#31: A Moment In Time (HoM / Rimmer)

Scott Free and Big Barda were sat at the head of the meeting table, surrounded by the Justice League, as they told their sorry tale. “...The dark gods sent a signal out to Exodus, twisting Mother Boxes into polluting the mind of the wearer. Barda and myself felt the echoes of the signal on Earth, and investigated on our own. Orion and Lightray left Exodus without their Mother Boxes, and we met them on the asteroid where the dark gods were basing themselves out of. We defeated many of the dark gods of Apokolips that day, Devilance, Kanto... Granny herself. But know this-- Darkseid returned. He has been lurking on the fringes of reality since his escape from the Source Wall, many months ago, and we didn’t even know... and he did something we did not think him possible of doing. He changed the battlefield. Orion and the other New Gods followed Darkseid and his resurrected pantheon of malignant followers to another plain of existence where their battle would not harm the universe. Orion asked Barda and myself to stay behind, to be the last line of defense, the final escape if you will, if they fail in their task of defeating the dark god Darkseid.”

“Good God,” whispered Doctor Light, “I’ve read the case reports, and the power of the New Gods has always been large in scope... and when Darkseid fully unleashed his strength in the days before the Justice League... the entire world nearly fell! So you’re saying... he’s grown even more in strength and power?”

“And ascended to another plain of existence along with the rest of the New Gods,” nodded Big Barda. “We’re alone in the universe, the last of our people.” Scott Free’s hand found Barda’s, and he smiled ruefully. “I wish our return didn’t come with such a dire predicament.”

“Is there any way we can help?” Animal Man asked, looking to the other members of the Justice League. “We can’t let Darkseid win, can we? I remember the Anti-Life Signal and the feeling of sheer dread that came with it, I remember... well, I remember very little because of it. Crikey.”

“Barda, Scott,” Wonder Woman said slowly, “you should come with me.”

Barda looked at Diana, and arched an eyebrow in curiosity. “Of course, Wonder Woman.”

The New Gods stood from their seats, and followed Wonder Woman out of the meeting room, leaving the rest of the Justice League alone. “So, what else is on the agenda?” asked The Flash, breaking the silence.

“We need to vote on a chairperson,” said the Martian Manhunter. “It’s been a long time since Wonder Woman retired from the post.”

“Right, so how should we go about it?” said Green Lantern. “Ballot, I guess?”

“Yes,” nodded J’onn, as he began to distribute strips of paper, “the old fashioned way. Write the name of your nomination for chairperson on the paper, and we’ll count the votes at the end of the day. We shall reconvene later.”

Animal Man nodded. “Sounds good, but I’m going to abstain from this-- I’m the new guy, I wouldn’t feel--”

“Nonsense, Buddy,” interrupted Superman, a broad smile on his face, “you’re a valued member of the team. You have as much a right to a vote as anybody else here.”

“Guess we know where Animal Man’s vote is going then, eh?” said Green Lantern, nudging The Flash.

“I’m going to go and join up with Scott, Barda and Diana,” said Superman, rising from the table as he passed his vote to J’onn. “Let me know if there’s any problems.”

“Of course,” said J’onn.



“Things have changed since I’ve been gone,” said Batman, looking out across the ocean from the tallest spire in the Justice League’s currently-floating headquarters. “But then again, not so much.”

“Glad to have you back too, Bruce,” said Superman. “Have you read up on the mission reports?”

“Of course,” replied the Caped Crusader. “Dick has filled me in on everything since I left. The transition will be seamless. I’m just glad you’ve agreed to have me back.”

“How could we not? You’re one of us, Bruce. You only had to ask.”

“Clark,” started Bruce, “Dick told me about what’s in the ‘basement’. The hidden cell that no one but those who know can enter. You need to inform the others, suspicions will rise otherwise. They need to know.”

“I know,” said Superman, slowly, “I hate keeping this a secret. You should hear what Diana says about it. But you know what he’s capable of. And he’s contained. Safe for now.”

“This place crashed into the ocean, Clark,” said Batman, “he could have got out. So close to inflicting him upon the world.”

“But he didn’t. I can’t believe we’re having this conversation,” laughed Superman, “normally it’s the other way around.”

“I’ll follow the lead of the League on this one,” Bruce said, “but I just want you to know, when it comes to the time to say ‘I told you so?’ I won’t even hesitate.”

Superman nodded. “I’m well aware.”

