Post by HoM on Apr 23, 2010 17:47:57 GMT -5
The teeth of a Tyrannosaurus Rex ripped through the leathery cape of the Dark Knight as he somersaulted into a flip bouncing off the dinosaurs nose. Two batarangs silently sailed through the air, cutting through Chronos’ costume and pinning him to the wall.
Animal Man borrowed the power from the T-Rex and grabbed the dinosaur by its hind legs, then slammed it to the ground as Batman landed directly in front of Chronos. Dr. Light came to his side ready for action as the Green Lantern Hal Jordan flew in and put him in an emerald energy bubble.
“It’s over.” Batman said matter-of-factly.
“Is it, Batman?” Chronos replied as he looked beyond them.
Behind the group of heroes stood three more copies of Chronos, all from different time periods.
“I hate time travelers.” Hal muttered as the Chrono-copies pounced at the Leaguers.
Hal shot up a green wall blocking their attack and Batman pressed the Chronos who was still pinned to the wall. “It ends now!” Batman howled.
“If you say so…” Chronos replied. He reached down and turned a dial on his chrono belt and several portals opened around the room.
Batman’s eyes widened as he watched his team mates disappear into the portals.
“No--!” Batman muttered. Chronos raised his feet and went to push them against Batman-- knocking him into a worm hole as well. But Batman grabbed Chronos by the foot, punched him hard in the face. Bruce contemplated the shimmering hole in time and space before him, considered his teammates-- and then dove straight in.
Justice League
Special #1: “Bridge to the Future”
Written by Chris Paugh
Cover by Jamie Rimmer
Edited by House Of Mystery
“Bradley! Another round..!” The weathered face of Booster Gold held one eye open and the other peered through the bottom of his glass at the bartender Slam Bradley. To say the least Booster had seen better days. His hair was graying and his physique had fallen to the wayside.
“Come on Gold, don’t you think you’ve had enough?” Slam replied, and snatched the glass from Booster.
Booster slumped over in his chair for a brief second and then let out a ground shaking belch.
“Nope. Just made room for more,” he answered with a wink. “Say… did I ever tell you how I saved the Teen Titans from… I think it was time traveling dinosaur men or was it…? No wait, that was the Legion…or maybe…” Booster trailed off.
“One more for the road but I can’t have you coming in here like this. I know you‘re not like the rest of the Justice Legion but you’re chasing regulars away.”
Booster slammed five one hundred dollar bills on the table. “This cover it?”
“Gold, you know nobody uses cash since Luthor instituted those cards. You might as well be slamming sand coins on me here.”
“Oh…right. I got a few of those around here somewhere…”
“One more, Booster. Then you gotta go.” Slam put the drink down in front of Booster and looked up towards the door and waved. It was Ichiro Kord. Booster turned and looked toward the door.
“Hey kid!” he said excitedly, “I was just telling Bradley here how I saved the Justice League from--”
An alarm went off on Booster’s wrist… he had worn it for years. For as long as Ichiro had known him (which was his whole life) Booster had worn this outdated watch. It was a simple enough piece, but when pressed Booster would never give a straight answer as to why he’d held onto it for so long.
In his old age Booster was suffering from what some referred to as Time-Dementia.
Booster had traveled backwards and forwards in time, not to mention through the multiverse and the alternate realities caused by his time travel, that he hardly knew when he was anymore. Ichiro suspected that what most saw as insane rambling were likely some of the greatest stories never told. The problem was that it seemed old Booster could hardly keep them straight anymore.
Booster looked down at his wrist as his eyes widened. “…Oh…”
“Come on, Uncle Mike. We have to get you topside. Commander Steel is going to have your throat if he sees you like this again.” Ichiro said.
“Commander Steel! Bah! I used to be his leader…Powers something…back in the day.”
“No one says ‘back in the day’ anymore. Slam, what’s the damage?” Ichiro said, turning towards the bartender.
“No worries, kid. Just get him home okay. Booster used to be a friend you know, ‘back in the day’,” Slam replied with a smile.
Ichiro smiled back. “Let’s go Booster. Before you get us both in trouble with Luthor. You know we’re not supposed to come down to Gotham anymore. Especially after last time.”
“That wasn’t my fault… stupid chimp had it coming…”
Booster stumbled out of the rundown bar and onto the grimy Gotham street. He looked ahead of him and saw that Ichiro had come in the Bug. The ship he inherited from his late father, Ted Kord. Booster smiled and his face filled with nostalgic reminiscence.
“I am totally driving,” Booster cried out.
“No. No way, I wouldn’t let you drive sober. Let alone--” Before he could get the words out Booster was halfway into the Bug. Ichiro climbed in behind him.
“I have a quick stop to make first,” Booster said.
“Absolutely not. We’re expected soon. Team meeting.”
Booster looked around the Bug feeling as though it were just yesterday since his last ride with Ted. His happy memories soon gave way to the pain of that fateful day.
“Ichiro…” Booster looked down at his feet searching for words that never came. He had been through so much since and before that day. “You know your parents…”
“I know Uncle Mike. They loved you too.” Ichiro said with a tight expression.
“Best friends a guy could ever ask for.” Booster looked down at the wrist watch again. “Which makes what I have to do now even harder.”
“What…” Ichiro couldn’t finish asking before Booster reached over and, with a quiet zap from his wrist gauntlet, Ichiro was out cold.
“I’m sorry kid.” Booster reached into his coat and pulled out a syringe. He gave him self a shot and was sober within seconds. “The sooner this is over…the sooner I can go back to not being sober.” Booster took the controls of the Bug and flew away. “Sleep well.”
Energy crackled in the dark alley and Batman appeared from nowhere. He quickly looked around for the other Leaguers but did not see them anywhere right off. Immediately he knew he was in Gotham city-- there was a certain pungent odor in the air that he’d come to find oddly comforting. He noted that it was much stronger than usual as he looked up toward the sky…
…The large floating city of Megatropolis was overhead.
“Hmm. Future…maybe even another Earth,” he said to himself as the sound of sirens filled the street in front of him. He shot a grappling hook upward and took to the roof tops to get a better view. He looked out over the city and his heart ached. A Gotham City this rundown in any time period on any Earth was a disappointment to the Dark Knight who dedicated his life to keeping his Gotham safe. A quick scan of the streets below and he spotted the source of the sirens. A flying car with fifteen to twenty flying police cars chasing after careened through the street.
“Some things never change.” Batman dove off the roof and into action.
The Caped Crusader swung from building to building in route of the commotion. He took a nose dive down toward the vehicle that was being pursued and shot out a line just in time to slow his fall and make for a smooth landing on top of the lead car. Bringing his fist down through the windshield Batman’s determined expression gave way to shock.
“Joker!” He spat the name out like spoiled milk. The Jokers green hair had faded into a mixture of green and gray. His white face was somewhat wrinkled but his insane smile was still his most dominant feature.
Batman held on as the car hit the pavement below shooting sparks in every direction. The Joker’s maniacal laugh filled the air like a bad infection.
“Imposter!” Joker shouted as though the crashing car was of no consequence to either him or the Batman.
The car came to a screeching halt and the cadre of police cars pulled in to surround the wrecked heap containing the Joker and with Batman standing on the hood.
“FREEZE!” screamed the lead officer. Batman waved them to stand down as he went to pull the Joker out of the car.
“I SAID FREEZE!” The officer repeated and Batman stopped in his tracks as he took a warning shot to his Kevlar covered midsection. The Joker started another round of laughter and Batman gripped his chest. He ducked behind the car and began looking for an escape route. The Joker crawled from the heap and plopped down beside him.
“What year is it?” Batman asked. Joker laughed. “Now! What’s the year?!”
“… Wait a minute…” Joker replied and then a perplexed look covered his face. “Oooh hooo hooo… that voice. (Chronos, you son of a gun!) It’s really you isn’t it?! THE Batman!”
