4 Justice League Darkness
"So where did you get the new get-up?" Maxi-Man asked Galatea.
Galatea glanced down at her attire. With her costume shredded by the Orion replicant, she'd turned to the ISA for a replacement. They'd provided her with a black jumpsuit. She had her own white boots and gloves along with her traditional gold belt. The jumpsuit was unzipped to her waist and she wore a white tank top underneath.
She smiled, "I got it from the ISA's armory. Why? Do you like the 'new' me?"
He grinned, "There was nothing wrong with the 'old' you. I like your old costume. It's become part of your identity. You look fine in this outfit but it doesn't seem to be 'you.'"
"Why I thank you, sir." Galatea demurely bowed her head, "I happen to agree."
"I mean, you look awfully good in your regular costume. Damn good." Maxi-Man blurted.
She smirked, "Why Henry, are you flirting with me?"
"Yes, I am." He confessed, "You're spoken for so nothing will come of it, so where's the harm?"
"Yeah, but that's how a lot of people get un-spoken for." Tea reminded him.
"It'll take a lot more'n me to break you and Blackhawk up. That's obvious." Maxi-Man assured her, "Besides, I'm the idol to millions. I can't get involved with someone and disappoint my legion of hot, single, and female fans now can I?"
"Millions?" she asked dryly.
"Okay. Thousands." He relented. Seeing her piercing gaze aimed right at him he finally shrugged, "All right. A coupla hundred. Oh, stopping looking at me that way. There's a few dozen that send me fan mail. But, that doesn't count the silent majority, does it?"
Galatea knew enough about American history to loathe Richard Nixon for that little axiom. She opted on downplaying the probable reality, "Sure. I guess. I don't get any fan mail so you should feel lucky."
"You don't?" Maxi-Man was incredulous.
"No one knows who I am." She explained with a tinge of sadness to her voice, "The few that recognize me think I'm still with the Legion of Doom. That's my legacy. I'll probably get fan mail from murderers and rapists."
"Vapor did say our official GG website went up last week. Just wait and see who sends you mail." Maxi-Man suggested.
"All right. I'll do that." She said to placate him.
Henry Hayes knew what she'd done but he let it go. She'd see soon enough. Once the Global Guardians got rolling they'd have as many fans as the Justice League. He just knew it.
"I hate to break this little soiree up but we're entering North Korean airspace. These people do not like us so expect trouble at every turn and not just from the Legion." Supergirl announced, "The Koreans are actually our biggest threat."
"Now, satellite imagery has the Legionnaires camped out in front of the main metro station. Why they're there is anyone's guess. We've picked up two new players as well. One appears to be an ersatz Green Lantern right down to the fact that he looks exactly like our GL. The second is identical to Superman but he wears a big 'U' on his chest instead of an 'S' shield like we're used to. Their powers are unknown but best estimates say the doppelgangers have similar abilities to our people." Kara continued.
"So their weaknesses would be the same?" Starman ventured.
"If the theory holds true then, yes." She answered.
"I'll take the Lantern. My yellow solar rays are the best defense against his emerald ring." He declared.
"I'll take 'U'-Man." Galatea volunteered, "No offense Kara, but I'm stronger and have better fighting skills than you."
Supergirl grinned, "Point taken. He's yours. Maxi-Man, we have an opponent right up your alley. The subhuman King Kull is down there. You two should be a match made in hell."
"Mary, that gives you the Enchantress and I'll take Superwoman." Kara finished her list.
"But…" Mary began to say before being cut off by Supergirl, "Sorry Mare. My vulnerability to magic makes me an unlikely winner in a contest against her. The Enchantress is magic and so are you. You stand the best shot out of all of us of beating her."
"Poop." Mary grumped, "But…"
"I thought this was settled." Kara said dismissively.
"Would you just listen to me?" Mary asked, "What about Sivana? Early reports had him here as well."
"He is here. He just fell off the grid." Supergirl admitted.
"We've got trouble." Mary realized.
"That's what I've been saying." Kara sighed.
"No. Sivana is trouble like you've never faced before." Mary insisted.
"Hello? Luthor." Supergirl retorted.
"Okay, so maybe you have." Mary conceded.
"Now that that's settled, keep a sharp eye out for missiles." Supergirl advised.
"How about I take us to the deck?" Mary asked.
"Good plan." Kara agreed.
Having travelled in an air traffic route assigned to commercial aircraft no missiles were fired until they deviated from it. Once the first missile was loosed then scores of others followed in its wake. The Orb-14's ECM suite did its best to ward off the barrage. For those that did lock on, Mary threw the craft into evasive and the computer launched chaff or flares depending on the type of missile.
