Superman was speeding through the air as fast as he possibly could. He had been helping Batman investigate a Wayne Industries Astronomical Research Station in the Nevada dessert where they came across white bipedal aliens disguised as scientists.
The pair had easily dispatched them but Superman was brought to his knees as something played with his mind.
The next thing Batman saw was Superman shooting into the sky like… well he couldn't really say a 'bat out of hell' as Batman himself tended to walk into hell.
More like The Flash after coffee… just with more direction and purpose.
He called in his Batwing and made chase. He hoped he didn't have to go far; the further he had to go the less chance he would arrive before Superman had done something. The Batwing just wasn't that fast.
Fortunately Superman hadn't gone too far.
Still in the Nevada desert.
Area 51.
He was tearing his way through reinforced metal doors and sending magical stunners at soldiers. Batman knew that Superman had the same policy on magic as he did. It wasn't something Batman and Superman could do. It was a trait of Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne.
The last thing Earth needed was for its second most powerful hero to suddenly go off the reservation like this.
"Superman, I assume you have a good explanation for this?" Batman asked as he stepped over the unconscious soldiers to where the Man of Steel was attempting to rip open a… steel door.
Superman didn't respond. Batman had already alerted Brunhilde, she would alert the others.
As the door was removed and carelessly tossed aside Batman saw Superman's goal. A green skinned alien.
Superman marched up to the alien who was restrained by his arms and legs in an upright and spread-eagled position.
He began pulling the restraints apart.
"Friend of yours?" Batman asked tersely.
"He was calling out to me telepathically, partially trying to control me." Superman said unhappily. "The Army was experimenting on him. You know how I feel about that sort of thing."
"Next time tell me what's going on." Batman groused.
"I was too busy trying to stop him from taking control." Superman turned to the green being. "Don't ever do that again or someone will kill you." He warned.
Batman addressed the tall green alien who hadn't backed down from Superman's glare. "Who are you?"
"I am J'onn J'onzz, a Martian… the last Martian." He corrected in a deep sad voice. "Many millennia ago my people flourished until the invaders came and wiped them all out. They have remained dormant until now, but several probes reached the surface of Mars and awoke me. Now they are coming here, their advanced scouts are already present."
"Our probes never touched the surface." A female voice spoke.
J'onn visibly jumped at the new voice.
Standing nearby were Wonder Woman and Harry.
"No, not those probes, the Mars Rover and Beagle I believe they were called. I have been a prisoner here for many years." He said apologetically, taking the teleporting individuals in stride.
"Then why did you only contact me now?" Superman asked.
"I only just heard you existed, I heard the scientists talking about you and I realised you were my only hope."
Superman quickly rounded on Harry. "One word out of you and-"
*snap**hiss*
Superman's shoulders slumped and he slowly turned around to see Batman holding a yellow lightsabre. "Really?"
"This way I don't get compared to a droid." Batman shrugged.
Superman turned back to Harry. "You are a bad influence on people."
"Me?" Harry placed a hand over his heart in mock shock.
"Excuse me." J'onn interrupted politely. "But who are you?" He asked Harry and Diana.
"Right, J'onn J'onzz, meet Wonder Woman, Batman and Death." Superman made the introductions. "They are the Earth's foremost protectors of the innocent. Death is… literally the embodiment of Death."
"Anyone can kill." J'onn frowned.
"He is Death, as in if he was in this universe when Mars was attacked he would have stopped all your people dying."
"I would assume that Death would be everywhere, capable of overseeing-"
"Yeah, I'm the gateway between this world and the next." Harry said dismissively. "I don't bother with all the people who are dying right at this moment. I just bother with mass deaths and those who try to cheat death. Of course your people are all on the other side and quite content."
A mist began to form next to Harry as a tall feminine version of J'onn with a child like version in her hands appeared accompanied by a short young blonde haired girl.
"Your mate and son, I believe." Harry indicated the ethereal forms. "You only have a few minutes."
Harry walked over to Batman with Superman and Wonder Woman. "I'd like you to meet Luna Lovegood, my sister and first soul mate." He said happily. "Luna, I'm sure you know these people."
"Of course! But do things properly." She admonished.
"Fine." He sighed. "This is Bruce Wayne, Princess Diana and Clark Kent. Batman, Wonder Woman and Superman respectively."
"The prince married his princess!" Luna said giddily. "Do you like being a princess? Does your daddy let you ride ponies and search for strange creatures?"
"We are not married yet… and I do not have a father." Diana was slightly unsure about the young girl. She was very… forward.
"I thought you were married to Harry? That makes my Daddy your Daddy. Harry, call Daddy here now!" Luna ordered sternly.
"Luna! Sweetie!" Xander cried as he walked up to his disembodied adopted daughter.
