The "Ultimate DC Universe" RPG: Season 2.0

[Batman]

IC:

​

In the deepest, darkest corners of the long since abandoned Gotham City Opera House, a tall and slender shadowed figure sat in the main dressing room, his face hidden by the dimly lit corners of the room that illuminated the rest of his body. He was staring at himself, in the mirror ahead. Few souls had witnessed the sight he was viewing now, and he intended to keep it that way. Because he knew very well that the face he looked upon could mean nothing to him anymore. All that mattered was the face in his hands. The face that constantly grinned back at him with a smile that would cower even the bravest men that opposed him. This... mask. The mask of The Joker.

"What are you smiling at?", He whispered, staring at the face ahead with a hushed giggle.

The truth was, the face's smile was only hiding a lurking horror within. A brewing evil that's sole purpose was to inflict terror and death upon those who most deserved, and even those who didn't, for any name or cause it pleased. For mayhem. For order. For justice. For laughter. For comedy. For the arts. For tragedy. For irony. Even for the very concept of death. It mattered not. As long as he understood the means, no one else had to. It would take away from the performance if they knew his motivations. And above all, he was a performer. With the world... the wonderfully chaotic world that surrounded him... acting as his spotlight.

It hadn't always been his purpose in life. Oh no. No, the man only knowing himself formerly as "Jack", wherever that name came from, still managed to remember the day it all changed for him. The day his life found true meaning. The day he found his mask, and the smile engraved upon it that would give him a new name. A new face. A new life.

"Oh, god..."

He was wondering through a dark alleyway, in the dead of night. Rain poured down upon his head, as his feet splashed in the puddles below. He didn't know why he was there, or even how he had gotten there. All he knew was that he wouldn't stop, no matter how much it seemed he wanted to. He simply kept going, through the rain and darkness ahead. Almost as if he were following the road to Hell itself.

His skin burned. Again, he didn't know why. But it were as if something terrible had happened to him. Though he couldn't really see that clearly, given his vision was blurred to the point that all he could see was the rain infront of him, he could make out vivid colors, coming from his own skin. Spots of pale, burned, freshly scarred flesh. And the fingernails of his hands. They were a vivid green.

Were he not in such a state of pain and anguish, he would've panicked. But his mind was so lost in comprehension, or trying to find that even, that he didn't even notice when he had walked out into the streets ahead. Beside him, a young woman strolled down the street, walking towards the corner. He spotted her, immediately, as his vision began to clear. In a state of shock, he lurched forward, and grabbed her by the shoulder. Immediately, the woman spun around, facing him, startled. But angry.

"HEY! What the hell do you think you'r-"

He couldn't see her expression for a moment. But from her tone, it was obvious. She was shocked by the sight before her.

"...doing?"

He dropped to his knees, his skin still burning, grabbing at her jacket.

"H... Help... help me...", He pleaded, not knowing exactly what he needed help from or why he needed it.

So many questions. So many of them unanswered. He feared his life would never make sense again.

"AHH!!! GET AWAY! GET AWAY! HELP! HELP!", The woman screamed, loudly.

Hearing footsteps near him, he didn't know what to think by the woman's reaction. What was she so afraid of? Was it him? Was it something about his appearance? But it didn't matter. Because somehow, someway, he began to realise something. Those footsteps were not the answer. They were bad. Evil. To him, at least. They would not welcome comfort to him, or provide the answers he sought.

So he ran. Scrambling back to his feet, he darted across the street, realising for the first time that he was wearing some sort of tattered clothing. His mind focused from them to the darkness ahead, as he spotted another alleyway. As strange as it seemed, the darkness seemed... comforting. Unlike the people that were now rushing to the startled woman's aide, behind him. So he entered it, tripping over a trash can as he landed on the pavement of the alley, hard.

Why would no one help him? Why did he need help? Who was he, anyway? Even his own name was beginning to become discreet within the questions that constantly arose within his mind. Picking himself upwards, slowly, he looked back at the woman across the street, as two men approached her.

"M'aam, calm down. What's the trouble?", One asked.

"Oh thank god you're here!", She yelled, relieved. "There's... there's something out there! I think it's a man... I'm not sure. It attacked me and ran in that direction!"

"Alright! Okay! Just calm down. Tell us your name.", The man continued, as the figure in the darkness began to realise who they were: Policemen.

While he knew the police served to protect those who were in need... for some reason, he still remained uncomforted by the sight of them. As if he needed to deliberately avoid them, for some reason. But again, he didn't know why. He didn't know the reasoning behind anything anymore.

"M-My name... my name is Harleen. Harleen Qui... Quinzell."

Realising he needed to get farther away, fast, he got to his feet and ran down the alleyway, blindly, his mind riddled with questions. But the farther he ran, the more he tired. Soon, he found himself wandering at a steady pace, before finally... he simply couldn't go on. Dropping back onto his knees, infront of some garbage someone had lazily discarded behind some building that created the alleyway he found so comforting, he stared down at the pavement, trying to make sense of what was happening.

He couldn't. No matter how hard he thought, and how hard he tried, he couldn't make sense of it. Nothing was coming through. His reasons for being here. Why his skin burned so badly. Even his own name. It just wasn't going to come out.

Below him, the rain began to form a puddle. And in that puddle, a picture began to form. His own reflection. While he still couldn't see that clearly, he began to make out even more puzzling images. A head of hair began to show up in the picture... but it was startling. It was messed, wetted by the rain... and oddly, a dark shade of green, like his fingernails. Surely it had to be a trick. He was seeing things. His coloration must've been warped. It just didn't make sense for his hair and fingernails to be green.

That was when the face below the hair began to take form. His eyes widened, fully grasping the image he was staring at, as it stared back at him.

"AHH!", He screamed, in horror, throwing himself backwards, and into a wall, covering his burning face with his hands.

"Oh... oh god... I... I'm a monster... a monster..."

His face wasn't always like that, was it? He didn't even know. But he knew that he had to hide it. If from anyone, himself. Because he couldn't take seeing it again, at least for the moment. As his hands left his face, he sat down on the street, his back still against the wall. He didn't know whether to cry or scream. This was all just such a nightmare. He needed comfort. He needed answers. He needed to know why the hell nothing made sense anymore.

And then... in such an odd turn of fate... his hand wandered to an object below him. Tossed onto the streets along with the garbage, he looked down at it, and stared. It was a mask, of some sort. A halloween mask, perhaps? Was it halloween? He couldn't even remember that. God, why couldn't he remember?

