#28: Black Colossus, Pt. 1 (HoM / Rimmer)

The world burned. The atmosphere crackled with electricity as the Black Colossus went to work, turning right to wrong and the planet Earth to dust. Once it was activated-- and activated it was!-- there was no chance to stop the transformation. The world crumbled to dust, and the creator of the machine, even so deep into his madness, couldn’t help but smile. He looked back once, only once, as He stepped through the shimmering corridor between dimensions. And with a smile, the door closed, and the Earth died, its people screaming as they were taken apart atom by atom from the outside in. One Earth down...



Ronnie Raymond was studying for the first time in a long time. Chemical composition, formulas, atomic bonds. He was trying to better himself, and why not? He flicked through the pages of the text book, chewing on a stick of gum, barely concentrating on the world around him.

“Huh?” he said, after a long silence that had only been broken by the sound of him chewing. “What was...?” He had heard something. Or felt something. Sensed, maybe? There was something in the air that made the hairs on the back of his neck snap to attention, and he didn’t like that, not one bit.

“Ow,” he whispered, clutching his head. A migraine had slipped its way into his frontal lobe, making him feel like it was splitting slowly apart.

“Ow ow,” he continued, the pain intensifying. He looked at his hands, and saw them glow.

“What? How--?” His mind suddenly exploded open, and Martin Stein snapped into residence.

Firestorm was suddenly formed, and neither of them knew why. “Ronnie? What happened? What’s the emergency?”

“I... I don’t know...” Ronnie replied, clutching his flaming head. “Can’t you feel that?”

“What? I can’t-- Oh, oh my!” said Stein. “That feeling... it’s like... we can feel the entire world, isn’t it? I had always had theories on the extent of power that the Firestorm Matrix holds, but this... I’ve never, even as an Elemental, experienced something like this!”

“I don’t... I don’t like it,” said Ronnie, dropping to his knees. “Something is wrong! Something is very wrong! Oh, God, it hurts!”



Hawkman and The Atom were on monitor duty and, for the first two hours of their shift, the world was quiet. No supervillains appeared to cause havoc, no dimensional rifts opened to pull the world into a dimension full of evil. The world was quiet, and the Justice League was not required.

“I have to admit, I wasn’t expecting it to be this quiet,” said Ray Palmer, as he sipped from his mug of coffee.

“I don’t like it,” said Katar Hol. “Too quiet.”

“Well, you would say that,” replied Ray, shaking his head. “You’re always on edge, Katar! You need to--”

“G-guys!” Firestorm hurried into the Monitor Womb, and stumbled toward the two heroes. “Did you feel that? Ggggahhh...!”

“Firestorm, calm yourself,” said Hawkman, catching the falling hero as he fell to the floor. The Thanagarian helped the youth back to his feet, and then guided him to a chair. “What’s wrong?”

“Something’s wrong with the elemental bonds of the world... I felt it before the Professor, but... God! Why does it hurt so much?!”

“Can you separate?” asked The Atom.

“Tried... too painful... like my whole body... our whole body... is cramping up from the inside out, like every muscle is being used and... GahhhhH!” Firestorm wretched forward, and the fire spouting from his skull intensified. “What’s happening!?”

Computer screens in the Monitor Womb began to blare, catching the attention of the Justice Leaguers. Across the world, buildings were creaking-- their foundations and frameworks shifting and crying out for attention. The Atom looked to Hawkman, and then the two men nodded.

“Justice League emergency,” said The Atom, and the alarms went off in the headquarters.

Within seconds, the Justice League were assembled, and ready for their next move. The Atom went to work explaining what had happened immediately. “Moments ago, elemental forces across the world suffered a seizure. We’ve seen a phenomenon like this before, in the early days of the Black Sun incident, but this has one intrinsic difference-- it wasn’t the Earth, but the thing that keeps the Earth together. It was like someone activated the world’s most powerful magnet... We’re lucky to be alive. There was no warning.”

“And then it stopped,” said The Flash. “I’ve run rings around the planet, checking in on all the cities-- The incident has come to an end. Some minor architectural damage, but nothing major, no deaths, no injuries...”

“Why would someone do that?” asked Hal Jordan.

Doctor Light’s brow furrowed. “If you had a powerful enough magnet, wouldn’t it be theoretically possible to shift the poles of the Earth? Throw concepts of orbit and geocentricness out of the window? Send Earth hurtling every which way?”

“That could be it,” said Wonder Woman. “We need to track the origin of the magnetic patterns. Ray, can you get on that?”

“I’ve already started work,” said The Atom. “Firestorm, how are you feeling?”