"Don't you give me that you- you- you lax daddy you!" She screeched.
"Whoa, back it up there, what did I miss?" Xander raised his hands placatingly.
"You have not been exercising your daddy-daughter time!" She accused. "Diana has never had a daddy and she needs to experience daddy-daughter time."
"Sweetie, I have a whole island full of granddaughters, not to mention my various daughter-in-laws from these two." He pointed at Harry and Superman. "We're also a bit busy right now with a planetary threat, could you come back later and yell at me?" He asked hopefully.
"Fine! But we will be having words Daddy. Come M'rala, J'son, our daddies have work to do." She said haughtily as she called out to J'onn's family who were actually staring at the scene Luna was creating.
Once they were gone J'onn just stared at them, unable to figure out what had happened.
"We should get back to the castle." Harry said seriously. "The missiles are about to hit Mars."
J'onn jumped as the scenery changed to the inside of a large stone room with glass windows and large round table that took up most of the room and had quite a few people seated at it.
"J'onn, take a seat." Harry instructed. 'Everybody, this is J'onn J'onzz, the last Martian, J'onn, you'll get everyone's names later."
"Wait, if he's the last Martian then what's on Mars now?" Dani asked.
"Whatever killed the rest of the Martians." Logan muttered just loud enough for everyone to hear.
"We're about to find out." Helen said impatiently.
J'onn was impressed as the dark-haired woman turned and waved a hand at the back of the Great Hall causing an image to appear. There were several different signals being shown. There were quite a few news channels and in the middle was a larger view straight from the Amaterasu.
The ship had jumped ahead of the missiles by a few hours and taken up a stationary position just outside orbit of the red planet so that it could track the incoming missiles.
The volume was off on the news channels.
"Captain, do you have the missiles on your scopes?" Diana called out.
"Confirmed Commander." Came a radio response. "Estimated time to impact is 60 seconds."
"I seem them. Top left of the screen." Laura said quietly.
"Captain, drop your communications satellite and clear the area. You are ordered to head for Oa. The Guardians are expecting you." Diana ordered.
The response was respectful, but the reluctance was clear. "Understood. Dropping satellite and setting course. Amaterasu out."
"There it goes." Brunhilde said as she took in a breath.
They watched the two missiles enter the atmosphere at incredible speeds and impact the surface of Mars. Red dust and debris exploded in a mushroom cloud that immediately covered a majority of the planets visible surface before spreading to envelop the planet as a whole.
"How long before we see any activity?" Kyla asked nervously.
"The satellite sensors are picking up increased heat signatures that don't match the nuclear detonations." Laura reported as she consulted the laptop in front of her. Although calling it a laptop was like calling a cave wall drawing a high-definition plasma screen. It was thousands of years more advanced than even the Amaterasu.
"Harry, why don't you take a closer look?" Xander suggested.
Harry nodded. "Clark, suit up."
"It's very red." Harry remarked in his usual cheeky manner.
Superman just ignored him, they had appeared in orbit of the planet and Harry had performed a line of sight teleport to the surface… well, more like a calculated distance jump as the surface was obscured by red dust clouds and storms.
"It's hot. I landed on Mars in your home universe. It wasn't this hot. Is it just the radiation or something else?"
"Radiation." Harry confirmed.
Superman wasn't sure what Xander had expected Harry to see. There was so much dust in the air that visibility was down to nothing. He could only see as far as the bubblehead charm he had erected. The only reason he knew where Harry was was because of his connection to him… and then he realised that was why Xander had sent Harry here. So he could observe the souls.
Superman's own connection to Death gave him the ability to sense souls as well. He couldn't see them, but he could tell where they were and whether they were good or bad.
The mass of souls beneath his feet where not of the good, as he had heard Xander put it.
"I can feel a lot of moving souls beneath us."
"Yeah, from what I can see they are preparing."
"Can you do anything about the dust? All we can monitor are souls, I'd like to evaluate the damage to the surface, I'm surprised the missiles didn't blow off a chunk of the planet."
"Clark… can't you tell? We aren't actually standing on the planet." Harry muttered. "We're moving up."
Superman tilted his head and closed his eyes.
Harry was right, the ground was moving; they were fighting gravity.
"The invasion is about to begin." Harry said ominously.
"Let's get back. The Alliance needs to say something to the planet." Superman suggested.
The scenery changed for them and they were suddenly standing back in the Great Hall.
"Oh my god!" Chloe gasped.
Most of the others were shocked as they looked at the pair.
Harry's clothing was burnt and singed, as was his skin. His hair was also missing.
Despite his quick healing it was still visible for up to a minute.
"God Harry, you didn't decontaminate." Jean snapped as she marched up.
