were times he insisted on acting like the hero of that favorite movie serial of his - the source of his name - “Curse of the Atomic Skull.” She only wanted money and lots of it, but she couldn’t resist his tenderness when alone, his caring, his thoughtfulness. And now they were so close to his goal, it seemed, and she had no idea what it meant, for her; for him; for them or anyone. So she hugged him even tighter instead.

“Isn’t that a happy picture?” The two villains turned to face the new voice as Kid Eternity seemed to blow in like mist. He stood facing them, arms folded over his chest, narrowed eyes hidden behind dark red sunglasses as he stared at the pair. “You two surrender, and leave the building, and no one else has to get hurt.”

“Surrender? Are you crazy, kid?” Skull yelled and lashed out, energy coruscating from the flaming corona around his head. The blast passed harmlessly through Kit, who stood in place and shook his head with exaggerated pity.

“Fine, be that way,” Kit said. ”Eternity!”

Nothing happened as Kid Eternity looked around to find the figure he’d tried to summon. He repeated his magic word as the woman that Penny had been keeping track of slowly moved up to the ghostly hero.

“Kid,” Dawn Makes Strong Move explained in a quiet voice, “the building houses books and objects with terrible potential. The building is built to block summonings.” She looked over at the two villains as they laughed at Kit’s failed attempts.

“Well, isn’t that just a kick in the head?”

The Hall of Justice
“I have to say, I would have thought I’d feel a little easier, manning the headquarters and acting as information hub,” Zan muttered as he, his sister Jayna, and their ally Gypsy sat in the conference room. They were coordinating the various reports coming in from the Justice League on the field. Hawkman and Hawkgirl drawn to Midway City to tangle with the Tattooed Man; the Atom in Gateway City trying to deal with a crime spree by Double Dare; Wonder Woman in Leesburg to try and catch up to Amos Fortune and his Ill-Gotten Gang after a major Baltimore heist. Each new crime reported added to the mounting difficulties for the thinly-spread League and the harried young heroes at the Hall. But each extra case added another pin for the Question, on one of the central monitors now; and another clue to the Batman, on another monitor, both in conference with the third detective, Elongated Man.

“Tell me about it, brother,” Jayna answered with a short yawn before looking up from the desk station monitor she operated. “According to this message, the Flash is positive that the incidents going on in Keystone and Central Cities are unrelated to Injustice, Unlimited, Question.”*

*Check out current issues of the Flash to see just who is responsible for the havoc in the Twin Cities!

“As I figured,” the blank-faced crime-fighter mused as he looked over the makeshift maps and tactical boards. He was changing from a ripped, bloodied shirt into a clean shirt. “At least I managed to get Javelin off the board altogether.”

“So at this point, we’re agreed?” Batman asked for confirmation as his scowl looked out into the League conference room from his video monitor.

“Yeah, I gotta go along with the Q,” Ralph Dibny said, the scenery in the background zipping past as wind tousled his bright hair. “It’s the only logical location for this cabal Gypsy’s told us runs Injustice. If Flash is tied up at home for the moment, do we have someone who can get there quick?”

“I’ve sent the information to Mr. Jones already, actually,” Gypsy announced to the three detectives. “Seemed to be the best choice, especially with the Hawks busy.”

Batman’s blank eyes narrowed as he looked at the young woman, while the Question’s temples and jaw seemed to twitch, the actual expression lost along with his face. “Astute. Well done.”

“I’ve got to bundle up and look into this new activity cropping up in the Quad Cities,” Question announced as he slipped on a dark blue suit coat, and reached for the heavy duster. “You kids going to be alright while we’re out?”

“Yes, we’re doing fine,” Jayna assured him. “Just get to the bottom of this crime-wave and fast, huh? I think we’re all going to need to sleep for a week after this is done.”

“This is just too much at once,” Gypsy said softly. “They’re quieter. More discrete. It’s how they’ve been so successful. Why all of this activity?”

