"If I were looking for a white rabbit, I'd ask the Mad Hatter."
"The Mad Hatter? Oh, no, no, no..."
"Or, you could ask the March Hare, in that direction."
"Oh, thank you. I think I'll see him..."
"Of course, he's mad, too."
"But I don't want to go among mad people!"
"Oh, you can't help that. Most everyone's mad here." – Cheshire Cat & Alice, Alice in Wonderland
She felt like Alice more than once in her life and now is no exception to that feeling.
Nightshade…Eve… almost instantly saw that Lucas left the flowers. He isn't here now yet she is not alone. Blue Beetle had found her here. He had come by way of the 'Bug'. She could also feel Captain Atom's presence nearing her too. Suddenly she felt too old to have the two of them competing over her. She felt bad about the other night with Jamie. They were drunk, she was tipsy, he was flirty, both were still in costume until they started taking the other's costume off, and eventually were in bed together for hours.
She couldn't remember exactly how far it went, but when she awoke, he was still asleep and her body felt cold. A quick shower was in order and then she left without saying a word. She did not expect him to follow her here, let alone that he should know where here is, but the man had proven resourceful in tight situations. She felt like she might have cheated on Captain Atom…Nathan… though how could she when nothing other than kisses had happen between her and Nathan since Betty's death.
"We're being targeted for death and I am worrying about relationship issues?" exasperates Nightshade.
She felt a hand on her shoulder and she turns quickly with her palms glowing.
"Easy, I found out where they buried your mother. It is how I knew where to find this place and maybe find you again," says Blue Beetle.
The glow fades and her hands fall to her sides.
"I didn't ask you to follow me… last night…was…"
"We were drinking… you…"
"It went further than it should have…"
"How can you be so sure of that?"
"Just because we might have slept together… doesn't mean anything to me."
"Again you sound less than sure."
"You wouldn't understand."
"Understand what? That you were just flirting with me? That you rather be sleeping with Atom?"
She decks him.
"Walk out this cemetery while you still can!"
He wipes off his lip, maybe he did deserve that punch, and Beetle realizes he isn't the only man to come looking for her in this cemetery. The familiar metallic skin of Captain Atom is soon closer to the pale complexion of Nightshade.
All he sees next is the after effect of Nightshade's teleporting them away him. Her face looks sad to him. Maybe she is. There is no way to know. He is no mind reader. It is time to return to Charlton and that is when he gets word of what happen to the Watchtower II. Inwardly Jamie realizes he used up much of last night being drunk and indulging his fascination with an attractive woman with magical powers. Then again what human doesn't have something that sets them apart from the rest, but even if each knows that set apart quality, that doesn't make life any less hectic.
It doesn't leave anyone better or worse off, just more aware of the fickle nature of realities that most think of as existence. Plans and life contradict each other.
Nobody who acts like this, dresses likes this, or tries to go on like this is able to find out how to just live, but then the questions that remain are the ones that will always be in mind… just not always on tongue.
Question finally appears to know where to go to find Lord's hideaway, but then with all the other diversions in the last few months, how can even the conspiracy theorist be sure?
Beetle flies the 'Bug' back to Charlton.
He couldn't figure out Nightshade, but he'd bring the architect of his mentor's murder to justice. Lord might not have done the act himself yet he did hire those who did. He would prefer using a Javelin for this yet the Watchtower's destruction left the League in dire straits in terms of flyable craft so he would make do with his own resources. The plan this time is to prevent the probable destruction of the Metro Tower, which is the anticipated next target. A further implication is if or when should the League evacuate the place, but then there is no way to know when Lord will fire on it or if he intends to fire at all.
"A certainty is uncertainty," snorts Blue Beetle.
Somehow he expects that it will happen, it is just a matter of when.
Together they reappear on the moon and unaware of what happen mere hours ago yet such is time. It would be the first time he speaks rather than drown in memories or stare at old photographs.
"Time doesn't exist for me in this suit. I can remember what things felt like, but like photographs, memories are like the radiation I can manipulate for the task before me though as it soon as it done I just switch off, same with memories. I remember more than I feel. Emotions become foreign to me."
Nightshade generates an oxygen enclosure around them. It is done more so for her benefit since unlike Atom she can't breathe in the vacuum of space like him.
They stand somewhere between the far and the near sides of the Moon. Below yet not so far away is a blue orb and further out is a red one.