Slowly, he picked it up, and turned it over. The mask's face stopped him in his tracks, as he paused, and silently gazed at it's image. A wide smile graced it's lips. It was a smile he had never seen before. But the smile was somehow... comforting. Like the darkness. Unlike the police. Perhaps the smile was even more comforting. Infact... it brought a smile to his own face.

"Heh."

He was laughing. Giggling. Happiness exerted from him, as he stared down at the mask. Then slowly, he turned it over, and placed it on. Somehow, some way, for some reason... everything began to make sense again. He didn't know his name, or any of the better details that lead up to that moment... but as the mask covered his deformities, it began to create new details. A new face, for himself. A new sense of clarity in a world that didn't make sense.

He had to be happy. He had to be funny. He had to be... a joker.

"Hehehehe... hahahaha....hahahahaha... HAHAHAHAHA.... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA..."

By the time the police would arrive in that same alleyway, he would be gone. Long gone. Wandered back into the night, no longer confused or dismayed at whatever had happened to him. Infact, he didn't even care, anymore. All he wanted to do was begin anew... and start his new life, as that joker that brought joy to the world. No matter how it got there.

All the police would find of the lost man would be his bone chilling, laughter of death, as it echoed throughout the darkened night, on the road to Hell itself.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"


The Joker remembered that night fondly, as he placed his mask back on. That was the night his performance began. And that would be the start of his grand show. Now, however... he had to prepare for the next act of the performance.

Straightening his tie and jacket, as he looked upon the final details of his appearance in the cracked mirror of the room, The Joker exited, and slammed the door of the dressing room shut, before departing to the stage. In the seats of the audience sat his many minions... his many deranged and twisted followers that had come to believe in his joyful philosiphy of bringing laughter to the world that had plagued them all.

The Joker raised his hands, motioning for silence from them as they granted his wish. Placing his hands together, The Joker stared back at all of them, his grin widening on his own face.

"Ladies. Gentlemen. Followers of the general arts. Lend me your ears. Because boy, do I have a plan that's going to tickle your funnybones!"

It was time to lead these people on that path to Hell. And what better way to go on that very road, than with a nice big smile?

 

[Cyrusbales]

The Atom floated next to Marvel and says, "I am not naive enough to believe that I'll be able to beat everyone I come up against. One thing I have learned so far is that most villians aren't both super-strong & super-intelligent. They are usually one or the other so the trick is to know which one they are and exploit that edge. Also to use my surroundings. For example, if I am battling someone who is sensitive to sound I would try to use things that would make a lot of noise."

She floats in front of Marvel and says, "I am also not naive to believe that I won't eventually run into someone who has brawn & brains. When that day comes the trick is not to just go toe to toe, but to take the time to figure what they're weak-spot might be."
The Atom then lands on Marvel's shoulder and says, "A few days ago I was concerned with what other people think of me at work. Now I look out at this city and wonder how did you guys ever overcome the nervousness and the doubts?"

CAPTAIN MARVEL

Other people? What a strange notion Bill thought. This would be an interesting concept to come to grips with.

"The easiest way, my way, is not to let anyone ever know you exist."

Whilst he had been impressed by her initial performance, he had many more tests to put her through.

"There will always be more for you to learn, the same goes for everyone. But, what is it YOU want to learn now?"

 

[guitarsingerguy]

Within the confines of the central power battery, Alan Scott, or at least whatever part of him resides there, attmempts to comfort Kyle.

"Kyle, this isn't something to be saddened by. You've truly reached your potential. Allowing the battery to empower you was something that I never learned to do."

"That's just it Alan. I didn't allow it to do anything. It flat out took control."

"You're telling me that the battery itself....is sentient?"

"I'm not sure what I'm telling you Alan. All I know is that it feels like something is coming. I'm constantly looking over my shoulder. It feels like...oblivion...is just around the corner."

 

[MST3K 4ever]

CAPTAIN MARVEL

Other people? What a strange notion Bill thought. This would be an interesting concept to come to grips with.

"The easiest way, my way, is not to let anyone ever know you exist."

Whilst he had been impressed by her initial performance, he had many more tests to put her through.

"There will always be more for you to learn, the same goes for everyone. But, what is it YOU want to learn now?"

The Atom floats off of Marvel's shoulder and says, "Not let them know I exist? Hey I am pretty good at staying out of sight. You're talking to someone who could live in the closet in Barbie's dream-house without any problems."

She says to him, "I guess what I could really learn is how to watch m,y back. I mean the one thing I kept noticing that got me in a lot of trouble was not being aware of when someone was behind me."

 

[Byrd Man]

"Earlier this afternoon, billionaire Michael Holt announced he would run for President. He will run against Senator Pete Ross of Kansas."

I turn off the t.v. and scratch my head. There's something about Ross, I don't know what. I need to make some phone calls and get some background on him.........


THREE DAYS LATER

I posed as a reporter named Victor Sage to get all the info I could get on Ross, that was two days ago and now I stare up at my wall, it's field with peices of paper and newspaper clippings, my drawings and notes adorn the scraps of paper.

"No! No! Doesn't make sense. Ross after trust. Evil, must be stopped."

I drop to my knees and claw at my face, ripping out chunks of my red hair.

"And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him? And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations."

I slam my head on the floorboards until I start to see blood pour out of a cut. I now know what I must do.

"Pete Ross is the anti-christ.......I must kill Pete Ross."

 

[Spike_x1]

Superman floated by Blackrock above the power plant, trying to scan the building with his X-ray vision, but having little luck thanks to the heavy lead shielding throughout the facility. Thankfully, his sight wasn't the only enhanced sense that Clark had at his disposal to scan for anyone left inside. "I can't hear anyone else in there. How about you?"

Blackrock finally shook himself back to his senses. This was just silly. Peter had stars in his eyes while Superman actually had enough professionalism to keep his head in the game at a time like this. If Peter really wanted to learn from his example, then this was just another lesson he would have to keep in mind!

His eyes glowed as Peter mentally scanned the footage being recorded by the security cameras inside the plant. "Nothing yet... nothing... nothin-- WAIT!" There was someone still inside! A lone security guard trapped in one of the control rooms. "Third floor, the reactor control room. And... I'm reading that radiation's almost pouring into that room!

Superman wasn't sure how Blackrock knew any of this, but he wasn't about to take the risk that it wasn't true! "Come on!" And with that, both of them dove straight into the building. "Lead the way."

