I do not own Dragonball Z, Justice League, Batman Beyond, Teen Titans, X-Men Evolution, Iron Man, Incredible Hulk, Bleach, or Yu Yu Hakusho
****Chapter 02: Armageddon****
Wait a second, Clar- Superman," Batman corrected himself as the two heroes materialized onto the Watch Tower's teleportation pad. "Listen to me. I am not part of the Justice League anymore-"
"Hold on," Superman said, cutting him off. Red lights were flashing on the bridge that meant only one thing.
Batman curled his lip slightly as Superman took flight to the command bridge and walked down the few steps and past the security check in.
"Uh, sir," the young man said, lifting a hand to try and stop the Dark Knight. Batman froze him with a glare and continued walking.
"What's going on here, J'onn?" Superman asked as both J'onn and Mr. Terrific scrambled over the console's.
"Our deep space monitoring network has detected a major asteroid moving incredibly fast closing in on Earth's location," Mr. Terrific answered instead.
"What are the chances of it hitting Earth and not just passing us by?" Batman asked, managing to sneak up to the bridge without even Superman hearing his approach. Despite his age, Batman still had that talent left.
"Imminent," Mr. Terrific said simply.
"How long?" Batman asked.
"A week," J'onn said. "Maybe two."
"How did we not see this coming?" Batman asked angrily.
"We picked it up as it soon as it came around the sun," Mr. Terrific said. "Not even we can see what's behind the sun."
"We have to alert the President," Superman said, and reached over to the phone that would directly connect him with the president.
"Already done," J'onn said, the urgency of the situation making his already short conversational skills shorter. "They are scrambling to find a solution to deal with this threat."
"How big is it?" Batman asked.
"Approximately 3,000 miles around," J'onn said.
Both Batman's and Superman's jaws dropped in unison. "3,000 miles?" Superman asked, stunned.
"An eighth the size of Earth," Batman said.
"If that hits, it's the end of us, no question," Mr. Terrific said. "Perpetual winter."
"No," Batman said, his brilliant mind working. "It would simply cleave the planet in two."
"So what's our options?" Mr. Terrific asked. "Unless J'onn and that Kitty Pryde girl can phase this entire planet through the asteroid."
"Try not to suggest stupid things," Batman said irately. "We need real suggestions right now."
"What about going out there and planting a bomb on it and blowing it up before it gets here?" Superman asked.
"For something that big?" Batman said. "No, it would never work. Besides, even if we could gather enough nuclear warheads in time, we would never make it to the asteroid itself in time."
Next to J'onn, the Presidential phone rang.
"Mr. President," J'onn said, putting the call on speaker.
"I hope you guys are having better luck than we are," the President said. "Every single scenario our staff has run so far leads to failure. Even Amanda Waller is out of suggestions."
"We are still running through the possibilities," Batman said, stepping in front of Superman as he was about to speak. "However, right now it doesn't look good."
"I see," the President said, sounding disappointed. "Well, keep trying. Seems like we have another half baked idea coming into my office now so I will get back to you." There was a click.
"War room. Now," Batman said, turning and striding off the main bridge. Superman nodded toward Mr. Terrific to signal the other founders and he and J'onn followed Batman off the bridge.
Birds and the strange sounds of unfamiliar animals twittered and howled in the dark early morning air as Kitty Pryde phased herself out of the tent she and Piotr had pitched a few days ago, leaving him quietly snoring inside. She lifted a hand and brushed the hair out of her eyes. This was exactly what she needed, a complete get-away for a little while with not another soul for hundreds of miles around. She sighed and let her hair fall back into the tangled mess that seemed unavoidable in these constantly moist rain forest environments.
Not far away was a cool stream that she had claimed as her's while on this vacation and navigated herself over to it, being wary of the indigenous animals and reptiles that may be lurking nearby. Up till now though, she had not seen any of the dangerous predators that she had expected to find. Apparently, Piotr and her violation into their sanctum had gone unnoticed so far.
She sat down on the side of the stream, softly dipping her toes into the cool, pure water. This place was nothing like New York and reminded her greatly of her trip with Hank McCoy and a few of the other X-Men into the Red Wood forest years ago. Of course there, sudden showers were never part of the territory. Here, though, rain began falling seemingly out of nowhere as it had decided to do at that exact moment, giving life to the name the forest had acquired.
