All
characters and situations belong to DC Comics. The Story is mine. Copyright
such as it is
BOOK
TWO: THE HUNT
CHAPTER
SEVEN - STONE RIDGE
"I
love how you do that." Ted commented as they materialised
in the centre of downtown Stone Ridge.
"Slight
of the hand." Zatanna said with a smile before
casting her gaze on this sleepy little town of Stone Ridge. Despite the
peaceful serenity of the morning, her senses immediately flared. Something here
was out of balance but she could not tell what that was exactly.
Meanwhile
her companion, the Blue Beetle was oblivious to any psychic anomalies that she
might have detected. He continued speaking, unaware that the there were visible
disturbance in the energies flowing through this supernatural focal point. All
he could see was the facade of the small town
"It
must be quite an advantage having your own instant teleportation device."
Ted declared, unaware that Zatanna was slowly
becoming uneasy at their situation.
"It
a saviour during the holidays." She remarked,
not really interested in what he was saying because at the moment it was hardly
important. Besides, he had been offering her little compliments ever since they
had met that morning at Warriors. Zatanna was hardly
surprised that he was attracted to her because she had sensed his feelings the
evening before. His attempts to curb his boyish manner to something more mature
and sedate was flattering, if somewhat misplaced at the moment.
He
noticed none of this. At the moment, Ted was more concerned about not looking
like an idiot around one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen. He had
not fallen down so hard with pure adoration for any female since he had first
laid his eyes on Wonder Woman. Yet Zatanna did not
have the unattainable veneer that the Amazon Princess possessed. He had watched
all night at Warrior and found that she was not quick to judge them as most of
the pre Maxwell Lord Leaguers tended to do. Instead, he had the impression that
she liked them all because they were more relaxed than the previous League had
been. With members like Hawkman and Aquaman in the
team, Ted had every reason to believe that humour was
very lacking in those past incarnations.
For
once however, he wished Booster was here with him. Despite his attempts to be
charming, he felt uncomfortable around Zatanna
because the need to impress her was overwhelming. However, Guy was adamant that
Booster keep an eye on Catherine and to that effect, he felt for his best
friend. He had also reluctantly turned the Bug over to Guy for his trip to
"It
is." Zatanna replied. "But it took me a
long time to learn it however."
There
was a slight stir in the local population at their appearance, Ted noticed.
People had stopped to look, point and then after the initial novelty had faded,
made a beeline for the nearest camera shop to get pictorial mementoes of the
occasion. Like every other small town in every forgotten corner of the world,
anything different was an event. Ted saw little had changed since their last
visit here and it was very likely that nothing would, after they left again.
"Well
it looks normal." Ted stated but knew looks could be deceiving. The Gray
Man's specialty was manipulating dream essence to feed his illusions. For all
they knew, this quiet little town could be the seventh level of hell or even
worse,
Zatanna said nothing for the moment, ignoring the curious
stares of Stone Ridge's occupants and Blue Beetle's attempt at conversation as
she absorbed the energies of this place. She had been correct about Stone
Ridge. It was a focal point for psychic activity. Such places attracted
supernatural forces instinctively, like salmon to the rivers of their birth.
Despite his delusions of grandeur, the Gray Man was subject to these forces
whether he liked it or not. While he may believe that he was acting of his own
free will, cosmic design had compelled him here then as it did now. He was
drawn here as moth was drawn to a flame.
However,
she was disturbed greatly because although she could not sense the Gray Man's
presence in the immediate vicinity but could him. Somewhere in this place,
something of himself lurked, possibly awaiting their arrival as catalyst to
awaken.
"Do
you sense something?" Ted asked when she had not spoken for a few minutes.
"I
do." Zatanna replied. Her voice was taut and
wary while her blue eyes still moving across the area in search of something
that was unseen to all but herself. "I can sense his presence but he is
not here."
"I
don't understand." Ted replied coming to her. She seemed so genuine
worried and he knew even in this short time of their acquaintance that she was
not prone to hysterics. She had more experience in these matters than he and
most of the Crusaders put together. "Is he projecting himself?"
"I
can't tell yet." Zatanna answered happily,
wishing she had more of an answer to him. She could sense his fear growing and realised then that the Gray Man scared him. He did not fear
for his life but he feared the power one being could amass at the expense of so
many. She wished she could allay those fears but it was beyond Zatanna's power to do so.
"We
should look around." Zatanna suggested. "I
can't sense him being here personally here but there is something that's not
right."
Ted
took another look at Stone Ridge. This time he did not simply run his eyes over
the place like a visiting tourist but utilised his
skills as a detective to observe as oppose to merely looking. After taking
their photographs and expending a few minutes of curious chatter regarding the
superheroes' purpose in town, the citizens of Stone Ridge went about their
business again. However, Ted noticed that some had remained and were staring at
them hard.
"Zan," he motioned her over to him. "Look at those
people."
Zatanna had been concentrating on locating the Gray Man
through the ethereal plane and had not really expended much time in close
observation. At his beckoning, she strode next to him and followed his gaze. At
first, she could not see to what he was referring. The collection of people who
were staring a them numbered a little under twenty.
Yet there was something in the way they stood and the manner in which their
eyes fixed on herself and Beetle that made her nervous. Their eyes looked
sinister, almost predatory.
Uncomfortable
as it was superheroes, it was not unusual to be so carefully scrutinised when they were out in public like this. After
all, they were an enigma of sorts to the normal people of the world. However,
what she sensed from them was frightening. Their souls sang out like a black
well of hate, so deep and desolate that its ferocity made her retreat from her
probing like a scalded child.
"Its
them." She responded with eyes wide. "They're his."
Ted
could well believe it. He may not have had her psychic insight but he knew
trouble when he saw it. Indeed, their faces seemed trapped in that one blank
expression of nothingness that chilled him to the bone because they looked at
him with dead eyes. They merely stood there, staring at him and Zatanna, like vile things that lurked in the darkness of
his worse nightmares.
"That's
what I am sensing." Zatanna said quietly.
"He may not be here in body but he certainly is present."
Ted
guessed immediately what she was talking about He had enough experience with
the Gray Man to know that he was capable of projecting himself from a
completely different location. There was no reason why he could not do the same
using other hosts. The Gray Man had turned Captain Marvel into one of his
puppets during their first encounter. If he could do that, then the people of
this town were all subject to his control.
"What
do we do?" He turned to Zatanna for guidance.
This was her area of expertise supposedly.
"We
can't do anything until we find the Gray Man." She explained quickly.
"He is the source of this infection. We cannot free these people until he
relinquishes his control."
As
the words escaped her lips, Ted saw the group suddenly withdraw. Instead of
coming after them, they started moving back to town. At first, neither Zatanna nor Ted could understand why they had suddenly
retreated. They seemed to have no interest in either of them and yet Zatanna could not forget the hatred she felt inside them.
"I
don't think we should be here." Zatanna said to
Ted.
"We
can't just leave these people like this!" He declared. "We've got to
help them."
"If we are to help them, we must reach the Gray Man." Zatanna retorted to his outburst. "Don't you see, he
will use them against us because he knows we will be afraid to hurt them.
Unfortunately, no such rules bind them about our welfare."
"Well
they don't seem to be too interested in us right now." He protested and
started walking up the way the group had departed. By now, Gray Man's puppets
had penetrated the heart of town and their purpose became terrifyingly clear. A
succession of screams followed as the Gray Man's servants started absorbing the
rest of Stone Ridge's population into his dark world.
Ted
saw the group spread out across the street, entering shops and homes, moving
across the parks like an ever expanding web. Within minutes, everyone on the
main street of town had become recruited in the Gray Man's army of zombies.
"We've
got to get these people out of here!" He shouted and leapt into the air,
heading toward a stretch of road, where a woman and her child were running from
the growing hordes. The streets of Stone Ridge had now descended into chaos.
People were fleeing in terror but were not able to outrun the Gray Man's other
selves who were expanding at a geometric rate. Most had simply stood there and
allowed themselves to be overcome because they could not believe that the person
coming towards them, who might be a husband, a friend or neighbour
would harm them. At least until it was too late.
"!ereh morf yawa
sluos eerf eht lla ekaT"
Zatanna cried out. "hcaer
sessenkrad fo tuo meht tuP"
A
whirlwind appeared out of nowhere and moved across the street, sweeping up
papers, leave and dirt into a vortex that drew in anything that was not held
down. The vortex travelled up the main stretch of town, drawing all those who
still remained free of the Gray Man into its powerful suction. Trees were
struggling to remain rooted to the ground as windows slammed shut and glass
shattered in the wake of the mystic maelstrom.
Ted
never reached the woman and her child in time. Zatanna's
spell had removed them from danger before he could even touch the ground.
However, her powerful incantation had another effect. The Gray Man's zombies
had been content to absorb the inhabitants of Stone Ridge. However, now that
they were gone, it appeared that Zatanna and himself
had become viable targets again.
He
was in mid air and was able to get a bird's eye view of them closing in on her.
Zatanna was concentrating on removing the rest of
Stone Ridge's population and did not see them coming for her. Even from the
air, Ted could see the concentration on her face from invoking such a powerful
incantation. God, she was beautiful when she under pressure, he found himself
thinking. The sky had become grey with dark clouds adding cosmic energy to the
force of the swirling vortex at her command. He wondered how it was possible to
manipulate energy on such a scale and decided this was a question for another
time. He had to reach her before they did.
"Its time to go Zan!" He
shouted as he flew towards her. It never even occurred to him whether he would
be able to fly carrying another person
Zatanna had little time to protest before Ted swept her off
her feet and they were both flying in the air. She felt a rush of wind beneath
and his arms encircling her body as they left Stone Ridge below them. Zatanna ignored the sensation and concentrated doubly hard
to maintain the spell so that it could remove the rest of the town's citizen to
safety.
"Just
a little longer," she told herself. Her eyes were shut tight in
concentration because it took a great deal of focus to maintain such a spell.
"We're almost there."
Ted
said nothing because he had problems of his own. While he had practiced his
flight ability quite a bit since acquiring the Blue Beetle scarab,
unfortunately he had neglected to practise with
carrying anyone. While Zatanna struggled to save
everyone in the town below them, he was struggling to stay airborne. Booster
and Guy had told him there was a trick to this. He knew it could be done
because he had seen Superman carrying
"There!"
She exclaimed as she sensed the last person in Stone Ridge being spirited away
to safety for the moment. The maelstrom died in the middle of a playground,
disappearing with a final crack of lighting. All the debris and litter made air
borne in the waves of wind now floated to the ground harmlessly. Stone Ridge no
longer looked harmless. The servants of the Gray Man were now wandering about
aimlessly, looking for prey that were no longer there. She wondered how long it
would be until they would go in search of others.
Ted
could see beads of sweat running down her brow and he realised
how difficult a feat she had performed. Zatanna was
breathing hard, her exhaustion was obvious. However, she did not seem at all
pleased and Ted could understand why. There were still a large number of people
left in the town they had not managed to save.
"I
tried to save all of them." She said softly.
"You
did enough." Ted replied, although his own concentration was focussed on another problem. Although he was putting as
much distance between Stone Ridge and themselves, he was having difficulty
maintaining stable flight control.
"Beetle,"
Zatanna suddenly looked down at the ground and realised that he was not flying as well as she should.
"Is there a problem?"
"Not
so much of a problem," he said through gritted teeth as he suddenly felt
his control slip when they approached a canopy of trees. "I haven't been
flying long you see and this is the first time I've had to do it carrying someone
else."
As
he said that, Ted started losing altitude and they both plunged downwards
towards the trees below them. "Zatanna! If you
can teleport! Now would be a good time!" He shouted.
"!ytefas ot su
ekat" She cried out before letting out a short
scream as a large tree branch rushed up to meet them.
*********
It
was a short scream that ended when they both plunged into the cold water of a near by lake.
With little time to think of a destination, Zatanna
was not specific when she had cast the spell. The forces of magic although
mysterious tended to be utilitarian at time and would often use the tools at
hand. In this case, the nearby lake that could break their fall. Fortunately,
they did not fall into the deeper depth and landed relatively close to the
shore.
Ted
surfaced first and found the water was shallow enough to stand in. As he broke
the surface of the water, he had to pull pieces of rotting foliage from his
uniform and goggles. Zatanna who was wearing less
than he was, looked even worse. He saw one of her heeled shoes floating away as
she struggled to stand up. Her long hair had fallen over her face and she
looked like something out of the Addam's family with
her mascara running. Her fish net stockings were being held together by a few
strained strands of lace and the white tuxedo shirt was now grey and mottled.
Even
without hearing her say a word, Ted knew he was in deep trouble.
"Just
how long have you been flying?" She said sharply as she removed the stray
leaf of a water lily from her ear.
"A
couple of weeks." He said timidly.
Zatanna ran her fingers through her soaking hair and tried to
remove the thick strands from her face. Her blue eyes were almost the colour of emerald fire and only the red blush of her cheeks
indicated how cold she was. "Do you think you might have told me this
before you crashed us in here?" She barked.
"Excuse
me?" He declared. "I crashed us? You're the one who teleported us
here!" Ted retorted in his defence. Although, in
all truth he did not think he was going to win this particular argument.
"Only
because you did know what you were doing and didn't give me time to conjure up
a suitable destination!" Zatanna snapped at him
before she turned her attention to her shoe that was floating out of reach. She
made a lunge for it but ended up losing her footing on the silt of lake bed.
Ted could not look as she fell back into the water again with a loud splash. He
knew he really liked this woman because he was fighting the biggest urge to
laugh when normally he would already be rolling in the aisles at this point.
Ted was realistic that had he succumbed to his laughter, she would have turned
him into a newt of some description. He had seen enough episodes of 'Bewitched'
and 'I dream of Jeannie' to know that it was never wise to annoy a sorceress.
"I
suppose you think this is funny." She replied trying to maintain some aura
of dignity.
"No
ma'am." Ted replied. Deciding not to irritate her any further, Ted bent
down and picked her up out of the water before she had a chance to protest. As
he carried her, he noticed she was freezing and hastened his pace as he waded
out of the lake towards the shore.
"I
can walk you know." Zatanna said indignantly.
"Are
all you old League women this difficult?" Ted asked, ignoring her sarcasm
since she was not struggling to be put down.
"Old?"
Ted closed his eyes. Damn, he had been out of the dating game too long. Old was
not a word to use when talking to a woman. "Sorry, I meant pre-JLI
Leaguers." He recounted quickly. "I'm sorry Zan,
I did know what else to do okay? They had you surrounded."
At
that, Zatanna felt her anger ebb away a little.
Perhaps she was being a little hard on him, not mention a little unfair. It was
not his fault that he was inexperienced with his powers and he had carried her
away to save her life. Besides, she could remember a time when her inexperience
had caused her fellow Leaguers some interesting problems. They had been more
understanding that she was being now.
"Apology
accepted." She smiled at him. "Thank you for saving my life."
"All
apart of the service." He grinned. "By the
way, where did you send those people from Stone Ridge?"