It only took Blackrock a moment to extrapolate where they needed to go, using the images he had seen from the cameras, in his mind's eye. "In here!" Peter shouldered down and flew through a flaming wall, revealing the terrified security guard cowering on the other side. There was something else in the room, too.

It was like a swirling miniature sun, slowly growing outward from the reactor core and eating away at the building around it, and it had already swelled large enough that it's edges were poking through the control room walls. The poor man who had been trapped inside with the ball of energy had already lost all of his hair and his body was shriveling and sickly.

"My God," Superman gasped in disbelieve. "Blackrock! Get a forcefield around that man!" Without any concern for his own safety, Clark shot himself into the center of the ball of immense energy, looking for the source of it.

Meanwhile, Peter did exactly as he was told. He erected a containment field around the security guard and flew the both of them outside as fast as he could, getting as far away from that mass of raw nuclear power as possible. When he reached a safe distance away, back on the mainland, Blackrock set the guard down onto the lawn of a nearby park. He read the nametag on the man's uniform and tried to comfort him, doing his best to take his mind off of the obvious pain that the poor soul was going through. "Nathan? Nathan Tryon? Can you hear me?" Peter felt for a pulse in the man's shriveled neck. It was almost non-existent. "It's going to be alright." Blackrock sighed and looked back up at the sight of the burning power plant in the distance, where Superman was still fighting to stop the growing sphere of destruction and power. "I hope."

"MOVE!!"

The gravity surrounding the mass of energy was heavier than anything Clark had every experienced before. He had his hands wrapped around what he could only hope was the source of the energy; what it was all expanding outward from. It was a cylindrical container with a yellow sphere suspended in the center of it.

The sphere was cracked.

That had to be the source of the mess! As he tried to lift, Superman would have taken a deep breath if the atomic growth hadn't already consumed all of the oxygen. "NGAAARGHH!!" He exclamation was equal parts pain, at the obvious heat and pressure around him, as well as the strain his muscles were being put under as the mass' weight began to be carried by them.

**********​

All that the citizens of Metropolis could see of the current situation was an ever-growing orb of swirling orange and yellow flares rising into the sky. The growth had to be several hundred meters in diameter, with an unseen Superman in the center of it!

**********​

'I'm not going to make it to the sun,' Superman's thoughts rang through the inferno. 'Earth's gravity will just pull this thing right back down. What the heck am I going to do?!' Through his squinted eyes, Clark could see his hands blistering under the sheer heat. If there was air, he would've tried to cool this thing down with his arctic breath long ago, but alas--

"Get outta there, Superman!"

'What was that?' Clark strained to listen through the roar of the flames, 'Someone outside of this...?' Then it finally struck him. 'Blackrock!'

**********​

Indeed, Blackrock had been flying alongside the mass of energy all the way up to this point, after making certain that Nathan Tryon would be safe. If Superman could just manage to throw the massive orb as far as he could, Peter could blast it and hopefully detonate it safely and not have to worry about it falling back to Earth.

"THROW IT! C'MON, THROW IT!"

**********​

'Lord, I pray this guy knows what he's doing,' Clark closed his eyes and hoped this would work. Still grasping the container, he pulled his arms back passed his shoulders and then launched them forward with as much force as he could muster. If he hadn't been so worried or in so much pain from the heat, Clark might've noticed that he had put so much force into the throw that he had torn the tendons in his shoulders.

....

Blue skies again. Finally.

His vision was still cloudy as he watched the blurry floating figure of Blackrock unleash a volley of energy blasts from his hands at the distant ball of yellow energy.

No sound escaped from the exploding mass at first. It was as if it were imploding, taking everything, including noise, inward with the collapsing flames. And then it let the noise go. It was deafening, the echoing shockwave sending both Blackrock and Superman careening back towards the ground, many miles below.

"Ow," said Superman.

 

[Byrd Man]

New York City

"You sure about this, pops?"

I'm standing backstage next to my grandfather, he looks in the mirror, brushing lint off his charcoal gray suit.

"I've thought about this, Terry and I'm a hundred precent sure. You're mother and grandmother agree with me."

I shake my head and shrug my shoulders.

"It's not that, pops. I mean this is a big step. Win or lose, it'll change our family."

He turns around and smiles at me.

"Sometimes change is good."

"Mr. Holt? We're ready for you."

He rest his hand on my shoulder and looks me in the eye.

"You take care of busting heads, and I'll take care of our family."

He throws me a wink heads to the stage. I stay in the back and look at the crowd. Newspaper writers and t.v. reporters, including my mom, are there watching as pops approaches the mic.

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen of the press. My name is Michael Holt, of Holt Electronics. Fair Play For The Future."

A small titter filters through the crowd as he reels off the company's motto.

"I brought you all here today to make you an announcement. I, Michael Holt, am announcing my candidacy for President of the United States of America."

I cross my arms and smile. Washington, here we come.

Holt Electronics Proving Ground
Long Island, New York


"The mood here was ecstatic as Holt announced his plans to run for office. Reporting for Channel 8, I'm Elizabeth Holt."

I see a glimmer in mom's eye as she signs off. She asked for this story in particular, guess your father running for president is kinda important to you.

"Alright, that's enough T.V."

Pops clicks off the T.V. and looks over at me.

"Today's been an exciting one, to say the least. But our day isn't over. I made some upgrades to the T-Spheres after that confrence I attended last week. That guy Milton Fine, his technology is going to change the world. I felt like I did back in the late 70's when Bill and Paul showed me BASIC. It was a damn shame when I bought them and Microsoft out in 94."

One of the black orbs my grandfather invented floats behind him. It bobs and weaves through the air and floats about five feet infront of me.

"So, What am I suppose to do?"

"Patience is a virtue, now. Tell me what you see."

A red light shoots out the orb and a little hologram screen floats in the air right infront of my face.

"It looks like the internet. The yahoo! home page."

"Good. I locked it onto your brain wave pattern. Only you can see that hologram. It's not just the internet, the T-Spheres's server is hooked to all goverment websites and database, CIA, FBI, DEA, even INTERPOL, you name it, it can get into it. It also monitors local police scanners and channels."

"What about weapons? I mean, the fight Batman and I had with Deathstroke showed the T-Sphere's have capablity to do damage."

"That's next upgrade cycle, right now enjoy 2.0 before we go into 2.5."

One of the Spheres rises into the air and shoots out another hologram.

