Chapter XXXV: Infinity Crisis Act I: The Rings Part 1
Seven days ago…
Wally Barnes handed his girlfriend and fellow Avenger a hot cup of coffee as they shared stories about their past adventures. Stifling a laugh, the patriotic speedster went on. "Okay, so right now, I'm in real hot water. One more blast of this death ray, and I'm a white cross in Washington, D.C."
"Right." Marella chuckled.
"Right. Somehow, I manage to find cover, but I'm still healing from the last blow, and I'm nowhere near in any shape to run away. So what does Baron Von Degaton do?"
"He starts monologuing?" She couldn't hold back her smile anymore.
"He starts monologuing! Yes!" Wally rubbed his forehead as Marella laughed. "He goes off on this prepared speech about how 'feeble' I am. How 'inevitable' my defeat is. How 'the world will soon be his!' Yada yada yada."
"Yammering."
"Yammering! I mean, the guy has me on a silver platter, and he won't shut up!"
"What is it with supervillains loving the sound of their own voice?"
Suddenly, the couple was interrupted by a wailing police siren. With a gleam in their eyes, they ducked into an alley and changed into their respective costumes. Within seconds, the Flag was carrying Aqua-Mariner down the streets of New York at a five hundred miles an hour. As soon as they caught up with the police, they saw the source of their troubles; an armored bank truck that had been hijacked.
Aqua-Mariner jumped onto the roof of the speeding vehicle, stabbing her trident down into the engine. Meanwhile, the Flag used his incredible speed to remove the truck's wheels and move all the citizens on the street out of the way. When the truck finally stopped, Aqua-Mariner ripped off the roof and threw the crooks against a building wall and the Flag took the liberty of tying them up for the police.
"Um, excuse me, sir?" An excited schoolgirl held up her phone to the heroic couple. "Can, uh, can we please get a picture with you two?"
Wally glanced over at Marella, and the duo shared a smile. "Absolutely."
Five Days Ago...
Ever since the death of her cousin, Captain Hyper had taken it upon herself to watch over Ayesha Abdallah. Despite her responsibilities with the Justice Legion, Karen made sure to escort the teenage photographer to her grief counselor every week as well as answer her signal-watch whenever she was in danger.
She was just dropping her off back at her apartment before returning to check on Lois, when her friend invited her inside. "I was looking through some old recordings I've saved since I started my reporter career." Her fingers skimmed over her laptop's keyboard as she searched for the right file. "This was the first video I ever recorded."
She expanded the video to full-screen just as the feed was buffering. At last, the video started with a younger Ayesha recording Hyperman putting out a raging inferno in downtown Metropia with his hyper-breath. Luckily for her, no other reporters had shown up yet, giving her a prime opportunity to get his attention.
"Pardon! Hyperman! Hyperman! Pardon!" She was still struggling with English at the time this video was made, but she was determined to speak with him. "My name Ayesha! Can I ask you questions?! It's for my blog!"
"Of course." Hyperman smiled. "Anything for an aspiring reporter."
"Your symbol; um, is it really supposed to mean strength?"
"Yes, actually." Hyperman pointed at the bright insignia as he tried to explain it. "You see, it's supposed to resemble girders. They hold up my… um… y'know, my dad used to say 'strength is like your keys; easy to lose, but if you keep looking you'll find it.'"
"What's the heaviest thing you ever lifted?"
"Um… I'm not sure." Hyperman shrugged. "There's been plenty of asteroids I've been able to lift, but it's hard to tell how heavy those are in the vacuum of space."
"What's your favorite thing about Earth?"
Hyperman scratched his head, thinking of what to say. The Man of Might just couldn't come up with an exact answer. The video ended and Ayesha sighed, wistfully. "You know… he never actually answered that question." She said.
Karen smiled, sadly. "I never would have expected him to."
Three Days Ago...
Against his mentor's wishes, Tim Lopez was eager to meet his predecessor in Bludhaven. Jarvis was gracious enough to provide him with a lift, and contact Dick for him.
The two proteges of Gargoyle sat in a small diner, waiting to order their lunch. Tim had been asking multiple questions all at once, but Dick was reluctant to answer, seeing as how he and Matt fell apart. At last, the former Dare decided to ask a question of his own. "Why exactly do you want this lifestyle?"