"They're
in the next town." Zatanna answered as he put
her down on the grass.
"They
won't be safe for long, you know." Ted pointed out. "Those zombies in
Stone Ridge are going to leave town now that there's no one else to absorb. He
needs people to expand his powers."
"I
know," Zatanna agreed. "We've got to find
him."
"Don't
disagree with you there." Ted replied. "The question is where? He was
waiting for us here. It was almost as if he guessed we would come here
first."
"The
Gray Man is no fool." Zatanna answered.
"The Lords of Order select them very carefully. Unfortunately, the very
nature of what they do is what makes them insane. The cosmic forces have been
out of balance since the Lords of Order withdrew from this plane,
unfortunately, until they choose to return, we're stuck with their
problems."
"Well,
they just got kicked off my Christmas Card list." Ted replied with
straight face.
Zatanna rolled her eyes and let out a short laugh. "We'd
better meet up with your friends in
"Yeah," Ted nodded, suddenly becoming very serious. "Guy
wouldn't have reached that town yet and if the Gray Man is playing repeats for
us then Guy and the others are in a lot of trouble." He remembered the
Teasdale serum and what it had done to the people there. If the Gray Man was
taking revenge in all his own haunts, he might be tempted to recreate that
situation.
"How
so?" She looked at him concerned.
"Teasdale's
serum." Ted explained. "Guy and the others could be walking into a
town full of vampires."
CHAPTER
EIGHT: THE TEASDALE IMPERATIVE: PART 5
It felt like old times.
Guy
looked over his shoulder and saw Beatriz and Sigrid engaged in conversation.
Both women were laughing and chatting as if they had been friends forever. He
almost smiled at the thought that Fire and Ice might be a duo once again. It
took some getting used to, Guy had to admit, seeing another calling herself Ice
Maiden. Guy could not lie, when he had first learnt of Sigrid's presence in the
League, he had thought it to be an affront to Tora. Yet, in the short time that
he had come to know Sigrid, he realised that there
was no way she could replace Tora.
Because
she was someone else.
True,
there were aspects of Sigrid that reminded him of Tora. She was shy, reserved
and easily overwhelmed by a stronger personality. Yet Tora had always managed
to maintain her own identity where else Sigrid struggled to live up to everyone
else's idea of what she should be. He realised that
she feared failure tremendously and her attempts to be gain respect instead of
being conceived as a pale imitation of the original, struck a familiar chord
inside him. Guy knew all about living in someone else's shadow with intimate
knowledge.
When
Beatriz had suggested her membership in the Crusaders, Guy realised
it was partly for her own benefit. Apparently Beatriz had treated Sigrid rather
badly in the League because she was not Tora. She not only wanted the chance to
make amends to Sigrid but also because she realised
that the new Ice Maiden needed to belong. Once again, Guy Gardner could
understand that. At the moment, he reserved judgement
on how she would fit into their group. Although, it was nice to know if they
were going to be a team, that an Ice Maiden would still count in their ranks.
Stop
day dreaming
Damn,
he missed those days.
Even
more surprisingly, he missed those people. Who would have ever thought of it
huh? As much as he liked hanging out with Wargo and the others during the past
year, he truly missed the lunacies he shared in the League. Sure, at the times
he had thought they were all wimps and his relationship with the League had
entered some stormy waters, particularly after Tora had died. In in the end though, they were still friends. Although he had
not been present, he had mourned when Rex, Maxwell Lord, the Crimson Fox and
many others had died.
He
was wool gathering again and Guy wondered why he was so nostalgic. Deal with it
later
Guy
was grateful that Ted had given him a few lessons in flying the Bug because he
was no pilot, that was
Their
destination was a small Austrian - Germanic village surrounded by the
magnificent alps. Stagg Industries had built a chemical manufacturing plant
here some years ago because of its isolation. During the Teasdale crisis, the
League was fortunate that it had been so remote or the rest of the world would
have fallen prey to the madman's poison. Hoping to find the Gray Man here was a
long shot but it was all he had to go on. Since the Gray Man had exposed his
presence to Catherine, it was not unreasonable to assume that he would want
them to find him. This was an obvious place as any to reach that end.
Meanwhile,
the new General Glory who was seated in the co-pilot's seat, was staring out
the window at the spectacular scenery of the
"General."
Guy called out. "You okay?"
Donovan let out a nervous sigh and nodded. "I'm alright." He replied.
He did not look fine however and after a moment, added. "I don't know
whether this was such a good idea."
"Don't
worry." Guy said trying to allay his fears. "It gets easier as you go
along."
He
thought of what it had been like when he first received his Green Lantern ring,
how afraid he had been to screw things up. In some ways, that had not changed.
He still worried but now he just hid it better. The only reason he had not
turned into a complete wreck was because a bad tempered Biloxian
assigned to be his drill instructor would not give up on him. Kilowog had been tough but he had also been the best friend
Guy ever had. Guy was not going to give up on the General. It was least he
could do to honour the memory of two very dear
friends.
"This
Gray Man," Donovan replied. "He's nothing I've ever faced before. I
could be more of a problem than a solution. I don't want to let anyone down but
I'm scared."
"Scared
is a good thing to be." Guy returned understanding completely. "It
means you're thinking." However, Donovan's doubts still lingered and Guy
added. "Look, I know this is more than you bargained for on our first
mission together but believe me, the threat is real. The first time we took
this guy down, he was forty eight hours away from completely taking over the
world."
That
probably did not do a lot to reassure him, Guy thought in retrospect.
"Did
you know Joe for very long?" Donovan asked in an effort to change the
subject. He needed to get his mind over what lay ahead.
"A couple of years." Guy replied.
"What
was he like?"
"Well,"
Beatriz announced her presence by entering the conversation. "He was Gary
Cooper."
"Gary
Cooper?" Guy looked over his shoulder at her. He and Beatriz shared a love
of old movies but even he had had not heard her describe anyone like that. As
he thought about it however, Guy realised that she
was not far wrong. The old General Glory was just like Gary Cooper. Honest and
forthright to a fault, no matter what the situation.
"Yeah,"
she nodded. "Gary Cooper. He always behaved like a gentleman."
"You
just liked him calling you 'little lady'." Guy dead panned as she draped
herself over the back of his chair.
"Little
lady?" Donovan laughed. "Really?"
"Yeah,"
Beatriz joined in. "And he would blush whenever you asked him about his
girlfriend Claire."
"I
don't think I've ever seen a man blush." Sigrid chuckled. "He must
have been awfully sweet."
"He
was." Beatriz said fond. "He was one of the greats."
Guy
glanced over at Donovan and remarked. "Just don't call me Skipper."
************
Until
Stagg Industries had built its chemical manufacturing plant on the banks of the
Until
the Plague came.
It
was a subject seldom spoken by the villagers because no one wanted to remember
when their tiny corner of the world had been host to an abomination. It was
said that forces older than the gods had been unleased
that day and the power of the universe was suddenly centred
on Worgi. When the evil was washed away, so was the
chemical plant and the end of the prosperity they had enjoyed. For the
villagers however, the departure of Stagg Industries was not a hard burden to
bear for they had seen the darkness they had seen unleased
within them because of it.
Suddenly,
a simpler existence did not seem too large a price to pay for an untainted
soul.
Thus
things returned to its slow and lethargic pace in these highland villages. With
the beauty of the alps surrounding them, along with forest of tall conifers, it
was easy to forget those troubled time and soon life slipped back into the
routine it always had. After the Teasdale Incident, Guy and Fire had returned
to the villages, mainly to perform clean up duty after the villagers had
returned to normal. Back then, the inhabitants seemed shell shocked by what had
taken place, not to mention the state of their homes after the dust had
settled. The villages were very nearly reduced to rubble and Guy saw months of
slow rebuilding ahead.
No
evidence of the Teasdale Incident remained however, when he flew the Bug over
the villages. Using Ted's advice, Guy kept the vehicle on silent running so the
villagers would not be alerted to their presence for the moment. While the
villagers of Worgi were a pleasant lot, they were simple
and superheroes could be somewhat frightening if one was not accustomed to
them. The Bug landed in a clearing about half a mile from the nearest village.
Between the four of them, it took less than ten minutes to reach its outskirts.
Walking
into the small community was like walking into a page of an earlier century.
There was a distinct lack of gyprock, brick veneer
and weatherboard siding. The homes they saw were constructed in Tudoresque style with mortar and cement. The roads leading
into town were paved with cobblestone and brick fences flanked the sidewalks
until they emptied into the main square. However, they knew something was wrong
almost immediately.
"Where
is everybody?" Sigrid broke their silence.
"I
don't know." Beatriz answered, starting to feel a little uneasy. It was
early afternoon and yet the streets were devoid of life. The only sounds to be
heard were that of the livestock in some fenced paddocks and the birds flying
overhead. The silence seemed to deepen the further they advanced into the
village.
"Everybody,
start frosty." Guy ordered. His Vuldarian senses were practically roaring
with discord now.
"Maybe
there was some kind of disaster." Donovan suggested, although he did not
sound very convinced. Other than the lack of human life, the village seemed
undisturbed. It bothered him as they entered the central business area, that
none of the shops were closed. Butcher shops, bakeries, the shoemaker's, they
were all unlocked. Doors were wide open with windows and canopies drawn so that
potential shoppers could view the wares. Whatever had happened to the villagers
had taken place suddenly.
They
entered the village square, which was marked by a statue in the centre of the
large courtyard. Surrounding it was the local church and what appeared to be a
school house. As the group stepped into the square, a flock of birds that had
been nesting at the foot of the statue took flight, making Sigrid jump a
little.
"This
is starting to make me nervous." She admitted.
"Starting
to?" Beatriz retorted, unafraid to reveal that this situation was starting
to get to her. If she were facing an open threat, it would be easier for her to
deal with than this overwhelming silence. As it was, the serene beauty of this
region observed earlier had disintegrated into something sinister. Suddenly, it
felt as if they were all that was left of life in the whole world.
"All
right, all right," Guy broke in before this got out of hand. "I guess
its safe to say he was expecting us." He let his
gaze move across the courtyard, hoping to get some sense of life anywhere but
there was none. He supposed the next alternative was to look indoors. Privacy
or not, the mystery had to be solve before they left this place. If the Gray
Man had been expecting them, then the villagers were their responsibility.
"Do
you hear that?" Donovan spoke up suddenly.
"What?"
General
Glory's repertoires of powers, besides super strength, flight ability and
invulnerability, were also a heightened state of hearing and vision. While he
did not possess X Ray vision like the Blue Beetle or Superman, he could see
better as well as father. His aural senses were also enhanced so he could hear
a pin drop a mile away. "I heard a door."
"A
door?" Sigrid exclaimed and immediately looked around.
"I
hear footsteps." Donovan continued speaking, starting to move around as
his ears picked up more audio information. The tension in all of them started
to rise steadily and Guy could sense danger was coming. His Vuldarian
biochemistry had been genetically engineered to prepare his for such events.
Suddenly his own senses became more acute as he was becoming primed for
responding to an attack.
"They're
coming." Donovan spoke.
Sure
enough, the sound of movement set the village alight. Footsteps could be heard
against the cobblestones approaching them. They emerged from every alley,
behind every fence and through every open door from the darkness. They emptied
into the square like water gushing over the embankment until the super group
known as the Crusaders were undoubtedly surrounded. They advanced far enough
into the courtyard to encircle the new arrivals in a ring of bodies.
"My
god look at them." Beatriz was the first was to say it.
Guy
looked and he could not say he was surprised. He supposed that he should have
expected this the moment they entered this village and found it as silent as a
tomb. Somehow, he should have realised the Gray Man
was playing his sick game with them using familiar ground. The people of Worgi looked at back at them with yellow eyes, wide and
feral, with no semblance of anything civilised inside
them. They glared at him with their teeth bared, pointed and white. As they
cast their gaze on Donovan, Beatriz, Sigrid and himself, he heard them snarling
like animals. He had no doubt in his mind then, that none of these poor souls
would hesitate to tear each of them apart with their bare hands.
"We're
getting out of here." Guy said simply.
"We're
just going to leave them?" Donovan stared at him mystified.
"Look
at them," Beatriz declared knowing what concerned Guy now. "Do you
think they are in any shape to be reasoned with?"
"Yes,
but we can't just leave them!" The young man insisted. "We have to
help them."
"We
can't help them until we get the Gray Man. This stuff they got inside them
makes them zombies for this guy. Whatever he tells them to do, they will do,
got that? If that means tearing us to pieces, we're chuck meat!" Guy
snapped. They were wasting time. The villagers were simply holding position now
because they had not been given the go ahead to attack. The Gray Man knew the
Crusaders would not harm them. No matter what they had become.
"Uh
people," Sigrid suddenly spoke up, her voice a little hushed. "I
think we've got bigger problems." She had been studying the villagers while
her companions had been in debate. It now looked as if their time had run out.
The low rumble of snarls that had accompanied the villagers had risen to a
fever pitch now and even Sigrid could recognise the
climax of their savage control. That control snapped with a unified roar,
before the break of running feet against the ground thundered into the air.
"Ice!"
Guy shouted. "We need a wall around us!" Now!"
Finally
someone needs an ice wall, Sigrid thought absurdly.
She
concentrated hard, pouring as much power as she could into surrounding them
completely with a wall of thick ice that was metres
high. Even as the wall began to strengthen, she could see the faces that were
ramming into it with nothing but demented fury behind them. The temperature
around the heroes dropped immediately as cold air became trapped in that
confined space.
"That
ought to keep them away for now." Sigrid replied as the other stared at
the ferocity of the people behind the wall. At the moment, the villagers were trying
to penetrate the wall by slamming their bodies against the ice. They did so
with such force that they were starting to leave blood where they had impacted.
"They'll
kill themselves trying to get to us." Beatriz said, staring in horror at
the faces beyond the ice. She could see children amongst the horde.
"We've
got to get out of here and warn the local authorities. They've got to
quarantine this entire area before the outbreak spreads!" Guy stated.
"General, I need you to fly Ice to the Bug and then come back and get
me."
"No."
Sigrid shook her head. "You need me to maintain this wall." She knew
why Guy was doing this. He was trying to protect her because he did not want
her hurt like the former Ice Maiden.
"Like
hell I do." Guy retorted. "This ain't up for debate." He turned
to Donovan. "Get her out of here now! "
"But..."
Sigrid started to protest.
"Please
Ice," Beatriz pleaded guessing what was running through her mind.
"There's nothing personal about this decision, we need to make a retreat. At
the moment, you are vulnerable."
"All
right," Sigrid nodded, certain that Beatriz was not lying to her.
"Let's go."
"I'm
not leaving you here." Donovan told Guy. "You said it yourself,
they're infectious. You could become one of them."
"Not
by a long shot." He replied. "Besides, Fire's here. If the wall comes
down, I'm sure she'll keep it hot enough to give me a couple of minutes before
you get back. Now do as you're told! You're wasting time arguing with me!"
Reluctantly,
Donovan knew Guy was right and immediately grabbed Sigrid. "Hold on."
