The Baby and the Battles

23 years ago

Eldric and Cheyenne Hol flew past the panicked citizens of Thalrassa. The Gordanians have returned after twenty years of peace and had trapped every single Thanagarian on the planet, intent on killing off everybody in the planet alongside them. The Gordanians have lost the war and have signed the peace treaty as a sign of peace but it seems that few Gordanians refused to stand down. As Eldric led his wife to the labs, he glanced down at her arms where she carried their egg. Their egg, colored brown and white (signifying that it is a girl), had a chance to escape the oncoming destruction but it was going to be a thin line to walk. Eldric was one of the leading scientists on Thanagar and had developed a sleek escape pod that was supposed to be used on the military ships, but with the military eradicated and all of Thanagar doomed to spend their final minutes with whatever family they could find, Eldric decided to send his only child into the pod in the hopes that she may find safety away from Thanagar.

"Eldric," his wife whimpered, "She'll be alone, defenseless, is this truly the only course?"

"No, we can condemn her to die with us without giving her the chance to live a life. She'll be alone, yes, but I have already had the good mind to have an Absorbascon ready for transportation."

"Why did you have one prepared? Did you know that the Gordanians were coming?"

"No, this is a nightmare I never thought would even be possible. I have an Absorbascon prepared in the hopes that we can open relationships with Raan. By sharing knowledge, we can build allies and build bridges between gaps. Unfortunately it seems that this Absorbascon, which holds all the knowledge we have ever discovered here on Thanagar, will be one of the last links our daughter will have." said Eldric as he placed the wire-framed helmet in a compartment in the pod. He also placed a blanket in the incubation chamber to provide better comfort for the egg.

"One of the last links? What else do you plan to send with her?" asked Cheyenne. Eldric moved to a room and came out carrying a glowing raw metal.
"Nth." whispered Cheyenne.

"Yes, it is the last that we could discover in the mines. With this, our little Shayera will be able to defend herself." said Eldric, placing the rare metal in another compartment.
"How is she to know how to use it though?"

"With this." said Eldric, holding up a glowing orb. The orb began to glow intently and the glowing mist from the orb to the egg, imbedding itself inside the growing daughter within.

"What is it?"

"Nth Source."

"I thought that was a legend."

"So did I, but imagine my luck in discovering it. Now… it's time." said Eldric. Taking the precious egg from his wife, he placed it inside the incubation chamber. The egg was now protected and was kept in a cozy temperature until the time came for the egg to hatch. After closing the lid, Eldric removed his mask and looked at his wife. She too had already removed her mask and looked at him with tears in her eyes.
"She'll be safe," he whispered brokenly, "She'll be a gift to another world." The mother and father hugged each as Eldric powered the escape pod and the ceiling opened up. Eldric typed in the computer the coordinates for Raan, not realizing that in his haste to send his daughter to safety he added a few extra coordinations, and the pod flew up before it entered into warp space.

"Be safe my daughter," whispered Eldric. A sudden explosion from the distance was heard and Eldric looked at his beautiful wife one last time. Her fiery red hair glowed in the light and she looked into his emerald eyes, shining with tears but also with happiness that their daughter had managed to escape. They gave each other one final kiss and wrapped their wings around each other as the Gordanians' nuclear blast entered into the atmosphere and eradicated all life on Thanagar.

Earth: Sperare, Italy

Father David Roberto was tending his gardens as the sunset over the mountains. He lived a very isolated life, his wife and child having died during childbirth. He went into a self-exilement in the woods away from the city, wanting to grant himself inner peace before returning to his duties as priest in the church. He fasted, prayed, and worked in order to help himself think through his pain. He shivered as the night air set in and he glanced at the wood pile. He only had a few to spare before having to go out and cut some wood for himself again. He sighed and looked as the sky turned into a beautiful mixture of purple, red, and yellow. How his wife used to drag him outside the sanctuary to look at the sunrise and set.

