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Post by arcalian on Sept 9, 2009 11:31:48 GMT -5
Justice League: Renaissance #1
The Awakening, Chapter One
Story and art by Jamie Rimmer
Edited by Jay McIntyre
(special thanks to Mark Bowers) |
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Post by arcalian on Sept 9, 2009 11:34:06 GMT -5
METROPOLIS, THEN.
Starro the intergalactic parasite and conqueror of worlds, loomed large, blotting out the rays of the golden Sun
There was once a time when this would have disabled Metropolis, as her guardian, Superman relied upon the rays off the golden globe to sustain his superhuman power. Things have changed. Times have moved forward. Where once there was a Superman, there is now a SuperWoman, and, unlike her predecessor she has no need to harness the power of the Sun.
“Hey Kory, need a hand?”
As the statuesque golden skinned warrior with the S on her chest turned around, she smirked at the arrival of reinforcements.
The Justice League had arrived in full force, and they meant business.
ROLL CALL
The Black Canary Dinah Lance-Queen, The blond bombshell herself. Harnesses her Canary Cry to wreak havoc on the brains, and ears of any with villainous intent, expert tactician, martial artist extraordinaire, current leader of the League.
Wonder Woman- Donna Troy, ferocious Amazonian warrior, and wielder of the dark star, graduated into the roll after Diana assumed the mantle as Diana settled into family life, with her husband Stephen Trevor.
Green Lantern- Kyle Rayner, world famous artist extraordinaire, and able to construct green energy constructs, only limited by the depths of his imagination. Husband to the woman of wonder
Batman- Richard Grayson, stepped up as the next protector of Gotham City after his mentor, Bruce Wayne was paralysed after a fight with the chemically enhanced Bane. Dick easily stepped into the role of the Worlds Greatest Detective.
Flash- Wally West. Fastest man alive, the enigmatic, but always fun, speedster. Forced to grow up early after his mentor Barry Allen, the first flash died in a great crisis, saving the world.
Superwoman Princess Koriand’r of Tamaran, on again off again lover of Richard Grayson, fell to earth in her early teens, preaching tales of intergalactic slavery. Superman took pity on this Alien, with origins so similar to his own, trapped on an alien world, super powerful, with no home to call her own, and raised her to become the Earths Mightiest hero
Martian Manhunter- Jonn Jonnz Manhunter from Mars, almost limitless amount of power, telepathy, empathy, super strength,to name but a few, teleported to Earth at the same moment his own world, his life, his family were destroyed.
Red Arrow- Roy Queen adopted son of the legendary emerald archer. Equal to, though some say even better, than the original, all of the attitude of his Father, and twice the ladies man, Roy is a master of weaponry, though he still prefers the curves of his old faithful bow and arrows..
The Justice League of America, Earth's brightest and best. They could do anything...
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Post by arcalian on Sept 9, 2009 11:35:20 GMT -5
The team fell into their usual pattern, with well practiced ease. Dinah called the shots via the comm. Link. She, Roy and Flash on crowd control, Jonn levitated as if in meditation, waging a silent war against the hive mind that is Starro, protected by the energy constructs of Kyle. Donna, Kory and Dick battling through the masses of possessed templates, serving as little more than a distraction to buy Jonn enough time to overpower the overlord. Everything was under control.
But then IT happened, the light enveloped them all, brightness the likes of which had never been seen before. The world dissolved to white noise.
The light cleared, as suddenly as it had arrived, Starro had disappeared, along with the masses of templates, returning their hosts to normal, but Batman, Superwoman and Wonder Woman had disappeared, all that was left was the static of their comm. Links, gone off line.
The Flash , fastest man alive did a recon of Metropolis first, and then the world, in the two minutes it took him to do this, the League waited with bated breath. Green Lantern used his ring, to scan all lifeforms, Martian Manhunter, harnessing his own vast power of telepathy. they were gone. Nowhere to be found.
All that was left within the epicentre of the disaster, was a woman, naked as the day she was born, with no memory of how she had gotten there, only the knowledge of her own name in her head. Kimiyo Hoshi.
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Post by arcalian on Sept 9, 2009 11:39:42 GMT -5
LONDON, ENGLAND. NOW.
THE ROTH RESIDENCE.
She comes home from the monotony of another school day. Her Mum isn’t around much. Either working or socialising at some big work event or another. She arrives to a note stuck to the fridge with a smiley face magnet. The girl sighs at the irony.