General
Glory soared into the air taking Sigrid with him. Beatriz took flight with him
but did not leave the area. Instead she hovered above Guy, trying to get a
bird's eye view of what was taking place beyond the wall. "Guy, it looks
like the entire village has been infected!" She shouted down at him. She
also noticed that some of the villagers had started out of the courtyard,
following the General and Sigrid's path out of town on foot. "Some of them
are going after the General!"
"Go after them!" Guy ordered. "We can't have them trying to bust
into the Bug with Sigrid inside when the General comes to get me!"
"Guy..
Warrior," she corrected remembering his code name. "I am not leaving
you here!"
"Babe,
I can take care of myself!" Guy shouted. Did everybody on this team have
trouble taking a simple order? "Get your butt over there NOW!"
She
looked into his eyes and saw how deadly serious he was about this. Beatriz told
herself to put her feelings aside because he was right. She flew over the
savage hordes of villagers and sighted those who were pursuing Sigrid and the
General. They had no hope of catching either superhero but finding the Bug was
not an option. In those precious minutes before General Glory returned with Guy
to the vehicle, Sigrid would be completely alone. While Beatriz had confidence
in her ability, all it took was on bite from the infected villages to turn
Sigrid into one of them
Beatriz
flew in front of the group and immediately sent a column of green flame to
block their path. Fortunately many of these European villages were built with
walls and enclosed streets with only one avenue of entry or exit. With one
blast of flame, she managed to seal off the street leading out of town. The
villagers snarled and hissed at her in rage as she curbed their halt and for
the moment, Beatriz believed that they were stopped.
Until
they began stepping into the fire.
"No!"
She shouted at them impotently. "What are you doing?"
If
they could even understand her, they certainly paid little attention. Beatriz
watched in horror as they stepped into the wall of fire, oblivious of the
danger until the burning began. As if lemmings being led into the sea on some
suicidal quest, Beatriz watched them walk willingly into the flames. She could
see those who had penetrated the wall flaying their arms in agony as they were
incinerated alive. Her stomach tightened into knots of horror as she saw their
clothes and hair burning, trying to fend of the fire
from their flaming skins. The air became thick with the stench of their flesh
and Beatriz had to turn away from the spectacle, unable to bear the sight it.
However,
she could still hear them scream.
**************
The
wall in front of him was covered in blood. Against the ice, he could see pieces
of skin, hair and broken nails embedded in the melting surface. They were
relentless in their determination to reach him and Guy could only watch
helplessly as they battered their bodies against his only means of protection.
The stress of their bodies slamming against the ice was starting to form
hairline cracks. Guy knew it was only a matter of time before those fractures
would become cracks and the entire structure would come crumbling down around
his ears. He was not afraid of becoming infected by the Teasdale serum because
he was more than able to protect himself.
However, his Vuldarian defense systems were extreme. In trying to defend
himself, he could end up injuring these people beyond their ability recovery.
At full strength, he could easily give Superman a run for his money. Even if he
did hold back when he engaged the villagers face to face, he could not
guarantee he would not harm them. Where the hell was General Glory? He cursed
to himself as he felt splinters of ice from the crumbling wall bite into skin.
Knowing they had weakened the ice formation renewed their determination to
bring the entire structure down. All around him, Guy could see them continuing
their assault on the ice enclosure with savage force. They were throwing
themselves harder and harder against the ice, with no thought as to the damage
they were inflicting upon themselves. They were frenzied like creatures
possessed by demons.
Instinctively,
his arms began to morph as he saw a large chunk of ice break off the wall and
shatter against the cobblestone path. He could see Beatriz up ahead and knew
that she was powerless to stop them. Even if she did choose to send a blast of
green flame to protect him, she would succeed in doing is making the wall melt
faster. If worst came to worst, he knew she would take measures to protect him
no matter what the consequence of her actions.
A
larger crack formed and as their bodies pushed against the wall, Guy saw it
starting to shake and buckle underneath the pressure. His hands morphed into
weapons and reluctantly, he prepared to fire at the villagers when the wall
finally came down. Realising that their quarry's
protection was about to be demolished gave the villagers added incentive to
smash it harder. Suddenly, the walls started shaking and with a sinking
feeling, Guy knew he had run out of time.
"I
guess its lucky we dropped in." The Blue Beetle declared announcing his
presence.
Guy
swung around and saw Ted and Zatanna standing behind
him. "You said it." Guy said never feeling happier to see either of
them. "Get us out of here! That wall is about to go!"
"What
no hello?" Ted quipped.
"JUST
DO IT!"
Zatanna was already concentrating on doing just that. "!guB elteeB eht
ot su ekaT"
She stated just as the wall collapsed around them. Guy had just enough time to
see the villagers lunging for them when suddenly everything disappeared around
him. The last thing he remembered hearing was Ted's voice making a parting
comment.
"Gee,
do you think its the Vuldarian men who get
premenstrual?"
CHAPTER
NINE - MUSEUM PIECES
"Booster,"
Catherine sighed. "This is really not necessary."
Booster
Gold was currently sitting comfortably on the sofa in her office, reading of
all things, the latest copy of the National Inquirer. Since he had been
assigned to her be her protector, Booster had not let Catherine out of his
sight. While it was flattering that Guy and the others thought so much of her,
Booster was rather hard to explain to her colleagues at the
"Guy
seemed to think it was a good idea and so do I." Booster replied.
"The Gray Man approached you once already Catherine, you never know what
he might be up to next."
Catherine
frowned. Although she knew Guy's precautionary measures were necessary, it
still did not mean she liked the idea of having a round the clock body guard.
She supposed she should be grateful that Booster was not in uniform. At the
moment, he seemed as any well-dressed American, complete with suit and tie.
Booster did have an alternate identity that did not get often used. Since his
arrival from the 25th century, most people knew him as Booster Gold, not
Michael Carter.
"I
still do not think it is necessary," she retorted, knowing she was simply
being defiant. "You are not easy to explain."
"Just
say I'm your cousin from
Catherine
rolled her eyes in resignation and returned to the daily reports on her desk.
"You Americans spend too much time watching soap operas."
Booster
smiled faintly and rose to his feet. She had a great office for a government worker.
It offered a sweeping view of the Champ Elysees river and the perennial shadow
of the
It was a gorgeous day spring day in Paris and Booster looked out at the
sunshine outside and came to one unshakeable conclusion. He wanted to be
outside in it. "Come on Catherine," he turned around and strode
purposefully to her desk. "Why don't we play hooky today? Its been ages since I've been in
"Booster,"
Catherine said trying to remain calm. "I am French and I do not need to go
sight seeing in
"Oh
really?" He looked at her sceptically with his
arms folded. "When was the last time you went up the
Damn,
he had her there. "Not for some time. However that does not mean I can
simply forget my work and go off for and play, what did you call it?"
"Hooky." Booster said emphasising the word
and then continued without missing a beat. "I don't see why not? You've
got an office large enough to park a Citroen and a secretary who brings you
coffee and croissants at your pleasure. I don't think you're in any danger of
getting a pink slip."
"I
know that but....." Catherine paused as she saw the puppy dog look on his
face. At that moment, she did not have the heart to say no. Of course he was
right, she could take a day off whenever she wanted to. In fact, there were
superiors who often told her she needed the time to herself, however Catherine
was much too dedicated to listen. Reluctantly, she knew his arguments were
winning her over and she disliked it intensely. Still, if he was forced to stay
here all afternoon, he was going to drive himself insane with boredom and take
her with him.
"All
right," she conceded. "But we are not going to
"Okay."
He grinned triumphantly.
Catherine
was almost tempted to slap him again.
*********
Instead
of going to all those venues that made foreigners appear to be so typically
tourists, Catherine decided that if she must spend the afternoon outdoors, she
would go to her favourite places. Booster did not
mind where he went as long as it was outside the walls of her confining office.
They took a stroll to the Musée d'Orsay, a delightful
old rail station that had been transformed into a museum. Inside and out, the
building had been restored to its past glory with pictures hanging within to
show its passage through time.
Despite
himself, Booster found the place to be interesting because much of these
objects had not survived into the 25th century from which he originated.
Catherine was a perfect companion for such a visit because Booster did not know
a word of French. She explained that this was one of her favourite
places and she often came here alone. Although he did not voice it, he felt
somewhat privileged that she chose to share this with him.
They
spent over two hours at the Musée d'Orsay before
leaving the place and taking a stroll on the paved walkways that ran parallel
with the
"It
must have been great growing up here." He remarked as they watched the
boats go by on the river. Old men were placing bocce in the nearby distance
while struggling artists accosted passers by for two
minute portraits. Street mimes in any culture were irritating although in
"
"Having
spent the day here like this, I'm kind of sorry I never transferred to the
"
"Can
I ask you something Catherine?" Booster asked quietly.
She
sensed some importance to the question about to be asked and put her full
attention to it. "Please do."
"You
remember how we first met?"
Catherine
tried to suppress a smile but did not manage it. "It is hard to
forget."
"Tell
me about it." Booster let out an embarrassed sigh, unable to forget the
incident where he had tried to proposition her quite arrogantly and had been
put back in place very sharply. "You never held it against me, why?"
It
was a fair question, she supposed. Although so many years from the day, it
seemed strange that it should prey on his mind still. "Maybe I remember
what it was like to be new in town where first impressions are important. I had
my moments too you know, when I tried to impress people and fell quite flat on
my face. I guess I could empathise with you."
"I
used to hear rumours about you and the Captain,"
he inquired softly. "Were they true?"
Now
they were getting to the heart of the matter, she realised.
"We had a friendship that could have been more but the Captain never chose
to explore it." She answered him truthfully.
"I
see." Booster replied, unable to understand how anyone could let someone
like Catherine slip through their fingers. "I wish I could say I was sorry
but I can't." He admitted.
Catherine
placed a hand on his cheek. "I am flattered, Booster Gold."
He
swallowed hard. "My name is Michael, Catherine. Booster Gold is the guy in
the mask."
Catherine
stepped back and extended her hand towards him. "I am pleased to meet you
Michael."
*********
"Boys,
boys, boys, I leave you alone and what happens?" Dream Slayer mused as he
looked at his former companions, now regulated to nothing more than museum show
pieces. "You become sport for the kiddies."
Even
though they had been damaged by Supergirl and
returned to the museum, Mitch Wacky, their creator who had been contracted to
repair the Extremists replicas had done a masterful job. As Dream Slayer stood
before the Extremists display, he could see the beauty of Uncle Mitch's work.
There finish on Lord Havok's armour
was almost flawless, with no evidence of anything more than a scratch. As a
machinist, Mitch Wacky had no peer. Even though the eyes inside that uniform
was lifeless, Lord Havok looked as menacing as
always. In his time, Lord Havok had been a forced to
be reckoned with, Dream Slayer decided. The man had possessed an intellect of
utter ruthlessness, untainted by notions of morality or compassion.
All
the programming of that mind still existed beneath the armour.
It simply required awakening.
Although
his game with his enemies was going splendidly, his interest was starting to
wane. He did not simply want them to die. No, he wanted them on their knees
begging for him to kill them so he could spit in their faces before he made
them scream again. However, the taste of that victory would be shallow if he
was alone to savour it. No game could truly be won if
he played alone. He wanted his friends and for the lack of them, he would be
satisfied with these mechanical replacements that simulated the originals so
perfectly. Dream Slayer wanted them back with him and this time, there would be
no mistakes. There would be no stupid errors in programming that would allow
them to be deactivated by Mitch Wacky like a toaster oven that needed switching
off.
He
stood before the display and no present took any notice of him. All they saw
was a greying man, no different from any other in the
museum. At the moment, a group of children were babbling in French as they
gaped at the Extremists exhibit, pointing and tossing little bits of foot at
the display.
"They
do not look so dangerous." One of the children declared, staring at Tracer
at his feral best. He was a particularly fat child and had Tracer actually
heard the remark, he would likely split open the boy's gut before asking the
kid to repeat himself.
"Superman
defeated them." The only girl in the group spoke.
"It
was not Superman Michelle!" The fat boy responded indignantly. "It is
the Justice League."
"You
mean with Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman?" She asked, awed by just
saying those names out loud.
"Not
that League!" A thinner boy with glasses sighed in exasperation. "The
other ones. You know, the weaker ones."
Dream
Slayer smiled at that. The weaker ones. How right they were. When he was done
with the former members of the Justice League, not only would they be forgotten
memories but on he would build his new seat of power with their bleached bones.
Dream Slayer stepped forward, standing directly behind the children. They paid
him little attention as they continued chattering about inconsequential things.
The
programming was there. It simply needed awakening.
He
closed his eyes and reached into the mass of circuits and wire, travelling
through the sophisticated cabling that moved through the replicant
bodies. The internal energy source was still intact. Mitch Wacky's
repairs had restored them to almost perfect functionality. The only thing
lacking to make them whole was that initial spark of energy that would bring
them to life.
"Its time to play a game boys." He spoke up, loud
enough for the children to hear.
"Do
you say something Monsieur?" The fat boy looked up at him with chubby
cheeks and freckled skin. What an odious little specimen. It would probably be
a service to nature if he were to kill this little rodent, but then he did not
want to steal sport from his deprived friends. There was plenty of blood to be
spilled here and so much torture to go around.
"Hello
there." Another voice said spoke out shattering the moment. The boy turned
around and saw the attention of his friends captured by something else
entirely. The Extremist named Tracer had moved out of the display, his muscles
moving with the lethal grace of a predator who had picked up the scent.
He dropped off the raised floor in front of them, landing like on his haunches
like a cat. "Its been a long time
children," he smiled flexing his inch long talons as they started to
scream. "Tracer wants to play."
*************
Booster
and Catherine found themselves at a small bistro called the Le Thermomètre in the Place de la République.
It was walking distance from the
"So
how is the new team going?" Catherine inquired after the desert had been
served. She could not believe what a nice time she was having, particularly
with Booster Gold. It appeared that he was far from childish when properly
motivated. Despite herself, she decided that she could get to like this side of
his personality a great deal.
"Okay."
Booster replied after swallowing his mouthful of cheesecake. "Guy is
actually better as team leader than either Ted or I thought."
"His
dossier prior to his coma was very impressive." Catherine answered.
"Had it not been for his accident, he would have made a fine Green
Lantern."
"Its tough to believe he was such a pain the ass."
Booster could not help commenting. However, she was not wrong. He wondered what
Guy Gardner would have been like back then, before life had twisted his mind to
near psychosis. "He's so together these days, you know. I mean he really
did better than most of us. Its not just the success,
its also the Vuldarian part of him." Booster
suddenly sobered for a moment as he considered what he was about to say.
"There was a time when I wouldn't even dream of giving him the time of day
but you should have seen him at the meeting, it was weird. He almost reminded
me of Jonn."
