I have no idea were this came from. First of all, some of the characters motioned are from my other story The Grey Chronicles that is basically an introduction to the characters. Cody is an OC, and if any one reading this is named Cody I apologize.
Why here? Cody wondered. Of all the places I could land, why here? Blacklght incarnate watched as six people kicked the crap out of an alien fighter squadron. Technically five, as two were flying a plane. And there went the plane's left wing. I'm startin' to think Lobo hates me. A bomb had clearly been placed in the engines, set to be triggered when he entered a Pole and a guidance program had dropped him off here. And there was the note that read "I.O.U a ship." Cody glanced back at the little craft. An Eta 2 Actis class fighter, she was Cody's pride and joy. While not beyond repair, it was going to take a while to fix. Great, just fuckin' great.Might as well introduce myself if I'm stuck here.Crap.The group was just mopping up the last of the pods. Cody rubbed at a streak of grease on the "tape" that covered his forearms.
"Who's the rookie in the tiara?" John Stewart, the third Green Lantern of Earth, asked Superman, as the Kryptonian hurled the last one at a mountain side.
"Don't know." He answered as the five fliers landed next to the Batwing and a red streak whizzed across the ground.
"Hey Bats!" Barry Allen, the Flash, skidded to a stop next to the Dark Knight holding the missing wing to Batman's plane. "I think you lost something!" The kid then got an eyeful of the approaching Amazon beauty. Cody could smell the hormones from his position, which was several hundred feet above the future League's. His ship had thankfully stopped smoking a few hours ago, so he could start on basic repairs. It also kept him hidden. Cody's lips twitched as the Flash was shot down with the most innocent rejection to come from a woman.
"Themyscira."
"Huh?"
"It is the home of the Amazons." Hawkgirl said, "I always thought it was a legend but…" she trailed off.
"I assure you it is as real as the ground on which we stand." And, completely unaware of the effect that the skin-tight blue pants of her armor was going to have, the princess bent down pick up a handful of snow "What is this?" she asked.
"That would be snow, miss…"
"I am Diana, princess of the Amazons." Clark nodded and rubbed his cheeks to get rid of the extra blood his face suddenly had. The princess dumped the snow back on the ground and adjusted the sword and shield on her back.
"Someone pinch me, I must be dreaming." Wally then got a super elbow to the side.
"Themyscira is protected by the gods," Diana explained as she gave the speedster a puzzled look, "but I could not idly stand by and watch as your world was destroyed."
"It was lucky that you turned up just then, thanks." Clark said.
"No, not luck." J'onn rumbled, "I telepathically called them here."
"Look I'm usually pretty good with the uptake, but could someone tell please tell me what's goin' on here?" Cody couldn't take any more.
"It means he was talkin' in yer mind ya idiot!" Cody landed with a thud.
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After introductions were made and the yelling died down Clark welded the wing on the Batwing and came back to the group.
"So, J'onn Jonnzz, you have come to warn us?" asked Diana. At the Martian's nod, Flash groaned.
"This is way too weird."
"I've seen stranger things." rumbled John.
"Same here." Cody drawled, "seen a lot of nastier things too." Flash snapped his head up, eager for a story.
"Oooohhh, like what?"
"We encountered them over a thousand earth years ago. We had created a utopia, until they came. No one knew where they came from. But they were determined to take mars for themselves."
Meteors falling.Men, women, children, fleeing.Tall three legged war machines towering over the city.And through J'onn's eyes they saw it.
"We were a peaceful race and killing in any form was an atrocity to us. But we learned the ways of war quickly."
Bombs thrown.Urban fighting.Mass graves.Public executions. Cody groaned.
"J'onn, be careful.Flash is just a kid.Tone it down."
"Understood."
"We fought for centuries, as all our race had worked for burned down around us."
A city on fire.Hundreds of prisoners.
"The Martians fought valiantly, but stood no chance for they were parasites that fed on our psychic energy. As we grew weaker they grew stronger."
Martians sealed in red pods.Invaders stealing DNA from Martians.
