Chapter 03: [A Just World]
"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."
― Martin Luther King Jr.
*DOOM*
On July 04, 2010, I was born into the world of Young Justice. A man in the form of a monster.
On July 11, 2010, I had my meeting with the Justice League and told them about the future.
On August 11, 2010, I had my first encounter with the Team – the unnamed Young Justice.
On October 06, 2010, I learned I wasn't alone.
*DOOM*
League Training Facility - [Location Classified]
October 02, 2010
I don't know where the building is located as I couldn't see it when I was being transported and when I asked all I got was Classified. I guess they like having some secrets that I don't know.
The LTF consists of a dome-shaped building composed of eight main sections, each section simulating different conditions. They appear to use advance holographic technology like the Danger Room in X-Men. I haven't learned for sure because they are worried, I would tear through there expensive toys.
I watch my teacher demonstrate a move for restraining a criminal.
I would be perfectly happy to spend my days in the Bat-Up Cave (or maybe I should call it the Doomsday Bunker), playing games, reading comics, and generally being a lazy NEET. My body doesn't age, get fat or weaken with disuse, so it wouldn't damage my health in the slightest. I don't need to eat, drink, sleep, or breathe, I just do because I enjoy it.
The League on the other hand wants to make sure I have complete control over my power, which is a good idea.
My monstrous strength is so great, I could lift a fully loaded M1A2 Abrams Tank and throw it like a children's toy, normal humans are a lot softer than Tanks. I can move at superhuman speeds, but if I hit someone while running, they get to experience bug on the windshield. This doesn't even take into account the bone spikes that are found on different parts of my body, some which have a sharpness of three nanometers. That is the sharpness as obsidian blades and 500 times sharper than the sharpest steel scalpel. Even brushing against the invisible edge can cause severe bleeding to a normal human.
"Remember the position."
"Yes, Teacher."
I have to admit Black Canary is amazing fighter. She knows Boxing, Judo, Muay Thai, Hapkido, and other combat arts. She has shown me various moves and is helping despite the insane difference in our physical abilities. She is teaching me none lethal takedowns and joint locks, because a single uncontrolled punch would pulverize bone. Not easy considering my elbows and knees count as stabbing weapons.
I have expressed a desire to learn mixed martial arts because I believe in efficiency. In real life, if a martial arts master goes up against the skilled experienced fighter, the martial artist will lose. Martial artists expect their opponents to play by their rules, but rules only work in sparring and sports competitions, not in brutal fights. The martial artists of this DC Universe either possess insane levels of combat experience from fighting heroes or villains, or they can tap into their Qi like the masters of my world "claimed" they could. This grants them the "speed" to use their martial arts effectively.
I lock the combat mannequin in place with the move she showed me.
I didn't have the patience or body to learn fighting techniques in my previous life. In this life, my new Body Brain records everything down the detail. In my last life, my overweight frame would be aching after the first hour. In this life, I don't muscle pains or get tired. I once read about an athlete who took less damage from 20 consecutive marathons than most people take from one, my muscles don't take damage from simply exercises and even if I did push myself beyond some limit, I can regenerate.
Boom! Boom! Kra-Boom!
I'm not the only person training in this place. Starfire and Blackfire are also in this place and I'm happy to see them in their sexy swimsuit like uniforms. Tamaranean have a very open culture when it comes nudity, probably due their race's ability to absorb ultraviolet light and the warm climate of their planet. The League apparently had to talk them into wearing uniforms with more coverage as Blackfire's "uniform" was barely above mini-thong.
Starfire and Blackfire have met the Team and have some interesting stories. One of the most entertaining is when Starfire learned Connor's Multilingualism due to his Genomorph programming she kissed him in front of everyone. Connor was too shocked to react and it didn't help Tamaraneans can drain Kryptonians of solar energy. After she finished, she turned to Megan and kissed her to acquire Martian language as well. Blackfire then kissed Starfire to acquire her accumulated languages, which caused Wally to pass out from hormonal shock.
This is the day the Injustice League is supposed to attack with giant mutated vines. Not that any of my predictions hold weight anymore. The League has already made changes that invalid that future.