"Until the feelings had come with Betty back in your life and then when she died you felt like you were going back to the way you were before the reunion, to the way you were after so many years as Captain Atom. It happens to me too, but being around people makes it harder to feel like I could switch off."
Atom looks at her thoughtfully and knows it is taking considerable concentration to maintain the air bubble so he taps moves closer to her so she might reduce the size of the bubble to lessen the strain.
"I start to feel like a liar when I say she is the only woman I ever loved. Seeing you again after all the time I spent at Rockefeller made it difficult to not get angry after you teleported us away from the bombs. I had already come so close to losing her more than once yet like this I thought nothing was beyond me and the things I did while I was briefly part of Cadmus were…"
She caresses his metallic skin with her gloved hands and pulls herself closer to him, which shrinks the air bubble further. She begins to believe that she is with Nathan, not Atom.
"I would be a liar too if I didn't say I am without feelings for another man. You felt within reach, but I wasn't exactly going to force my way into your life so soon after she died especially when I thought maybe I could save her for your sake. I mean me jealous of Betty, I guess in some way I was, but even I couldn't entirely make my moves pure by taking you away from the bombs first…"
She did what she thought right, but even so it is invariably never easy. She took him away from the bombs and Betty. There was no way to save her, she told herself that, but around Atom… Nathan… it is harder to believe this. He looks almost at peace up here, but then Eve because of magic tends to believe that there are things in the world that have a calming effect on some.
"I went away to be up here. The Moon always held significance to me because I became a pilot with aspirations to fly in space. Air Force pilots in the past were among those recruited to fly orbital and lunar missions. The accident happened before I could go through the trials for the Mars Mission…"
The Mars Mission instead went to one of Nathaniel Adams' friends, John Allen Carter, but the real John Carter never return from Mars, appearances to the contrary. Carter and his crew were replaced by shape-shifters (aka the Invaders). The Invaders steadily began replacing individuals all over the world and they did not limit themselves to authority positions. It did surprise Atom slightly that Carter left the service in favor of politics because the Carter he had flown with years before paid more mind to the birds and the missions.
"My stepdad actually worked with the man everyone thought was John Allen Carter while the impostor ran for the Senate after 'returning' from Mars. The deception on the part of the Invaders was all too convincing for many, but there were still plenty of people who were suspicious…"
Together 'Carter' and Superman were the front men for global arms reduction, which many authority figures fervently opposed yet their rationale registers as dated to nearly anyone who hears it. The Invaders were patient, their infiltration was nothing short of calculation and cunning, but then everyone was paying too much mind to the tangles of their own lives. It might have been part of why Nathaniel Adams dreamt of flying through air into space if only to get away from made him sick of Earth.
"Hardly any took action against them, at least that I knew of, but I had no way of knowing who and who wasn't replaced by an Invader. They were equally convincing and persuasive. If I couldn't recognize that someone was impersonating Carter, what chance did the rest of Earth have?"
Few know let alone bother to learn the sacrifices that even just one make to save lives. It is those not-things that are always with the one who made said sacrifices. At the same time, there are some sacrifices that they never want to make, but often they happen anyway. Both Eve and Nathan know this because how else would they have become Nightshade and Captain Atom.
"We want to believe in a better world. The world however has other ideas as do the people that inhabit it. What we are will not change or go away. You either face it head on with all that you are or not."
She couldn't think of any other way to put it to him. Word precision is a slippery thing even for those who can say much with little. She wraps her arms in an attempt to warm herself up. Space is cold to her unlike Atom who thanks to his transformation is temperature resistant. From a comfort or discomfort standpoint it might be enviable, but it also takes away sensations that humans latch such importance to until it becomes mundane and predictable then after much exposure they long for it to end.
If too 'hot' they want it cool. If too 'cold' they want it warm.
Cold beverages, warm drinks, cold showers, hot baths, always with the alternating extremes.
Atom moves closer to her and the atmosphere bubble shrinks further until their bodies meet. They had only been this close twice before and both times in order to teleport away from somewhere, which hold awkward or bad memories for either of them. He feels so warm to her. She is trembling in his arms, he could see that plainly.
Jamie was right I do want to sleep with Nathan. I always did even before I became Nightshade. I felt safe with him, I still do.
She straddles him. He felt her leaning against him.
It was new trying to see if I could even still do this when Betty was still alive, but I didn't think I'd be trying again after what happen to her and especially to have Eve wanting me like that.
He runs his hands through her hair and she tightens her hold around him by spreading then locking her legs around his. Their lips follow suit. It wouldn't stay cold for long.