"Uh-oh. Says something's going down in Manhattan. Metahuman doing all the damage."

The hologram switches pages to the FBI's database and a file on the man causing the damage.

"Name: John Jenks AKA Copperhead
Height: 5'8
Weight: 198
Powers: Subject of gene manipulations causing him to take on snake like appearance and causes his saliva to contain posionous venom."

I get up off the couch I was sitting on and rush off to change. Pops puts on his headset and gets ready to watch and advise me on my every move.

"Ready to take it to them?"

"I was born ready."

 

[Cyrusbales]

The Atom floats off of Marvel's shoulder and says, "Not let them know I exist? Hey I am pretty good at staying out of sight. You're talking to someone who could live in the closet in Barbie's dream-house without any problems."

She says to him, "I guess what I could really learn is how to watch m,y back. I mean the one thing I kept noticing that got me in a lot of trouble was not being aware of when someone was behind me."

CAPTAIN MARVEL

Staring out into this world that tears itself apart on a daily basis, it's time for the Captain to reveal something about himself.

"Unfortunately, in this line of work, there are always people after your back. Sometimes the very people we try to save end up attacking you. I get to thinking about all of this and wonder if it's worth it at the end of the day."

His head drops a little at this thought, the world is a cruel place, even for heroes.

 

[MST3K 4ever]

CAPTAIN MARVEL

Staring out into this world that tears itself apart on a daily basis, it's time for the Captain to reveal something about himself.

"Unfortunately, in this line of work, there are always people after your back. Sometimes the very people we try to save end up attacking you. I get to thinking about all of this and wonder if it's worth it at the end of the day."

His head drops a little at this thought, the world is a cruel place, even for heroes.

The Atom float in front of Marvel and pushes his chin upward. Looks him in the eye and says, "I am starting to see that this line of work is not exactly glamour, keys to the city or parades in our honor. But you know what that's not why I am doing this. I am doing this because I have a gift that I feel can make difference in the fight for justice. It may not matter to the psychos, some of the media, some of the people we protect, or even to the villains who think they can run right over us."

She stares out and says, "It matters to me. If I can go home at night knowing that I laid everything on the line and the cause of justice and hope on that day then I can look in the mirror and respect myself. That feeling is something no one can ever take away from me. I know that we will rarely ever enjoy an outright victory over evil some nights the best we will be able to do is hold the line, and if that's all we can do then so be it."

 

[Cyrusbales]

The Atom float in front of Marvel and pushes his chin upward. Looks him in the eye and says, "I am starting to see that this line of work is not exactly glamour, keys to the city or parades in our honor. But you know what that's not why I am doing this. I am doing this because I have a gift that I feel can make difference in the fight for justice. It may not matter to the psychos, some of the media, some of the people we protect, or even to the villains who think they can run right over us."

She stares out and says, "It matters to me. If I can go home at night knowing that I laid everything on the line and the cause of justice and hope on that day then I can look in the mirror and respect myself. That feeling is something no one can ever take away from me. I know that we will rarely ever enjoy an outright victory over evil some nights the best we will be able to do is hold the line, and if that's all we can do then so be it."

CAPTAIN MARVEL

"I'm glad you understand, to be honest, I was hoping you'd take to the role as well as you have."

A rare thing then happened, a smile graced the veteran Captain's face. Life was not fun and games, life was hard and tough, but once in a while, something came along that gave even the most cautious of types a reason to grin.

"Now let's see if you can keep up!"

Taking to the air, Bill flew through the air, not realy pushing himself at all, but he had it in mind to test The Atom, and he knew he'd have to go faster than this to do so...

 

[Andy C.]

(IC: )

As I step out of my father's hut, I hear them. Drums, pounding out the cadence of a war march. My mother has set the Amazons upon this village?! But why?

As I turn to face my father, I see a sadness in his eyes, and I realize that it's all because I'm here. My mother, so protective of me, would send an army against starving Men so that I would not hear what they would tell me?

I take to the air, and see a familiar sight: a column of Amazon warriors, clad in full armor, weapons at the ready. At the head is Artemis, now wearing the full battle regailia of a general. The world blurs as I rush towards them, determined to find the meaning of this.

"Artemis! Tell your soldiers to stand down; these men are harmless."

"Diana..." she says, bowing to me in a mocking gesture. "...it is good to see you are unharmed. Now please, stand aside and no harm will come to you."

"I am ordering you, as Princess of Themyscira, to lay down your arms and leave this place!"

"And I, acting under orders from the Queen, and under my own authority as Themyscira's new Champion, am ordering you to give yourself up! If you would like to protest, you are more than welcome to do so at your trial. I am hereby placing you, Princess Diana, under arrest for heresy!"

Heresy?! Is it now a crime to ask questions? To seek the truth?

I bite my tongue. Those questions are for my Mother, not the impostor who would declare herself "Champion" of this island.

"These men have done nothing wrong. Arrest me if you will, but leave them alone!"

A cruel sneer crawls across Artemis' face.

"Amazons, form ranks! Archers, prepare a volley into the village on my mark!"

"Artemis, damn you! My father is--"

"Just a man, Diana. Just like my father. He's probably in there as well. Do you know how many of these soldiers also have fathers in that village? Or brothers, or uncles, or cousins, or even sons? And yet they will all follow my orders, because they know what you seem to have forgotten: Men are vermin. Their world is wicked and corrupt, and they only know destruction!"

"I will not stand for this, Artemis! Stand now now, or I will--"

Her fist slams into me, catching me beneath my ribs. Even with my newfound power, it feels as if I had been struck by a Titan! The world spins around me, and I more hear than feel the stone walls surrounding the Men's village as I go crashing through it.

As I regain my bearings, I see Artemis descending from the sky towards me. She can fly as well! In Hera's name...how can this be?

"Or you'll what, Diana? Her Majesty the Queen recognized the mistake she had made by granting you the power of the gods, so she gave me that which had made you strong from the beginning! It seems to me, Princess, that you are no longer the only 'Wonder Woman'....Amazons, ATTACK!"

 

[Spike_x1]

The smoke was a very odd shade of a light brownish-grey. It was billowing out from the point of the explosion in a rapidly expanding cloud while Superman and Blackrock were both hurled downward. Clark blinked himself back to a ready state of mind and grunted with effort as he painfully made a mental check of his body's condition. All ten fingers. All ten toes. 'Still in one piece,' he sighed with relief.

But what about Blackrock?!