After hours of training, perfecting dozens of locks and doing precisions exercises, I'm now considered a little bit safer. I have no Idea what Starfire and Blackfire were doing during their training other than it was very loud and when they excited their chamber, they needed replacement uniforms. Starfire made a token effort to be modest, Blackfire was proud to show her assets as she walked to the showers. I'm betting she knew I would be blushing scarlet if I was human,
Princess Komand'r according to her sister has changed since she came to Earth. She used to be a bitter angry person who often rejected her sister's attempts at friendship, but she has become far more open on Earth. She seems to be enjoying life instead of struggling with her circumstances.
I sit down and look at my little red notebook. I wrote down the events that occurred in Young Justice and monitored the changes using what I got from the news and what I could pry from the League members.
*DOOM*
On July 11, 2010, I had my meeting with the Justice League and told them about the future.
July 17 - Speedy fights Brick and is approached by the Team. This didn't happen because Speedy was brought in by the League so Martian Manhunter could do a scan on his brain. Red Arrow as he's calling himself was devastated to learn he was a clone, but he's the only Roy Harper the Team has known.
July 18 – The Team's fight against Mister Twister goes differently because they know it's not Red Tornado in disguise. They form a plan and the robot inside a robot shell is taken down relatively quickly. The amount of damage in minimized with no loss of life.
July 20 - Don't know if the Team went camping, don't care either. It was just a bonding exercise.
July 22 – The mission to Santa Prisca. This time they went with a clear leader in Aqualad and they actually remembered the meaning of "stealth". Robin and Kid Flash didn't run off to do their own think and Superboy didn't cause a small earthquake to show off his strength. Kid Flash made some distractions while Robin retrieved the Kobra Venom data. Sportsmaster still escaped and probably delivered a sample to the Light.
July 25 – The League prevented the abduction of Dr. Serling Roquette by the League of Shadows. As such the Team never had to protect her in a school while she created a virus to destroy her weaponized nanomachine utility Fog. The League actually followed my advice and had her become partners with molecular physicist Dr. Ray Palmer, who became the size changing Atom in '97.
July 27 – Kent Nelson's abduction by Klarion and Abra Kadabra was also avoided. The Team did get a group introduction to magic. Miss Martian is familiar with magic due to the sorcerer-priests and priestesses of Mars (the Yellow Martians). Atlantean society is based around magi-technology that originated even before the sinking of the Continent and Kaldur'ahm (Aqualad) was a student of the Conservatory of Sorcery. Zatara and Nelson were able to get pass Kid Flash's skepticism. This also allowed Zatanna Zatara to become early friends.
July 31 - The day Paula Crock –formerly known as the criminal Huntress - was released from prison and was reunited with law-abiding daughter Artemis. They had dinner together and later that night she became a vigilante. Green Arrow was a lot quicker to recruit her for the Team instead of her going solo in Gotham until August 8.
August 3 – Professor Ivo created the android Amazo with the ability to copy the superhuman abilities of his opponents. Shortly after activating, Amazo attacked Green Arrow and Black Canary, but due to future knowledge they only called in Batman for backup against the Android. The Android not being able to copy Batman's power of being "Super-Rich" was quickly disabled and torn to pieces. The Team was assigned security for the components, but it was trap. Amazo was rigged to explode before it could copy any hero's power and Professor Ivo was captured by Artemis.
On August 11, 2010, I had my first encounter with the Team – the unnamed Young Justice.
August 14 – Captain Nathaniel C. Adams, now known as Captain Atom, was cleared of the murder of General Lemar and the framing was exposed. The Team proved to be good at investigating. Unlike the canon universe, Captain Atom knows it wasn't just Lt. Yarrow that framed him, but General (formerly Colonel) Wade Eiling, but they are making it seem they don't know. Captain Atom is just glad to be reunited with children Peggy and Randy.
August 26 - A barrel is delivered to the Wayne Foundation building. Clayface jumps out and attacks the guards and Lucius Fox. Batman and Robin were actually prepared to defeat Clayface, armed a pair of Mister Freeze's confiscated Cold Guns. The meme about Batman being crazy prepared is growing.
