Chapter XXXV: Infinity Crisis Act I: The Rings Part 2
Zandoa
Peter Ranzz - alias, Lightning Lord - and his Legends of the Galaxy had picked up a distress signal from their ally, Kyle Alexander, and were set to meet him at the Corps' capitol. But none of them were expecting to find an unconscious Corbinite floating amongst multiple deceased Green Nova officers. Tyamorra took the controls while Krinn put on one of the spacesuits and went outside to help the stranded woman. Once back inside, the Braalite laid their guest on the ship's holo-table where Violet began treating her injuries.
As the patient's arm hung down, the hammer attached to her wrist fell to the floor. Krinn first tried to lift it using his powers over magnetism, but the weapon wouldn't budge. Confused, he bent down to pick it up with his own hand, but he still could not lift it. "Don't bother…" Donna muttered, summoning the hammer into her palm.
After stitching her wounds up, Violet helped the Thunder Woman sit up as Peter offered her a bowl of broth to build her strength back up. She then told them about Darkanos' plot to gather all six Infinity Rings and the Anti-Life equation, and how she had failed to stop him. "There's another group of survivors on the surface." She said in between spoonfuls. "They can help us find out where Darkanos is going."
"The Forbidden Realm." Everyone turned to see Tyamorra furiously typing at the ship's onboard computer. "Despite recently using the Space Ring to grant himself limitless transportation throughout the universe, Darkanos had always utilized a personal Mother Box to transport himself using boom tubes. After years of study, I've finally found a way to detect traces of residual boom tube energy. And every time he uses a boom tube, it always leads back to the Forbidden Realm." She scoffed and crossed her arms. "Not surprising. Being the last of his kind, that despicable monster has nowhere else to go."
Donna couldn't help but notice the bitterness of her tone. "How do you know so much about Darkanos?" She asked, taking another sip of her food.
"Tyamorra… is the daughter of Darkanos." Krinn answered.
Donna immediately looked up from her broth with a cold glare. "Your father… killed my brother…" She growled. She dropped the bowl, getting up from her seat and marched towards the green-skinned assassin.
"Uh, step-daughter!" Peter stepped in front of Tyamorra for protection, but Donna easily pushed him aside. Regardless, he persisted in trying to talk the Corbinite down. "A-adopted, technically! Look, she hates him just as much as you!"
Tyamorra was prepared to defend herself, if necessary, but the Thunder Woman didn't attack. Instead, she sighed and patted the older woman's shoulder, sympathetically. "Families can be tough." She said. "Before I became Thunder Woman's protege, I had over twenty-six other brothers and sisters. Each of them joined Corbine's military and fell in combat. And then Thunder Woman's sister tried to kill both of us on more than a few occasions. Then they both died fighting the Olympian gods…"
"Yes, well, this is all very fascinating." Violet cut in. "But shouldn't we be going after Darkanos now? If he's gathering up the Rings, he'll be unstoppable pretty soon."
Donna looked down at Mjolnir. The enchanted hammer had proven nearly useless against the mad god. If she was going to attack him again, she would need a stronger weapon. Looking around the ship's hull, she spotted a reconnaissance ship. "You four can go to the Forbidden Realm." She said. "I request permission to use your smaller ship."
"Where are you going?" Peter asked.
"Nidavellir."
"That's a made-up word!" Krinn accused.
"All words are made up." Donna retorted as she continued to fiddle with the pod's controls.
"Nidavellir is real?!" Violet jumped up on the holo-table, excited. "Seriously?! That place is a legend! They make the most powerful, deadly, horrific weapons that ever tormented the universe! I would very much like to see it, dear madam!"
"The kitten is correct. And obviously the smartest among you." Donna smiled.
"Kitten?" Violet arched an eyebrow before Donna leaned down to look her in the eyes.
"Is it safe to assume you must be the captain of this misfit crew?"
"You're very perceptive." Violet crossed her arms with a smug grin.
"Would you be willing to accompany me on my quest?"
"Well, I'd love to." Violet grinned, enjoying the annoyed look on Peter's face. "Lemme just see if it's okay with the captain - oh, wait! That's me! Yeah, I'll go."
"Uh, except I'm the captain." Lightning Lord held up his hand in protest. "What kind of weapon are you talking about?"
"The Darkanos-killing kind." Donna replied.
"... don't you think we should all have a weapon like that?"
"No. It's nothing personal, but your bodies lack the physiology required to handle such weaponry. Your bodies would be destroyed from the inside-out while your minds slip into madness."