Bruce wrapped his cape tightly around his body; there was a chill whistling through the air. “What’s the name of this place then, anyway? UN-funded, state-of-the-art, but it’s not got a name. Did Dick forget to tell me something?”

“We were going to call it Laputa. But now it’s not flying... so we’re still thinking.”

Bruce smiled. “Laputa. Yes, I don’t think that would be fitting for a massive floating hunk of metal... Have you cast your vote for chairperson?”

Superman nodded once more. “I have indeed. And you?”

“Yes,” said Batman. “I have another question, Clark... How did Barda and Scott take the news?”

Superman looked up in the air and exhaled slowly. “Better than expected.”



“By the Source,” whispered Barda, “how is that even possible?”

“We’re not sure,” said Aquaman, “we have scientists working on the theoretical science of it all. I’m sorry, Barda. I know this isn’t what you wanted to hear today.”

“Hear today, or tomorrow, or ever!” interrupted Scott. “Then it’s all a waste of time. A colossal waste of time. Dammit!” Scott slammed his fist down on the meeting table, and a crack ran through it. “S-sorry,” he mumbled, “I just... Damnation...”

“He isn’t getting out,” said Wonder Woman, “that cell is constructed to withstand a holocaust.”

“So he’ll survive the end of the world, will he? I have no doubt,” growled Barda. “I say we walk in there right now, and break his neck. Thus ending this cycle of Armageddon and apocalypse we’re all forever on!”

Diana placed her hand on Big Barda’s shoulder. “It would release him. He’s trapped now, Barda. An inescapable prison. In a form we can contain. I invite you to join us, on behalf of the rest of the Justice League. Watch the world with us, and watch him. You two know pure evil better than any of us, after all? You have fought it all your lives, in its purest sense?”

Scott Free looked at Big Barda, and she nodded. He then turned to Wonder Woman. “We would be honoured. Metron always said that with the fall of the Fourth World, the rise of the Fifth World would be inevitable as the tides. This is a place we will stand, Diana, be sure of that.” He put out his hand, and Wonder Woman took it. “We won’t let you down.”



“Martin, could you pass me that screwdriver?” Ted Kord was busy at work, dismantling the large Black Colossus device that the Extremists used to enable their passage from reality-to-reality. Martin Stein was assisting, whilst Ronnie Raymond sat with his feet up on a work top, studying. “Cheers,” Ted said, the screwdriver in hand. “Phillips head! Good call, just what...” Ted prised open another compartment, and exposed a strange lattice of circuitry, “...I needed.”

“Pleasure to help, Ted,” said Martin, “but I thought you weren’t going to be full-time Justice League... You’re here an awful lot.”

Ted Kord straightened up, and wiped the sweat from his brow. “I’m not here as Blue Beetle. Heck, Bats always knew that if he needed a hand he could call on me, I’m just here to use your workspace. Been intrigued by inter-dimensional travel for a long time now, been looking into different versions of it, and this was an opportunity I couldn’t miss. Sure, I’m living my life quite happily in Midway, but I welcome a distraction every now and then, y’know?”

“Sure thing,” said Ronnie, as his bubblegum popped from between his lips, “plus, I think the Prof and I both know why you’re really here.”

Ted grinned. “And why’s that?”

“Ted?” The three men’s heads turned as Kimiyo Hoshi, aka Doctor Light, entered the lab. “You wanted me to have a look at some circuitry?”

Kord blushed. “Yeah, I really would, if you don’t mind. My presumption is that the Colossus, like Schwartz’s device, has to pierce a hole into the membrane of reality, right? So there has to be a refraction engine somewhere, some kind of enhancement tip that would allow for the energy to be pushed through a point in space.” Ted was talking with his hands, waving his fingers and making all kinds of strange signs with his digits. Finally, when he was done, and Kimiyo had finished nodding, he shrugged. “...You know?”

“Of course, the science is sound in its own insane way... so we need to find the tip. Shame the others had to beat up the machines so thoroughly, else it would be a much easier job, eh?” Kimiyo smiled. “Have you got a screwdriver?”

“I do indeed,” said Ted, handing it to her.



“We have to talk about what you did to Lord Havok,” Aquaman said, slowly. “You lobotomised a man.”

