The Campbell Chronicles Part Two
Chapter 20
Nicholas, Hazel, and Wanda stood before a grave in Gotham City. A cold wind blew through the gravestones, and clouds obscured the crescent moon above.
Nicholas glanced around, tombstones stretched into the distance. Surrounding the tombstones was a tall iron gate, topped with sharp points. Vines grew between the bars, creating a spider web pattern in the shadows.
Nicholas slowly spun around, pouring energy through his feet. The energy washed out of him, forming a three-dimensional picture of his surroundings in his mind. The arched gate to the Graveyard creaked as it swung back and forth in the wind.
Leaves danced across the ground, periodically scraping across gravestones and drawing attention to the names of the occupants beneath.
Finishing his circuit, Nicholas opened his eyes and stared at the two women. "We are alone."
Hazel snorted while rubbing her arms, "I could've told you that, now let's get this over with."
"The other members of the Justice League may feel grateful to me for restoring the powers of their comrades, but none of them would agree with this course of action, so you can't be too careful. Though we don't see them, that doesn't mean Martian Manhunter couldn't shield their minds."
The clouds shifted, causing moonlight to reflect off Hazel's glasses, "I know the touch of Martian man Hunter's mind, he is not here."
Turning to the grave at their backs, Nicholas stared at the stone.
Joseph Waller, a loving father and courageous husband, the world is darker without him.
1965 – 1990
Taking a deep breath through his nose, Nicholas released it.
Stretching his hand out as he exhaled, the ground before the grave split, sending dirt and dust into the air. The split widened, and dark brown, almost black earth rained down onto the concrete vault containing the casket.
The trio backed away as the covering of the grave rose and floated to the left before falling to the grass with a soft thump. Soon thereafter, a simple black casket floated upward, settling to the right of the gravestone.
Nicholas moved to the side of the casket, a layer of energy covering his hands as he reached forward. With deliberate gentleness, Nicholas opened the casket, wrinkling his nose at the stench of death that came out of it.
Nicholas stared at Joseph Waller's mummified remains. The skin had shrunken to the bone, drawing the lips back to form a grim smile. The eyes had dissolved, causing the skin to sink into the sockets.
Turning away from the face, Nicholas focused on the thin, wrinkled hands.
Nicholas turned to Wanda, "Will a finger do?"
Wanda nodded, her gaze focused on the gray suit, white button-down shirt, and pale blue tie Joseph Waller wore rather than the grim reminder of mortality that was his body.
Nicholas reached towards Joseph's wrinkled hand, stopping just before he touched it. Turning, he stared into Joseph's face, ignoring the twinge in his stomach. "I'm sorry about this, but it needs to be done."
Light blossomed from Nicholas's hand, shining down onto the pinky bone of Joseph's right hand. Skin flaked away, soon revealing the pale bones beneath. As the last of the skin drew back from the finger, Joseph Waller's pinky floated into the air.
Without looking, Wanda flicked her hand, a crimson sphere of energy surrounded the bone as it floated over to her and nestled between her palms.
Stepping back from the casket, Nicholas closed the lid and gently lowered it back into the grave. With a gesture, he replaced the lid over the vault.
Closing his eyes, Nicholas withdrew the energy spread out across the Graveyard and focused it onto the grave. The ground sealed over, the dirt smoothed, and grass sprouted from the earth.
When Nicholas opened his eyes, the grave looked undisturbed. Allowing the energy to fade from his hands, he turned to Hazel and Wanda, "Where do you want to do this?"
Hazel and Wanda looked at each other, but before they could answer, Batman landed in the Graveyard, his impact with the ground crunching leaves under his feet. "What are you doing in my city?" He growled.
Nicholas stepped forward, putting himself between Hazel and Wanda, "What needs to be done to stop Amanda Waller."
Batman stepped forward, his hand going to his utility belt, "By disturbing a man's grave."
"It's no different than you breaking into a morgue to look over the body of a murder victim, or someone that died a mysterious death."
Batman stared at him for a long moment before removing his hand from his utility belt. "I don't like or trust you, and when you finally step out of line, I'll be there to stop you."