Both he and Clark were covered in red dust from the planet. Clark suddenly realised it was now red radioactive dust.
Jean waved her hand at the pair and they were clean. Harry repaired his clothing as the last of the legions on his skin vanished.
"So… Mars needs some work?" Xander asked dryly.
Harry just pointed to the large screen showing the signal from the satellite. "Wait for it."
Within seconds a huge white object was seen rising up from the surface of the planet and out of the red dust cloud.
It was easily the size of an island.
And there was more than one.
"J'onn, do you know how long it will take them to travel from Mars to Earth?" Harry asked.
"Maybe a day at best. You should evacuate your people from the cities; that is where they will strike. Our only effective weapon was a gas, but the last of it is gone." The green alien answered. "I tried to warn the humans holding me but they were more interested in their experiments." He said with a shudder.
"Jean, take J'onn, give him a full physical." Harry instructed.
"I may need to call in help through the door."
"Whoever you need. But I don't want anyone coming through that door to help the Earth in battle. No other gods either. Clark, Aphrodite and Miya, travel to the leaders of the pantheons and spread the word. Earth must handle this battle alone."
"If you have allies then the people of Earth should call on them." J'onn urged. "My people were enslaved and slaughtered and we were far more advanced by Earth's standards."
"Relax big guy, we got this." Dani said as she blew on her knuckles and dusted them on her chest with mock bravado.
"I beg you, do not underestimate them."
"J'onn, on his own, Superman could destroy this planet in a day." Batman said quietly in the gravelly voice he used to disguise his identity. "Harry could do it in less, the combined intellect of the people in this room could also do it."
"My people had the same thoughts… our hubris doomed us all."
"J'onn, I promise you that if we can't handle this we will call in every ally we have… and we have a lot of allies." Harry said with a reassuring smile. "Now, Amara, you and Diana need to work with Japan. Confront the international media and challenge America. Once this is over America needs to deal with its government to make sure this crap never happens again. The United Nations need to get their act together as well."
Amara nodded and she and Diana vanished, surprising J'onn again. But he was more concerned with something else.
"You are wasting time on political bickering?" He asked in horrified disbelief.
"If we don't then America or another country will do the same thing again. And I really don't want to have to do this more than once." Xander groaned.
"Isn't this your first alien invasion?" Logan asked pointedly.
"Second… technically."
"I don't remember one." Lorna said thoughtfully.
"About a year ago we were invaded by Japanese raised aliens. Life was never the same." Xander said with mock severity.
He was hit in the face with a white veil that quickly vanished.
Uzume just sat there innocently.
In a secret base hidden on the outskirts of Metropolis a bald man and a one-armed man were also discussing the impending invasion.
"This is the perfect opportunity to gather more information on these freaks and possibly capture one of them." Lex said passionately.
"America and the entire planet are in mortal peril." General Lane admonished. "Now is not the time to be wasting resources on anything other than repelling the attackers."
"On the contrary, we don't need to 'waste' resources. We can assign our people to the very worst and most dangerous areas." Lex said with a sinister smile. "When Superman or his ilk find our people… 'overpowered', they will step in. We learn what we can and, hopefully they will be suitably weakened so that we can capture one of them."
"That's assuming these aliens are even a challenge for Superman."
"General, they survived two of America's most powerful weapons, I'm sure they would give the entire Green Lantern Corp pause."
"I want to know how America intends to protect the world." The Japanese Prime Minister demanded as he stood before the UN. "They have started a war without consulting the rest of the world and now we will suffer because of their foolishness. They should be defending us and ensuring we do not suffer for their… stupidity!"
"America did what was necessary." The American President responded stiffly. "We struck before they could. They would have attacked us eventually, we have just moved the time table up."
"Really?" The German Chancellor sneered. "Then I assume America knows how to defeat them. You wouldn't have done something so irresponsible as to poke the beehive without having protection, would you?"
"Of course not! We are quite capable of taking on these invaders."
"Ahem, they weren't invaders until you attacked them." The British Prime Minister said pointedly. The usually strong relationship between Britain and America had become seriously frayed. "But, putting that aside for the moment, could you explain why you didn't just destroy them if you had the capabilities? Why just… as the my German counterpart put it: poke the beehive?"
"We had our reasons, they are classified."
"Bullshit!" The Canadian Prime Minister swore angrily. "You have doomed the entire planet. If you have reasons then you will share them along with anything else you know."
"The United States does not respond to threats." The President glared.
"The United States should be aware that unless it changes its government and replaces everyone in power, then it will be at war with a majority of the world." The Australian Prime Minister said calmly. "And I am not talking about embargoes. Foreign soldiers will march down your streets and the duties of government will be divided amongst specific foreign powers."