"They even took our shape shifting abilities."
Small group of Martians running on a walkway.Invaders gunning them down one by one.
"Finally, a small group of Martians made one last attack."
The last takes cover.Readies a bomb.Gas erupts.Opens a chute.Drops down.Throws gas bombs down chutes.Rooms fill up with gas.
"Deep within their stronghold we unleashed a powerful nerve gas that paralyzed them. The attack was successful. Yet the price paid was dear. I am the last Martian." J'onn withdrew from their minds "I sealed their citadel to keep them there. For over five hundred years I stood guard, but while I was in a hibernation cycle the citadel was opened reviving the invaders."
"Wait a second! The astronauts never said they found life on Mars." Flash said, he crossed his arms and pouted "I feel cheated."
"Some stupid politician in Washington probably had it classified. Happens all the time." GL waved a hand dismissively.
"With my race gone the Invader had nothing left to quell their hunger. So they turned to Earth and Humanity." J'onn looked each of the heroes in the eye (except Cody, who was picking his nose). "I barely escaped and came to warn you. While I was being held against my will," J'onn gave Batman a pointed glance "the Invaders sent agents to sabotage Earth's defenses."
"That's why the sabotaged the monitoring network." Batman growled. "So we couldn't see them coming." Cody nodded.
"Makes sense, that way we wouldn't be able to stockpile WMDs. Oh wait, we don't have any." Cody glared at Superman, who sheepishly rubbed his neck.
"Oops."
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"This is Snapper Carr reporting live, from ground zero in Metropolis. The walkers are clearing the area around the impact site." Snapper held his microphone close as soldiers jogged into position around a walker and a tank opened fire on it. "Here we have General Wells for an update." The tank was destroyed by a beam from the walker. "General Wells, the military seems unable to stop any one of these things, why?"
"All of the nuclear missiles have been destroyed and the self-proclaimed protector of mankind has left us to die." The general had nothing more say, scowled, and walked off for a better view of the situation.
"Earlier today, Senator Carter had this to say." The image went from Snapper to Senator Carter who was in a room with dozens of reporters.
"When I first proposed this initiative I had no idea that alien life existed in the universe." He spoke in a clam composed voice which was strange, considering that THE DAMN PLANET IS BEING INVADED! "Now we must stand and fight this new menace with ever fiber in our being to make sure our home stays ours!" The screen switched back Snapper.
"We now have a breaking development, something is moving inside the crater!" the meteor rumbled and brown gas was filtering out of cracks. Red lines worked their way down before dimming and cooling. Suddenly the rock crumbled, and the tendrils of something that was decidedly unfriendly waved in the air. As they rose they conjoined into one massive smokestack like thing shaped vaguely like an "S", red domes dotted it. A boring tool came the first bend and slammed into the ground, a pair of massive red domes pumped on either side of its base. Yellow beams flared from the top, before it began creating a massive cloud high above their heads.
Cody and Flash watched the news report that came from the Batwing's console as the others tried to make a plan.
"What was that?" Wonder Woman asked.
"It's started." J'onn answered. The seven heroes and one lunatic watched as a huge thunder cloud overtook the horizon, lightning came from the top reaching up into the sky. Cody found himself trying to swallow.
"That kind of shit ain't supposed to happen."
"What are they doing?" Hawkgirl asked.
"The Invaders are nocturnal. They are trying to blot out the sun for permanent darkness." J'onn answered.
"Friends of yours, Bats?"
"Not funny." Flash walked to J'onn's side.
"What's the problem?" He asked "can't ya just make some more nerve gas?" The Martian sadly shook his head.
"No I had a sample with me when I came to Earth but it was destroyed when I was captured. It can only be made with a rare Martian plant." The kid visibly deflated.
"Please let someone have a plan B. I'm beggin' ya." Flash glanced at the other heroes.
"We'll have to take out those factories." Diana stated, putting her hands on her hips.
"Lady, this is not a job for a rookie." GL snapped.
