Solarman, The Shroud, and Miss Amazon tumbled through the air. They were joined by Synth, Hyperman, and Venusian Vicar, all of them bloody and broken. They were falling. A sulfurous atmosphere burned around them and a fiery hellscape waited below.
Miss Amazon strained to right herself mid-air, her own flight unable to counter her momentum. She turned to Solarman. "Clark, can you fly?"
"Barely, I don't have enough energy," Solarman said as he righted himself as well.
Injuries and a lack of sunlight kept him from doing much else. He caught Hyperman and Synth as they fell, the three of them plummeting to the ground. The Shroud vanished into smoke long enough to slow down his descent while Miss Amazon guided herself toward Venusian Vicar. The pair clung to eachother.
"Lightform of the Almateise," Vicar chanted.
A blue-white glow spread outward, enveloping the members of the Justice Council. The lifting energy lightened the group and further slowed their descent. With their efforts combined they would be able to survive impact with the scorched planet.
Solarman and those he carried were the first to meet the ground. A crushing thud followed by a cloud of red dirt. Solarman himself endured most of the force, breaking the fall for Hyperman and Synth. Venusian Vicar and Miss Amazon landed next and managed to find their footing quickly. A black shape struck the ground and exploded into smoke behind them. Within a few minutes it had reformed into The Shroud.
He craned his neck to the sky, cowled eyes squinting against the acrid air. A black portal swirled among the acidic clouds above. The portal that took them from their world. Wisps of purple lightning cracked out of the void as it began to close. Once it vanished from the orange-red sky, The Shroud turned to his teammates.
"We're stranded."
Miss Amazon looked to him then walked over to Synth. "Where are we?"
Synth and Hyperman helped Solarman get to his feet. "I detect no familiar networks or satellites," she said. She brought two fingers to her temple, where the dark skin of her face ended and her machine body began. After a few seconds of scanning nearby networks, she reported, "I do not think we are in our own reality anymore."
"That's... concerning," Hyperman said. "Where do we go from here?"
"Survey the area," Miss Amazon said. "Shroud, look for signs of life. Synth, analyze any technology you can find. Hyperman, find the nearest landmark."
The three councilors broke off from the group to carry out Miss Amazon's requests. Meanwhile, Miss Amazon walked to Solarman. She studied him, his fair skin burned in places, his white-gold suit and orange cape tattered and scorched.
"Clark, how did this happen?"
"The witch-child..." Venusian Vicar spoke up. "She invaded my mind. She used my magic against him," the venusian said, tears spilling down her violet face. "I'm so sorry." [*]
"Magic..." Miss Amazon breathed. Now it made sense.
"Don't blame yourself," Solarman said. "It's not your fault."
Vicar wiped her tears. "I can invoke sunlight," she offered. "It should recharge you, at least temporarily."
"Do it," Miss Amazon said. She then floated upward to get a better view of her surroundings.
Vicar raised her hands towards Solarman. "Gantiel's Starlit Aura."
The venusian took on a luminous golden glow and the kryptonian basked in this light. This went on for several minutes as Miss Amazon hovered above. She made a visor with her hand, peering out into the horizon. There was a tower in the far distance, standing out over a low skyline of what seemed to be rusted industrial decay. This is likely what Hyperman would find in his travel. Miss Amazon wondered what it could be.
A streak of blue energy indicated she would not wonder for long. Hyperman was a flash as he returned and Miss Amazon lowered to meet him.
"There's a tower out there, really tall, lots of tech inside," Hyperman reported. "Not sure what it was, but it made my powers feel kinda 'wibbly-wobbly'."
Miss Amazon titled her head. "Something dealing with time?"
Hyperman shrugged. "Or space. Or both."
"Speaking of tech," Synth said. The Council members all looked as the cyborg joined them again. "I have decoded several languages and coding structures that are used here. Sources refer to this planet as 'Apokolips'."
The Shroud was last to return to the group. His smoke form turned solid and the Council noticed he was carrying a small humanoid creature. Big eyes and green skin, a scrap of cloth around it's waist.
Miss Amazon frowned. "Is that a goblin?"
"You're looking at the common denizen of this land." The Shroud raised the creature by its neck. "There are thousands just like him."
"What's wrong?" Hyperman asked. "He doesn't look so tough."
"They're prey, too numerous to be predators," Shroud said. "Something on this planet eats these, likely by the dozen."
"Hermes, guide us," Miss Amazon said. She turned back to Solarman and Venusian Vicar. "Clark and Raszyra, are you ready?"
"I've done all I can," Vicar said, hanging her head.
"My powers are almost back to full," Solarman said, a hand on Vicar's shoulder. "It should last for a few hours at least."
"Come then, we head for the structure over the horizon," Miss Amazon said. "Hyperman will lead us and hopefully not leave us behind."
Hyperman smirked. "I would never-" He blinked away.
The Shroud rolled his eyes and dropped the dreg creature. It scurried away as he shifted into a black cloud. Seconds later, Hyperman returned. He blurred through the smoke that was The Shroud and they bonded into a speeding trail of blue-black energy. Synth ran after them, boosting with her rocket jets. Miss Amazon took Venusian Vicar's hand and picked her up. They and Solarman flew together.
The Shroud and Hyperman discovered this technique of merging at speed by accident. They were approaching a villain from the same angle and they were both in their heightened forms. It took two days until they figured out how to separate. But now, it had become the best way for them to travel together. Despite its usefulness, The Shroud still didn't seem to care for it.
