ISSUE #6 (April 2018)
Written by John Cheese Featuring: Martian Manhunter
Batman
Green Lantern
Wonder Woman
Green Arrow
Black Canary
Flash
Manitou Raven
Killer Croc
Mister Twister
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"Whispering the Rallying Cry"There was pain everywhere, J’onn J’onzz thought as he crawled out of the sewer, emaciated and scarred from his bout with Tar Pit. The weakness he felt would subside, but the scars would never heal. What had once been verdant green was now bleached a sickly white. But his own pain was secondary, whilst he knew where the fault lay in regards to the ambush by this so-called Legion of Doom and what damage that revelation would cause, it was the immediate survival of the Justice League he was more concerned with.
Gotham City Green light shone into the tomb that Batman had been buried in, as the emerald excavator tore through the concrete and asphalt. Shaking himself free of the remaining debris the Dark Knight crawled onto the surface, the light of a city aflame hurting his eyes. "You look how I feel." The voice of John Stewart AKA the Green Lantern announced. It was a voice that was fatigued, on the edge of breaking even as the speaker clung onto the last strands of will that held him together. "Where's Twister?" Batman growled as he got to his feet and looked further into the city, just in time to see a tornado tear through the Wayne Industries building, the wind storm gutting the structure. "He headed towards Arkham Asylum." Green Lantern replied, a grim looking frown on his face. "Since this is your city, you make the play. Where do you need me and doing what?" "I need to get to Arkham, but I can't leave Gotham to the mercy of these tornadoes." Batman sighed as a crack of lightning strike the radio tower of the island prison. "When they dissipate, your constructs cause a pressure change, would it be enough to destroy a tornado?" "Let's find out!" Green Lantern replied as he summoned up a sphere of green energy and threw it at the tornado, the wind storm greedily guzzling it up. After a few seconds a faint green glow spreading through the funnel cloud before it exploded, debris smashing down on the street and buildings around the storm's termination point. "Get on the rest, I'm going after Twister." Batman snarled as Green Lantern summoned up a missile battery. "You need a lift?" Green Lantern asked as he began summoning a new construct, his gaze focused on his new creation. As he looked up, Batman was nowhere in sight. "Guess not." He sighed, before going back to work on the rack of missiles he was creating. Star City Downtown Star City was at least a foot underwater as Wonder Woman touched down at the coorDinahtes she'd been sent to. At the moment adrenaline was keeping her going despite her wounds, that and the desire to save her teammates. With a solid double handed slam she cracked open the road above the surface, before dropping in accompanied by a torrent of foul water. "Diana..." Oliver faintly called as he valiantly held his partners head above water. Without any further words, Diana submerged under the surface and snapped the massive chains restraining her teammates like they were nothing. Floating to the surface, Oliver paddled over to the sewer’s upper tier and hauled Dinahh out like a fisherman landing a prize trout. Both she and Oliver had some of the most horrific chemical burns running across their exposed skin that Diana had ever seen. That thought made her angry, fuelling the fire that had been ignited by the massacre of her sisters and stoked by the attack on Green Lantern. "Arrow how do I stop this?" Diana asked as Oliver started chest compressions on Dinah. "First you'd need to offline the pump at the..." Before Oliver could finish Diana streaked into the foul water before re-emerging seconds later, the mangled remains of an industrial water pump clenched in her hand. "Ollie..." Dinahh groaned as she fought to stay conscious, her left eye no longer crystal clear but a creamy white. "Hush pretty bird, we're going to get you to a hospital." Oliver reassured her as Diana landed next to them. "Listen please." Dinah pleaded her one good eye fixed on Wonder Woman. "Ollie, all this it's their fault." She groaned as Diana picked both of them up and flew them onto street level. "What did she mean by 'their' Arrow?" Diana asked as Oliver struggled to keep Dinah awake and conscious. "Does it matter?" Oliver snapped. "She needs medical treatment, and we need to stop Croc before he floods the entire city. Shutting down that pump was only half the battle, to stop his plan we've got to turn off the waste water pump fracking station. As for this 'their' she mentioned, well take a guess princess, after all it was you who she was looking at." Bonnerville Salt Flats, Nevada Bonnerville was the home of speed, but nothing had sprinted across it's salty surface as fast as the Flash. Speed was nothing new to Barry Allen, nor was controlling his speed but this was something else. Every step sapped a little of his energy as the bacterial infection fed on everything he'd gained since that initial lab experiment so many years before. He knew who was ultimately behind this, Mayfly hadn't been subtle with that at least. His opposite number Eobard Thawne AKA the Reverse Flash must have created the culture but when, and more importantly how had Mayfly got hold of it. "Good questions to keep you preoccupied Barry." A quiet yet powerful voice stated somewhere in the back of Barry's mind. "J’onn you're alive!" Barry exclaimed as he did a sharp turn on the salt flats, the surface fusing into glass under his feet. "And you need medicine." J’onn stated as Barry reached the other end of the flats and turned back. "Sorry to break it to you J’onn but there's no medicine available to cure this." Barry lamented as he felt the ground under his feet become stony before