"People
change." Catherine pointed out but she could see his point. Of all the
people in the League who could ever replace Jonn as team leader, Catherine had
rated Guy somewhere above Gnort. "He's lost a
number of people in his life, Booster. Tora was just one person, there's Joe
Jones, Kari Limbo and just about everybody he ever knew in
"I
guess we've all changed in one way or another." He said quietly. "I
always thought life was one big adventure until the Overmaster. That changed
everything for me. When I woke up in that hospital in pieces and heard Tora was
dead, I knew I was lucky even though I didn't feel that way at the time. I
think that changed my perspective on how I wanted the rest of my life to go. It
took a long time to be able to look at myself in the mirror without feeling
like half a man. I was angry for a long time Catherine, angry at all the bad
things and not realising for one moment that I was
luckier than most. By all accounts, I should still be a cripple but I'm not,
I'm whole. I should be a janitor in the 25th century but I'm not. I'm a
superhero named Booster Gold and I have good friends who have risked their
lives for me more times than I can count. That's got to be worth something."
He
had grown and she liked the man he had become. Michael Carter had come of age
and he had Booster Gold to thank for that. She was about to respond when
suddenly, her pager screamed from inside her purse. The shrill broke the quiet
warmth of the bistro and she quickly fumbled for her purse to reach the device.
"This
must be important." She stated. "They would not page me
otherwise." It was true. Since her return to normal UN duties, she could
count the number of times she had actually been paged by the office. On those
rare occasions, they usually had a good reason for contacting her. Catherine
removed the pager and glanced at its digital face. Without saying another word,
she retrieved her cellular phone and started dialing.
"Is
something wrong?" Booster inquired, noticing the sudden shift in her demeanour. Something had happened. He could see the tension
creeping into the face. Catherine did not answer him but continued with her
call.
"Hello."
She spoke. "This is Catherine Colbert."
Booster
listened to her short clipped sentences as she responded to what appeared to be
initial inquiries before her face suddenly melted in a mask of horror. "Oh
my god."
"What
is it?" He demanded, starting to get very alarmed himself. Catherine was
infamous for her ability to remain cool under pressure. To see her like this,
made him wonder what could frighten her.
"Have
you attempted to contact the Watchtower?" She questioned the caller on the
other end of the line. "No response." She paused a moment,
contemplating the options left to her before she spoke again. "I think I
may have another option. I'll be in touch." With that, she terminated the
line and looked up at him.
"What's happened?" Booster asked immediately.
"The
Extremists replicants," Catherine managed to
say. She could not believe it was happening again. A few months ago when they
had been destroyed by Supergirl, Catherine had
thought that was the end of the matter. However, it appeared that the Museum
had hired Mitch Wacky to restore the exhibit to its former glory. Apparently,
Mitch had done a spectacular job. "They've been reactivated. At the
moment, they're tearing the
This
was bad, Booster agreed. The Extremists were one of the most dangerous foes the
League had ever faced. They were a ruthless group of super villains who took
pride in sadism and often resorted to using nuclear weapons the hold the world
at ransom. Only a deadly gambit by the League had defeated the group and
Booster did not relish what could happen to civilian authorities if they
attempted to engage the Extremists.
"Have
they tried calling the League?" Booster inquired.
"Yes
but there is no answer at the Watchtower." She replied exasperated. If
there was still a
"Where
is this museum?" Booster asked quickly.
"Five
kilometres north of here." Catherine answered.
"Why?"
"Use
the communicator," Booster rose to his feet. "Get in contact with Guy
and the others and tell them to get here fast."
"Where
are you going?" She demanded as he slipped out of the booth and started
running towards the exit. Suddenly, it occurred to her what he was about to do.
"Booster, you can't go after them. There's four of them! They'll kill
you!"
However,
it was too late. He was already gone.
************
Booster
was still wearing his civilian clothes when he took flight to the Parisian sky.
Fortunately, he still had his Legion flight ring and his wrist gauntlets so he
could still fly and was protected by force fields. He knew Catherine was right,
he could not possibly fight the Extremists on his own but then Booster had no
intention of encountering them at all. His primary concern was aimed at the
lives of the civilians who were called on to defend the city against this
monster. They were even more fragile than he was and even if he could not stop
the Extremists, he could at least get the people in the museum to safety.
When he was airborne, Booster started to see signs of the panic that had
gripped the city. Sirens were wailing as police cars sped along the streets
towards the direction of the Wax Museum. A column of smoke appeared in the
distance, rising from unseen flames. Flying towards the scene of all the
commotion, Booster could see people evacuating the area like rats leaving a
sinking ship. Explosions were erupting, shaking buildings and breaking glass
with each detonation. He could hear people screaming in terror before their
voices were drowned out by the wail of the emergency vehicles.
When
he arrived on the scene, he saw a dozen police cars converged around the main parking
lot in front of the museum. A dozen buildings around the museum was on fire or
partly demolished. Debris was scattered all over the place. For a moment,
Booster had some impression of what
The
police had created a perimeter line surrounding the museum and Booster was
uncertain if this was a good idea or not. Although they were armed with
sophisticated weapons, Booster knew just how much destruction the Extremists
were capable of causing. When the group chose to go on the offensive, nothing
would stop them from killing these people without hesitation. Unfortunately,
this situation required superhuman help. At the moment, the civilians in the
area were only liabilities.
Suddenly,
Booster recognised a familiar face in the sea of
faces below him. Making a quick descent, he landed behind the police line
amidst a rumble of pointing fingers and exclamations of surprise.
"Inspector
Cadmus." Booster called out to the permanently rumpled officer who was
currently dispensing orders to a group of police. The man had been too busy
with the current crisis to notice his dramatic entrance. The inspector looked
up as he heard his name being called. There was sweat and blood on his face and
Booster guessed that he had been taking an active part in leading the assault.
Unfortunately, judging from the bodies that were lying behind the perimeter
line, it did not look as if Cadmus had been very successful.
"Booster
Gold?" Cadmus looked at him. The Inspector had never seen him out of
uniform. "It is you, isn't it?"
"Yes
it is," Booster replied. He knew of Cadmus mostly by reputation. While the
Inspector had no love for the Justice League, Captain Atom had believed the man
to be fair. At the moment, Inspector Cadmus seem not need all the help he could
get "What is the situation?"
"They
have presently withdrawn inside the museum." Cadmus retorted bitterly.
Booster did not doubt that Cadmus took the deaths of all his fallen comrades
personally. If it were Ted or Guy out there, Booster knew he would feel the
same. "They said we're poor sport and they're waiting for something
interesting to come along."
"Are
they any people in the museum?" Booster inquired.
"At
least a dozen." Cadmus answered. "The lucky ones who have managed to
escape have reported several dead inside. Some were even children." The
man said trying to hide his anger but failing to do so.
Booster
could not blame him for feeling that way when his own stomach knotted at that
disclosure. However he forced his rage away. "I'm going in." Booster
stated firmly before he had time to change his mind on the subject. "We
need to get those people out."
"Alone?"
Cadmus declared. "With all due respect Mousieur
Gold, these are dangerous men even for paranormals. You can't mean to take them
on your own?"
"Not
if I can help it," he answered shortly. "However, we don't have a
choice do we? You can't make any definitive assault until those people free and
we can't take the risk of letting the Extremists play their sadistic torture
games. Do you want the hostages subjected to that?"
Cadmus
had to say no. "Alright Mousieur Gold, we will
do it your way. What do you need from us?"
"Do
you have any museum blue prints?" Booster asked. "I'd like to find an
alternate route in. Believe me, I don't want to run into them without backup
myself. I just want to get those people out."
Cadmus
nodded in understanding. "Villier!" He
shouted to one of his men. Villier who was a
uniformed officer, hurried to the Inspector's side. "Yes Sir?"
"Get
me a map of the museum." He ordered before turning back to Booster. "Mousieur Gold needs all the help he can get."
CHAPTER
TEN: EXTREME GAMES
Like
most Parisian buildings, Madame Clouseau's Wax Museum
was constructed with an exit that emptied into the main street. Mostly used as
service entrance for kitchen staff and delivery men, it was also the absolute
essential for philandering husbands. In
The distraction that Cadmus had provided was being carried out even as he moved
through the meandering corridor beneath the street that led to what was now the
preparation room for the museum wax's works. The inspector was attempting to
contact the Extremists under the guise of negotiating for the hostages release.
Booster did not expect this to distract the group from their penchant for
violence but at least it would take their mind off a possible rescue attempt
for the moment.
The
corridor was illuminated by single light bulbs protected by dusty mesh at
regular intervals. So far, it appeared that his covert entry into the structure
was unnoticed. Booster knew that he had to be extremely careful. While he had a
force field and flight ability on his side, he had also had to face the
nastiest group of paranormals that had emerged in recent times. Even super
villains understood the notion of de ténte. Creating
a nuclear holocaust would destroy the world they intended to dominate. Most had
elected to leave such games to the politicians.
The
Extremists of course, had no such restraints. They had already reduced their
own world to a nuclear wasteland before penetrating the dimensional rift to
reach this reality. Upon their arrival here, they resumed their Armageddon
games until finally defeated by the Justice League's European branch. While
their intentions in the wake of their present revival were unclear, it was
certain that they intended to cause as much destruction as possible. As it was,
the streets outside looked like a war zone and when he had left, ambulance and
emergency services were starting to remove the dead and injured from the
rubble.
He
reached the door at the end of the corridor and put his ear up against it. Oh
for the want of X ray vision, Booster sighed. Pressing his ear against the dust
covered door, he could hear nothing in the immediately adjoining room. After a
moment, he determined that it was safe to enter. Cadmus has provided him with a
skeleton key that would open any lock in the building and Booster slipped it
into the lock. He supposed Cadmus was so accommodating because he wanted his
men out from the line of fire. Booster wished he had not let Catherine talk him
into wearing his civilian clothing. While he realised
she needed him to be inconspicuous if he was to be her bodyguard, in light of
what had happened made that decision ill thought.
Booster
entered the wax works and found it to be empty as expected. If the workers in
this room had any sense, they would have left long ago. He stepped onto the
concrete floor and immediately wished he was anywhere but inside this room. The
sight of all those disembodied wax mannequins in the process of assembly was
eerie. Arms and legs dangled in the air. Naked torsos were mounted on tables,
with bald heads staring at him with blank eyes and expressions. It did nothing
to assuage the nerves that were already becoming anxious at his situation.
If
the hostages were anywhere, it would probably be inside the main exhibition
area. Booster chose to fly through the stairway going up to that position
because his footsteps could he heard. He had never actually confronted the
Extremists face to face, so he was uncertain of their abilities. Nevertheless,
he did not intend to give them any more of an advantage that they already had.
He only hoped that Catherine had managed to get a hold of the other Crusaders.
For a moment, he was struck by the notion that he was in a team again and
despite his present predicament, Booster had to say that was a really nice
feeling. It was good to know that there were friends who would soon come
charging to his aid.
Let's
hope real soon.
As
he approached the main floor, frightened voices could be heard most clearly. He
strained to listen, trying to determine just how many hostages were in the
building. It was mid afternoon when the Extremists had attacked and at this
time of the year, tourists were in abundance in the museum. He hoped that there
were not more of them than he could handle. Booster was able to pick up the
voices of children crying and realised that the bulk
of the hostages would likely be children with a handful of well meaning adults
who had brought them here. Hearing them only confirmed he had to do this
carefully.
Flying
a few inches above the floor, Booster found he had ironically appeared in the
exhibit room for the Justice League. Not the old League that he had been apart of mind you, but the new dream team. The wax figures
of Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman stared at him in heroic poses. Although
having known Batman personally, he doubted that the Dark Knight had ever
intentionally stood with hands on his hips wearing a big grin. Batman's face
would crack if he smiled.
Booster
swept past the wax figures, trying not to feel as if fate was attempting to be
amusing. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a figure that was
not in the League. It took him a moment to realise
what he had stumbled into when the figure came to life and jumped at him, claws
extended and teeth bared. Even with his force field, the Extremist named Tracer
slammed him into the wax form of Wonder Woman.
"A
sneak attack was a good idea." Tracer hissed as he tried to slash at
Booster unsuccessfully. "Too bad I could smell you the moment you came
into the building."
Booster
threw a punch into the man's face, connecting with his flattened nose that
mimicked that of an animal. There was enough force to throw Tracer across the
room, toppling the lifeless Green Lantern over him as he fell. The man sprang on
his feet immediately, with lightning quick reflexes that started at Booster
again. Realising that the situation was toppling out
of control rapidly, Booster flew out of the room only to be slammed into
another wall by a blast of energy that almost collapsed his force field. His
left shoulder flared in pain at his impact and for a moment, he considered
getting out of here. With his presence obviously revealed, there would be
little hope of rescuing the hostages.
"We
were wondering when one of you people would show up." A grating voice
spoke over the stinging pain in his arm.
Lord
Havok stood before him with the Extremists, Gorgon
and Doctor Diehard. Booster supposed he should be grateful that Dream Slayer
was not around either because the final member of the group was certainly the
most powerful of them all.
"We
were starting to get bored with local militia." Havok
replied advancing on him. "We can play with you for a while until the rest
of you so called heroes showed up."
Booster
looked up at the skylight above their heads and saw his avenue of escape. He
was started to fly towards him when Lord Havok
stopped him with another blast. However, this time the blast was different. It
did not appear to be offensive in nature but seem to scatter around his field
in a sparkle of light. For a moment, Booster wondered if the man's weapon had
failed.
"Warning,
field strength down 26 percent." An electronic voice beeped from his
gauntlet.
Oh
crap, Booster swore under his breath. This was not meant to hurt him but to
drain the power cells in his shields. He had to get out of here fast and he had
to do it NOW. He resumed his attempt to reach the skylight, ignoring his ego's
need to show these bastards what it was to take on Booster Gold. Object started
flying at him as he continued flying upwards. Steel girders and other metallic
object began rushing up at him. A steel table smashed into his side just as
Lord Havok caught him with another blast from his
energy absorbing weapon.
"Warning,
field strength down 57 percent."
Booster
definitely had to get out of here now. At 50 per cent shield strength, Lord Havok's offensive blasts would penetrate the shield. While
he had still enough protection to stay alive, he would get badly hurt. By now,
he was thrown into another room and the group had positioned themselves to
confine him inside his walls. Booster surveyed the room quickly, hoping to find
a way out before they closed in on him. Except for one small window that was
barred from the outside, Booster saw no such escape.
He
would have to go through them or not at all. Taking a deep breath, he sped out
the way he came. Lord Havok jumped to intercept but
Booster kept going until he collided with the villain. Havok
chose not to let go once he had a hold of him and Booster realised
the mistake he had made.
"This
will go so much faster now." Havok replied and
Booster could almost see the smile hidden beneath his metal exoskeleton.
Pushing his hands against the invisible shield around Booster, his hands
sparkled as he began drawing energy from the batteries in Booster's gauntlets.
"Warning,
field strength down 75 percent."
"Warning,
field strength down 93 percent."