"I got drunk with Jamie," blurts Nightshade.
"You were alone," says Atom.
"I might have slept…"
"Not time for words…"
"Right… it is like lying under the sun…"
"Not quite a beach…"
"Anywhere in the universe…"
Her body feels electric when it connects to Atom. She audibly gasps after their palms latch onto each other. He is inside in her. She never felt quite as high as she does now and whispers encouraging words to him. He responds through not words, but movements. Her physical reactions only push to go further. They don't reach for the moon nor does it reach for them because they already are the moon.
Question, Huntress, Black Canary, and Green Arrow climb up through the underside of the 'Bug'. 'She' takes off once more and the destination stands to the north in the Arctic. If Question's latest suspicion proves to be correct the weapon used to blow apart the Watchtower is there and its power source is the Atlantean Doomsday Reactor. As for how it was brought back online that is suspect unless Lord or on his 'partners' found a way to turn it back on. The deeper worry is that the next target is the Metro Tower since it is now the only active League facility on Earth.
It is also the only facility spearheading the SAR operations to ascertain the fate of those that were aboard its once orbiting counterpart. Question didn't know why Lord would be doing this. He knows what happen in the months leading up to this. He was often around when the preceding events transpired. He had been where many of these events happened. No identity is a mystery to him so he is usually never unaware of whom he is dealing with and again it circles to back why. The elusive why in Lord's plan is still the mystery yet somehow the reveal feels so close to realization.
"So why fly to the Arctic while the others are heading up for SAR operations?" asks Blue Beetle.
"It is where the beam is estimated to have originated from, that's why," answers Green Arrow.
"How do we know this isn't another run around?" continues Beetle.
"We don't, but we can't let it fire again especially not with teams up there looking for survivors!" snaps Black Canary.
"Strange that Captain Atom has been out of the frame since before the blackouts."
"What exactly are you insinuating now?" hisses Huntress.
"He and Nightshade 'stepped' out," remarks Beetle.
Both women know that Nightshade has feelings for Atom. Question knows it too and as for Arrow he just tries to tune it out.
"We are going to one of the coldest places on Earth and you people are bickering about what those two are doing?" grumbles Arrow.
"Ol… Arrow, show some heart won't you?" groans Canary.
"I'm sorry. Stick to flying the ship," continues Arrow.
"Sure, anything for the mission," snorts Beetle.
The silence doesn't last long. Warning lights start blinking like mad.
"What more could go wrong today?" shouts Beetle.
"We have multiple problems, all of them relating to the propulsion system, and the thrusters are icing over too. It is the cold, it is freezing the heat release," interjects Question.
"We are losing altitude fast, if you aren't buckled in, you better do it now!" orders Beetle.
The altitude readout plummets faster than expected once the engines give out. Beetle rapidly runs his fingers across the dashboard in an effort to reroute power from other systems, but with the outside temperature being what it is, the attempt could be a wasted one. However he had no intention of dying out here. There is an audible stuttering from the engine intakes that means the ship is trying to warm up the engines, but all the malfunctions are screwing with the attempt to bypass the damaged connections.
"I'd really suggest you get the engines working before we either smash into the wall or worse drop into arctic waters!" quivers Canary.
"Arrow, you have reinforced titanium arrows right?" asks Huntress.
"Right, I see where you going with this, Beetle, open the hatch," says Arrow.
"You really going to start moving about before I can stabilize this thing?" quips Beetle.
"Unless you have any better ideas, I am going to try this one," replies Arrow.
The 'Bug' banks back upward. It is barely enough for it to clear the drop off thankfully.
Arrow fires off the reinforced arrows, which manage to dig into the frozen snow.
"Guess I'll figure out how durable these new gloves are then," yells Canary.
She grips the wire then slides out through the hatch in a folded position.
"I wonder why she isn't complaining about the cold with the way she's dressed," chuckles Beetle.
"I had a hard time trying to learn her stocking size, but I did just the same. They were one of several engagement gifts I got her," remarks Arrow.
"A girl's got to accessorize after all. Glad you took to my suggestion because we need more than one way to keep our legs warm," giggles Huntress.
Huntress winks at Question. She could tell he had a grin behind his mask from the way his jaw shifted at her comment about Arrow's gift to Canary.
Arrow fires off another reinforced arrow and Huntress rides the next one out. Canary is already running towards where it looks like Huntress will land.