"Noted, now do you and the Justice League want to be there for the interrogation, or?" Nicholas gestured to the two women, "Are we doing this alone?"
The bat-themed hero turned and began walking away, "Meet us at the Hall of Justice in one hour."
Nicholas turned to the two women.
The sphere and Wanda's hand shrank until it became small enough for her to put in her pocket.
"Do you two want to get some coffee?" Nicholas asked as Wanda slipped the bone into her pocket.
Hazel raised an eyebrow, "I'm not interested," she said, her lips twitching.
Stepping closer to Wanda, Nicholas pulled her close, "Neither am I. I'm a one-woman man."
Hazel nodded, "As long as that's clear, I could use some coffee."
Wanda slipped her arm through his. As they walked away, she turned to him. "When this is over, we're going somewhere nice."
Nicholas nodded, "somewhere on earth, or?"
"I'm curious about the Civilizations the survivors of Brigadoon created."
"So am I."
As they neared the gates, a thought passed through Nicholas's mind, 'Maybe I could propose while we are out there, would that be romantic enough?'
–XX –
Nicholas and Wanda emerged from a crimson oval-shaped portal into the Hall of Justice to find Wonder Woman, Batman, Superman, Martian Manhunter, Cyborg, and Zatanna waiting for them.
Batman narrowed his eyes at the two, "Where is Hazel?"
"Hazel returned to Cradle to get some rest, We shouldn't need her for this part of the operation."
Wonder Woman moved up beside Batman, her hands on her hips, her expression hard, "Batman tells us you desecrated Joseph Waller's grave."
Wanda reached into the pocket of her duster and pulled out the crimson marble. "We don't like it any more than you do, but we needed something of Joseph's to draw him to us," she raised an Auburn eyebrow. "Did any of you manage to get what we needed?"
The Justice League shared a look.
Nicholas sighed and ran a hand down his face as Wanda enlarged the marble, "I'm tired of having these moral arguments with you. Where do you want to do this?"
"I have a space about three floors down we can use," Zatanna offered.
Nicholas gestured to her, "Lead the way, then."
Zatanna turned and entered the hallway that led to Cyborg's lab. As they walked, the group shifted, putting the Justice League behind Nicholas and Wanda.
"So," Zatanna began as they moved through the familiar hallway and down a flight of metal stairs, "How have you been, Wanda?"
Wanda stared at Zatanna, she was a little over five and a half feet tall, with long black hair, pale skin that had a slight tan to it, and blue eyes. She wore a white corset underneath a black waistcoat, fishnet stockings, and thigh-length high-heeled boots.
"So, you're talking to me now?"
Zatanna winced as they made their way to the junction that led to Cyborg's lab, but instead of taking a left, they took a right. She was silent as they stepped through another door and onto a set of stone steps.
Zatanna's crimson lips twisted, "I deserve that, I shouldn't have judged you because of the power you wield."
"No, you shouldn't have."
They were silent as the group entered a large underground cavern.
Nicholas looked around as Wanda spoke, "We grew up together, Zatanna, you knew about my powers from the moment Kent introduced us, why would you turn your back on me?"
Orbs of light lit the space, casting everything in shadow but revealing arched openings in the walls around them.
At the far end of the room was a T Rex skeleton.
Sitting against the wall surrounding the skeleton were massive bookshelves that spiraled up into the darkness.
Plush chairs sat around the skeleton.
Small tables with lamps beside them sat beside each chair.
A large circular table sat in the center of the cavern, with multiple chairs surrounding it. Each chair faced the point of a pentagram carved in the center of the table.
"You're right, it's just after my father's death, I feared any magic that could have done that to him."
An image of Giovanni Zatara wreathed in flames flashed through Wanda's mind, and her hand curled into a fist. "All magic could have done that to your father, given the right intent."
"I know that," Zatanna said, "but the magic that burned my father had the taste of somewhere else."
"So, you blamed me," Wanda sneered.
"I wasn't thinking clearly at the time, and your magic always had the feel of somewhere else."
