26
Saturn Queen received the message she'd been expecting from Luthor so she relayed it to Lightning Lord, "Mekt, Luthor has our temporary headquarters prepared and it's available for our use. I'll take the Justice Leagues and secure the site."
"Any particular reason the rest of us are staying behind?" Lightning Lord asked.
"The Justice League of America and the remnant of the JSA All Stars have landed in Paris and the local police are convoying them across the city now," Saturn Queen explained, "The Crime Syndicate and the Legion forces gathered here should be enough to bloody their noses under your leadership."
"Bloody but don't kill?" Lightning Lord was surprised.
"Remember all of those alternate timelines we observed before being captured and imprisoned in the very time we sought to change?" Saturn Queen asked a semi-rhetorical question, "In all of those the JLA and the All Stars were the last to break. We only to keep softening them up until we have everyone else of consequence under our thumb and then we can completely and finally destroy the JLA and All Stars."
"What else should I know about them?" Lightning Lord asked Eve Aries to recall information from her time as Tessa Richardson-Arthur.
"The All Stars are the idealists but most of them are young and relatively inexperienced. But the Shining Knight will be with them and he'll be hell on wheels trying to find me," Saturn Queen described the teams, "The JLA are the pragmatists. They'll employ brutal, and even lethal, means to stop us."
"That goes against the Justice League's supposed 'code'," Lightning Lord commented.
"The JLA is sponsored by the American government and run by their ARGUS agency. In the timelines where we didn't intervene, the JLA continues to serve their country until masked mystery men and women are outlawed except for the newly refurbished JLU that Superman leads thirty-five years from now. Even he bows before the authority of the estate once again by then."
"My supposed team's rate of success against foes like the JLA and All Stars doesn't inspire confidence," Lightning Lord grumbled.
"As long as they know it's just a delaying action with a clean exit guaranteed, they'll rise to the challenge," Saturn Queen promised, "Their collective heads are puffed up over their combined victories over the JLU and JLI. They'll be eager to add a JLA notch to their belts. Particularly the Crime Syndicate."
"All right, you'd best be going then," Lightning Lord urged her.
"Your destination coordinates have already been uploaded into you boom tube controller," Saturn Queen promised him, "And this will give me an opportunity to check on Cosmic King."
"You think you'll need to?" Lightning Lord asked, "Because it'll offend him if you do."
"This is Laevar we're talking about. The only hotter heads in our Legion are Sun Emperor's and Titania's," she reminded him.
"Good point," Lightning Lord admitted, "I'll rally my troops while you march yours onward."
Lightning Lord gently took hold of Saturn Queen's arm before she departed, "Take care, Eve. This is our biggest operation ever. The slightest miscalculation and we erase our timeline altogether. And potentially ourselves with it."
"I know, Mekt," Saturn Queen reassured him, "But we have to have faith on this one. You remember what faith was like, don't you?"
There was a hint of instability in his eyes as he said, "Yes."
Inside the Dome, Killer Frost was still hunting Gypsy down, "Hello? Where did you go off to I wonder?"
"None of your business," a disembodied voice replied.
Killer Frost looked around and thought for a second that Gypsy was employing her camouflage powers again. But the voice was deeper and huskier than the teenager's. Then a mist came billowing out of the closest air vent and the grill covering the vent began to melt as it did so.
Killer Frost smirked, "Vapor, I presume."
Psi had bragged about dispersing Vapor into the breeze. Which this turn of events meant Psi's boasts were her usual brand. Nothing but hot air.
"You do know mists, vapors, and gases can be frozen. Right?" Killer Frost had to wonder.
"You won't get a chance," Vapor pushed up against the ceiling and went through the seams of the access panels and into the joists above.
Killer Frost heard an ungodly amount of hissing noises and she began to back away. Suddenly the ceiling struts and joists began to come crashing down, blocking the corridor. She shook her head in amusement.
"This won't stop me for long, Vapor," she advised the JLI Deputy Field Commander.
"It doesn't have to," Vapor floated down the unobstructed hallway.
Vapor went through the cracks around the door to the command center. Gypsy was at the security monitors reporting in to what sounded like Little Mermaid and Godiva. Vapor called out to her.
"Killer Frost is on her way. I slowed her down but she's going to get here regardless of what I do about it. We have to get you out of here," Vapor informed her.
"But how?" Gypsy wondered.
"Lift the console panel to you left. There will be a red button. Hit it," Vapor instructed.
Gypsy complied and hydraulic piston shoved out a section of the rear wall so Vapor added, "There's a hidden passageway that leads to the gardens. Go through it and hit the blue button on your way out. I'll be right behind you."
Gypsy complied and the wall section sealed itself again. But Vapor was already in the hidden passageway. She melted down the pistons so the door wouldn't open itself again. Then she billowed her way outside. A stiff breeze was blowing now and Vapor was still having difficulty keeping herself cohesive so she reverted back to her human form.
And then a sharp pain lanced through her side and blood began to pour from it. Leaning against the wall she sank down to a sitting position and pulled her tunic up. A large swathe of flesh had been torn out of her side. Vapor had suspected she hadn't pulled all of herself together after what Psi had done to her. Now she knew the full truth of it.
Gypsy suddenly reappeared from scouting ahead, "Omigod! You're hurt."
"Only while I live," Vapor grimly joked.
"Dammit! You'll bleed out if I try and get help," Gypsy predicted, "You're going to have to come with me."
Gypsy had joined the original JLU at age fourteen. She'd spent the next five years facing catastrophes except for a brief interlude with her parents and living a typical life. But in all that time, Gypsy had never been this assertive.
