12 Justice League Night Falls
The original Flash, Cyclone, King Chimera, and Judomaster joined the last cluster of JLers. Flash met Flash and they were soon trading jokes. The Ray approached them.
"Excuse me Jay, but is Mary Marvel with you?" Ray asked.
Jay suddenly got a worried look on his face, "I'm afraid she's been possessed."
"How are you holding a Marvel down then?" Ray was immediately concerned.
"The Marvels have all been turned mortal," Jay explained, "Even the Black Marvels."
"Where is she?" Ray was almost frantic.
"They're all due south. Right down the street. You can't miss them," Jay described their whereabouts.
The Ray took flight and headed south. Jay looked to the current Flash, "I thought that ship had sailed."
Flash shrugged, "Who knows? C'mon, the bad guys need a few hundred black eyes. We've got thirty seconds to deliver them. You with me?"
"Bring it on youngster," Jay grinned and they took off.
Cyclone and King Chimera came to Red Tornado's aid. King Chimera created an image of Surtur and the demons began to bow before it. He cast a worried look Cyclone's way.
"They may be stupid but this will only last as long as none of them turns around to see the real thing," King warned.
Cyclone focused on Red Tornado, "Are you having troubles, Reddy?"
"Indeed Maxine, I cannot seem to utilize my cyclonic abilities," Red Tornado admitted.
"Have you tried compensating for the ionization in the atmosphere?" Cyclone asked.
"I was unaware of any ionization effects," Red Tornado divulged.
"Trust me, it's there," Cyclone shared, "My hair hasn't been this limp in months."
"Maxine, I don't think he's interested in your hair," King Chimera interjected.
She shooed him away, "Just isolate the air as though it's been superheated by a plasma discharge."
A small cyclone began to appear and Red Tornado was exultant, "My thanks Maxine. I doubt I would have isolated the problem on my own."
"Sure you would have. You're…" Cyclone began to reassure him.
"They've figured it out!" King Chimera warned, "Whatever you're going to do, do it fast!"
"Ready?" Cyclone grinned and waved a hand towards the demons. A twister immediately formed in their midst. Hundreds were sucked into it.
Red Tornado reached out and conjured another tornado. It took up the rest that had been gathered against them. He then began to move it across the backfield towards the portal the demons were emerging from. Cyclone followed his example.
"That's brilliant, Reddy!" she enthused, "Maybe we can cut them off at the source!"
"Maybe you just might be able to," King Chimera mused.
Aztek had come to Ice's aid. Vixen continued to call out targets but then a small batch of demons got behind Aztek and Ice. Fire came to Vixen's aid but the battle soon turned against them. Vixen called upon the abilities of a mountain gorilla but she was still losing ground. Fire was an average person with little to no combat training. She'd always relied upon her meta-human abilities and those only caused the demons to thrive.
Vixen was beginning to despair when a red clad female form jumped into the fray. She delivered one blow after another in steady succession. The thing was, she was never touched by a single demon in return. Not even a passing swipe.
Judomaster had the first batch of demons down within a few minutes. Vixen rushed to her side to congratulate her, "I have to admit that I don't have a clue as to who you are but that was simply amazing."
"I am called Judomaster," she revealed, "I am a member of the Justice Society."
Vixen could easily tell English wasn't Judomaster's strong suit. However, kicking ass was. Vixen could forgive a lot to someone that had just saved her life.
"Well, I have to thank you and so does my friend here," Vixen nudged Fire, who gave a cursory thank you; "How would you like a little help this time?"
"I would greatly appreciate any assistance you would offer," Judomaster readily said. Vixen found the careful way Judomaster sought the precise words to be adorable.
"Then get ready," Vixen advised, "Because the ugly critters are back."
"Then we shall show them the error of their ways," Judomaster vowed.
Ray arrived at the spot where the former Marvels and Black Marvels waited for the battle's outcome. Billy was incensed, "What are you doing here?"