"You know why," Wanda hissed, "you know what my biological parents did to me, what Kent saved me from."
"I do," Zatanna agreed, looking down, "but emotions aren't logical, they cloud our judgment."
"Why now? Why bring this up right before we are about to summon Joseph Waller?"
Zatanna stared into Wanda's green eyes, "because I have a feeling this is the beginning of something big, and if things go bad, I didn't want to die without apologizing to you."
Wanda's heart lurched, and a weight settled in the pit of her stomach. "No one's going to die."
"I hope you're right."
Zatanna led the group into a circular cavern.
Candles were mounted on the walls, illuminating an ornate spell circle in the flickering shadows.
Zatanna gestured to the circles built into the design, "Wonder Woman, Superman, Nicholas, Wanda, and I will stand in those," she began, "the rest of you need to go to the far wall and not interfere."
"Why," Batman growled.
"Superman and Nicholas will provide energy to the spell, Wonder Woman, Wanda, and I will combine our wills to summon and compel Joseph to answer our questions."
Nicholas moved forward, his hands in his pockets, "I can't believe I've been reduced to a glorified battery."
Superman shrugged as they took their positions in the circle, "At least we get to participate, that's better than standing around watching."
Wanda released the bone from her crimson sphere. It floated forward to hover in the middle of the circle.
With everyone in position, Zatanna spread her arms wide. Words of power spilled from her lips to echo off the walls.
The candle flames flickered as a wind blew through the room.
The spell circle crackled with potential as a blue aura appeared around Nicholas and a bright yellow one blossomed around The Man of Steel.
Both winced as energy was drained from them into the circle.
The lines of the spell circle burned a bright green under the powers of their aura as a weight settled into the room.
A charge you could feel but not see hummed in the air as the bone began to vibrate.
As it vibrated, a dim white glow began to shine from within the bone. It grew in intensity.
Wanda narrowed her eyes on the bone, "Something's wrong."
Suddenly, the temperature in the room spiked, and sweat popped out on their skin.
"I agree," Zatanna said, keeping her arms stretched wide, "but we can't stop now."
Taking a deep breath, Zatanna spoke a word of power, the hovering bone flew higher into the air, the light emitting from it expanded, forming into a portal.
A man fell from the portal, slamming into the center of the spell circle.
In the blink of an eye, Wonder Woman stepped forward, flinging her lasso at the man just as he rose to his knees. The golden rope wrapped around his arms, and the Amazon Princess pulled it tight, causing the man to fall onto his side.
"That doesn't look like Joseph Waller," Batman commented from his place near the wall.
Wanda stepped forward as the light of the spell circle faded, "It is, he's just possessing that body." She knelt before the man, taking a moment to look him over. A square helmet flew free of his head as he struggled, revealing messy, dark hair.
The man before them was six feet tall, wearing a black skintight bodysuit with a silver circuit design spread across it. He wore silver shoulder guards, skintight silver gauntlets, greaves, and boots.
A holster hung from his waist, containing a large futuristic-looking weapon. A familiar-looking box hung on the other side, and a sword was strapped across his back.
Cyborg stepped forward with his left hand outstretched, the box on the man's waist detached and floated towards him. The box fell into his palm. "This is a Father Box."
"I guess we know where Amanda took those inmates," Nicholas commented, keeping his gaze locked on Wanda.
Ignoring the conversation going on around her, Wanda focused on the bound man before her, "Hello, Joseph, we need to talk."
Gray eyes flicked around the room, "Who are you? Where am I?"
"I am Wanda Nelson," she gestured to the people around her, "and these are members of the Justice League. We would like to know why your wife kidnapped inmates from Iron Heights Prison, where she took them, and what she's planning."
Joseph struggled against the ropes, he didn't want to betray his wife, but the things she'd done, the woman she'd become, he shook his head, staring into Wanda's green eyes, "I'm sorry, despite what she's done, she still my wife, and I won't betray her."
Nicholas knelt beside Wanda. "Your devotion is admirable, but your wife has become a danger to the world and has innocent blood on her hands."