"Are you kidding?" Tim scoffed. "This is the best job ever! I mean, look at all the perks. Being in the Justice Legion, kicking bad guy ass, working with the Gargoyle, protecting good people, driving the goddamn Gargomobile!"
Dick looked up from his menu with an envious expression. "He lets you drive the Gargomobile?"
Tim kicked himself. When the waitress got back, he just handed back his menu. "Nothing for me. I've already got my foot in my mouth."
Yesterday...
"I'm not quitting-quitting." Speedster-Man explained to the Flag as he cleaned out his locker. "It's just that… I'm getting ready for college soon, and I need to be prepared."
"I understand." Wally nodded with a sigh. "It's just that it feels like our Legion is getting smaller. Ever since I let Schmidt take Sharon-"
"That wasn't your fault." Selina insisted. "Red Zoom played us all for fools. If it weren't for you, Bart wouldn't exist anymore."
Suddenly, the entire facility trembled as a deafening sonic boom echoed in their ears. Blinding streaks of blue energy passed through the building, temporarily shorting out the building's power. After a few minutes of chaos, everything seemingly went back to normal. Sam came down from his quarters to find his friends. "What the hell was that?"
"Hey, guys!" Oliver called over the intercom. "Get your asses to the main hall! You need to come see this!"
["Hello?!"] The video feed showed a woman with blonde hair dressed in the Hornet suit outside the main entrance of the building. ["Wally?! Bart?! Is anybody there?! It's me, Sharon! I-I know you probably don't recognize me, but I've got hurt people out here!"]
Wally looked back at Selina and Bart. "Is this old footage?"
"No… that's the front door." Selina gasped.
After a few moments of hesitation, the Second Legion suited up and prepared for the worst. If this was a trap, they'd be ready to fight their way out of it. But as they approached the main entrance, Speedster-Man felt his accelerated-vision acting up in a way it never had before. As if it was synchronized with something else.
At last, he and his friends confronted their visitors. Behind the group outside was what appeared to be a transparent sphere with internal mechanisms. The group had their hands up in surrender, but Bart's accelerated-vision forced him to lock eyes with the only man of the group. He was dressed in a strange alteration of the Flag's costume; as if it were fit for someone in the Marine corps. But much to his surprise, he could sense that this man had the same accelerated-vision he had.
"You… you're like me. How?" Reluctantly, Bart waved for his friends to stand down. The newcomer stood shakily - silently - as if he were about to collapse. The woman sitting next to him cupped her hands over her mouth as tears ran down her face.
"After all these years, we finally get to see you with our own eyes." The man choked out.
"Okay, I have been extremely patient… for me." Speedster-Man snapped. "Who are you? How do you know Sharon? Where did you come from? Why are you here?"
At last, the man took off his mask, revealing that he too was crying. But based on the broad smile spread over his lips, Bart deduced they were tears of joy. "My name is Shawn Allen. This is my wife, Meloni." He replied, quietly. "We come from New York City in the year 2199… and we're looking for our son."
This time when Speedster-Man's entire world slowed to a crawl, it wasn't because of his accelerated-vision. The rest of his cohorts were equally stunned into silence. Finally, Bart took off his mask and found his voice. "Wait… y-you mean…? You guys…? You're…? You're my…? Dad?"
Shawn and Meloni couldn't contain themselves anymore; they rushed at their son with arms wide open and enveloped him in a loving hug. For the first time in his entire life, Bart was speechless. His legs grew weak, and he and his parents soon found themselves on their knees, crying tears of joy. All while the rest of the Second Legion and Shannon left to give them some much-deserved privacy.
Present day...
Tony Jordan had just finished his latest meeting with his board of directors and was now heading to his secluded home in upstate New York for the weekend. Due to his hectic lifestyle of philanthropy and superheroics, he had few opportunities to get any time to himself. But after calling in a few favors from the Justice Legion, he was finally free to spend the weekend with his best kept secret. A secret that took a considerable amount of money to keep safe, but at the end of the day, he had no doubt that it was all worth it.
At last, he reached the luxury two-story cabin and pulled into the garage. Stepping out of his vehicle, he made a beeline for the workbench to finish construction of his anniversary gift to Pepper. "How's it going, Friday?" He asked.