"The Amazons are warriors born!" Wonder Woman snarled back. Cody grabbed Flash by the shoulder and ducked behind Superman, dragging the speedster with him. "Want to test me?" The Amazon and the Lantern were about equal height, but if her blade came out of its scabbard that could change. With a sigh, Superman diffused the situation quite easily.
"Let's not fight amongst each other just yet." The Man of Steel gently eased the warriors apart with a hand on each of their shoulders, with an easy smile on his face. "John, we're going to need all hands on deck for this one."
"Fine" the Lantern said, venom dripping off his words "sorry, Your Highness." The marine stepped forward and gave a short briefing "tactically, we have several objectives, so we'll need to divde and conquer."
"Dibs on the Amazon." Flash appeared at Wonder Woman's side, and draped an arm around her shoulder. The Amazon's eyes widened and she swallowed, suddenly terrified.
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"You are no fun!" Flash yelled as he sprinted over the ocean. GL flew next to him, carrying Cody along in a green bubble.
"Shut up kid!" Cody yelled back.
"This isn't supposed to be fun. We have our own objective, and you do not need a distraction!" GL spoke rather angrily.
"An' you were scarin' 'er!"
"Whatever!" The speedster yelled, "Let's get this over with!"
In the jungle, the mighty jungle, a smoke maker was boring a very large hole. The little group examined the walker standing guard. Cody scratched at the shorter hair on the side of his head.
"Hey Lantern, can you throw me at one of those red pumping things?" Cody asked.
"Why the hell would I do that?" Instead of answering, Cody shifted his arms into claws and crouched. Lantern blinked, before creating a springboard. Cody stepped on it and was hurtling through the air like an insane cat. The red material parted like butter under his claws, and then he was inside carving up the Invaders. Lantern frowned; he'd have to ask the Guardians just what the hell this . . . Cody was. "Alright, now here's the plan," John began "first we-"
"What plan? Let's just kick some ass!" The speedster was down the cliff face before the Lantern could continue. John sighed.
"God damn it." Flash raced to the walker's legs and whistled.
"Hey! Over here!" The walker turned and fired a beam at the speedster. And it missed. So did the other two as the Flash raced by them. Then he tripped on a rock, although a debate would rage for years between the two of them as to whether this was an actual rock or a "demon straight from hell" that had it out for the speedster. Flash flailed as he skidded straight into a large mud puddle before poking his head out and creating a huge bubble on his face. GL groaned.
"Idiot."
Inside the boring machine, Cody was having fun. This meant breaking walkways with his bare hands and crushing everything that looked important around the boring mechanism.
"Yeah! Come closer so I can cut yer jelly arms off!" His bladed arm whirled in patterns as he created white puddles in the machine. Then, for the hell of it, he shifted to his hammerfists. The sheer shockwaves of them turned dozens of the invaders to a pulp. They worked on consoles too. With a grin, he cut his way out through the second red bellow and hurled himself at one of the alien walkers. "LEEEEROY JEEEEENNNNNKIIIIIIIINS!" Behind him, the boring pole ground to a stop. The Prototype sank his blade into the armor and sprinted up the long, neck-like trunk, green smoke spilling out as he went. Below him, John began chewing out Wally.
"You don't jump headfirst into a combat situation damn it! That's a surefire way to get you and your teammates killed!" The Lantern yelled, "It gives away your position!" GL used his ring to scrape the mud off of the Flash with a construction that looked vaguely like a razor. Behind them, Cody latched his whipfist to a walker's leg, looped it around the other two separately, planted his feet and retracted the tendril, toppling the walker. Before it could rise, he leapt into the air, shifted to the hammerfists and dropped straight down at the junction between the trunk and the head. When he landed, the weaker armor covering the joint cracked like a nut. Cody laughed hysterically, while running at full speed, and repeating the process on the third and last walker.
"You ladies done yet? I just did the whole thing by myself!"
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Wearing black in Egypt is a horrible idea, Batman reflected. The two walkers accompanying the factory made slow circles it as the Dark Knight and Amazon Princess took cover next to the Sphinx's feet. Batman ducked back into cover as a walker came to close for comfort.