"I came to help Mary," Ray revealed.
"I don't think…!" Billy hotly began to retort but Freddy pulled his aside.
"Let him try," Freddy urged.
"But he…" Billy began to protest.
"He might be her best hope of freedom," Freddy counseled.
Billy gaped at him, knowing the implications behind that statement. Billy turned to Ray, "Okay, give it your best shot."
Ray couldn't quite fathom why Billy was hostile. After all, Mary had broken up with Ray not the other way around. Still, he had his chance now.
Billy led Ray to Mary's prostrate form. Adrianna was tending to her but Mary still acted as though she wanted nothing better than to get free and rip everyone's throat out. Ray knew that the Marvels were finally getting a load of the real Mary.
He noted that neither Freddy nor the two Black Marvels seemed surprised by this turn of events. But Billy had obviously been blindsided. Ray had long felt Billy only saw his own idealized version of his sister to the abandonment of the reality that was Mary.
Mary was a festering fount of rage. She'd shared the details of her life with Ray, and presumably some of it with Freddy, and she had good reason to be. Her parents had been murdered by Theo Adam. He'd taken her from Egypt to America and arranged an illegal adoption. The Bromfields hadn't denied that she was adopted but they'd beaten down the memories of her real family.
In order to maintain their fiction, Mary had been isolated from friends and any potential relatives. She'd grown into her fourteenth year lonely and dejected. It took Shazam finally clearing the mists that had grown about her to direct Billy into her path.
A fumbled kidnapping attempt, in an effort to collect insurance money, had Billy gagged and tied up while Mary ran free trying to find a way to get help. Only the appearance of the wizard enabled her to repeat the name, "Shazam!" Mary Bromfield transformed into Mary Marvel.
Mary's governess died as a result of the abortive attempt to kidnap Mary. Billy, having become Captain Marvel, led Mary to the Rock of Eternity and her true past was revealed to her. What was also revealed was the Bromfields' culpability in the botched kidnapping.
Mary returned to her adoptive parents and let them know she knew the various truths. She returned to being named Mary Batson since it was still her legal name. Mary also revealed her new identity as Mary Marvel. The Bromfields had witnessed Mary's transformation through the hidden cameras in her room so they knew full well what their "adoptive" daughter could transform into.
At the age of seventeen, Mary arranged to leave Fawcett City and the Bromfields' custody and moved to New York City. Living the in the Justice League's Women's Dormitory, she carved out a new life. Her only contact with either Bromfield parent now was the occasional card on a holiday.
Ray knew Darkseid had planted a seed of darkness within Mary but it had merely harvested the rage that had built up within her. Mary struggled with this inner turmoil. She'd found religion but it wasn't a salve. Rather it was a means and a method for her to work through her problems through a bulwark of faith.
But Ray knew she needed more than that. She needed to be able to express her anger and her doubts and get advice on how to cope with them. Mary had her doubts regarding therapy since her adoptive parents had used a psychiatrist to help enforce their control over Mary.
Ray had been her substitute but he hadn't known how to advise her since he struggled with many of the same issues. But he'd found help. Sue Dibney had connected him with a doctor who seemed to honestly care and understand. And she had been vetted by Sue and Waller so her Justice League patients could discuss their "working lives."
But for right now, Ray had to liberate Mary from her own wrath. Adrianna rose from her kneeling respite and stood aside as Ray took her former place. Mary's vengeful eyes met his and he thought he saw a softening in them.
He removed his helmet-like mask and met her on equal terms, "I'm here, Mary. Could you meet me halfway?"
Again, the restive Mary calmed. Ray didn't want to divulge any of her secrets so he spoke of his own feelings and of his regrets regarding their relationship. As he spoke, she grew ever quieter.
Finally the darkness broke free of her and drained out of her. She blinked several times, "Ray? Is it really you?"
