Chapter Two: Arrival
The weather report had stated that a cold front would bring a storm to Central City, and as it was expected by the people of the city, the storm had arrived, its black clouds looming ominously over the night sky. Thunder growled hungrily in the belly of the clouds, and small rivets of lightning sparked inside. The storm seemed to glower down angrily toward the city, eager to annihilate it with a single bolt of light. In only minutes, the skies grew angrier, the wind zooming faster across the city, and the center of the storm transforming almost into a short funnel. Brilliant lightning flashed inside, illuminating the skies like an ersatz sun. Shortly afterwards was the screaming bellow of thunder that roared from within the funnel, followed by another flash of white light inside.
"Hang on!" Superman screamed as he and the others plunged toward Central City. Wonder Woman quickly flew toward Batman and grabbed him in midair in order to hamper his fall. An emerald glow appeared around Green Lantern's body, and his plunge ceased. The four slowly descended toward Central City, landing on the roof of a tall building that stared toward Central Command.
"Where are we?" Wonder Woman pondered as she stared around at the city.
"Hello, Watch Tower. Come in." Superman called, pressing the communicator in his ear. Static responded to his calls.
"No response?" Green Lantern asked.
"Then we must be in a different time or dimension." Batman concluded.
"Damn." Green Lantern sighed. "What should we do?"
"Right now, finding Darkseid is the top priority. I don't know what Darkseid wants here, but if he wants it, we'll just have to get it before he does." Superman said.
"Right, let's move out." Wonder Woman added. Suddenly, another flash of lightning glowed in the skies and plunged toward the earth. The lightning struck a building near Central Command, and it immediately exploded into a swirling torrent of flame. The sounds of gunshots and screams followed behind it, and Superman stared into the distance.
"It sounds like there's trouble." Green Lantern said.
"Let's go check it out." Superman replied.
The car screeched to a halt before the burning Central Library, and Colonel Roy Mustang immediately stepped out from the passenger end. Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye followed directly behind him, her pistol clutched tightly in her hand. Military vehicles surrounded the building anxiously with Major Armstrong patiently awaiting another occurrence behind them.
"Major Armstrong, have they caught the bastard yet?" Colonel Mustang called out.
"No sir, not yet." Major Armstrong replied.
"What the hell is taking him so long?" Colonel Mustang growled. Before Lieutenant Hawkeye could answer, another explosion roared from overhead, and a man leaped out from the destruction. The winds soon swirled around him and propelled him out toward the city.
"There he goes! After him!" Colonel Mustang commanded, the troops quickly mobilizing to rush into the rest of the city.
The wind slowly lowered him onto the streets of the city, and as he stared toward the burning destruction in the distance, a dark smile curled on the alchemist's lips.
"Looks like my mission was a success." The alchemist sighed with satisfaction.
"You might want to rethink that!" A voice replied from overhead. The alchemist looked up, only to have a foot smash into his chest, making him fall on his back.
"What the…you! How the hell did you get out of that destruction?" The alchemist demanded. He found himself staring up at a golden-haired boy with shining, fiery eyes. His crimson coat shifted in the wind, and blood ran down the side of his lip.
"I transmuted a glider just before you exploded the building. I followed you here along the way." Edward explained.
"You're clever, I'll give you that." The alchemist said with a grisly smile.
"Thanks." Edward chuckled. The alchemist stood up and looked down toward Edward.
"It's too bad you'll need cleverness and a ladder to take me down." The alchemist laughed. A surge of fury rumbled in Edward's body, and he gritted his teeth. His eye twitched, and his knuckles cracked.
"Are you calling me short?" Edward growled through his teeth.
"Short! Short's an understatement! You're downright puny!"The alchemist replied with an even louder laugh. Suddenly, a fist slammed into his face, and the alchemist edged back.
"DON'T YOU EVER CALL ME PUNY YOU JERK #$%!" Edward bellowed, surging toward the alchemist. A flurry of fists slammed into the alchemist, only to be ceased when he punched Edward in the stomach. Edward plunged to the ground and rolled across the pavement.
"So, you want a fight, Fullmetal?" The alchemist challenged. Suddenly, the backs of his fists glowed bright white, and a surge of wind zoomed across the alchemist toward Edward. The wind blew Edward across the street, causing him to smash onto the ground.
"I'm the Hurricane Alchemist, kid, and you're just a small building to be blown away by my alchemy!" The alchemist yelled. As soon as Edward could see the fists glow white again, he clapped his hands and pressed them onto the ground. Alchemy created a stone barrier in front of him to protect him from the second surge of wind.
"Wind's not the only thing in a hurricane, you know. There's also lightning!" The Hurricane Alchemist warned. Edward stared at the clouds, where he saw lightning flash. A lightning flash soon zoomed down toward him, and Edward leaped out from its path. The lightning crashed on the ground next to him, crackling the earth underneath it with its power. Another flash of lightning zoomed down after the first, and Edward dodged it. As more lightning flashed down, Edward was caught in a constant cycle of dodging lightning.
"Your attempts a futile, child! There's nothing you can do to stop me!" The Hurricane Alchemist roared, raising a glowing fist into the there. Suddenly, there was a sound of something moving through the air in a swirling motion, and the object smashed into the Hurricane Alchemist's transmutation circle on his hand, tearing a hole through the glove and ruining it.
"What?" The Hurricane Alchemist demanded, looking at the object that pierced his glove. A black, bat-shaped blade lay on the ground, with a piece of cloth on the edge. A set of feet immediately knocked the Hurricane Alchemist down onto his stomach, and he looked back to see a set of costumed people behind him.
"This ends here." Superman declared, moving toward the Hurricane Alchemist. "Stand down."
"Just who the hell are you people?" The Hurricane Alchemist demanded.
"Whatever other weapons you have on you, put them down." Superman ordered.
"Over my dead body." The Hurricane Alchemist replied, his other fist glowing bright white. A surge of wind zoomed toward the Justice League, only to be blocked by a force field immediately formed by Green Lantern. A blast of green light soon followed and crashed into the Hurricane Alchemist's other hand, tearing the cloth. The Hurricane Alchemist opened his eyes wide and tried to escape, only to have the earth spike up from underneath him and stop him in his tracks.
"It's all over Hurricane Alchemist." Edward concluded, his hands firmly on the ground. He moved past the Hurricane Alchemist toward Superman.
"Thanks for helping me out here. Who are you guys anyway?" Edward asked.
"We're the Justice League." Superman replied with a solemn smile.
"Where'd you guys come from?" Edward asked.
"That may take a while to explain…" Green Lantern replied.