Disclaimer: I dont own the Justice League


Planet of the Bravest

Chapter 6: Second Phase

Alex tried to move, but the armour was like a statue, a statue he was trapped within. The alarm for the facility that the ship had been put in continued to blare and Alex grinded his teeth together. He was really starting to hate machines, especially the stubborn AI he was stuck working with. If only the League had more members, then they wouldn't have to leave the Watch Tower unsupervised. That was something Alex always wondered, why that with all the super humans in the world the League never expanded its roster to more than seven or eight members.

He remembered a few years ago, watching the League on the TV screen. It was one of the few times his brother and he sat together peacefully. In the wake of an alien attack, a group of super heroes had united to fight a common threat. They consisted of some super heroes that had only just appeared. Wonder Woman was a new arrival and already a favourite amongst women and some men (men because of a certain part, or parts of the woman's body). Alex had been sitting at the sofa, looking at the Martian Manhunter. Some members of the public had gone on a rant about how they always knew the government had been hiding aliens.

"Why is he here in the first place, if he has a planet of his own he should go back there," one woman had ignorantly said.

That woman was Alex's mother, and the boy was quite tempted to slap her that day. It brought him satisfaction to hear J'onn's response completely dominating any argument people could bring up.

"I am Mars's only survivor, my people are dead and now I have a new home to protect," he said.

Other members that formed the League were the Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman and of course Superman. Other super heroes that had been fighting alongside them were Green Arrow publicly and many theorised that the Batman from Gotham city had covertly assisted them.

"Like J'onn I am not of this world, but I have accepted Earth as my home and have defended it with everything I have…but in the past weeks I've been faced with threats I could never have defeated alone, we together had saved the Earth and we will continue to protect it, please rest easy, for the Justice League will always be here to protect this planet," Superman explained proudly.

The team smiled as they were bombarded with cheers. Alex switched off the TV and walked to his room, ignoring the amazement of his brother. In the present Alex remembered what he felt at that time, Hope. But now all he felt was fear, fear of the armour, of the invaders and the part he would inevitably play in defending this planet.


Back on Earth, J'onn led the members of the League against the super villains, unaware that the current attack was just a distraction. Superman and Wonder Woman were both attending to their own business, leaving the other members of the League to fight this battle alone. Flash ran straight into the fight, grabbing Dr Light's cloak and running him across the park. Hawkman slammed his mace into Amazo's jaw, sending him stumbling backwards. Killer Frost fired a hail of ice spikes at Black Canary. But the blonde haired woman merely took a deep breath and unleashed a powerful screams that shook the very ground and shattered the ice. The Force of the scream sent Killer Frost flying backwards, hitting her head on the side of a tree. Green Arrow ran out of his cover, firing a single arrow at Dr Polaris. The arrow pierced through his hand, causing him to yell in agony.

"Non Magnetic material doc" GA smiled.

"You know what else isn't magnetic?" Black Canary asked.

Black Canary jumped and swung her foot into the side of Dr Polaris's neck, pushing him to the dirt. She stood back to back with Green Arrow as Live Wire and Giganta approached them. Like a ghost, Mars's last survivor phased through the grass, his ghostly image turning back into flesh as he slammed his fist into Giganta's. Livewire fired an electrical blast at Black Canary and Green Arrow, but she was suddenly struck by a red and yellow blur. Dr Light and Livewire rolled across the grass, stopping just at Zatanna's feet.

"TEN PEARRA!" She yelled.

A large rubber net suddenly covered the two villains, absorbing the energy they unleashed in their attempt to escape. Martian Manhunter punched Giganta across the face, knocking her to the ground so hard that a crack ran across the floor. Flash slammed into Amazo, knocking him back slightly. Martian Manhunter and Green lantern both drew their fist's back, striking Amazo across the head. Flash ran around the park, intending to hit Amazo again. Suddenly a yellow and red blur slammed into him, knocking him off his path. He rolled across the floor, sliding to his feet as he looked upon the one who'd knocked him down.

"You!" He growled.