"The engines are stalling again. The bypasses and reroutes are not ones I ever fully tested, especially not in Arctic weather conditions. I guess it is time to launch the snow cycles. You two get out of first. I have to keep her level. The third one will auto-launch with you," says Beetle.
Arrow and Question head aft to find a hidden compartment that house the said snow cycles. Both mount one then the bay door opens up. The docking clamps release and the cycles come to life on the way down so they fire the cycle engines up only to find themselves hovering slightly above the ground after a short free fall.
The women trudge across the snow towards the cycle riders. A third cycle flies away from the crash landing. Blue Beetle made it out, which is remarkable considering that the Bug looks as if it will never fly again. Arrow and Question descend allowing the women to ride with their men. The three cycles fall into formation then rocket across the frozen snow towards a man made spire hidden beneath layers of glacial snow drifts.
Its true nature is given away by the heat signature emanating from it because nothing else save the bodies riding the cycles is giving off any heat. The drifts blow away from the forward motion of the cycles as they fly straight across the almost flat ground.
Heavily reinforced doors part as the cycles pull closer to the destination and once inside the doors close behind them. They already suspect they were let in on purpose. It didn't matter if they were expected because the destruction of the Metro Tower had to be prevented because Lord had already gotten away with too much in the last several months.
Beneath the costumes are very driven personalities, but then they had to be more often than not.
Their profession is an extension of everything else that they are, for what else could they be or who for that matter?
Green Arrow and Black Canary take point. The two operate almost in tandem ever since that sparring match. They come from opposite sides of the 'track', but both are no less dedicated to doing right. Those two would have ended up together one way or another, the attraction is undeniable between them. In her, he found a woman worth the chase and one who would stand up to him in a way that none had before. In him, she discovers a man who cares immensely even though his actions often make little sense at first glance, but after you would see that he made the call despite personal consequences.
Oliver Queen as a multi-billionaire philanthropist can be ignored out of turn despite his wealth and earnest intentions to help the 'little' people. Dinah Lance is a capable leader and teacher in on her own right, but even in modern times the tensions between genders still run high. Her intention to marry Queen is taken as a step back for her by some while others privately wonder what Queen is thinking by marrying her with his family's reputation. Both are well aware of the talk, but it does little good to allow their lives to be ruled by 'talk', which is why both often would say they do more good dressing up and taking to the streets than they do putting up with the press among others.
Jamie Reyes both as an inventor and problem solver has spent years in the shadow of Ted Kord, but neither he nor Kord saw it as such. They were more than business associates and Reyes had no desire to be the front man as Kord always shined as, which is why some speculate that Dreiser is natural successor to Kord, if they only knew what Dreiser is really up to now. Dreiser has a free hand to twist the company however he likes, Reyes knows this, but there are some things more important than winning the board's approval. Of course Reyes similarly has developed an attraction to Eve Eden.
Eve Eden, stepdaughter of Senator Schneider and twin sister to Lucas, is also caught up in her own 'mess' and all of it ties back to her childhood with the exception of her romantic feelings for Captain Atom. She holds no love for her stepfather, not anymore, and she feels naturally awful about not believing Lucas' claims in the past. Her family fell apart because of many things starting with what really happen to her mother and for a time she lost her brother because they didn't agree about what happen to their mother. As a woman, she didn't want to invest her peace of mind in anyone else and she certainly doesn't look as if she likes the idea of anyone assigning her any kind of role least of all becoming someone's wife. In the guise of Nightshade, she can use her innate magical abilities like any other Homo Magi, but not even magic can dispel loneliness.
Captain Atom once Captain Nathaniel Adams was drawn to flying at a very young age because his father had been a pilot. His aspirations to fly and his seemingly nature gift of handling aircraft is what brought recruiters to him. In the end, he chose the Air Force because with them he stood the greatest chance of going to space or at least he thought so. One of his friendly rivals was John Allan Carter, but what neither knew was that then Colonel Eiling had them both shadowed by the recently promoted Major Zmeck. The eventual accident took Adams out of the running for the Mars Mission trials and Carter emerges as the leader of the mission. Nobody ever learned what to happen to the real John Carter or the others, but they were among the first to be replaced by the Invaders.