Batman was busily pulling items from his utility belt. He held up two flash grenades and peeked over the top of the car. To his surprise he saw a much older Harvey Bullock standing behind the rest of the officers.
“Come out with your hands on your head,” Bullock said through a megaphone.
Batman threw the flash grenades and grabbed the Joker as he shot a line up to the nearest building.
Once on the roof Batman tossed the Joker down, keeping him at a distance while he assessed the situation.
Joker stood up and dusted off his purple suit. “Oh Brucie! How I have missed you. Maybe I’m getting sentimental in my old age but THAT was FUN. You know once you were gone I really lost my edge. Oh, sure, I slaughtered a bus full of nuns here and there for a laugh… but what good is a laugh when you have no one to share it with? Bats, you truly were my greatest muse. Bullock is so droll. No costume. NO sense of humor and I haven’t been dangled over the edge of a roof in I don’t know how long. Say, I bet you’re wondering where the rest of your time travelling do-gooders went?”
“Among other things. What do you know?” Batman asked, inching closer to the Joker.
“Ah eh eh.” Joker replied. “Quid pro quo, Bats. First you have to do something for me.”
Down below Bullock and his storm troopers had spotted Batman and the Joker on top of the building.
“You take the steps,” he ordered to half of the group, “and you take the elevators,” he said pointing to another group. “And the rest of you stay here and keep your eyes peeled on the top of that building. No one in or out!”
Bullock rode the elevator with the second group. A synthesized version of Enter Sandman played on the speakers. When the bell rang for the top floor the men exited the elevator with guns drawn, several semi-automatics and a tear gas launcher. They approached the roof cautiously, turning every corner with precision and ready for anything.
Bullock looked around and saw the last thing he expected. The Joker was dangling from a rope tied to a tall satellite dish. On his chest was a piece of paper with a crudely drawn bat symbol. The Joker was all smiles and a single tear rolled from his eye and across his upside down forehead. He sighed and looked at Bullock.
“I guess it’s true what they say about never knowing what you’ve got until it’s gone.”
Bullock looked the Joker and took a final draw from his cigar before flicking it at the Clown Prince of Crime. He walked over and came face to upside down face blowing the smoke in the Joker‘s eyes. He stuck the barrel of his police revolver between Joker‘s eyes. “In the extremely unlikely event that you‘re given any kind of proper burial: What would you like your tombstone to read?”
The Joker smiled his trademark smile and replied, “just kidding.”
Booster landed the Bug about half a mile away from the New Gotham penitentiary.
It was mostly empty, as these days it was not common practice to keep prisoners. He pulled Ichiro out and sat him on the ground nearby. The Sun would be coming up if not for the shadow of Megatropolis hovering above them.
Ichiro started to stir and Booster stood over him waiting.
“Booster…? What…you knocked me out!” Ichiro realized as he sat up to confront Booster.
“I’m sorry kid, but we have a mission. Probably my last one. We don‘t have long to talk. Our Justice Legion communicators will be back online soon. For the time being anyone listening in is hearing the High Hopes Song,” Gold answered solemnly.
“What are you talking about?” Ichiro asked rubbing his head.
“The High Hopes Song? Sinatra? High apple piiiiiieeee, in the sky hopes,” Booster sang the lyrics.
“Not that. You know what I mean.” He pondered for a second before deciding to give Booster the benefit of the doubt. The rare sincerity in his voice was the clincher. “This better be good.”
“You already know I was a time cop a long time ago. I worked with Rip Hunter policing the time stream. I saw so much… so many possibilities, and the world ended up like this. My last time out in the time stream…we went on the same mission over and over again and the outcome was always the same. The Meta-Plague came, it affected most of my friends, Clark…J’onn. Poor J’onn. No matter what we did, what we changed…the details would change but things always ended up like…like this.” Booster looked up at the looming city in the sky. He pulled his goggles off and looked away with tears in his eyes. Ichiro stood next to him unsure what to say.
Booster took a deep breathe and pulled himself together. “We have one more chance. A week ago some Justice Leaguers showed up from the past. We have to get to them, I need to talk to them and get them back to their time before Luthor finds them here. Rip hid one last Time Sphere beneath what used to be the Bat Cave… we had it all wrong. We thought if we went to the key points we could somehow affect the outcome. There was no one key event. It was a combination of events that led to the way things are.”
“Come on Uncle Mike, the Justice League from your day? Arrested just like that?”
“After reading a newspaper they hid their costumes. It didn’t stop them from getting arrested for not being registered. They went along with it in hopes to find out where or when Batman landed. They‘ve let the storm troopers lock them up to bide time. ”
Ichiro knew Booster was telling the truth. He could tell by the uneasy feeling in his stomach. Whatever semblance of a normal life they had managed to make within the Justice Legion was about to change drastically. Then a thought hit him.
“The League…so my--”
Booster looked down at his old watch and grinned as he cut Ichiro off. “Wanna see the definition of handsome?”
“Huh?”
“Up and to the left kid.”
Ichiro looked up to find another much younger and much more in shape Booster Gold approaching.
“Looking good,” Old Booster said as the younger one came to land in front of him.
“Now save us both a lot of time and trouble and go back where you came from. Tell Rip I got this.”
“Um… as inclined as I am to take your… my advice, well, I mean…YOU LET ME GET FAT?!”
Old Booster cringed at his younger self before doing what he remembered himself doing. As the younger Booster went on and on talking and talking he reached up and fired off the same taser blast as he had before with Ichiro.
Ichiro caught the young Booster and placed him on the ground gently.
“Now, let’s see…I believe, I remember waking up in those bushes over there.”
It had been decades since Hank Heywood, aka Commander Steel, had actually needed to workout to keep up his strength, but every so often he could be found in the training room bench-pressing or doing power squats. His robotic body did not need to be maintained in such a way however-- it was an act that he’d found that he quite enjoyed. Perhaps it reminded him of better times. Perhaps it was to remind himself of how human he once was.
At any rate, it always gave him a reason to be around the rest of the Justice Legion which proved useful from time to time. In the time since Luthor put together this incarnation of the team there had never once been dissension amongst their ranks. Staying close to the other members was a good way to prevent such a thing from happening.
Cyborg entered the workout room and stood over Steel, watching him as he counted repetitions.
“Commander, there’s something you should see,” he finally said, interrupting Steel’s count.
“How important is it? I’m not quite finished here,” answered Steel as he placed the weight bar back in its place.
“Two Legion member’s comm links are broadcasting music rather than allowing two-way contact.”
“…Music…? Booster and Ichiro?” Steel asked as he moved along to a different work out machine.
“Yes sir.”
“Booster’s probably just drunk again. I imagine Kord went after him in hopes of keeping him out of trouble. Hmm…” Steel pondered on what order to give as he added more and more weight to the bar he was about to squat.
“That’s what I would have assumed, but after the last time Luthor ordered that we put those tracking devices in their communicators. They aren’t anywhere near Old Cobblepots. They’re just down the road from the prison in New Gotham. There’s also chatter about someone dressed as Batman… we’re awaiting word from Bullock.”
“What song is on Booster’s comm link?” Steel asked.
“High Hopes.”
Steel scanned his computer-like brain, cross referencing Booster with Frank Sinatra.
“Hmm, Booster doesn’t realize it, but he always turns towards Sinatra when he’s nervous. Alert Speaker Luthor. We’ll take a small group down and check it out. Just you, some storm troopers and myself.”
“I’m well aware of the situation. Bullock has confirmed that somebody is parading around in an old Batman uniform. I don‘t think I need to tell you how important it is that you get down there and shut this nonsense down.” Luthor’s voice came from behind them as he entered the weight room.
“Yes sir,” answered Steel.