"I hear you, boss," Vapor tried to chuckle but it hurt too bad, "I just don't know if I can get up."
Gypsy held out a hand and Vapor used the hand from the side without the gaping wound to accept the offer of help. As it was she still hissed between her teeth with pain and was light headed upon standing. Gypsy pulled Vapor's arm across her shoulder and wrapped her own arm around Vapor's waist.
Slowly they made it out to the police barricades where they were recognized and medical treatment was offered to Vapor while they prepped for an ambulance ride to the hospital. Not quite knowing what else to do, Gypsy rode along and calmly reassured Vapor until the wounded woman fainted from blood loss.
The police convoy arrived at the Dome. Located behind the barricades, the JLA and All Stars debarked from their vehicles. Col. Trevor had foregone the usual aerial accompaniment of Power Girl, Black Adam, Isis, Hawkman, and Troia. Most of who were highly disgruntled by the fact.
What became apparent the other Justice Leagues were nowhere in sight, Hawkman couldn't resist a dig, "It seems we're already too late, Colonel."
"Yet the Crime Syndicate and the Legion are simply holding position. So there has to be something worthwhile to hold," Trevor remarked.
"Or perhaps they already knew we were coming," Black Adam said haughtily, "Therefore we never had an element of surprise to lose."
"We could argue this until doomsday," Trevor admitted.
"Which could very well come tomorrow if our source is reliable," Black Adam gibed.
"Enough," Trevor tersely ordered, "The Justice Leagues are gone. If they knew about our arrival than that may indicate a weakness in the Legion's hold over them. In any case, the task at hand is to designate targets and secure prisoners for interrogation."
"For once, I agree with you," Hawkman allowed.
"Thank you, Carter. Your vote of confidence means absolutely nothing to me," Trevor jabbed, "Gather around people. We're doing this one by the numbers. And remember, our secondary objective besides securing prisoners is to buy time for Little Mermaid, Godiva, and Goldilocks to infiltrate the Dome and secure the security recordings so we can determine precisely how the JLI lost and how the Legion asserted control over them."
Power Girl found herself immediately intercepted by Ultraman. His technique was its usual blunt, brute force approach. But he was also highly motivated by some burning passion. Galatea couldn't know that it was his desire to please his "father", Lightning Lord. All she knew was that she was the focus of his wrath. Which suited her just fine. She'd owed him for a long time and he was due some punishment, not just on his own behalf, but also that of Superman.
Black Adam was confronted by Superwoman. Whereas Ultraman was your basic thug with super powers, Superwoman was a finely honed living weapon. The Marvel Family was empowered with all knowledge and skill regarding combat through Achilles. The Black Marvels had no such patron. The Egyptian pantheon was universally good at one thing: death. Pitted against a furious Amazon, Black Adam found himself sorely tested as he began to actually endure some punishment.
Isis met up with the new Power Ring. Her heart went out towards Jessica Cruz because it was obvious the Ring of Volthoom was tormenting her and playing upon her personal fears. But the manifestations of those fears were superimposed over Isis, therefore making her a target of Power Ring's misguided wrath. As much as Isis pitied Jessica, Power Ring was too great a threat to leave unchecked.
Question and Huntress found themselves facing off against Atomica. Question advised his wife, "Avoid near proximity. She will attempt to enter your body and create catastrophic damage."
"Oh poo!" Atomica mock pouted, "You've gone and spoiled my fun. But I don't have to be inside you to kill you. It's just easier and faster that way."
She shrank out of sight and Question cautioned, "Be ready for anything."
"No shit, Sherlock," Huntress kept searching for Atomica.
As they turned a circle, back to back, Helena Bertinelli was suddenly thrown off of her feet by a growing Atomica. Huntress rolled back onto her feet and drew and fired her crossbow. But Atomica had already shrunk out of the way.
"Crap!" Huntress fumed, "This could take all day."
Signalman unleashed a flurry of sights and sounds against Batwoman. But it was all to no avail. Batwoman relentlessly closed in on him.
"That the best you got?" she inquired.
"Mother…" Signalman entreated help from a deceased matron that he idolized despite her having thrown him out of the home at age sixteen.
"Someone tore his cannon hand apart," Speedy noted of KGBeast to Black Canary.
Black Canary signaled Speedy to stand down as she marched on KGBeast while he struggled to pull the bolt on a submachine gun with only one hand to handle the weapon.
"Okay," Speedy backed, "Go flex some muscles."
Ri and Darknight were assigned to neutralize Darkwing. Darkwing immediately spat on the ground, "Bah! They insult me by pitting a woman against me? I will personally kill every one of you for this outrage."
Ri and Darknight exchanged a puzzled glance. Then Ri merely shrugged and motioned for Darknight to take the lead. Darknight pulled his batons out of his leg holsters and Darkwing removed the hatchets from their housings on his back.
They began a modified style of stick fighting employing and developing original variations as they battled. Which revealed Darkwing had underestimated Darknight's skill. So he was angry at himself and even angrier at Darknight for making him feel that way. And, as anger clouded his judgment, Darknight disarmed Darkwing.
Darkwing began throwing knives from his utility belt. Darknight swatted most of them away, the others he dodged. But finally, one impaled his upper arm. Ri stepped in and pulled the blade free. Then she applied her healing touch and the wound vanished. Giving Darkwing a satisfied smile, she stepped aside again.
And Darkwing's rage burned within him.