Huntress was not always a hunter, but it is the guise that she employs to do what she does best. Little Helena lost her parents to murder thanks to Mandragora who later claims it was nothing more than a business opportunity. He would also claim that it was within his power to kill her too, but said he spared her as she would never be a threat to him even when she later threatened to kill him as Huntress. She didn't go through with it because killing him wouldn't change the past and it would leave his son without a father. He was later killed by person or persons unknown. His death didn't surprise her because he had been arrogant enough to believe that they could never get to him, but dealing with the Illuminati is something completely different from dealing with the mob.
It is only in working with Question did she rediscover herself and feelings she never thought she feel again, but that is the change he made in her.
His is the face of the man that she loves more than she hated Mandragora for killing her parents. She did what she felt it took to get him back in her arms. He did remind of her crass remark about him wearing a full face mask, she couldn't take it back yet she could disagree with her own words. She rediscovers all the things she felt she never feel again through him and she could tell he thought he would never know them because he often would act as if he didn't deserve. She constantly is at it to show him otherwise why else would she be with him if only to relearn what is real between them and to hold onto all that is worth living for still.
The why behind Lord's actions against the League and costumes in general has yet to reveal itself, but something tells it to be tied to time travel though few if any have ever invented stable working time portals. Few with the exception of David Clinton devised a way to traverse the time space continuum with impunity. There are anomalies all of which I am aware, but the pieces that still elude me are the ones that neither Bruce or John would speak of, but the situation must have grown increasingly dire if Batman had to devise a program to undo whatever Clinton did after the last entry in the journal.
Now we must close the distance between us and Lord in order to prevent any number of futures without a Justice League and without costumes. Is that his plan to end us? It seems too simple, but can no longer afford to ignore any possibility no matter how improbable it looks despite Lord's remarkable intellect.
"Question… Q… babydoll," says Huntress.
"I'm… here… mind wandering… tangents happening on their own again," answers Question.
"We are almost inside… I need you to focus on me if that's what it takes to center your mind."
Once inside they find the welcoming committee led by Major Force.
"Welcome to the end of the line heroes," chuckles Force.
"Now I really wish Atom were here," whispers Beetle.
"Oh, do speak up Blue, I don't think everyone heard you," cracks Force.
"He's the only one who can match you power wise," continues Beetle.
"Yes, it is a pity, but I'll get to him later, we can end this quickly if you don't move."
"I wouldn't count on it!" shouts Arrow.
Green Arrow fires off a spread of arrows that bind Force temporarily.
Volcana starts billowing fire at Canary who decides to run towards the nearest wall with the hope that Volcana hadn't seen Glamor Slam the previous year. As she charges up the metal wall then vaults over the pyrokinetic except Volcana saw through the move so spins around to blast Canary. It sets Black Canary's leather jacket on fire. She screams in pain on the way down and the sound diverts Arrow attention too long so Question had to collide with him in order for both to evade Force's radiation blasts.
Huntress unhooks her cape and throws it onto Canary in an effort to put out the fire.
"God, this hurts," groans Canary.
"Just stay down," suggests Huntress.
"Help me up, you can't take her or Killer Frost on by yourself," reminds Canary.
"So be it Blondie," snorts Huntress.
"You are outmatched, we have more power between us than you two," interjects Killer Frost.
"Right… you feel right at home don't you Frost?"
Frost lets off long bursts of ice, which freeze Huntress' legs.
"I wouldn't recommend your sonic cry to break that because you might break her legs permanently."
"What would you suggest then?"
"Give up, your time is done."
"Not an option."
"Then die like the ones in orbit have."
Huntress pulls out a tool similar to one used by Batman when dealing with Mr. Freeze. It gradually thaws the ice while Beetle and Canary divert attention away from her. Number wise the odds were favorable, but the trio of Force, Volcana, and Killer Frost compensate with powers.
Volcana drops as something that resembles extinguisher foam neutralizes her pyrokinesis. Killer Frost likewise falls down as she suddenly looks too warm for her own preference and Force looks as if he already knows who is behind this 'back stab'.
"I had a feeling you weren't on our side anymore Wraith, but I am still going to kill your new friends."
The five starts scrambling in different directions trying to avoid the radiating bursts come from Force's fists.
Magical bolts start slamming into Force from random directions and Wraith is never in any one spot long enough for Force to attempt to target his opponent. Major Force can find no pattern in the random teleportation jumps so he instead tries to keep moving as well so that eventually might catch Wraith in the act of reappearing yet not ready to fire off another bolt. All the bolts so far have left micro-fractures in Force's containment, but none big enough to trigger a rupture as Green Arrow could tell given his previous experience with seeing first hand what a rupture could do to Captain Atom.