["Good evening, Mr. Jordan."] The artificial intelligence. ["All security parameters are functioning at full capacity. No uninvited guests have entered the premises. And Hallie is secure."]
"That's what I like to hear, Friday. Take the rest of the night off." Tony smiled as his A.I. powered down, then he went back to his latest project. It had taken years, but he finally managed to duplicate the arc reactor. As he synchronized the violet-hued energy source with the nano-technology, he couldn't help but remember the cave in Afghanistan where he first met the man who built the original arc-reactor and saved his life.
When the two first met, Dr. Yinsen Scott claimed that he created the arc reactor from a damaged power battery he found inside an extraterrestrial spacecraft. Tony hadn't believed his claim at first, but after further examination of the reactor's basic structure, he discovered that the material didn't exist on the periodic table of elements. But whatever the reactor was made of, Tony was only concerned with using his new lease on life to make the world a better place.
However, Tony was brought out of his reminiscent daze when he noticed that the control-ring for the new armor was missing. Standing up from his seat to see if it fell off the table, he found an incriminating candy wrapper laying on the floor. With a soft chuckle, he exited the garage and made his way to the backyard where he found a makeshift teepee built from a child's bedsheet.
"Hallie Ferris-Jordan." He called, sternly. "You have five seconds to explain why you were snooping around my workshop again."
The tent's fabric rustled and a four-year-old girl with red hair climbed out. Sure enough, Tony spotted the violet control-ring on his daughter's little finger. The armored Avenger took her into his arms as she handed it over to him. "Sorry, daddy…" She whimpered, sheepishly. "I just wanted to see the pretty ring you made for mommy."
"Aw, it's okay…" Tony smiled as he examined the violet control-ring. "Mommy never likes the jewelry I get her, anyway."
After a soft kiss on her forehead, Tony instructed Hallie to head upstairs and wash up before dinner. Unfortunately, he had been so preoccupied with thee girl, he failed to notice his wife's car had pulled up in front of the garage. His better half stood in front of his workbench, examining each piece of the armor. "Uh… happy anniversary?"
"Most husbands get their wives a box of chocolates and a necklace for that sort of thing." Pepper snorted without looking up.
"I'm not most husbands." Tony countered as he hugged her from behind. The couple shared a loving kiss before she turned around.
"You know, I'm not sure I'd want to try juggling my half of the company and being a superhero like you do." She said.
"I never intended for you to." He replied. "But the whole Ultriac thing got me thinking; if I can't put a suit of armor around the whole world, then I'll just put one around my world."
"Oh-ho, you're smooth, fly-boy." She teased.
"It's just a precaution." He promised. "So that there are no more surprises."
"Tony Jordan!" A portal materialized out of thin air, and the couple found themselves in the company of Dr. Zatanna Strange, Johnny Blaze, Sister Voodoo, Captain Thunder, and Helldagger. Tony urged Pepper to stand behind him as Zatanna stepped forward. "I am Dr. Zatanna Strange. I'm sorry to approach you like this, bu my associates and I need you to come with us. We're not over-selling it by saying the entire universe is at stake."
"And who's 'we?'" Tony was prepared to activate his ring and send this woman back to where she came from.
"Hey, Tony…"
Tony's mouth fell open once the young adult followed Strange through the portal. Reaching into his back pocket, he opened his wallet and pulled out a photograph he had cut out from Ditko High's yearbook. Pepper remembered something Tony had said about it, but at the time she couldn't recall why it meant so much to him. Until he finally spoke again. "... Ronnie?"
"Yeah…" The nuclear hero flashed a tired smile as he approached his former mentor. "Yeah, I'm… I'm back. Hey, Ms. Ferris."
"Hi…" Pepper's voice cracked.
"Ronnie, I… I don't…" Tony rested both his hands on the boy's shoulders, locking their eyes in an affectionate gaze. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine…" Ronnie yawned. "Kinda hungry, though."
"W-where have you been? We all thought-"
"Long story short, Dr. Selvig's machine somehow teleported me across the universe when I destroyed Ultriac, and now I'm back.But for now, you have to listen to what these guys have to say." Ronnie pointed behind him towards the mystic and alien heroes. Jihnorama and Kyle Alexander stepped forward to join the nuclear hero.