"Look, I got it figured out…" Violet waved off her friend as she activated the recon-ship. "We have two ships, and four Legends. So what say me and Krinn go with Donna, here. And you two can go pick up those other survivors on Zandoa she mentioned. Cool? Cool."
"An excellent strategy." Krinn nodded in agreement. "The sooner we obtain this weapon, the sooner I may avenge my family."
Peter sighed in defeat. "Fine. But for the record…" He pointed an accusing finger at Violet. "I know the only reason you're going with her is because it's where Darkanos isn't."
"Y'know, you should really show more respect for your captain, Ranzz." Violet winked as Krinn and Donna joined her in the recon-ship.
"Thank you for your cooperation, Legends." Donna waved at Tyamara and Peter. "I bid you farewell and good luck." With that, the teams split up for their respective missions.
Earth. New York City.
Jamie Morales was on a field trip to New York City with his high school class when his scarab warned him of the threat. Looking out the bus' window, he was the first to spot the alien warcraft hovering over Manhattan. Knowing that Emerald Man and the other Avengers would soon be on the scene, he needed a distraction to get away from his classmates. "Hey! Hey, Hector!" He whispered. ("I need you to cause a distraction.")
Hector turned to acknowledge his friend, only to see the terrifying threat hovering above the city. ("Oh, my god! We're all gonna die! There's a spaceship out there!") The entire class screamed in fear as they looked at the invaders. This gave Jaime the chance to climb out the bus's window, activate his costume, and fly off to offer any help he could provide.
A few minutes earlier, Emerald Man and his allies were preoccupied with the civilians. Using his ring, he freed anyone trapped inside their cars as Ronnie guided them over to Zatanna who teleported them to safety with a wave of her hand. At the same time, he put in an emergency call to S.H.I.E.L.D., demanding immediate back-up.
"You might wanna put that Ring in your back pocket, doc!" Ronnie suggested.
"Or we might want to use it!" Zatanna sent the last of the civilians to safety before conjuring a protection spell to shield the surrounding buildings from the ship's propulsions.
Suddenly, a beam of light shot down from the ship and struck the ground. Two aliens materialized from the beam; one large and imposing, the other frail yet menacing. "Hear me, and rejoice." The smaller alien announced. "I am Ebony Bedlam, and this is my brother Kalibak Obsidian… we are emissaries of the great Darkanos. Know that your planet has been selected to-"
"I'm sorry, Earth is closed today!" Tony interrupted. "You better pack it up, and get lost!"
"Ring Keeper…" Bedlam sneered. "Does this pitiful human speak for you?"
"Certainly not. I speak for myself." Zatanna conjured a magic wand from her Hat of Levitation, charging it with powerful hexes. Sister Voodoo, Helldagger, Demon Rider, and Captain Thunder followed suit, summoning their own unique magical powers. Even Kyle and Jihnorama prepared to fight. "You are trespassing on this planet! Leave now or suffer the consequences!"
"Deal with them." Bedlam ordered his brother, who cracked his knuckles and slowly marched towards the heroes.
Tony gave his radioactive friend a light pat on the back. "You wanna take this one?"
"Uh, not really, but when do I ever get what I want?" Ronnie sighed. Taking a deep breath, he tapped the device fused to his chest to trigger his transformation into Firehawk. But nothing happened. "Uh… I think I'm running on empty." He said.
"What? What do you mean you're running on empty?" Tony spluttered.
"I-I dunno!" Ronnie continued tapping the device, with no effect. "I used up all my nuclear power to survive the trip back to Earth! I need more!"
"Okay, relax. Sit this one out." Tony handed his phone to Ronnie, twisted the emblem on his ring, and his armor miraculously covered him from head to toe. Kalibak swung his enormous fists down, only to be blocked by a green energy shield. Soon afterwards, a concentrated blast from his chest's battery sent the hulking menace towards his brother.
"Where'd that come from?!" Ronnie sounded surprised.
"Nano-tech. The latest and greatest." Tony bragged. "You like it?"
Kyle scoffed at Emerald Man's brashness before pushing him out of the way. Ebony Bedlam had used his telekinesis to forge blades from debris and was now fighting everyone at once. "Don't let your guard down!" He warned, conjuring up a sword and shield to fight off the alien invaders.
Zatanna's friends chose to guard her from the attackers to protect the Time Ring. "Get out of here!" Demon Rider ordered as he whipped his chain at Bedlam, only to be swept aside by his telekinetic power. "Now!"
