9 Justice League Night Falls
The Marvel Family and the Black Marvels came straight at Surtur as he recomposed himself. Captain Marvel struck first. Surtur stepped back owing to the force of the blow. He swung his flaming sword. Mary caught it and held it in place as Junior and Black Adam swung in and delivered hammer blows of their own.
Isis circled Surtur. As she did so she created and harnessed a thunder storm. Torrential rains poured down upon the demon lord and his fire demon army. Sizzling sounds began to dominate the area as the rain boiled and evaporated as it struck the demons.
Surtur recognized the source of the offending rains and swung his blade at Isis. Black Adam intercepted it. He took the strike and stared the demon lord down. Meanwhile, Mary swung into action and delivered her mightiest blow to Surtur's midsection. The demon lord doubled over into Captain Marvel's waiting fist.
While the Marvel and Black Marvel Families kept Surtur engaged, Zatanna and Anna slipped into the bridge between Ragnarok and Earth. They began probing the magic that bound the two realms together. Fire demons began their approach towards the mages to fend them off.
"Carry on!" Anna instructed, "I'll deal with their ilk."
Zatanna had to give Anna credit. She threw herself headlong at the encroaching enemy without a second thought. Zatanna wasn't certain she would do the same. Zatanna wasn't fearful but she was cautious. Her dealings with the magics that underscored the universe had taught her to be so.
From what Zatanna had gathered from the Nelsons, Anna Fortune had already lost everything and everyone she dearly loved. So what else could be taken from her? The danger was that Anna wielded vast energies that needed proper control and more than a little constraint in order to be properly used. Did Anna possess those traits?
Dr. Fate had chosen Anna as an agent of Order. Zatanna had to trust that a Lord of Order knew what he was doing. Fate often worked in curious ways and at what appeared to be cross purposes. Surely he'd taken Anna's temperament into account before he began instructing her.
Zatanna returned wholeheartedly to her examinations. There was a curious power at work here. This was beyond the crude techniques mastered in Ragnarok. The Shadow Realms' denizens were also too primitive for this tapestry of elemental forces.
The King of Tears had been captive when this was conceived of. But there was a taint of the Subtle Realms mixed into this. This even went beyond their abilities though.
She realized that this was Chaos magic. That shouldn't happen in this current age. It was still the Age of Order. Chaos had ruled for thousands of years but Order had imposed its will. But this…?
There was another taste to this construct. A familiar scent. Zatanna shuddered to think of who it could be. Her suspicions had to be wrong. What she feared was as impossible as it was improbable.
Now that she knew what had created the bridge, she could begin to dismantle it. She could really use Anna's help at this juncture. But Anna had her hands full dealing with a few hundred fire demons. That left it up to Zatanna.
Solomon Grundy came at Surtur. He got behind one of Surtur's feet and pressed against his heel. Seeing he was ready to push, Galatea approached Mary.
"You need to give Surtur a shove. Solomon has one foot and I'll have the other. When he starts to go backwards, we'll throw his feet out from underneath him," Galatea instructed.
"Okay," Mary nodded her understanding. She flew off to gather the Marvel Family.
Galatea got Stargirl, STRIPE, and Hawkman to engage Surtur while the Marvels set up. Black Adam stood guard over his wife. Isis was inflicting direct pain upon the fire demons through her control over the weather. Galatea didn't want to pull them off of something that was obviously working.
Galatea took up position at Surtur's other foot. She couldn't shake her tired feelings though. All of her abilities seemed to be dwindling. She hadn't felt like this since Major Force had sucked all of the yellow solar radiation out of her. She was even feeling cold all over again.
Mary spotted Galatea take up her assigned post. She gave Captain Marvel and Junior a thumbs up. They streaked off over the horizon. Surtur saw them go and chuckled.
"What the hell?" Stargirl exclaimed as she watched the Marvels depart.
"Seems your boyfriend is pulling a runner," STRIPE said.
"Watch your mouth, Mike!" Stargirl snapped, "Or I'll personally trash your precious mecha and you can sit the rest of this one out."
"Geez, Court," STRIPE's mechanized voice carried her stepbrother's regret, "I didn't mean anything. It just looks…"
"I know what it looks like," Stargirl grated, "They're up to something. You'll see."
"Okay, I believe you," STRIPE assured her, "Can we kick the big demon's ass now?"
"It'll be a pleasure," Stargirl replied and she sailed into action with STRIPE right behind her.
Hawkman had already begun his harrying tactics. He swooped and soared around Surtur, striking at the demon lord with his Nth metal sword. But the heavy rains finally drove Hawkman to a nearby perch. He watched as Stargirl and STRIPE came in next.
Stargirl unloaded cosmic energy through her staff and belt. Surtur reeled but he wasn't down by any means. He swung his sword at her. Courtney focused her energies on the sword's flaming blade and it shattered.