"Hiding like cowards is not the Amazon way!" Oh God, I can't take much more of this.
"They have a weakness. I just need to find it. Then we attack." J'onn rose up through the ground, his eyes glowing slightly.
"I have scouted the outer walls. There are no openings."
"Then we shall make our own!" With a battle cry, Diana flew straight at the factory. J'onn made to follow her, before Batman stopped him with an out stretched arm.
"Wait, let's see what she can do." The Amazon flew into the air and drew her golden lasso, hooked a walker's leg then looped around the other two before drawing it tight, toppling the machine. She took off again and hurtled at the factory, smashing straight through the wall.
"There's your opening." She said, somewhat contemptuously.
Batman raised a brow behind his mask, "Impressive." J'onn glanced at the Dark Knight. Something deep in the human's mind had stirred, but J'onn had no idea what it was. They followed, Batman grappling up to the "entrance" that Diana had made. She stood just past the entrance, blocking energy shots from the Invaders. The Amazon planted her feet, gauntlets held at the ready. The three watched as the aliens ran deeper into the complex.
"They run like cowards!" She cried "What are you waiting for?" She ran after them and J'onn followed, but Batman paused. The Dark Knight glanced over his shoulder and examined the large hole that the Amazon had made.
"J'onn, I have a plan"
"How did you . . .?Never mind, what is it?"
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Hawkgirl pounded on a walker's turret, making sure it was dead. Behind her, Superman tore off a walker's foot and used the pointed end as a battering ram, hurling it at the factory's wall.
"Hawkgirl, follow me!" And they both shot into the factory, mace and heat vision at the ready. Landing on a walk way the Man of Steel started walking along.
"Keep your eyes peeled." Superman said.
"Oh? I was going to walk down through here blindfolded." Clark's lips twitched upward in a smile. They kept walking, and the Thanagarian ducked on impulse when blaster fire hit a pillar two feet from her face.
"Stay back! I'll-" Hawkgirl shot past him with a battle cry and smashed what looked like a platoon of the Invaders with her mace. Superman ducked as one flew towards him and splattered on the wall.
"What?" She asked almost innocently. He shook his head and flew past her, chuckling.
"Come on, we should keep moving." They kept walking and came into a room. And then the door behind them sealed. A green gas started venting into the room. Superman took a sniff, and smelled the heavy duty sedatives in the mixture. Of course, with his diaphragm, this meant he sucked in enough gas to kill an elephant. The Man of Tomorrow coughed, and involuntarily took another breath. He turned and found Hawkgirl passed out on the floor. And then everything went black.
Crap.
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The energy bolts the Invaders fired were casually defected off of Diana's gauntlets, but the sheer volume of fire pushed her back.
"They've blocked us off again!" She said.
"It's like they know what we're thinking!" Batman growled. "Get ready."
"Understood."Batman drew an explosive batarang, activated it and hurled it at a pillar.
"Any ideas J'onn?" He asked. The Martian's eyes glowed. "J'onn!"
"Superman and Hawkgirl have been captured."
"What? Are you sure?" The Amazon asked. A nod.
"I can feel it." J'onn pointed down a corridor. "This way!" They hurtled down the passage, dodging the few bolts that the Invaders fired. They came to a large room, and Diana and J'onn flew up into an opening in the wall, Batman followed, grappling after them. They turned a corner, and Diana spared a glance back.
"We lost them." She sighed in relief. The Dark Knight drew a set of electrified brass knuckles and primed them.
"For the moment." he growled.
"Look!" J'onn cried. He pointed to a large red orb sitting on a black pedestal. It was easily ten feet tall, with a dark form in the middle and vaguely egg shaped. Another black tube was attached to the upper point of it. Upon closer inspection they could see that is was actually a force field suspending a crystal in midair. Dozens of the Invaders worked at consoles surrounding it, monitoring levels, and possibly making status updates. "It is the central core!"