Standing before him was a man in a reverse colour version of his costume. The lenses of his mask were red and black, giving off an odd glow. He was Professor Zoom, one of the Flash's deadliest enemies. The man grinned before he and the Flash disappeared, engaging one another in a battle that none with the naked eye could see. Green Lantern fired a beam into Amazo's chest, and Hawkman dived downwards towards the android. With one swing he sent the android flying back down to the ground. Nihlus watched the battle from the rooftop, his cloaking device hiding him from plain view. Amazo blew between Black Canary and Zatanna, trying to hit them with blasts from his ring. But Black Canary moved with incredible agility, back flipping to avoid the beams. Zatanna too showed quick reflexes and imagination as she absorbed the blast with a magical shield. Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter and Hawkman flew after Amazo, who fired his heat vision to throw them off course. The Thanagarian Warrior and hero of Earth landed on the grass, pulling his hand back and throwing his mace at the android's back.

'Impressive,' Nihlus thought as the android was toppled from the force of the throw.

Mars's last survivor flew in a diagonal line and slammed his fist into Amazo's head, using the momentum he gained to send the robot flying into a tree. The Green Lantern corp. member created a baseball club twice the size of Amazo. With one swing he knocked the wings off of the android's back. Using the control his mind had over his ring, he pictured an object and it would appear. A shield blocked an energy blast, a fist punched the android, and then a simple beam of light pushed him towards Black Canary. She unleashed her sonic scream, scrambling Amazo's sensors and throwing him across the lake.

"Most impressive," Nihlus hummed.

Discipline, skill, coordination, not only did they have the traits to effectively utilise their powers but they also had unity. They trusted in one another and battled even one opponent together, cancelling out one another's weaknesses. The League wasn't a group that ganged up on people; it was a group that utilised superior numbers. That wasn't being cowardly or dishonourable; it was being smart. If the "Legion of Doom" was the embodiment of humanities ill will and unnecessary desires then the Justice League could potentially be the embodiment of humanities qualities. He watched as they fished Amazo out of the lake. They gathered around the fallen android whilst Power girl stirred as she awoke from her unconsciousness.

"Beginning Phase Two!" Nihlus said, a large, blue holographic gauntlet appearing over his wrist.

With a simple wave of his arm, the Amazo android turned into pure energy, hitting every member of the Justice League so hard that they were thrown back, hitting the ground and falling into unconsciousness. Kara widened her eyes while Nihlus smiled; everything was going according to plan.


It was at the government facility in New Mexico where a one sided battle was taking place. An incredibly high pitched and destructive scream echoed in the desert, shattering the defence watchtowers and throwing back tanks. A woman with pale white skin and hair walked out of the smoke, releasing a sonic scream from her cracking lips. While Silver Banshee destroyed the defences around the base, two more super villains began their infiltration into the base itself. The guards were taken aback by the presence of a headless man in a pure white suit, however a hat and monocle were floating where his face should be.

"Don't let Gentleman ghost get through!" The Commander of the squadron said.

The guards suddenly screamed in agony as electricity covered their bodies. A villain wearing a black mask and orange and black suit. Energy crackled in the Electricutioners hands as he electronically forced the door of the base open. Gentlemen ghost casually walked through the corridors of the base with Electrocutioner killing anyone that got in his way. The two super villains came to a gigantic metal door, the very sight of which bought a smile to the face of the Electrocutioner. He waved his hands, electronically forcing the door open. Gentleman Ghost tilted his hat as he looked upon the vaults secondary defence, a gigantic metal door. Electrocutioner hit the door with an electric blast, widening his eyes, as the door didn't open.

"Calm yourself Electrocutioner, I'm here for a reason you know," Gentleman Ghost said as he walked straight through the door.

Outside, Silver Banshee continued to knock back tanks and other vehicles with her scream. An explosion tore apart the facilities armoury as a man in a grey suit flew out of the flames. He wore a winged jet pack and carried a flamethrower, while a helmet with bug like eyes protected his face. With a pull of the trigger he set the top of a watchtower ablaze.