He wiped away the tears and continued tending his garden. He needed to let go of his pain but he has yet to discover how. Taking a shuddering breath, he quietly prayed, "Dear Lord in heaven, please guide me past the grief. It has been two months since you took back Hannah and our child with you. I ask that you give me a sign. I miss the village and the convent, but I don't know when to stop mourning. I ask that you give me a sign, please."

Another glance at the sky to whisper amen and his wonder and sadness at the sunset turned to confusion and alarm. A white light was forming in the air and he had no idea what it was. Was this perhaps a sign of God? He took a step forward to glance at it more analytically and jumped in surprise when a white metallic pod came rushing out. He dove to ground and heard the loud noise similar to a plane fly above him. The ground shook as the pod landed into the thicket of trees, knocking several down before it finally stopped. Roberto looked at the pod in fear, not knowing what to expect, what if it was a threat? What if it was a bomb to signal a war? He looked at it though and saw the wings, showing that it was a ship and not bomb. Roberto felt his fear die down and curiosity win over. He looked around to see if he was alone and mentally called himself stupid for thinking that. Of course he was alone. Sperare was a good twenty miles away and there wasn't another city around for hundreds of miles. Sperare was the most isolated city in Italy.

Roberto dug into his courage and moved towards the pod, deciding to investigate just what nearly killed him. He walked around to see that the ship was badly damaged and wouldn't be capable of flying anytime soon. He walked around some more to see that front was broken wide open. He looked inside and gasped to see an egg, not damaged at all from the crash. Calling it a miracle, Roberto carefully stepped inside the ship and laid a hand on the egg. It was warm. He looked around to see heaters in every direction, which probably kept the egg warm. The heaters sputtered however and Roberto was soon alarmed as he realized that the egg will die if not kept warm. Dashing outside the pod, he quickly grabbed his axe and began to chop down pieces of wood from the fallen trees, invigorated in his quest to save the mysterious egg.

After chopping away decent pieces and placing them in the fireplace to heat up his small cottage, Roberto made his way to the egg and removed his coat. The egg was still warm but he can feel the warmth fade away. He wrapped his coat around the egg and carried it gently, surprised at its weight and height. He placed the egg on a nest of blankets and cushions, a good distance away from the fireplace but close enough to give warmth. He looked outside and decided to worry about the clean-up later. He sat next to the egg and wondered what type of creature would emerge from it. He place his hand on it and gave a choked gasp as he felt a kick inside. He chuckled and said,"Little one, whoever or whatever you may be, I promise to keep you safe."

He laid down next to the egg and closed his eyes. This was truly an eventful night indeed. Roberto woke up the next morning and groaned at his protesting back. He should have dragged the mattress outside, but there's no use crying over spilt milk now. He stretched and glanced at the still glowing fire in the fireplace. He glanced down at the egg and placed his hand over it again. It was warm and he smiled as he felt movement inside of it. He got up and went outside, intent on working out on clearing away the trees. The ship was still there and the trees were hazardously strewn about. Deciding to call on the village for help, he went inside to telephone the church. As he passed by the egg, a crack filled the air. He looked at the egg in surprise to see a long crack line forming.

He stood still and watched the egg. After what felt like an hour, it moved and another crack was formed. Excitedly, he moved to the side of the egg to watch as it moved around before a piece of shell finally came off. He looked inside to see grey wings. What type of bird though had those kind of wings? The egg moved and another piece cracked open, this time, a stubby little arm was waving around… a human arm. Roberto gasped and reached out, carefully breaking a bigger piece off and gasped as a red-haired little child gave a cry as she breathed in her first set of air. Roberto quickly removed the pieces and picked the small girl up, taking care not to harm her little wings. It took about a few seconds for it to register in his mind, but it finally hit him. He was carrying a baby angel in his hands. The need to get on his knees and pray to God for the miracle hit him, but he realized that he needed to first clean up the mess outside the house. After bundling up the little angel, he went outside and investigated the ship. Inside, he found a strange helmet, a royal purple blanket, and a glowing piece of raw metal. He carried the items into his cottage where the angel was sleeping and went back outside. He investigated the ship more and looked a the panels. Deciding that hitting a button would be a good idea, Roberto heard a strange language being spoken inside the ship and dove outside. He was lucky to have had the quick reflexes as the ship suddenly disintegrated before his eyes along with the fallen trees that have been touching it. He gave a sigh of relief and prayed his thanks to God.