She didn't let it bother her though as she leaned back on her hands and soaked in the light shower. Something slithered over her hand. With a yelp, Kitty snatched it back as a small snake slithered away into the underbrush. Kitty watched it go idly, considering for only a moment what it was like to be free of all the stress of being a mutant and just live the way the snake was. Something not far away caught her eye. She stood with slight fear and walked carefully over to the tall grass. Cautiously, she lifted the concealing leaves.
Several Jaguars lay, quite clearly dead, in the hidden grass as well as one long, large Anaconda. Ants and other scavenger insects where already taking feast, natures attempt to clean up the dead. Kitty backed away, a hand over her mouth in disgust. She looked around, now with new, suspicious eyes. Closer to the river's edge, a crocodile could now be vaguely seen hidden among more leaves.
Now she knew why she had not seen any predators around. Someone, or something, was keeping her and Piotr safe.
"Cal?" she called out, keeping her ears perked for sounds. A soft crunch from behind her. Turning, she saw the great Saiyan, minor scratches and cuts along with very shredded clothing standing behind her. "So, what, you following me or something?"
"You came here," Caliwone said. "This place," he gestured around him, "is my home."
"You live here?" she asked.
"Of course," he answered. "I like the rain."
"And these animals?"
"Hunters," Caliwone answered. He turned his back and began walking from the small clearing. "They believed you prey."
"And you killed them?" Kitty said. "You're just a big softy."
"Do not get yourself killed here," Caliwone said.
"Wait, Cal." Kitty walked over to him. "Me and Piotr are only going to be here a few more days. Why not come back to the mansion and at least gets some new clothes?" She ran a hand over his tattered shirt. "Lord knows you need one."
Caliwone removed her hand from his chest, his tail unconsciously loosening around his waist and curling behind him. "I am fine without new clothing," he said, dropping her hand.
"Fine," Kitty said, playfully but gently grabbing his tail. "Run around butt naked for all I care. Not like the animals are going to mind." Caliwone half turned to look back at her, twitching his tail out from her grasp. "You know, you really need to smile more and not in that devious way you have."
Caliwone jumped back into the high trees, leaving her to stand in the clearing for a moment before heading back to the camp.
"So that's it," Flash asked looking around the table at his fellow founders.
"That's it," John said. "The entire Green Lantern's Corp is on its way but not even they can stop something this big and moving that fast."
"Heavy things in motion," Shayera said, running a hand through her hair, "tend to stay in motion."
"Not even you?" Flash asked Dr. Fate in the corner.
"My mysticism would normally allow me to simply transport the calamity to another portion of space but the sheer size makes that impossible."
"What about the Android?" Flash asked. "He's moved planets before."
"Ivo's Android has left Earth on the mission to continue its evolution," Dr. Fate said with a shrug. "Being immortal has given him quite a hunger for continual improvement."
"As long as he doesn't turn into another Brainiac," Superman muttered.
"And the military cannot do anything within the given timeline," Superman said. "It's up to us to do something."
"So what is it we are going to do?" Diana asked irritatedly next to Batman. "We should not be sitting around here doing nothing."
"I understand your impatience, Diana," Superman said.
"The problem is that the vast majority of the League members cannot survive in space," J'onn said. "Even with space suits their powers would be severely restricted. The best hope we have is allowing the Green Lantern Corps to do what they can to slow the asteroid in space and mount a single offensive from within the atmosphere."
Flash's jaw dropped. "For inside the atmosphere?" he asked. "Cutting things a little close, aren't you?"
"The Watch Tower itself will also be lending a hand," Batman said. "We will rotate the ship and direct its Binary Fusion Canon at the approaching asteroid."
"Doing so will destabilize the Watch Tower's orbit," J'onn said.
"The Fusion Canon is quite possibly the most powerful man-made weapon on Earth next to a nuclear bomb," Batman said. "It doesn't matter what happens to the Watch Tower."
The group was silent for a moment.
"I'm heading into to space lend my hand to the rest of the Corp," John said at last. "Hopefully this ends well."
"Good luck, John," Superman said before he headed out with Shayera right behind to give him a more personal farewell, behind the closed conference room doors.
