At ten o'clock pacific time a video had appeared on YouTube. Noone was sure what it was all about, but it quickly went viral. Within ten minutes it had been shared millions of times, all over the world, in hundreds of different languages.
The worlds government's were quick to dismiss it, after all everyone believes what you see on YouTube right? But Edward Nygma was not so sure, again he clicked play supping his sixth cup of coffee.
Greetings world,you do not know who we are, but rest assured we know who you are.
Your government has failed you, your heroes have failed you,even the guardian's of the universe have failed you, but fear not all is not lost, it has already begun, a new world order will arise, look to the skies.
"Damn," Eddie spilled his coffee down his shirt. "Why couldn't I have thought of this?"
"How in the hell..." Guy Gardner muttered. In the pocket of his jacket was a card, it hadn't been there yesterday, he was certain of that, and as far as he knew Tora wasn't really into tarot. "A chariot?"
Tora sidled round the corner and slid her arms around his waist. "What's the future say?" she giggled. "I didn't know you believed in that rubbish."
"I don't," Guy frowned. "It was in my jacket. And judging from your reaction I'm guessing you didn't put it there."
"No," Tora leaned back and looked sly. "Maybe it was your other woman."
Guy rolled his eyes, "don't be daft." he kissed her on the forehead and wandered through to the front room, tossing the card onto the coffee table. "Still no word from John," he stated. "Starting to think I should start looking for answers myself. He poured himself some coffee and leaned back against the breakfast bar.
There was a small scream from the next room, Guy dropped his mug and skidded into the bedroom, Tora was standing over a scattering of photos on thier bed. Some of Guy and her, some ultrasound scans, others of the JLI team but right in the middle was another tarot card. Temperance.
"OK," Guy pulled her to his chest, "this is no coincidence. Babe put these cards in a safe place, and I mean really safe, I'm getting some answers."
Coast city traffic was fairly light tonight, and Guy encountered relatively few red lights, before he knew it he was pulling up outside the apartment building John had given as his correspondence address.
The whole building was dark, even the stairwell, Guy had tried to ring John several times over the last couple of days but there hadn't been an answer, a little unnerved by the dark building he tried again. Straining his ears he could hear a phone ringing down the corridor faintly.
Guy chewed his lip, he must be home, John wouldn't have left his phone in the middle of a crisis like this. He rang the doorbell, no answer. Knocked, no answer. Shouted through the keyhole, nothing.
"Oh, hell," Guy muttered. Deciding to take matters into his own hands, Guy gave the door a hard kick, as the door splintered and swung open, the smell of blood hit Guy's nostrils instantly. "Oh, God!" Guy exclaimed, and staggered out into the corridor. Once the contents of his stomach had emptied, Guy steeled himself, and stepped back into the apartment.
He was shaking, partially with shock, but mostly grief. John Stewart lay face down in a pool of blood. Judging by the freshness of the blood and the body not yet cold, it can't have happened too long ago.
Fighting with himself for a moment, he took his phone out of his pocket, and dialled Hal Jordan.
Hal's phone rang loudly, almost vibrating off of his bedside table. He made a grab for it, seeing Guy's phone number on the screen, but just as he was about to answer it run off. The screen went blank, then blue and white writing began to type across the screen in capital letters.
LOOK TO THE SKIES
Hal frowned and looked up instinctively at the starry night sky.
Barbara Gordon rubbed the tower card between her fingers, suddenly there was an incoming message hail on the screen, he looked up expecting to see Alfred, Tim, or Bruce on screen, instead a blue background with white writing on it stared down at her bellowing:
LOOK TO THE SKIES
Bart Allen skidded to a halt half a mile from the noodle stall he was on his way to, and checked his phone for a message, he had felt it buzz in his pocket. He scratched his head when all it said was: LOOK TO THE SKIES
The clock in Arkham Asylums tower chimed midnight, Jonathan Crane sat up and wandered over to his window. The stars were unusually clear tonight, he always wondered why people were afraid of the dark, it bought him nothing but comfort.
But that was an experiment for another day. The moon illuminated his face as he stared up into the night sky, the stars reflecting jaggedly in his cracked glasses. "Some might say I should make a wish," he muttered under his breath.
As he sent his silent wish to the sparkling sky above him, something exploded among the stars.
Surprised Jonathan blinked. "Not quite what I had in mind..."