"How do we shut it down?" Batman asked.
"That crystal powers this plant. If we remove it, the plant will shut down." He glanced at them, "I'll need a diversion."
"Got it." Batman threw a batarang, and it sliced straight through a pipe like a knife through butter. A black liquid came from the cut pipe in a torrent. The soldiers working below it fell over themselves trying to get away from it. Diana grabbed another and pulled, causing gas to blanket another portion. Meanwhile, J'onn phased through the floor, on his way to the console next to the containment field. Batman leapt off the ledge and punched a soldier with his knuckle duster. Said soldier exploded from the voltage. J'onn removed the crystal and allowed himself some enjoyment at the explosions that rocked the factory. Unfortunately, a bolt from a rifle caught him in the side. The Martian flew over the edge and down to the next level, the crystal landing next to him.
"J'onn!" Diana yelled, and impaled the two soldiers that tried to tackle her with her fists. She threw them aside, and flew through another. She picked him up, and stomped on the crystal, shattering it.
"Get him out! Now!" Batman yelled, throwing a soldier into another. A pair of them jumped down and held Diana at gunpoint. She threw her tiara at them, which cut them both in half before snatching it out of the air. She then flew down a large corridor, passing a soldier at console who pressed the closing button for the door at the end of it. Batman swung after them, his cape billowing behind him. Unfortunately, he wasn't fast enough to get through the door before it closed. He pounded on it with his knuckle duster but it had no effect. The soldiers closed in on him weapons at the ready.
"Batman!" Diana ran to the door, and watched as it pulsed from the energy fire. "No!"
"Good luck." J'onn sent to the Dark Knight. The Amazon drew her blade and stabbed through the membrane, intent on carving her way through. The Martian gently grabbed her shoulder.
"There is nothing we can do." He spoke quietly, and the Amazon nodded sadly.
"Let us go." She said.
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Several hundred miles away, a technician was working on a monitoring dish.
"Finally," he said "was starting to think I'd never get this damn thing working."
"Did you hook it in right?" Came a voice from his radio.
"Yeah, what's up?"
"The readings are through the roof!" Said the scientist in the control room, "Something's coming into the atmosphere. Something big."
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"The government has confirmed that another object is approaching the planet from space." Snapper said. "They believe it's about five times the size of the first landers. Senator Jay Allen Carter had this to say: In the face of this new development, we are calling on the public to remain calm."
The glass in front of the little television was smashed by a man with a pipe.
"Always wanted one of these!" he said to his friend.
"But what if we get caught?"
"Who the hell cares? The planet's is gettin' taken over by fuckin' aliens!" Another, had spray painted the words "The End is Here" onto a wall. People ran down the street in panic.
Diana and J'onn stood on the roof of a building high above, watching.
"Perhaps Mother was right about mankind, they are little more than animals." Said Diana as a man smashed a window with a trash can.
"Do not judge them too harshly. They are merely afraid." Down below a pair of construction workers called for help.
"Hey! There're some kids under here! Someone help!" the broken arch was enveloped with green light.
"How about this!" Green Lantern moved the heavy stone out of the way and uncovered a pair of kids cowering in fear. Across the street, Cody ripped a bat from a would-be looter's hands and snapped it.
"Keep movin' wise guy." With an easy leap, Cody jumped to the wall of Diana and J'onn's building before sprinting upwards, followed by the Flash. "Sorry fer takin' so long, but them people needed help." Cody drawled. "What's up?"
"Superman and Hawkgirl have been captured! They have been imprisoned somewhere in that thing!" Diana pointed to the factory not very far away, still pumping smoke into the atmosphere.
"Whoa."
"Where's Batman?" GL asked.
"He has fallen."
"Aw shit!"Cody swore, and kicked the edge of the roof, cracking it.
"Bats is gone?" Flash asked quietly. Both J'onn and Diana nodded.
"Dammit!" Lantern growled "Two of our heaviest hitters are gone. The rest of us are going to have to be careful."
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"Why're we doing this again?"