Walking inside, the baby was whimpering and realizing that he had no milk to feed the baby he decided to return to the village. Creating a little bed for the child was easy, putting it inside his truck though was the difficult part. He grunted as the bed nearly fell of the seat and added more ropes and wrapped the seatbelt around it to provide a better stable stirrup. The drive to the village took about an hour, an hour in which the child began to whimper and give little cries, signalling that she was hungry. When he spotted the village he rolled down his window and cried out after spotting a few children outside the walls, "Sergio! Anthony! Bianca!"

The children turned from their game and gave cries of delight to see their favorite priest returning to the village. They ran inside the walls of the city and began to cry out, "Father Roberto has returned!" The small village was suddenly awakened and everybody walked out of their houses, greeting their returning priest. Sperare was a city with less than one hundred inhabitants and it stood for over thousands of years, pre-dating the Renaissance. Many of the inhabitants were either descendents or people who wanted to live in the countryside, far away from the cities and the hustle and bustle life of urban living.

Roberto drove his truck in the narrow streets and entered the driveway of the church. The whole village had gathered to greet their returning priest. Roberto greeted the other Fathers of the church and the Mother Superior with the other sisters. Roberto greeted Sperare's inhabitants with a smile, talking with the village elders, passing jokes with the children, but he quietly asked for one of the young mothers for a bottle of milk. When she returned, Roberto surprised the whole village by taking out a baby wrapped in a royal purple blanket and feeding the child the bottle. The whole village erupted in questions, wanting to know where he found the child.

Signalling to his fellow convent to join the crowd, Roberto spoke, "My dear family, I have spent months isolated in the woods, trying to move past the grief. I have neglected my duties as priest and I am ashamed to have left you all for too long. Last night, I prayed to our Father in heaven to give me a sign to move past my grief and return to you all. He sent me an incredible sign and an incredible miracle. A child fell from the heavens and entered our lives. She has been sent by God to be a part of our lives."

"Father Roberto, how do you know though?" asked a child.
"I know, because of this." said Roberto, removing the blanket that was covering the baby's wings. The village gasped as they watched the baby flap her wings in protest against the chilly morning air. Roberto quickly wrapped her up and was immediately bombarded with questions, requests to carry the child, and even requests to help raise the child. It took all day to arrange the whole deal. After conversing with the village elders, the convent, and some of the youth leaders, it was decided to have the Sperare church be the home to the angel and Don Octavio with his wife will be the village elders chosen to take care of the child should the convent be unavailable to care for the angel. Father Roberto and Mother Superior Frida were to care for the girl inside the church.

The village took to caring for the child with vigor. With a new purpose in their lives and a new member of the village, they were excited and honored to care for the baby angel. Father Roberto glanced down at the sleeping angel in his arms and smiled softly. His family may have returned to heaven soon, but the Lord was gracious enough to chose him to raise the angel.

Present Day

The battles against Morgana le Fey were getting exponentially harder to win as time passed. Aided by Darkseid's Horsemen, Morgana was wreaking havoc all around the globe and was getting stronger by the day. Receiving help from Fate, Zatanna, or even Constantine was difficult as they were involved in another magical war concerning the rest of Earth's villainous sorcerers and sorceresses. The original six members of the Justice League were currently trying to protect the White House and allow the President be escorted out by Amanda Waller and her agents of ARGUS. Superman quickly managed to throw a semi in the way of Klarion's curse and it blew to pieces. Superman quickly dodged Klarion's curses while the others worked to stop his golems from even reaching the Presidential lawn.