"We have approximately two days to set up our blockade," Superman said.
"Clean out your rooms," Batman added as the group stood to leave. "Get everyone else briefed and ready."
John Stewart unbuckled from his seat as his Javelin came out of warp and came in close to the asteroid. Clicking the auto pilot, he lowered the ramp and jumped out into space, his green glow surrounding and protecting him in space. He raced toward the asteroid.
He had thought when he had jumped out of the ship he had been relatively close to the thing but due to some sort of interference from the asteroid itself, he had not been able to confirm his distance and spent several minutes trying to reach the asteroid. Eventually, he used his ring to spear the asteroid and reel himself closer.
Behind the asteroid, a Boom-Tube like tear in space opened and the entire Green Lantern's Corp flew through it, Kyle Rainer and Katma Tui in the lead. Combining their powers, the Corps sank more spears into the asteroid and hauled back, trying to slow the enormous asteroid but the sheer size and speed of the asteroid made this an almost impossible task.
"Come on," John said through gritted teeth as he strained but it was useless.
"Focus, John," Katma said as she strained too. "We have a long way to Earth. Don't burn yourself up too quickly.
"At the rate we are going," Kyle Rayner said, "it may not be long enough."
Superman floated high in the atmosphere where the air was thin and the sky was nearly the pitch black of space and saw the dark bulk of the Asteroid. Although it was still very far away distance wise, the enormous size, it seemed as though it was directly on top of them already. The asteroid was expected soon and even with the efforts of the Corps, it was still advancing at a terrific rate.
"Superman," J'onn said through Superman's comm. "The Watch Tower has been completely evacuated and is in stationary orbit above you."
"I see it," Superman said as he looked up. The Watch Tower was now upside down, its large cannon pointed toward the calamity and being controlled remotely from the Metro Tower. The white ship hung there looking almost innocent, apparently resigned to it fate.
"Heads up," Mr. Terrific said sharply. "We've got incoming."
Superman glanced back down towards Earth and the city below that marked the estimated collision. Metropolis and the tall building of the Daily Planet stood shining in the daylight near the eastern sea board. Every available League member with the ability to fly and help repel the asteroid floated defiantly behind him; all of them ready to give their lives if necessary. Everyone else was either piloting the Javelin's or was on ground control helping with the last evacuations. Above them all, small starbursts marked the arrival of the first wave of debris from the asteroid entered the atmosphere.
"Here they come," Superman shouted. They Javelin's fired first, shredding the space rocks with their advanced targeting systems and laser weaponry, cutting through those that did not burn themselves up. What passed through that defense, Superman and the rest of the Justice League attacked.
"We can't let any of them through," Superman roared as his eyes flashed red. The rest opened up as well, along with Tony Stark and several others unassociated with the League. Even still, several meteors still made it through the second line. Like missiles, they streaked down toward Metropolis, cutting clean through buildings, impacting and blowing up in others or landing in the ocean just to the east. The streets spiked and split as they were impacted, making cars bounce and setting off car alarms or being crushed under falling bits of building.
The third line of defense on the ground did what they could to reduce damages but there was little that could be done. Flash swore, one of few times he could ever remember himself doing so. This was a disaster but he knew that almost everyone was holding back so they could give their fullest to preventing the collision from the asteroid.
Another rock streaked in trailing fire in his direction. Running fast in a tight circle, Flash slowed the rock with the force of the wind and it fell harmlessly to the ground.
"Hey, Fate," Flash yelled into his comm. "Anytime now."
"I am ready," Fate said back through the comm.
The sky just above the city seemed to shine with a purplish tinge. Brightly gold symbols from some strange forgotten language seemed to shift through it as if they were themselves alive. The meteors continued to fall but as they hit the shine, they vanished.
"A teleportation spell," Fate said through the comm., obviously guessing Flash's inevitable question, "only on a much larger scale."
"Ah," Flash said. "Uh, good work."
"Listen up, everybody," Superman said through the comm. "The asteroid is here. We may not be able to stop it but I just want each of you all to know that I am proud of you. It has been an honor."