“Whoever it is in that costume…bring him to me.” Luthor added as the pair left the room.
“How’s Buddy?” Hal asked as he paced the floor of a medium sized containment cell.
“No better. Every since we got here he’s been sick. His connection to animals is causing some sort of anthropomorphic feedback. Something is terribly wrong with the animals in this time period and it‘s having an effect on his physiology,” Kimiyo replied.
Animal Man was sitting in the corner of the cell with his knees against his chest. He was sweating and shaking harder and harder since their arrival.
“I’ll say. Have you noticed that all the birds are green?” Hal replied looking out a barred window. He also found himself looking up at the floating city of Megatropolis more and more. “What happened ? How did things get this way?” He muttered to himself.
“I finished my calculations and provided Batman was sent through a portal within a few moments after us… he would have landed in this timeline last night,” Kimiyo informed Hal.
“If I know Batman, even if Chronos didn’t shove him into a portal he leapt in after us on his own. It’s likely he’s already watching. I think it‘s time to make our move. Do you have enough power stored?”
“Yes. Very little left now, but yes. That monstrosity in the sky is blocking me from the sun. I’ve been able to absorb some of the latent energy from the fluorescent lights in here. I just hope it‘s enough.”
“It has to be. I’m on about ten percent myself. Once we get out of here we just have to find a time machine and get home. Then Chronos is mine.” Hal took one last look out the window and held his hand up as his ring started to glow. “Seems simple enough. Find a time machine…”
One clear sign that you are in a desperate situation is when you are relying on intel from the Joker. None the less Batman raced along the rooftops of the prison. His run in with the Joker left him somewhat shaken. He was tempted to poke around and learn more about this time period but the longer he was here the more he felt it was best to gather his team and find a way out as soon as possible.
He ran over the names of people in his head that could help. Who had the League worked with that traveled time? Rip Hunter, maybe a future Flash, and then there was Booster Gold. Gold had bragged about being from the future when he first appeared then tried downplaying it after the whole Zero Hour business. Batman had long suspected he was tied into more than he let on.
According to everything Batman had put together he was standing over the cell where his teammates were being held.
As if on cue a green bubble came flying over the horizon containing the costumes of Dr. Light and Animal Man.
Batman cringed at the possibility of attention being drawn.
The bubble hovered next to the window outside of the cell and Batman took the opportunity to leap onto the bubble then somersaulted around to grab the bars so that he was facing the inside of the cell.
“Ever hear of subtlety?” The Dark Knight asked.
Hal was still standing next to the window a big grin spread across his face at the sight of Batman. “Speak of the devil and he shall appear.”
Hal shaped the bubble into a square and moved it below Batman so that he had something to stand on. Batman pulled a small blow torch from his utility belt and went to work on the bars.
After the bars were removed he took the costumes and slid them to his teammates.
“Move fast, we’ll have company soon,” Batman said and then shot a grapple towards the roof.
Several moments later the rest of the team joined him.
“Animal Man is sick.” Hal relayed to Batman right away. “We got here a week ago and thought it best to lay low until you showed.”
“Look.” Batman said pointing behind Hal. The Green Lantern turned and saw a hovercraft coming fast. An armed group of storm troopers flew behind the craft in rocket boots.
The Dark Knight clenched his teeth and crouched to a ready position. Dr. Light placed a hard light bubble around Animal Man who was barely conscience. A big green baseball bat formed in Hal’s hands. The Justice League was ready for battle.
The top of the hover craft opened revealing Commander Steel and Cyborg.
Batman glanced over to Hal to see that he had let his guard down slightly. “Square up Jordan. We can’t afford to trust anyone here.”
Hal started to protest but realized Brue was probably right. Steel and Cyborg leapt from their vehicle and took a place on the roof opposite of the League members.
“It is unlawful to wear uniforms unregistered. Especially those uniforms,” Steel said as he drew a laser gun from his side.
“Yeah, so make with the standing down,” added Cyborg as his left arm turned into a cannon.
Batman was the first to react and tossed out some smoke grenades. “Tag them, Light,”
he said as he took to action.
Kimiyo shot out two blasts from her hand s that wrapped around Steel and Cyborg illuminating them in the midst of Batman’s smoke.
Hal flew forward knocking Steel off balance with his baseball bat construct as Batman flipped over Cyborg fitting him with a grenade on each shoulder.
Steel regained his footing quickly and began firing his lasers at Green Lantern. Hal threw up a shield blocking the first round of blasts and morphed the shield into a giant hammer that he attempted to bring down on Steel.
To Hal’s surprise Steel grabbed the hammer construct as it came down and pulled the Lantern towards him in one fluid motion. Hal being stunned reacted too late to stop Steel from delivering a crushing blow across his face.
Dr. Light was contending with the storm troopers firing one blast after another as they flew at her. Kimiyo struggled to keep pace with them as they swarmed her in waves.
Animal Man was in the throes of a fevered illness. “It’s not right… not right…”
He mumbled as he tried to sit up. As the battle rages on around him Buddy took a deep breathe and tried to reach out to the Morphogenetic Field. He was searching for animals that were unaffected by what he could only describe as a loud static.
“There…” Buddy said, barely audible. He had found a hive of Periplaneta Americana-- better known as the cockroach. He focused in on them and began to draw on their hardiness-- Buddy’s worsening condition slowed as he soaked in the cockroach’s ability to survive. As the Morphogenetic Field moved over him, he saw through the eyes of insects, and Buddy learned what had happened to the animals… he watched as the Meta-Plague ripped across the world killing slaughtering nearly all in its wake. The majority of those left alive were left mutated and deformed, but the ones which weren’t were gathered and bred thanks to a project headed by Luthor to keep the animals from going extinct. He had brought in Gar Logan, the current Animal Man, to morph into each animal and breed with them. The very thought repulsed Buddy and he felt himself becoming more and more angry, his strength coming back to him as tried to locate another type of insect to draw more strength from. Finally, he located an ant farm full of rare unaffected ants in a building just a few miles away. “…Yes.”
Meanwhile, Batman and Hal were still going toe to toe with Steel and Cyborg. Things were not looking good for the Justice League as they lost the upper hand to the Justice Legion members. Cyborg got through a rare blow on Batman and didn’t waste any time pouncing on him with follow up strikes to the Dark Knight. Hal’s ring was waning as he slowly lost more power. Steel had nearly taken over him when Kimiyo blasted him from behind, knocking the Commander away from the Green Lantern. The momentary victory was short lived as she was jumped once again by storm troopers.
“GYAHHH!” Animal Man screamed as he burst upward through Light’s hard light bubble. He ran with the proportionate speed of an ant towards his teammates as he fired borrowed sonic blasts from his fist that he had borrowed from some mutated pistol shrimp in the New Gotham aquarium.
Steel turned toward Animal Man to fight but was promptly bashed over the head from behind by Green Lantern. Batman took the opportunity to switch things up and threw a barrage of batarangs at the storm troopers. As the tide started to turn Cyborg pulled back just enough to ready his hand cannon and took aim at Dr. Light. Energy crackled and hummed as he geared up for one major blast.
“MOM!” A new figure screamed and pounced on Cyborg from above. Ichiro Kord and Booster Gold had just arrived at the scene.
Kimiyo looked toward the scream with a shocked expression and was knocked aside by a storm trooper. Buddy, still on something of a rampage, was making short work of the storm troopers whose attention he held. He battled against the static and feedback from the mutated animals and lasted just enough to save Batman from a concussive blast before dropping hard.
Batman spun around to see that Buddy had just saved his life and ran over to check on him. As Batman knelt down next to his team mate he felt a barrel press against the back of his head.
“Stand. Down.” Steel said firmly.
“You stand down,” came the voice from behind him. It was Booster Gold and he had both arms pointed at Steel with his gauntlets primed and ready for action.