Superman flipped in mid-air, regaining his balance and bringing his head above the rest of him as he scanned the skyline for any trace of the new superhero. 'Geez, is that what we really are? Superheroes?' Nevermind that! He finally spotted the purple and green garbed Blackrock sailing unconsciously towards the earth, several miles to the west of Superman's current position. Blackrock had been much closer to the atomic mass than Superman was when the former had caused it to explode, so he'd obviously been hit with a much greater force from the explosion's shockwave.

"Well Blackrock, you just saved me. I might as well return the favor sooner rather than later," Clark said as he flew to Blackrock and watched the shimmering city of Metropolis slowly reveal herself as they came through the clouds.

 

[Andy C.]

[edit]

 

[Andy C.]

(IC: Brainiac)

Milton Fine awoke with a start, only to find he could not move. He had no idea how this was possible, or even where he was; the room was completely dark. His mind had been in a haze for...days? Weeks? He couldn't tell. The last thing he remembered was a man knocking on his door, and the time between then and now was a fog.

"Hello? Is someone there?"

"Greetings again, Milton Fine. I see you have awoken. I apologize for keeping you immobilized, but it is necessary."

The voice was grating and broken, as if someone were speaking into a fan; it was certainly not the voice of a human being.

Fine wanted to look around, to find who was talking to him -- or better yet, to free himself and run the hell away -- but he couldn't. It felt like he was bound in place, but there was nothing tying his body down. A wave of terror ran through him as he saw two small slits of red light shining in the darkness.

Again, the awful electronic voice spoke.

"I can feel you resisting, Milton Fine. Such efforts are useless. Not only that, but turning away now is illogical. I only wish to reward you."

"R-r-reward? What do you mean? What the hell are you?!"

As Fine shouted, the two red lights began to move towards him, and he could now make them out as eyes, eyes to something....horrifying.

Fine squirmed as a robotic being roughly the size of a man, his features resembling some kind of skeleton, stepped forth from the shadows and addressed him.

"You do not need to fear me, Milton Fine. As I said, I am only keeping you here so that I may reward you. In the meanwhile, I suggest that you relax; the nanomachines that are currently overriding your primary motor functions are not programmed to harm, but resisting them would prove both physically and psychologically exhausting."

"What is all this? What's going on? What are you?!"

"My name is simply Brainiac, and for the last seven days, you have been assisting me in my experiment. For the sake of preventing a neurological breakdown, I have erased your memory of said assistance, but it has proven most vital. And for that, Milton Fine, you will be rewarded. You will become the primary central hub necessary for coordinating the upgrade."

"I-...I don't understand. You're going to 'upgrade' what?"

"The universe, Milton Fine. An experiment estimated to take roughly ten million of your years. In the immediate present, however, the initial upgrade will be for your species."

Fine's head spun. This must be some sort of nightmare, some insane fever-dream. This mechanical creature wasn't making any sense! It had to all be a....dream...

"The device! The one that appeared to me in my dreams! You're the one who--"

"Correct, and your help has been outstanding. However, I would not advise continuing this line of thinking, as it may trigger unwanted memories. Now rest, Milton Fine. Sleep. You shall be rewarded very soon."

Fine didn't want to sleep. He wanted to scream, he wanted to run away, he wanted to call for help. But the swarm of microscopic machines that coursed through his body would not allow his muscles to contract, would not allow strenuous movement, and finally emitted signals to his brain that lulled him into unconsciousness.

------

Brainiac considered it unfortunate that Fine had started recalling events so quickly, but that was to be expected; the psychic link between their minds was still strong, and Fine was feeding off of the memories that Brainiac had stored. In time, however, he would serve a purpose once more.

The being had returned to its ship, preparing to upgrade itself. The stream of nanites that had bonded with Milton Fine's body and mind began the arduous process of severing those ties, bonding again with the cybernetic body it had used on Krypton. With the power of the Kryptonian technology and the psychic powers taken from Fine, Brainiac was now more powerful than he had ever been.

The only drawback of the new upgrade was that he could no longer disguise himself as a human, but that problem was easily solved: all of his talks about manufacturing his nano-tech device would simply no longer be done in person. The manufacturers would only contact him via telephone, or video conference (wherein he could broadcast a holographic image of Fine to them), and no one suspected. After all, why would they start asking questions when business was doing so well?

Already, nearly two hundred thousand units had been sold in Tokyo alone, with 'the Toyman' Okamura reaping the benefits. He claimed that when the device reached Hong Kong, it would sell one million within a month (Brainiac's own projections showed this to be incorrect-- it would sell one million within two weeks) Kord Technology's sales were not quite as spectacular in the United States, but three thousand across the country was progress. The only obstacle in widespread sale in America was the loss of Wayne Enterprises as a manufacturer, but that was of little consequence. Once enough humans had accepted the upgrade willingly, the rest could be upgraded by force.

As Brainiac returned to the central console of his ship, metallic tendrils began to snake forth from the walls, plugging into their master. They fed him information from all corners of the planet...until something caught his attention.

A rather primitive nuclear power plant in the city of Metropolis was undergoing an emergency. This in and of itself was of little concern, but disaster had been averted by two metahumans. One in particular piqued his interest, and Brainiac began running calculations as he catalogued all of the blue-costumed hero's abilities...and observed the crest he bore on his clothing.

As unlikely as it would seem, there was only one plausible answer. This was a Kryptonian...and, judging from the information he had gleaned from Krypton's database before fleeing, there was a 97% chance that this Kryptonian was none other than the son of Jor-El.

"Unexpected...and very fortuitous."

Of all the emotions he had taken from bonding with an organic creature, the one he preferred was the one he experienced now...amusement. With a thought, Brainiac began to re-arrange the chamber, the command consoles tucking away into hidden compartments, and other modules opening up to reveal his collection.

Circling the newly-reconfigured chamber was a series of displays, each of which was an integral part of his experiment. Dozens of crystalline domes, looking for all the world like glass bottles, lined the displays as he approached the one he sought. Brainiac peered into the bottle, and could see the gleaming spires of a dead world.

"Perhaps it is time to add a new variable to the experiment..."

 

[Andy C.]

[Sorry: double-post]

 

[Trigger]

((33 years in the future))

“Are you sure you want to do this?”

A stone-faced Matt Ryder watched as Conner began to suit up. The suit was made of a special alloy that would use his TK to increase his natural traits, but somehow he still worried. Even after all these years.

“You said I could save him if we stopped his death from ever coming about, right?”