September 4 – The Team's mission to the Bialyan desert went different. Instead of them having active telepathic communication, which made them extremely vulnerable to Psimon's telepathic assault, Martian Manhunter and Miss Martian had psychic barriers installed in their minds. When Psimon attempted to take them down he got a nasty headache before being knocked unconscious by Kid Flash. The Team also knew what they were looking for and were able to quickly rescue the New Genesphere (Sphere to his new friends).
September 6 - During Aqualad, Miss Martian, and Superboy's trip to Atlantis the Immigration of Axolotl-Genomorphs begins. The Purists led by Oceanmaster attempt to attack the refugees of the surface world, only to be caught Aquaman and huge group of soldiers waiting in ambush. Oceanmaster is unmasked to reveal Prince Orm, who is charged with treason.
September 10 – Prince Orm was put on trial for his crimes against Atlanteans and the surface world. He was charged with Treason and conspiracy with enemies of Atlantis, and was sentenced to death. The permanent death of a Light member years early.
*DOOM*
"That's a lot of writing." comments Blackfire sitting down next to me with a sports bottle, "You worried that your predictions won't come true?"
"Once you react to the future, the future changes." I say turning the page in my notebook. Black Canary encourages my writing because it teaches patience and control, as even a slight squeeze will destroy my pen. "A lot of things have happened that I didn't know about. Some of things could have happened but where never shown and somethings I knew didn't happen in the original timeline. It was one of my friends that changed September 6."
I drink sports drink from a larger container, one meant to handle greater stress and grip strength.
"Ocean Master is dead, executed for treason and conspiring with Atlantis' enemies. The man that came up with the plan to arrest him was none other than the Genomorph Leader Alex (you remember him?). Alex somehow acquired a sample of Konami's Axolotl virus and used it to transform the G-Elves, G-Gnomes, and G-Dwarves of his group into amphibious mutations. He then asked King Orin of Atlantis to become citizens of his Kingdom, proclaiming themselves refugees of the surface world. "
After injecting the virus, I think they resembles refugees from Innsmouth. These modern Deep Ones look like they are ready to set up a chapter to the Esoteric Order of Dagon. Why did Konami end up so cute and the other Genomorphs end up so scary looking?
"Prince Orm was the secret leader of the Atlantian Purists - a group of extremists who believe themselves to be the direct descendants of the "real" Atlanteans. People who consider any Atlantean with inhuman attributes to be impure and desire to purge them. They would never accept a bunch of mutated lab creations as members of their society.'
'The trap was set and Orm's actions were monitored. When he organized the Purists and began his attack, Aquaman and his army were ready to deliver a crushing blow. "
I grin at the memory of Ocean Master's end.
"Ocean Master was revealed to be Prince Orm and beaten to the point he was crippled. He was then put on Trial and executed by magic, reduced to sea foam. The wannabe ruler of seas gets a worse death than Han Christian Andersons' Little Mermaid. "
"Sea Foam?"
"A lot of people wanted him to tossed into a Deep Ocean Trench to be killed. The Trenchers are the most-degenerate form of sentient undersea life and the very antithesis of what the Purist Faction stands for. Such a death would cause an international scandal as do any painful public executions by governments."
I remember when Saddam Hussein was executed by hanging and media made such as fuss. Made me wish the soldiers that found him hiding in hole had dropped the grenade and saved up the trouble.
September 12 – Batman and Robin still failed to stop the kidnapping of Jason Burr – the brother of the Cult of Kobra's leader, a supervillain that considers himself a living god. Kobra (or Lord Naga-Naga) intended to use his brother in a ritual, but during the ritual but consumed an unknown snake's venom which transformed Lord Kobra into a stone statue before he could complete the ritual.
September 17 – The attempted breakout of Belle Reve is prevented. Amanda Waller was still outed from her position as the warden, but the League is able to keep a close eye on Hugo Strange (psychologist and agent of the Light). Amanda Waller will likely become the leader of Task Force X, better known as the Suicide Squad.
September 22 – The attempted abduction of Red Tornado by his siblings Red Inferno and Red Torpedo under the control of Dr. TO Morrow's android. This ended in failure and the heavily damaged androids forced to flee. Red Tornado using my information begins looking for his siblings.
September 28 – The Team return home after taking down the Brain's Bwundan Kobra-Venom operation. Only to find an albino Gorilla at the Happy Harbour Zoo that looks identical to the deceased Tolifhar. Tolidhar was a poor Gorilla from the same troupe that was captured and mutated by the Brain. Ultra-Humanite is a human brain in Tolifhar's stolen gorilla body.