“Awful,” replied the Nuclear Hero, “I felt it all happen, across the world. Whatever did this drew the Professor into my body, triggered the Firestorm Matrix into combining us.”

“That takes more than just a little bit of pull and power,” said Martin Stein.

Firestorm nodded. “The Prof says that it takes a hell of a lot to do that. We weren’t even sure it was possible.”

“You are intrinsically tied to the elements though, aren’t you, Ronnie? Martin?” asked Aquaman, as he rubbed his chin. “Maybe we were being warned. Just not in a language we could understand.”

“What do you mean?” asked Superman.

“Maybe the elements were warning the one man... the men... who have come closest to harnessing them? It’s all supposition, I suppose,” replied the King of the Oceans. “We need to find out who did this. We need to know how. And Firestorm... are you able to separate yet? And if you are... are we sure that it’s a good idea for you to?”

“Our body still hurts like hell,” was Ronnie’s reply. “Sorry for the language, I’m just... I’ve never felt so weird before. Like my body was... tearing itself apart. I don’t know if I can separate us yet.”

“Maybe I could be of assistance?” said J’onn J’onzz slowly. “I can calm your mind, help you transition from Firestorm... to Stein and Raymond?” He turned to Wonder Woman. “I could use your assistance.”

“Anything,” nodded Diana.

“Then I suggest we split up into groups,” said Batman, “Doctor Light, Atom, if you work on the device to trace the source of the event? And GL, if you use your ring to augment the process? J’onn, you and Diana help Firestorm separate. And I think you need to get somewhere desolate for that, I can’t imagine what could manipulate a nuclear-fueled hero, but I think we need to take that into consideration. The rest of us, when the doctors have finished their work, will head to the source. Hopefully, we’ll all be ready at once. If anybody has any better ideas?”

“Sounds like a plan,” replied Superman. “I’d like to help Firestorm. Couldn’t help to have someone else there just in case this isn’t the end of it all, and they’re a part of it?”

“Go,” said Aquaman. “We’ll work from here. J’onn, keep the mental link up.”

J’onn nodded as he and the others lifted off. “Always.”



“Our arrival was not as subtle as originally intended,” said the first. “And your overreaction did not help. The residual blast of the Black Colossus surged through the portal-- sent your powers into overdrive. It would have been almost impressive, if it was not for the fact that you could have torn this world apart before we had even had our way.”

“I didn’t know that was going to happen,” said the second, a wicked glee filling his pained words. “Gods, it hurt, hurt to all hell, and it’s gone now. I could have got used to that... but stretching the skin of the electromagnetic sphere so thin... I wouldn’t mind getting that under control.”

“I would,” snapped the first. “Do not get ahead of yourselves. We have a lot of work to do. From one Earth to the next, the plan is simple.”

“I can hear them,” hissed the third. “Thoughts of their heroes, of their terror and, gahh... I can stretch my thoughts like tendrils into the populace, but their minds are so sickly sweet with their love of their so-called... Justice League--”

“Justice League?!” said the first. “Oh, ironies of ironies! It seems we cannot escape such flimsy concepts as ‘justice’, even as we travel across the multiverse. We shall teach them pain. And humility. And then we shall steal their world from them. And when we are done, the Black Colossus shall rise again. And we shall move on.”

“Tell me of their fears,” said the fourth, “of their nightmares. And then let me decide how I should go about haunting their very souls for the rest of their existence.”

“I will,” said the third again, clutching his bulbous, writhing head, “but bear with me; the resonance differs from world to world, I need to find... clarity.”

“I say we jus’ kill ‘em,” said the fifth. “Tear ‘em to bits and see what comes out. Justice, evil, whatever; they’ll all bleed red. And if they don’t? Well, that’s a plus, ain’t it?! I like me a bit of variety!”

The first rolled his eyes. “Such eloquence. Prep for battle. Prepare for war. You--” he turned to the third, “I want all information pertaining to their Justice League downloaded into my head when I demand it. Go to work. You know your roles.”

[/b]

“Relax, Ronnie. You too, Martin,” said J’onn J’onzz, as he rested his green fingers on the Nuclear Man’s temples. “I need to separate your consciousnesses. There is much turmoil inside of you.”

The group of heroes were floating above the empty sands of the Nevada Desert, and they went to work as soon as they were out of range from any living beings.

“I’m calm as a... as a... as an ‘insert calm simile here’,” said Ronnie, nervously. “My wit is shot. Goddamn! OK, seriously, not that calm, feeling like I’m being crushed atom-by-atom, but it’s in my head, I know it is.”

“Calm down, Ronnie. J’onn is the greatest telepath on the planet. You have no reason to feel such anxiety.”