Booster
tried to shake him off desperately knowing that when that when his force field
came down he would be as good as dead. They had him cornered in here like a
trapped bird and unless he made it to open sky, they would have him. However, Havok was not letting go for anything in the world. His
powered armour made his incredibly strong and nothing
Booster would do could induce him to release his grip. He slammed against walls
and into the exhibits but Havok was still holding on
tight. The other Extremists were merely watching in amusement, as if they knew
that he was theirs. It was just a question of how much of a fight he was
willing to put up before he realised this too.
"Field
power has terminated."
No
sooner than he had said those words, Havok let loose
a blast of energy. It tore into Booster like fire and sent him crashing to the
floor as his clothes started to singe from its heat. There was barely time to
cry out in pain when he felt tentacles wrap around his throat. Booster closed
his eyes and concentrated hard, trying not to let the air escaping out of his
lungs affect his judgement.
"I
like this one." Another voice spoke but this one did not belong to Lord Havok. Booster opened his eyes long enough to see the rest
of Gorgon's tentacles coming towards him. That was all the incentive he needed.
Booster leapt into the air but got no farther than the length of the villain's
tentacles as the grip around his throat became so taut that he was starting to
lose consciousness.
"He's
a little too spirited." Doctor Diehard grinned malevolently. "Maybe
you should tenderise him a bit."
"I
think you're right." Gorgon laughed and cracked the tentacle wrapped
around Booster's neck.
Booster's
body flopped like a rag doll from side to side as Gorgon shook him violently
and then swatted him against the wall repeatedly. Each impact produced more
blood until Booster could hardly see out of his swollen eyes. He had never felt
so helpless in his life. The bastards had him caught like fish dangling from a
hook. As he felt another bone snap as he hit the wall, Booster knew this could
not go on. Even now, he was struggling to remain lucid but all he could feel
was pain and their incessant laughter.
When
Gorgon released him, Booster hit the floor hard. He knew he was badly injured.
Pain screamed at him from a thousand wounds and he could feel jagged pieces of
teeth inside his bloodied mouth. As he tried to get to his feet, his was
suddenly forced down on the floor by the weight of body jumping on top of him.
The soles of someone's feet dug into his back as they lowered to his ear to
speak.
"Your
scent says fear," Tracer smiled maniacally. "I like it."
Without
warning, the Extremist sank all ten claws into his skin. Booster screamed as
Tracer raked back his long sharp nails, tearing skin and flesh back
simultaneously. The pain was agonising. It tore
through him like a thousand knives, until it was so complete that all he could
do was drown in its white hot depths. His scream was loud because his throat
felt hoarse even before all of it had escaped his lips. However, the pain
brought clarity to mind and while he still had the Legion flight ring on his
finger, he had a chance to get out of here alive. The skylight was directly
above him. Without his force field, he could be assured of injuries when he
went through it but at least it would be a better death than at the hands of
these monsters. If he lived through this, Booster managed one enraged thought,
he would see them dead for this.
He
remembered Tracer on his body when the Extremist yanked his head back and raked
more sharp claws against his skin. "I liked to hear you scream."
Tracer said. "I like it a lot."
"Then
get ready for the ride of your life, you son of a bitch!" Booster roared
as forced himself upwards as fast as he could.
"What
are you doing?" Tracer managed to shout as he saw the skylight rushing up
at them.
"Let
go and you won't find out!" Booster replied, angrier than he had been seen
the Overmaster took his arm. They had made him scream like some helpless child.
The well of rage inside him was beyond control. He felt no fear, no concern
about what all that glass would do to his body, all he cared about was going
through it and maybe killing this animal in the process.
Tracer
never had a chance to make a decision because no sooner than Booster had
spoken, they went through the skylight. The other Extremists were too stunned
by the sudden burst of strength from their prey and were unable to react before
Booster had shot through the glass. Booster Gold closed his eyes as the glass
rain down around him. He held his head down to protect his eyes. Through he sharp sound of breaking glass, he heard Tracer scream
and felt the Extremist's claws dig deeper into his back as they continued their
upward journey towards the sky.
"You
are insane!" Tracer shouted as they pass through the wall of glass. The
Extremist shook his mane of hair, dispelling the glass shards caught inside its
strands.
He
was scared. Booster thought triumphantly as they left the museum below them and
continued gaining momentum. With the Legion flight ring, he could match the speed
of the Blue Beetle Bug and he knew that there was no way that Tracer could hang
on. Perhaps it was time the Extremist understood his situation.
"You
better start thinking about letting go." Booster declared over the sound
of the wind rushing at them. The Extremist was struggling to hold on now
because Booster was picking speed the higher he went.
"Take
us down or I'll cut you to pieces!" Tracer snarled angrily.
Even
as he said that, Booster could feel his talons dig deeper into his skin but
Tracer was not going to frighten him. They both knew that Tracer could not kill
him in mid air because that would end the Extremist's sorry existence as well.
"Go
ahead!" Booster retorted sharply. "Unless I forgot you can fly!"
"Don't
try and frighten me hero!"
"You're
already afraid." Booster shouted back. "Now you let go or I swear
I'll keep going until the wind tears you off my back!"
Booster
had never been so clear on anything in his life and never more certain that
Tracer would yield. Perhaps not fearing death had given him an edge, Booster
could not say for sure. All he did know was that this Extremist was going to
give in or he would die in the process. Guy was right about animals like these.
They did not deserve to live and he was not going to perpetuate hypocrisy by
pretending that they should.
"Let
go." Booster declared as he altered his trajectory and flew in close over
the Seine River. He glanced at the water below and so Tracer would see the only
option left to him. Booster had given him a way out if he was smart enough to
take it.
"Okay
hero," Tracer hissed with anger but clearly realising
that he had not a choice in the matter. "You win this round but next
time...."
"Next
time," Booster said icily before Tracer could finish. "You better not
get in my cross hairs because I'll rip your goddamn heart out and give you a
scent to remember before you die. Not get your hands off me!" His tone
indicated that he was not going to say it again.
Tracer let go and plunged downwards. Even from this distance, a drop from this
altitude into water would have killed a normal human being but Tracer was
tough. The mutation that had turned him into a living abomination would
undoubtedly protect him when he hit the water.
Too
bad.
*********
After
Booster had escaped from the museum and had managed to get rid of Tracer, he
struggled back to the inspector. Failure stabbed at him as sharply as the pain
in his body. His thoughts as the agony increasingly dogged his return, were of
the children whose tears were etched in his memory. They were still in there
with those superhuman psychopaths. He did not relish the thought of any of
those hostages going through what he had just done. His rage had managed to
stymie his injuries during his battle with Tracer but now that the Extremist
was gone, he felt his anger starting to dissipate. With its submission, he felt
the pain of his injuries return in full force.
Booster could feel the slick wetness on his back even as he flew back to the
police line. He knew there was exposed flesh on his back but he forced himself
not to think about it. Nor did he think about the gravelly bit of enamel
floating in his mouth along with blood. He had not been this injured for a long
time and prayed that none of this was permanent. His vision was starting to
blur and Booster gathered this was because of the amount of blood he was
losing.
Suddenly
the police line surrounding the museum became visible and Booster led out a
sigh of relief as he began his descent.
"Look!"
Catherine
Colbert turned around and saw the airborne figure coming down towards the
police line.
Mon
Dieu! It was Booster!
After
she had contacted Guy, she had fought her way across town, through the crowds
to see if there was any further news about the current situation. Only her
diplomatic credentials had enabled her to penetrate the walls of police who had
formed a barricade against the media people who were now on congregated around
the disaster area. Judging by the pandemonium of the immediate area, she hoped
that the Crusaders were here. At the moment, they were on their way back from
Germany and would be in French airspace within the hour.
Her
heart sank as she saw what state he was in when he drew closer to the ground.
When he finally descended, his landing was anything but graceful. Towards the
last few feet of his descent, it appeared as if controlled had slipped and
almost smashed through the windscreen of a parked police car. Through the sea
of uniforms that crowded around the vehicle following Booster dramatic entrance,
Catherine saw a familiar face.
"Inspector
Cadmus!" She called out.
Cadmus
was ordering his men aside as he struggled to reach Booster who was lying flat
on the bonnet of the police car, looking deathly indeed. He turned at the sound
of his named being called out and saw Catherine trying to navigate through the
uniforms barring her way. "Let her through!" He shouted to his men
who stepped aside once the confusion had died, allowing the United Nations
official through. She hurried forward and was not more than two steps away from
Cadmus when she saw what state Booster was in.
"Oh
my god!" She declared as she saw the blood starting to pool against the
white machine finish of the car bonnet. Booster face was a pulpish
mesh and his skin seemed shredded from a thousand cuts.
"Someone
get a stretcher!" Cadmus ordered as he reached Booster first.
Instinctively, he checked the superhero's pulse and noted with relief that the
man was still alive. Barely however, Cadmus thought to himself. A few seconds
later, Catherine broke through the crowd of policeman and emergency people and
brushed straight past him. Without thought, she scrambled onto the bonnet of hte vehicle, desperate to be at Booster's side.
Making
his descent had robbed him of his last ounce of strength and mercifully,
Booster had slipped inot unconsciousness. However,
his wounds were nothing short of appaling. Even as
she knelt beside him, his blood was starting to soak in her clothes. Catherine
was hardly aware ot it. While she realised
that much of his injuries looked worse owing to all the blood he was losing she
nevertheless felt responsible for this. "I should not have told you to
leave the suit behind." Catherine said as she leaned over him and stroked
his bruised face. This was her fault!
"Madamoseille Colbert." Cadmus intruded
gently, "he needs hospitalization, immediately."
"Yes
of course," Catherine nodded mutely, trying to keep her tears from coming.
Normally, she could handle her emotions better than this. After reading
casualty reports from places like Sarajevo and Rwanda, she had beleived nothing could shake her emotional fortitude. Now,
Catherine knew better. She stepped aside as the paramedics moved past her,
watching his face as they carried him onto a stretcher.
"Is
he alright?" She asked after they had made a preliminary examination.
"We
cannot say Madamoseille." the paramedics replied
as they started pushing him away. "We will have to take him to hospital
first."
Catherine
nodded, biting her lip to keep herself from crying. "Am I allowed to ride
with him?" She asked unable to keep her voice steady.
The
paramedic exchanged glances with Inspector Cadmus who made his wishes known
with a slight nod. "Of course," the young man nodded. "Please
come with us."
Catherine
offered Cadmus a faint smile of gratitude before she followed Booster and the
paramedics into the waiting mouth of a nearby ambulance. Before she was too far
out of earshot, Catherine called out to the inspector. "Cadmus, I have
called for help. It will be here within the hour. I will tell them to report to
you."
"The
Justice League?" Cadmus asked hopefully.
"No,"
Catherine replied shortly as she started to climb into the ambulance. "Not
the Justice League but I assure you, these heroes know the Extremists
well."
Cadmus
glanced at the museum and prayed that she was right.
CHAPTER
ELEVEN: DEBUT
It
had no name. It did not need one because it simply was.
Zatanna Zatara stood in the middle
of the plateau looking into the sky above, knowing that it was not really a
sky. Like all things here, it was merely a projection for the benefit of her
limited perception. This place existed out of time and dimension from anything
that could be explained by the laws of nature. If anything, it existed as the
nexus between what could be understood and was had to be taken as a test of
faith.
Zatanna had known about this realm. On occasion, she had
reason to seek an audience with those who created it. If a contemporary term
was required to best describe this place then the most appropriate term would
simply be an audience chamber. Here, those who wielded the forces of Magi could
communicate with the powers that existed beyond mortality and imagination.
This
was the domicile of gods.
Zatanna waited patiently, knowing that they would speak only
if they deemed the visitor worthy of a reception. While they were familiar with
her, it did not mean that familiarity would automatically guarantee immediate
acknowledgement. They made their decisions carefully and she did not doubt at
this moment, they were thinking hard on whether she ought to be addressed.
The
time of Kali Yuga was upon them and in this age of fire, destruction and
madness, the Lords of Order had retreated from the realm of man.
Until
this turbulent period of cosmic evolution had passed, they would remain out of
the affairs of man until it was their time again. The eternal war was quiet and
the battlefield remained open to conquest. The minions of Order still walked
the combat zone, protecting what was left from the forces of Chaos. Although
the Lords of Order has removed themselves from the fighting, the war they
believed to have ended, still raged in spite of their indifference. She hoped
their lack of concern did not extend to inclusion of all other matters in the
realm.
Realistically,
Zatanna knew her chances of gaining their help
against the Gray Man were slim. However, she risked little by trying. If
nothing else, they might be willing to help her understand how the Gray Man had
managed to slip out of his comatose state to become self aware again. That was
the one thing that troubled her most of all. The Lords of Order were extremely
efficient when it came to disciplining their errant servants. She could not
imagine they being so lacking when dealing with one who had challenged their
authority so blatantly. The purging of his mind should have left nothing behind
that could be considered alive, let alone sentient. There was an unknown
element in all this and its elusive origins nagged at her like the Kindly Ones.
She
had been waiting for hours now and Zatanna knew
patience was a virtue here. It represented the best aspects of order so she
could not afford to falter by showing impatience. After her encounters with the
Gray Man's slaves, she knew that he had to be stopped. With each mind he
infected, he became stronger. Each soul was boost of power they could ill
afford him to have. While she had not voiced it to the others, Zatanna feared that he would amass so much power that he
grow beyond their ability to combat.
There
was another alternative that Zatanna was reluctant to
take up just yet. Beyond the Lords of Order, there was a higher voice to which
she could appeal. In texts older than the world itself, there were writings
about the mythical Seven. Except for he who ruled the Silver City and the
entity known to all as Morningstar, the Seven had lived since the beginning of
existence, if such things could be measured.
If
she could not appeal to the Lords of Order for help then Zatanna
had to consider the possibility of seeking out Morpheus.
The
Dream King you know as Morpheus has taken the final journey.
Zatanna looked up at the sound of that unearthly voice. A
globe of light hovered in the sky above her head. Although bright, it was mesmerising to look at it and she was unable to break her
gaze as she heard its voice echo in her ears.
"I
come to you for help."
We
are aware of this.
"Your
servant the Gray Man has become self aware. He is once again threatening the
realm of man. You must restore the balance."
We
are aware of the Gray Man's role in the disturbance but he is not responsible
for it.
"But
he has been seen." Zatanna countered. "I
sense his presence in the events he has forced to take place and those he has
subjugated."
You
sense his physical being. You do not sense his soul. The being you call the
Gray Man has been purged of its essence. His body functions but his mind is an
empty slate. The Gray Man is merely the vessel. The soul within him is not of
his body.
"Not
his soul?" Zatanna exclaimed. "How can that
be?"
There
are other levels of consciousness that exist beyond the need for corporeal
shape. Many who drift across the universe untethered
because they had lost their way in their final journey. They remain within reach
of your world but are unable to affect it unless they have a vassal to carry
them..
"Are
you saying someone else has possessed the Gray Man?" That possibility had
not occurred to her. Now that it was present however, it made sense. With all
independent will stripped from the Gray Man, it would be relatively easy for
some disembodied entity to slip into his empty mind and take control of it.