“Yes, but think about what you’re giving up! Your son, your daughter…your wife. Not to mention all the progress we’ve made as a society. We could be potentially killing the world’s perfect future. All this over one guy?!”

“I know this sounds crazy, but this is how it has to be. If I don’t go now, the Monarch could finish off the last of Earth’s heroes! I’d rather re-write a history where Superman, and Wonderwoman don’t die.”

Matt sighed and walked with Conner down the ruined halls of the Justice League’s headquarters. The main labs of the base had extensive defenses and stood as a last chance defense against the Monarch. The year was 2040, and stood as the world’s last refuge for anybody willing to oppose him. Matt Ryder, a once troubled teen with a knack of science had been working with every resistance member to come up with a way to kill the Monarch, but he was extremely powerful and there seemed to be no chance of stopping him. He didn’t necessarily like the idea of using his best friend as a guinea pig in a last ditch effort time traveling experiment, nonetheless the last post-human on Earth with the power to face Monarch one-on-one. The duo walked through several doors and halls, passing sadden refugees and injured soldiers at every turn.

“Damnit, why couldn’t this been avoided! Why couldn’t we predict this sooner?!” he muttered to himself as they passed another huddled group of refugees.

“Because no one would have known he was still alive. Except me. I let him go. That’s why I have to be the one to stop him.”

Minutes later they arrived at their destination, but neither was happy about the fact. The only way to power a potential time-traveling device in such extreme conditions was to steal away energy from the auxiliary devices, and use the JL’s main computer as the main CPU for the machine. Their once mighty holographic round table now converted into a ragtag platform. Conner stepped onto the platform and began equipping the final pieces of the transfer suit.

“So prep me on this one last time.”

“The suit will protect you from any latent energy you might run into. When you arrive in 2007, you’ll be safe for the most part. The other gear-heads and I can only imagine that you’ll be able move around as normal, so feel free to expend the suit’s life support systems as needed in case of combat with this button.”

Matt pointed to it, and like a small child with no skill at following directions, Conner pressed it. A small stream of energy bursted from it and knocked Matt to his feet. Conner gave a coy smile and helped Matt back up.

“Ha, ha, ha, Conner. It’s your life support systems your wasting, jackass.”

Matt walked over to the computer and began entering the sequences and codes necessary to boot up the machine. He occasionally looked up to catch another glimpse of Conner as was suiting up, but eventually gave up. What would be the point in trying to remember how Conner looked or sounded, if this timeline was just going to disappear?

“Ready?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be Mr. Ryder.” Conner said with his typical confident smile.

“Beginning start-up phase.”

The platform began to glow a radiant goldish-yellow; the many circuits and drives lining its insides pulsating with energy. Matt turned away from the console to get a good look at his best friend.

“The system has sustained enough energy; I'm beginning transfer phase.”

While Matt began to enter more codes and sequences, Conner indulged in the same sense of awe a child feels when seeing fireworks for the first time. He watched with amazement as the platform started to emit a powerful glow. It was amazing, it was astounding, and……..it was hot.

“M-matt….!!”

Matt turned around and joined Conner in panicking. Something was wrong, terribly wrong. Conner had trusted himself to Matt’s machinations; Matt in turn had relinquished himself to long hours of intense study to perfect this machine. However, as the duo was fast learning, a bootleg time machine can easily become a death trap.

“Oh god no, oh god no…” Matt muttered as he tried to undo the astounding amount launch codes to no avail.

“Matt…what’s….happening….to…me..!”

Conner collapsed onto his knees and cupped his hands over his ears. The crackling and constant grinding of the time stream grated against his senses and destroyed his depleting sanity. He let out a pained, exasperated howl as a piece of the platform exploded. In an instant the room began to fill with a horrendous luminosity that brought with it an entrance into the very fabrics of time itself. As it began to pull on every object in the room, Matt futility tried to hold onto the JL computer, but was sucked into the vertex anyway; instantly being ripped apart by the extremely volatile energies of the time stream. Tears filled Conner’s eyes as his gripped on part of the platform weakened. In a matter of seconds, Conner was pulled into the void as well. He let out one agonized scream as the energies devoured his body as well.

Minutes later the wormhole collapsed on itself and any remaining pieces of the room not obliterated fell to the floor. A few people who had heard the commotion came to the room, but found no cause. Little would they know that their world soon be no more. For as Conner had died his consciousness was spread throughout the time stream, and like the seeds of withered plant, a new timeline was to be born. Thus the imperceptible, but mighty entity known as the Waverider was born.


((The Year 2007))

“Oooo…”

A sharp pain coursing through Conner’s head was the first thing he felt. Rubbing the back of his head Conner examined his surroundings. A comfy pajama set replaced the jeans and t-shirt he was wearing before. His surrounds had also changed as well. The dreary apartment of Jason Blood had been exchanged with his messy bedroom.

“Whaaa…?”

There was an instant burst of laughter from the downstairs kitchen. Conner, half-tired, half-dead, flung himself out of bed and used his telekinesis to move down the staircase. When he entered the kitchen, Conner was treated with the strange sight of both of his parents happily enjoying breakfast with Don Hall. A Don Hall who was not near death and lying pitifully on Jason’s Blood floor even.

At the sight of Conner, Don and everyone let out a pleasant giggle as Mr. Jones steered Conner towards the kitchen island. Seating at the island, Mr. Jones passed Conner a cup of coffee and a plate of bacon. Conner accepted the food and munched on it hungrily. He couldn’t help but wonder why the sound of his own teeth gnashing against the food was so intense, but it was.

“Still hung-over?” Don asked between chuckles.

“Huh? Who...me?”

“Of course! Who else Mr. Silver St. Cloud.”

“Silver St. Cloud? You mean the hot actress?”

“Don’t act like you don’t know what I'm refering to. It’s all over the press.”

Don tossed a copy of the latest National Enquirer from the kitchen table to the kitchen island. On the front was a picture of what looked like Conner grinding sensually against a wasted Silver St. Cloud in nightclub VIP room. Conner’s face erupted in a beet red color at the mere sight of it. When had he done that?

“O-oh….yeah that…”

Conner tried to inconspicuously retreat from the room while Mr. Jones launched into his rehashed joke about rabbis and priests, but Don’s watchful eye caught him at the doorway to the foyer.

“Going to get dressed finally?”

“Why?”

The Jones and Don frowned. Conner instantly felt nervous at the sight of them. More things he had forgotten?