Green Arrow and Huntress continuously fire arrows and bows at Force, but he still disintegrates all. It however gives Wraith more 'breathing' room and irritates Force as he is still unable to effectively hit Wraith. Force shifts tactics by targeting those who cannot teleport knowing that would ironically force the teleporter to stand his ground to defend his sister's new allies.
He fires on Question and keeps firing though the conspiracy theorist is more agile than even the amoral radiation regulator expects. However he finally backs him into a corner as the only way away is up to go except there's no way for him to do so. Wraith appears between them and generates a barrier, which prompts Force to slam away at it with constant bursts.
The others run across the room with Huntress in the lead position of the four. She pulls out her retractable Bo staff then uses it to catapult herself across the distance, but it is at that moment that Force blasts a radiation burst in her direction.
"Save her, don't worry about me, now go!" demands Question.
Wraith teleports between Huntress and the radiation burst meant for her. It strikes him directly and he drops to the ground with much of his upper body burnt from the attempt.
Nightshade's eyes glow as if reacting to something external yet far away. Something had happen to her brother. She bolts up still embracing Atom's metallic skin. His confusion at her movement is natural and she had let her mind drift after they physically had worn each other out when linking to each other in a weightless environment. The bliss of having done so is rapidly wearing off as she feels Wraith's pain through their renewed magical bond. He is hurt, possibly dying, she had to go back to Earth, and there is no other way in her mind.
"Lucas is hurt. He has been burned by Major Force. Force was intentionally made using the same process they used to make you Atom. I need your help to save my brother Nathan," pleads Eve.
"The Moon beckons me. The Earth calls to you. I don't belong down there anymore. I'm not one of them, not since this. If you feel you must go… then go," suggests Atom.
"Don't be like this, not after we… I mean were you pretending or am I a fool for thinking that somewhere in there still exists a man named Nathan Adams?"
"I have his memories, his feelings, his thoughts, but everything since the accident that belongs to this guise, to Captain Atom."
"How do you expect the League or your friends to end this new conspiracy against them?"
"Nothing is ever over, but I am removing myself from the entanglement of the 'cycle'."
Nightshade feels tears welling in her eyes, tears shared by her and Eve because it feels like they had lost the man in the shell despite having found happiness for a time by connecting her body to his.
"If that's how you feel then why did we just do what we did?"
"I thought it was what you wanted, maybe some part of me did too, but maybe it was just my mind using my body to recreate the memory of having sex or as some call it making love. I can recall the emotions, describe the sensations, and more, but not how it feels to me like this."
"Why do I keep falling for the 'wrong' men? God, I am pathetic, if you are going to pretend to care than don't follow me back because I am not throwing myself at you again. I am saving my brother."
"You think I enjoy not knowing what is real or not real about me anymore? You think I like what I have become because of this? This is what I am, maybe all that I am!"
"If you weren't being this honest before I don't think I would have done what I just did, but then my soft spot at times often belongs to a man who has a way with words… whether its you or Jamie."
"He was the man I saw you with at the cemetery."
"A moment ago you didn't even sound like there was an 'us', now you sound jealous."
"It is merely recognition because he worked for the late Ted Kord."
"Right, he's the new Blue Beetle. He has been a great help in your absence. I got drunk with him the night before and quite possibly slept with him."
"I think you were trying to tell me this before we slept together, but then the mood or the imitation of the mood carried us away from conversation to sex."
"Can you just admit that we slept together, that you enjoyed it, that you are still Nathan!"
She trembles, her tears float away from her in zero gravity, and she tries to focus on teleportation. She had to return to Earth yet it is then that she feels his hand in hers. She smiles and they are ready to leave the Moon for Earth except that is when they see the remnants of the Watchtower in a decaying orbit.
"What happen to the Watchtower?"
"It looks like it was destroyed."
"Lord did this."
"Then we better hurry the Metro Tower will be next."
Nightshade teleports herself and Atom back to Earth's atmosphere then they fly towards the Arctic.
"Now where was I? Oh, right, back to the five of you and your deaths," quips Force.
Huntress lands a short distance from Wraith.
"You didn't have to do that y'know!" sigh Huntress.
"He wouldn't allow you to come to harm," groans Wraith.
"You have got a big heart, your sister would be proud," murmurs Huntress.
"Help me up before he gets a chance to shoot us again," insists Wraith.
She readily complies and they start to run away from Force.