"Yes, Mary. It's really me. I heard you were in trouble so I had to see if I could help," Ray admitted. He turned to Adrianna, "I don't think she needs to be cuffed anymore."
Teth-Adam spoke to Adrianna in Ancient Egyptian and then knelt behind Mary and unfastened her restraints, "She doesn't speak much English, lad. But I believe this shall serve both your needs."
Mary scrambled into Ray's arms, "I knew it was you! I couldn't let go until you came."
Ray stroked her hair as he held her, "I know. I'm here now and I'm not going anywhere."
Teth-Adam moved to Freddy's side and laid a hand on the young man's shoulder, "Be at peace. Mary was always more of a sister to you anyway."
Freddy was rather philosophical about this turn of events, "I know. I discussed this scenario with Galatea. I thought Ray would be the only one to break the shadow's hold on Mary."
"The time for the liberation of all peoples draws near, I think," Teth-Adam's gaze turned towards the battle against Surtur and the fire demons, "We cannot see the heart of the battle but where it lies, the heart truly is the battlefield."
Freddy knew Teth-Adam spoke of Obsidian. He could only wait and wonder how Sentinel and Jade's struggle to persuade Obsidian to reverse his mad quest was going. Had they abandoned reason and resorted to force yet? Freddy felt that was the only workable solution but could Obsidian's father and sister truly fight him? Possibly to the death?
Sentinel and Jade were joined by Sand, Blue Jay, and the Silver Sorceress as they confronted Obsidian. Silver Sorceress studied the rift leaking the Shadow Realms into Earth-1's dimension, "He's trapped people inside of the Shadow Realms. We need to retrieve them before we seal the portal or they will be lost forever."
Sand turned to Blue Jay, "I'm afraid I don't know you but would you be willing to go with me to get whoever's in there?"
"You don't know who they are either," Blue Jay pointed out.
Sand shrugged, "It doesn't matter who they are. They're victims and I swore to help any and all victims once upon a time."
Blue Jay grinned, "So did I. Let's do it."
Sand turned to Sentinel, "Can you and Jade distract Obsidian so we can slip behind him?"
"I'd say he's distracted enough," Sentinel said grimly.
Obsidian was having several conversations all at once and with beings no one else could see. Sand rested a hand on Sentinel's shoulders, "They're real to Todd, Alan. Perception often defines our reality and in his, those beings are as real as you or I."
Sentinel grimaced and then he turned to Jade, "What do you say, Jennie? Are you with me?"
Jade nodded sadly, "This has to stop."
Sentinel and Jade flew into Obsidian's presence. It took a moment but he finally registered them, "I see you're back. Still going to try and convince me to stop all of this, or have you finally realized it's now out of my control?"
Sentinel could see Sand and Blue Jay slipping through the Shadow Realms portal, "What do you mean?"
Obsidian tittered, "I mean the door is open and I can't close it. All of the Shadow Realms essence that's now on Earth is there to stay."
"What about Surtur and the door to Ragnarok?" Sentinel loathed even having to ask the question.
"I can't touch that either," Obsidian cackled, "The shadow demons forged the bridge between dimensions. It was their deal with Surtur that allowed the entry point. The only way to address that issue is directly with the access focal point."
"You seem to know a lot about this, Todd," Sentinel sadly admitted.
"We've been planning this for years," Obsidian confessed, "All it took was for my powers to grow to this point. Those wasted years with Infinity, Inc. and the Justice League? Merely practice to learn how to accomplish merging the Shadow Realms with our cozy little universe."
Sentinel suddenly realized that his own son was as grave a threat as any super villain or demon lord he'd ever faced. Jade's face betrayed her realization of it as well. She desperately tried to talk her brother down.
"Todd, listen to me, it doesn't have to go this way," Jade sought to persuade him; "You've done a lot of good in your life. Don't throw that away now on some revenge scheme."
"Revenge?" Obsidian roared, "What do you know about revenge?"