Surtur stared with amazement at the smoldering hilt of the sword. He tried to grab Stargirl but she knocked him back with the Cosmic Rod. Galatea and Grundy pushed Surtur's feet out from underneath him. The towering demon lord toppled over.
The Marvels arrived at that point. Sonic booms caught up with them as they came alongside Stargirl. Captain Marvel beamed.
"It looks like you sprang our trap before we got here," Captain Marvel bragged about Courtney.
Stargirl thumped STRIPE with her elbow, "Hear that, tin britches?"
"What's wrong with her?" STRIPE asked instead of acknowledging Courtney's question.
"Who?" Stargirl wondered.
STRIPE pointed down at the ground, "Galatea."
Mary swooped down to Galatea's side, "Tea! What's wrong?"
"I feel like I'm out of power," Galatea admitted, "But the sun was shining most of the morning."
"This darkness gets at you," Mary said, "Look at what happened to me."
"I'm useless here," Galatea admitted, "Can you get me to the Raven. Blackhawk is there. At least I can help the wounded."
Mary nodded her assent but Galatea asked for a moment and then she turned to Grundy, "I'm going away for a while, Solomon. But you remember Mary, right?"
Grundy nodded and Galatea pressed on, "Listen to her the way you would me. Okay?"
"Okay," Grundy said with childlike simplicity.
"Protect yourself and be ready for Mary's return," Galatea instructed.
Galatea informed Mary that she was ready and then Mary carried Galatea while Tea gave directions. They landed outside the ruined aircraft. Mary returned to the battle while Galatea made her way in.
Blackhawk was overjoyed to see her, "You didn't answer your pages. I got worried."
Galatea was a little embarrassed, "Yeah well, I was in the middle of my last hurrah."
"You're drained, aren't you?" Blackhawk asked.
"Almost completely," Galatea admitted, "I'm freezing and I was hoping you could help keep me warm."
"I'd be delighted to," Blackhawk confessed.
"Waitaminute!" Galatea suddenly blurted, "You knew my powers were going to fade?"
"Superman seemed to lose his. It only made sense that you and Kara would too," Blackhawk explained.
"I hope Kara is okay," Galatea said wistfully.
"I'm sure she is," Blackhawk tried to reassure her.
"How's Dr. Mid-Nite managing?" Galatea asked.
"Superman is taking up all of his time," Blackhawk shared, "If Superman doesn't see the sun soon he won't survive."
Galatea had mixed emotions over that. Superman wasn't exactly her biggest fan. But she was important to Kara and Tea felt like Kara was her sister in more ways than just genetics.
"The team is working on it," Galatea promised, "This is almost over."
"One way or the other," Blackhawk grimly predicted.
Diana got Isis to direct a blizzard localized on Surtur's fallen form. The demon lord snarled out of rage as the offending snow blanketed him and melted. He struggled to rise but every time he tried Captain Marvel or Junior knocked him flat.
Mary arrived to take up station with Stargirl, STRIPE, and Solomon Grundy. They stood by to attack at a moment's notice. Stargirl wanted to enter the fray right now but Mary stopped her.
"The Cosmic Rod and the Cosmic Convertor Belt are charged through solar energy, right?" Mary asked.
"Yeah. So?" Courtney wondered.
"So doesn't the staff and belt's energy produce heat?" Mary wanted to know.
"Maybe. I dunno," Stargirl confessed, "No one's ever shot me with them. Why?"
"Heat melts snow and the snow is freezing the big bad," Mary carefully laid it out, "If you start generating heat, the snow will melt, and the demon will get stronger again."
"Oooh!" Stargirl got it, "Bad idea."
The watched as Junior put Surtur down again. Mary frowned, "I wonder is this beastie will ever give up?"
"I wonder how Zatanna and Anna are doing at getting rid of the ugly bugger." Stargirl admitted.
Mary looked at Stargirl and Stargirl grinned, "Field trip!"
Courtney turned to STRIPE, "I'm going to help Anna. You stay here in case you're needed."
"Wait a sec!" STRIPE protested.
"Mike, I swear to God I will blow your mecha apart if you follow me. Got it?" Stargirl warned.
She and Mary flew off while STRIPE muttered, "Dad is gonna kill me."
Zatanna was grateful for Mary and Stargirl's arrival, "Quick! Relieve Anna so she can drag her sorry butt back here and help me."
"Can I quote you?" Stargirl impishly grinned.
"I insist," Zatanna shared the grin.
Anna joined her in a moment, "'Sorry butt' indeed! Now what have you unraveled that has you all aflutter so that you need my help?"
Zatanna explained it in a nutshell but kept her suspicions of who was responsible to herself for now. Anna physically probed the matrix of the bridge with her fingers. She shook her head in disgust.
"It is Chaos magic," Anna fumed, "But the Lords of Chaos are still beholden to the treaty. They shouldn't be empowering anyone who doesn't already have access to the arcana containing Chaos spells."