“They’re planning something bigger,” Batman and Ralph said at the same time from two different monitors.

“Jinx. You owe me a coke, Bats,” Ralph added with an over-wide grin. “We’re getting close to Sue’s latest lead, so I’ll check back in with you guys in about fifteen or twenty minutes.” His screen went dark, followed by the Question’s.

Batman was all that was left. “Remember, do not make a mention of my involvement in this, understand?” His face turned for a moment and absorbed some information that the young heroes in the Hall could not see. “I have something to look into as well. About Black Spider. Batman out.”

“Planning something bigger? Any idea what, Cindy?” Zan asked, violet eyes looking at the human woman. “Something maybe we could look into? I mean, if we’re going to exhaust ourselves like the real heroes, we should get to do some real action, right?”

“I’ve no idea what,” Gypsy answered as she chewed her thumb nervously. “This is so completely against the point of their group. Not to get noticed, not to be showy, make money and keep a low profile. It’s why they don’t let the crazies onto the group, it’s why they don’t do bloody crimes. It doesn’t make sense.”

“Well, then let’s hope our thinkers can figure it out,” Jayna said as she typed in the latest updates. “And we’ll just keep working here. Don’t worry, wonder-brother. I’m positive we’ll get some of your ‘real action’ soon.” She flashed him a smile before returning to the typing, now the only noise left to break the tension in the Hall.

Ten miles southeast of Salina, Kansas
“We’re getting close to Sue’s latest lead, so I’ll check back in with you guys in about fifteen or twenty minutes,” Ralph reported and closed out the small screen on the Dibny’s sleek car. He glanced at the fields of wheat and corn that stretched out on all sides from the country road they raced along. “So where is this last piece of property ManyPenny still owns?”

“That’s the part that really sticks out about it, dear,” Sue said as she pulled off the main street, and the car bounced down a rough dirt track. She brought the car to a stop and pulled herself up, leaning out of the open driver’s window. “This is it.”

Ralph stretched his upper body up out from the passenger side, in a wider and wider circle. “It’s a field, Suzie dear. An empty field.”

“That’s my point, Ralph. There’s nothing here. They’ve owned it for over a year now at least, and there’s been nothing about it. No plans at all. They just own it.” She shivered a bit as she looked up at her husband, who lowered his head down to meet hers. “When I first checked the place out, the air felt strange. Tingly, like after a thunderstorm or something.”

“And that’s why I brought this,” Ralph said as an arm stretched over to the backseat and pulled out an advanced looking device that fit in his hand, beeping and humming. “Atom showed me how to work it before we parted after the Alcatraz mess.” He let himself half snap and half leap into normal shape next to his wife and started to operate the scanner. “C’mon, let’s see what we can dig up.”

The Dibnys walked out into the field, and headed in the direction of increased readings. “Definitely something out here, hon. Good spot.” His face distorted into exaggerated concern as he looked at the readings. “Hmm. These readings look familiar.” The pair continued to walk out into the field, a little slower now as they both examined the scanner’s information. Ralph slid a finger over the touchpad, the database in the device spitting out a translation of the numbers and the specific frequencies.

“The readings are spiking,” Sue announced as Ralph’s face flattened with worry. “What?”

“I thought this looked familiar.” He reached out to grab Sue just as she took another step forward, but it was too late. She’d tripped the projector half-buried in the field and Ralph could only wrap an arm around her waist several times as they were dragged across the dimensional barrier and dumped into a white space devoid of landmarks.

Sue was dizzy for a moment and her hands gripped the comforting rubbery arm holding her close. “Wh-what...?”

“The Phantom Zone,” Ralph answered as he looked around and then to the device, then let his head twist in a complete circle before stopping to stare into his wife’s worried eyes. “The frequency is very, very close to what I saw on the satellite when we projected Mon-El to save his life.”

“The Phantom Zone? We’re stuck in the Phantom Zone?” Sue trembled a bit as she hugged his arm tight.