"Firefly, Silver Banshee, we've broken through the vault, time to collect our prize," Gentleman Ghost said over the radio.

In the bases control room, the general in charge of the base ordered the technicians to call in reinforcements. They tapped at their keyboards and shouted into their radios desperately. As they did this they never noticed the figure hanging above their heads. She reached into her pockets, drawing out several small shuriken. And with one motion of her arms she threw the ninja stars into their backs. One by one they fell to the ground and when the final body fell, Tsukiri herself landed on the floor. She wore a red and black ninja garb, carrying the Ninjato on her back.

"Tsukiri are you in position?" Gentleman ghost asked.

"Yes, I'm accessing the weapons system now," she said, tapping on one of the keyboards.

Ghost chuckled as he looked upon the alien star ship. It was a magnificent peace of craftsman ship, but still useless to the. Although their employer was paying a kings ransom for it, so none of the hired thugs complained. Plus they had a chance to get rid of the Justice League, so there was that added bonus. All in all this was a job worth undertaking.


Kara struggled to get up off the floor, the beating she had taken was bad enough, but now she had the added moral loss. The Justice League was knocked out, the Flash was gone and half of Central park was levelled. She pressed her hands against the grass, lifting herself onto her legs. But then she felt it, her strength leaving her as her skin paled. She looked up, widening her eyes as he saw the being in silver armour. He held in his hand a glowing green rock, the remains of Krypton, converted into a radioactive material called Kryptonite.

"Interesting!" He said, looking down at Kara.

Nihlus landed in front of Kara, her chest just inches from his. He grabbed her chin, turning her face round and round, analysing her. With a push, Kara fell to the ground, breathing heavily.

"Your reaction doesn't appear to be genetically based, but rather psychologically based," Nihlus said as he tapped on his holographic gauntlet. "Yes that theory sounds correct, but don't feel bad my dear, its not the gene but the heart that matters."

Kara coughed as Nihlus threw her over his shoulder. He walked amongst the members of the Justice League, checking their condition with his gauntlet. They were all unconscious, just as he had planned. His hand glowed a silver colour as he and the members of the Justice League slowly began to vanish.


On the Watchtower, Alex continued to struggle inside the armour. He grinded his teeth together, raking his fingers against the armour.

"I'm sorry Winters but there is no use in struggling, it would be better for us to wait for the Justice League to arrive from their mission," the AI said.

"Well what happens if I need to pee?" Alex asked.

"Pee…this term means excretion for humans does it?"

"Don't answer a question with a question, what if I need to go to the toilet?"

"Hmmm, you bring up a valid point, very well I will temporarily deactivate the armour and allow you to "pee""

The armour liquefied, seeping into Alex's pores and mouth. Alex ran his hands across his arms and put a finger in his mouth. He shivered as he walked towards the rest room. Never in his life did he think he would be standing in the Justice League Watch tower. If he were a super hero geek then he'd be ecstatic at the situation. But he wasn't that Naïve; everything that was happening right now changed everything about his life. Then again his life before this wasn't exactly one he would have been content with.

He'd fix a machine, then another machine, and then another and then go home. Then he'd eat his own dinner, clean himself up for the day and sleep, and then repeat earlier process. That was life, the repetition of certain tasks, even when things changed one would still repeat. Shaking his head, Alex leant his head against the mirror of the rest room. His hands rubbed themselves against the glass while his mouth swirled and spat out the water from the tap.

'My mouth feels dry, my mind…it feels like I'm just repeating myself,' Alex thought, stepping away from the still running tap.

"Hmmm, should you not turn the tap off?" the AI asked.

"Whoever pays for a massive defence satellite can afford the water wasted today" Alex said, stumbling towards the door.

His legs shook as he opened the door, stumbling into the cold and metal corridors of the Watchtower.

"What am I doing, why am I here, I'm nothing special…just some kid from a rich family."