“I’ve been waiting for about a half an hour, dude. We were going to do that thing today, and I agreed to meet you here.”

“Thing?”

“Yeah, thing.” Don said with an added emphasis from his eyebrows.

“Oh, yeah that thing.” Conner replied; not knowing what Don was referring to.

“I’ll go get dressed and meet you in the garage.”

“Beautiful! Don’t keep me waiting.”

“I won’t!” Conner muttered half to himself, and half to Don.

"God, could today get any weirder?"

 

[Trigger]

Sorry for the double post!

*goes back to meticulously planning next post.....and eating a kitten*

 

[MST3K 4ever]

CAPTAIN MARVEL

"I'm glad you understand, to be honest, I was hoping you'd take to the role as well as you have."

A rare thing then happened, a smile graced the veteran Captain's face. Life was not fun and games, life was hard and tough, but once in a while, something came along that gave even the most cautious of types a reason to grin.

"Now let's see if you can keep up!"

Taking to the air, Bill flew through the air, not realy pushing himself at all, but he had it in mind to test The Atom, and he knew he'd have to go faster than this to do so...

The Atom sees Marvel taking off into the air and she smiles.

Okay time to see what I can do in the air. I'm not much in the speed department but let's see what a little shifting of my weight can do.

She shifts her weight even more and finds she is gaining on Marvel gliding on the air-currents. She eventually catches up and The Atom tries to keep a cool exterior while inside she is thinking...

WOAH! WOAH! Gotta keep things under control a little bit...if I shift my weight to much more...I could just float away.

The Atom says somewhat nervously, "So hmmm? Not bad for a rookie eh?"

 

[Andy C.]

(IC: )

The world around me screams in a thousand different tongues. I hear the howling battle cry of the Amazonian warriors as they storm into the village. I hear pleas for mercy that go unanswered as innocent men are dragged into the streets to be butchered. I hear the roar of flames as their homes are lit ablaze, the wet thud as weapons hack into flesh.

But all I see is Artemis smiling, pacing over me as she waits for me to get up.

"You've grown weak, Diana. Your compassion towards the blasphemy of the Patriarch has blinded you. Their way is corrupt and vile; you know this."

"As opposed to this? Outright murder? Artemis, this is insanity!"

I swing my leg around, sweeping the new 'Wonder Woman's feet out from under her. She manages to catch herself, we both get to our feet at the same time.

Artemis draws her sword, and crouches down into a fighting stance. Though she tries to retain her arrogant composure, I can see the fury in her eyes. She has always resented me, always trying to force her way out of my shadow. And now that she has been injected with the Wonder Woman serums, her lust for competition has grown into outright hatred.

Behind me, I hear a man begging for mercy. I turn and see a warrior, whom I recognize as Aella, preparing to bring her axe down upon him. Artemis can wait for her little showdown; for now, I've got to save whatever is left of the village.

I lunge toward Aella, and the world itself seems to stand still. I was fast before, but the speed of Hermes is something else altogether. Before the warrior even realizes I'm there, I've pulled the axe out of her hands, and brought her down with an open-palm thrust.

Further down the street, I see Venelia and Euboea about to bring torches to one of the huts. To them, I must appear to be little more than a streak of color before I render them unconscious with lightning-fast blows.

I feel a sting of regret in my heart; Euboea is a friend of mine in the court. Has Artemis' madness spread to even my closest friends?

I ascend into the air for a better view of the village, to see where my help is needed most urgently. I hesitate for a moment, and the world explodes into a thousand stars.

With the powers of the gods, I am faster than my rival, but she is fast enough to take to the skies and catch me off-guard with a blow to the back of the head.

When I come to, I am face-down in the mud, and I hear Artemis' voice as she swoops down towards me.

"You never could beat me, Diana!"

I catch a gleam of light from above, the light glaring off of her blade...she means to defy my mother's orders and kill me. Unfortunately for her, she will learn that I can be very hard to kill.

She brings her sword down towards me, but I roll out of the way and spring to my feet. Artemis rears back for an overhead swing, and I bring my arms up to intercept the blow. She lets out a shriek like an animal as she swings with all of her might...

....then her fury turns to shock as the blade shatters against the Gauntlets of Victory.

"I can now, Artemis."

I crouch into a fighting stance, and Artemis practically hurls herself towards me, arms outstretched, eager to choke the life out of me. I am ready for her, though, and catch her in the jaw with an uppercut that sends her reeling into the air. But I am not finished yet.

Before she gets too far away, my hand goes to my right hip, grabbing the Golden Lasso. The shimmering rope lashes forth, catching Artemis by the leg, and jolts of lightning arc across the lasso and into her. She hangs in the air for a moment, writhing in agony, before I pull downwards and slam her into the ground.

I approach the crater where she landed, and find Artemis crawling out, trying but unable to stand. In Hera's name -- have I gone too far?

"Please, Artemis, stay down. You are defeated. Tell your soldiers to stand down, and end this."

Artemis coughs, and blood trickles out of her mouth. She casts her glance down the street, and then looks back to me, grinning madly.

"No need for that, Diana. It's already ended."

What could she mean by--

No. Oh, merciful gods, no.

There, lying dead in the street, is my father. Artemis and her soldiers had won after all.

 

[guitarsingerguy]

Edit

 

[guitarsingerguy]

Ion floats on the edge of an unknown atmosphere. What he witnesses, shakes him to his very core. In the distance, a strange world is in turmoil. A creature of infinite proportion wraps his hands around the planet. Kyle cannot move. Entrenched in fear, all he can do is watch as the being swallows the planet whole. Kyle can feel the creature watching him. His insides feel like putty. That's when it happens. In the blink of an eye, the creature disappears from Kyle's view. The leader of the Green Lanterns can't help but smile. Was it all in his imagination? What Kyle does not realize is that he is within the monster's stomach. A millions faces appear in a circle around him. Their voices bounce around inside him head.

"Welcome... Welcome...
Welcome... Welcome... Welcome...
Welcome... Welcome...
Welcome... Welcome... Welcome...
Welcome... Welcome...
......................TO OBLIVION. Welcome... Welcome...
Welcome... ..........TO YOUR DOOM. It feels... feels...
feels... strangely... feels... feels.... ...........LIKE HOME...DOESN'T IT KYLE?"

Kyle wakes floating in mid air, a pool of sweat is drenching his sheets under him. He drops down to the bed unable to control himself.

"That voice! I know that voice. It was the same voice speaking through me when the battery took over my body."