“Right, right,” mumbled Ronnie. “Let’s do this.”

Firestorm closed his eyes, and the Martian Manhunter nodded at Wonder Woman, who placed her lasso in the hand of the Nuclear Hero. “Focus on my voice. And let yourself flow freely, like a river, through the lasso, and outward. Relax your body.”

“I’ve tried,” grunted Firestorm, as the pain in his body intensified.

Ronnie heard Martin laugh. “I’d say ‘try harder’, but that would defy the point, wouldn’t it?”

Ronnie shook his head, and then continued to try and listen to the Martian Manhunter. His body began to tingle. “Ow,” he whispered, as he felt himself come apart. “Ow,” he continued, as he opened his eyes and looked down at his body. He could see Firestorm-- and he could see himself and Martin Stein slowly separating. It was never like this before. It was never. “What’s... what’s happening?”

“Try to relax,” J’onn replied, trying to comfort the hero. “Whatever pulled you together, it did so roughly, without the complexities inherent to the Firestorm Matrix. Jammed together as a child would a jigsaw piece he couldn’t find the correct place for. Not... gelled...”

“We can do this,” said Martin, “Just--”

Firestorm opened his eyes. “This doesn’t make sense! I’m Firestorm! I’m in control! I’ve not gone through all I have to be used as some pawn!” He clenched his fists together, and held them out in front of him. His body flickered. “Whatever they did broke me? Made me rough around the edges?” He looked to Martian Manhunter. “Get clear,” he said, and then turned to Wonder Woman and Superman, “all of you.”

Superman’s brow creased, and he shook his head. “I’ll stay. I can handle whatever you’re about to dole out. And you’re not doing this alone. You’re Justice League.”

“We’ll stay in mental contact,” said J’onn, as he and Wonder Woman flew away. “Keep thinking.”

“Will do,” said Superman.

Firestorm forced a smile as he looked at Superman. “I know what that feeling was now, in the pit of my being. I’ve been put together wrong, there’s a massive build up of energy in my core, and that needs to be released. I can separate, but you might want to cover your eyes. And your ears. I’m going to do a lot of screaming.”

Superman nodded. And then Firestorm screamed. Energy bubbled out from his seams as Ronnie Raymond and Martin Stein began to split, their bodies coming into existence as the energy shot outward-- Superman was thrown back by the blast, a shockwave that sent him flying miles back-- but he caught himself within seconds, and looked to where Firestorm would have been-- and saw the two men hurtling to the ground. He gritted his teeth, and shot down, catching them as they neared the unwelcoming ground below. “You alright, guys?” The three touched down, and Wonder Woman and Martian Manhunter came in close.

Are you alright? asked J’onn.

I can’t hear a thing! thought Ronnie, pointing to his ears. That was too loud!

Yes, I’m afraid my hearing is shot too, said Martin. It should pass. Superman?

Pardon? asked the Man of Steel, as he wiggled his finger in his ear, cringing. “Ah. There we go.”

What was all that, then? thought Wonder Woman, And-- wait, what is that?!

The heroes looked up to where Firestorm had been floating moments before, and Superman concentrated his microscopic vision, zooming in to see a woman floating in midair, grinning. “Who is that?”

Was that the thing inside me? That woman? Was that woman inside me? Us? And did I just think that out loud? And am I still thinking? Damn... Ronnie thought, squinting at the woman-sized blur high above.

It looks like it, said Wonder Woman. Shall we go say hello?

Seems like she’s coming down to us, thought Superman. Be ready for anything.



“Weird,” said Doctor Light, “I’m reading the data, and it’s like the effect wasn’t technological in nature... but a massive manipulation of the electromagnetic field by a metahuman. But on this scale... this is amazing.”

“So there’s no giant magnet?” asked Green Lantern. “Joy.”

“And we have the location of the event origin,” said The Atom. “GL, can you think up a cage that can turn magnetic manipulation into birdsong?”

“Where there’s a will,” replied Hal. “What’s the location?”

“Paris,” said The Atom. “We need to move.”

J’onn, thought Aquaman, what’s your situation?

We are still working on the problem at hand in the Sahara. No more information at this juncture. Proceed without us.

Aquaman closed the psychic link, and then looked at the other Justice Leaguers. “... Weird.”

“What?” said Animal Man.

“I don’t know. J’onn sounded weird.” Aquaman looked at The Flash, and then bit his bottom lip. “Damn. Probably being paranoid. We need to get to Paris before this metahuman does something again. Are we ready to go?”