tripping and falling flat on his face. Looking up he saw a native American dressed in buckskin, his face covered by a deer skull, his hands clutched round a tomahawk and a heavy looking medicine stick. "No medicine found in science Barry Allen." The native stated in a tone that radiated wisdom and suffering in one breath. "But all ailments can be cured on the stony path, even this germ of the future that you've caught." "You have me at a disadvantage." Barry stated as he looked round the canyon he now found himself in. "His name is Manitou Raven." J’onn's telepathic voice announced. "He is an ally, one I intend to visit myself when this is all over." "Right." Barry sighed through gritted teeth as he saw Raven produce a stone bowl from out of the ground, a thick red paste contained inside. "Am I meant to drink that?" He asked as he eyed the unappealing looking liquid with a judgmental scientific eye. "No, it is to be applied to the skin once completed." Raven replied as he tossed a sprinkling of shredded willow bark into the bowl, its inclusion creating an earthy aroma from the mixture. "No offence but herbs and spices won't cure what Mayfly infected me with." Barry sighed as Raven removed a bag from his belt and plunged his hand deep inside before pulling out a writhing rattlesnake. "The active ingredient is magic; the herbs are only there to enhance the healing." Raven answered as he placed the snake in the bowl, the reptile obligingly coiling round the edge before melting into the paste. "It is ready." Raven sighed as he handed the bowl to Barry. "Will you accept this medicine?" "Be careful about considering rejecting this treatment Barry." J’onn warned him, quashing the very thoughts Barry had about throwing the bowl away. He'd seen magic only a few times, knew it was real, but had never experienced anything like this. Nodding he went to place his in the bowl, only to feel a sharp stinging sensation permeate first his legs, then the rest of his body as his skin turned red. The pain lasted for what seemed like an age before subsiding, the red tint to his skin following suite. "It is all but done." Raven announced as he took the bowl and placed the medicine stick in the paste before closing his eyes and uttering. "Inukchuk" the syllables floating round the canyon before fading. "Did it work?" Barry asked as he got to his feet and peered into the now drained bowl. "As with science, magic is not thorough, it obeys the laws of order and chaos and hundreds of other variables." Raven explained as the bowl dissolved leaving behind only a stone circlet resembling a rattle snake. "You are cured but something of the germ remains to be discovered in the future and perpetuate the events that led to this meeting." "Is it still a danger?" Barry asked. "It may become one, and if it does even the medicine of the stony path won't save you." Raven announced as the canyon and stones faded away, consumed by the white expanse of the salt flats. "Use the time I've given you well Barry Allen." He added, before Manitou Raven collapsed into a sprinkling of salt, blow to the west by a sudden and cold east wind. Despite the weirdness of what had passed Barry felt well, the draining feeling caused by the bacteria had faded. "J’onn where do you need me?" Barry asked as he sped westwards towards Central City. "Hub City." J’onn replied grimly. "We need a place to retreat too. The Hall of Justice is gone and I dare not lead our enemies to Mount Justice and the children." He added as Barry banked eastwards as he embarked on his new course. Queen Consolidated Fracking Platform, Star City Outskirts Killer Croc peered through the scope of his .577 Tyranosaur rifle as Wonder Woman touched down a mile south of the facility, before ripping open the security gates leading up to the fracking well. Seconds later, the Green Arrow pulled up on his motorcycle and dismounted, his bandaged arm clashing with the green of his uniform. "Heads up boys, the Green Arrow just turned up and he's bought a beautiful big ole gal to the ball as well." Killer Croc croaked. "Protect the drill, you got those fancy quantum rounds that Mayfly snatched, use em." He ordered as Diana flew off towards the fracking platform, while the Green Arrow drove up the main haul road up to the site office. Smiling Croc lined up the shot and pulled the trigger, the round from his rifle shattering the front of the motorcycle and sending its rider rolling off onto the floor. "Well boy I see you survived and came back for more!" Croc boomed as he activated the PA system. "And you bought a nice new girl with you. What did the last one die on you!?" He cackled as the Green Arrow pulled back the drawstring of his bow and loosed an arrow at the gangster, the projectile bouncing off the edge of the site office a full three foot from his target. The residual chemicals in his eyes had pulled his aim off centre, and what's more the burn on his arm had made pulling the bow string painful. It was only the thought of seeing Dinahh in hospital and adrenaline that caused him to dodge behind a heavy excavator as Croc fired a second shot. "Maybe once I've killed you I'll pay a visit to Black Canary in the hospital, take her out for a bite!" Croc hissed as he scanned the excavator for any direct sight lines to his opponent. "It is the circle of life after all." He added as another arrow came sailing over the excavator and exploded into a cloud of smoke as it impacted with the site office. Using the opportunity, he'd created the Green Arrow sprinted forward before ducking behind the substation that controlled the main compound services. He knew he'd been a hair to slow as Croc fired a third shot, this one slashing the top of a junction box off with ease. "And then there's this new girl." Croc sneered over the PA system. "You were obviously done with ole Black Canary since you moved on so quickly. What