Beep!
I pull out my smartphone – a custom Lexcorp LX4 bought with money I got from Wayne (he he) - and open a picture of Doctor Fate. He looks like a tall male dressed in black and gold with a high collar gold cape and the famous golden Helmet of Fate. The uniform is marked with the ankh, the Egyptian symbol of life. If you zoom in enough, you can tell he has dark skin.
"There is a new Doctor Fate!" I say looking into Blackfire's eyes, "After Kent Nelson's death, Doctor Fate would only appear rarely until Giovanni was forced to be Fate to save his from that 'fate". Zatanna only got to see her father once a year for a single hour. Now, Nabu has a young host who is committed to the cause of Order."
Nabu's new host is a fanatical Atlantean sorcerer-priest named Khalid. He was a student of the Conservatory of Sorcery, but is also a believer in the Lords of Order and teachings of Arion. He didn't appear in Young Justice, but I do remember one of Zatanna's students was or will be a man called Khalid Nassour (who became Doctor Fate in the comics). It's possible he existed, but was killed by Purists as Atlantean Khalid protected the heteromorphic Atlanteans, those possessing traits of aquatic animals like the mermaid girl or the boy with the octopus' head.
Something isn't right. I can feel something clawing in the back of mind, telling me to see the truth before me.
The next picture is one of the most feared places in Gotham City - Arkham Asylum. A mental institution known for its high security and its infamous inmates. The picture is from a news reporter with the headline ARKHAM MASS POISONING
"Joker's escape was far more brutal than usually. He killed people escaping from that place before, but it was usually a few security guards and orderlies, and occasionally another inmate. This time he somehow released an immense cloud of poison based on his Joker Venom. There are over a hundred dead, just as many in critical condition, and dozens escaped or missing."
I did notice that one of the missing is Dr. Harleen Frances Quinzel along with her patient Dr. Pamela Lillian Isley known as the eco-terrorist Poison Ivy. Apparently, a more famous psychologist - Doctor Ian Billings – took control of Joker's case from the young genius psychologist and Harley ended up with Poison Ivy's case. Dr. Billing didn't have much time to regret his decision as according to Internet rumor he ended up melted into his own black-and-orange chair.
I have no idea why he believed he could cure the Joker. He was a famous psychologist from Hub city with many award-winning books but he specialized in Hypnotherapy. Did he really thing he could control the mind of Clown Prince of Crime. According to the files, the only reason he left Hub city is because his rich patients meet there ends at the hands of a vigilante.
"There is also the new vigilante in Hub City" I explain to Blackfire, "Some people think the Question has finally snapped and began murdering criminals, but I doubt that. Some people believe there is new gang taking over Hub City, just using the Question's image. Again, I don't think so. There has been no indication of a new crime family rising, just weird monochrome markings showing up at the various crime scenes."
The Images on my smartphone show a wall with one of the markings, a rough circle of pure white paint with pure black symmetrical markings in the center. It looks familiar like that blot test done by psychologists.
"Anything else?" asks Blackfire getting awfully close. I can clearly see the jiggle of her impressive assets and she knows it according her cat-like smirk. I calm myself and click another icon.
A blonde 10-year-old girl with green eyes and short hair. She is dressed in the crown and robe of a monarch, holding a scepter.
"Queen Perdita Vladek, ruler of Eastern European country of Vlantava, was severely ill and would have needed a heart transplant on November 11. Instead, a mysterious hero cured her heart problems and revealed her uncle Count Werner Vertigo's plans. Count Vertigo is now missing."
A wedding photo, according to the background it's taking place in Africa. The groom is a muscular black-eyed black-haired powerhouse of Egyptian descent. The bride is a beautiful dark-skinned African woman with blue eyes and long black hair. The Caption is BLACK ADAM MARRIES QUEEN BEE.
"Black Adam suddenly becomes more powerful, conquers Kahndaq, Qurac, and Bialya, and marries Queen Bee uniting there kingdoms as Greater Bialya."
A picture of a huge crater and men in protective gear exploring it with a Geiger Counters. The news title is "New Nuclear Threat?"