Obsidian narrowed his focus on Jade, "You had the healthy, normal adoptive parents. You had the cushy life. You once called it the 'princess syndrome'. Do you honestly want to compare lives, Jennie?"
"I wasn't comparing anything, Todd!" Jade snapped back, "You were a hero. You helped people and you saved lives. Was that all a game? Did you honestly only exercise your powers in this colossally stupid quest to destroy the world?"
Obsidian shrank back a bit at her wrath, "Maybe not. I don't know anymore. All I know is it's my turn. The Shadow Realms are more my home than this stupid world has ever been."
And there Sentinel found his answer. He just hated the thought of taking such a drastic step. But if came between the Earth and Todd, Sentinel knew the choice he would make.
Sand and Blue Jay navigated through the darkened terrain of the Shadow Realms. The landscape constantly shifted and changed. Blue Jay took flight while Sand knelt to touch the so-called "ground".
"This isn't real," Sand proclaimed, "At least not in the sense we're used to. My guess is it's psycho-reactive. Our own minds are painting a picture of a landscape and the area around is responding to it, creating it to match our expectations."
"I think I see lights up ahead," Blue jay called down from his vantage point.
"That's probably our lost lambs," Sand decided, "I rather doubt any luminescence is found here besides the murky gloom we're experiencing. You're the eye in the sky. Lead me to them."
As they approached, it soon became apparent that their "kidnap" victims were Starman and Captain Atom. Captain Atom's quantum bursts pierced the gloom as did Starman's solar flares. But what they were fighting was a horror unseen as of yet on the Earth.
The best description of the creature would have been drawn from the mythological kraken. Sand had no idea of how to defeat such a creature and admitted as much to Blue Jay as the other man landed beside him. Blue Jay pondered the situation for a moment.
"I can provide a distraction to grant Captain Atom and Starman better targets of opportunity," he declared.
"I'll be right behind you," Sand promised.
Dr. Mid-Nite checked on Superman one more time. Unseen behind his mask, he scowled. Blackhawk briefly left Lady Blackhawk's side.
"You look like a very unhappy man, Doc," Blackhawk observed.
"Superman's powers are keyed to the sun. Without it, his wounds simply aren't healing," Dr. Mid-Nite explained, "Galatea exhibits the same trait. In full sunlight, her wounds rapidly heal. The time is lengthened at night. I can only imagine that if she had expended all of the solar energy stored within her body and it night, her wounds would react similarly."
"But it was broad daylight when this all began," Blackhawk reminded Dr. Mid-Nite, "Could this darkness be draining him of solar energy somehow?"
"It's very possible," Dr. Mid-Nite admitted, "We know next to nothing about this dimensional substance."
"But Tea will be suffering the same effects," Blackhawk realized, "And she's in the middle of the fight."
"As is Supergirl," Dr. Mid-Nite pointed out, "Wherever Galatea's progenitor is, she's in the same peril."
"I'm not as worried about Kara," Blackhawk admitted, "Where she is, Kyle Rayner is sure to follow. Unless his Green Lantern power ring is suffering from the same malady, he'll keep Supergirl safe."
Blackhawk pulled his comm device free and paged Galatea. After several minutes had passed, he tried again. A third attempt resulted in the same outcome.
Blackhawk's shoulders slumped, "I can't reach her."
"She may just be too busy to respond right now," Dr. Mid-Nite tried to console him.
"That's what I'm afraid of," Blackhawk confessed.
Kent nearly tumbled into a seemingly deserted antechamber. Quite frankly, he had no memory of what was in here. He'd barely survived his last encounter with the five Sins pursuing him. Greed was presumably still in the library. That still left Gluttony unaccounted for. Or did it?
As Kent shut the door, he noticed a faint glow coming from the around the corner. As he stepped in that direction, he found Gluttony. The Sin was stretched out on the floor; his body twitched occasionally but otherwise seemed inert. And Kent could tell why. Gluttony had placed the Helmet of Nabu upon his head. Obviously the Lord of Order was displeased.