Wont be home til late. Don’t wait up.
Invite friends if must but no party, i’ll know!
Tea in fridge.Have fun.
Love and kisses
Mum
xoxoxox
Rachael rips the note from the fridge, screwing it into a ball, and tosses it into the bin along with the rest of them.
“Wasnt hungry anyway” She mumbles grabbing a glass of water. She pets her cat Garfield on the head, before walking up the stairs and slamming the door to her room. She crawls into bed, suddenly exhausted, and tosses and turns for some hours, its always the same. She looks at the clock on her bed side table, 10:45 pm
Unable to sleep she sits up on her bed, arms folded, legs crossed in deep meditation, her room pitched in darkness, she repeats the words slowly ”Azarath Metrion Zinthos” her world fades to black, but lurking somewhere within the darkness, something awakens, something watches, crimson eyes pursing her very soul.
A guttural shriek escapes her pursed black lips, awakened from her deep trance she looks across her sparsely decorated room, breathing deeply to centre her core, blackout blinds were pulled down almosst to the floor under which the tiniest slither of sunlight shone through.
“Oh F*@?!” the digital display of her alarm clock flashed 08:45 am. Late. Again.
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Post by arcalian on Sept 9, 2009 11:40:14 GMT -5
Rachael Roth is not your average teenager. She is the outcast, the weirdo you pass in the hall, she doesn’t have any friends, preferring the company that can only be found in the silence and solitude of her own self, Dressed head to toe in black, with porcelain skin. She is a practitioner of witchcraft and a firm believer that there must be more to life than this. In the eyes of the regular students, she is the perfect target, the quiet girl who would never fight back, no matter how hellish you make her life, no matter how much you take out your own insecurities on your favourite punch bag. She just looks on, and in truth, they have no idea what she is capable of, they do not know the meaning of the word hell, yet.
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Post by arcalian on Sept 9, 2009 11:40:58 GMT -5
HALF A WORLD AWAY AT THE HALL OF JUSTICE: HALL OF FALLEN HEROES
Dinah Lance-Queen stood alone, arms folded, shrouded in the shadow of those who came before, the big three: Batman, Superwoman, Wonder Woman. Hair and makeup immaculate, Costume shining, boots polished, the world’s premiere superhero, always at her best.
She sighed to herself, she couldn’t believe it had already been five years to the day that it happened. The whiteout event which left the heroes of her world crippled...
He watched from above, taking advantage of this rare glimpse of the unguarded Canary; she looked so vulnerable, here, alone.
“You’re not nearly as sneaky as you would like to believe,” she turned to face him, tears glistening in her deep blue eyes.
“Every time!! How do you do it?” He smirked , cocky as ever, climbing down from his perch effortlessly, red costume glinting in the moonlight.
“Maybe it is the cheap cologne, wouldn’t be so bad if you didn’t bathe in it! It's good to see you Mr Queen, what are you doing here?” Dinah smiled warmly at the man walking towards her.
“I could ask you the same question. I felt the need to be here, it has gone by so quickly.” He sighed, looking up at the statues looming above.
“...I’m thinking of restarting the League. Five years is a long time. The world needs its greatest heroes.” There was an uneasy pause in the air, as the heroes looked at each other in earnest.
“whew, well, I don’t envy you that little nightmare.” Roy removed his domino mask.
“ Whilst we’re at it, its Roy, none of this Mr Queen business, that was...IS my father.” Changing the subject quickly, as was his nature.
Black Canary looked at Roy, stunned at the gaff he had made about his father.
“Your father is a great man, lest you forget!” Dinah was visibly shaking as she turned away from the Scarlet Archer. Roy grabbed her arm, pulling Dinah closer.
“...Roy, I...I can’t, your father...” she trailed off, not daring to look into his hurt eyes.
“My father?! Its always him isn’t it, the great Oliver Queen, The Emerald Archer, Green Arrow himself, how could I forget?!” Red Arrow turned away, seething.
“I...Roy” Dinah moved closer, an arm on his now turned back.
“Besides, things were bad for you guys long before the Alzheimer’s began to shut down his brain, you were practically divorced!!! Why can’t you just move on? You don’t owe him, he doesn’t own you!”
“It doesn’t matter...I just can’t” she looked into his eyes, finally seeing the raw emotion, mirrored in her own eyes.
