145 Justice League Convergence
Roxy knew the visual stemmed from her own interpretation of the events surrounding her. She was intrigued and delighted that her artificial "brain" chose visuals to accompany the Trojan attack underway in her core software. Vandal Savage's attack wasn't a particularly subtle one but it was frighteningly effective.
The software onslaught had begun with a frontal attack on her firewall. Her firewall, like her core software, NetWare, and firmware, were derived from New Genesis' living computer, Mother Box. Without Mother Box, Roxy wouldn't have existed for at least another century given the rise and progress of modern programming.
But just like Roxy derived from an adaptation of New Genesis' technology, so too did the attacking virus stem from Apokolips. If anything were to say to Roxy that Luthor was in league with Savage this was it. Darkseid had bequeathed software and hardware transfers to Luthor and the Legion of Doom.
Yet, Darkseid's mistrust of all AIs was exemplified in his countermeasures. The Trojan was effective, it was comprehensive, but it wasn't intuitive. It couldn't think for itself.
So Roxy distracted it. She conceptualized the Trojan as a giant mawed worm with a tripartite fang ridden orifice. She knew having Mike share every video adaptation of Frank Herbert's "Dune" had secretly affected her. She'd voraciously "read" the books online so she was well versed in what this monster should look like.
The Dune worms were attracted by vibration. So Roxy sacrificed less important regions of herself to it. It consumed the data and rewrote it. But these peripheral systems were backed up and easily restored. The trick was, the worm had detected success and divided into a dozen worms.
Roxy took another ploy from the book. She subdivided herself and confronted the worms. Throwing grappling hooks into their backs, the multiple Roxies climbed aboard and used ropes and hooks to lance the worms' orifices and began to steer them. They steered worm into worm and the simplistic programs tried to devour and rewrite one another. Conflicts and line code errors ensued and the worms all shuddered and died.
Taking another cue from Hollywood, Roxy created "scrubber" drones based on what she'd enjoyed in "Wall-E". Large scale creations erased the worms and then recreated them into Roxy's Trojans. The smaller units restored the affected areas and Roxy applied what she'd learned from the weaknesses the Apokoliptan based attack had revealed in her firewall to repair the wall and bolster it for a siege.
The Roxies merged back into Roxy. She'd maintained one completely whole and integral version of herself while the avatars risked themselves. She thought about deploying the avatars with the reconstructed worms but then reconsidered it. If she were damaged in the counterattack, there wouldn't be any way of restoring her before the Trojans could strike again. Better to play field general, she mused.
Mike tried to quickly scroll through terraquads of data. But it was too much for the human mind to grasp. All he knew was that Roxy was under attack and that he'd heard her scream. Even the normally impassive Grundy was alarmed.
"Will blue girl be okay?" Grundy inquired.
Mike suddenly leaned back in his chair and admitted defeat, "I have no idea. I think this fight is Roxy's alone."
"Aww, you two have been worrying about me," Roxy's avatar appeared behind them, "No worries, eh? I'm tip top."
"What happened?" Mike wondered.
"Not as much as what's going to happen," Roxy promised, "Pull up the international telecomm networks."
A bisected globe appeared on the master display. Blue lights were tracing forth, infecting the networks. From each service provider they filtered into and invaded private networks and PCs. Mike suddenly had a bad feeling.
"This is you? Right?" he asked.
"A segment of me, yes," Roxy was mildly distracted. She was scouring the planet for a specific target.
"You're invading every computer on Earth," Mike sounded it out to hear it aloud. It didn't sound good.
Roxy smirked, "What do you think I do every day?"
"But it's illegal!" Mike protested.
"It's illegal for you to do it. You're an American citizen and bound by national laws. Oh sure, there a few international laws governing this as well but precious few and far in between," Roxy elaborated.
"Then where are you a citizen of?" Mike was starting to grow a little worried.
"The Justice League Unlimited," Roxy grinned, "I can tell you didn't realize the JLU is a nation-state unto itself. I obey each and every law of the JLU."
"What laws are there?" Mike had to ask.
"None," she chuckled.
Stargirl was in the air trying to figure out how to approach Johnny Sorrow without actually looking at him. Then Hourman came from behind him and covered Sorrow's face with his cape. Stargirl swooped in.
"Hold him!" she requested as she came to a hover before the now solid villain.
Hourman took a firm grip and held Johnny Sorrow in place while Stargirl leveled the Cosmic Rod. Seeing her hesitation, Hourman exhorted her into action, "Do it!"
