Beyond Smallville: Dragon's Beckon
Author's note: As a salute to the upcoming 40th anniversary of the 1977 Star Wars Movie: A New Hope, episode 4, and the 50th anniversary of the broadcast premiere of the original Star Trek series, I decided to do this ambitious crossover with our favorite Smallville, Justice League, Arrow, and Flash TV series. I was pleasantly surprised when Legends of Tomorrow went time travel – Sci-Fi as well.
As I continue to challenge myself, I'll try and incorporate elements of these famous movies and TV series into this new story titled Dragon's Beckon. I noted that the old 1990's Justice League, Batman, and Superman cartoons toyed a lot with science fiction, so it's also a genre crossover. The Dragon's Beckon first appears in my fan fiction classic called Time Shards, which was one of the first fan fics that I ever wrote. This alt universe crossover expands on that story a bit.
This alt-universe fic takes place late in Smallville's Season 12, as Lois and Clark encounter some new friends, and the trajectory of their lives change. Earth denizens now have to come to grip with the reality that humans are no longer alone in the universe. The Kandorians had been defeated, but at a high cost. Superman and Supergirl are forced to 'come out' in a very public way. The years of secrets are now over.
The Batman is suspicious of Superman and Supergirl, and as Bruce Wayne, he heads to Metropolis to investigate. Reports have begun to come into the public eye of space aliens and Metahumans. Clark and Kara have to face the new challenge of duplicity, as they try and maintain two distinctly separate lives. Their roles as Earth's protectors are questioned by the governments of the world.
A very public and obvious arrival goads the young superheroes into attracting the attention of all of Earth's peoples. Some awkward moments lead to a new friendship, and forces the dysfunctional Justice League into existence, with Oliver and Jon Jonz as their founders. They must quickly learn to work together as a team, as humanity looks to them for guidance.
Chloe also worries, given their generally horrible experience with Off-Worlders. How would anyone react if they found out without question that many other types of beings inhabit the universe? Her role as Watchtower would necessarily have to expand, as the Justice League adds members.
Character list – Clark, Lois, Kara, Oliver, Chloe, Batman, Nightwing, Batgirl, Gold Wing, Flash, Lantern, Wonder Woman, Hawkman, Hawkgirl, Lucy Lane, Sam Lane, Jimmy Olsen, Cat Grant, Perry White, Aquaman, Dinah Drake, Tim Drake, Dr. Hugo Strange as well as new characters.
Beyond Smallville: Dragon's Beckon
Pilot story –part 1 Stardragon, part 2 Prey
In a distant edge of the galaxy commonly known by its residents as The Milky Way, a battle is being fought. Scene – Nine spacecraft are encircling a tenth. The attacking ships surround their prey, cutting off every possible exit angle. The illuminations of a bright red orange star frame the shadowy hulks of the warships, as their deadly silhouettes hang in the relative silence of space.
The object of their attention is a silver colored, single, large, wedge shaped starship. It has an elongated nose, four V-shaped retractable wings, a flat triangular tail, and four bluish green plasma vents are visible at the ship's rear. Their glow seems to dim as the entrapped travelers slow the ship's speed. The ejected plasma bursts begin to cool, as the ship stops at the exact center of the trap.
As we draw in closer, we see that atop the midsection of the ship protrudes a single black shark-like fin. Below that fin lies a well-lit vivid orange and yellow control center. The light reflects off the sleek starship's hull. A smaller black shark fin begins to retract slowly into the bottom of the ship. Several open weapon ports are visible, as the well-lit cargo bay door at the ship's rear begins to close.
The nine ships surrounding their prey are all black, and vary in size and shape. Only the light from their control and command centers, weapons ports, and plasma vents are visible. All of the open weapons ports are trained on the entangled ship. Occasionally some minor bluish green plasma bursts indicate the ships direction change as they readjust their trajectories. They all focus on the ensnared catch.
We zoom in on the command center of the harassed starship. "We're in it, now Captain!" a bluish hued humanoid about a full half meter taller than an average human says. "You always state the obvious, Mareki." A young alien female humanoid responds from the control center's command chair. She gazes at the view screen on the main ship's console, and checks the status of the attacking fleet.
The female captain is basically human looking, but she has extra-large violet colored eyes and large pointed ears that poke through her lengthy mane of hair. "Captain Stardragon!" a frantic voice booms across the command center via the inter ship communications speaker located close to the captain's chair. "Yes Amik? What have you got for me?" The young commander seemed confident, despite the dire situation. The rest of her immediate crew members busily kept watch on their console stations.
"I can give you ninety percent weapons power. I have reconfigured the weapons array to fire at all targets at random intervals, while we do a complete spin." The engineer informed her. "That should prove sufficient, Lieutenant Kazz." The captain praised her subordinate.