"Kid, just shuddup." The group was taking cover next to the factory.
"They are still in there right?" GL asked. J'onn nodded.
"They are, but we must act. The Imperium is coming." The Martian said.
"Huh?"
"The supreme intelligence that controls the Invaders. We have met before."
"We can trust him right?" Flash asked.
"Shuddup kid." Cody growled.
"Here we go." GL said. "Flash, make a diversion. Diana, watch my back."
"Would you trust an amateur?"
"No. Cody, hold still." John picked up Cody with a green bubble and hurled him towards the factory, the others hurrying after. Cody smashed through the wall to the factory, yelling to raise the dead. Flash zipped between the legs of the walker, picked up a rock, and hit the walker right in the side. It turned and found the speedster waving his arms for attention.
"Tag! You're it!" The speedster then blew the raspberry. The walker fired and missed, repeatedly and with extreme prejudice. "Missed, ya jackass!" The walker walked to him, and attempted to stomp on him. Its foot was blown off, and the walker toppled, then exploded. Flash happily waved at it. "Bye, bye!"
The three fliers landed next to the factory and flew into an older hole that had been made before they had gotten there. As they flew, the boring pole ground to a stop, and the red bellows at the base of the pole exploded. Both J'onn and Diana paused when at the sudden noise.
"What are you two waiting for?" GL asked "If we don't move, Cody'll tear this whole damn thing around our heads!" They followed him in and down a corridor. "Where are they?" J'onn's eyes glowed.
"This way!" He answered. They landed and Flash breezed up to them.
"Hope I didn't keep ya!" He said happily. Suddenly, the structure rocked.
"Great Hera! What was that?" Diana gasped.
"That would be our insane friend." John answered. Suddenly they, heard aliens speaking and they snapped into cover. A pair of soldiers was guarding a door down the corridor.
"Wait here." The Martian rumbled, before shifting into a soldier himself. He ran to the soldiers, saying something in their language then pointed down the hall, towards the group. When the soldiers found them, the aliens raised their weapons. Behind them, J'onn raised through the floor, put his hands through them, and solidified. They yelled in pain, and J'onn let them fall to the floor. "Come." He said.
"Does he scare you guys too?" Flash asked.
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High above, Cody ran rings around the soldiers. These idiots had perfected any gun nut's dream. A gun you didn't need to reload. Cody was in heaven, dual wielding assault rifles.
"You people are idiots!" He yelled, pirouetting while firing on full auto. He jumped up away from the crowd that was surrounding him and kept firing until the weapons exploded. He shifted his arms into claws, hacked another pair of soldiers into puddles, grabbed their weapons and kept going. Eventually, the soldiers thinned out, and Cody relaxed, if only slightly. He tossed the now useless guns away and grabbed a new pair, strapping them to his back with tendrils of biomass.
"Drop those."
"Holy shit!" Cody yelled "you ain't dead! An' hell no. I got a collection that needs buildin'."
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J'onn, Green Lantern, Diana, and Flash crossed a walkway to another corridor.
"They are close." The Martian said. They came to a door, and J'onn pressed his hand to it. "They are behind here." In response Diana set herself against it and began to push. With a groan of effort, the Amazon pushed with all her might before shaking her head.
"It's no use. I'm not strong enough."
"Stand back." Said John and he raised his ring. A green laser shot out and began to burn a hole through the door.
"Hurry, they don't have much time." J'onn said. John cut a circle and Diana kicked it inwards. Inside, they found Superman and Hawkgirl suspended by their feet.
"Good God." Both of the captured heroes moaned.
"Wait!" J'onn said "Something is wrong." Flash glanced over his shoulder at the Martian and did not see Hawkgirl's eyes open glowing red. Diana gasped as Superman opened his own eyes, and the door warped its self back into a whole, sealing them in. Holes appeared in the walls, and green gas filled the room. They all coughed as the sedatives did their work, but soon they were all unconscious. The alien duplicates detached themselves from the ceiling and gathered up the heroes, dragging them deeper into the plant.