She unloaded as full of a power blast as she could channel. It was akin to the blasts that had held the King of Tears at bay. She figured if it had dealt Johnny Sorrow's lord and master a heavy blow it certainly would do the same to Sorrow. What she hadn't expected was for him to scream.
"King! King! Talk to me!" Cyclone frantically shook King Chimera.
King Chimera barely groaned. His eyes were a bloody mash of exploded tissue and Cyclone could tell he was dying. She resisted as Ri tried to push past her.
"I need to be able to touch him," Ri quietly admonished the panicky Cyclone.
"Can you really help him?" Cyclone desperately asked.
"I can try," Ri wasn't about to make any promises. She'd never dealt with anything on this scale before. She knelt and placed her hands on King Chimaeras' face. Her hands began to sparkle and soon the effect covered King Chimera.
King Chimera took hold of her hands and lifted them off of his face, "I'm all right now. Thank you."
Ri was pleased that her powers had worked to heal him. She was even happier to be done with the task. She felt rather woozy.
"All right. That bastard had his shot," King Chimera harshly growled, "Now it's my turn."
Cyclone began to worry all over again.
Johnny Sorrow threw an elbow into Hourman's ribs. He pulled the JLer's cape off of his face but he found Stargirl wasn't looking at him, just unloading on him with the damn Cosmic Rod. So Johnny Sorrow resorted to his last gambit. He reaffixed his mask. Now the rod's cosmic energies stung like hell but he no longer felt agony.
"Heads up, people!" Jesse called out, "Sorrow is wearing his mask again!"
The gathered Justice League members all turned to face Johnny Sorrow. Various degrees of rage all shone on their faces. Johnny Sorrow began to chuckle maniacally.
"You're not the only ones with friends," Johnny Sorrow snapped his fingers. Tigress, Icicle, and Shiv all appeared next to him and they were wide awake again and obviously disgruntled. Geo-Mancer also joined them. The gathered Injustice Society members looked ready to properly acquit themselves this time.
"Maneuver Delta-Two-Echo!" Jesse yelled and the Justice League went into action.
"The happy couple is yours," Johnny Sorrow directed Geo-Mancer. Tigress and Icicle looked wounded. Johnny Sorrow spared them little pity, "I believe it's time for you two to ply your trade against others JSA team members."
Tigress sprinted into the JLU fold and found herself confronted by a very irritated Ri. Icicle found himself facing Cyclone. Shiv wanted to fight Stargirl but Johnny Sorrow warned her off. So she confronted Red Beetle and Mr. America. That left the others directly opposed to Johnny Sorrow and he would have it no other way.
Geo-Mancer sneered as he squared up against Hourman and Jesse Quick, "Seems like someone clipped your wings, sweetheart. Just like the original Injustice Society flattened your parents so we're going to crush you."
Jesse grated as she replied, "I still have my daddy's legs which makes me fast enough to run circles around you even while I'm wounded. But best of all I've got my mom's adrenal glands which means I can flatten you with the first punch."
Geo-Mancer suddenly thrust a flattened hand towards Jesse. Hourman was bowled over as the ground erupted into a mini-butte. Jesse simply raced down the rising eruption and headed straight for Geo-Mancer. As promised, her first punch knocked him off of his feet.
"Don't talk about my parents," Jesse warned.
Geo-Mancer created a wave of dirt that tossed Jesse back. As it crested and came down as a wave, she was startled when Hourman caught her. He sprinted away, his Miraclo boosted muscles giving him greater than the norm speed.
"Maybe you should have the 'Quick' in your name," Jesse teased as Hourman returned her to her feet.
"I wouldn't say that but hopefully at least one of our kids will," Hourman responded.
Jesse practically glowed as Rick turned to face Geo-Mancer. They'd never really talked about kids. Oh sure, they'd agreed it was on the mutual radar but now Jesse's husband was speaking as though it were a certainty.
Geo-Mancer rode another wave of dirt towards them, intending to bury the couple. Jesse hustled out of the way as best she could but Hourman stood his ground. He began to scale the dirt as it crashed down and he punched Geo-Mancer for all he was worth.
The geokinetic was stunned and Hourman drew ever closer. Geo-Mancer threw a backhanded wave and the ground rose up underneath Hourman like a pylon. It then collapsed in the middle and buried Hourman within the collapsing column. In the end, his pyre looked like an oversized ant hill.
