Praeter
Author: Miss Lizz
Rating: R for life, death, hidden love, unbridled hate, and mass destruction.
Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me. Leave thine lawyers at bay.
Ch. 2: Flow
A DirgeRough wind, that moanest loud
Grief too sad for song;
Wild wind, when sullen cloud
Knells all the night long:
Sad storm, whose tears are vain,
Bare woods, whose branches strain,
Deep cover and dreary main—
Wail, for the world's wrong!
-- Percy Bysshe Shelley
Something in the wind… destruction unto itself…
Skirting like an immaterial shadow throughout the night drenched rooftops and alleyways of Gotham City, Batman growled in the back of his throat. All his information said that Joker had yet to return to town and that could only mean trouble in the long run for everyone. They should have hauled him in when they had the chance instead of wasting time with his henchmen when the cowards gave up without a fight. Something was going to happen, he could feel it but he didn't know when and he wasn't sure if Joker would even have anything to do with it.
It was going to drive him insane.
Relative quiet was a rare thing for the League and this session lasted no longer than any other. When it did end, it ended with a roar in explosions and screams. Every past villain in the book was checked but none fit; it seemed a new player had entered the game but none knew who it was. The area was completely devoid of clues or anything else once the explosion went off and annihilated everything within a one-mile radius.
Within hours of the first explosions, another went off on the other side of the planet in Hong Kong and everything within three miles was altogether wholly incinerated. Mexico City, Berlin, and Atlanta followed minutes later.
The League was stretched to their limit assisting the emergency workers in finding however many survivors there may be. There were depressingly little.
Inside the first target, Philadelphia, Batman and Martian Manhunter tried to piece together the paltry amount of clues as to who could have done something like this. Though at present they were more concerned with survivors than perpetrators, as they picked through rubble in different areas of the city and gazed out over the newly flattened landscape. They did manage to pick up some clues: the explosion had not been heard as much as felt and appeared as an expanding light bubble that obliterated whatever it encompassed. The magnitude of what was to be faced was overpowering in its capacity for destruction. It was unbelievable that such a thing could occur and leave nothing behind.
Lifting a slab of concrete and metal from the ground to free a handful of trapped people to allow the firefighters, police, and paramedics' access to the civilians in need of help, J'onn was just setting the slab down when someone began yelling for him through the telepathic channel he shared with the entire League. It sounded like Batman but he wasn't prone to the panic that subtly laced this message, colouring it in vibrant oranges.
Batman?
J'onn, get over here. NOW! The dark knight's voice hissed over the connection. Something very wrong must be happening for him to sound so urgent. Hospital. It's an emergency.
The Martian was there in less than a minute. The tone of the human's voice caused him to believe something was either going to happen or it already had and drove him to a faster pace. From the surrounding buzz of thoughts, Batman's stood out like a beacon for its order amid so much apparent chaos, and from all the thoughts he found out the basics of what was happening. It made his stomach turn and his crimson eyes widen fractionally. There in the middle of the good-sized crowd was a small infant atop what could only be another device like the one that caused this disaster. What type of sick goading was this?
"I needed a second set of eyes to see if this thing is rigged for weight disturbances," the ever-grim human said even before J'onn landed. "If it is and I moved the infant… this city would have gained a new crater. That couldn't be allowed to happen again."
J'onn nodded and looked closer at the device, past the dull-gray outer covering that gave it a boxy appearance and discovered that Batman's fears were about to come true. Would the explosion be instantaneous? Or would there be a slight delay? Whatever they did, it would have to be done quickly for the device was to go off in three minutes regardless.
His mind worked furiously, he might be able to fly the bomb far enough above the city for it to do little damage. Something must be done.
"…" There was only one thing to be done. "…Take the infant and try to clear the area as best you can… Pray this works…"
"And if it doesn't?" A hand clapped onto his shoulder, "I don't think I like this plan of yours."
Looking down at the dark knight, J'onn's face was completely neutral, "Then perhaps the city will be spared another onslaught… Take the infant."
Then he was flying, pushing himself faster than he ever had before, the device held firmly against his chest. He reached the upper atmosphere in seconds. Detonation occurred just as he left the ionosphere and was in the process of throwing it towards the sun. The great orb of light crashed into him, burning into his skin, shredding his clothing, causing him to lose consciousness, and plummet earthward at a frightening pace. He hit the ground like a comet not far from where he took off.
For long moments, there was no movement from the small crater formed by his landing and all was still.
End ch. 1
Is it any good so far? I know J'onn's seems to be getting beat up a lot but that will change. There will be more of the League in the next chapter if you want it (though it will probably be posted even if you don't). Please review but keep it polite.
Thank you,
Miss Lizz