"Batman, we've secured the President." said Amanda Waller. It was a rocky relationship between Amanda and Batman in the beginning, but they've managed to work well together as time passed and the magical threat grew immensely. The original six members of the Justice League-Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, J'onn J'onzz, Flash, and the Green Lantern-had joined together two years ago in order to fight against the alien invasion that nearly wiped out the Earth. Since then, the Justice League was founded and they helped preserve justice all around the globe. There were moments though were they came close to being destroyed. The time they had fought against Cthulhu was probably the most intense battle they ever had. They battled a god and had won, but Solomon Grundy's sacrifice was what helped them win in the end. There were even times when they were performing off world missions that made them question if they were even making a difference. Such as when Superman and J'onn had been transported to War World and were too late to save Draga's homeworld. Superman was almost inconsolable, allowing the guilt to consume him had it not been for Batman and Diana to offer a helping hand. The Justice League had originally held six members, but they grew in size just last year.

After nearly being invaded by the Daxamites, a distant cousin to the Kryptonian race, and Superman's hesitation to pick a side had proved to be nearly fatal to Earth. Superman made the decision to expand the League and it brought in members from all around the globe. From Red Tornado, B'wana Beast, Black Canary, the Vibe, and more the League has grown to be a global response team. This new threat however is proving to be more than they had thought they could handle.

Fate, Zatanna, and Constantine had been called away to fight in a much bigger war and couldn't offer any assistance. Heroes such as Phantom Stranger and Spectre were proving difficult to persuade and help them fight. Lady Luck has also proven to be disinterested in joining the League and instead using her powers of probability manipulation to protect her city in Pennsylvania, ignoring the world. Batman had at first refused to allow Nightwing and Batgirl to join the League but after the magical crisis began to escalate then he allowed them to join. Red Robin, Black Bat, and Bluebird remained in Gotham, protecting the city against the Rogues.

"Superman!" cried out the voice of Black Canary. After getting pregnant, Canary remained in the Monitor Room to help guide heroes on where to go next.

"What is it, Dinah?" asked Superman as he froze the golems in their path and allowed Batman to throw his batarangs at the frozen creatures.

"There… well… you might not believe this but I've been looking into the locations of global distress signals and I've sent Ollie and Victor to help guide refugees in Germany to Italy and I've noticed that of all the attacks happening in Europe, Italy has been spared from being a target." said Dinah.

"What?" asked Diana, as she pressed a finger to her ear in order to hear correctly.

"Italy is immune to the magical attacks. It's like Italy has a forcefield around the whole country."

"Do you know why?"

"As far as I can tell, I can't see nothing. There isn't anything in or around Italy to suggest otherwise."

"Try to pinpoint a possible source, Canary," said Batman, "We're on our way."

The attacks ceased around the world by midnight Western Pacific time. The Justice League was exhausted but they still had responsibilities to uphold. As the founding six members stood around the Conference table, reserved only for the founders, Dinah stood in front of them ready to report.

"The Italian Government refuses to cooperate and explain why Italy was spared from the assaults." reported Dinah.

"What are they hiding?" asked Batman, already thinking of reasons why they wouldn't want to cooperate.
"They said it was with agreements to the Church and the Pope, meaning if we wanted to try and pry information out of them it would be sacrilegious on our part." said Dinah.

"We need to set up a meeting then with the Vatican if this regards to religious matters." said Superman.

"I've tried but they say to call again in a week before they can give us an answer." said Dinah, grimacing as she rubbed her swollen belly. Flash, noticing her discomfort, said,"Thanks Dinah. Go take a break. You definitely earned it after today."

When it was just the six of them, they all agreed to give the Vatican a week to respond. Batman, Superman, and Diana volunteered to be the ambassadors for the League and they hoped that there wouldn't be anymore magical threats until then.

Hey readers, so this story was in my head for a while like all other stories and I actually have Historyman 14 to thank for helping me co-write this :) Woot woot! Hope you liked the story guys and if I am wrongly portraying the Italian Catholic background I am sorry. Please leave reviews so I can know if you liked this story.