“Is it me? Because if it is the age gap...do i need to remind you you were practically 15 years his junior when you guys got together?!”
“That was different! I practically raised...”
Roy pulled her into a deep embrace, pulling her lips to his, releasing years of pent up emotion and aggression, finally able to show how he truly felt.
“How can you deny that pretty bird? This?!” he gestured. Roy realised, it was too late, he had said it, there was no going back. How could he have been so dumb, using the nickname, the sacred name between his father and the woman he loved standing before him?
Without a moment’s hesitation, she screamed, an almighty scream, shuddering the very statues, eyes looking down judgementally at the scene unfolding before them. Roy lay beneath her feet, unconscious, ears bleeding.
“You don’t get it do you? You are just like him.” On this she turned and fled the scene in a fit of tears.
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Post by arcalian on Sept 9, 2009 11:43:50 GMT -5
Above, in the now defunct Monitor Room, a pair of scarlet eyes reflecting fluorescent on the LCD screen in front of him, His blank expression unperturbed by the events below. Jonn Jonnz begins his descent through the Hall of Justice, phasing through each floor silently, to check on the fallen hero below. The Hall of Justice may not be active anymore as headquarters of the worlds greatest heroes, but there were still regular guided tours and a support staff of cleaners and technical staff to maintain the hall of heroes. Though, of course, some floors were off limits. Secret rooms and corridors that the rest of the world didn’t even know existed. It is here that for the past two years, ever since the tragedy that saw the end of the Justice League, that the Manhunter from Mars had made a home for himself. Withdrawing almost completely from the human world.
As he made his slow descent, Jonn was distressed by a sudden psychic distress call the likes of which he had not encountered, the scream of a girl thousands of miles away. The cry left Martian Manhunter floored. Collapsing lifelessly atop the prone form of the Red Arrow.
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Post by arcalian on Sept 9, 2009 11:44:49 GMT -5
KEYSTONE CITY
Wally West, hits home after a night of partying, and simultaneously righting the wrongs of the world. He is after all, the fastest man on earth. He steps into the shower, feeling the stress of his double life melt away. Ladies man and party guy philanthropist Wally West, and Red Costumed speed demon The Flash he manages a quick snack before sinking into bed, alone, as is usually the case. On the edge of sleep, Wally wakes suddenly, feeling a sudden burst of pain in his head, an image of the Martian Manhunter screaming flashes before his eyes.
He sighed. “There goes my evening. Wouldnt have it any other way!” he smirked, releasing his costume from the golden ring he wore on his finger, grabbing a bagel for the journey, and managing to stop a looting of the local DVD store, rescue a cat from a tree, and help the local fire department put out an abandoned office block suddenly ablaze, as he rushed across the USA to the Hall of Justice, all in a day’s work for the fastest man alive.
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Post by arcalian on Sept 9, 2009 11:45:42 GMT -5
GOTHAM CITY
The Black Canary arrived home, frustrated, she decided to patrol the city, with her business partner, Helena Bartinelli out of town, Gotham was prone without its protectors for the evening. And since the death of the Batman, crime was once again rife in the city that never sleeps.
She let out another sonic scream, momentarily stunning the street thugs, dropping their defences and using the momentum of her body, she heaved one of her attackers high above her head, connecting her foot with another’s jaw, feeling the crunch of bone, the force of which shuddering up her leg, she was suddenly distracted, as the Martian Manhunter flashed across her vision. Silently screaming. The gang took this moment of distraction to rally together, and scarper.
The Canary stood in a deserted alley looking over her shoulders, breathing steadily. Something was up. At that she flipped up into the air, scaling the ladder hanging from a nearby apartment building, landing on the rooftop.
“Zinda, I need a ride. The Hall of Justice.”
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Post by arcalian on Sept 9, 2009 11:46:52 GMT -5
OA
Kyle Rayner finishes escorting his latest prisoners to the Sciencells within the depths of Oa planet home of the Green Lantern Corps and the Guardians of the Universe, his shaggy stubble laden face lined not by the ageing process, but from a combination of deep grief and lack of sleep, it has been the same for the past two years.
Intergalactic crime rates have plummeted within his sector, Rayner is doing an exemplary job, applauded by his current role as Alpha Lantern, a senior position only overshadowed by the Guardians themselves, recognised for his determination, his ability to overcome great fear, and his crime stopping record is paramount, indeed legend within the corps. Nobody notices Kyle has not smiled, not laughed once in the past two years.