Troia couldn't believe the odds as she'd been assigned to tackle Blockbuster. Troia knew this female Blockbuster was just the latest in a string of them. The last she'd personally executed after a prolonged struggle that wounded and killed dozens of civilians in Fawcett City.
Troia knew from experience that as a Blockbuster's rage grew so their strength did as well. But it limited their intelligence and confused their judgment. So the Blockbuster in question could be easily outwitted as they became increasingly animalistic.
"Didn't I just kill you? Or at least a 'you' with balls hanging down rather than what's left of your boobs. I know there's not much left there but you might want to cover up a bit more. Somebody might go into nipple shock if they realize you're not actually man," Troia mocked Blockbuster.
"Raaagh!" Blockbuster roared at the top of her lungs.
As Blockbuster moved in towards Troia, Donna realized that despite Blockbuster's increasing anger, her intelligence still gleamed as brightly in her eyes. But Rachel Sands had never had a moment's training in how to fight. As Blockbuster she simply relied on brute force and her own increased durability and immunity to most forms of harm. But Donna Troy had trained for half her life in various forms of martial combat. So she knew things were about to get interesting once again.
Blockbuster lunged at Troia and found herself flat on her back. She rose and tried again with similar results. Ultra-Humanite had assured Rachel that the rage wouldn't consume her but she knew she was close to crossing that threshold.
"Okay, warm-ups are done," Troia announced, "Ready to go at it for real now?"
Blockbuster charged like a bull.
"How many times are we going to do this, Danya?" Hawkman asked Sparrow Hawk.
"You tell me, Carter," Sparrow Hawk snidely replied, "When's it going to finally come down to just one of us walking away? It's hard to come back when you're dead."
"Fine, I can deal with that," Hawkman told her.
"In the air then?" she asked.
"See you there," Hawkman turned and flew in one direction while Sparrow Hawk went the other way.
Then they both turned to come at each other.
Cyclone stared up at Giganta as she and King Chimera came to fulfill their assignment, "King?"
"I'll distract her, Maxine. You do what you do best," King Chimera urged.
"What the…?" Giganta remarked as the Marvel Family flew past her. Then Sentinel and the original Flash came at her on or near the ground, "No fair! My Flashy ran off and never came back."
"Oh. My. God," Cyclone breathed as she edged near Giganta's skirt line.
"What?" King Chimera impatiently asked.
"She's not wearing any underwear," Cyclone hissed.
King Chimera got an odd look on his face, "Can you imagine finding a pair that either fits or can stretch that far?"
"I suppose," Cyclone was troubled by the expression he'd worn a moment again.
"Just create a tornado already," King Chimera urged.
Giganta swept a kick across the boulevard to attack the "Flash" and she bowled over Cyclone and King Chimera instead.
The All Stars she'd tried fighting vanished. Giganta took a second to process this, "Waitaminute."
She looked down and smirked, "Hiya King, long time no see."
"True enough, Giganta," King admitted.
"Trying to get under my skirt again, I see," Giganta grinned.
Cyclone shot daggers at King Chimera. King Chimera shook his head, "It wasn't like that this time."
"Too bad for you, I would've let you," Giganta made ready to stomp on Cyclone and King Chimera.
Volcana had fireballs rotating in midair over her hand, "What? They sent the junior varsity?"
Lightning tried not to be offended. After all her father, Black Lightning, and his protégé, Black Vulcan, were the world famous ones. Even her sister, Thunder, had a degree of infamy having died a hero's death with the Outsiders.
"You really sure you want to do this?" Lightning asked Volcana.
"Stop, you're scaring me," Volcana deadpanned.
Lightning unleashed a torrent of electricity at Volcana. But nothing happened. Lightning was horribly confused.
"Benefits of working with Livewire in the Legion of Doom," Volcana sneered, "You get insulated shoes. I'm not grounded, honey. So your little sparking displays are butt ugly useless."
Lightning started squirming and Volcana smirked, "Hold that pose `cause here comes my shot."
Count Vertigo chuckled as he faced Dr. Mid-Nite, "In the good old days my ocular vertigo inducer would've been useless against you because it was visually based and you're blind. But these are the brand new days."
Dr. Mid-Nite threw down a blackout bomb and disappeared in the stygian darkness. Count Vertigo started receiving blows from every side as Dr. Mid-Nite randomly shifted around Vertigo. He'd correctly deduced that Count Vertigo's latest generation vertigo inducer was still line of sight. And he'd spotted it on the Count's belt.
As Count Vertigo was systematically pummeled he finally screamed out, "Stop!"
"Hold fast, varlet!" Shining Knight commanded Multiplex and his duplicates, "I shall have words with thy queen."
"Saturn Queen?" Multiplex had to ask, "Sorry chump. She already split. And speaking of split…"
Multiplex began dividing and producing more doppelgangers. Sir Justin's sword would cleave through one and reduce it to crystalline shards when another would attack him. But Sir Justin had kept track of where the original Multiplex was and he was systematically carving his way towards him.
"I have thee now, arch fiend!" Shining Knight proclaimed.
"Yer lookin' different these days," Wildcat observed of El Diablo.
"I got a whole new attitude," flames licked and danced off of El Diablo's hands.
"So yer gonna be a punk `bout this. And here I was think' ya could actually be a contender," Wildcat scornfully derided El Diablo.
El Diablo snuffed the flames out, "I don't need fire to burn you."
"Good," Wildcat grinned, "`Cause I ain't had a real challenge all week."
Vibe shook Shrapnel apart with his vibration powers before the sentient collection of metallic shards could "explode" himself outwards. Vibe then applied his powers liberally and frequently to keep Shrapnel from reassembling.