Kyle quickly puts on his pants and a t-shirt. He steps outside of him room and looks up to the main central power battery. Kyle can't help but feel like he is being watched. The strange part is...it feels as though it's coming straight from the battery.

 

[Cyrusbales]

The Atom sees Marvel taking off into the air and she smiles.

Okay time to see what I can do in the air. I'm not much in the speed department but let's see what a little shifting of my weight can do.

She shifts her weight even more and finds she is gaining on Marvel gliding on the air-currents. She eventually catches up and The Atom tries to keep a cool exterior while inside she is thinking...

WOAH! WOAH! Gotta keep things under control a little bit...if I shift my weight to much more...I could just float away.

The Atom says somewhat nervously, "So hmmm? Not bad for a rookie eh?"

CAPTAIN MARVEL

Knowing that going must faster might cause a problem, he sees how she can handle keeping hersefl at this speed.

"Well I can safely say you're the best rookie I've ever had. Then again you are the only one!"

It comes as almost a shock for him to find himself cracking a joke, it's been a while since he was this relaxed, it felt good, it felt different, but he knew that it would have to end, there was always work to do.

A large tower block below began to writhe with energy, dark energy, enshrouding itself in utter blackness, a tendril of the power flicked up catching the Captain in mid-air and knocking him to a nearby rooftop.

Collecting himself and straightening his form, his eyes sharpened, teeth gritted, something was going on.

"I shouldn't have let my guard down, I shouldn't ever let myself to relax", these thoughts cut across his mind like razors, he was a hero, and a time for him to act was upon him again.

 

[MST3K 4ever]

CAPTAIN MARVEL

Knowing that going must faster might cause a problem, he sees how she can handle keeping hersefl at this speed.

"Well I can safely say you're the best rookie I've ever had. Then again you are the only one!"

It comes as almost a shock for him to find himself cracking a joke, it's been a while since he was this relaxed, it felt good, it felt different, but he knew that it would have to end, there was always work to do.

A large tower block below began to writhe with energy, dark energy, enshrouding itself in utter blackness, a tendril of the power flicked up catching the Captain in mid-air and knocking him to a nearby rooftop.

Collecting himself and straightening his form, his eyes sharpened, teeth gritted, something was going on.

"I shouldn't have let my guard down, I shouldn't ever let myself to relax", these thoughts cut across his mind like razors, he was a hero, and a time for him to act was upon him again.

The Atom sees Marvel slam onto the nearby rooftop and says,"Call me a crazy rookie but I would say this is a situation that we should look into."

She sees him straighten and his eyes begin to focus.

Uh-oh I don't think now is the time for bad jokes.

The Atom lands on Marvel's shoulder and says, "Ready to follow your lead Cap."

 

[Spike_x1]

The smoke was a very odd shade of a light brownish-grey. It was billowing out from the point of the explosion in a rapidly expanding cloud while Superman and Blackrock were both hurled downward. Clark blinked himself back to a ready state of mind and grunted with effort as he painfully made a mental check of his body's condition. All ten fingers. All ten toes. 'Still in one piece,' he sighed with relief.

But what about Blackrock?!

Superman flipped in mid-air, regaining his balance and bringing his head above the rest of him as he scanned the skyline for any trace of the new superhero. 'Geez, is that what we really are? Superheroes?' Nevermind that! He finally spotted the purple and green garbed Blackrock sailing unconsciously towards the earth, several miles to the west of Superman's current position. Blackrock had been much closer to the atomic mass than Superman was when the former had caused it to explode, so he'd obviously been hit with a much greater force from the explosion's shockwave.

"Well Blackrock, you just saved me. I might as well return the favor sooner rather than later," Clark said as he flew to Blackrock and watched the shimmering city of Metropolis slowly reveal herself as they came through the clouds.

Peter awoke with a start the moment Superman touched him, his eyes briefly crackling with dark energy.

Stay away! The stone is mine! I--

Coming to his senses, Blackrock gently pushed Superman away before he did something he'd regret. "I'm fine. That thing just knocked the wind outta me, that's all." Then Peter remembered who he was talking to and chuckled lightly, trying to ooze confidence. "Are you alright, Superman?"

Superman nodded with a slight smile on his face. "Yes, I'm fine. How was the security guard when you left him?"

With a deep breath, Peter said, "To be honest, I think we got there too late. I made sure that the paramedics had him before I left, but I don't think it'll do any good." Without realizing it, the both of them were already flying back to Metropolis, specifically in the direction of the park where they had transported the people to safety from Stryker's Island Nuclear Facility. "The man's skin was flaking off and I'm pretty sure he was blind and deaf by the time I left him."

Clark swallowed hard and tried not to think about the pain and anguish that the poor individual must be going through. Peter could tell that Superman wasn't the slightest bit relieved when they came in sight of the ambulance that he had left to tend to Nathan Tryon and saw the paramedics zipping up a bodybag.

Superman and Blackrock stopped their descent and watched the scene from several feet above the treetops of the park. "I-I'm sorry." Peter bit his lip and couldn't quite bring himself to look Superman in the eye. "If I had only been faster finding him in there, we might've-"

"No," Superman cut him off. "You did what you could. We both did. We..." Clark swallowed and gave a heavy sigh, "we can't save everyone. We're both new at this, aren't we? Nevertheless, I don't think I'll ever get used to seeing the death of an innocent man or woman." Superman finally turned to Blackrock and tried his best to give a comforting smile. "The most we can do is fight the good fight and keep up this never-ending battle." He held his hand out towards the man floating in front of him.

Blackrock nodded slowly and shook Superman's hand. This man knew what being a hero was all about. He really was a Superman.

 

[Cyrusbales]

The Atom sees Marvel slam onto the nearby rooftop and says,"Call me a crazy rookie but I would say this is a situation that we should look into."

She sees him straighten and his eyes begin to focus.

Uh-oh I don't think now is the time for bad jokes.

The Atom lands on Marvel's shoulder and says, "Ready to follow your lead Cap."

CAPTAIN MARVEL

The almost pleasant disposition he had once occupied seemed to have vanished into a stern and steely gaze.

"I can't be sure what will happen here, I've only heard rumours about things like this, I just hope it isn't what I fear it is."

Lifting above the air, The Atom hovers above his shoulder, within a flash the Captain has slammed his way through the rift of energy, bursting into the building, the last thing he utters before this worries his companion....

"Stay close, we could be in trouble here."