was the matter boy? Was she the man of the relationship after your dismissal from the League left you flaccid?" "You're lucky she's still alive!" Oliver growled as he stabbed a feedback arrow into the exposed junction box, the screeching caused and the sudden activation of the roof flood lights behind him causing Croc to jolt upright, momentarily silenced and stunned. A moment was all Oliver needed, despite the pain and his damaged eyesight no shot save one he'd performed before was truer, the bodkin headed arrow slammed into Croc's chest. Seconds later the earth shook as the fracking well was uprooted and slammed into the site office, the collision sending Croc flying off the edge of the building. "This isn’t over boy!" Croc snarled as he got to his feet, white sparks dancing over his body as he teleported away. "No, it isn't." Oliver replied as he looked over at Diana, the Amazon's armour supporting a nasty looking bullet wound to go along with the burn on her face and her missing ear. While broken and beaten it looked as if the league would survive. The only thing bothering Oliver was should it, especially if Dinah’s accusation was correct. Arkham Asylum, Gotham Bay A salvo of green missiles flew over the cityscape, each one homing in on a tornado and detonating, the storms flashing green before collapsing. Batman allowed himself a brief smile as he flew towards Arkham Asylum, thanks in part to the Batmobile's eject system. That smile evaporated as he got a closer look on the prison, already the walls were down and the inmates were tussling with the guards. And there standing on the top of the Asylum was Mister Twister, the villain surveying the scene with a calm detachment. "So, you survived my attempt to bury you." Mister Twister stated as he fired a bolt of lightning at the Dark Knight as he grappled up onto the roof, the insulating fibres of his costume and grapple line reducing the damage from the electrical shock. "But why rely on the earth when you have the power of a hurricane right on your little finger!" He hissed as he summoned a small pair of tornadoes, the storms zeroing in towards Batman. Barely dodging the first one, Batman watched as the second crashed through an air-conditioning vent before flinging the debris towards its target. Avoiding the majority of the storm's projectiles, Batman felt a shard of metal rip through his shoulder. Not even slowing down the Dark Knight squeezed between the tornadoes and ran at Mister Twister, a salvo of thrown batarangs proceeding him. "Futile." Twister yawned as a clap of thunder lit up the sky and a deluge of hailstorms rained down, the icy missiles striking the batarangs from the sky and bombarding their master, slowing his charge and more importantly giving Twister just what he needed, an opening to strike Batman with another bolt of lightning. Stunned by the lightning and the hail, Batman still tried to struggle as one of the tornadoes sucked him up and spun him, sapping every last breath from the hero. Eventually the storm dissipated, dropping Batman face first onto the roof of the Asylum. Walking over Mister Twister kicked the unmoving body of the Bat, before slamming a boot down into his back hard. "All these Arkham freaks said that this would be hard." Mister Twister boomed as he turned away from the body just as the door into the Asylum crashed open and half a dozen convicts spilled out onto the rooftop. "If I'd known it would be this easy I would have killed you sooner." He added as he took flight. "Go check him Glaude!" One of the convicts ordered. "Yes, sir Mister Scarface!" The lacky answered as he edged up to the corpse before flipping the body over. "Hey boss he's wearing one of..." He never finished his evaluation as a brutal kick was aimed at his throat, the impact staggering him, before a rising punch knocked him down. "Get him you mugs!" An older convict dressed in Arkham orange and holding a ventriloquist dummy dressed in identical fashion ordered. All at once the remaining four thugs charged in. One of them was armed with a metal bar, but ultimately even bruised as he was neither they nor their boss the Ventriloquist was a foe on the scale Twister was. Countering the swing from the bar wielding thug and taking out his leg the Dark Knight had evened the playing field in terms of numbers in eight blows. "Play time is over Wesker!" Batman growled as he strode towards the Ventriloquist. "What are you waiting for dummy, whack him!" The puppet ordered as it's human operator looked at the developing scene with terror before gulping. "Y...yes Mister Scarface." Even towering over him radiating an aura of fear, Wesker slapped the Dark Knight with Scarface's hand. The scowl he got in return for his actions was terrifying. Snatching the puppet away Batman threw Scarface over the side of the prison onto the rocks below. "NO!" Wesker yelled as he dashed towards the side, only to be knocked unconsciously by the Dark Knight. "I'm sorry Wesker, I don't have time to do this gently." Batman sighed as he looked over into the yard at the escaping convicts heading for the still intact bridge to the mainland. Hall of Justice, Metropolis "Is it functional?" The dark-skinned man dressed in a trench coat and chinos asked as he stood just outside the cordon of the burning Hall of Justice. "Looks like it J’onn." The voice of Barry Allen on the other end of the conversation stated. "Zeta beam transporters are ready to fire, just tell me where to aim it." "The Arkham node of the Gotham network." J’onn ordered as he looked on in horror at the bubble of boiling flesh erupt all over his hands. "Then bring everyone you can home." "Everyone we can?" Barry asked. "Not everyone made it." J’onn replied sadly, the flesh on his hand boiling as he focused his powers on the mind wrapped with grief heading eastwards on weary wings and the terrible burden it carried. |