"We are on the verge of an alien invasion that could destroy millions of lives and you are choosing now to start an international war?" The President scoffed disbelievingly.
"Of course not." He smiled serenely. "We won't start the war until the invaders have been dealt with. We are just warning the United States of America that they can avoid this war by overhauling their government."
"China will gladly fight beside the Australian people in this matter."
"Thank you." The Australian Prime Minister said with a nod to his Chinese counterpart. "My fellow leaders should be aware though that we are actually following the lead of the Japanese-North Korean-Themiscyran Alliance. We have become… disturbed by certain events recently and they have been very forth-coming and inviting."
"America will answer any threat or attack in kind." The American President snarled angrily. "In fact, for every missile you send at us, we will send two back at you. For every soldier to shoot at ours there will be two to shoot back."
"Then you should hope you have enough men to stand up to all of us." The Russian Premiere stated with a quiet authority.
Over the following day there was little in the way of productivity. Nobody but the insane people went to school. Harry, Xander and Neville had all laughed at the thought that Hermione wouldn't have let this stop her education. Xander admitted that Willow was the same.
Lots of people called in sick. Some just didn't turn up.
A few nutty souls were stuck outside their places of work as their bosses hadn't decided to come into work.
The Sekirei where out in force in Japan. They were desperately rushing all over the place to help the police stop looters and crooks taking advantage of things.
The same was true of Batman and the Flash for their respective cities. The Smallville Amazons took care of Metropolis whilst Wonder Woman and Amara dealt with Washington D.C. as they worked out of the Japanese Embassy.
Everyone else split up to major cities or as directed by the Cuckoos as they sat in Cerebro and monitored the planet for the worst areas of chaos.
J'onn was getting more and more worried that the planet wouldn't be ready. Kilowog was still on Earth and acting as a liaison for the Corp. He was also helping J'onn get used to the current universe as he had been in a form of stasis for the past few centuries.
"Relax, these humans might be soft and puny but they've spirit." Kilowog assured J'onn. "Even if they can't handle it they have an army to call on if they need it. Lord Death has allies from planets, galaxies and realities."
"These humans confuse me." J'onn admitted as they sat in the Great Hall watching the monitors that showed the impending alien invasion.
The fleet of white rounded ships had just passed the moon and where about to enter orbit. The speed they travelled at was greater than the Amaterasu's.
"They are about to be invaded by a superior force intent on their destruction and they are bickering over inconsequential things like 'who was right'."
"They're a young bunch. Give 'em a few centuries." Kilowog shrugged.
"But they don't appear to have a few centuries." J'onn pointed out.
Kilowog laughed. "Here, watch this." He waved his hand at the monitor and an image of the Earth appeared. He then rotated it so they could see Asia. From there he zoomed in on Japan. "Watch how they deal with an invasion."
The speed of the alien ships in and out of atmosphere was phenomenal compared to Earth's current tech. The real threat seemed to come from some form of vehicle launched at cities. It was a form of three-legged rip-off of War of the Worlds. It was white with deep red blotches and had a distinct organic look about it… but that might have been the slime dripping off it. It was also three-storeys tall.
They landed in open areas before attacking everything in sight.
Except in certain areas.
In Japan a total of fifty tripods attempted to land.
Ten hit the ground in two pieces having been sliced in half. Five were systematically drowned, frozen and then smashed into tiny pieces. Twenty were attacked by small groups of women with varying powers and the remaining fifteen were somehow punted back at the orbiting ships by the Japanese military.
North Korea and the Hidden City both had the same approach as each other. The tripods fell to the Earth but never stopped as they shot through the ground, past the crust and the mantle and into the core of the Earth where even being phased wouldn't save them from the Earth's central heating unit.
Flying over Europe was the Amaterasu which had been armed with weapons based on Kryptonian and Green Lantern technology. It worked in conjunction with three other vessels of the same design and made strafing runs at the tripods.
Australia and Asia were protected by the Japanese Air Force. They were equipped with a new type of missile, it was essentially a bullet or projectile knife, the explosive was remote detonated so that if it wasn't on target or landed near civilians or allies it would cause less damage.
Only thirteen tripods landed in Africa. But considering they landed hundreds of miles from civilisation… no one was in a rush to reach them.
Only America seemed to be struggling as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash and the Green Lanterns Hal and Sinestro worked to protect civilians. They never engaged the tripods directly; instead they whisked people out of range.
Wonder Woman seemed to take great pleasure in throwing an errant punch at the tripods and leading them to the White House or the Pentagon where the bulk of the US military was deployed to protect major political asses- assets.
Superman took a more active approach in Metropolis when he punched a tripod into Luthor Towers… he made sure it was empty first but then for good measure he called down lightning frying the alien vehicle and bringing the building down on top of it.