"Oh Shit!" Blackfire is actually shocked at the last one. A nuclear explosion is Big News on a planet like Earth and the fact it was in the same county is disturbing.
"That's It. Someone is Eliminating the Injustice League". Finally realizing what that "scratch" was trying to tell me, "Joker, Poison Ivy, Count Vertigo, Black Adam, Atomic Skull, and I'm betting Wotan was handled by the magic crowd."
Black Canary walks over to me and Blackfire.
"Ash, Blackfire, can you give me a hand with a small problem."
"What kind of problem?"
"Unusual Plant Activity on a small tropical island. Normally we would let other people investigate, but things have been getting crazy recently."
"Unusual Plant Activity. You mean like Poison Ivy?"
"It's possible. The Island is now protected by strange poisonous plant growths. Thankfully your immune to poison and pheromones, and your also in a different class than Ivy."
"You do know I'm not a hero, right? It's not my responsibility to save the world."
"I can still ask a friend for help."
My teacher uses the Friend Card. It's super effective. Damn.
"Fine."
*DOOM*
Near Sparrow Island, Caribbean
October 04, 2010
In the early 18th century, a pirate said to be fleeing angry sea spirits found this small island in the beautiful waters of the Caribbean Sea. It's said the drunken fool was protected by the spirits of the island for a year and a day, before he angered them and was forced to flee.
The Caribbean has more than Seven Hundred islands, islets, reefs and cays. These islands range from the countries of Cuba and Dominican Republic, to private islands owned by the rich and powerful. This is a strange island as it has not been claimed by any country, despite their greed and until the creation of computers and satellites was never found on any map.
It's clear to me that this island is magical. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to contact Zatara and maybe get an idea of what I'm getting myself into. As the Wayne-owned plane flies above Sparrow Island's coast, I jump out the plane. My impressive weight of two hundred eighty kilograms (six hundred seventeen pounds) slams into the ocean and being mostly bone and muscle, I sink like an anchor.
I open my eyes and I see a slowly dispersing cloud of sand and oceanic debris. As it clears, I see the beautiful flora and fauna of the Caribbean Sea. Tropical fish scared by my impact swim far away, but I see sea weed in various shades of green and yellow, colorful forms of corral, and other things I'm not sure about. There are also rotten pieces of wood that could have once been part of a seafaring ship and unfortunately a bit of plastic.
I'm surprised the Atlanteans haven't gone to war with the surface over the sheer amount of plastic and other garbage the land-dwellers dump in the ocean. I did notice environmental protection laws concerning the ocean are far more severe in the DC Universe than back home. I saw a news article about a how tensions between Asia and Atlantis are high (81% of all ocean plastic in the world emanates from countries in Asia.).
I pick up the sun-bleached plastic bottle and walk towards Sparrow Island. It's not easy with my feet sinking in the soft sand and mud. When I'm within ten meters of shore, the bottle disintegrates into glowing green lights. I look carefully and I can see a faint barrier of green particles in the tropic sea water, going from the top of the waves to beneath the sand. I continue walking and eventually emerge on the beach smelling of the brine and sand particles in my soaked white hair.
Suddenly, the air is filled with a cloud of gold-green particles of what I think is pollen. According to Black Canary, the pollen clouds appear when people get close to the forest and cause allergic reactions that get progressive worse if you don't leave.
As I walk off the beach and enter the lush verdant forest, I encounter the island second defense. They are dense hedges of numerous thorny vines, acting like living barbwire. According to the people that escaped, not only are the vine thorns sharp, but the vines themselves are covered in an oil that causes irritation. It's like the unholy love child of a thorny rose bunch and poison oak turned into a hedge maze.
Again, it does nothing to me, other than increasing my need for a shower when I get back.
The civilians that got curious about the island mostly left after the pollen cloud, and the most stubborn left after encountering the poison thorn hedges. They never encountered the third defense.
I'm surprised when one of the trees on the island turns around to reveal it's some sort of plant monster. The walking tree resembles a Treant from Dungeon & Dragon or an Ent from J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy world Middle-earth. It stands roughly four times my height at eight and half meters tall or nearly twenty-eight feet.