Possession was one of the oldest forms of violation, next to rape. As a Magi,
she knew what lurked beneath the veneer of reality. Hers was the world behind
the mirror and she understood that such a thing was possible.
Yes.
He who was once the Gray Man has been purged from his body. We saw to it that
he would not be in a position to threaten either Order or Chaos again. The soul
inside the Gray Man now is that of another."
"Can
you tell me whose soul it is?" Zatanna asked
hopefully.
It
is no longer our concern. It is yours.
Fortunately,
she did expect them to respond in this manner. As it was, it had been a small
miracle that they chose to enlighten her as much as they had. Zatanna realised she should be
grateful but somehow, she could not force that emotion to appear. Instead, she
tried one last time to appeal for help. "It is still the Gray Man's body
and even if this entity is not your responsibility, it is using the Gray Man's
powers. People are dying." She pleaded hoping to move them even slightly.
It
is the age of Kali Yuga. We have withdrawn from your realm. The moment another
took the Gray Man, it no longer became our concern. This is the time of Chaos
and we will observe only, how you defend yourselves against it.
It
is was a litany of words she was certain they rehearsed even before speaking to
her. Despite her anger at their indifference to the situation, she understood
that they could not help being any other way. Their ways were set in cosmic
patterns aeons before the dust had settled to form
the universe. She let out a heavy sigh and moved onto to something else.
"You
said Lord Morpheus is dead?" She asked. While personalities of the Seven
could end, the aspect of what they were remained always. If Lord Morpheus has
died, then it is likely that someone else had taken the resumed his duties.
The
Dream King has passed into the beyond. A new aspect now commands the throne of
the Dreaming.
"I
may need to seek him out." Zatanna said boldly.
"He may help me."
Daniel
has no more favours left for your world. He has
already extended his influence to assist those you call the Justice League.
Figures,
Zatanna thought to herself. "Nevertheless, if
the situation becomes hopeless, I must try."
That
is your prerogative.
**********
Realising the urgency of the situation taking place in the
city, the Crusaders made their way directly to Madame Clouseau's
Museum. Zatanna had disappeared when they were still
in Germany. Apparently, she was attempting to contact the Lords of Order about
the Gray Man, with the possibility of obtaining assistance from them. Guy was
starting to wonder if it was serendipity that had suddenly caused the emergence
of another League enemy or was there something more sinister behind this
resurrection of the Extremists.
"This
is too coincidental." Ted declared, mirroring his unspoken thoughts as
they reached the outskirts of Paris. In the distance, he could see the Eiffel
tower and a billowing cloud of smoke that rose from the city like a column of
dark marble. "Do you think the Gray Man could be responsible for
this?"
"I'm
sure of it." Guy retorted. "He probably knows the Extremists are tough
bastards who will keep us busy."
"I
like to know where the League is." Beatriz complained, trying to see the
damage ahead. Unfortunately, the Bug was still too far away from the centre of
the emergency. "They should have been here immediately."
"They
got a whole world to deal with remember." Ted said sarcastically.
"Paris is one city."
"You
don't think Booster would take on the Extremists on his own do you?"
Beatriz asked.
Suddenly,
Guy and Ted exchanged glances and Guy became very uneasy.
"Jesus
you don't think so, do you?" Ted looked at Guy for an answer but inside he
already had one. Booster would not sit by and watch innocent civilians die when
he could help them. However, as capable as he was, Booster would be a fool to
take on the Extremists on his own. The group was known for their ruthless
brutality.
"I
think you better get us there fast." Guy replied, avoiding the question
for the moment.
"Who
are these Extremists anyway?" Donovan inquired.
"They're
super villains from another dimension." Beatriz explained for the benefit
of both Sigrid and the General. "Lord Havok is
one of them." She replied. Prior to the previous League's demise, Lord Havok's armour had been stolen
for an attack in their orbiting headquarters. The attack had failed and the
sentience that had been occupying Havok's armour fled, leaving it to be returned to the museum.
"After destroying their own world with nuclear weapons, they came here
attempting to hold the world to ransom with our nuclear arsenal. The European
branch managed to put a stop to them but it was not easy."
"They're
real berserkers." Ted commented. "They emerged in the Russian embassy
and killed most of the staff there and almost killed Metamorpho.
I'm glad we're going in with a sufficiently powered team. I would hate to come
up short against those guys."
Suddenly
Zatanna appeared in the centre of the Bug. "We
may not be dealing with the Gray Man." She announced dramatically.
"What?"
Beatriz exclaimed. "But Catherine saw him!"
"She
did see the Gray Man but I've just come back from a meeting with the Lords of
Order and I know now that the Gray Man is not responsible for this."
Of
all the things, she could have said to throw uncertainty into this situation,
that was it. Zatanna could sense their confusion. To
be honest, it was an understandable state of affairs considering what they had
been through today. Everything seemed to indicate that it was the Gray Man.
However, if they were to survive what lay ahead, this misconception had to be
discarded.
"How?"
Ted asked, trying to concentrate on flying the Bug, even though his curiosity
was piqued.
"You
were right," Zatanna explained. "The Lords
of Order did destroy the Gray Man's mind during the Teasdale incident. He has
been continuing his duties with no independent will. Like a trained animal you
might say, performing the tricks he had been taught because there was no rider
on his back to show him how to do anything new."
"Meaning
what?" Sigrid asked confused.
"Meaning
that its not his mind that inside his body. Its
someone else." Zatanna said finally.
"How
is that possible?" Donovan declared. This was so beyond his understanding
that it was difficult to wrap his mind around the concept.
"I
get it." Ted stated. "Because there was no independent will inside
him, he could not stop anyone from invading his body and taking control of
it."
"So
whoever is in there," Guy continued starting to see to what she was
alluding. "Is able to use all his powers, all his abilities because he
ain't there to stop them."
"That's
right." Zatanna nodded, pleased that they could
understand. When she was in the League, the others had treated her powers like
some kind of a fifth wheel. It was part of the reason why she had left the team
and gone in search of herself, to discover her real heritage. It was nice to
among human beings who could readily accept that the powers of magic were
capable of so much. "Someone else is occupying the Gray Man's body."
"So
I guess the million dollar question is who?" Beatriz replied.
"Oh
my god." Ted exclaimed softly and immediately switched the Bug to auto
pilot before putting into a hover position for the moment. He swivelled around in his chair and looked at the others with
an expression that could only be described as horrified enlightenment.
"What
is it?" Zatanna inquired, suddenly very
concerned at the icy chill that had captured his heart.
"I
know whose got his body." Ted swallowed. With the Extremists suddenly
revived, it made absolutely perfect sense.
"Who?"
Guy asked, knowing that Ted had the answer. Whatever that answer was, it sure
looked as if it had scared the hell out of him learning it.
Ted
had to say only one word before they were all feeling that same fear.
"Dream Slayer."
**********
Dream
Slayer stood before his companions. He had tasted the sweet essence of the
dying and took what was left of their souls into his body. The power had
started pounding through his veins with such intoxication that he could not
imagine how the Gray Man had managed to fail with such tools at his disposal.
He had been powerful before but nothing like this had ever been his to feel or
imagine. It made his awakened to possibilities he had never dared to dream but
were now his to take.
"You
sure look different." Tracer commented as he raked his sharp fingers over
the dead body of a museum guard. The man's face was twisted into a rictus of pain now frozen forever. Tracer liked the feel of
his talons moving through flesh, it gave off such a tasty scent of salt and
iron. "What happened to you anyway?"
Dream
Slayer looked into the largest shard of a smashed mirror and saw his face in
the jagged piece. His fingers moved across his greyish
skin and realised that he did look different. Despite
all the power at his disposal, he still wore another man's face and for some
reason that bothered him. For a moment, he wondered what it must be like for
the Gray Man to be trapped inside a forgotten room inside one's own mind. He
shuddered at the thought.
"Its a long story." He mused. "Now, I need
power." He stated turning around and facing his comrades again.
"Say
the word Slayer," Gorgon replied. "What do you need to juice
up?"
"I
need death." He smiled. "Death on a scale we've never even dreamed of
in our best schemes. I mean destruction until all that is left alive on this
planet are the bugs!" He declared bombastically and then broke into a
laugh devoid of any humour.
"An
interesting plan," Lord Havok remarked.
"However, a world to rule without bodies to torture is no different then
what we left behind."
He
was always the smart one, Dream Slayer thought to himself. Unfortunately, he
also happened to be right. "Perhaps nothing that grand." He recanted.
"Maybe just this city."
"Now
that's being realistic." Doctor Diehard added. "We can manage that
with little less than a 5 megaton bomb. Remember, this world has some lovely
nuclear weapons."
"Yes."
Dream Slayer smiled. "I think I should like to see that very much."
*********
Although
Ted was not a frequent visitor to Paris, it did not require navigational genius
to locate Madame Closeau's wax museum. One simply had
to follow the screaming sirens and the trail of police who were evacuating the
locals from the area. The nucleus of all this pandemonium was of course, the
museum itself and the surrounding district. Police cars were scattered around
the perimeter of the museum grounds, along with fire engines and emergency
services truck who were attempting to clear the damage after their initial
engagement with the villains.
"What
a mess." Sigrid commented as the group looked out the observation window
of the Bug into the scene of destruction below. When the call had come in from
Catherine, none of them had expected to see this. Upon witnessing the sight
however, what else could they come to expect from the Extremists?
"I
see bodies." Donovan added as he saw an emergency worker pull a battered
body from under an upturned car.
Guy's
stomach hollowed at the sight of corpses being pulled out from the debris.
Emergency workers were digging through the rubble with spades and shovels,
trying to locate the injured or the dead. As he saw the bodies being placed in sombre black bags, he felt a swell of rage build inside
him. "Land this thing." He told Ted. "We need these people out
of here before we go in."
"They're
not going to be easy to convince." Ted pointed out. "There's a lot of
damage down there and people who have yet to be found."
Guy
turned to Zatanna. "Is there something you can
do to get the wounded away from here?" He asked the sorceress.
"Yes,"
she nodded. "I can remove them."
"Good." Guy retorted. "We can't have anyone in the area when we
go in."
"I
hear you." Ted agreed. "The Extremists don't have any problems using
innocent bystanders if they feel threatened."
The
Bug landed a short distance away from the police line. The immediate area was
too cluttered with vehicles to provide a large enough clearing for the cruiser
to land. Their arrival however, did not go unnoticed and when the hatch to the
Bug slid open, Guy and the others emerged to find a sea of uniforms before
them. At the head of the group was Inspector Cadmus, whom he recognised as being the former Interpol liaison for the
League. It would make sense that the French authorities would send Cadmus into
this situation because of his affiliation with the League who had once defeated
the Extremists.
"Maybe
he has seen Booster." Ted remarked as they made their way down the ramp.
He was still concerned about his best friend who was infamous for reacting
without using his head. Booster's overriding thought would be for the welfare
of the people under threat, not his own safety. Ted hoped Booster did not do
anything stupid. Only a quirk of fate had saved Booster from being a cripple
and Ted did not want to see him face that again.
"Its has been a long time, Monsieur Blue Beetle."
Cadmus spoke as they reached the ground. "But I am glad to see all of
you."
That
was easy to believe, when one took a closer look at the wreckage around them.
The district looked as if it was a page from a World War II history book. The
front of the museum had been demolished, with a mountain of debris forming a
path to the gapping hole in the structure. Steel
girders, protruded from the undamaged sections of the walls, along with live
wires dangling about perilously. The surrounding buildings had the same kind of
wounds, although most of them had been completely destroyed instead of simply
being gutted. Small fires had broken out during the initial attack that had
quickly become a raging inferno. Suddenly, the whole idea of moving away the
injured was no longer as simple as a quick spell.
"What's
the situation?" Guy asked deciding that small talk could wait until after
the crisis had passed.
"The
Extremists replicants have been reactivated."
Cadmus answered automatically. "They murdered most of the museum staff and
visitors. These include children." He said trying to restrain his anger as
the words left his mouth. "Those who managed to escape, contacted us. We
answered the call with a full task force but as you can imagine, we were no
match for them." He let his gaze sweep over the site of the short battle
for effect. "So far, we've got a confirmed body count of 52 people."
He continued. "We believe there may be hostages inside the building but
the Extremists are not interested in negotiating for their release."
"They
don't negotiate for hostages." Ted said firmly. "They liked to
torture and brutalise."
"I
remember." Cadmus answered bitterly. He had been in Paris when the
Extremists had made their bid for world power, holding the United Nations to
ransom with a nuclear arsenal poised in orbit. These were no ordinary super
villains. They were monsters. The memory of the police confrontation with group
was still vivid in his mind. They had not only been powerless to stop the superhumans but they had also been easy prey. It galled him
to know that the Extremists were clearly out of their ability to fight. In such
circumstances, only another group of paranormal could remedy the situation.
"All
right," Guy said breathing in deeply and recalling the strategy they had
formed before landing. He had to say what thing about this new group, they were
more organised than they had ever been. Guy would
have to think hard on why that was later. For now they had work to do.
"Cadmus, get your people out of here."
"We
cannot leave." Cadmus protested. "There are casualties to remove and
fires to put out."
He
was not exaggerating either, Guy decided. The place looked like a postcard from
down town Babylon shortly after an American air strike. However, this issue was
not up for debate. While Guy empathised with Cadmus,
all the Crusaders knew that unless the ordinary humans in the area were
vacated, they would only be a liability when the group faced the Extremists.
Still Cadmus was right. The immediate situation needed resolving before they
could even think of confronting Dream Slayer and his replicants.
"We
can do that." Guy replied. "Ice, see what you can do about the fire.
You should be able to snuff most of them out."
"Right,"
Sigrid had been considering the problem even before Guy had mentioned it. While
smothering the flames could produce the effect they needed, it would take time.
Sigrid had a formulated a faster and more efficient way of attacking the fires.
She turned to Beatriz. "I could use your help on this. I have an idea on
how we can put these fires out fast."
"Certainly,"
Beatriz said eagerly. She was glad Sigrid was starting to take the initiative.
During her short tenure with the League, Sigrid had been too afraid to do
anything on her own and it was mostly Beatriz's fault. One of the reasons, she
had stayed away from Sigrid was to give the woman a taste of independence so
she could discover herself as a person. Beatriz was delighted that Sigrid had
made that step and even more pleased that Sigrid had asked her for help.
"Fire and Ice together again." Beatriz answered and followed Sigrid
as the Norwegian led her to the blaze.
"General,
Beetle, help with the wounded. Get them loaded as quickly as you can. The Extremists
don't know we're here yet but I'll bet that ain't gonna last for long."
"Just
a minute," Ted spoke up before he went to carry out Guy's orders. He still
had one thing preying on has mind and he needed it
answered before he could do anything else. "Have you seen Booster
Gold?"
The
look that suddenly appeared on the inspector's face told Ted immediately that
he had. Cadmus' face darkened and Ted felt a stab of fear, as the worst
possibility leapt into his mind.