“Now now, Sue. It’s not that bad. It’s only really, very close to the frequency. This doesn’t seem to match what Superman’s described before,” Ralph tried to reassure Sue. “Um...maybe it’s just a suburb?”

Sue gave her husband a withering look as she hugged his arm tight and the husband and wife drifted in the blank void.

Gotham City
Black Spider glared down at Julian Day from underneath the burnt orange hood he wore. Arms folded up over his chest and while the man he talked to was unaware of it, the enforcer for Injustice, Unlimited was mentally counting off the minutes in his head while he put up with the ego on this other man.

“Look, Day, there’s no question that as far as your Calendar Man exploits go, you’re a great plotter,” Black Spider finally cut off the other man. “But you’re Calendar Man. Your plotting goes just so far, then someone with half a brain looks at the day of the week and busts you. So no, I’m not recruiting you for the cabal, and all your whining won’t cut it. We do want you as a planner and coordinator though, and there’s nothing wrong with that, so if I were you,” Black Spider now leaned over the table, looming large in the Calendar Man’s vision in the dingy Gotham City apartment, “I’d take the offer and be happy with it.”

“Well, I mean, if you put it that way,” Julian answered with a cough, and leaned back in his chair. “Sounds good.”

“Now where’s the other one?”

“Other one?” Julian asked as he slid the chair back from the table.

“Phil. Cobb.” Spider glared at Julian’s feigned ignorance. “Signalman.”

“You know what, you got me? I thought I knew what was up with him and then, honest to God, about two months back, he disappears off the face of the planet,” Calendar Man answered with a helpless shrug. “Left me high and dry on a deal too, so believe me, if I knew where he was and could tell you, I would.”

“That’s disappointing,” Black Spider said as he stood back up straight and looked over to the window, his inner clock still running. It stopped and he gave a rueful smile under the mask when he saw a darkness, against the black night, hurtling toward the window. “Julian, if I were you, and you really want this post...run!”

The urgency in Black Spider’s voice was all Julian Day needed to hear to know what was about to happen. It didn’t matter how highly one of them ranked in the pantheon of Gotham freaks, there were only two who generated that sound of alarm. And as Julian noted that Spider wasn’t running, it clearly wasn’t the Clown Prince, which meant it had to be the Bat. Julian slammed the door behind him as the glass shattered and the battle within his erstwhile apartment began.

“Your recruiting drive is over!” the Dark Knight growled as he rose from the shards, a menacing shadow with an icy scowl. Black Spider repressed a tremble and tensed himself, bouncing lightly on his feet as he dropped into a simple defensive stance. “You have answers and I’m going to get to them. How much pain you want involved is up to you.”

“Nice to see death’s not mellowed you at all,” Black Spider tossed back as he threw a couple of feints to test the vigilante’s reflexes. “So what kind of answers are you looking for?”

Batman launched a series of punches and kicks in rapid succession, all intended to push his enemy into a corner, to box him in and limit his mobility. Black Spider blocked the shots, remaining defensive during the assault and then leaped up to the ceiling, clinging to the surface due to the special gloves and boots he wore. “I honestly couldn’t care less about picking up losers like Signalman and Calendar Man,” the Spider explained as he leaped to the other side of Batman, instantly extending his leg behind him when he landed on the floor.

Batman had spun in response though, and the leg was caught up in the weighted cloak. A follow-up blow from the Dark Knight knocked the wind from the Spider and sent him crashing through the kitchen table. “So you say. But what about Crimesmith then? Your people put a lot of expense into breaking him out.”

Black Spider rolled away from the Batman and hurled a narrow throwing knife that was again caught up in the cloak. “Yeah, that’s right. It’s why I’m here. I have to tell you things without anyone knowing I’m telling you things. The fact that I’m still conscious means you’re not the actual Bat, or you realize that and you’re playing along.”

Black Spider’s nose exploded as the vigilante’s foot suddenly connected and sent the criminal enforcer spinning around, crashing into the counter. He felt his shoulders gripped tight now as he was spun back to face an angered caped crusader and put his hands up to signal surrender. “Whoa! Okay, okay!”