I suspected there would be some animated plants since we do suspect Poison Ivy but I was expected giant Venus flytraps looking like rejects from Little Shop of Horrors and pitcher plants with animated vines, not humanoid plant monsters straight out of the works of Fantasy.
It roars at me sound like howling wind in a canopy combined with breaking branches. It roars at me three times and roar back at it at the third time. The monster grabs me with its thick branch hands and lifts my over two-hundred-pound body into the air, ignoring being pierced by the bone spikes. I deliver a couple small punches that do barely more than break off bark before I'm tossed back into the ocean.
It makes me a minute to pull myself out the sand and mud of the sea floor. Then I run towards shore, ignoring the boiling water around me. I continue to charge when I reach the beach, going into the forest, and leap at Tree monster. I deliver a brutal punch with my bone claws extended and the creature lets out a painful streak, as it spins around kicking up dirt and debris trying to dislodge me. Finally, the sharp edges of my claws cut completely through the wood grips and I'm knocked off.
It bleeds a glowing green sap from its slowly healing wound, but it can still fight. It kicks me away when I jump closer, then rams its arm into the ground. I don't have time to wonder what it's doing as its hand emerges from the ground beneath me and grabs my ankle. The creature ignores the steam and smoke caused by contact with strange grey man and the flexible arm bursts from the ground. The Tree whips its branch arm, slamming me into the ground at the speed of sound creating a crater. It continues to thrash me, whipping my body into the ground, into boulders, and through trees before looking down on me with glowing green eyes. Those eyes seem to say "Puny God"
Then it sends me Far out into the Ocean. My speed is so great I skip across the surface of the wave for a moment before sinking deep. I open my eyes to see tropical crab on its back, near my face. I watch as the crab moves in the bubbles generated by the body, then perishes.
I'm seriously getting angry at this animated tree.
I don't run back to the shore; I jump out the ocean with the force of a missile. I land on the beach in front of the Tree with my body covered in branching patterns of fiery red. The sea water is steaming off my body as if touching hot volcanic rock and can feel a hot pulse travelling down my arm. The knuckle spikes glow a burning red, then white hot. I slowly walk towards my victim.
The Tree whips its branches and shoots wooden spikes at me. They are hard and fast enough to pierce steel, but they don't pierce by burning hot hide. They don't even slow me down.
The Tree releases high pressure sprays of a green corrosive liquid. The alkaline chemical could destroy the flesh of most mortals and the pressure is high enough to cut down, but they don't harm me. The attack doesn't even slow me down.
The Tree rams it's arms into the sandy beach, sending it limbs underground to attack me from below. It hopes to slow me down and grab onto me so it can toss me away. I rush forward before it can react and rise. I deliver a single powerful punch with my bone spikes extended as claws. The punch is not meant to do the damage, just provide enough force to push the claws in and inject the red power.
The Tree's glowing green eyes open wide in shock and it's knowing it has lost. It pulls its arms from the ground and almost curls in on itself in pain. I watch as a red glow expands from the injection point, like slowly burning paper. The dark chocolate brown wood covered in dark green moss is replaced with the dry white color of death. The canopy of green leaves that once served as "hair", turn brown and fall away as the branches droop. Moisture leaves the Tree as steam causing it to slowly wither and harden into brittle dead wood. Finally, the mystical green glow of its large eyes fades to nothing.
I deliver a hard punch to the corpse of the Island's Guardian and it shatters into fragments of soon to be Driftwood.
Now calm, I continue my journey into the depths of the forest.
The Island's defenses have lessened since my battle with the Tree Guardian. As I walk deeper into the verdant lush jungle, the place becomes more and more magical. There are colorful lights flowing in the air and strange animals in the shadows. I see strange exotic plants hidden in corners of the forest and I can hear the forest whispering. This island is far older than it should be. It's ancient and filled with secrets of the past. I feel like I have wondered into a Studio Ghibli film.
What I see next takes me breathe away.
I circular clearing in the center of the jungle with an ancient stone structure in the center. A pool or fountain made of ancient stone and filled with sparkling magical water. In the center of the water is a small beautiful tree covered in blooming flowers. Glowing lights dart from flower to flower, and I can guess they are fairies.
There are also two more beautiful beings near the water.