Their own personal grudges against the government and Luthor partially satisfied, Wonder Woman and Superman returned to saving the civilians.
Things were becoming a little bit weird for the Flash in his city. Rescuing civilians was easy. Run in, pick them up and deposit them elsewhere… he changed things a little bit after rescuing the same man five times, he started putting them outside the city.
He then found himself with a bit of a dilemma; there was a new player on the scene. A woman with bird like wings, flying through the air and smashing at the tripods with her mace… the medieval weapon, not the bottle of pepper spray.
The Flash wasn't against the help but she was a little too enthusiastic and absorbed in her work. She sent chunks of the alien vehicles flying which mean the Flash had to quickly alter the priorities of which civilian he moved first.
Some of these people were not light.
The area was cleared and it was just the Flash, the aliens and the bird woman. The Flash decided he may as well help the woman out and watch her back.
Not that she needed it. Her mace seemed to be able to smash through the hull of the tripod easier than the Green Lanterns' rings or Superman's fists. It was a matter of minutes before she was finished.
"Hey! Down here!" The Flash called up.
He took a step back as the woman landed and he got a better look. She had a distinct bird of prey look, everything from the colour of her wings to the unusual helmet that covered her head and eyes like a mask. She had long red hair that flowed loosely down her back. She wore a yellow top that had no sleeves or straps but still seemed to support her breasts. Her legs were encased in deep green smooth leggings with a red piece of cloth around her waist like a very short skirt.
Despite her obvious beauty it was her expression that caught his eyes. A scowl.
"What do you want human?" She demanded.
"Well nice to meet you too!" The Flash said sarcastically. "I'm The Flash. There's a 'the' in there so don't forget it." He quipped. "Considering you seem to be new to this planet I thought you might want to meet some friends of mine who are also… erm… immigrants. They have probably finished off the rest of the invading ground forces."
"Fine, lead on." She instructed. "Just make sure you do not slow me down."
The Flash raised an eyebrow and the next thing she knew she was standing in the middle of the desert surrounded by soldiers and aliens in battle. She didn't say anything as she took to the skies and started smashing.
"No, you don't have to thank me." The Flash muttered sarcastically as he began zipping around and trying to save what was left of the US soldiers. "Fast? Why yes I am fast. Fastest man- fastest thing alive!"
He continued his private diatribe until he noticed Superman looking at him curiously between punching aliens and calling down lightning.
He shut his mouth then and kept it up in his mind.
"For god's sake Barry, give it a rest!" The Flash sighed as the Cuckoos reminded him there was no more privacy in life. At least not in battle when you have telepaths providing communications and logistics.
The reason that the battle was occurring in the desert was because the US Military was not equipped to handle the invaders. They were being quickly decimated and the President and his staff were forced to evacuate to their most secret bunker (Courtesy of Wonder Woman's work on the alien tripods).
Area 51.
Had Superman and Batman stuck around at Area 51 after rescuing J'onn they would have been confronted by the US Army… who were actually the alien invaders in disguise.
The soldiers protecting the President called in all troops. The nearby cities were left defenceless as the troops withdrew to the desert.
The heroes around the world descended on America with the Japanese Air Force and decimated the invading aliens before heading to Area 51 where they managed to save what was remaining of the US Army and Marines.
Superman arrived first followed quickly by Wonder Woman the pair laid into the both the tripods and foot soldiers that appeared to be a humanoid form, they resembled a well built man but with no real defining features. Like the tripods they were white with deep red splotches.
As the other heroes, like The Flash and his new friend arrived, the invading ground troops were quickly dispatched.
But there weren't any human soldiers left.
"Lord Death." Superman said quietly.
"You called, for my master?" Xander appeared next to Superman dressed in his usual cloak that concealed his identity.
"These soldiers, they didn't deserve to die because of the stupidity of their leaders. Can your master help them?"
Death's Hand raised a skeletal hand to his concealed chin thoughtfully. The only people who could see them… that were alive to see them were the President and his cabinet.
"He can." The spectre nodded. "But should he?"
"These fools won't be able to order anyone after today." Superman scowled at the American President. "We will be taking them straight to Japan for holding. The Alliance is sending in a temporary government right now."
Death's Hand nodded slowly. "Then, my Master's Apprentice, you must speak to the souls of the fallen. Warn them of what is about to happen."
Superman tried to hide his surprise when Death's Hand addressed him as the Apprentice of Death. This wasn't supposed to be something spread around for a long, long time.
He floated into the air.
"I am Kal-El of Asgard, the God of Thunder and the Apprentice of Death." Superman called out loudly. "I am speaking to the souls of the fallen soldiers. If you wish to remain on the mortal plain and not crossover to the other side then stay by your bodies and Death himself will resurrect you."