“What are you doing Michael?” Steel asked. “You finally sober up for a day and make an even worse decision than usual?”
“This isn’t about me. It’s bigger than anyone of us. I need to get these people home and you’re going to let me.”
Under the cover of his cape Batman slowly reached into his utility belt and retrieved a flash grenade. With his other hand he quietly signaled a number three to Kimiyo and Hal. He suspected Booster to have picked up on at as well. Hal’s mask turned into a green par of sunglasses.
Batman took the lead and casually threw the flash grenade over his shoulder and it landed at Steel’s feet. At the same moment that it exploded, Kimiyo and Hal lit up the surrounding area with their respective powers. Booster and Ichiro followed suit. Booster fired his gauntlets off at the ground and Ichiro displayed the same powers as his mother.
Blinding light filled entire rooftop, and when it subsided the Leaguers were gone, along with Booster and Ichiro, leaving Steel, Cyborg and a pile of unconscious storm troopers on the roof alone.
Booster landed the Bug just on what used to be the grounds of Wayne Manor.
Batman was the first one to get out and look around. The others filed out behind him.
Ichiro carried Animal Man on a flat hard light construct. The powers he inherited from his mother were somewhat different and functioned almost like that of the Green Lanterns. Hal smiled as he saw him manipulate the light with an innate ease-- without the assistance of a power ring to do so.
The Green Lantern put his hand on Batman’s shoulder as they surveyed the area. “Bruce, are you--?”
Batman cut him off. “Where is it, Gold?” He asked in reference to the Time Sphere Booster had informed them was on the grounds.
“Three levels below the cave. Rip Hunter and I hid it there years ago specifically for today. With the manor destroyed I’m not sure how to get down there now though.” Booster answered.
Batman looked across the yard and spotted the ruins of an old well. “That way. Lantern, can you move the debris?”
“Yeah,” replied Hal as he constructed a green bulldozer that ploughed the rocks out of the way, exposing a dank hole leading deep into the ground. The heroes jumped in one after the other.
“So…you’re my son?” Kimiyo asked Ichiro.
“Yes, I… I’m sorry for staring, it’s just that it’s been so long since…” Ichiro struggled for the words. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay.” She replied. “Who is your father?”
Hal grinned. “Isn’t obvious? Costume has Blue Beetle written all over it.”
Ichiro nodded. “Yeah, my father was Ted Kord.”
“Was?” Kimiyo repeated.
“Ted went out as a hero,” said Booster, and he quickly looked away avoiding direct eye contact with Kimiyo. “The important thing is we can change everything.”
“What do you mean?” Batman asked.
“The road that led us here… we tried, we tried so hard. Rip and I…sixty five times we attempted to change the course of events. The end result was always the same: Luthor as grand ruler. But the events in between …the people…it was different every time. You remember the Zero Hour event, it turns out we caused it. A ripple effect that went backward through time driving Hunter insane all across the multiverse. This is our last chance. Our last hope to undo it all.”
“How?” Batman asked.
“When you get back to your time…you have to put me down.”
“Put you down?!” scoffed Hal in surprise.
“Yes. You have to kill me. Hopefully it’s not too late by your time.”
A collective gasp came from the group of heroes.
“If you and Hunter tampering with the time stream caused so much trouble before, what makes you think doing it again is going to change anything?” Batman asked.
“Bruce, you are the one who is always prepared for every possible scenario, but I have lived every possible scenario. It’s the only way. I’m the anomaly. I don’t belong and I never have.”
“We aren’t going to kill you,” Hal replied, “that’s just not an option.”
“Uncle Mike…what… what are you saying?” Ichiro asked.
“You’ve heard the whole thing about a butterfly flapping its wings? Well… I am that butterfly.” Booster answered.
“Why now? Why not go back and stop yourself from ever leaving the future to begin with?” Batman asked.
“Because of that…” Booster pointed ahead of them into a dimly lit cavern. “The last Time Sphere and your only way home. Going forward beyond this period is a bumpy ride. It’s like something is blocking the way. Tachyons most likely, but it‘s hard to say where they came from.”
“You’re partially right Gold.” An eerily familiar voice came from inside the cavern.
Speaker Luthor stepped into view. “There has been a tachyon field up for fifteen years now. I plan to keep it up indefinitely.
“Luthor,” Batman said evenly. The League readied themselves for battle.
“You didn’t really think this would go by unnoticed did you? This is my world now. You of all people should understand what I have built here, Batman.”
“You’re standing in front of my way home,” Batman replied shifting on his feet.
“Oh, don‘t worry. You will be going home. I wouldn’t dare keeping you here and jeopardize changing the past. I’m afraid however, that I will be taking your memories of this adventure through time. Morrow?”
The cavern began to shake and an elderly Dr. Morrow walked out and took a place beside Luthor. In his hands was a small device emitting the vibration that filled the cavern.
Luthor smiled as all the heroes fell.
Once they were all unconscious Morrow turned off his device and Luthor and him removed a pair of smaller devices from their ears.
“Go into their heads and take away everything from the past week then put them in the sphere. Leave Gold and Kord intact. I want him them remember this defeat for what’s left of the rest of their lives.” Luthor pulled out a signal device. “Steel, I have a pick up for you. I will not tolerate treason. Take Kord and Booster into the waste and deal with them. Luthor out.”
Dr. Morrow closed in on the fallen heroes and went to work. He carried with him a duffel bag full of electronic devices and several syringes full of multi colored fluids.
“And none of you can remember anything?” Superman asked. He was sitting across from Batman and Green Lantern.
“Nothing,” replied Hal. Batman remained silent.
“Bruce?” Superman looked to the Dark Knight.
“The last thing I remember is Chronos pushing me through a wormhole then waking up in that warehouse. Whatever happened goes in the loss column, but believe me, I will find out. We have to find Chronos and make him talk.” Batman stood up and walked towards the exit of the meeting room. “Is Baker still in sick bay?” He asked without turning back.
“Yes, luckily he’s doing much better.” Superman answered. Batman left without saying another word.
Steel shoved Booster and Ichiro down to their knees. He had brought them to the waste that was once Middle America. The ground was singed for miles in every direction.
They were blindfolded and shackled. He stood with his laser gun to the back of Booster’s head. Booster has said nothing to him all the way there. Booster Gold being silent made Hank feel uneasy.
“Dammit Booster. I’ve protected you for too long,” Steel pressed the laser harder. “You knew what the penalty for treason is.”
“It doesn’t have to be this way Hank,” Booster said, finally breaking his silence.
“It IS this way Michael,” Steel hesitated and then sighed. “Get up.”
“What?” Ichiro uttered.
“I said get up,” Steel released their shackles.
The pair pulled off their blindfolds and Booster smiled. “I knew you couldn’t just execute your old friend Booster.”
“I can and I will…IF I ever se you again. I will come down on you harder than you can imagine and you WILL die. Booster, do not try anything. Go out there and do not come back. Don’t get the wrong impression. I’m letting you live for one reason only.”
“My panache?” Booster asked wryly.
“Respect for the past. Respect for Ted.”
“Ted?”
“Intelligence reports suggest that he’s out there…alive.” Steel looked away. “The reason I’m letting you go is so you can find him. Find him and tell him that if he’s planning something… if he’s up to something it would be best to forget it. Stay out there and stay alive. But if you bring a fight to me… no sentimental ties will stop me from taking you all down.”
Steel turned and walked away. Booster and Ichiro watched as he climbed in his hovercraft and disappeared.
“My father… he’s alive?” whispered Ichiro.
“If he is…” started Michael, a smile on his lips. “We better start walking kid. We’ll have to find some shelter.” As they walked away, Booster didn’t look back again. Instead he looked to Ichiro. “Say, did I ever tell you about the time your dad and I…”
Animal Man borrowed the power from the T-Rex and grabbed the dinosaur by its hind legs, then slammed it to the ground as Batman landed directly in front of Chronos. Dr. Light came to his side ready for action as the Green Lantern Hal Jordan flew in and put him in an emerald energy bubble.