"I have also modulated the firing frequencies of the plasma bursts to change direction, strength, and intensity. That ought to penetrate their shields, while providing quite the distraction, literally confusing and blinding their sensors." The engineer continued. "Thank you, Lt. Kazz." The commander added. "May the Tide flow with us all." She turned towards her First Officer. "Commander Z'Beth, are our opponents still closing in on us?" She questioned. "Yes Captain Ryla. The Dark Fleet lies in waiting."
Their captors had been slowly adjusting their trajectories to tighten the invisible noose. Commander Z'Beth was from a species called the Felinahri, which were indigenous to Ryla Stardragon's home world. The tall, tan colored Felinahri resembled a bipedal version of a large Earth predator similar to a cougar or mountain lion. Z'Beth had large jade green slanted eyes, and her skin was covered from head to toe in a light brown fur, cropped short. Though she stood erect, Z'Beth tended to hunch her back.
The young Felinahri officer sported a large lengthy darker brown tail that whipped about when she was concentrating on something. Next to her at the communications console was a young very human-like colleague. She ducked below the frenzied swishing tail of her superior officer. Ariana Ti resembled an Earth female teenager with lengthy raven black hair tied back in a ponytail.
No one really knew where the homeless girl had come from. Captain Stardragon had caught young Ariana trying to steal supplies and food from an Imperial Star Destroyer on a neutral planet's trading base. Instead of reporting her and subjecting Ariana to the Imperial Guild's arrest, torture, and possible execution, Ryla chose to cover for the orphaned girl and put her to work on the Dragon's Beckon, Captain Stardragon's personal starship, as a communications operator trainee.
"Captain!" Ariana's shrill voice cut into the relative silence of the command center. "The lead ship of the Black Fleet, The Death's Head, is demanding our unconditional surrender!" The youngster reported excitedly. "Are they?" Ryla smirked, flashing a bright toothy smile, a very human-like reaction. "Let them hear static, Cadet Ariana." She scoffed. "Showtime! Attention ship wide! We are about to embark on a new sanctioned mission." The young commander addressed her crew and passengers.
The Dragon's Beckon carried a full complement of twenty crew members, with cargo space that was easily converted to cramped living space for one hundred. Today's roll call indicated that there were twenty seven sentient beings on board, around forty odd drones, droids, probes, and other robotic assistants, and four inter-atmospheric skiffs, and six slim, one man Starfighters in the launch bay.
"Please take a moment to secure all movable cargo. There are large cargo nets, strapping, and magnetic channel locks available." Ryla directed. "After which, secure yourselves, and prepare for a battle. Please comply immediately! Command out!" The bridge crew of Mareki, Ariana, Z'Beth secured themselves to their seats. One diplomat, Counselor Exid Bellax frowned as he complied, seated in the observation area.
Ryla turned to her Star Drive Initiator, Kim Mareki. "SDI, power down all of the ship's systems except Life Support and Weapons Array." She spoke quickly and sternly. "Yes Captain." The pilot complied. It would take a few moments for the SDI to shut down, and the crew and passengers to become settled. Ariana visibly gulped as she awaited her next orders. Z'Beth busily scanned the movements of the Black Fleet.
"Lt. Mareki, set coordinates for Sector 001." Ryla ordered calmly as she closed her large violet eyes. "Sector 001?" Mareki questioned, looking for confirmation and parroting her command. "Yes Lt. We'll go straight there through the portal we create with our Star Drive." Counselor Bellax scowled. "Isn't Sector 001 uninhabited? Is this a First Contact situation?" He questioned. "That's what all current star maps indicate." Z'Beth affirmed. Bellax, the lifelong politician, was skeptical.
"There are a few inhabited planets within Sector 001, but the general population is unaware of this." Ryla added. "We will confirm the rumors through analysis." She said, and knew that she'd felt through The Tide that this was true. Ryla had never been trained by the Masters of The Tide, so her knowledge and use of it was nominal. She could feel the presence of beings in Sector 001, but couldn't really get an exact location on them. Ryla's eyes still remained closed as she tried to focus The Tide energy.
"The Tide surrounds us, guides us, fills us, and we can control it to some degree." Ryla stated calmly. "A mentor had once told me that when you are calm, peaceful, confident, you will feel The Tide, and use its energy to focus and control the situation. You can turn this to your advantage." Ryla felt her mind begin to relax. "Commander Mareki, fire all weapons at my order." She directed, though her voice seemed to come from somewhere else. The big blue alien's eyes lit up. "Did you say fire?" He repeated.
"Yes Commander, fire on my command." Ryla's voice dropped off to a whisper. Her head drooped into her lap, and her arms fell limply across the edges of her chair. To the crew it appeared that Captain Stardragon had suddenly collapsed. "Captain!" Mareki shouted, but before anyone could get up to help her, Ryla's head snapped back up. Her purplish eyes were now wide open, but hazy and unfocussed.