A skeletal hand landed softly on his shoulder as Death's Hand floated up beside him. "I will handle things from here. You must end the threat to this planet. My Master does not need more work this day." An awful rasping sound came from the cloaked figure. Superman realised it was a chuckle… Xander had really perfected his character.
Superman nodded before taking to the skies with the other heroes in pursuit. The Green Lanterns transported Batman and the Flash who were still trying to hide their magic.
This left Death's Hand to deal with the President and his cronies. He grinned evilly beneath his hood… he was going to have so much fun.
There was one huge ship in orbit above the planet surrounded by thirteen other ships.
They weren't in orbit very long as they were quickly retreating from the planet filled with beings that managed to defeat them so easily.
But Superman and the Green Lantern Corp felt they had an obligation to deal with these monsters now, before they found another planet to terrorise.
None of the Sekirei were capable of operating in space. Miya's ever-present wings gave her the ability to fly but she couldn't survive the vacuum. Batman, Wonder Woman and the Flash were blessed with magic from Harry so they could and did join the battle with the Corp, Superman and the rest of the Castle residents.
Superman and a team of Lanterns used their immense power to push the largest ship towards the sun. Superman and the Lanterns had phased through the ships engines destroying them so it couldn't resist. Superman then followed on as the Green Lanterns fell back as they couldn't fight the sun's gravity.
The rest of the Lanterns, with the castle residents and super heroes, were also phasing into the other ships. The engines were easily dealt with but then they had to engage in running battles as the energy weapons were very effective against them even when they were phased.
It was Wolverine who turned the tide of the battle when he got fed up of getting pinned down. He angrily began hacking away at the magic resistant hull from the inside until he caused hull breaches that would suck the vacuum vulnerable aliens out leaving the rest of them happy to stroll along to the next fight.
The rest of the mutants began utilising their gifts as X-23 and Cyclops followed Wolverine's approach.
There wasn't much metal in these ships so Lorna couldn't rip them apart. She was able to strip some of the metal to create metal cylinders that were passed to Jean and Neville who quickly began inscribing runes on them. Pretty soon Dani was hacking away with a lightsabre.
You couldn't conjure a lightsabre for some reason… unless you were Harry. The runes had to be etched onto un-conjured metal. The magical energy retained by the conjured metal interfered with the runes and it took several years before it dissipated enough. The other option was to have Harry cleanse the metal.
Eventually they were left with several empty and disabled ships littering the orbit of Earth.
"Damned aliens can't even be bothered to clear up after themselves." Wolverine grumbled over the comm. lines as they floated in space with the Lanterns observing the wreckage.
"We need to get all this alien tech out of orbit." Cyclops said. "The last thing we need is it falling into the Earth's gravity and destroying cities."
"We could put them back on Mars." Lorna suggested. "Or even the moon."
"Mars would be better." Jean voiced her opinion. "The last thing humanity needs to see when it looks up at a full moon is a reminder of all this death and destruction."
"If Lord Death is willing, moving some of it to Oa would be helpful. We could study the technology and maybe discover other places they have invaded. If they always destroy the people they conquer then there maybe hundreds of lost civilisations." The Green Lantern, Tomar-Re, offered.
"Sure." Neville nodded. "We'll put them on Mars for now and have Harry teleport what you need to Oa when he has time."
"See? I told you these humans were well protected." Kilowog said triumphantly as he slapped J'onn on the back as they watched the end of the battle in space.
J'onn looked torn between relief and depression.
"What's got you down? It's over. Those invading bastards won't ever be a problem again."
"I can't help but wonder what would have happened if this 'Death' person had been here to save my people. What is it about humans that made them special enough to save?" He asked with just a tiny hint of bitterness.
Kilowog grunted unhappily. "I'd kill those thoughts if I were you. The Corp is filled with people who have failed to stop invaders or who are the last of their kind." He advised. "Take the kid, Superman. He's the last of his kind. The last Kryptonian, his parents stuffed him in a ship as a little poozer and launched him into space just before his planet exploded."
"And Harry was the last living being… the last living anything in his home universe for millions of years."
Both men turned at the sound of a female voice entering the hall.
"Lana, everything sorted in the cities?" Kilowog asked the raven haired Amazon.
"No, I needed to stop using magic. I can feel that tattoo reacting to it." She sighed as she sat down. "I think I might ask Harry to just recreate my body and then move my soul over."
"I still don't get this magic stuff." He grumbled. "I can use it like my ring, but I don't get how it works in the world. Especially this soul stuff."
"Perhaps a more helpful analogy would exist within your own culture." J'onn suggested. "Everything I have been told so far is described from a human cultural perspective."
"Huh?"
"He saying you should find someone in the Corp who comes from a similar culture to yours and see if they can explain it." Lana smiled.