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They woke in what was an auditorium, restrained by a hard white gel.
"Everyone okay?" Superman asked.
"Head hurts lots." Flash moaned.
"Earth's mightiest heroes. How pathetic." An alien stood over them, its voice strangely familiar. It then shifted its form into good ol' Senator Jay Allen Carter.
"You!" 'Carter' grinned.
"Unfortunately the real Carter never came home. I took his place."
"And you had me weaken Earth's defenses with your damn peace act!" A laugh from 'Carter'
"You wanted it so badly you took no time to consider the consequences. Because of you, the humans were helpless against us."
"It's not over yet!"
"Of course it is." The ceiling above them peeled back, exposing the clouded sky. High above, an enormous ship hovered over them. A pod came from its belly and descended to the opening above them. "All hail the Imperium!" 'Carter' yelled. Every one of the invaders bowed at the waist as grey smoke billowed from the pod and dispersed to reveal a large purple squid-like being. It had green fluid flowing through it, and its tentacles writhed in the air as it floated toward them.
"J'onn J'onzz." It spoke in their minds. "It's been a long time." The gel that held them back shifted and carried J'onn to the Imperium. Two soldiers held long staves, the ends sparking and stabbed the Matian with them. The Martian yelled in pain before shifting back to his original form. "Much better.You have been defiant for centuries."
"And I will never bow before you or any other!"
"Then I shall finish what should have been done long ago.Killing you."The thing's tentacles whipped out and dug into J'onn's skin. He was then drawn forward and forced into the thing's bulbous body. Flashes of light illuminated the Martian as he was tortured.
"Let him go! You ugly bastard!" Superman roared.
"Submit J'onn J'onzz."
"Never!"
"Why do you resist?" the thing asked "Embrace us."
"NO!"
"You have been defeated.Surrender."
"Have I?"
"You're hiding something.A secret deep within your mind.What is it?Speak!"
"Do I sense fear?"
"What are you hiding?"
"Now!" Every being within hearing distance then heard the most disturbing battle cry to ever be used.
"IT'S A GIANT JELLEH FEEISH!"Cody hurtled toward the Invaders like a razor sharp cannon ball, and the containment field around an ion crystal ruptured from an explosion. The smoke revealed the Goddamned Batman.
"No way!"
"Where the Hell did he come from?"
"I mentally shielded him so he couldn't be found!" J'onn yelled. Batman slapped a small device on the ion crystal and the black lines on it turned blue. The red domes dotting the chamber walls filled with blue instead of red.
"What have you done?" 'Carter' yelled before he was cut down by the tornado of blades that called itself Cody.
"Reversed the ion charge." Batman blinked and realized he had spoken on impulse.
"Destroy the crystal!" the Imperium ordered. Batman grappled away.
A blue beam came from the top of the plant, forcing the smoke away and clearing the sky. The soldiers yelled in pain and fear as Cody cut down the ones that could not get away fast enough. The Imperium bubbled and hissed when the sunlight hit it and J'onn forced his way out, grabbing the tentacles and hauling it into the light, out from under the shadow pod.
"No!"
"You live underground and shun the light. Why? Does it burn your skin?" the thing yowled in pain. Flash swallowed.
"I thought I burned bad." He said. Batman landed next to Diana and pulled a small blowtorch from his belt, working on her restraints.
"UV rays" Batman said "they're from deep space, and have no resistance to the sun's radiation." Superman nodded, and began to cut his way free with his heat vision.
"So you found their weakness after all." Diana said "I'm impressed."
"Destory them!" The Imperium yelled.
"Shuddup space squid!" With gusto, Cody impaled it on a massive blade that had replaced his arm at the moment, before tearing his arm free. Diana blocked a shot that would have taken Batman's head off with her gauntlet. The Dark Knight nodded his thanks. Superman peeled up part of the platform that the aliens were shooting from to create some cover for the non-invincible members of the group. He then carefully cut Hawkgirl free who then broke GL's ringed hand loose, as Diana broke Flash's feet free. Hawkgirl flew off, dodging shots, before knocking the aliens to the floor with her mace. Flash tore guns out of their hands as he raced by. Green Lantern crushed them with various constructions from his ring. Superman smashed holes in the walls. Diana helped him, and GL joined in as well. "Everbody run!" Cody yelled as the plant came apart.