The young starship captain clamped her hands together and slowly turned them like she was wringing out a rag. "Fire!" Ryla shouted the directive. Mareki did as instructed, though he was skeptical. The Dragon's Beckon spun in place like a child's toy, rotating a complete 360 degrees. All plasma missiles, laser cannons, and electrical impulse disrupters fired at the Black Fleet simultaneously.
As predicted, the heavily outgunned starship's weapons penetrated many of the Black Fleet's shields. The varied ammunitions impacted the Death's Head, Death's Eye, and Dominator's port nacelles, weapons bays, exhaust manifolds, and the EID knocked out the Death's Head's stabilizers. The Black Fleet flagship soon drifted aimlessly, getting in the way of the smaller ships.
Ryla, meanwhile, took a deep breath and spread her arms wide like she'd just manually opened some cargo bay's doors. The Black Fleet scattered like a pack of frightened flying reptiles from her home world. The ships desperately tried not to run into one another. Their speeds fluctuated to avoid any contact. Instantly, Lt. Mareki punched the Dragon's Beckon's hyper drive.
The starship lurched forward, increasing its speed from a dead stop. It quickly split the Black Fleet's defenses, zipping into a hyperspace portal. The ride was short but very costly. The Dragon's Beckon popped out on the other side of the portal, creating a warp bubble cone amid a torrent of debris. Ryla slumped back in her seat, as her head tilted over to one side at an odd angle.
Commander Mareki, with the help of Z'Beth had regained control of the ship. "What in the name of all that is revered was all that about?" Counselor Bellax complained. "Where are we?" he demanded. "We have arrived within Sector 001." Ariana informed them, though her voice was shaky. Z'Beth verified the ship system's stated coordinates. "We are in what's known as an asteroid belt." The lanky Felinahri reported. "Terrific!" Bellax bellowed. "Captain Stardragon, are you alright?" Mareki asked with concern. Ryla's head had picked up slightly, though her eyes were closed, and her ears wiggled.
Far away on Earth, Lois Lane reclined on an old wraparound porch, placing her head in Clark Kent's lap. He placed his muscular arm around her slim shoulders. Lois looked up at the dark, but starlit night sky above Smallville, Kansas. "Clark? Did you see that shooting star?" She asked in a low tone. "Nope! I guess that I missed it Lois." He replied. "You have to be more observant, Clark." Lois playfully chided him. "You'd think with that x-ray vision of yours, you'd never miss a thing." She needled.
The couple had been enjoying a rare quiet evening amid the chaos of their new life together. At any moment, Superman might have to dash off and save someone or a group of people from harm. Clark had recently 'come out' as Superman, using Lois Lane as an excuse. The backstory the two had come up with along with the others, framed mild-mannered newbie reporter, Clark Kent, as a point of contact for Superman and Supergirl. This conveniently enabled the aliens to cover their aliases.
The publicly 'leaked' reports from The Daily Planet, pegged Lois Lane and Clark Kent as 'good friends' with their alter egos. Young Kara Kent had also joined the Daily Planet staff as a cub reporter. Chloe Sullivan-Queen had created a brand new backstory for her as well. Kara Kent was Clark's orphaned 'cousin from Minnesota'. These cover stories all held up under scrutiny so far.
Senator Martha Kent had graciously vouched for Kara, though since the alien was over eighteen years old, there wasn't any need to give Kara an official guardian. To the rest of the world, Kara Kent was just a simple relative that had moved in with Clark and Martha 'to save money' until she could afford her own place in Metropolis or beyond. Unfortunately, the recent national financial crisis had left a myriad of properties in foreclosure. Many farms, homes, condos, and such were currently abandoned.
With their new cover stories, Clark and Kara would have to quickly adjust to living a life of complete duplicity. Lois, Chloe, and Oliver had banded together to make sure the aliens' backstories were airtight. Now more than ever since the Kandorians had publicly attracted international attention, Clark and Kara's lives would grow more complicated. The American government had sent tons of Federal investigators to the Daily Planet, and to Senator Martha Kent's Washington DC office.
A new element had also been entered into the complex social equation. Bruce Wayne, the young billionaire, had come to Metropolis to investigate the Kandorian fiasco, and to hopefully meet the allegedly benevolent aliens. He'd grown more suspicious every day with regard to 'unusual and sometimes inexplicable' occurrences. These odd events had been happening for a while now.
Bruce had been losing sleep over this new set of problems. Back in Gotham, a new type of leadership had emerged to run the city. The liberal idealists had been investigating Arkham Asylum, and installed a new prison slash rehab facilitator named Hugo Strange, who held a doctorate in mental health.
Most of the psychotic criminals that Batman, Robin, Batgirl, and Nightwing had put away had been freed on a series of liberal initiated technicalities. It had become clear to Bruce, that he could no longer control the criminal element efficiently. Commissioner James Gordon agreed. They had been drowning in bureaucratic red tape for months now.