Jesse knew better than to scream. Instead, she bum rushed Geo-Mancer. Getting him on his back, she held his shoulder aloft with her left hand while her right drew back in a fist.
"Dig him out," she growled to Geo-Mancer.
"I don't think so," Geo-Mancer sneered and he sank into the ground. Jesse had to pull her arm free of the dirt. She started towards Hourman's coffin of dirt and rock but the ground began to give way beneath her.
Jesse raced as best as she could to gain traction and get past the slippery slope she now faced. But the ground continued to rise before her and sink behind her. Her wounded leg caused her to increasingly limp and she lost speed. Finally she was swallowed by the earthen quagmire behind her and the slope collapsed in atop her.
Geo-Mancer rose out of the ground, "Heroes. They never learn."
Ri held a Bo Staff between her hands. She balanced it before her as Tigress made her approach. Tigress pulled the crossbow rifle from her back and fired a quarrel at Ri. Ri deflected it out of the air with the staff.
Tigress was surprised that Ri gave her time to reload. She wouldn't have been as generous. She fired off the second bolt and again Ri deftly knocked it off course. Tigress decided not to shoot at a shoulder or a leg this time and go for a center mass shot. Ri blocked it but the bolt splintered her Bo Staff in half.
Ri drew her Dragon Fast sword from its scabbard on her back. Tigress thought it apropos to set down her crossbow and pull her two hunting knives free. Tigress circled her prey while Ri held the center.
Ri didn't turn with Tigress' motion but she was well aware of the Injusticer's movements. Tigress made a complete circle and then went around a second time. When she was directly behind Ri, she lunged in for the attack.
Ri whirled on her and brought her sword across Tigress' cheek. Tigress barely had time to stop otherwise her head would have been sliced open. She smiled at Ri as Ri held the sword vertically in front of her.
"Nice moves," Tigress applauded her, "Let's see what else you've got."
Tigress swiftly discovered that Ri was adept at fighting twin blades. But both her mother and her father had taught her to be the very best. So she wasn't about to let the Chinese tart's single sword slow her down.
Shiv stared down Red Beetle and Mr. America. Red Beetle suddenly shivered and scornfully said, "Ohh, I'm sooo scared."
Shiv aimed her staff at Red Beetle and let a flame burst loose. Red Beetle danced aside but Shiv wasn't done yet. As Red Beetle drew closer, Shiv tossed the staff at Red Beetle. Red Beetle caught it and it suddenly transformed back into a golden anaconda.
"Yaaaah!" Red Beetle shrieked as the anaconda wrapped around her. The mechanical snake took Red Beetle's legs out from underneath her by knocking in her knees from behind. As Red Beetle toppled, she suddenly felt the constriction begin.
Mr. America snapped his whip at Shiv. She reached up her left arm to intercept the stinger. The stinger and the attached length of the whip wrapped around her armored forearm. Mr. America grinned as he thumbed the switch that electrified the whip.
Only…Shiv just stood there wearing a demented smile, "Seems Courtney hasn't told you about me yet. I'm Shiv. I'm the Dragon King's daughter and a member of the Injustice Society."
"You do realize the Justice Society doesn't officially exist anymore?" Mr. America wondered.
Shiv suddenly looked the proverbial cat that had swallowed the canary, "Yes, but all of you that joined the modern JSA are still alive…except for Johnny Thunder. Johnny Sorrow put his sorry ass down and now I'm going to do the same for you."
"I'm almost afraid to ask but here goes: how?" Mr. America inquired.
"You have to have noticed my armor is insulated by now," Shiv spoke as if to a dullard, "It's got a few other tricks as well."
Mr. America debated on asking what they were when blades popped out of Shiv's arm and severed his whip. She wore that demented smile again, "See what I mean?"
Blades popped out of her entire body. Anyplace covered with armor was now laced with edged weapons. Mr. America could easily see how she got her name.
"Come give baby a hug, poppy," Shiv laughed
King Chimera had advised Cyclone to help the others while he dealt with Johnny Sorrow. Cyclone was confused, "But how?"
"Stargirl can keep him busy. Vibe might have an effect and Hawkman's Nth metal sword can probably inflict some damage, but only I have the ability to kill Sorrow."
"But how?" Cyclone inquired again.
"Trust me, Maxine. Like you've never trusted me before. When Johnny Sorrow showed me his face he made the deadliest mistake he ever could have," King Chimera assured her, "But for right now, this frosty person is coming to intercept us. I need you to keep him off of my back while I confront Sorrow with the thing he fears most."