"Geez!" Vibe groaned, "If I'd wanted babysitting duties I would have stayed home with mamacita."
Katana slowly drew the SoulTaker from its scabbard across her back. Black Spider did the same with a pair of sickles. Katana nodded towards his hands.
"Interesting choice of weapons," she unobserved.
"I heard you killed Sickle," Black Spider commented, "The Yakuza and the Triads are full of stories of his death. I offer my congratulations. He was a particularly bad man."
"But not as dangerous as Black Spiders that hide their true allegiance," Katana noted, "Or have trained with the Oshinara Clan."
"I should have known you of all people would recognize the training," Black Spider bowed at the waist, "How did you learn?"
"Security footage from an operation you took part in two weeks ago. The style and substance were unmistakable. As is the Oshinara Clan's devout allegiance to Regulus and Basilisk's cause," Katana explained.
"Who have you told?" Black Spider was more than mildly curious.
"No one as of yet," Katana admitted, "You wish to betray the Legion of Doom to Basilisk? Feel free. Come after my allies and I will defend them to your death and that of Regulus himself if need be."
"You have been candid so I shall return the courtesy," Black Spider conceded, "The Legion has targeted Regulus and Basilisk for conversion. Majestic will follow in Regulus' footsteps."
"And why tell me this?" Katana wondered.
"Because you won't live to share the knowledge," Black Spider vowed.
Katana decided she would enjoy this.
"Are we supposed to know her?" Animal Man asked Crimson Fox.
"Non, I do not believe so," Crimson Fox decided.
"You can both kiss my ass," Psi retorted, "And that goes double for you, Frenchie."
"That doesn't work for us," Crimson Fox said.
"Aw, too bad. You can die in true love's embrace," Psi reached out with her telekinesis and began choking both of them, "And the name is Psi. You deserve to know who killed you at least."
Hawk barely ducked under King Shark's claws while Dove vaulted over his head. Hawk delivered an uppercut and had to ask while King Shark stumbled backwards, "What the hell do they feed you?"
"Anything I want," King Shark answered, "Today chicken and pheasant are on the menu."
"We need to keep him moving. Exertion and exposure outside of water will dehydrate him. As he dries out, he'll become more simplistic and the shark nature will overwhelm him as he weakens," Dove explained to Hawk.
King Shark was worried now. Dove had just deduced all of his weaknesses. He had to finish them off quickly.
Little Mermaid flew to the rear entrance to the Dome. She carried Godiva and Goldilocks who'd each created tethers and harnesses with their own hair. As she sat them down, their hair reverted back to its "natural" state. Ulla inputted her access code into the door's security system. It opened to allow them entrance.
"Gypsy stopped reporting in before we arrived," Ulla fretted, "Something may have happened to her."
"We need access to the security logs so we can determine if someone reached her," Godiva commented.
"She may not be herself any longer," Goldilocks reminded her, "Saturn Queen's powers are very subversive."
"I doubt anyone got to her," Godiva countered, "She was manning the security station and had eyes on everything inside as well as the perimeter and immediate airspace. And there are a dozen exits to this facility, some of which are only known to Dr. Mist, Belphegor, Jack, and Vapor."
"Do you hear that?" Ulla asked, "It's coming from the command center."
A tirade of curses could be plainly heard. Ulla rushed into the room, "she may be in trouble!"
Silence loomed. Goldilocks pulled Godiva aside, "Is that kind of outburst typical for Gypsy?"
"Not really," Godiva admitted, "And no one's talking. Not even Ulla."
"Especially not Ulla," Goldilocks warned, "Push on. I'll meet you in there."
Goldilocks hair extended to the ceiling and removed a panel. Then it lifted Goldilocks into the joists. Godiva had to commend her sister on her resourcefulness.
Godiva peered around the doorway and saw a frozen Little Mermaid in the center of the room, "Killer Frost, is it then?"
"Show yourself and we can get the freeze dried portion of our day over with," Killer Frost retorted as she stayed out of sight behind Ulla.
"How about we go separate ways," Godiva suggested, "Each of us to the way we came."
"I want to know who I'm dealing with," Killer Frost replied, "I promise you I won't freeze you on sight."
"Very well," Godiva entered the room and rounded Ulla.
"Oh. My," Killer Frost gasped, "You're even more beautiful in real life."
"Pardon?" Killer Frost's reaction confused Godiva.
"I have a collection of all your magazine interviews. I especially love the Cosmopolitan, Vogue, and Esquire shoots. I had the Maxim as well but El Diablo stole that one. And I have a DVR collection of your news appearances and talk show interviews," Killer Frost admitted.
"Um…thank you?" Godiva had never had a clue that Killer Frost was a fan.
"I always hoped we'd come face to face, especially in Paris," Killer Frost gushed, "Look, let's forget everything and go out for coffee and éclairs. Afterwards we can stroll the banks of the Seine. What do you say?"
"Are you actually flirting with me?" Godiva had to ask.
"No, I'm actually asking you out on a date," Killer Frost clarified.
"Aren't you a killer? After all it's in the name," Godiva replied.
"And I would love to see you naked on horseback riding around the city. After all, it's all in the name, right?" Killer Frost teased her.
"This can't possibly work out," Godiva groaned.
"Have you tried it?" Killer Frost asked, "Never say something is impossible until it's been attempted."
"Maybe a date," Godiva said in a rush, "I can't commit to more right now."
"Hey, it's a start. And I'm Louise. Louise Lincoln," Killer Frost gushed
"Dorcas Leigh," Godiva responded reflexively.