"No!" Superman yelled, "Not without them!" The Kryptonian pointed to several red pods that held people inside. Superman grabbed two people. "Flash, grab someone!" The speedster zoomed over and grabbed two people groaning when he felt the slime covering them.
"That had better come out!"
"Shuddup kid!" Cody roared as he grabbed the last one. "This place is comin' down!" They gathered the people into a cluster and Green Lantern covered them with a green bubble. He carried them outside followed by Superman with Flash and Diana with Batman. Cody punched a hole in the wall and jumped out, Hawkgirl flew after him, and J'onn merely flew through the wall. They landed and watched as the plant exploded from the inside out. "So," Cody asked, "What're we doin' tomorrow?"
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
"This is Snapper Carr. In the aftermath of the Metropolis Meltdown, most of the invaders have left Earth. Superman and a team of other heroes have driven out the remaining aliens." The screen went to footage of Wonder Woman toppling a walker, "Helping to restore order around the world." The screen showed Cody massacring a squad of aliens attacking a town, Green Lantern destroying a smoke factory, and Hawkgirl smashing a walker's turret. "Despite this victory, some are that we need to keep our eyes open. Just in case the invaders return."
"We got lucky this time. What will we do it they ever come back?" General Wells said.
Click
Batman turned off the monitoring system of the Batcave, leaned back in his chair and put a hand on his chin, thinking.
"If I may say so Master Bruce, this Cody fellow is quite the ruffian. I believe you should keep an eye on him." Alfred Pennyworth said beside him, before Batman shook his head.
"Cody's loyal to the bone, and whatever he is now, he was once human. I'm fairly sure he was a soldier." Bruce gestured at footage of Cody fighting off aliens that had been captured by the cowl's cameras. "The only problem is that he holds nothing back in combat. And from the looks of it, he'd put his teammates first, before any civilian in the crossfire."
"Some would find that admirable."
"I don't."
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"Incredible." High above in the atmosphere, there was a satellite. Superman looked out the large window at the beautiful view of Earth. "Do your stockholders know about this Bruce?" The Kryptonian asked.
"A little project hidden in the aerospace R and D budget. No one will notice."
"That would be a no, then." Clark chuckled.
"This Watchtower will act as an alarm system, and assist in detecting other threats from space."
"And it's got food!" Flash, Diana and Cody came from the elevator. Diana and Flash both held a Styrofoam cup with a straw in them. Cody was scowling.
"No beer? Ya gotta be shittin' me!"
"Iced mocha?" Flash held the proffered cup towards Superman, who decline with a shake of the head. Beside him, Diana took a drink. Then she emptied the cup in one draught.
"These are good! May I have another?" Flash grinned.
"You can have whatever you want!" This earned him a super elbow.
"Nice place." John said as he and Hawkgirl floated down towards them. "But what does it have to do with us?"
"I used to think I could protect the whole world on my own." Superman said. "But I was wrong." He leaned against the window.
"Don' break that." Cody said dryly, "I'm the only one here who doesn't need air." Everyone ignored him. "'Course, I'd probably burn up on reentry." They still ignored him. "While shittin' rainbows."
"Anyway, I believe that together, we can keep the world safer than any one of us could alone." Superman turned back to them. "Will you join me?" Slowly, they all started to nod, except Batman. Because he's Batman.
"One condition," Cody said, "I want alcohol."
"Alright, alright." Superman said. "Batman? Will you join us?"
"No. I'm not a people person." He growled. Superman rolled his eyes.
"So," Cody asked "what do we call ourselves?" The Man of Steel thought for a moment.
"The Justice League. We'll call ourselves the Justice League."
"That is the cheesiest line I have ever heard."