Superman closed the link as the asteroid raced closer; filling nearly all the space he could see. The Watch Tower struck first, firing the Binary Fusion Cannon and full force dead center onto the asteroid. The force of its own power pushing it out of orbit as Superman's heat vision, along with everyone else's attacks crashed into the gigantic asteroid with it. With the combined forces of all the Earth's heroes and the Green Lantern's Corp, the asteroid began to slow further.
Light flashed as the Watch Tower lost its orbit and fell into the atmosphere. Flames licked around its edges as it gained speed from mother Earth's gravity. Its hull eventually collapsing and melting. The cannon sputtered and cut off as the famous Watch Tower broke in two and crashed with a mighty splash off the coast.
"Superman," Mr. Terrific called to him urgently through his comm. "It's not enough! If that hits ground, the whole world will be affected."
Superman abandoned his heat vision and rushed the asteroid, drilling his shoulder into the rock and pushing with everything he had. It wasn't enough. He could still feel the asteroid pushing its way forward toward Metropolis, its gigantic size making it appear to be moving slower than it really was. He looked around him, the bright lights and colors of the other's attacks continued to blaze around him although the efforts seemed to be in vain.
Without warning, a new beam of energy slammed into the asteroid from somewhere south, its blue intensity causing the air to ripple visibly in a dazzling distortion. Superman recognized it immediately even as another beam of light smashed into the asteroid, this time coming from the east over the ocean in a fiery red display.
Superman felt the asteroid shudder hard and ever so slowly, came to a reluctant halt. He didn't move for a moment, almost unwilling to believe they had done it.
"J'onn?" Superman asked, his voice shaky.
"The asteroid has come to a complete stop," J'onn said as the sound of his fingers dancing quickly over his console. "It has taken up stationary orbit approximately 200 hundred miles up in the Earth's atmosphere."
"That's a little close, isn't it?" Superman asked as he glanced south to where the first of the beams had originated. A small speck with a golden aura was approaching rapidly.
"Far too close," J'onn answered. "We will have to push it back into space or into another orbit soon before the moon completes its own orbit. Not to mention how the gravitational field will affect Earth."
"I think we will be able to manage that," Superman said with a broad grin as Caliwone came to a halt near him. "Dr. Fate should be able to counter that part. Long enough to get it back out into space, anyway."
Superman flew over to Caliwone with his arms spread. "Caliwone! I'm so glad to see you," he said and tried to hug him. Caliwone drilled a knee into his stomach and backed away as Superman gasped for air.
"The Hell you trying to do?" Caliwone demanded in a fighting stance.
"Showing you gratitude," Superman said, wheezing slightly.
"Right," Caliwone said suspiciously and turned his attention up to the asteroid that covered the sky as many green glowing specks flew down to Earth. "What do you plan to do with this space trash?"
"Well," Superman said, looking up at the asteroid too. "We are going to have to move it before our moon collides with it at the very least."
Caliwone frowned. "That will not happen."
Superman glanced over at his friend. "No, it won't. Would you care to help me move it?"
Helen Noventa lowered her hands and allowed her golden Super Saiyan hair to return to its normal red, ignoring all the panic that was still in full procession all around her. Even from here her Saiyan eyes could just make out the glow of Caliwone as he raced over to the asteroid. Even if she hadn't been able to see him, the warm sense of his energy could plainly be sensed. Earth had nothing to fear.
She glanced over at the shops that stretched down the streets, all with shattered glass windows or fires still burning inside them. On the spaces between windows, warnings of fear crazed individuals were scratched into the brick; "The end is here", "God's mighty fist", "Repent".
Such nonsense. She turned her back to the asteroid floating so high in the sky with all of Earth's greatest heroes hovering around it but came to a stop near one darkened ally. A small child lay face down on the ground, her little hands still wrapped around her stuffed bear. Tread marks could be seen along the back of her cloths from the stampeding hoards of terrified people as they had fled to shelters.
Helena knelt down next to the girl and rested a hand on one crushed shoulder. She glanced back up at the enormous asteroid and felt an unsettling feeling rest itself in the pit of her stomach. She had a bad feeling about this situation and something in the back of her mind told her that the real crushing blow was yet to come.
To be continued...
This sure doesn't look good! What will happen now? The excitement starts now...
Thanks guys for the awesome reviews! I feel great getting these posted finally. I hope everyone is enjoying the story and look forward to seeing your awesome reviews!