The "Hypershroud" their sidekicks dubbed it. The Youth Council. There was an unspoken concern about their fellow team of aspiring heroes. Solarboy and Solargirl. Shadeling and Hyperkid. If that witch-child was still in their universe, the Youth Council would have to step up in the absence of their mentors. It would be their first encounter of such magnitude...
"Do you think that... thing is still in Metropolis?" Solarman asked.
"I think we can trust the Youth Council to muster an effective response," Miss Amazon said.
The Justice Council did not exchange many words beyond that. They spent the next few minutes traveling to the strange tower in silence. Soon they were among what passed for civilization on this world, long stretches of dystopian slums and vile machine architecture. Pillars of black smoke stained the red sky over these makeshift factories and scrapyards. And within this hellscape, there were hundreds of thousands of the dregs that Shroud had discovered. They were toiling endlessly, beyond the point of exhaustion. Their work and living conditions suggested the makings of slavery. Miss Amazon scowled at the thought.
Finally, they arrived within a few meters of the tower. It emitted a cool blue glow, standing in stark contrast to the red earth and rusted metal and burning sky. The Shroud emerged from Hyperman, Synth shut off her jets, Miss Amazon and Solarman touched down. They entered the tower slowly, wary of what may be waiting inside.
There was a column of screens at the center of the tower, all showing various charts and graphs. Synth began scanning the structure once inside. "I am reading a quantum-entanglement beacon at the core of this structure," she said. "It is one point of a bridge between dimensions."
"And the other point?" Miss Amazon asked. She followed Synth over to one of the many consoles circling the edge of the room.
"Undetermined," Synth said, after a moment. "The device requires input."
"Metropolis," Solarman said.
"The Watchtower," Miss Amazon overruled.
Synth looked up from the console. She watched Solarman cross his arms and Miss Amazon place hands on her hips in response. "Should we take a moment to deliberate?" the cyborg asked.
"That's a luxury we don't have," The Shroud said.
Synth turned back to the console. "The Watchtower, then." She began typing in the coordinates leading to the Watchtower of Earth +5. While she did that, a sound drew near. The sound of heavy wings beating the air. Miss Amazon gave a look to Hyperman.
"Good idea," Hyperman said. "I'll check." In a blur of blue he was gone and back again. "Okay, so, don't freak out, but, demons."
"Excuse me?" Solarman said.
"They're big and mean and ugly," Hyperman said. "Shroud called it."
The predators to the prey. The Shroud took no joy in being right.
"Raszyra, stay here. Protect Synth while she builds the bridge. Call us when it's ready." Miss Amazon summoned her sword and shield. "The rest of you, with me." She left the tower. Solarman, Hyperman, and The Shroud followed after her.
A horde of parademons awaited them. The winged beasts descended upon the heroes, born of chaos, thirsting for blood. Solarman leaped in front of the other councilors, tanking the fray of claws and teeth and horns. He fought back with brutal efficiency as he only needed one punch to crush a demon into the ground or launch it miles into the distance. Miss Amazon performed similarly with her godly armament, a sword that could fell a demon in two strokes and a shield that could repel any blow. Hyperman and The Shroud worked in tandem. Together they took down one enemy at a time with a flurry of strikes.
However, the number advantage proved too great. Even after a dozen parademons were defeated, another dozen still remained. The Justice Council lost ground, retreating back toward the tower. They continued to fight and a pair of demons slipped past as they relocated.
"Shroud! Hyperman!" Miss Amazon said.
The Shroud became black haze. "We're on it."
Solarman remained at the front of the group. He shielded the entry with his body and fired laser vision to keep the swarm at bay. Miss Amazon joined him with a divine bow and lightning bolt arrows. Together they held the line as one.
Meanwhile, Hyperman and The Shroud headed back to the console room. Synth blasted one of the demons that got through while Shroud and Hyperman defeated the other.
"What's the status of the bridge?" Shroud asked.
"The coordinates for the bridge are set," Synth said as she reloaded her cannon arm. "The passage to our Earth is currently at 30 percent and charging."
A warp gate had taken shape in the center of the room and a bead of light was charging into what would soon be a portal to the Watchtower.
"What about Vicar?" Hyperman asked noticing the venusian seemed to be passed out on the floor.
"She sensed some kind of entity with her powers," Synth said as Solarman and Miss Amazon joined them. The demons were finally gone.
"There's a god here..." Venusian Vicar said, eyes wide with fear.
"I'm guessing you don't mean Dianne?" Hyperman asked. Miss Amazon sighed.
Vicar shook her head. "The god of this awful place... the god of evil..." Vicar was shivering all over. "Darkseid."
Miss Amazon's brow drew tight. "Where is he?"
"We don't have time for this," Solarman said.
"We are sworn to defeat evil wherever it may tread," Miss Amazon said. "Not just in your favorite city."
Solarman closed his hands into fists and The Shroud stepped forward, moving between Dianne and Clark.
"The bridge is only at fifty percent," Synth said. "We do have at least that long."
Miss Amazon looked over at the bridge gate, a small bead of energy that was ever so slowly growing into a full-size dimensional bridge. "Hyperman, how much ground can you cover in that time?"
Hyperman scoffed. "Don't insult me."
"Fine," Miss Amazon said. "Search this planet; find this 'god'," she ordered. "You will be the judge of whether we face him or return to our world."
Hyperman glanced at the rest of the Justice Council and gave a weak laugh. "No pressure, right?"
He turned towards the entrance and lowered into a runner's stance. Blue waves of energy bled away from him. He was positively radiating with the Timestorm. Then, in a blink, he was gone.
[*] See Daughter of Shadows