Meanwhile, Kalibak had recovered and was ready to continue his assault. But before he could strike anyone, a powerful thunderbolt struck him in the back. "Hey, Zyrtec the Death-Eater - or whatever your World of Warcraft name is - TAKE THIS!" With his less than impressive battle cry, Captain Thunder threw another thunderbolt directly at Kalibak's head.
Sister Voodoo and Helldagger found themselves struggling to keep up with Bedlam's speed; thankfully, the sinister villain soon found himself preoccupied. Jihnorama managed to use her own telepathic powers to distract Bedlam, and the two telepaths soon found themselves locked in an intense mental tug of war. At the same time, Kalibak managed to knock Captain Thunder aside and grabbed Zatanna by the neck. "Father will be most pleased when I deliver the Time Ring to him." The behemoth reached for the cosmic artifact, only for it to burn his skin.
"It's a simple spell, but effective." She smirked.
"Then I'll pry it from your corpse!" He growled before head-butting her into unconsciousness.
"Not so fast, Jumbo!" Emerald Man shouted, hitting his enemy with a green battering ram. Kalibak dropped his captive and gave the armored Avenger his full attention. The menace plowed through every shield Emerald Man could create, eventually knocking him into Central Park. With a mighty heave, the alien pulled an oak from the soil and brought it down onto his foe. Tony flinched, but quickly found himself unharmed as he heard something stop block the tree.
"Hola, hermano." Black Beetle nodded at Kalibak before turning to face his mentor. "Hey, Mr. Jordan."
"Kid? What're you doing here?"
"School field trip. I-" Black Beetle was cut off as Kalibak discarded the tree and grabbed the boy with his bare hands. Fortunately, the Scarab saved its host by sending an electric discharge through the suit. Kalibak released his foe, giving Beetle the opportunity to blast the invader away. "So, Mr. Jordan, what's this guy's deal?"
"Well, he's from space and he came here to steal a ring from a wizard."
Back on the streets, Jihnorama was beginning to falter against the older telepath. At last, she fell to her knees in defeat, and Bedlam turned his attention to the fallen sorceress. "No!" Kyle created a brick wall in front of Zatanna then landed in front of Bedlam. "I may have failed to protect the Power Ring, but I'll die before I let you take the Time Ring!"
"If that is your wish…" Bedlam smirked, wickedly. Kyle channeled all of his willpower into a focused concussion blast, but Bedlam's telepath protected him from the blow. Then the sadistic fiend targeted the Nova Officer's mind. Kyle's scream was stuck in his throat as he was forced to watch all of his friends in the Corps fall before him once again. "Father will enjoy snuffing out that obnoxious green light once and for all…"
Meanwhile, Emerald Man and the others were still struggling to stop Kalibak. Captain Thunder was taking most of the punishment, while Black Beetle and Emerald Man tried to wear him down with energy blasts. Suddenly, a familiar sonic boom echoed from the distance, and the heroes looked up in the sky to see Captain Hyper flying to the rescue. The Radonian superheroine grabbed Kalibak in a full nelson and flew him into the atmosphere away from the city.
"Hey, Mr. Jordan!" Black Beetle grew his wings and flew up to the spaceship. "The wizard-lady's being beamed up!"
"Kid, stop! Stay away from that thing!" Emerald Man quickly flew after him, but it was too late. Bedlam had finally abducted Zatanna and the ship prepared to leave the planet. Black Beetle had latched onto the hull of the ship and was working his way inside. "Sorry, kid. I hate to do this, but you're going home." Tony accessed Beetle's armor with his ring, and activated the parachute.
"Huh-?!" Jamie was suddenly ripped from the hull of the ship. "Oh, come on!"
With nothing left to worry about, Emerald Man created a cutting torch and made his way inside just as Captain Hyper caught up to him.
Back on Earth, Captain Thunder lifted Jihnorama off the ground and made his way towards his friends. Sister Voodoo managed to transport Demon Rider onto the departing spaceship while Helldagger opened a portal to the Mystic Sanctum. "Captain, you stay with these two. Take them anywhere they need to go."
"Yes, Ms. Voodoo." Thunder nodded.
"Where are you guys going?" Ronnie asked.
"Without the Time Ring, the Sanctum is left defenseless." Helldagger replied. "Someone has to stand guard. What will you do?"
Ronnie reached into his pocket and took out the only device capable of contacting the necessary reinforcements. "I'm gonna call the Flag." He answered, holding up the phone. Sister Voodoo and Helldagger nodded and stepped through the portal back to the Sanctum. He was just about to dial the sole number on the contact list when he noticed Tony had also dropped his wallet. And his favorite pizza place was just across the street. "Right after a snack." He told Captain Thunder.