In tandem Arrow and Beetle go after Force with what few gadgets they have left to them, which do little except to distract him long enough for Huntress and Wraith to stay ahead of his attacks.
"Time to end this," snarls Force.
Two separate bursts strike Force simultaneously, which hurdles him backwards through the far wall revealing the weapons' platform, which is now minus the actual weapon. The only other problem besides Force is the current location of the weapon.
"I guess you can all die together now!" yells Force.
His fists glow to the point that the release could incinerate the entire dome on contact.
"No!" screams Wraith.
Wraith teleports directly behind Force then latches his arms around Force before teleporting them both out of the dome and up to an altitude that should in theory lessen the damage from the release.
"Lucas!" shrieks Nightshade.
She races skyward with Captain Atom trailing after her. He knows such a release would kill any living thing within miles including her brother, her, and possibly even Atom himself, which meant he had to be the one to pull her away from an emotionally driven decision. The twist is not lost on him, but he would suspect that her brother wouldn't want her to die trying to save him from trying save her from Major Force. Nathan Adams is not just memories and photographs anymore. Atom picks up speed and attempts to put himself between the expected implosion and her. She wouldn't like, but if he is to keep her alive then he must be the one to hold her back from death.
"Get out of my way Nathan… I'm not losing him… I made that vow from the moment I knew he was alive again…" hisses Nightshade.
"Forgive me Eve… but I don't think he is doing this with the prospect of surviving it… you must fall back… there's no need for you to die while trying to save him from a decision he made to save lives!"
"Out of my…."
It is already too late… maybe it was always too late. Atom just didn't know anymore and instantly both saw the backwash of the implosion coming at them. Only he could see the faint outline of where Force and Wraith had been only minutes ago.
Nightshade plunges towards the wasteland below them. The shock of Lucas' death had come to her through their twin bond and now she truly is cut off from her true family though true love is another story. Atom dives after her at breakneck speed and the backwash is just behind them.
Those still on the ground were almost too stunned to move except for Question as Lord is still active as is his weapon to execute the final phase of the plan, the intended destruction of the Metro Tower and whatever remains of the Justice League within its walls. This could not come to pass, not so long as Question had the means to stop it. He charges ahead at towards the next chamber where the weapon was last night.
"Where is it?" grumbles Question.
"Still behind Question," declares Lord.
"Not for long… the platform has a limited firing arc, which is why you had to wait for the Watchtower to come into that exact position to fire it, but it took all these months to figure out how to turn the Atlantean Doomsday Reactor back on and modify it to the power weapon."
"Bravo, clever to the last, but from here that limitation is gone, first the Metro Tower and then where you are… it is the last stand of costume vigilantism… your kind is not of this world anymore."
"Says the renegade Illuminatus!"
"They call me a renegade, a fool, but it is they who have too long been content to manipulate from the shadows, from the back rooms, and why they allow your kind to continue operating is just their latest mistake."
"Mistake or not, we are here, nothing to change that, not even you."
"Oh, but I can change it… with this weapon."
"How long until it fires?"
"Not long enough for you to stop it. No more 'heroes' or 'villains' just those who can save the world from those who would destroy it."
"Be seeing you on the other side then."
"I'll be sure to drop roses on all the graves of the people who died for their ignorant loyalty to your kind."
The transmission cuts off, but it had given Question time enough to use a homing sensor to program a boom tube portal to Lord's orbital weapons platform.
If there's a later I'll be sure to thank Batman for the suggestion.
"How are we going to prevent him from firing the damn thing?" quips Canary.
"With this," answers Question.
"What is that?" asks Beetle.
"It is a boom tube remote," replies Atom.
"He must be stopped," insists Nightshade.
"Then let's go already!" implores Huntress.
The seven dash in rapid succession race into the portal.
There is audible crackle followed by a boom across the room from where Lord sits with calculations for the firing pattern in the computer targeting system. He swerves around ready to greet the unwanted guests yet he is not alone here. He still had one more hand to play against them. The platform's supercomputer had its own defense measures in the form of hybrid technology. Seven units stand ready to face the seven 'intruders'.
"OMACs eliminate them!" orders Lord.
Atom and Nightshade engage immediately then Arrow and Canary head into the fray. Question, Huntress, and Beetle made a run for Lord's position. Lord hits the enter command on his master control terminal. The mounted space based weapon is powering up at a speed comparable to a binary fusion gun.
"Earth's future is no longer in your hands, it is in mine alone!" declares Lord.