Kent knelt next to the body and slowly slipped the helmet off of Gluttony's head. The Sin's face was frozen in a rictus of horror and pain. Kent wondered what Nabu had done to him but then he decided the Sin surely deserved it.
Kent heard a pounding at the door. Fortunately it had a deadbolt so it would hold long enough to afford him the time to slip the helmet on himself. As it slid into its familiar place, Kent felt his mind merging with Nabu's. His torn and shredded raiment became that of Dr. Fate.
When the Sins burst into the room they didn't find Kent Nelson stranding there anymore. They found Dr. Fate awaiting them. And Fate was angry.
The battle was as short lived as it was explosive. Greed had tried to escape but Dr. Fate had sealed the tower and the Sin was the last to be contained. Fate summoned Inza. She met his presence with her usual reserve.
"So, you're back," she said simply.
"I am off to the Rock of Eternity to restore these foul creatures to their prison," Fate announced, "Amazo-Prime is repairing himself."
"You thought to check on him but not me," she observed coldly.
"You distract my human host," Dr. Fate announced, "I have tolerated your presence for his sake but do not presume to judge Nabu, Inza Nelson."
"But you aren't Nabu," Inza corrected him, "At least not totally. Kent is in there as well. You wouldn't even be able to walk on this plane of existence without him. Never forget that."
"Time's change and so do hosts," Dr. Fate warned, "I have stayed the long decades from you but that too can end."
"Then why don't you?" she sharply inquired.
"You wish to be free of me?" Fate inquired.
"Yes, and so does Kent," Inza proclaimed, "He's served your needs for seventy-five years. It's time our lives were given back to us."
"Then it shall be so," Fate promised, "But for now, the world is in crisis and it needs the services of Dr. Fate. Consider it the final task."
"I'll hold you to it," Inza promised.
Fate vanished…
…and reappeared on the Rock of Eternity. Dr. Fate's first chore was to restore the Seven Deadly Sins to their statue prisons. And then he liberated Shazam.
"There was a creature made to look as a man," Shazam shuddered, "His face…"
Dr. Fate immediately understood, "I believe you are speaking of one called 'Johnny Sorrow'. A wretch if there ever was one."
"We must find him and stop him!" Shazam insisted.
"There are more important matters at hand," Dr. Fate rebutted, "Besides, you will find Johnny Sorrow escapes even your formidable sight. He is no longer of this plane of existence but is rather owned by the Subtle Realms."
"What has happened?" Shazam inquired, "What are these matters you speak of?"
"Take your perch and discover for yourself," Dr. Fate suggested.
Shazam did so and then gasped, "My champions are powerless and these travesties have been unleashed."
"That was Sorrow's intent," Fate surmised, "Now it is your duty to intervene through your chosen ones."
"And what of you, Lord of Order?" Shazam wanted to know.
"I too have a role in this," Dr. Fate conceded, "Worry not, wizard. I shall do my part. Now do yours."
The image of Shazam appeared before his mortal champions, "I have been liberated. My power is yours once again. Speak the names that empower and save this world from its greatest peril."
Everyone in the Marvel and Black Marvel Families exchanged looks. Billy proudly said, "Shazam!"
He became Captain Marvel. Mary and Teth-Adam repeated the name and became Mary Marvel and Black Adam respectfully.
Freddy spoke the name, "Captain Marvel!" and became Captain Marvel Jr. Adrianna said, "My name is Isis!" and she became Isis once more.
Now assembled in their Marvel forms, the families set out to engage Surtur. The Ray gazed on Mary's charge into danger with a sense of pride. He returned to the JLU and JSA's battle with the fire demon army.
The tide of the battle was apt to change at any moment. The question remained: which way would it sway? That would be answered in the next few moments.