"He
has been taken to hospital" Cadmus explained. "When he learned that
the Extremists had hostages, he tried to retrieve them. Unfortunately, he never
reached them. The Extremists found him first. He managed to escape but his
injuries appear to be severe."
"Those
bastards!" Ted swore viciously and spun around towards the museum.
"Where
the hell are you going?" Guy demanded as he watched his friend stride
purposefully towards the building. Inwardly, he already knew the answer.
"I'm
going to go wring their lousy necks!" Ted shouted back in response.
"Then I'm going to kill them."
The
venom in his voice indicated that his threat was real. Guy who used to ride
periphery of such rage knew that Ted had to be stopped. These days, he had more
than enough powers to make such a declaration a reality. Guy was not going to
allow him to become a killer, that was not for what Ted Kord or Blue Beetle
stood.
"Freeze
pal!" Guy grabbed his arm and held firm. Ted turned around and was about
to pull his arm back when he saw the look in Guy's face. "Booster is alive
and those Extremists will get pay back, you can bet the Bug on that but not
right now. We have a job to do first and that is to protect these people who
will die if they get caught in our cross fire with the Extremists, you got
that? This is not the time for lose your damn head. Come on Beetle. Didn't you
use to rag on me about going in without thinking? Well I'm telling you now,
think!"
"Listen
to him." Zatanna said joining them. She knew the
friendship between Booster and the Blue Beetle was more like a brotherhood.
They were each other's family through the best and worst of time. As much as
she hated prying, she could sense the fear inside him that he may lose that. In
the short time that she had known the Blue Beetle personally, Zatanna knew one thing for certain. He was no killer and
like Guy, Zatanna did not want to see him become one.
Fortunately, Ted Kord was an intelligent man. Once the sting of his anger had
passed, he could be made to see reason. "He's right and you know it.
Before we can deal with the Extremists, we must get these people to safety.
Booster would be the first to say this is the right thing to do."
"Once
we get everyone clear, we don't have to worry about holding back when we meet
this animals. " Donovan added his moral support, understanding how he
would feel if it were a friend of his. As a former policeman, this was nothing
new for him. Friends went down in the line of fire all the time. Unfortunately,
it was the hazards of the life they had chosen for themselves when they swore
to protect and serve. Knowing that however, left little comfort to those left
behind.
"Okay
already," Ted conceded, knowing when he was wrong. "You're right. The
people come first."
"Good,"
Guy retorted. "Now you and the General get going. We don't have much
time."
"We're
on it." Ted started to walk away from Guy and Zatanna
when he turned back on them. "Hey Gardner," Ted said with a wry grin.
"You gonna start eating Oreos too, Skipper?"
"Eat
this." Guy half smiled as he gave Ted a well-known gesture.
************
It
took a little less than an hour with the help of the Crusaders to evacuate the
area of all people. Sigrid had put out all fires by forming a thick layer of
ice on the roof of all the buildings that were ablaze. Beatriz would then
discharge a blast of controlled flames that would force the ice to melt
quickly. The sudden torrent of water produced by the melting ice extinguished
the fires quickly. The two heroines repeated the process over and over again,
until all the fires were doused and the fire trucks could start the evacuation
process. In the meantime, Ted and Donovan assisted with the removal of debris
and barricades so emergency crews could reach victims without obstacles in their
way. They also helped with the loading of the wounded into ambulances, freeing
the paramedics to carry out triage detail.
However,
it was Zatanna who provided the biggest help.
Although it was a spell used once already today, she found that its effectiveness
could not be denied. Uttering the necessary incantation, she was able to
transport all the injured still buried in debris and rubble to a preordained
destination where ambulance crews would be waiting for them.
When
the hour had lapsed, the vicinity surrounding the museum had become deathly
quiet with the absence of people. Inspector Cadmus was the last to leave with
the exodus of vehicles and people moving out of the district. A perimeter had
been set along its boundaries, with police and the French militia taking up
position and sentry guards to keep anyone from wandering inside the battle
zone. Guy would have preferred the whole city evacuated but they did not have
that much time. The Extremists were no doubt aware that they were here and he wondered
what they had in store for the Crusaders when both groups finally met.
"We
have some news." Cadmus said as he was about to get into his unmarked
police car. "The hospital reports that Monsieur Gold is alright. He
suffered a few injuries and some severe lacerations but the doctor's anticipate
he should recover completely. Mademoiselle Colbert is with him."
"Great."
Ted let out an audible sigh of relief. "That's good to know."
"Booster
is gonna hate missing out on this fight." Guy commented.
"I
think he will get over it," Ted remarked with a raised brow.
"Especially with Catherine holding his hand."
"You
know what they say about French women," Guy gave him a wicked smile.
"What
Gardner?" Beatriz's voice suddenly demanded. "What do they say about
French women?" She stared at him critically, with her hands on her hip. He
knew that stance well. For her, those were fighting words.
"Probably
not the same thing as what they say about hot headed Latin women." He
smiled sheepishly.
"Nice
save." Ted commented before Guy jabbed him in the ribs as they went to
join the others.
"The
bantering of heroes," Cadmus sighed. "I had forgotten what that
sounds like." At that, he climbed into the car and pulled the door shut.
Poking his head out the window, Cadmus made a final response as the vehicle's
engines roared to life. "Good luck."
"Thanks,"
Guy answered, turning back to Ted. "We're going to need it."
CHAPTER
TWELVE: BATTLE LINES
The
district that was once home to the Closeau Wax Museum
was devoid of life within the hour following the Crusaders arrival.
Guy
Gardner had no real plan to follow, just counter measures. At the moment, the
strategy that mattered most was the containment of Gray Man. No, not the Gray
Man, Guy amended. Dreamslayer. Since Ted had voiced
the suspicion, Zatanna was able to hypothesise how the former Extremist had managed to take
possession of the lobotomised Gray Man's body.
Wherever Dreamslayer had gone after his battle with
the Silver Sorceress, he must have still maintained his consciousness, even if
he was disembodied and adrift. In truth, taking control of the Gray Man's body
would have been easy to do because there was no independent will to prevent the
invasion.
Once
inside his victim's body, there was nothing to prevent Dreamslayer
from making use of every twisted power that Gray Man possessed to take revenge
on his enemies. If anything, Gray Man was more powerful than he had ever been.
As an Extremist, Dreamslayer had been the most
dangerous member of the group. Dreamslayer was the
master of dimensions. He had once opened up a dimensional rift and stranded
Justice League Europe there with nothing more than a thought. If any attack was
to be made on the Extremists now, Dreamslayer would
have to be dealt with first.
"I
can't figure this out." Ted remarked as they approached the museum using
the same entrance that Booster had taken. "They have to know we're
here."
"If
this Dreamslayer is as formidable as you say, then he
must." Zatanna added feeling her own unease.
While she had no prior contact with the entity known as Dreamslayer,
she could sense his presence. It was thick and overpowering, like the stench of
dead things. There was such malevolence in him that Zatanna
shuddered at the darkness that lived in the core of him. It was inconceivable
to her that any creature would choose to wrap itself in such mind numbing evil.
There were far more powerful entities than the one she now faced but they had
some kind of ambition or twisted purpose to their being. Even the sorcerer
Wotan who had once kidnapped her father Zatara had
purpose, misguided as it was. He had wanted to rule the world. All she could
sense from this Dreamslayer was a rage that burned
white hot that its intensity made it impossible to obtain any coherent
information from him.
"Maybe
its a trap." Sigrid offered from her corner of
the dimly lit passageway. She wished Beatriz was here. At least then the Brazillian could light up this corridor. Unfortunately at
the moment, Beatriz and General Glory were entering the museum by air, acting
as a decoy while they made their silent entry into the building.
"Let's
keep a little optimism here." Guy snapped. "Of course he knew we'd be
here. That's why he went to all this trouble of bringing his buddies back to
life."
"I
don't know why." Ted retorted. "We've beaten them before."
"Yeah
and if you remember correctly, the Sorceress died in the process." He
deadpanned. "Beetle, I know you're still pissed about Booster but no
heroics got that? You and Zatanna keep Dreamslayer off his feet until the rest of us take care of
the Extremists."
"Get
you." Ted gave him a look. "Since when did you win any prizes for
keeping your head?"
"Since
I got smart," Guy tensed. "And I thought you were too."
"Boys,"
Sigrid interrupted. "Let's play nice now. We got more important things to
deal with at the moment. Now Beetle, you know Guy is right."
"What
a mortifying concept." Ted said rolling his eyes but his remark was devoid
of any malice, only mischief.
"You'll
get yours." Guy shot back. However, the tension in the moment had been
broken and that was all that mattered.
"Okay
Guy," Ted said after a moment. "You're right. I'll stick with the
pretty lady." He gave Zatanna a boyish smile.
"Christ."
Guy groaned and turned to Zatanna. "Don't worry
about him, he was like this with Wonder Woman too."
"Hey!"
Zatanna laughed softly but she knew Ted's feelings for her
were more than utter lust as that episode with Wonder Woman had been. He was
genuinely attracted to her and she was starting to become a little curious to
know what he looked like under the mask. "I think I can handle him."
She chuckled.
"You
were worse with Tora!" Ted declared in his defence,
slightly embarrassed that Guy had brought up his behaviour
with Wonder Woman.
"That
was different!" Guy protested but could not deny it either.
"BOYS!"
Sigrid said loudly, silencing both of them immediately. "Boys and I use
the term accurately, this is not the time for this. As much as I love team by
play, we have things to do."
"Dreamslayer, remember?" Zatanna
added her support for Sigrid's argument. "Extremists?"
"Oh
yeah," Ted said sheepishly. "I forgot."
"Come
on." Guy shrugged and continued walking. "If they don't know we're
here, its going to be a miracle."
**************
The
evidence of Booster's battle with the Extremists was pointedly clear. His blood
was still staining the walls
The
Crusaders emerged in what remained of the Justice League exhibit, feeling the
same chagrin as their fallen comrade. Although many of the pieces were damaged,
it irked Guy and Ted especially, to see that they had not been good enough to
make the collection. Only the present alumni of Justice League heroes were
displayed in the rubble.
"There
are still people here." Zatanna whispered as
they moved across the room.
"Get
them out of here." Guy hissed back.
"It
will give us away." She pointed out.
"We'll
just have to take the risk." He answered. "Besides, we can't fight
them if they're going to use civvies as hostages."
"He's right." Ted agreed. "We'll improvise later, just get the
hostages away."
"Alright."
Zatanna nodded and took a step back from them. Taking
a deep breath, she concentrated and sighted the people in her mind. She could
see the terror in her eyes, the fear of death....
Suddenly,
she was thrown to the floor without warning. As she hit the ground hard, her
head swam with disorientation and those people were torn from her like water
escaping into a drain. She made an attempt to visualise
them but the pain in her head prevented her from maintaining her concentration.
Zatanna looked up and found herself staring into
yellow eyes that narrowed upon meeting her gaze.
"Zatanna!" She heard Ted shout.
Almost
as quickly as she was attacked, she saw a streak of blue coming towards her at full
speed. Before the being on top of her could react, the Blue Beetle had flown
straight into him and heading straight for a wall.
"Are
you all right?" Guy shouted as the rest of the Extremists began to fill
into the room. Her eyes moved across the room, studying the situation. Lord, Havok, the one called Gorgon whose hideous tentacles was
reaching from a misshapen head, Doctor Diehard and finally the one called
Trace, were all present. She could not see Dreamslayer
anywhere.
"I'm
fine." She responded. "I'll find Dreamslayer."
She
did not have time to hear a response as Lord Havok
jumped towards her. With lightning fast reflexes that seemed out of place on a
body carrying so much armour, he lashed out at her.
His metal gauntlet connecting with her cheek. Zatanna
felt her face flare up in pain as she felt backwards from the blow. Blood
filling her mouth as she saw him preparing to fire something more formidable at
her.
Guy
saw the sorceress go down and deduced in a moment that Dreamslayer
was aware that Zatanna was a powerful mystic. In
fact, the Extremists were using the very same plan that Guy had intended to use
on Dreamslayer. They were concentrating their efforts
on Zatanna so that she could not harm Dreamslayer or impede his play for vengeance. "Ice!
Stop him!" Guy shouted at the Norwegian heroine. Sigrid could help Zatanna faster than it would take him to cross the room.
Sigrid did not waste any time. She had seen her comrade go down and immediately
sent a blast of ice at the armour clad villain. Zatanna was on the ground, stunned but recovering quickly.
A trickle of blood had escaped the corner of her mouth, running a red line over
the purple swell of her lower cheek. In seconds, the ice blast had encased him
in a solid block of ice. He was frozen in place as Sigrid tried to run forward
to Zatanna.
"Not
so fast lovely." Sigrid heard as she suddenly felt tentacles sliding over
her body. "We haven't danced yet."
Sigrid
felt herself being lifted in the air under the restraint of those powerful
tentacles. Air was being forced out of her body as she rose. Sigrid struggled
to breathe as the coils around her tightened. She looked at the corner of her
eye and saw the leer of the fat man who had her. Like cracking a whip, he
lashed her against a near by wall. Helpless to act,
she was slammed hard against the concrete and immediately felt blood oozing
down her forehead.
"You
dip so well." He laughed, tightening his grip
until she felt her bones were going to break. Sigrid heard another cruel laugh
as she impacted against another wall, this time with the side of her face. Her
cheek flared in red pain and she realises that she
was going to die if he was allowed to continued.
"You
know, I've always hated grabby men!" Sigrid declared defiantly and closed
her eyes, ignoring the pain. Unlike the previous Ice Maiden, Sigrid's ice
forming abilities extended beyond simply projecting blasts of ice or forming
objects. Genetically mutated on the chromosome level, she was able to control
the temperatures in her body. Gorgon did not notice the initial drop in her
body temperature because her skin was normally cold when she was in battle
mode.
"I
guess you really are frigid." Gorgon taunted as he prepared to swing her
against another wall. He had not decided whether he was going to crush her to
death or simply use her as rag doll to batter against the wall until he had pulverised every bone in her body. He supposed the fun was
in the trying. All of a sudden, he noticed the cold. His tentacles were
sensitive to all sorts of things and at this moment, they were registering
temperatures in her skin that was falling sharply.....
A
fissure appeared in the ice encasing Lord Havok. Guy
heard the crack of ice breaking and immediately turned his attention away from Zatanna who was now on her feet. He faced the Extremist
leader just in time to see the villain smashing his way out of his prison. His
eyes blazed with rage as he raised one arm and started firing energy blasts
from a launcher in his forearm of his suit.
"Find
Dreamslayer!" Guy ordered finally as his skin
morphed before her eyes.
Zatanna did not need to be told twice. Although injured, she
was still more than able to function. "ecalp ruo ni yrolG
lareneG dna eriF gnirB. !segatsoh
eht ot elteeB
eulB dna em ekaT" Since the Extremists
were under orders to incapacitate her at any costs, Zatanna
felt it prudent to remove herself from the line of fire. She was also taking
Blue Beetle with her in case Dreamslayer was present.