“It’s over.” Batman said matter-of-factly.
“Is it, Batman?” Chronos replied as he looked beyond them.
Behind the group of heroes stood three more copies of Chronos, all from different time periods.
“I hate time travelers.” Hal muttered as the Chrono-copies pounced at the Leaguers.
Hal shot up a green wall blocking their attack and Batman pressed the Chronos who was still pinned to the wall. “It ends now!” Batman howled.
“If you say so…” Chronos replied. He reached down and turned a dial on his chrono belt and several portals opened around the room.
Batman’s eyes widened as he watched his team mates disappear into the portals.
“No--!” Batman muttered. Chronos raised his feet and went to push them against Batman-- knocking him into a worm hole as well. But Batman grabbed Chronos by the foot, punched him hard in the face. Bruce contemplated the shimmering hole in time and space before him, considered his teammates-- and then dove straight in.
Justice League
Special #1: “Bridge to the Future”
Written by Chris Paugh
Cover by Jamie Rimmer
Edited by House Of Mystery
Gotham City/The Future/Old Cobblepots
[/b]“Bradley! Another round..!” The weathered face of Booster Gold held one eye open and the other peered through the bottom of his glass at the bartender Slam Bradley. To say the least Booster had seen better days. His hair was graying and his physique had fallen to the wayside.
“Come on Gold, don’t you think you’ve had enough?” Slam replied, and snatched the glass from Booster.
Booster slumped over in his chair for a brief second and then let out a ground shaking belch.
“Nope. Just made room for more,” he answered with a wink. “Say… did I ever tell you how I saved the Teen Titans from… I think it was time traveling dinosaur men or was it…? No wait, that was the Legion…or maybe…” Booster trailed off.
“One more for the road but I can’t have you coming in here like this. I know you‘re not like the rest of the Justice Legion but you’re chasing regulars away.”
Booster slammed five one hundred dollar bills on the table. “This cover it?”
“Gold, you know nobody uses cash since Luthor instituted those cards. You might as well be slamming sand coins on me here.”
“Oh…right. I got a few of those around here somewhere…”
“One more, Booster. Then you gotta go.” Slam put the drink down in front of Booster and looked up towards the door and waved. It was Ichiro Kord. Booster turned and looked toward the door.
“Hey kid!” he said excitedly, “I was just telling Bradley here how I saved the Justice League from--”
--deet deet deet!
An alarm went off on Booster’s wrist… he had worn it for years. For as long as Ichiro had known him (which was his whole life) Booster had worn this outdated watch. It was a simple enough piece, but when pressed Booster would never give a straight answer as to why he’d held onto it for so long.
In his old age Booster was suffering from what some referred to as Time-Dementia.
Booster had traveled backwards and forwards in time, not to mention through the multiverse and the alternate realities caused by his time travel, that he hardly knew when he was anymore. Ichiro suspected that what most saw as insane rambling were likely some of the greatest stories never told. The problem was that it seemed old Booster could hardly keep them straight anymore.
Booster looked down at his wrist as his eyes widened. “…Oh…”
“Come on, Uncle Mike. We have to get you topside. Commander Steel is going to have your throat if he sees you like this again.” Ichiro said.
“Commander Steel! Bah! I used to be his leader…Powers something…back in the day.”
“No one says ‘back in the day’ anymore. Slam, what’s the damage?” Ichiro said, turning towards the bartender.
“No worries, kid. Just get him home okay. Booster used to be a friend you know, ‘back in the day’,” Slam replied with a smile.
Ichiro smiled back. “Let’s go Booster. Before you get us both in trouble with Luthor. You know we’re not supposed to come down to Gotham anymore. Especially after last time.”
“That wasn’t my fault… stupid chimp had it coming…”
Booster stumbled out of the rundown bar and onto the grimy Gotham street. He looked ahead of him and saw that Ichiro had come in the Bug. The ship he inherited from his late father, Ted Kord. Booster smiled and his face filled with nostalgic reminiscence.
“I am totally driving,” Booster cried out.
“No. No way, I wouldn’t let you drive sober. Let alone--” Before he could get the words out Booster was halfway into the Bug. Ichiro climbed in behind him.
“I have a quick stop to make first,” Booster said.
“Absolutely not. We’re expected soon. Team meeting.”
Booster looked around the Bug feeling as though it were just yesterday since his last ride with Ted. His happy memories soon gave way to the pain of that fateful day.
“Ichiro…” Booster looked down at his feet searching for words that never came. He had been through so much since and before that day. “You know your parents…”
“I know Uncle Mike. They loved you too.” Ichiro said with a tight expression.
“Best friends a guy could ever ask for.” Booster looked down at the wrist watch again. “Which makes what I have to do now even harder.”
“What…” Ichiro couldn’t finish asking before Booster reached over and, with a quiet zap from his wrist gauntlet, Ichiro was out cold.
“I’m sorry kid.” Booster reached into his coat and pulled out a syringe. He gave him self a shot and was sober within seconds. “The sooner this is over…the sooner I can go back to not being sober.” Booster took the controls of the Bug and flew away. “Sleep well.”
Meanwhile…
[/b][/u]Energy crackled in the dark alley and Batman appeared from nowhere. He quickly looked around for the other Leaguers but did not see them anywhere right off. Immediately he knew he was in Gotham city-- there was a certain pungent odor in the air that he’d come to find oddly comforting. He noted that it was much stronger than usual as he looked up toward the sky…
…The large floating city of Megatropolis was overhead.
“Hmm. Future…maybe even another Earth,” he said to himself as the sound of sirens filled the street in front of him. He shot a grappling hook upward and took to the roof tops to get a better view. He looked out over the city and his heart ached. A Gotham City this rundown in any time period on any Earth was a disappointment to the Dark Knight who dedicated his life to keeping his Gotham safe. A quick scan of the streets below and he spotted the source of the sirens. A flying car with fifteen to twenty flying police cars chasing after careened through the street.
“Some things never change.” Batman dove off the roof and into action.
The Caped Crusader swung from building to building in route of the commotion. He took a nose dive down toward the vehicle that was being pursued and shot out a line just in time to slow his fall and make for a smooth landing on top of the lead car. Bringing his fist down through the windshield Batman’s determined expression gave way to shock.
“Joker!” He spat the name out like spoiled milk. The Jokers green hair had faded into a mixture of green and gray. His white face was somewhat wrinkled but his insane smile was still his most dominant feature.
Batman held on as the car hit the pavement below shooting sparks in every direction. The Joker’s maniacal laugh filled the air like a bad infection.
“Imposter!” Joker shouted as though the crashing car was of no consequence to either him or the Batman.
The car came to a screeching halt and the cadre of police cars pulled in to surround the wrecked heap containing the Joker and with Batman standing on the hood.
“FREEZE!” screamed the lead officer. Batman waved them to stand down as he went to pull the Joker out of the car.
“I SAID FREEZE!” The officer repeated and Batman stopped in his tracks as he took a warning shot to his Kevlar covered midsection. The Joker started another round of laughter and Batman gripped his chest. He ducked behind the car and began looking for an escape route. The Joker crawled from the heap and plopped down beside him.
“What year is it?” Batman asked. Joker laughed. “Now! What’s the year?!”
“… Wait a minute…” Joker replied and then a perplexed look covered his face. “Oooh hooo hooo… that voice. (Chronos, you son of a gun!) It’s really you isn’t it?! THE Batman!”
Batman was busily pulling items from his utility belt. He held up two flash grenades and peeked over the top of the car. To his surprise he saw a much older Harvey Bullock standing behind the rest of the officers.