The panel above Killer Frost's head came crashing down and a tendril of Goldilocks' hair wrapped around her throat and lifted her off of her feet.
"No!" Godiva screamed and rolled a chair beneath Killer Frost so she could breathe.
"What the deuce are you playing at, Dora?" Goldilocks yelled down from the ceiling.
"Let her go!" Godiva pleaded, "I have this under control."
"Control? She 's halfway into your knickers," Goldilocks accused.
Killer Frost took hold of Goldilocks hair and Godiva tried to warn her, "Don't freeze…"
But it was too late. And Killer Frost discovered that Goldilocks' enchanted hair was able to easily withstand subzero temperatures and not shatter when frozen, "Damn it! It was worth a try."
Goldilocks lifted Killer Frost again and Godiva, "I'm telling you to put her down."
"I had to get her off the sodding chair to do so," Goldilocks grated as she set Killer Frost on her own feet. Then she lowered herself down from the ceiling, "Since my hair is frozen around Ms. Frost's neck here, I suggest we find a way to thaw it out."
"Look, don't do anything to her. She's in my custody and I'll take care of her," Godiva warned Goldilocks.
"I respect your choice in genders, Dorcas, but she's a Legionnaire," Goldilocks warned her sister in return.
"And so were you when I was defending you," Godiva reminded her, "And look where you are now."
"Very well," Goldilocks sighed, "I defer to your judgment. Now, about my hair and her neck?"
"Do you have any ideas?" Godiva asked her sister.
"Dora, it's your bloody headquarters. You have to have some idea of what's available to do the job," Goldilocks groaned.
"Be right back," Godiva promised as she had an insight.
"So, what can you tell me about your sister?" Killer Frost grinned.
"Dorcas and I haven't really spoken in years. There's been more conversation between us today than in the last five years put together," Goldilocks explained.
"Do you know if I'm her first female attraction?" Killer Frost got to the point.
Goldilocks studied Killer Frost as she answered, "Dora doesn't think I knew she had two different girlfriends at boarding school. She never told our parents but she wrote about it in her diary which is how I learned the truth."
"Naughty girl," Killer Frost chided her, "What about you?" And girlfriends?"
"I was in a sanitarium most of my adolescence. They frowned upon 'fraternization'," Goldilocks grimly told her.
"Ooh! Touchy subject. Sorry," Killer Frost decided to leave that one alone.
Goldilocks just rolled her eyes.
Outside of the Dome, the JLA and the All Stars continued to battle the Crime Syndicate and Legion. Power Girl, tiring of the prolonged engagement, drove a knee into Ultraman's gut. Her left cross destabilized him and her right propelled him into the street below. Power Girl landed directly in front of Ultraman to goad him on.
She blocked his left cross with her right forearm. Then she threw a left jab into his nose. As his eyes watered, she knocked him off of his feet with a right cross. Ultraman flashed her in the face with heat vision. As he stood, the wristband he wore began flashing a green light. Not wanting to disappoint this "father" by disobeying the summons, he darted off.
"Shazam!" Black Adam cried aloud. Mystical lightning washed over him and healed his wounds while it jolted Superwoman off of him.
"I forgot about that little knack of yours," Superwoman admitted while her long, raven hair stood out at end. Her wristband began to flash and she frowned, "Time's up. Time to pay the check."
This time she kicked him, toes pointed, in the throat. Gagging and choking Black Adam found himself unable to breathe and unable to speak to summon the lightning once more. Superwoman studied this with satisfaction in her eyes and flew off.
Isis staged a full frontal assault on Power Ring. The Ring of Volthoom didn't need terrifying visions to motivate Jessica at that point. Isis threw all of the elements at her command at Power Ring. In turn, Power Ring threw the full might of her ring against Isis.
Power Ring shrugged off lightning, fire, gale force winds, rain, and plants worthy of Poison Ivy growing out of the Dome's gardens and trying to grasp her. But Isis was beaten, pummeled, sliced, and pierced by Power Ring's constructs. Her healing factor kept pace with them all but she still felt every wound.
Isis finally closed to deliver a right cross to Power Ring. Jessica tumbled through the air. Stabilizing herself, Power Ring found she had a choice but the Ring Volthoom, facing Isis' courage, encouraged her to exit the area.
Isis was about to pursue when a premonition came to her. Racing to Black Adam's side, she saw his difficulty and wrapped her arms around him and said, "I am Isis!"
The lightning descended upon them both and it healed Black Adam. Black Adam gazed at his wife with adoring eyes, "I am truly and marvelously healed, my beloved wife. How did you come to know I was in distress?"
"Isis herself told me," Isis admitted, "I knew I had to return to your side and assist you in whatever peril had befallen you."
"Thanks to her, and your keen wisdom in obeying the summons of your goddess, you have literally saved my life," Black Adam shared with her, "For I was sorely injured and even my vaunted endurance was waning."
"Then it is a blessed day to have received this gift from the goddess," Isis happily declared, "For the world needs Black Adam just as Adrianna Tomaz and Osiris Adam need Teth-Adam"
"Rest easy, Isis," Black Adam urged, "For you have both. You have since our meeting and you will continue to throughout the centuries. For I endured four thousand years alone in anticipation of our meeting. Now that it has occurred, we shall spend the next four thousand and beyond side by side."
Isis only received her power from the goddess Isis but Black Adam received empowerment from the Egyptian pantheon. Including receiving divine wisdom from Zahuti. As Black Adam swept her into his arms and passionately kissed her, the same way he had since their first kiss, her doubts evaporated.