"Or a direct feed from the Chaos dimension," Zatanna pointed out.
"You suspect someone in particular?" Anna realized.
"A hunch. But it's a long shot. It's probably nothing," Zatanna tried to talk herself out of it.
"Let's collapse this portal and then we can discuss it," Anna suggested, "Have you any suggestions as to how to reverse the polarity and draw the demons back into their home dimension?"
"I was actually hoping you had some ideas," Zatanna ruefully admitted, "I've got the collapsing bit pretty much worked out but the polarity switcheroo is beyond me."
"Whereas as an agent of Order, you hope that I will have a glimmer," Anna deduced, "I'm afraid my lessons haven't exactly broached this topic. It has been considered to be inconceivable."
"But it is possible," Zatanna expressly hoped.
"All portals are essentially revolving doors," Anna explained, "We just have to get this one spinning in the opposite direction before sealing it shut."
"That's all well and good but you haven't answered the damn question! Can you do it?" Zatanna was losing patience.
"I have an idea," Anna admitted, "But it will require some adaptation to the Chaos mechanics. Order works on a fundamentally different principle."
"But at least there's hope," Zatanna almost sagged from relief.
"There's always hope, dear," Anna shared, "Now give me room. I'm not exactly certain how the spell will react. It may have wards intact to prevent what I'm going to attempt."
Zatanna shied away from Anna and began erecting her own wards. If there was a bleed off, it should be shunted aside. But then again, Zatanna had never dealt with magic this powerful outside of her tapping a Nexus point.
Mary smashed one demon after another while Stargirl disintegrated them wholesale. Finally Courtney had to ask, "Don't they ever run outta these guys?"
"Well, you figure they come from another universe as big as ours," Mary theorized, "So the quick and easy answer is: no."
"Great," Stargirl grumped, "Just how I want to spend the rest of my life."
"Cheer up," Mary enthused, "Zee and Anna are on it."
"That's what worries me," Stargirl confessed, "What if we get stuck here?"
"I hadn't thought of it," Mary admitted.
"You are waaaay too trusting, Mare," Courtney accused.
A shudder passed through the tunnel they stood in. Stargirl was near panic, "What the hell?"
"I think they're tackling the problem now," Mary surmised.
"Well, the demons are beating feet outta here," Stargirl observed, "I suggest we join them in the opposite direction."
"I think you're right," Mary decided as the entire tunnel suddenly distorted and twisted.
"All right! It's time to move!" Anna declared as her two JSA teammates caught up with her and Zatanna, "We need to clear the access way before the axis shift hits."
Mary carried Zatanna as the other two women flew beside her. They cleared the portal and came to rest near it. Anna conjured one last spell and the bridge changed in color from bright red to a golden hue.
Anna turned to Zatanna, "You are certain you can close the rift, are you not?"
"Reasonably sure," Zatanna said. Seeing the dubious stares from the other women, she shrugged, "About as certain as you were about reversing the direction of the spell."
"Wonderful. We're doomed," Anna lamented.
Flash and Jay suddenly noticed their intended targets were starting to be dragged backwards. Flash looked to Jay, "What's going on?"
"I hate to guess but I'd say these critters are getting sucked back down the hole they came from," Jay ventured.
They looked around as demon bodies sailed through air past them. The gathered JLU and JSA teams were astonished. The two Flashes were amused to see Hawk scrambling after a demon in order to give it one last pounding and Dove was being dragged along as she tried to hold him back.
Several frozen demons drifted by and Flash grinned, "I'd say we've just seen some of Ice's handiwork."
The various superheroes began to gather as they witnessed the demons returning to Ragnarok. Finally, Surtur himself was lifted into the air. He grasped at the street below, trying to take hold. Black Adam sailed down and belted him. Surtur flailed as he went through the bridge.
"Now Zee," Anna insisted.
"Hold on," Zatanna protested.
"Zee, the portal will stabilize in a few minutes," Anna advised her, "If you haven't closed the bridge by then, this starts all over again."
"Give me a minute!" Zatanna demanded.
Stargirl got in her face, "Look damn it! I am not spending the rest of my life fighting these ugly critters. So either get it done or get outta the way."
"Bossy," Zatanna muttered and then she began to recite an incantation with the words reversed. She spoke for nearly a minute. When she'd finished, she wore a smug expression.
Only, nothing had changed. Stargirl erupted, "That's it?"
"Wait for it," Zatanna counseled.
Suddenly the portal twisted in on itself and sucked itself inside out of existence. The combined JLU and JSA force cheered. Captain Marvel landed next to Stargirl and she leapt into his arms.
"Hot damn! We did it!" she enthused.
"Not quite," Anna interjected, "There's still the matter of the Shadow Realms."
All eyes had turned towards the second portal. There Obsidian ranted at Sentinel and Jade. And the darkness persisted.