“Come out with your hands on your head,” Bullock said through a megaphone.
Batman threw the flash grenades and grabbed the Joker as he shot a line up to the nearest building.
Once on the roof Batman tossed the Joker down, keeping him at a distance while he assessed the situation.
Joker stood up and dusted off his purple suit. “Oh Brucie! How I have missed you. Maybe I’m getting sentimental in my old age but THAT was FUN. You know once you were gone I really lost my edge. Oh, sure, I slaughtered a bus full of nuns here and there for a laugh… but what good is a laugh when you have no one to share it with? Bats, you truly were my greatest muse. Bullock is so droll. No costume. NO sense of humor and I haven’t been dangled over the edge of a roof in I don’t know how long. Say, I bet you’re wondering where the rest of your time travelling do-gooders went?”
“Among other things. What do you know?” Batman asked, inching closer to the Joker.
“Ah eh eh.” Joker replied. “Quid pro quo, Bats. First you have to do something for me.”
Down below Bullock and his storm troopers had spotted Batman and the Joker on top of the building.
“You take the steps,” he ordered to half of the group, “and you take the elevators,” he said pointing to another group. “And the rest of you stay here and keep your eyes peeled on the top of that building. No one in or out!”
Bullock rode the elevator with the second group. A synthesized version of Enter Sandman played on the speakers. When the bell rang for the top floor the men exited the elevator with guns drawn, several semi-automatics and a tear gas launcher. They approached the roof cautiously, turning every corner with precision and ready for anything.
Bullock looked around and saw the last thing he expected. The Joker was dangling from a rope tied to a tall satellite dish. On his chest was a piece of paper with a crudely drawn bat symbol. The Joker was all smiles and a single tear rolled from his eye and across his upside down forehead. He sighed and looked at Bullock.
“I guess it’s true what they say about never knowing what you’ve got until it’s gone.”
Bullock looked the Joker and took a final draw from his cigar before flicking it at the Clown Prince of Crime. He walked over and came face to upside down face blowing the smoke in the Joker‘s eyes. He stuck the barrel of his police revolver between Joker‘s eyes. “In the extremely unlikely event that you‘re given any kind of proper burial: What would you like your tombstone to read?”
The Joker smiled his trademark smile and replied, “just kidding.”
And A Little Later
[/b][/u]Booster landed the Bug about half a mile away from the New Gotham penitentiary.
It was mostly empty, as these days it was not common practice to keep prisoners. He pulled Ichiro out and sat him on the ground nearby. The Sun would be coming up if not for the shadow of Megatropolis hovering above them.
Ichiro started to stir and Booster stood over him waiting.
“Booster…? What…you knocked me out!” Ichiro realized as he sat up to confront Booster.
“I’m sorry kid, but we have a mission. Probably my last one. We don‘t have long to talk. Our Justice Legion communicators will be back online soon. For the time being anyone listening in is hearing the High Hopes Song,” Gold answered solemnly.
“What are you talking about?” Ichiro asked rubbing his head.
“The High Hopes Song? Sinatra? High apple piiiiiieeee, in the sky hopes,” Booster sang the lyrics.
“Not that. You know what I mean.” He pondered for a second before deciding to give Booster the benefit of the doubt. The rare sincerity in his voice was the clincher. “This better be good.”
“You already know I was a time cop a long time ago. I worked with Rip Hunter policing the time stream. I saw so much… so many possibilities, and the world ended up like this. My last time out in the time stream…we went on the same mission over and over again and the outcome was always the same. The Meta-Plague came, it affected most of my friends, Clark…J’onn. Poor J’onn. No matter what we did, what we changed…the details would change but things always ended up like…like this.” Booster looked up at the looming city in the sky. He pulled his goggles off and looked away with tears in his eyes. Ichiro stood next to him unsure what to say.
Booster took a deep breathe and pulled himself together. “We have one more chance. A week ago some Justice Leaguers showed up from the past. We have to get to them, I need to talk to them and get them back to their time before Luthor finds them here. Rip hid one last Time Sphere beneath what used to be the Bat Cave… we had it all wrong. We thought if we went to the key points we could somehow affect the outcome. There was no one key event. It was a combination of events that led to the way things are.”
“Come on Uncle Mike, the Justice League from your day? Arrested just like that?”
“After reading a newspaper they hid their costumes. It didn’t stop them from getting arrested for not being registered. They went along with it in hopes to find out where or when Batman landed. They‘ve let the storm troopers lock them up to bide time. ”
Ichiro knew Booster was telling the truth. He could tell by the uneasy feeling in his stomach. Whatever semblance of a normal life they had managed to make within the Justice Legion was about to change drastically. Then a thought hit him.
“The League…so my--”
Booster looked down at his old watch and grinned as he cut Ichiro off. “Wanna see the definition of handsome?”
“Huh?”
“Up and to the left kid.”
Ichiro looked up to find another much younger and much more in shape Booster Gold approaching.
“Looking good,” Old Booster said as the younger one came to land in front of him.
“Now save us both a lot of time and trouble and go back where you came from. Tell Rip I got this.”
“Um… as inclined as I am to take your… my advice, well, I mean…YOU LET ME GET FAT?!”
Old Booster cringed at his younger self before doing what he remembered himself doing. As the younger Booster went on and on talking and talking he reached up and fired off the same taser blast as he had before with Ichiro.
Ichiro caught the young Booster and placed him on the ground gently.
“Now, let’s see…I believe, I remember waking up in those bushes over there.”
Justice Legion Headquarters
[/b][/u]It had been decades since Hank Heywood, aka Commander Steel, had actually needed to workout to keep up his strength, but every so often he could be found in the training room bench-pressing or doing power squats. His robotic body did not need to be maintained in such a way however-- it was an act that he’d found that he quite enjoyed. Perhaps it reminded him of better times. Perhaps it was to remind himself of how human he once was.
At any rate, it always gave him a reason to be around the rest of the Justice Legion which proved useful from time to time. In the time since Luthor put together this incarnation of the team there had never once been dissension amongst their ranks. Staying close to the other members was a good way to prevent such a thing from happening.
Cyborg entered the workout room and stood over Steel, watching him as he counted repetitions.
“Commander, there’s something you should see,” he finally said, interrupting Steel’s count.
“How important is it? I’m not quite finished here,” answered Steel as he placed the weight bar back in its place.
“Two Legion member’s comm links are broadcasting music rather than allowing two-way contact.”
“…Music…? Booster and Ichiro?” Steel asked as he moved along to a different work out machine.
“Yes sir.”
“Booster’s probably just drunk again. I imagine Kord went after him in hopes of keeping him out of trouble. Hmm…” Steel pondered on what order to give as he added more and more weight to the bar he was about to squat.
“That’s what I would have assumed, but after the last time Luthor ordered that we put those tracking devices in their communicators. They aren’t anywhere near Old Cobblepots. They’re just down the road from the prison in New Gotham. There’s also chatter about someone dressed as Batman… we’re awaiting word from Bullock.”
“What song is on Booster’s comm link?” Steel asked.
“High Hopes.”
Steel scanned his computer-like brain, cross referencing Booster with Frank Sinatra.
“Hmm, Booster doesn’t realize it, but he always turns towards Sinatra when he’s nervous. Alert Speaker Luthor. We’ll take a small group down and check it out. Just you, some storm troopers and myself.”
“I’m well aware of the situation. Bullock has confirmed that somebody is parading around in an old Batman uniform. I don‘t think I need to tell you how important it is that you get down there and shut this nonsense down.” Luthor’s voice came from behind them as he entered the weight room.
“Yes sir,” answered Steel.
“Whoever it is in that costume…bring him to me.” Luthor added as the pair left the room.
And At The Prison
[/b][/u]“How’s Buddy?” Hal asked as he paced the floor of a medium sized containment cell.