"You are here because I required a temporary host, if I could move onto someone else then I would have, but right now you are here and capable of doing something to stop the Korwraiths, not many species can say that they have the power you do, enjoy this power while it lasts human because once I have discovered a way to separate the armour from you then you will go back to your civilian life," the AI explained.

Alex leant his back against the glass separating him from space. He sat down, leaning his head against the glass. What would he do if he went back to his life? He didn't have a family, not a real one at least.

"Alex, I can't believe you couldn't carry out the simplest of tasks, the results of these SAT's reflect your intelligence in the future, you didn't even attempt some of the questions did you?" His father asked, throwing his results page in his face.

89 percent that's the result of Alex's 100 percent effort. When he'd get C grades, his parents would demand he'd get A plusses. His parents would pull strings to get their hands on his exam paper and demand he do them again. But he never did, he wasn't willing to give his parents the satisfaction of winning. He wanted them to be proud of him, but on his terms, not theirs.

"Mum Dad, I think I worked the equation out," Dante said.

Dante was their pride and joy, not because of his intelligence but because he lived by their rules.

"Good job my boy, an effort worthy of a Winters family member," Their mother would say.

If someone played by the Winters's family rules then they were part of the family. A Winters family member must pursue perfection in any task they undertook.

"Damn it…WHY AM I THINKING ABOUT THIS!" Alex yelled.

He got up off the floor and stormed towards the Justice League conference table. Slamming his hand against the table, he cursed the very existence of these heroes. They lived in their fortress; never facing the kind of problems he faced everyday. Their lives weren't struggles for survival or games to win their parent's respect. He didn't want to be like them and yet he couldn't help but want to have the courage they bared in the face of overwhelming odds.


Superman was flying across Washington when he heard the alarm. The facility that the alien ship was being held at was under attack. He heard their voices, the voices of the super villains and another whom he didn't recognise.

"Plant the charges around the ship, leave the girl here."

It was distorted by some kind of amplifier, much like the helmet of Alex's armour. That's when he heard another voice, a voice that caused his heart to skip a beat.

"Clark, don't come here!"

"KARA!" Superman yelled.

He dashed past the white house, leaving a red and blue trail as he flew as fast as he could across America. Mountains and clouds passed him by as he flew like a bullet. A sonic boom cleared the clouds and caused wildlife to scatter. Superman yelled as he reached the base, tearing through its wall into its core. He looked in amazement at the ship of the Sentry. But then his skin began to pale and he slowly hovered down towards the floor. He heard the base alarm ringing and widened his eyes as he then heard a missile flying towards the sky.

"Phase one was distraction, phase two was destruction," Nihlus said, standing over Superman with the kryptonite in his hand. "The supposed Ninja Tsukiri hacked the base weapons and has per my instructions launched a missile at your base, strange isn't, how she claims to be a ninja and yet…she wears red in her costume."

"No!" Superman whispered.

The Missile flew into the atmosphere, towards the Justice League Watchtower. Batman stopped his investigation as his Watchtower alarm went off. He frowned as he looked at the warning of an incoming attack.

"Damn it!" he growled.

Nihlus gathered the energy for another warp and sighed. Humanity was such a strange species. On the Watchtower, Alex looked at the approaching missile and closed his eyes. There was nothing he could do to save himself, let alone the whole planet. Everyone on the planet looked up at the sky and widened their eyes. Wonder Woman herself looking at the light in the sky and like so many other humans felt a shiver at the back of her neck. Batman looked up and closed his eyes, with the Watch Tower gone he would need a plan to help the captured League.

"Oh no," Wonder Woman said, realising that inside the heart of the exploding Watch Tower was the only hope left for Earth against the incoming threat. "Alex!" She whispered.

Nihlus warped himself and Superman to his base, holding the device he had taken from the ship.

"Humanity is individual, and individuality is the heart of war…to destroy individuality is to destroy war itself…that is the purpose of the Korwraith's, forgive me my fellow Sentry, this is the only path we can take!"

Next Chapter 8: Counter-Strategy


Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, next Wonderwoman and Batman are left to plan for a rescue, but with the Watchtower destroyed and Alex gone what can they do?