"Meh, I'll just ask Sinestro."
"Do we know who the bird woman is?" Lana asked as she saw The Flash's new companion hovering in space with the others.
"Nope, she just turned up and started hitting things. My type of woman." Kilowog smiled appreciatively.
"How strong is she?"
"She was able to smash holes in the tripods, but I couldn't see if that was just a function of her weapon." He said as he thought about it analytically. "Y'Know, I think I recognise her species." He said as the image managed to zoom in.
"Thanagarian."
Kilowog turned from the monitors to Lana in surprise.
She just shrugged. "They are in the database and ours are connected to Oa and the Lantern archives." She explained as she began sifting through the information on the holographic screen being projected in front of her. The table in the Great Hall was just as sophisticated as the lab equipment where they stored Clark's ship.
"Yeah… kind of a warrior race." Kilowog rubbed his chin as he recalled what he knew. "Something about defeating their gods with a special metal. Might want to look that up and warn Kal and the others."
"Sending the data to the Cuckoos now. They can inform the others through Cerebro."
"Those girls creep me out more than the Guardians." Kilowog shivered.
"But we think you are so cute!"
"And that is just one of the reasons why." He said grumpily as they spoke in his mind.
"That… was a lot of carnage." Harry exclaimed as he slumped tiredly into a chair as he appeared with Xander having resurrected most of the fallen soldiers. "Lana?" He queried the presence of the young Amazon.
"Using my magic is causing that tattoo to have a reaction. We don't know what it is and I don't want to risk anything." She explained; it was clear this was upsetting her a bit.
"I was meaning to talk to you about this but we got a little caught up." Harry grimaced as he sat up and leaned forward. "That thing is like a rune. It's been tied to your soul. I am well and truly pissed about this and when I find the bastard who did it you can be assured they will feel my full wrath." He growled angrily.
"Her soul?" Xander asked just as shocked as Lana was. "Screw that, they can feel the wrath of everyone else first. I'm sure Clark and Aphrodite will want in on the action, Lana is one of their Amazons."
Lana took a deep calming breath. "But you can do something about it, right?"
"Not without damaging your soul." He said sadly.
"Damaging whose soul?" Lorna asked as she and the others walked into the Great Hall. All the heroes were there including the new Thanagarian and Hal and Sinestro. The other Lanterns had returned to their duties.
Harry looked to Lana in askance for permission to divulge the information.
She nodded resignedly.
"The tattoo on her back is etched into her soul. She has stopped using magic because it has been reacting to it. The only way for me to remove the tattoo is to excise part of her soul."
"What's the big deal? You take out the tat' and then link her with some of us." Dani shrugged as they all took their seats.
The Thanagarian took a seat warily between Miya and Barry who had deactivated his armour and was now in civilian clothes like the others.
"Dani, we are talking about souls." Amara chided. "Regardless of what happens there will be a huge change in her life."
"If she needs a person to bond with she could bond with me." Chloe offered.
Lana smiled gratefully at her friend and sister.
"There is a whole island of women willing to be bonded with her." Diana smiled. "Volunteers will not be a problem."
"A whole island full of Danielle Moonstars." Emma said with a shudder.
"Why would we be Danis?" Kyla asked.
"When Dani found out that Amara had lost her soul mate she immediately understood the situation and offered herself as a soul mate." Emma explained.
"She didn't even hesitate." Amara said as she smiled fondly at Dani.
"What's to think about? She needed me, I wasn't going to say no." Dani shrugged, she was clearly a little uncomfortable with the attention.
"You can all think on it for a while." Harry said firmly. "I need to spend some time with Lana so I can examine the tattoo more clearly and determine the best way to do this."
Lana was playing with her hands nervously when a bolt of light hit her. She looked up at Jean curiously.
"A calming charm, doctor's orders." She assured her.
She did feel a lot better now.
"Relax, no one is going to use magic on you unless you get hostile and attack us physically." Barry suddenly said.
They all saw that the Thanagarian was now holding her mace.
She hadn't noticed Miya had her hand on the hilt of her sword in response.
"I'm Harry, Harry Potter. There are a lot of people here so I won't bother giving you all their names now, maybe you could ask them later. But perhaps you could tell us your name and why you have come to this planet?"
"And who are you to demand my name?" She asked hotly.
"I'm the guy who can not be killed. I'm the guy who decides when you die. I'm the guy who just resurrected over four thousand dead soldiers. I'm the guy who enabled the people around you to repel an invasion with little effort. I am the guy who needs to know whether you are a threat to this planet." Harry spoke calmly but with passion, but his irritation was clear as his mouth and nose began to glow as his dragon's breath was stoked by his emotions.