“No better. Every since we got here he’s been sick. His connection to animals is causing some sort of anthropomorphic feedback. Something is terribly wrong with the animals in this time period and it‘s having an effect on his physiology,” Kimiyo replied.
Animal Man was sitting in the corner of the cell with his knees against his chest. He was sweating and shaking harder and harder since their arrival.
“I’ll say. Have you noticed that all the birds are green?” Hal replied looking out a barred window. He also found himself looking up at the floating city of Megatropolis more and more. “What happened ? How did things get this way?” He muttered to himself.
“I finished my calculations and provided Batman was sent through a portal within a few moments after us… he would have landed in this timeline last night,” Kimiyo informed Hal.
“If I know Batman, even if Chronos didn’t shove him into a portal he leapt in after us on his own. It’s likely he’s already watching. I think it‘s time to make our move. Do you have enough power stored?”
“Yes. Very little left now, but yes. That monstrosity in the sky is blocking me from the sun. I’ve been able to absorb some of the latent energy from the fluorescent lights in here. I just hope it‘s enough.”
“It has to be. I’m on about ten percent myself. Once we get out of here we just have to find a time machine and get home. Then Chronos is mine.” Hal took one last look out the window and held his hand up as his ring started to glow. “Seems simple enough. Find a time machine…”
Meanwhile…
[/b][/u]One clear sign that you are in a desperate situation is when you are relying on intel from the Joker. None the less Batman raced along the rooftops of the prison. His run in with the Joker left him somewhat shaken. He was tempted to poke around and learn more about this time period but the longer he was here the more he felt it was best to gather his team and find a way out as soon as possible.
He ran over the names of people in his head that could help. Who had the League worked with that traveled time? Rip Hunter, maybe a future Flash, and then there was Booster Gold. Gold had bragged about being from the future when he first appeared then tried downplaying it after the whole Zero Hour business. Batman had long suspected he was tied into more than he let on.
According to everything Batman had put together he was standing over the cell where his teammates were being held.
As if on cue a green bubble came flying over the horizon containing the costumes of Dr. Light and Animal Man.
Batman cringed at the possibility of attention being drawn.
The bubble hovered next to the window outside of the cell and Batman took the opportunity to leap onto the bubble then somersaulted around to grab the bars so that he was facing the inside of the cell.
“Ever hear of subtlety?” The Dark Knight asked.
Hal was still standing next to the window a big grin spread across his face at the sight of Batman. “Speak of the devil and he shall appear.”
Hal shaped the bubble into a square and moved it below Batman so that he had something to stand on. Batman pulled a small blow torch from his utility belt and went to work on the bars.
After the bars were removed he took the costumes and slid them to his teammates.
“Move fast, we’ll have company soon,” Batman said and then shot a grapple towards the roof.
Several moments later the rest of the team joined him.
“Animal Man is sick.” Hal relayed to Batman right away. “We got here a week ago and thought it best to lay low until you showed.”
“Look.” Batman said pointing behind Hal. The Green Lantern turned and saw a hovercraft coming fast. An armed group of storm troopers flew behind the craft in rocket boots.
The Dark Knight clenched his teeth and crouched to a ready position. Dr. Light placed a hard light bubble around Animal Man who was barely conscience. A big green baseball bat formed in Hal’s hands. The Justice League was ready for battle.
The top of the hover craft opened revealing Commander Steel and Cyborg.
Batman glanced over to Hal to see that he had let his guard down slightly. “Square up Jordan. We can’t afford to trust anyone here.”
Hal started to protest but realized Brue was probably right. Steel and Cyborg leapt from their vehicle and took a place on the roof opposite of the League members.
“It is unlawful to wear uniforms unregistered. Especially those uniforms,” Steel said as he drew a laser gun from his side.
“Yeah, so make with the standing down,” added Cyborg as his left arm turned into a cannon.
Batman was the first to react and tossed out some smoke grenades. “Tag them, Light,”
he said as he took to action.
Kimiyo shot out two blasts from her hand s that wrapped around Steel and Cyborg illuminating them in the midst of Batman’s smoke.
Hal flew forward knocking Steel off balance with his baseball bat construct as Batman flipped over Cyborg fitting him with a grenade on each shoulder.
Steel regained his footing quickly and began firing his lasers at Green Lantern. Hal threw up a shield blocking the first round of blasts and morphed the shield into a giant hammer that he attempted to bring down on Steel.
To Hal’s surprise Steel grabbed the hammer construct as it came down and pulled the Lantern towards him in one fluid motion. Hal being stunned reacted too late to stop Steel from delivering a crushing blow across his face.
Dr. Light was contending with the storm troopers firing one blast after another as they flew at her. Kimiyo struggled to keep pace with them as they swarmed her in waves.
Animal Man was in the throes of a fevered illness. “It’s not right… not right…”
He mumbled as he tried to sit up. As the battle rages on around him Buddy took a deep breathe and tried to reach out to the Morphogenetic Field. He was searching for animals that were unaffected by what he could only describe as a loud static.
“There…” Buddy said, barely audible. He had found a hive of Periplaneta Americana-- better known as the cockroach. He focused in on them and began to draw on their hardiness-- Buddy’s worsening condition slowed as he soaked in the cockroach’s ability to survive. As the Morphogenetic Field moved over him, he saw through the eyes of insects, and Buddy learned what had happened to the animals… he watched as the Meta-Plague ripped across the world killing slaughtering nearly all in its wake. The majority of those left alive were left mutated and deformed, but the ones which weren’t were gathered and bred thanks to a project headed by Luthor to keep the animals from going extinct. He had brought in Gar Logan, the current Animal Man, to morph into each animal and breed with them. The very thought repulsed Buddy and he felt himself becoming more and more angry, his strength coming back to him as tried to locate another type of insect to draw more strength from. Finally, he located an ant farm full of rare unaffected ants in a building just a few miles away. “…Yes.”
Meanwhile, Batman and Hal were still going toe to toe with Steel and Cyborg. Things were not looking good for the Justice League as they lost the upper hand to the Justice Legion members. Cyborg got through a rare blow on Batman and didn’t waste any time pouncing on him with follow up strikes to the Dark Knight. Hal’s ring was waning as he slowly lost more power. Steel had nearly taken over him when Kimiyo blasted him from behind, knocking the Commander away from the Green Lantern. The momentary victory was short lived as she was jumped once again by storm troopers.
“GYAHHH!” Animal Man screamed as he burst upward through Light’s hard light bubble. He ran with the proportionate speed of an ant towards his teammates as he fired borrowed sonic blasts from his fist that he had borrowed from some mutated pistol shrimp in the New Gotham aquarium.
Steel turned toward Animal Man to fight but was promptly bashed over the head from behind by Green Lantern. Batman took the opportunity to switch things up and threw a barrage of batarangs at the storm troopers. As the tide started to turn Cyborg pulled back just enough to ready his hand cannon and took aim at Dr. Light. Energy crackled and hummed as he geared up for one major blast.
“MOM!” A new figure screamed and pounced on Cyborg from above. Ichiro Kord and Booster Gold had just arrived at the scene.
Kimiyo looked toward the scream with a shocked expression and was knocked aside by a storm trooper. Buddy, still on something of a rampage, was making short work of the storm troopers whose attention he held. He battled against the static and feedback from the mutated animals and lasted just enough to save Batman from a concussive blast before dropping hard.
Batman spun around to see that Buddy had just saved his life and ran over to check on him. As Batman knelt down next to his team mate he felt a barrel press against the back of his head.
“Stand. Down.” Steel said firmly.
“You stand down,” came the voice from behind him. It was Booster Gold and he had both arms pointed at Steel with his gauntlets primed and ready for action.
“What are you doing Michael?” Steel asked. “You finally sober up for a day and make an even worse decision than usual?”