Mary eventually maneuvered below radar. Point in fact; she maneuvered out of the air. She sat the Orb down on a major roadway headed into Pyongyang. Her intention was to drive to the city. She passed several trucks…including troop transports. Kara noted this, "We should expect a lively reception."
"We'll just fly over any roadblocks." Mary promised.
"Good thinking." Supergirl commended her.
It took 45 minutes to reach the outskirts of the city. They reached their first roadblock and Mary floored it. Running through the toll gate style barrier they took fire from nearby machine gun emplacements. The bullets harmlessly bounced off. An RPG detonated on the Orb's flank and merely served to throw the van off course. A quick steering correction and they were back on track.
At the next roadblock tanks served as the barrier. They opened fire as the League vehicle swiftly approached. Mary took the van into the air and sailed over the Korean troops. This time an RPG nailed the antigravs generator and the Orb sank back down to the ground. It hit with its tires rolling and they sped away. They were mere minutes from the metro station now.
They rolled into the station to find the Legionnaires waiting for them. The assorted heroes stepped out of the Orb and stared down their opponents. The Legionnaires struck first.
Power Ring took to the air and unleashed a hammer. Starman intercepted the hammer and blasted the ring construct with yellow solar rays. The hammer still swung down upon him but it shattered as it struck him. Gavyn unleashed a solar bolt aimed squarely at Power Ring. The Earth-3 villain blocked it with an emerald shield. They were evenly matched for a second but the ersatz GL sent constructs around to either side of Starman and brought them in on him. Starman radiated a "nova" burst that dissipated the ring-born creations. Sadly, this weakened him and Power Ring pounced upon the opportunity to deal with his enemy.
Creating a spear, he harpooned Gavyn's side. Starman cried out and took hold of the weapon. He tried flushing it with solar energy but he was too weak and his wound was too great. Teetering on the edge of unconsciousness, he desperately sought a means to attack Power Ring.
Ultraman took to the skies. Galatea followed him and when she reached arm's distance she threw a punch. He was rocketed into the distance. She hovered in place for a second, "Maybe he wasn't so tough after all."
Ultraman flew at her at supersonic speed. Catching her by the waist he carried her to the main square. Pushing Tea out in front of him and plowed into the ground. Gauging out a quarter mile strip he came to rest on top of her and began pummeling her with his fists.
Maxi-Man met King Kull's charge with a right cross. The subhuman barbarian dropped his club. Maxi-Man tossed it away. It flew for almost a thousand feet before it went through a nearby car window. Kull saw this and snarled. He came at the Guardian with his fists flying.
Maxi-Man blocked a left jab and responded with a left to Kull's gut. Kull landed a right cross. Maxi-Man staggered backwards. Henry Hayes was discovering something. While he and Kull both possessed superhuman strength, neither one of them possessed any form of invulnerability. That meant that he could beat Kull into unconsciousness even faster than usual when dealing with super folk. Of course, the barbarian had figured out the same thing. The battle was about to intensify.
Mary flew in at the Enchantress. June Moone created a mystical wall of fire that engulfed Mary. Mary spun in a circle like the Top would and she blew out the flames. Next, Moone animated several nearby bicycles. They wrapped themselves around Mary. Next the Enchantress hands glowed as she whirled her hands around. The concrete beneath Mary began to swirl. June held her hands up and the concrete formed a pair of hands and raised themselves up to either side of Mary. The Enchantress clapped her hands and the concrete "hands" smashed in on Mary and stayed there.
Inside of the Enchantress, June Moone quailed at the thought of hurting Mary. The dark entity known as the Enchantress, created by the darkest of magics, reveled in her apparent victory.
Supergirl confronted Superwoman, "So who are our newest playmates?"
"They're members of my Crime Syndicate from Earth-3." Superwoman laughed, "Ultraman is my world's 'Superman'. Of course, the dolt may be powerful but he's as intelligent as a mule. The other is our 'Green Lantern' code-named Power Ring. The Power Ring Corps is dedicated to controlling each and every world by any means necessary. Since the Crime Syndicate lost control of our Earth, he's in disgrace and it was easy to convince him to join me while 'your' Luthor devises a way to defeat 'our' Luthor."
"Puh-lease, parallel worlds give me headache." Supergirl groaned, "Just say, 'they're my buds.'"
"You impertinent little…!" Superwoman fumed, "You'll die for that!"
The Amazon threw herself at Kara. Superwoman was a flurry of punches and kicks. Supergirl was reeling before she saw a pattern in her opponent's style. Drawing on skills learned in the 21st and 31st Centuries she counterattacked.