Earth. Glasgow.
Tod Maximoff - better known as Darkstar - sat on a secluded bench in Kelvingrove Park, waiting for his friend to meet with him. Ever since the Justice Legion split up, Silver hadn't spoken to him. Not that he could blame them; the last peaceful encounter between the two was when he incapacitated them with a paralyzing kiss. He still hadn't forgiven himself for it, and he assumed they hadn't either.
At last, a familiar magenta glow alerted him of their arrival. "Hey, Silver!" He smiled. "Thanks for meeting with me."
["You will refer to me as Mirage, Darkstar."] The android replied.
"Uh, okay." Tod rubbed the back of his neck. He couldn't blame them for acting so cold. "I just want to apologize for what I did. And I was hoping you could find it in your heart to give me another chance to be your friend."
["Your apology is accepted."] Mirage nodded. ["But unnecessary. Although your actions were upsetting, I have recently risen above any non-essential parameters."]
Tod cocked an eyebrow. "Define 'non-essential.'"
["I have decided to do one final human act… I have decided to give up on feeling emotions."]
"No!" He protested. "You can't let one bad experience convince you that all emotions are bad! If you do, then you'll cut yourself off from all of the good emotions, too! Like joy, hope, love!"
["You hurt me, Darkstar."] Mirage replied, coldly. ["I allowed myself to feel emotions in your presence, and you took advantage of that. I saw you as one of the only humans I could be vulnerable to… if I was wrong about you, then I am convinced that no other human could possibly be worth my trust."]
"... then I am just a monster." Tod sighed, sadly.
Without warning, ribbons of razor steel wrapped around the android Avenger. Darkstar spotted the attacker; a woman wrapped in steel ribbons accompanied by a yellow-skinned alien wielding a glowing axe. He tried to save Mirage, but the man's blade was somehow able to cut through his shadow-form. As Tod dealt with his own attacker, Mirage managed to free themselves before firing an energy blast from the Mind Ring.
Midnight Lasher effortlessly dodged the android's assault and soon ensnared them once again. "Give us the Ring, or your friend dies." She threatened.
But before Mirage could respond, a shield sliced through the ribbons and ricocheted off the wall to strike Corvus Wolffe's axe. Darkstar was now able to overwhelm Corvus with his nightmare-inducing shadows. The Flag rushed forward to kick the invader back, prompting Lasher to abandon her quest to steal the Ring. "This is not over!" She growled. Before anything else could be said, the alien duo opened a boom tube and escaped from the face of the Earth.
"Thanks." Tod said as he help Mirage to their feet.
"Don't mention it." Flag nodded. "Now, come on. We've got a job to do."
Space.
Zatanna and Kyle were awakened by the firm tug of Bedlam's mind. The duo were suspended over a vat of mysterious chemicals; with fumes rising up into their nostrils. Plagued by the shadows of their worst nightmares, the only thing keeping them anchored to reality was Bedlam's sinister laugh. "A strong smell, is it not?" He chortled. "It was originally created for psychotherapy… but I find it so much more useful for torture."
"You will find… removing… a dead woman's spell… difficult!" Zatanna spat.
Bedlam frowned at her remark. "You'll only wish that you were dead!" He growled. "Give. Me. The Ring!"
As Darkanos' second-eldest continued his interrogation, Tony and Karen snuck up from above when they ran into the possessed daredevil of vengeance. "Jimmy Blaze?" Karen gaped.
"Hey, kid. How ya doing?"
"You two know each other?" Tony arched an eyebrow. "That's comforting."
"Uh, speaking of knowing people." Tony turned to see Black Beetle standing behind him. "I-I know what you're gonna say-"
"What are you doing here?!"
"Look, I can explain!"
"I don't wanna hear it!"
"I was gonna go home-!"
"And now I gotta hear it."
"But I kept thinking about you being alone up here, and I had no idea Captain Hyper was gonna show up. So, if anything, it's kinda your fault I'm here." Jaime flinched as Tony looked angered by his remark. "Uh, that came out wrong! I mean-!"
"Don't pretend you thought this through!"
"No, I did think this through!"
"There is no way you thought this-!"
"You can't be a friendly neighborhood superhero if there's no neighborhood!" Jaime gazed at the confused expressions around him. "Okay, yeah. That didn't really make sense. But, look; I'm here, I'm ready, and I can help."