The thing that made her pale was the other people in the room who had shifted into alternate forms, the one made of diamond, one of molten lava fire and several who were surrounded in fire but did not burn. Not to mention the two individuals with large metal claws or the others with energy swords.
And that didn't even begin to deal with the two Green Lanterns, wielders of the most powerful weapons in the galaxy.
"I am Shayera Hol, of Thanagar. I came to this planet as a scout for my people, simply to increase our knowledge of potential threats." She assured them. "I saw the invaders and the opportunity to fight. My people are warriors."
"Well, you are welcome as long as your intentions are peaceful to the planet. We will be happy to answer any questions you have later." Harry gave her a respectful nod that she returned.
Bruce wasn't too happy with this; he thought they should find out more about her. He would speak with Harry in private later. Of course Harry could tell from her soul that she had concealed a lot of the truth.
"Ok, the aliens are repelled and the telepaths will continue scanning the planet for any other infiltrators." Harry announced.
Shayera tried to maintain her expression when she heard they had telepaths, this was not what she expected to deal with.
"Whilst Dad and I dealt with resurrecting the soldiers we also captured the American President and his cabinet. We handed them straight to the Hague for holding until they can be tried for war crimes."
"War crimes? I hope genocide comes up in the charges." Laura scoffed.
"What about the interim government?" Scott asked.
"The Alliance is holding down the fort for now. The on site diplomats are working with the highest ranking members of the government left to ensure that elections will take place within six months. In the meantime the Alliance is going to request a UN group to come in and moderate things and observe the Alliance as they try to put the country back on its feet."
"Why don't you just retain control for yourselves?" Shayera asked. "You are clearly the most powerful group on the planet. You have already beaten these Americans, their spoils are yours to claim."
"Humans are a very independent and opinionated people." Miya explained from next to her. "Although we could do as you say, the people would rebel and there would be many deaths and injuries."
"Put down the loudest and the rest will follow."
Clark smiled as he remembered Harry telling him he had operated in a similar manner when necessary. "Harry will do that as a last resort." He told her from between Aphrodite and Kyla.
"What about the alien tech now lying around?" Bruce asked. "It could be devastating in the wrong hands."
"The Amazons have collected most of the larger pieces but it is inevitable that we missed some." Amara answered. "There is very little that could stand against our combined might though."
"I'm more worried about the innocents that will be caught in the crossfire." Bruce countered.
"Death is a fact of life, Bruce. I'll do what I can but people will die because of the stupidity and greed of others." Harry assured him.
"What is the current response of the other countries?" Chloe asked. "Have they made any declarations about how they intend to respond to the days events?" She was sub-consciously rubbing her stomach where she had been impaled by falling debris when rescuing a young family. Fortunately she wasn't alone and Lorna had patched her right up. But it was still a horrifying ordeal.
Plus she really didn't want to go through childhood again so soon.
"They are all turtling up." Laura sighed. "Activating every soldier and reservist. Some countries are enforcing conscription."
"That is a sound strategy." Shayera pointed out. This would also give her the opportunity to observe the Earth's military might.
"Except they are going to start infringing on people's freedoms." Jean countered.
"I am more worried that they will start looking into weapons of mass destruction more actively." Emma scowled. "The last thing we need is more nuclear weapons."
"Could we work on a defensive orbital system?" Scott queried. "Something like a planetary shield using some technology from home or perhaps from the Lantern database?"
"We can look into it." Harry agreed, though it was clear he was reluctant to make use of too much advanced tech.
"If you are so worried about saving people, why did you not just destroy the invaders on the red planet?" Shayera asked curiously. "You have the ability."
"It was inevitable that people would die." Neville answered. "If we had dealt with the threat from Mars then they would have been suspicious and paranoid of us. They have already sent people after us. For us it was a matter of controlling the purpose for their deaths. In defence of their planet from an actual threat or whilst attacking us, when we don't have any negative intentions towards them.
"We are not conquerors."
"*cough* North Korea. *cough*" Barry muttered into his hand.
"Most of us are not conquerors." Neville amended.
"Are there any other questions or issues?" Emma asked.
"Yeah, how are we supposed to go back to school after this?" Kyla asked.
"You wake up, get washed, get dressed, have breakfast, get on the bus and walk through the door." Harry smirked.
A/N: The last of the American Government.
When I say the American Government I mean the current incarnation. After all, you can in know way compare the government of todays Germany with Hitler's government. In fact, you quite easily say that Hitler's government was not a 'German' government... it was Hitler's government. The first jews Hitler went after were German after all and most people seem to forget that.
But for this story the United States of America has been forced to change. There will still be idiots in power but the Alliance will be keeping a leash on who can actually run for President and government.
Freedom of Speech is not freedom to be complete and utter bastard.