"Greetings, Man of Emerald." Jihnorama bowed in respect. "I am Moon Dreamer of the planet Braal. If what Ronald Powell has told me is true, you just might be able to help us defeat Darkanos."
Tony nodded, uneasily, before addressing her friend. Surprisingly, he wore a green ring with an insignia similar to his own. "And you are?"
Kyle noticed the ring on Tony's finger and made his helmet dissipate to get a better look. "Where did you get that?" He asked, bluntly.
Tony held up his fist. "Where'd you get yours?"
Ignoring the question, Kyle used his own ring to scan Tony's hand for analysis. At last, a robotic voice gave him an answer. ["Analysis complete. Green Nova Ring of space sector 2814. Drastic alterations made to ring's infrastructure as well as its designated power battery."]
The Green Nova's eyes flared with anger. He grabbed Tony by the scruff of his shirt's collar. "Where is he?!" He demanded. "What have you done with K'Thol Sur?!"
Tony's arc reactor automatically created a forcefield around him, blasting his aggressor away from him. But in doing so, his shirt had been torn open, revealing the green energy source underneath. "I always hoped it wasn't true." Kyle wiped his mouth as he stood up. "K'Thol Sur was murdered. And you stole his power ring and battery!"
"Look, kid!" Tony snapped. "I don't know who you think you are, but I didn't steal anything! A friend of mine named Yinsen found this arc reactor and helped me mold it into a life-support system!"
"Liar!" Kyle snarled. "K'Thol Sur's last mission was a deployment to this sector to deal with a simple insurgency! At first, it was assumed he had been killed, but his ring never went to find a replacement! It never even returned to Xandoa! Now, I know why!"
["Warning: power levels approaching 0%. Recharge required."] The Green Nova officer inspected his ring; in all the excitement, he had forgotten that he hadn't charged his weapon in over twenty-four hours.
"Here. Let me show you exactly what you've stolen." Kyle held the insignia of his ring against the battery implanted in Tony's chest. To the billionaire's surprise, the green energy began to flow from his arc reactor into the ring. "In brightest day, in darkest night, no evil shall escape my sight. Let those who worship evil's might, beware my power; Green Nova's light."
["Recharge complete. Power levels: 100%."]
As the brilliant light finally died down, the disgruntled space patrolman loosened his grip on Tony's arm, glaring at him. "I used to live on this planet. I was orphaned when I was only ten years old.." He grumbled. "K'Thol Sur found me on one of his missions. He took me in. Raised me, trained me, prepared me to be the Green Nova of my space sector. He was everything to me. And you disgrace his good name with the shameful way you've abused his power battery."
"Enough!" Zatanna interjected, sternly. "We don't have time for this! The fate of the universe is at stake, and you two are squabbling like children!"
"Please, Mr. Jordan." Voodoo begged. "We can explain everything to you in the sanctum."
Tony looked back at his wife, not wanting to leave his family again so soon. But Pepper had always understood how important her husband's work was, and silently nodded for him to go ahead. The philanthropist sighed in regret. "So much for no more surprises." He thought to himself.
Once they were back in the New York Mystic Sanctum, Zatanna thought it would be best to explain everything from the beginning. "As a universal law, no one can know the approximate details of how the universe was created." She narrated as Kyle used his ring to illustrate her story with a construct of the universe. Tony marveled at how detailed the constructs were compared to his own. Zatanna continued her story as the images shifted in unison. "But what we do know is that after it was created, it also gave birth to six rings. Each one representing a certain aspect of the known universe; Space, Power, Reality, Soul, Mind, and Time."
Zatanna held up her own ring to demonstrate before Kyle's construct shifted into what appeared to be a mathematical equation: "FEAR + LONELINESS + DESPAIR + DEPRESSION - SELF-WORTH + MOCKERY + MISUNDERSTANDING x SHAME x FAILURE x JUDGEMENT. LOVE = LIES. LIFE = DEATH. FREE WILL = NOTHING."
"What is this?" Tony asked.
"This is the Anti-Life Equation." Sister Voodoo explained. "That madman Dr. Strange mentioned is obsessed with it. In layman's terms, the Anti-Life Equation proves to anyone who reads it in its true form that all hope and free will are meaningless. This, in turn, transforms the victim into a mindless shell. Any shred of free will that remains is locked away into the deepest part of the victim's mind."