Joseph's gaze hardened. "She's not the only one, I can see the ghosts that cling to you."
"Fair enough," Nicholas inclined his head, "I have killed before, but there is only one death I regret, and I will spend my life making up for that. Would Amanda do the same if given a chance?"
Joseph looked away, and Nicholas turned to Wonder Woman, "Do you want to do it, or do you need me to?"
Wonder Woman stepped forward, and Nicholas backed away as she pulled the Lasso of Truth tighter around Joseph. The golden rope glowed, and Joseph's eyes glazed over.
Wonder Woman knelt beside Wanda, the majority of her rope wrapped around her hand, "What is Amanda Waller planning? Why is she on Apocalypse?"
"Amanda made a deal with the demon Mephisto to conquer Apocalypse, so that she could use its resources to conquer the Milky Way galaxy and turn the chaos that is Earth into order."
Zatanna spoke from over Wonder Woman's shoulder, "What kind of deal did she make with this Mephisto?"
"I don't know the details," Waller answered, the gray eyes of his vessel staring into nothing, "they spoke telepathically."
Batman entered the circle, "Despite the power she took from the Justice League, I doubt it will be enough to beat Darkseid. What has she been doing since she arrived on Apocalypse?"
"She has begun converting the populace into drones that have a portion of her power."
Joseph began to shake.
"What's happening?" Superman asked.
Wanda's eyes glowed, "The Tether that binds him to Waller is trying to pull him back to her side. We need to finish this quickly."
"How is Amanda planning to secure the Earth?" Batman asked.
"By using the parademons," Joseph gasped, "to kill the meta-humans and those that sympathize with them." The back of his possessed body arched, and a translucent humanoid was pulled from the body, slowly taking on the features of Joseph Waller.
Joseph opened his mouth in a soundless scream as he disappeared in a blue white flash.
The body of the Apocalypse soldier fell to the ground with a thump as Nicholas turned to the Justice League, "Well, we know what Amanda is planning, and she now knows that we know, how do you think she will react?"
"She will most likely accelerate her takeover of Apocalypse…" Batman began only to be cut off by Superman.
"The question is, do we let her try to defeat Darksied, or do we go to Apocalypse and help Darksied keep control of the planet?"
Wonder Woman stood to her feet, "We know how Darksied thinks and what drives him, we know Amanda Waller's goal, but not how she would react on gaining his power, We should go to Apocalypse if for no other reason than to maintain the status quo in the universe."
Nicholas stood, offering his hand to Wanda, "Amanda Waller's plan threatens my people, and that cannot stand."
Zatanna moved over to the group, wiping sweat from her brow, "So it sounds like we're going to Apocalypse. The question is, who do we take with us, and who do we leave behind to protect the earth?"
"Better question," Cyborg pointed to the soldier, "What do we do with him?"
"No prison on earth can hold a New God," Nicholas raised his hand.
"What are you doing?" Batman asked, his hand drifting to his belt.
"What needs to be done, it's either kill him, or" Nicholas focused on Superman, "put him in the Phantom Zone."
Superman shook his head helplessly, "He's done nothing to deserve that."
"He's a soldier of Apocalypse, he's most likely killed more people than exist on earth."
"That's not for us to punish," Wonder Woman said, securing the rope around the New God.
Nicholas looked at Wanda, and the auburn-haired woman shook her head.
"Fine," Nicholas lowered his hand. "Just be prepared for blood to be on your hands."
Wanda met the gaze of the Justice League. "Let us know when you plan to head to Apocalypse." The bone of Joseph Waller floated into her hands, and she turned to follow Nicholas.
"What are you going to do with that?" Batman called.
"Don't worry about it," Wanda called as she caught up with Nicholas.
Nicholas glanced at her. "Did you get it?"
Wanda held up a sphere containing three dark hairs.
"Good, this should help our people."
Wanda flicked her hand, and an oval-shaped portal opened before her. "Let everyone rest before you have them look it over. We've had a busy few days."
"Of course," Nicholas stretched as they stepped into the portal, "I'm going straight to bed."
Wanda smirked, "Mind if I join you?"