Atomica tried to unbalance Question but he spun off of her growing frame. Swinging around, he punched her in the jaw. Atomica staggered into Huntress' grip. Tired of the rigmarole, Huntress gripped Atomica's tunic as she punched the Latina in the face. Then she punched her again just for the hell of it.
Atomica landed on her butt and wiped the blood from her face and lips. Her wristband flashed, "Sorry, ducklings. That's my cue to exit."
Atomica shrunk and vanished once again. Question and Huntress stayed poised and ready. After some time had passed, Huntress had to comment.
"I think she really did ditch us this time, Q," she remarked.
"As ever, your powers of observation or impeccably clairvoyant," Question assessed.
"Just for once, just say 'I agree'. It's not that hard," Huntress said testily.
"Very well, I agree," Question testily stated.
"Don't give me attitude," Huntress snorted.
"And you're a fine one to discuss attitudes," Question retorted.
"Aren't you just being sassy today?" Huntress asked.
"Perhaps the fighting brings it out in me," Question observed.
"Well, our 'make up sex' is beyond heaven on Earth," Huntress opined.
"It was the wristband that caught her attention and caused her to depart. It was flashing a green signal, I believe. Could it have been a prearranged order to withdraw?" Question asked.
"So where is it she's supposed to go?" Huntress asked.
"Now that's the question," Question admitted, "Let's look around and see what we can discover."
"Okay, but when we fly out of here we're joining the Mile High Club," Huntress decided.
"Interesting," Question mused.
Signalman kept giving ground to Batwoman. And that was simply because when he didn't she kicked his ass. He did try to rally for a counterattack.
"Karate? Not bad but you don't know much and you're sloppy," Batwoman commented as she punched him again.
Signalman stumbled and fell over. He rubbed his jaw, "So you have polarized lenses in that headgear of yours. The facial contouring is pretty slick too. Try this out."
Signalman dropped his weapon of last resort. It was a strobe bomb. He'd exceeded the typical lumen scale with this one. Hidden behind his cape and wearing protective lenses he was spared the blinding flash. Batwoman wasn't so lucky.
He knew her polarizing lenses kept her from being permanently blinded but her optic nerves were overloaded and she would be legally blind for the next several hours. He got up and waved his hand in front of her face while she groped around.
His wristband flashed, "Aha! I got my signal to depart."
Batwoman blindly threw a backhand at him that he easily evaded by stepping back. Signalman chuckled, "Until later then."
"Get back here!" she angrily yelled as he departed.
Black Canary tore KGBeast apart. She broke his ribs, knocked his teeth out, dislocated the shoulder of his arm, and broke his tibia. Finally, she broke his hip when he impacted from her throwing him to the ground. Even Speedy had been wincing as Black Canary methodically crippled KGBeast.
She joined Black Canary as KGBeast lay on the ground and moaned. Then his wristband began to flash green. Speedy drew an arrow and stood poised to release it. Black Canary unclasped the band and the light turned red. Black Canary tackled Speed as the band detonated and shrapnel broke nearby windows.
"Um…you can get off me now," Mia Deardon grunted.
Dinah Drake Lance rolled off and sat upright to inspect the damage. Speedy rose to her feet, "It's a good thing he was already missing that hand."
Black Canary silently chuckled over that observation.
Darknight was just as systematic in his battle against Darkwing. But Darkwing was just as skilled and deadly as Darknight. Darkwing recognized every one of the fighting systems Darknight brought to bear, especially when they were reduced to hand to hand combat.
Darkwing began to sacrifice defense in order to pursue his attack on Darknight more effectively. Eventually he smashed Darknight through a passenger side window in an abandoned car. As Darkwing stepped back to select Darknight's method of execution, he was unprepared when Ri struck him aside. Drawing her twin Butterfly Dao swords, she prepared to face down Darkwing.
Darkwing wondered what it was about Justice Leagues that pitted inferior women against him. That colored version of history ignored the fact nearly every female JLer he'd faced had defeated him. But his wristband began flashing.
"No!" he bellowed, "Not until this bitch is dead."
He unclasped the band but before he could fully remove it, it detonated and blew his left hand completely off. Darkwing stared at his stump in disbelief. Dropping to his knees he was transfixed by the sight of his wound.
Ri sheathed her swords and picked up the dismembered hand. Taking hold of Darkwing's wrist she pressed the hand back to his arm. As he stared, the flesh and bones fused back together.
Ri stepped back and waited to see his response. As he got to his feet he threw down smoke pellets and withdrew while Ri and Darknight's vision was obscured. Darkwing justified the retreat by convincing himself he'd kill Ri the next time they fought.
"There is gratitude for you," Darknight commented.
"In his own strange way, I think it was a display of thanks," Ri judged.
Blockbuster was destroying scads of property but she hadn't landed a truly effective blow against Troia. Finally, she ripped a lamppost out of the sidewalk and used it as a bat to knock Troia off into the distance. Then her wristband flashed several times and Blockbuster flung the lamppost over her shoulder and trudged off.
Hawkman displayed far greater skill at flying and fighting than Sparrow Hawk had ever experienced from him before. Their aerial combat, sword to sword, reminded Sparrow Hawk of her days training on her Thanagar. And his ferocity reminded her of the Gordanians.
But Carter spotted Troia flailing as she hurtled across the Dome's roof. As he hesitated, Sparrow Hawk started to stab him in the torso. But he saw her movement and only received a grazing wound. He backhanded her with his free hand so hard it knocked her helmet clean off.