“Real enough for you?” Batman pulled him close and then smashed his forehead into the bridge of the Spider’s nose, lights flaring in the criminal’s eyes as the pain spiked through his brain. “I’m not playing anymore! What’s happening?”

“Angle Man...” Spider replied. “He’s been skimming money off of IU, and now, he’s got all our members working crimes all at once. It’s a diversion, and he’s up to something big, and it’s not what my guys want! So take a hint, Batman, warn your League buddies that what we’re doing is small potatoes. We’re cleaning up our house, but you guys, you guys have to figure out Bend’s angle in all this.”

“You risked prison to tell me this? Because there is no way you could think you were telling me this and I was letting you walk out of Gotham a free man?”

Black Spider laughed now and shook his head. “Man, you don’t get it. I knew what was going to happen. I’m going to get busted, and then my lawyer is going to show up and get me out. Because I’m not a two-bit hood anymore, Batman. I’m a union guy now, and that comes with some mighty deep pockets.” He started to laugh as the pain made him delirious, and he wanted to stop because he knew what would happen after someone laughed at the Bat.

When he woke up in a prison cell some hours later, he was glad the union paid for medical bills as well.

Superior City
“This was such a nice base while it lasted,” I.Q. observed as he calibrated the machinery attached to a metallic arch. “A shame to have to abandon ship.”

“You shouldn’t form sentimental attachments to places and things,” Clock King chastised his partner as he watched the rogue scientist fiddle with the device. The complex shook as a loud crash sounded off in the distance. Dreadbolt looked nervously in that direction. “Crimesmith is waiting for us in the new location, and we need to regain control of the organization after Angle Man’s rather...unique betrayal.”

“Have to admit, it was pretty slick of him,” Ira Quimby said as he put the last finishing touches on the controls to the arch. “Setting up our network to spit out all our plans to the members and scheduling their crimes to go off at once.”

“Yes, and arranged to point to our location,” Clock King added as another resounding crash rocked the building.

“Pinpointing our base so we’d be too busy packing up and running for cover to put a leash on everyone,” I.Q. grumbled as he hit a switch and the arch started to hum loudly. “I’m going to make him really, really sorry when I get my hands on him.”

Clock King adjusted his clock-faced glasses and gave Dreadbolt a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, my boy. You’re going to do quite well, I’m sure. And worst comes to worst, your bills are covered and we will retrieve you.”

“Thanks, Mr. Fugate,” Dreadbolt answered with a nod, an earnest look on his face as he tugged the cowl into position. “I won’t let you guys down.”

“And you’re not alone, kid,” I.Q. added as the reinforced wall guarding this final bunker started to crack and crumble under the assault. The arch grew warm and then started to fold the space between it and a similar arch hundreds of miles away. “Don’t forget that.”

“I won’t. Now you two get going,” Dreadbolt answered with a determined nod as the wall finally broke apart and a heavily-muscled green arm came into view. “Time for me to step up to the big leagues.” He clenched his fists, crackling with raw energy as J’onn J’onzz, the Manhunter from Mars, stepped into the room through crushed concrete, torn metal and sparking cables.

“No!” J’onn cried out as he saw I.Q. and Clock King step toward the folded space, beams of light lancing from his red eyes to try and slice the arch and cut off their escape.

“Not a chance, Green-genes!” Dreadbolt taunted as he threw himself in front of the laser vision, grunting in pain as his force field struggled to resist the attack. “It’s you and me time!” Strokes of lightning slashed across the space to strike the broad emerald chest of the Martian hero.

“Powerful, son, but not powerful enough. Not even close,” Martian Manhunter said as he moved up to Dreadbolt and brushed him aside. His incredible strength sent the criminal hurtling to the far side of the room, the force field collapsing as it absorbed all the damage it could.