Superwoman lost the initiative and that infuriated her. Losing her temper just made her attack less coordinated and she forfeited a defense. Supergirl knocked her out within five minutes time. She turned and saw her teammates in trouble. Estimating that Starman was in the gravest peril she went to intervene.
Gavyn saw Supergirl streaking in and he marshaled all of his strength into one last solar flare. Power Ring's ring constructs and personal shield failed him. He was easy prey for Kara's fist. With the GL wannabe down she concentrated her efforts on getting a med pack out of the Orb and treating Starman's wound.
Galatea held her arms up in a blocking fashion and deflected Ultraman's blows. She lowered her arms down enough to peer over her fists. She flashed the Kryptonian in the face with her heat vision. He yelped and held his face in his hands. She planted her feet and reared up her legs and torso. This pitched Ultraman forward into her swinging fist.
That knocked him over and Galatea scrambled to her feet even as her enemy did so as well. Ultraman was livid, "You hurt me. You'll die for that."
"Puh-lease. Get a new threat. That one's been tried before." Tea mocked him, unknowingly copying Supergirl.
He snarled and rushed forward at super speed. She met his nose with her fist and that stopped him cold. While he cradled his orifice, she levitated into the air with her arms outstretched. She coiled her legs underneath her and lashed out with a savage kick that caught Ultraman's head. He went down and she floated back down to the ground. Coming to his stunned form she delivered one final kick to his face. Seeing that he was down for a while, she moved on.
A rumble began to echo in the Enchantress's ears. Cracks formed on her concrete hands. Seconds later, the shattered and Mary stood revealed. Her bicycle bonds were torn to shreds. To make matters worse for June Moone, Mary was irritated now. She rushed forward and knocked the Enchantress out with a single punch.
Looking around she noted that Maxi-Man and King Kull were hard at it. She knew firsthand how powerful Kull really was. Maxi-Man was holding his own but he couldn't seem to gain an advantage. Maxi-Man was trying to use superior technique to beat Kull. The subhuman barbarian was using wild, frenzied blows to rout Maxi-Man. Mary decided to intervene.
She flew in behind Kull and tapped him on the shoulder while the Guardian reeled from his latest attack. With a mighty bellow and a backhand he knocked Mary over. The sight of that was too much for Maxi-Man. He threw himself at Kull and threw everything he knew into it. At the end he finished Kull off with a right-left-right combination. Kull woozily stood in place while Maxi-Man cocked back his fist for another blow. Kull toppled over and Maxi-Man kicked him to make sure he was really down.
He rushed to Mary's side, "Are you okay?"
She grinned, "I'm fine. What was that at the end? I thought I'd have to help you, but wow! You took him out like he'd never stood a chance."
"I just thought that he'd hurt you." Maxi-Man suddenly gushed, "I couldn't let him do that."
"You couldn't?" Mary asked.
"No. Because I… Well shucks, ma'am; I couldn't live with myself if he'd hurt you. I…" Maxi-Man faltered.
"You what?" Mary whispered.
Maxi-Man leaned in until his lips were just a hair's breadth away from hers, "Because I…"
"Ahem." Tea cleared her throat and it caused Mary and Maxi-Man to bump heads, "I think we still have problems."
Mary wore a goofy grin while she rubbed her forehead, "Tell me about it." She glanced over and was relieved to see Maxi-Man wore the same embarrassed smile.
"What's the prob?" Mary asked as Maxi-Man helped her to her feet.
"Remember Sivana?" Galatea asked, "You're the one who made a big deal about him. He still hasn't been seen. I've worked alongside the runt. He's as dangerous as you said. Until he's rounded up we're in danger."
"I agree." Supergirl said as she approached. Behind her Starman's bandage could be seen through the puncture hole in his costume. Dried blood soaked the surrounding area.
"Yeah, but where did the dwarf get to?" Maxi-Man asked.
"I AM NOT A DWARF!" Sivana's amplified voice rang out across the square. Six trains pulled forward out of the station. They then came together and began to merge. As they connected they assembled themselves into a humanoid shape. At the top of the body inside of the "head" Sivana could be seen strapped into a harness. He lifted his right arm and the exoskeleton copied his motion.
"Cool! A Transformer!" Maxi-Man exclaimed.
Everyone looked at him. He sheepishly replied, "I used to play with them when I was a kid… Never mind."
"What'll take to get you to surrender?" Supergirl shouted.
"NOTHING WILL MAKE ME SURRENDER." Sivana replied, "I AM IN THIS TO THE DEATH…YOUR DEATHS!" With that out of the way, Sivana attacked.