"And this guy wants to get this equation and the rings?" Tony asked. Sister Voodoo, Zatanna, Blaze, and Captain Thunder all nodded in unison. "Tell me his name again."
"Darkanos!" Ronnie walked towards his former mentor. "He's nothing like any of us have ever seen before, Tony! He's a plague! He invades planets, he takes what he wants. He has manipulated hundreds of people all over the known universe! He's the one who sent Circi. The attack on the Raft. The Legion's first mission together. That's him! He already has the Soul, Power, Reality, and Space Rings! That already makes him the most powerful being in the universe. If he gets the last two Rings and combines their power with the Anti-Life Equation-"
"He can wipe out free will on a scale hitherto undreamt of." Sister Voodoo finished.
For once in his life, Tony was completely speechless. There was no witty remark or humorous quip that could lighten the mood. The fate of the entire universe was at risk, and that was no laughing matter. Eventually, he came up with a seemingly obvious solution. "Okay, well, if Darkanos needs all six, why don't we just toss this one down the garbage disposal?" He suggested, pointing to the orange cosmic ring around Zatanna's finger.
"Uh-uh. Not gonna happen." Zatanna shook her head in defiance.
"That Ring is the only defense Earth has against Trigammu." Blaze rang in.
"We have sworn to protect it with our lives." Voodoo added.
"Yeah, and I swore off artificial flavoring." Tony shrugged. "But then, a sports drink company named a flavor after me, so…"
"'Emerald Man Lemon-Lime.'" Zatanna nodded. "It's a little tangy."
"'Firehawk Fruit Punch' is my favorite." Captain Thunder smiled.
"That's a thing?" Ronnie shook his head, trying to get the group back on track. "Okay, the point is; we have this Ring. We know where it is. Mirage is out there, somewhere, with the Mind Ring. We need to get to them and protect them from Darkanos."
"Yeah… that's gonna be a problem." Tony rubbed the back of his neck, uncomfortably. "About a week ago, Mirage disabled their tracking device and went A.W.O.L."
"What?" Ronnie groaned. "Tony, you lost another robot?"
"No! I didn't lose them!" He corrected. "Something about them changed. They're becoming colder. Distant. They're not evil at the moment, but they made certain that I couldn't find them."
"Well, is there anyone who would know where to find them?" The demonically-possessed stuntman crossed his arms, waiting for an answer.
Tony sighed. "... the Flag might."
"Oh, Jesus." Blaze muttered in annoyance. Strange and the other mystic heroes looked equally depressed, much to Ronnie's confusion.
"So?" He shrugged. "Call him."
"... it's not that simple." Tony explained. "God, we haven't caught up in a spell, have we?"
"No?"
"Things have changed. Flag, Thunder Woman, and Hyperman got killed. The Justice Legion split up. There's a new Flag with his own Justice Legion, but he and I aren't really on the best of terms right now."
"Split up?" Ronnie blinked. "What, you mean like a band? Like those British guys?"
"Oh, come on." Tony huffed. "You're old enough to know the Beatles."
"The who?"
"Them, too."
"Look, Tony… this is serious." Ronnie replied, gravely. "Donna might be dead. It doesn't matter what happened while I was gone. This is bigger than anything we've faced before. We need all the help we can get."
Reluctantly, Tony reached into his pocket, fishing out the outdated cell phone saved only for calling the Second Legion. With a heavy sigh, he flipped it open and prepared to dial the only contact number. But before he pressed the call button, he felt a distinct chill creep down his spine. His ring emitted a familiar whine to indicate danger. Putting the phone away, he led the others out of the sanctum and into the street. The citizens of New York were in a state of panic as an alien spaceship hovered above the city's skyline.
But while Emerald Man and his allies were busy protecting the civilians from the ensuing chaos, they failed to notice the cloaked figure watching all the drama unfold. "And so it begins…" He muttered, gravely.
To Be Continued!
K'Thol Sur (Abin Sur/K'Thol)
Author's notes: I can't believe it's taken me this long to post this chapter. But I am determined to finish this story. Please leave a review and be patient for the next chapter.