Question and Huntress move to tackle Lord except two OMACs grab them.
One of them used to be Mercy Graves and other was Sasha Bordeaux.
"What did you do these women?" gasps Huntress.
"Ending costume vigilantism is not without sacrifices and these two serve the role well."
"Then what was the point sending all those villains against us?" snaps Huntress.
"As Question here would say, all a diversion, all of it, right Mr. Sage?"
"If there is any humanity left in either of you ladies, resist what he has done to you!"
"They can't hear you."
"I wouldn't be so sure of that."
The OMACs holding Question and Huntress release them.
"You… what the hell did you do to me? God, to think I more than liked you!" screams Mercy.
Lord steps back to find the personalities behind the people who were the prototype for the OMAC implants turning on him.
"Its not the machine that resists you… its soul that you try bury in the machine that fights back!"
The seven watch with some confusion as the OMACs start to sabotage the weapons platform.
"Mercy… I am telling you don't do this… I am not the threat… the costumes are!"
"They typically don't kill anyone or mutilate anyone… not like what you did to me!"
"You can't say you would kill me!"
"If it meant getting away from men who know all too well how to exploit me then yes I just might!"
The power source of the platform is building up towards an overload that will by twisted happenstance coincide with the weapon discharge.
"Mercy… you and the others have to leave with us… we'll put him on trial!"
"I prefer to move straight to execution!"
"He may get just that when we tie everything he has done in the past several months back to him!"
She chucks him into an opening boom tube portal. Mercy, Sasha, and the other OMAC implants dive through the portal leaving the seven standing there as the warning lights indicate the platform is soon to implode in on itself. The seven follow head into the boom tube and moments later the platform explodes raining shrapnel into the atmosphere.
This threat did not appear to have world ending proportions to it, but then they would never know how far the OMAC protocol could have spread even with the purported intentions of Maxwell Lord in pushing for its creation. The process used to cybernetically alter the first squad of OMAC hosts was eventually reversed and the individuals flushed of the OMAC nanites. Maxwell Lord and his 'joint venture' associations were arrested then tried for their crimes. The Illuminati made sure of that though they would never admit it.
The Justice League was praised for its handling of recent disasters including the destruction of the Watchtower. Wonder Woman publicly thanked those who supported them through the ordeal of the past several months especially the staffers who had stood by the League through much in the past few years. Many had died in the destruction of the Watchtower, costume and staffer alike, but many more had been saved. Those who are left would be the ones forced to answer the same old questions like they had done before, but most would agree that Lord had gone too far.
Question like the rest of the League attends the funerals for those that were killed in the destruction of the second Watchtower. Nobody spoke of the possibility of building a third because there are fears of a repeat yet the loss of the first had served a more noble purpose in the minds of some. The second's end felt like a joke, nobody felt like laughing for a long time, but sooner or later there had to be more than tears mixing with the raindrops.
"Truth is stranger than fiction - fiction has to make sense," mumbles Question.
On some level, he is glad nobody heard him or so he thought nobody heard him. All the so-called epic battles fought by the League had what some might call anti-climatic 'finishers'. It didn't matter how they 'won', all that matters is that they made it to this moment where the mundane could matter more than the misery.
Oliver's and Dinah's wedding will be put off until summer as Dinah needs time to recover from her injuries while Oliver helps Jamie nail Dreiser for his involvement with Lord's 'Inner Circle'.
Eve didn't have another body to bury, but she did commission a head stone for Lucas Eden. People had to remember his sacrifice to save lives just as people had to remember Dan Turpin.
Senator Schneider's backing of Lord and his 'Inner Circle' would likely axe his political career. Justice is justice, it didn't matter who you were or what you did, and Schneider would learn that the hard way.
A/N 1: Watchmen nods throughout. Further tweaks to Atom's back story link him to John Carter and the Mars Mission from JL: Secret Origins. Ultimately I realized I couldn't reach a climax without someone dying and what could be more heroic than the tormented Wraith giving his life for others including his twin sister.
A/N 2: Lord's plan goes unfulfilled but the damage is done. Ultimately it turns out to be a battle of mind over matter between Lord and Question. It is foreknowledge fo things that might be that drove Lord to do what he did, but not even that justifies murder among other things.
A/N 3: Question's fourth wall breaking about the outcome is something I noticed myself about their big battles in that there's such build-up only for it to come down to narrow saves though like Question I do realize that if any one piece to fall into place the outcome could and would be different from what it is.