J’onn J’onzz was meditating when Orin entered the room. He shifted his eyes to the back of his head, and then his whole body swung round to face Aquaman. “I have seen what one man can do to an entire people if allowed to run amok. My mother’s son, Ma’alefa’ak... my twin... unleashed a plague that scorched Mars red with the burning of H’ronmeer’s Curse. If I had acted sooner, would my wife, my child, my people, be alive now? I cannot dwell on such thoughts else they would drive me mad. But we know what Lord Havok had done, time and again, he had triggered his Black Colossus engine, and destroyed whole worlds. He was an evil beyond understanding, and his main weapon was his brain. I could not allow another Earth to suffer as those he had touched before have done.” J’onn put up his hands. “I do not expect you to understand.”

Aquaman sealed the door shut after him. “I would kill if someone threatened my son. My wife. Without hesitation, without mercy. Lord Havok tortured me, and we both know how. He filled my mind with the suffering of every man, woman and child that he had ever killed. That device... amplified the suffering that his body had registered. If you hadn’t closed my mind off to the machine... I would not be standing here today. Of course I understand what you did.”

“Though the others-” started J’onn.

Orin put up his hand. “They trust you with their lives. As do I. I’ve never seen you do such a thing as lobotomise a man, J’onn. It took us by surprise. I wanted to ask you... is everything alright?”

J’onn shook his head. “Old friend, something is very, very wrong.” He touched a green finger to his temple. “I’m hearing whispers I should not be hearing, alien voices that make no sense, and they grow louder and louder and they hate. Unrelenting. Unceasing. Lord Havok was a man who showed no mercy. He tortured, he molested, he... I would do it again if I had to. His voice was so loud in the cacophony that shakes me now... Something is coming, Arthur, something awful.”

Aquaman sat next to the Martian Manhunter. “You never have to shoulder a burden alone, J’onn. We are always here to support you. And if something is coming? Let it. We’ll stop it, brother. We always do.”



Katar Hol was sat in Buddy Baker’s front room, being stared at by Maxine and Cliff Baker. Buddy was in the kitchen making coffee and Ellen Baker had told Katar to make himself at home. Instead of unloading his satchel bag full of armour and weapons and beginning to polish them, he sat on a sofa, and watched those watching him.

“Are you Batman?” asked Cliff.

“No. I’m not.”

Cliff took a step forward. “Awesome. Are you Hawkman?”

Katar frowned. “... Yes.”

“Awesome!” Cliff said, punching the air. “And you’re friends with my dad?”

Katar thought about that one for a minute, and watched as Cliff continued to stare. “...Yes.”

“Awesome! That’s so cool.”

“Where are your wings?” asked Maxine, quietly.

“I don’t wear them all the time, child,” said Katar. He kicked the side of his satchel bag, and motioned toward them. “But I always keep them close.”

“Ooh,” she cooed, “and where’s Hawkgirl? Aren’t you two--”

“Maxine! Cliff!” Buddy Baker came into the lounge, and handed Katar a cup of coffee. “Your mother wants to speak to you! Yip! Yip!” The two children nodded and rushed out of the lounge, and Buddy breathed a sigh of relief. “Sorry, Katar. They talk. A lot.”

“Nothing wrong with that,” said Katar, sipping his coffee. “I appreciate the invitation for dinner. To be honest, when I’m not out in the field, I’m forging new weapons in the smithy that they built into our headquarters. It’s nice to get out.”

“You build your own weapons?” Buddy asked. “I never knew.”

“My father, Carter Hall, he uses his own-- and considering that he’s lived a thousand lives in a cycle of reincarnation, ‘his own’ becomes a very interesting thing to consider. You might call them antiques, but he... Well, you’ve seen him in flight, correct?”

“Not as much as you, of course, but yes, sure. The Justice Society of America are always a wonder to behold.”

“Yes, they are indeed.” Katar placed his coffee mug on a coaster, and then turned back to Buddy. “So...?”

“So?”

“Well, I assume you wanted to talk to me about something, else you would have invited a host of others along for dinner, so I was just wondering-- not that I don’t appreciate the invite-- I was just wondering when you were going to ask me whatever you wanted to ask me?”

“Oh, no, it’s nothing like that!” laughed Buddy. “I just wanted to get to know the men and women who I’m trusting my life with. Well, you know what?” Buddy leaned in close. “It’s not me, it’s my wife. She wants to make sure the people who I’m fighting side-by-side with will watch out for me... for her.”

“I’m being tested?” said Katar, a hint of amusement in his voice.

“Looks like,” nodded Buddy.

“Then I accept your challenge.” Katar stood up abruptly, and Buddy watched as he headed into the kitchen. “Mrs Baker, what is that delightful smell? Your cooking smells simply superb!”