He feels like a coward, he doesn’t sleep because he is scared of the dark. With darkness comes the dream. His beautiful wife, arms out, reaching towards him, with a smile on her face. Not matter how much he moves towards her, how fast he runs, the light always comes first. Enveloping his world, leaving only darkness. All encompassing darkness.
Kyle washes his face in his bathroom, popping another caffeine pill. He looks at himself in the mirror, devoid of emotion, barely recognising the face that stares back. A burst of shack registers, his heartbeat increasing, as his reflection changes to that of the Martian Manhunter. Feeling the urge, he collects himself, recites the oath, and hurtles towards Earth with only one destination in mind.
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Post by arcalian on Sept 9, 2009 11:47:50 GMT -5
LONDON
Rachael sped towards school, lost in the crowds of the tube. Boarding her train, earphones blasting, she did not notice how silent the train was, the usual hustle and bustle of the mixture of tourists, embarking on an adventure in London for their first time, the “suits”-lawyers and business men and women on their way to work, constantly talking on their I-phones and Blackberry handsets. The commuters travelling the same root every day to their various destinations within the Capital City. The train was silent this morning.
Rachael was so used to being looked at for her unconventional dress sense, that she looked down at the floor,barely looking up until she got to her station, at which point she got off the train, again, lost in the crowds, and practically flung herself up the steps of the tube station towards her school “St Lilith's School for girls” her Mum may not have cared very much, but she was happy knowing that she was paying through the nose to a snooty all girls school, whose student body was made up mainly of children of the stars and politicians. She had never fit in here, nor did she want to.
Screeching to a halt at the main entrance, Rachael removed her headphones, adjusted her skirts, and braced herself for the telling off of a lifetime, the current time was 9:55, almost an hour late, people where known to have been expelled for less, which is funny with the thousand pound tuition fees that are paid by desperate parents, you’d think they would want to hold onto as many as they possibly could.
Rachael walked down the corridor heading to her first class, double English. She knew she was in trouble as the teacher of this class positively hated her.
Whilst walking, she noticed nothing unusual as she headed up the stairs. The corridors were quiet, but then, class was in.
Rachael opened the door bracing herself for the worst. So, to her surprise, when she opened the door and apologised for being late, all she got was a look from her teacher. A look devoid of emotion. Rachael scanned the classroom, a shudder running down her spine. Gone were the usual snarls and stares, the giggles behind her back, instead there was just silence. Grey, dull silence.
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Post by arcalian on Sept 9, 2009 11:49:36 GMT -5
The rest of the day had gone on in pretty much the same way, people walking blankly around, emotionless. She had ran the last few metres to her home, for fear she was going insane. She double locked the door behind her, turning on the tv to see if there was anything on the news. Nothing. Rachael headed for the fridge, the usual note in place
Rachael,
Working late, tea in microwave
Mum
Gone were the kisses and hugs. Again she felt odd, as, although she dreaded the message each day for the falseness it contained, it was part of a life long tradition that in her own twisted way she treasured. Even Garfield was unusually limp laying on the sofa, barely looking up at her when she walked in.
It was all too much, she ran upstairs, starting to panic, in need of peace, she locked her door behind her, something she had stopped feeling the need to do at the age of eight, when she stopped being scared of monsters coming after her whilst her Mum was out on one of her many work related parties.
Lighting her candles, she sat on her floor, crossed her legs, and began to chant the familiar chant “Azzarath Metrion Zinthos”
As she embraced the darkness, her only refuge from the cruel World in which she lived, the World turning black around her, her own voice fading to black, suddenly something gripped her, held her. No matter how much she fought she could not escape, all she could feel the silent scream of a Green Martian halfway across the globe. She opened her minds eye within the darkness. she wasn’t alone, her world was filled with the sounds of a maniacal laughter as six red eyes pierced her very soul.
She awakens, sweating, and panting, as she uttered the name under her heavy breath “Trigon.”
She turns to the window, the usual pale blue of the sky replaced by a dark crimson, her world torn asunder, virtually unrecognisable from all that she is familiar with.
“Well Garfield, looks like we’re not in Kansas anymore...”
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Post by arcalian on Sept 9, 2009 11:50:04 GMT -5
To be continued....
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Post by Romans Empire on Sept 9, 2009 18:35:26 GMT -5
If you wish to comment on this issue, please CLICK HERE to visit the letters page. |
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