Tony glanced over at Demon Rider and Karen, who merely shrugged. With a heavy sigh, the armored Avenger led the boy over to the ledge, pointing at Zatanna, Kyle, and Bedlam. "You really wanna help? Okay, fine. There's the good guys. There's the bad guy. What's the plan?"
"Uh…" Jamie knelt down to get a better view as his mind began to strategize. "Uh…"
"Come on. Clock's ticking."
"Okay! Okay! I got an idea!" Jamie jumped to his feet. "Have any of you ever seen this really old movie called Aliens?"
"AAAAAAAAAAAH!" Zatanna screamed in agony as Bedlam's gas continued to plague her mind.
"My gas is the most powerful weapon on this ship. And at any moment…" Bedlam turned around to face Emerald Man and his allies. "It will permanently drive your friend to madness."
"Gotta tell ya, she's not exactly my friend." Emerald Man corrected as he aimed his palm at the villain. "I'm pretty much only here for the Ring. Rescuing her is more of a professional courtesy."
"I am Darkanos' second-born." Bedlam hovered higher into the air. "I have existed long before you pitiful humans were conceived, and thus; I am much more experienced in the field of combat!"
"Yeah, but the kid's seen more movies." Emerald Man created a small anti-tank missile, and fired it at the ship's hull. Bedlam and his gas were instantly sucked into the vacuum of space. Thinking quickly, Captain Hyper grabbed both Zatanna and Kyle while Demon Rider wrapped his enchanted chains around her waist to anchor them down. After that, Tony and Beetle patched up the hull with substances from their suits.
Once the threat was eliminated, the heroes gave themselves a chance to catch their breath. Tony's faceplate slid upwards as he helped Kyle to his feet. "Feel free to thank me."
"Thank you for what?" Kyle scoffed. "Nearly getting us killed?"
"Who just saved your ungrateful ass?!" Tony snapped. "Me!"
"I honestly don't know how you fit your head in that helmet."
"Enough!" Zatanna shouted. "We need to focus on protecting the Time Ring! And that's not going to be easy if you two waste time tearing each other apart!"
"Don't worry, ma'am." Karen spoke up. "I'm sure Emerald Man and I can figure out a way to turn this ship around. Right, Emerald Man?"
Tony didn't acknowledge his cohort; he was too busy thinking about how small the past few hours made him feel. Darkanos' threat was unlike anything he had faced before, and the pressure of facing him was still setting in.
"Jordan!" Zatanna's voice brought him out of his daze. "Can you get us home?"
"Yeah, but… I don't think that's a good idea. Maybe we should let this ship take us to Darkanos."
"What?!" Kyle spluttered. "You can't be serious! That madman wiped out the entire Green Nova Corps! What could an imposter like you possibly hope to accomplish by facing him yourself?!"
"Will you just shut up?!" Tony snapped. "If what you say about Darkanos is true, then there is no defense we could set up on Earth to keep him away! So I say, we take the fight to him! Do you concur… Mister Alexander?"
Kyle and Zatanna shared a glance. It was a long shot to be sure, but Emerald Man did have a point. The duo conversed in private - separated by another of Kyle's constructs - until Zatanna finally addressed the leader of the Justice Legion.
"... alright, Jordan." She conceded, bitterly. "We'll try it your way. But you need to understand something: if it comes down to a choice between you, my friend, the kids, the Green Nova,or the Time Ring… I will not hesitate to leave all of you for dead. Because I can't. Because the universe depends on it."
Tony nodded solemnly, and patted the magic doctor on her shoulder. "Great. Good moral compass." With that out of the way, Tony instructed Karen to study the ship's controls while he went over to Jaime. Conjuring up another keypad, he activated the Black Beetle armor's full capabilities. "Alright, kid… you're an Avenger, now."
The Hispanic hero could hardly believe his ears as a wide grin spread under his mask. He was finally an official Avenger. In order to contain his excitement, he walked over to one of the mystic heroes to make small talk. "Uh, I'm Jamie, by the way." He said, nervously.
Demon Rider shook the kid's hand with a small smile. "Jimmy Blaze." He replied.
"Oh, we're using our made-up names." Jamie stammered. "Then I am Black Beetle."
Jimmy just frowned and walked away in contempt.
To Be Continued!
Ebony Bedlam(Ebony Maw/Dr. Bedlam)
Kalibak Obsidian(Cull Obsidian/Kalibak)
Corvus Wolffe(Corvus Glaive/Steppen Wolffe)
Midnight Lasher(Midnight Proxima/Lashina)