As Hawkman flew to Troia's side, Danya retrieved her helmet and placed it back on her head. Tracking Hawkman down, she saw him tending to Troia and she hesitated. Finding herself paralyzed by mixed feelings, Sparrow Hawk flew off seconds before her wristband instructed her to.
A tornado formed next to Giganta and sucked her in before she could step on either Cyclone or King Chimera. She screamed as she was turned around and around. Shrinking to her natural height, Giganta hung from a lamppost when Cyclone dissipated the tornado. Giganta got Lightning Lord's summons after she dropped back down to the sidewalk and she ran off.
"Quick! We can still catch her," King Chimera urged.
"And what exactly will you do with her when you do?" Cyclone folded her arms across her chest.
"Maxine?" he wasn't quite certain of her mood or intent.
"What did she mean when she asked if you were trying to get under her skirt again?" Cyclone demanded to know.
King Chimera sighed because he knew she wouldn't like the answer.
Volcana unleashed a blazing wave of fire at Lightning. Lightning hunkered down and let it pass over her. Then she started streaming electricity in Volcana's direction. But not at Volcana.
"Are you just plain stupid?" Volcana was incredulous, "It. Won't. Work."
Then Volcana took notice that Lightning was aiming at a fire hydrant, "What the…?"
The threads holding the cap melted and the cap blew off and narrowly avoided Volcana's legs. But the stream of pressurized water did knock her over. And soaked her from head to toe.
Lightning charged the entire area and Volcana convulsed as she was electrocuted. Volcana's wristband flashed green several times than reverted to its inactive state. Lightning studied it and thought about removing it but her gut told her to leave well enough alone.
Dr. Mid-Nite mercifully knocked Count Vertigo out. He unclipped the vertigo inducer from the Count's belt and was studying it when Vertigo's wristband began signaling the withdrawal. Dr. Mid-Nite held the band close enough to observe without removing it. He could because this wasn't mere light. It was holographic light. Which meant the band was capable of much more sophisticated communications.
Multiplex left a cadre of duplicates behind to battle Sir Justin as he made his retreat. Shining Knight destroyed all of them in a frenzy and then he began prowling about looking for his one true foe.
El Diablo finally realized he wasn't going to win this bout against Wildcat. He blazed a wall of fire between himself and Wildcat. And he found he was grateful when the recall notice came.
Vibe was taken unawares when Multiplex hit him over the head with a chunk of blacktop ripped up earlier when the JLI fought the Legion. Multiplex divided himself multiple times and gathered all of Shrapnel's constituent parts so he could easily reassemble.
"Thanks," Shrapnel said, "Maybe you're not as dumb as everyone says you are."
"Gee, thanks. How generous of you to say," Multiplex scornfully replied, "We've been ordered to pull out."
"Then let's get the hell out of here," Shrapnel sounded relieved.
Black Spider was reeling. For all of his training, he was barely staying alive. And he could easily tell Katana was largely holding back. The ARGUS files that the Legion did have access to stated that Katana had been considered a natural countermeasure again Wonder Woman or Barda. Now Black Spider understood that assessment.
But Blockbuster dropped a building on Katana as she happened upon the fight. Black Spider saw it coming and still hardly had time to get out of the way. Rather than complain, Black Spider decided to count this turn of events as good fortune.
Animal Man began emitting a strangled whooping cry. Psi became so annoyed she released the JLers while she covered her ears. Animal Man had never realized just how annoying peacocks could be until then.
Crimson Fox went on the attack. After she'd landed several savage blows, Psi responded with her TK talent. Her "shove" was so hard it put Animal Man and Crimson Fox through a brick wall. Psi's wristband flashed and she found herself actually grateful to retreat.
"Meat! Meat! Meat!" King Shark began shouting as he attacked Hawk.
"We've got him where we want him," Dove assessed.
"I don't want him at all," Hawk complained as he tried fending the ravenous King Shark off.
Before either Hawk or Dove could subdue him, King Shark pushed through the police barricades and began running down the Parisian streets. Hawk tried keeping up on foot while Dove flew head and cleared people out of King Shark's path. As if sensing the course of the river, King Shark navigated straight to the Seine and dove in.
But not being satisfied with fresh water, King Shark propelled himself down river towards the Atlantic. Dove left Hawk behind and followed for a time but when she was certain King Shark wasn't going to deviate and eat someone, she broke off her pursuit.
Col. Trevor led the assault against Lightning Lord. Unsure of what Mekt Ranzz's powers were, but taking an educated guess from the lightning bolts on his chest, the JLers attacked. Starling and Trevor used conventional firearms in the fight.
"We should have swapped out for armor piercing loads," Starling observed, "He's just superheating the lead with his electrical powers and melting our bullets before they reach him."
"True, but maybe we can wear him down," Trevor hoped.
Nightshade came at him from his other side while Enchantress flanked him from the other. Bat-Girl and Black Orchid stood by in case Lightning Lord's powers faltered. And then Silver Swan brought her swan song into it and truly threatened Lightning Lord.
He created a frenzied electrical storm that drove back or stunned everybody. Then he signaled the withdrawal. As the Crime Syndicate and Legionnaires reported in, he observed they seemed to be a few bodies short.
"This is a planned, temporary setback. In doing this we wound and distract our enemy from searching out our location while we move forward with our plans of assimilating Earth's super teams into the Legion," Lightning Lord rallied them, "But for now, we'll take a break and then move out again tomorrow."
He activated the boom tune and they left that part of the world.
The prisoners were taken into custody by arriving ISA agents. Agent Gwen Cormaugh, the liaison to all the Justice League groups, stood by waiting for answers. Trevor and his team were revived.