“Not alone,” Dreadbolt grunted. He hadn’t wanted to do this, he really wanted this to be his moment, but the Manhunter was too powerful. His electrical powers remotely opened the door on the opposite side of the room, where she waited.

“Sweetheart!” cried out the woman in red. She dashed into the room, her tanned skin already starting to glow like an ember. “They told me you guys would try to hurt him bad!”

J’onn turned toward the young woman now glaring at him. “These are criminals. Bad people, very bad. Your sweetheart beat two women badly to get illicitly obtained money out of them. Maybe you shouldn’t be defending...him...Miss...?” He broke off his words as he felt heat starting to emanate from her now.

“No miss. Volcana! Mr. Quimby made me into Volcana so I could kick your ass for hurting my ‘bolt!” she cried out in fury, flames flickering to life around her, and then roaring up from her to strike the Martian. “So you just stop sticking your green nose in where it don’t belong, got it?”

The Daily Planet
“Man, this is just crazy,” Lois Lane declared as she took a moment to stretch her arms high. She sat at her desk and stared at her story on the computer screen as she stretched herself out, then glanced to her colleague. “It’s like someone just told every costumed crook in the country to go nuts.”

She noticed that Clark Kent stared at his own computer screen, apparently lost in some private world of his own, like he was so often. She sighed as she failed to get a response from him, and then snapped her fingers. “Smallville! Wake up!”

“Lois? What is it?” Clark asked as he suddenly looked up at her. He’d been trying to pick up any Justice League communicator talk, and was becoming bothered by the fact that there was none to be heard suddenly.

“The crime wave? Didn’t you notice it?” Lois teased him as she walked over to his desk. “What’s got your attention, Clark?” She looked at the wire report he was reviewing. “Merlyn, Cheetah and Doctor 7 got into a government depot early this morning,” she read out. “Hm. Interesting.”

“For a number of reasons,” Clark replied with a concerned voice. “Merlyn and Cheetah aren’t crooks. And no one else is knocking over government buildings. And the government won’t say what was taken, not one word. They won’t really even confirm the raid.”

“If that’s the vault I think it is, it’s where all the future-tech is kept,” Lois answered casually.

“Future-tech?”

“Yeah. I think I remember hearing something about it from Dad,” Lois went on to explain. “Whenever one of those supposed time-travelers comes back and leaves his junk behind, it gets put into that storage facility.”

“Well, that’s not good,” Clark exclaimed, frowning at Lois. Inside, he was even more alarmed, and had more choice words, but the farm boy wouldn’t say them.

“No, Smallville. It’s not. Not good at all.” Lois walked back to her desk and chuckled. “Guess that’s why you’re a Planet reporter. That keen observational skill of yours.”

“Lane!” Perry White called out from his office. “I just got a tip from a reliable source that Ellsworth Air Force Base had one of its secure bunkers broken open and raided. You got good military contacts, get out there, find out details, see if it’s connected at all!”

“You got it, Perry,” Lois called back as she saved the file on her computer. She closed up her laptop, slid it into her bag and turned a taunting grin at Clark. “See, Smallville? It’s all about who you...know...”

Clark was gone. A red and blue blur was already out of Metropolis by the time her voice had trailed off in surprise at his sudden disappearance. Superman’s face was a mask of worry. Lois may have known about the vault of future-tech, but it was Superman who knew what was kept in the Ellsworth bunker.

The remnants of the Galactic Golem.

The Hall of Justice
“There’s nothing I can do,” Zan complained as he looked up from under the command console of the monitor room. Each and every screen was filled with static, a steady white hiss taunting the three young heroes. “I have no idea what’s happened to the communications.”

“Someone in the League will come to find out why they can’t reach us soon, though,” Gypsy said hopefully as she watched the twins pore over the electronics helplessly. “Right?”

“Sure, of course,” Jayna answered uncertainly.

“Why does it sound like you have a but in there?” Gypsy pressed.

“We didn’t lose communications. We’ve been cut off,” Jayna answered.