Guy's original plan for her and Beetle to keep Dreamslayer
busy was still a good one and she wanted to use it, even if it required some
adaptation.
No
sooner than the words had escaped her lips, Zatanna
and the Blue Beetle disappeared out of the room. The Extremist Tracer who had
been wrestling with Ted, suddenly found himself in mid air alone. He dropped to
the ground with an angry hiss but rolled harmlessly back to his feet. He did
not get very far when suddenly a wall of green fire exploded before him.
Beatriz soared into the room, with General Glory alongside.
"So
you are what's left of our old enemies." Lord Havok
growled as Guy's body morphed into Vuldarian armour
as the villain sent another blast of energy at him. "You people are even
more pathetic now then you were then."
Guy's
arms morphed into two deadly looking weapons that fired powerful Vuldarian
plasma at Lord Havok's. "Lot has changed
pal!" Guy shouted as the blast sent the enemy through the wall into
another room. "For instance, you're nothing more than a hunk of tin! Not
even the original Lord Havok, just a lousy
copy." Havok had smashed through the wall,
trailing all sorts of debris as he fell back. Guy ran toward the crumbling
structure, only to be faced by the lifeless features of the Beatles, David
Bowie and Jerry Lewis, all playing audience to his battle with Havok. It was going to be a tough room. He stepped through
the large hole in the wall, dusting off bits of plaster that were falling from
the ragged edge of the cement.
The
room appeared empty, even though the signs of their battle were obvious from
its state. Plaster was crumbling off pocked marked walls, blackened by the
stray blasts of plasma and whatever energy weapons they were using against each
other. Some of the figures had started to melt from the intense heat. Ringo's nose looked longer than normal. He did not envy the
refurbishment bill the museum was going to get when this was all over.
Guy
approached quietly, ignoring what was taking place behind him. He was confident
that the others could handle themselves. "That's what you are Lord Havok," Guy said loudly, hoping to draw out the
Extremist with his taunts. "Just a tin plated copy of the original. You're
the one who's more pathetic."
"I
AM REAL!" Lord Havok screamed.
Guy
looked up and saw the villain who had been clinging to the ceiling above, drop
down in front of him. He raised both arms and allowed his fury to be expressed
by a torrent of energy blasts that Guy was barely able to avoid by jumping
clear. The force of the blasts completely obliterated the wax figure of Michael
Jackson, splattering hot wax across the walls. Guy rolled onto his knees and
morphed again, unleashing more of his Vuldarian arsenal on the Extremist.
Just
a little more. Guy thought
with a hidden smile. Come on buddy, keep trying to kill me, you're almost
all used up.
From
what he knew of Lord Havok, the villain required
tremendous amounts of energy to power the suit armour
he was wearing. Guy had chosen to engage him because Lord Havok
could siphon energy from other beings that he used to recharge the
sophisticated hardware of his amour. Guy exuded no such power and what Havok used against him could not be readily replenished.
The more power Lord Havok expended to kill him, the
less he had in reserve. Soon, he would be out of energy and helpless.
"You're
not even alive." Guy retorted, knowing the sensitivity of the issue to
Lord Havok. "The real Lord Havok
died with your planet! You're just a side show re-creation for the kiddies to
make fun at Wacky World."
"I'll
kill you!" Havok shouted almost shrieking with
rage. He released a volley of energy blasts, until Guy was leaping in the air
like a dancer, trying to avoid them. Each blast continued to demolish the
walls, until not one wax figure was left standing. Sunlight was starting to
pour in as more walls came down. The room began to smell with the stench of
heated paraffin and Guy could see Lord Havok starting
to lose control. He was firing wildly, without thought or coordination. His
attacks reduced to little more than outburst of childish temper. If anything
proved that he was not the original, it was his behaviour
now. The real Lord Havok was supposed to have better
control.
Guy
straightened up and held ground as Lord Havok took a
breath and prepared to fire again. The man's anger seemed to subside a bit as
it began to dawn on him what Guy's intention was in making him lose control.
"You people think you know what the kill is all about." Guy said as
he advanced on him. Although Havok raised his arms to
keep firing, the villain did not look as certain of himself now. Guy morphed
once more. This time, he morphed his entire body to take on the shape of a
Vuldarian battle suit so none the energy blasts being hurled at him could
penetrate his skin to cause harm.
"The
kill is not about how much pain you can cause before the end, its about whose left standing." Guy replied, a
sinister edge creeping into his voice. The voice was not quite Guy Gardner but
had the consistency of Warrior, the last Vuldarian seed.
One
of Havok's forearm launchers spurted impotently as
its cannon slumped dead in mid fire. Obviously rattled, he focussed
his fire from the remaining launcher as Guy moved into point blank range. Realising that a sustained attack of energy blasts was no
longer an option, Lord Havok went for a more physical
approach. Despite the armour, Havok
moved with surprising agility, tackling Guy to the floor. However, Guy was
ready for him. He rolled with Havok and threw the
villain off him easily. As Havok struggled to regain
his balance, Guy hit him with his Vuldarian plasma blasts, sending Havok into another wall. Guy could see the Extremist was
dazed but gave him no chance to recover. This time, it was Guy who was blasting
away at Havok with everything he had, except his
energy sources were inexhaustible.
Havok was now reeling from the volley of plasma bolts that were attacking him
relentlessly. His armour was starting to show signs
of damage, as dents and tears started appearing in the flawless metal finish.
It was not long now, Guy decided. He was almost done.
You're
mine now, you hunk of tin.
***********
Sigrid
was conscious of Guy's departure from the room with Lord Havok,
however, she was engaged with an Extremist of her own. Gorgon was taking great relish
in slowly crushing her to death. It appeared that the fat man found some
sadistic pleasure in torturing his victims until their final gasp of life. As
she felt the air forced from her lungs, she knew she had to put aside the pain
and concentrate on carrying out her plan. The tentacles around her were like
pythons, each time she drew breath, they tightened around her chest. Very
quickly, Sigrid was unable to replenish any oxygen in her system and was
starting to black out.
Think
cold. She told herself. Think ice cold.
Her
body was already cool to the touch but the more she concentrated, the blue in
her skin became more than just pigment, it became icy. A thin film of ice
started to form around her skin, until she was so cold that Gorgon's tentacles
became stuck to her body. In a matter of seconds, thermal cohesion had chained
Gorgon to her. Unless he wanted to tear his own flesh apart, he would not be
able to remove himself from her.
"What
are you doing, you frigid witch!" He screamed as the effects of her
dropping temperatures started to make itself known to him. He attempted to
uncoil his tentacles from around her but that idea was soon quashed as his skin
stuck to her body like glue. Gorgon was as trapped as surely she was imprisoned
in his coils. However, the worst was to come. As he jerked and tried
desperately to dislodge her, Sigrid's body became so cold that her hair was
starting to spike from the ice that was freezing around each strand.
By
now, Gorgon was not simply screaming from the icy temperature but from genuine
physical pain. In a moment or two, Sigrid would turn super cold. When that
happened, she would start to freezing him to the molecular level. It had would
have the same effects as his being dropped in liquid nitrogen.
"Stop
it you bitch!" He shouted indignantly! "You're going to kill
me!"
"You
are a machine!" Sigrid managed to say. While he still remained tethered to
her because of thermal cohesion, his grip around her has loosened significantly
and she was able breathe again.
"You're
dead anyway." Sigrid said coldly and their eyes met for the first time
since they had battled. Considering what she was about to do him, the young
heroine known as Ice Maiden felt it was only fair. As he gazed into her eyes,
it came to him like splash of icy water his face what she meant to do to him.
Those were the last moments of clarity before panic struck when he saw those
eyes of became points of dark ice. Until then, he had not understood, had not realised the truth. To her, he was a machine and a machine
could not be killed. It was never alive to begin with.
"Its time you knew that, Gorgon." Sigrid Nansen said
finally before the super cold of her body froze the tentacles around her
completely.
The
rapid freezing of every molecule in the tentacles holding Ice Maiden was more
structural tension that the metal fibres could
tolerate. Both tentacles exploded outward, sending shards of brittle ice and
metal in all directions. Sigrid felt air under her feet as she dropped to the
ground, scraping her knees and palms on pieces of ice and shrapnel.. She raised
her eyes long enough to see Gorgon shrieking in insane agony. She wondered if
the pain was real to him or was it merely an extension of his programming.
The
other tentacles on his head were flaying about wildly as if reacting
emotionally to obliteration of its other brethren. The tentacles that had very
nearly killed her lay on the floor around her. All that remain of them were
nubs of metal, bleeding sparks and dangling live wires that had been torn apart
by the explosion. Less than a foot remained of their original length and
Gorgon's fury was beyond control.
"You're going pay for this!" He snarled with a guttural roar in his
throat as the rest of his tentacles descended upon her.
Sigrid
reacted quickly, not relishing another experience coiled into those deadly
appendages. Shooting a blast of ice at them, the tentacles came no further as
they were soon encased in thick ice. Gorgon's head was pinned against the side
of the ice as he tried to free himself from this new predicament. "I'm
going to rip out your heart for this!" He shouted in impotent rage but was
unsuccessful in his attempts to break free from the ice.
"Sure
you are, fat boy." Sigrid thought and turned to help the others.
*********
"You're
no fun Tracer." Beatriz remarked as the Extremist smashed through a glass
window, spraying sharp pieces in all directions before landing on the grass
outside the museum. The man jumped to his feet, uncoiling like an animal as he
landed on outside. Beatriz followed him closely, somewhat grateful that their
fight had been taken out of the museum. There was a small fire raging inside
the building already. Once she was finished with this bozo, she would have to
go take care of that situation. Considering the building was filled with wax
figures, a super heroine named Fire was probably not the best thing for
business.
"Catch
me if you can, Darling." Tracer looked up at her, producing a feral smile.
"I'll
catch you alright." Beatriz remarked as she sent a column of fire right at
him. "I'll fry your ass!"
Tracer
jumped out of the way but even he had to realise that
her aim was improving to match his speed and sooner or later, she was going to
burn him alive. Still, the agility of this creature was unmatched by any
meta-human she knew, Beatriz decided. She had thought Fox used to move fast but
this Extremist looked as if he might be distantly related to the Flash. He
moved like a cat and on had she been any other opponent, Beatriz did not doubt
she would have felt his claws already. As it was, had he made the attempt, he
would find himself attacking living fire. It was an experience Beatriz did not
recommend to any of her opponents. However, this was not working as well as she
would have liked. While he could not harm her in this state, she could not
become human again without putting herself at risk. Thus, they were fast
approaching a stalemate of sorts.
"General,"
Beatriz reached for the communication device lodged in her ear. When she was in
full flame, it was the only place she was able to keep it without frying
communicator completely. "General, I need you here. This guy is going to
run rampant unless I get some help."
"Fire,"
Donovan's voice returned. "Have you seen the other one?"
"What
other one?" Beatriz replied. Tracer was down below her. The last time she
had seen Guy and Sigrid, they had their hands full with Gorgon and Lord Havok. Who was left? Then she remembered to whom the
General was referring. "You mean Doctor Diehard?" She asked.
Although
she was speaking to the General, Beatriz was still keeping a close eye on
Tracer. He was running for dear life, trying to avoid the wall of fire she was
sending after him. The green flames were pursuing him like the furies, burning
everything in their path. Despite his bravado and false confidence, Tracer had
to know that she was holding back. If she wanted to, she could turn this entire
area into a barbecue roast. Mechanical or not, she did not want to completely
destroy him unless she was forced to it. Beatriz noticed him running towards a
duck pond located in the park area outside the museum. She guessed he was going
to seek refuge within it. She waited until he was half way through it, when she
flew towards the pond. Circling it took less than a minute and burning a ring
of fire along its edge took even less time than that. At least he would be
contained, she thought.
"I
saw him running out of the place when the other slime attacked but he's been
keeping a low profile and I'm wondering why."
"I'm
outside the museum," Beatriz said shortly. "Meet me out here. We need
to put Tracer on ice really fast. I've got a bad feeling about this."
Of
the Extremists, Doctor Diehard's ability to control magnetic fields had made
him one of its most formidable members. While he did not supersede Dreamslayer himself, he was still a force to be reckoned
with. Doctor Diehard had once brought the world to the brink of nuclear
disaster because his ability to manipulate magnetic fields had allowed him to
keep a nuclear arsenal poised over the planet. Therefore, there was no reason
for him to be hiding from them unless his concentration was required elsewhere.
That possibility bothered her greatly.
She
saw General Glory fly out of the window and emerge in the sky outside the museum,
just as Tracer realised the trap he was in. As he
waded through the water, local water birds took flight, unhappy about sharing
the neighbourhood with such an undesirable. He scared
them more than the fire did. She could hardly blame them.
"Where
is our boy?" Donovan asked as he approached her.
"Down
there." She remarked, glancing at Tracer as he made his way across the
pond.
"Not
very impressive is he?" Donovan asked.
"Not
much," she smiled. "But don't underestimate him. He's dangerous and
deadly."
"I
won't." The General answered. "What are you going to do?"
"I'm
going to find Doctor Diehard. He's not fighting and he should be." She
said flying back towards the museum.
"I'll
take care of this." Donovan called after her as he started flying towards
the pond where Tracer was trying to decide a course of action since it
appeared, he was trapped. He could not emerge from the water way unless he was
prepared to step into a wall of flames. Donovan remembered what he had been
told about the Extremists. Who said that a too much knowledge was a bad thing?
General Glory landed in the middle of the pool metres
away from Tracer and found that it was not very deep.
"I
thought cats didn't like water." Donovan announced himself.
Tracer
whirled around and glared at him. "I'm more than just a cat, hero."
The Extremist bared his fangs, displaying a set of sharp canines. He lunged at
Donovan with remarkable reflexes, managing to push the new General Glory into
the water. Donovan felt backward with a loud splash. He looked up to hear
Tracer's breath in his face. "Say die before I gut
you for my friends."
Donovan
did not intend to waste time with this animal. With lighting fast reflexes of
his own, Donovan reached up and grabbed Tracer by the neck. Using his super
strength, he closed his fist around the Extremist's neck cutting off any
further attempts at posturing. Tracer managed a choked cry but nothing more.
Sharp talons raked at his flesh but Donovan barely noticed it, not when he was
invulnerable. His fingers slipped through the steel of Tracer's neck like it
was butter, encircling metal, wire and other intricate circuitry. When his grip
was firm, he yanked his arm back.
Tracer
had no chance to scream or howl. His eyes widened like a man discovering his
throat had been cut. Sparks of energy spat at Donovan from the open fissure in
Tracer's neck. The Extremist's last act was to reach for his open throat,
unaware that in seconds, his programming would register a major systems failure
and his life as he knew it, would terminate.
"Die."
Donovan replied as Tracer fell backwards into the water.
Donovan
stared impassively at the body that was quickly being claimed by the murky
water and glanced briefly at the wiring and metal fibres
in his hand. He did not know much about electronics or replicants.
However, he did know how to disconnect his television set from cable.
Apparently,
this was not that much harder.