"I take it they're gone," Trevor said wearily.
"It seemed ta be their plan all along," Wildcat pointed out, "They knocked us around a bit then took off whether they had the upper hand or not."
"Did we take casualties?" Trevor asked.
"Batwoman has been temporarily blinded," Wildcat informed him, "Doc Mid-Nite says she'll be fine though. No one else took serious damage but we got three fatalities from the International League."
"Who?" Trevor always hated this part.
"They killed Jack O'Lantern, Wild Huntsman, the Huntsman's horse and hound fer cripe's sake, and they offed Bushmaster," Wildcat reported, "Also, with the ISA here, the French Police are reportin' that two JLers got outta the Dome alive. One was seriously wounded so they took `em both ta the hospital."
"Bat-Girl, Starling, get the name of the hospital where they took the JLers. Go there and find out who they are and what they know. One's wounded so their debrief has to be conducted in the field," Trevor instructed.
"C'mon, Lizzie. We get to party in the old town tonight," Starling grinned.
"I want those reports before you party," Trevor insisted.
"He's never been any fun," Starling pouted as she and Bat-Girl went looking for a local police official.
"Power Girl, I need you to set up a perimeter," Trevor ordered, "No one without a badge gets in or out."
"Yes, Colonel," Galatea nodded.
"Yer headed inta the Dome, ain't ya?"Wildcat realized.
"It has answers we need," Trevor insisted.
"Lemme round up a coupla All Stars and we'll go with," Wildcat requested.
"I need to collect the Question and the Huntress anyway. Meet me at the main entrance," Trevor told him.
They made it to the command center and found it occupied. Gwen had come with them so she led Huntress and Question to the security station, "The ISA installed these systems. They're identical to what we use at our precincts. Just let me know what you're after and I'll pull it up."
"Let's begin with the Legion's assault on the JLI," Question instructed.
Godiva had been using her own hair dryer to thaw Goldilocks' hair out. Finally Goldilocks broke her hair out of the ice and ran it through her closed hand to shuck the remaining ice off. Goldilocks accepted the hair dryer and started pinpointing the problem areas.
Trevor approached Killer Frost, "Frost, you're under arrest. I'm taking you into custody."
"Pardon me, Colonel. But Killer Frost is already in custody. Justice League International custody in general and my custody in particular," Godiva intervened.
"You don't have a team to hold her with," Trevor argued.
"Colonel, you lead the Justice League of America. Is this even remotely America? This is Paris. France is a far, far thing from being America. You have no jurisdiction. Whereas I, as a member of the JLI, have jurisdiction in every UN member state including your own country. Now kindly back the hell off before I tie you up in the World Court for the next decade," Godiva threatened.
Trevor looked helplessly at Killer Frost. She merely smirked back at him. He didn't like the implications.
"Has anyone tried thawing Little Mermaid out?" Trevor asked.
"You're going to want to get her to water as soon as she's thawed out," Killer Frost saw Trevor's glare, "I'm just saying."
"It's a sound principle for Atlanteans. Even a half-Atlantean like Ulla. Being thawed will dry their tissues out and she'll need to be submerged without delay. In salt water if it's feasible," Dr. Mid-Nite prescribed.
Trevor activated his transceiver, "Power Girl, hand over command to Black Adam. You're needed inside."
She appeared seconds later, "You called?"
Dr. Mid-Nite explained the principles of what was going to occur. Galatea nodded, "I understand. Stand back and get some towels."
Her heat vision quickly melted most of the ice until there was a thin veneer coating Ulla's skin. When it cracked, steam began hissing out of it. Killer Frost shouted.
"Get her to water! Now!" she pleaded.
Suddenly Ulla and Power Girl were missing and a strong wind blew through the room. Trevor studied Killer Frost, "I'm surprised you care. It belies your reputation."
"Some reputations are deserved and others are hyperbole," Killer Frost replied, "Let's just say I started out wanting to be bad but it's lost its appeal. I never meant to freeze Little Mermaid but she just rushed in and startled me. Freezing her was just reflex. Sort of like the muscle memory in your trigger finger."
"She didn't freeze me even though she had the opportunity to," Godiva pointed out, "But she gave her word and she held to it."
"That's really kind of you to say so," Killer Frost demurred, "But I'm a super villain. I really did intend on freezing you after already taking your teammate down."
Godiva looked wounded and Trevor wondered just what the hell was going on here? He got a call from Black Adam, "Col. Trevor, an Inspector Jobeau has arrived and is requesting to speak to you."
"Do you know an Inspector Jobeau?" Trevor asked Godiva.
"Yes, Gerard Jobeau is the INTERPOL liaison with the JLI," she answered.
"Send him in," Trevor instructed.
"Hey! JLI person, we've got bits and pieces of two of your robot buddies. Where do you want them all?" Vibe was still nursing a headache.
"Further down the hall is a room marked 'Mechanoid', put Reddy and Chrysalis in there," Godiva said.
"The city coroners came and collected your friends," Cyclone informed Godiva.
She gave Killer Frost a sharp look. The Legionnaire held up both hands, "Don't look at me. I didn't kill anyone. This is the first I've heard of it."
Godiva wanted to believe Killer Frost's good faith but it was becoming increasingly difficult to. And she could see that Killer Frost recognized that fact and it frustrated her. And Killer Frost's record with handling frustration was a very poor one indeed.
"Does anyone know what the hell happened to Guy Gardner?" Trevor suddenly asked as Nightshade and Enchantress entered the room.