“And being cut off means someone’s coming to take the Hall,” Zan added. “Right, sis?”

“That’s what I’m thinking, wonder-brother,” Jayna answered in a worried voice. The three of them jumped when they heard clapping in the corridor just outside.

“Very good,” Angle Man said with an oily grin as he leaned against the door jamb. “Very, very good.” He then turned to his companions in the corridor. “They’re just alien leftovers from the previous phase. If they end up dying, I won’t cry,” he explained to Merlyn, Cheetah and Doctor 7. “Try to keep Gypsy in one piece though, okay? She was always Uncle Angelo’s favorite.” He gave her a wink.

“Not a chance!” Jayna yelled back and reached a hand out for her brother, a burst of energy from each of them melting and rearranging their forms as Gypsy vanished from sight in response to the lewd wink.

“Oh girlie, that doesn’t help against my senses,” Cheetah chided the young woman as she leaped in the direction Gypsy was now moving.

“Felines don’t like water, right?” Zan taunted as a geyser of bluish-purple liquid crashed into the leaping killer, and battered her into the ceiling before she could realize what had happened. “I think you’ll hate me then.”

“As for you two,” Jayna growled as she assumed the shape of a lumbering alien ape and brought powerful arms down on the archer. Merlyn desperately ducked and rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the attack. “Trying to beat up a bunch of kids. You should be ashamed of yourselves!”

“Young lady, there is no ‘try’,” Doctor 7 countered as he swept an arm with a flourish and a passing frisson chilled Jayna’s spine. Then, water cascaded back from the ceiling and got into her eyes, momentarily blinding her.

“Form of ice, kid,” Merlyn grumbled as he fired a pair of arrows at the geyser pummeling Cheetah, the arrowheads blowing open and freezing the alien teen solid and sending him crashing to the floor.

Cheetah dropped down onto Jayna’s head and immediately began to claw at her, further blinding her. Gypsy could hear her friend cry out in pain as she raced out of the monitor room. The villains were right, Angle Man was right. She knew the three of them stood no chance against such killers.

The satellite, Cynthia reasoned as her heart pounded in her chest and she struggled to choke back tears at running out on the twins. It has its own communications, I can reach the League, teleport them there, save the day!

She reached the tubes and quickly activated the controls, feeling the energy shift her upward at unimaginable speeds, stumbling out of the tube up on the satellite before she could blink. She quickly regained her balance and dashed from the teleport room, headed for the communications hub. She shivered from the cold of the satellite, used to keep the Dharlu in check, and she shivered again when she remembered the beast. But all of that distraction faded from her mind when she heard an odd crackling hum from another room.

She stopped and followed the sound. She crept along, pressed up against the wall, keeping herself metallic like the surface she was pressed against, her knees shaking as she peered into a room. A strange lamp-like device shimmered and hummed, slowly growing brighter. She watched in horror as a beam of light poured out of it.

From the beam of light came an arm clutching a strangely-shaped object. Almost like an alien key, the thought flashed through Gypsy’s mind. The arm was joined by the rest of the person as he stepped out of the Phantom Zone projector that had been used so many months earlier to save Mon-El’s life. Gypsy gasped as she saw the tall armored figure sweep out from the shaft of light and the projector switched off. An ivory cloak swept around the regal armor, the color of dark purple, like a bruise. She couldn’t see his eyes under the grate-like visor he wore on his helmet. The odd key crackled in one hand, and in his other was a thick, vicious baton, one end glowing wicked red. He smiled as he caught the sound of the gasp and his hidden eyes fell on Gypsy.

“I...I...I’ve seen you...once...Angelo...Angle Man...h-he...” Gypsy stammered as the man approached her.

“Yes. He. I. We. Partners. Conspirators. Only I could have provided the cosmic knowledge that has plagued our foes. Only I could have matched the tactical genius of the League’s greatest thinkers.” He paused as he let the teen absorb what he’d just said, before letting his cruel grin widen and added with pride, “Only Prometheus!”
To be continued!


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