“There is an announcement I feel I have to make,” said Wonder Woman. “You are all trusted. That’s why you are here. You are trusted by the League, and you are trusted by the world. And that’s why you need to know this. Beneath the city we call our headquarters, there is a cell. Ray, Buddy, Kimiyo-- you may remember Batman rushing back into the catacombs in the wake of Lord Havok and the Extremists attack? He was running into the pit of the city to secure a cargo more dangerous than anything you have ever faced.”

Batman’s back teeth ground together as Animal Man and Doctor Light looked at him. The Atom knew that he wasn’t the Batman that had helped reform the team in the wake of the Black Sun incident, but Animal Man and Doctor Light didn’t... they would soon enough though, wouldn’t they? They were brought in for their minds, their instincts, their abilities... they’d know soon enough.

“I won’t tell you his name. I don’t think I can. His name holds power. Strength. And right now, he is weak. But if he were to ever escape, unbridled chaos would follow in his wake.” Wonder Woman moved her hand across the console before her, and typed in a secure key. Before them, in the centre of the meeting table, formed a holographic picture. A man sat in a cell, bound with glowing chains, black eyes staring forward. “He fell from the sky, a husk of a thing, and climbed into the body of a murderer. We are not holding him without just cause-- he is evil incarnate in its most literal sense.”

“Why... is he here?” asked Animal Man.

“Because no other prison could contain him. If he were to escape, like I said, evil would come with him. A wave that would engulf first the planet Earth, then the universe, and then the multiverse. He has it in him. Deep inside, he holds that power.”

“He’s just a man?” said Doctor Light.

“For now,” said Superman, “but the cell is not the only prison he is trapped inside. Mortal flesh holds him and that makes him as vulnerable as you and me. He cannot be sedated. He never sleeps. He just lives. Do you know what he’d do first, if he could escape?”

“Kill us all?” offered Animal Man, smiling sheepishly.

“Kill himself,” said Aquaman, “because that’s the only escape he has from that prison. Kill himself, and unleash his true, unholy presence upon the world.”

Firestorm was going to say something, but before he spoke, he looked down at his hand. Ronnie and Martin had united for the meeting, to give it an official feel, but he still felt strange-- and rightly so. His hand was shaking. Quivering for some unknown reason. “I don’t feel right.”

“I can feel it too, Ronnie,” said Martin, inside his head. “An immense energy... beneath us. The League weren’t lying, whoever is down there... My God.”

“Are you alright, Firestorm?” asked Hawkman. “Your hand--?”

Firestorm clenched his fist. “I’ll be okay, sorry. This is all so surreal.”

“We should have told you from day one of the evil that we guard,” said Aquaman, “and I hope that this information, the fact that we’re sharing all with you, full disclosure, is another sign of the trust we have in you.”

“And now, I guess, after that downer,” said Green Lantern, “the vote for chairperson?”

J’onn J’onzz nodded. “I counted the votes,” he said quietly, and then, with an even quieter laugh, he continued, “the winner by majority is Superman. You are the newly elected chairperson of the Justice League.”

Superman rose up from his seat as the others applauded, and then he smiled. “Thank you.”

Wonder Woman stood, and put out her hand to the new chairperson. “I think we’re calling this a passing of the torch. May the position be as fulfilling to you as it was to me.”

“I’ve seen this League in action,” said Superman, that smile ever-present on his face, “I know it will be.”

“Now that business is out of the way,” said Hal, his ring powering down and his uniform vanishing from sight to reveal his civilian attire, “news of more change. I’m stepping down from the Justice League.”

“What?” said Barry, a half-gasp on his lips.

Superman looked at Green Lantern and nodded slowly. He understood.

“Yeah, what with me having a kid now, and there being more than enough of us running around on this floating city we call home... you don’t need me.” Hal shrugged. “But that doesn’t mean I’m going to leave you short-staffed.” He bought his ring to his lips, and whispered something into the glowing bauble. Then, with a smile, he looked back up at his teammates. “I’d like to introduce you to my partner.”

There was an explosion of green light from the corridors that surrounded the main meeting room of the League, and it receded as a man stepped down from the stairs that encircled the large, circular table, and approached Superman with his ring-bearing hand held out. “The name’s Guy Gardner, folks. Some of you may have met me. Some of you haven’t. I can promise you this though,” he smirked, and took Superman’s own outstretched hand, “you ain’t going to forget me when all is said and done.”




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