“Sure thing,” said Animal Man, “but what about J’onn?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m sorry, but you’re Aquaman. You’re King of the Seven Seas. We’re not going to ignore whatever gut feeling you just had, right? I mean, I know I’m new to the League, but I’ve run with another team before--”

“Oh?” said The Flash.

Animal Man rolled his eyes. “Yes. Just because I don’t talk about it doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. Anyways, when someone has a gut feeling, no matter how hard they try to deny it, it’s probably something really important. You got a bad feeling about J’onn? So let’s go pick them up. Make sure they’re alright!”

“Can Animal Man be chairperson?” asked Batman, grinning. “He’s got chutzpah.”

“We’ll take a vote later. Let’s go,” said Aquaman in return, a smile creeping onto his lips.



“My name is Diana,” said Wonder Woman, as she approached the woman, who had landed nearby. “We come in peace. May I ask your name?”

“I know who you are, Wonder Woman,” said the woman, grinning broadly. “Thanks to Ronald. And Martin. Ooh la la, what a body you have, Firestorm; that was simply a delight.” She wore a set of blue and gold armour, and her hands crackled with green and red energy. Her blonde hair drifted in the wind that had suddenly picked up. “I know about Superman, and I know about the Martian Manhunter, and I know about you, Wonder Woman. I know Superman is allergic to kryptonite. And thanks to the information I downloaded from Firestorm’s mind, I know how to replicate its energy signature.” She lifted up her hand and shot Superman square in the chest, and the Man of Steel reeled back. “And I know about how things can go to pot if things get hot, J’onn.” The red energy turned to flames, and the Martian Manhunter’s eyes opened wide. He was engulfed within seconds, screaming as his skin caught alight. Wonder Woman turned slowly-- why couldn’t she move faster? “We’re inside you, Justice League. A dear friend of mine has placed his tendrils inside your heads, and he’s playing your thoughts against you. The name is Meanstreak, Wonder Woman. And I’ve come a long way to kick your arse!”

“Ron!” Martin grabbed Ronnie’s arm, but he could tell from the look on Ronnie’s face that he was already thinking the same thing-- Firestorm began to form. Without missing a beat, Meanstreak threw up a hand, and another blast of energy sent the two of them flying into the sand.

“Whoever... you... are...” Every word out of Diana’s mouth was laboured, and she struggled to hold her head up. Someone was digging their heel into her consciousness, but she would not yield. “You... picked... the wrong... fight...!”

Meanstreak grinned. “I picked the right fight, Amazon. And I chose the right odds.” Energy wrapped around the woman’s hand, and reached out and formed a sword.

Wonder Woman concentrated all her ability, all her strength, and extended her arms, her bracelets glinting in the Nevada sun.



“These are the coordinates,” said Aquaman. He hated places like these. Barren. Empty. No water source for hundreds of miles either way. “And they’re not here.”

Green Lantern, The Flash, Hawkman and Aquaman were alone in this place. The others had remained at HQ, working on a tracking device capable of locating whoever had initiated the event that had nearly torn the world from its moorings.

“And they’ve not been here,” said Green Lantern, “no one has for weeks. Someone’s hacked the psychic link!”

“How is that possible?” asked Hawkman, his grip tightening around his mace. “Unless J’onn has been compromised?”

“Hal, we need to know where they are!” said Barry, his head darting about.

“I’m thinking!” said Green Lantern. “I’m thinking and I’m looking and-- they’re in Nevada!”

“Great,” mumbled Aquaman, “Site to site transport, let’s go!”



“Communications are down,” said Batman to himself, as he worked on a console in the diagnostics room of the HQ, “and the psychic link is dead. What’s going on?”

“It is quite simple, actually,” said a voice. Batarangs were already thrown before the Caped Crusader turned, but the bladed weapons simply passed through the speaker’s armoured chest. “My comrade, Doctor Diehard, is scrambling electromagnetic fields around the locations of your teammates. I wanted to see you face-to-face, as it were, before killing you.”

“Who are you?” Dick Grayson’s mind was racing. It was impossible to infilitrate this base. That was the point. His batarangs had passed cleanly through the man here-- the man who was seven feet tall, armoured from head to toe, and wearing a cape that followed him along the floor. Batman could see the man’s eyes. Black like a shark’s. Disconcerting.

The man’s armoured face belied no emotion. But his voice... utter loathing was plain to hear. “My name is Lord Havok. My team are known as the Extremists. You are seeing a psychic projection developed by my comrade Gorgon. We are not here.” He brought up his hand, and prepared to click his fingers. “Know that we are in your minds. We will kill you from afar if we deem it necessary. If you survive this, then you will be worthy of dying by my hand.”

Lord Havok clicked his fingers, and the Justice League’s flying headquarters detonated.

[/b]


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