“This isn’t about me. It’s bigger than anyone of us. I need to get these people home and you’re going to let me.”
Under the cover of his cape Batman slowly reached into his utility belt and retrieved a flash grenade. With his other hand he quietly signaled a number three to Kimiyo and Hal. He suspected Booster to have picked up on at as well. Hal’s mask turned into a green par of sunglasses.
Batman took the lead and casually threw the flash grenade over his shoulder and it landed at Steel’s feet. At the same moment that it exploded, Kimiyo and Hal lit up the surrounding area with their respective powers. Booster and Ichiro followed suit. Booster fired his gauntlets off at the ground and Ichiro displayed the same powers as his mother.
Blinding light filled entire rooftop, and when it subsided the Leaguers were gone, along with Booster and Ichiro, leaving Steel, Cyborg and a pile of unconscious storm troopers on the roof alone.
Later
[/u][/center]Booster landed the Bug just on what used to be the grounds of Wayne Manor.
Batman was the first one to get out and look around. The others filed out behind him.
Ichiro carried Animal Man on a flat hard light construct. The powers he inherited from his mother were somewhat different and functioned almost like that of the Green Lanterns. Hal smiled as he saw him manipulate the light with an innate ease-- without the assistance of a power ring to do so.
The Green Lantern put his hand on Batman’s shoulder as they surveyed the area. “Bruce, are you--?”
Batman cut him off. “Where is it, Gold?” He asked in reference to the Time Sphere Booster had informed them was on the grounds.
“Three levels below the cave. Rip Hunter and I hid it there years ago specifically for today. With the manor destroyed I’m not sure how to get down there now though.” Booster answered.
Batman looked across the yard and spotted the ruins of an old well. “That way. Lantern, can you move the debris?”
“Yeah,” replied Hal as he constructed a green bulldozer that ploughed the rocks out of the way, exposing a dank hole leading deep into the ground. The heroes jumped in one after the other.
“So…you’re my son?” Kimiyo asked Ichiro.
“Yes, I… I’m sorry for staring, it’s just that it’s been so long since…” Ichiro struggled for the words. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay.” She replied. “Who is your father?”
Hal grinned. “Isn’t obvious? Costume has Blue Beetle written all over it.”
Ichiro nodded. “Yeah, my father was Ted Kord.”
“Was?” Kimiyo repeated.
“Ted went out as a hero,” said Booster, and he quickly looked away avoiding direct eye contact with Kimiyo. “The important thing is we can change everything.”
“What do you mean?” Batman asked.
“The road that led us here… we tried, we tried so hard. Rip and I…sixty five times we attempted to change the course of events. The end result was always the same: Luthor as grand ruler. But the events in between …the people…it was different every time. You remember the Zero Hour event, it turns out we caused it. A ripple effect that went backward through time driving Hunter insane all across the multiverse. This is our last chance. Our last hope to undo it all.”
“How?” Batman asked.
“When you get back to your time…you have to put me down.”
“Put you down?!” scoffed Hal in surprise.
“Yes. You have to kill me. Hopefully it’s not too late by your time.”
A collective gasp came from the group of heroes.
“If you and Hunter tampering with the time stream caused so much trouble before, what makes you think doing it again is going to change anything?” Batman asked.
“Bruce, you are the one who is always prepared for every possible scenario, but I have lived every possible scenario. It’s the only way. I’m the anomaly. I don’t belong and I never have.”
“We aren’t going to kill you,” Hal replied, “that’s just not an option.”
“Uncle Mike…what… what are you saying?” Ichiro asked.
“You’ve heard the whole thing about a butterfly flapping its wings? Well… I am that butterfly.” Booster answered.
“Why now? Why not go back and stop yourself from ever leaving the future to begin with?” Batman asked.
“Because of that…” Booster pointed ahead of them into a dimly lit cavern. “The last Time Sphere and your only way home. Going forward beyond this period is a bumpy ride. It’s like something is blocking the way. Tachyons most likely, but it‘s hard to say where they came from.”
“You’re partially right Gold.” An eerily familiar voice came from inside the cavern.
Speaker Luthor stepped into view. “There has been a tachyon field up for fifteen years now. I plan to keep it up indefinitely.
“Luthor,” Batman said evenly. The League readied themselves for battle.
“You didn’t really think this would go by unnoticed did you? This is my world now. You of all people should understand what I have built here, Batman.”
“You’re standing in front of my way home,” Batman replied shifting on his feet.
“Oh, don‘t worry. You will be going home. I wouldn’t dare keeping you here and jeopardize changing the past. I’m afraid however, that I will be taking your memories of this adventure through time. Morrow?”
The cavern began to shake and an elderly Dr. Morrow walked out and took a place beside Luthor. In his hands was a small device emitting the vibration that filled the cavern.
Luthor smiled as all the heroes fell.
Once they were all unconscious Morrow turned off his device and Luthor and him removed a pair of smaller devices from their ears.
“Go into their heads and take away everything from the past week then put them in the sphere. Leave Gold and Kord intact. I want him them remember this defeat for what’s left of the rest of their lives.” Luthor pulled out a signal device. “Steel, I have a pick up for you. I will not tolerate treason. Take Kord and Booster into the waste and deal with them. Luthor out.”
Dr. Morrow closed in on the fallen heroes and went to work. He carried with him a duffel bag full of electronic devices and several syringes full of multi colored fluids.
Present Day JL Headquarters
[/b][/u]“And none of you can remember anything?” Superman asked. He was sitting across from Batman and Green Lantern.
“Nothing,” replied Hal. Batman remained silent.
“Bruce?” Superman looked to the Dark Knight.
“The last thing I remember is Chronos pushing me through a wormhole then waking up in that warehouse. Whatever happened goes in the loss column, but believe me, I will find out. We have to find Chronos and make him talk.” Batman stood up and walked towards the exit of the meeting room. “Is Baker still in sick bay?” He asked without turning back.
“Yes, luckily he’s doing much better.” Superman answered. Batman left without saying another word.
EPILOGUE
[/b][/u]Steel shoved Booster and Ichiro down to their knees. He had brought them to the waste that was once Middle America. The ground was singed for miles in every direction.
They were blindfolded and shackled. He stood with his laser gun to the back of Booster’s head. Booster has said nothing to him all the way there. Booster Gold being silent made Hank feel uneasy.
“Dammit Booster. I’ve protected you for too long,” Steel pressed the laser harder. “You knew what the penalty for treason is.”
“It doesn’t have to be this way Hank,” Booster said, finally breaking his silence.
“It IS this way Michael,” Steel hesitated and then sighed. “Get up.”
“What?” Ichiro uttered.
“I said get up,” Steel released their shackles.
The pair pulled off their blindfolds and Booster smiled. “I knew you couldn’t just execute your old friend Booster.”
“I can and I will…IF I ever se you again. I will come down on you harder than you can imagine and you WILL die. Booster, do not try anything. Go out there and do not come back. Don’t get the wrong impression. I’m letting you live for one reason only.”
“My panache?” Booster asked wryly.
“Respect for the past. Respect for Ted.”
“Ted?”
“Intelligence reports suggest that he’s out there…alive.” Steel looked away. “The reason I’m letting you go is so you can find him. Find him and tell him that if he’s planning something… if he’s up to something it would be best to forget it. Stay out there and stay alive. But if you bring a fight to me… no sentimental ties will stop me from taking you all down.”
Steel turned and walked away. Booster and Ichiro watched as he climbed in his hovercraft and disappeared.
“My father… he’s alive?” whispered Ichiro.
“If he is…” started Michael, a smile on his lips. “We better start walking kid. We’ll have to find some shelter.” As they walked away, Booster didn’t look back again. Instead he looked to Ichiro. “Say, did I ever tell you about the time your dad and I…”
Never The End!
[/b][/u]