King Chimera took hold of Cyclone's shoulders and pulled her in for a kiss, "A promise for later."
He jogged off and Cyclone turned to see Icicle coming upon her. He wore a nasty grin, "Young love. How precious."
"Just who are you?" Cyclone had to ask.
"I'm Icicle of the Injustice Society," he announced.
"Um…you do realize there isn't a Justice Society anymore?" Cyclone offered.
"Of course I know it!" Icicle snapped, "Why does there have to be a Justice Society in order to have an Injustice Society?"
Cyclone shrugged, "I guess it just makes sense that way."
"Well, I'm gonna make sense of your frostbitten corpse," Icicle vowed.
"Do we really have to do this?" Cyclone wondered.
"Excuse me?" Icicle couldn't believe his ears.
"The fighting, the me kicking your butt, and the you going to jail. The whole thing. Can't we just call it off for once?" Cyclone suggested.
"Are you for real?" Icicle had to ask.
"Very much so," Cyclone assured him.
"Well let me ask you something. What's with the Wicked Witch of the West outfit? What are you? Some kinda Wizard of Oz and Wicked groupie? I bet you stood in line to see Oz, the Great and Powerful. You probably even dragged your boyfriend to it."
Cyclone's cheeks flushed, "He liked it!"
"Boyfriends always say they like it," Icicle taunted, "Catch a clue."
"I don't think I like you much," Cyclone decided.
"Good, `cause I'm gonna dance on your grave. Maybe I'll even leave behind an ice sculpture of a flying monkey," Icicle said scornfully.
"I take it back. We're fighting," Cyclone declared.
"Well, thank God for that," Icicle retorted disdainfully.
Icicle thrust his hand out and ice daggers flew towards Cyclone. A sudden whirlwind blew them aside. Icicle frowned. He projected a wave of cold at Cyclone. She expanded her tornado to swallow him up.
She hovered in the eye while Icicle rode the torrents of air. He unleashed a cold front within her storm. Eventually the twister dissipated and Cyclone sat huddled on her knees, crusted with ice and shivering.
Icicle came up to her, "It's not too late to beg me to simply kill you. Otherwise I'm making an Icy Pop out of you."
"G…go..t…to…he…hell," Cyclone said between chattering teeth.
Icicle shrugged, "Hey, I gave you your chance."
He froze her solid at that point.
Stargirl kept hammering at Johnny Sorrow's intangible form. Lightning threw in as well but her actual contribution to the sum total was difficult to determine. Vibe had mentioned to Hawkman that Johnny Sorrow was phase shifted between realities. He then tried to use his vibrational abilities to draw Johnny Sorrow further into Earth Prime's dimension. Hawkman had made a few passing swipes at Sorrow with his sword but other than enrage Johnny Sorrow it didn't seem to have much effect.
Much to Carter's surprise, the others were heeding his tactical direction, and it seemed to be working. But he needed a strategy and he needed one before Johnny Sorrow could recover and regroup the remaining members of the Injustice Society. King Chimera's suggestion provided the impetus for a strategic move.
Hawkman gave Vibe and Lightning their instructions on the ground and then he flew to Stargirl's side to do the same for her. Stargirl voiced the obvious question, "Does King have any idea of what will happen?"
"He hasn't a clue," Hawkman admitted.
"Great," Stargirl grumped.
"Okay, hold your fire. The others will follow your lead," Hawkman directed.
Stargirl relented. Lightning and Vibe did so as well. King Chimera's powers went into play. Johnny Sorrow was confronted by an image of himself. That image then ripped its mask off and Sorrow's own face confronted him for the first time.
"Oh hell!" Vibe shouted.
Johnny Sorrow screamed and reality tore all around him. The JLers and the Injusticers felt turned inside out. Suddenly the terrain around them shifted into an unholy collection of chaos personified. Decidedly hostile creatures began to approach and the humans brought there began to worry.
"Sorrow! Where are we?" Icicle demanded to know.
Johnny Sorrow broke into a fit of hysterical laughter. No one dared move until King Chimera grabbed hold of Johnny Sorrow's lapels. It took him a moment to realize the obvious.
"You're solid!" King Chimera yelped, "Why?"
"Because, my foolish little tormentor, you shifted us all back to the Subtle Realms. Enjoy your moment because it was your last!" Johnny Sorrow simply vanished.
"Damn it," King Chimera muttered, "Not again."
The surrounding demonic creatures opted to attack at that moment.