One is a very beautiful Caucasian woman standing five-foot-eight with green eyes and flowing red hair. Her entire body is shade of green with numerous markings resembling vine and flower tattoos. She also has dark green lips and dark green nails. She lies on top of an immense leaf covered by a blanket that serves as her sun chair, soaking in the sun's rays.
The other is a beautiful Caucasian woman standing five-foot-seven with blue eyes and flowing blonde hair dyed blue and pink at the ends. Her skin is extremely pale, almost a flawless white, which I'm surprised isn't burnt from the sun. She is lying on top of a more traditional sunbathing chair and I can see something similar to sun tan lotion.
Both well-endowed women are completely nude and part of me just want to enjoy the magical scene, but I can't stand around all day. I slowly walk closer and announce myself to Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn.
"Hello."
Harley and Pamela jump up with a shout and turn to see me standing there.
"Hey, who are you!?" says Harley, "You shouldn't sneak up on people."
"Could you turn around, while we get dressed." asks Ivy. She isn't actually making an effort to cover herself and I suspect she releasing her pheromones.
"So, you can attack me from behind or make a break for it?" I say with a smirk as I turn around, "Don't worry, I'm just here to ask a few questions. I'm not a hero or villain, I'm just here for a friend."
After a couple minutes, I turn around to see they are now dressed. Poison Ivy is dressed in what resembles a green swim suit with leaf and vine patterns.
Harley's outfit resembles one of the outfits she wore after the Suicide Squad movies came out. A white rocker t-shirt, red/black shorts, choker, and sandals. Must be her Caribbean vacation outfit.
"Explanation?" asks Poison Ivy.
"The League noticed something was strange about this island when a couple of rich kids stumbled onto it. Black Canary sent me because I'm immune to poison and resistant or immune to just about everything else."
"You do look hard as a rock." says Harley, "You got a good look, so what do you think?"
"I saw two very beautiful women in front of what I guess is a Fairy Fountain?"
"You believe in fairies?" asks Ivy not wanting to reveal her secrets.
Suddenly, a green light orb shoots out of the fountain and stops in front of her. Her eyes widen when the little light communicates with her.
"You killed one of the Forest Guardians!?
"We wouldn't stop tossing me into the ocean."
"You managed to kill a Guardian elemental spirit."
"I do have destructive powers."
"Forest Guardians are magical in nature, even if you managed to destroy their physical form, they should have transformed a neighboring tree into their new body. There true bodies exist on the astral plane and can only be affected by magic." rambles Ivy and I didn't know Ivy knew so much about magic, "What the Hell are You!?"
"I'm a binary clone of Superman and Lex Luthor fused with a Kryptonian Super-Virus." I explain without a care, "I am a one-man apocalypse. You can call me Ash Grey the Doomsday."
"Lex and Supes kid? I always knew Luthor was obsessed with Superman, but I didn't think he was nuts enough to make a kid with the man of steel" says Harley.
"I've answered your questions. Now, it's my turn to ask." I say, holding up a pointed finger like I'm Phoenix Wright, "What happened during and after the Arkham Poisoning?"
There explanation contains a lot of answers, but also poses more questions.
Dr. Pamela Isley was sent a mysterious scroll. It just suddenly appeared in her cell while she waiting to meet her new therapist – Dr. Quinzel. The scroll didn't look dangerous, just a piece of parchment. Pamela thought someone just slipped it in while she was sleeping. When she opened it, it said "Ritual of the Green Rebirth" and talked about how one could gain great power over the Green. Ivy was going to explain the Green, but I quickly told her how I aware of different elemental planes. She explained how the scroll burnt into flames and all the knowledge was pushed into her head. That is how she knew about the Green Fairy Spring on this Caribbean Island.
Dr. Quinzel was being convinced by Ivy that she needed to be magically and spiritually cleansed in a place far from modern pollution in order to recover. Due to the scroll, Pamela was able to demonstrate magical abilities unrelated to her metahuman ability to control plants. Dr. Quinzel was almost ready to have Poison Ivy released when Joker released the cloud of poison gas.
In order to save Harley's life, she injected Harley with her own poison, The effects of the two poisons negating each other, leaving her comatose. Pamela escaped with Harley and managed to reach a hideout that hadn't been raided by the police or the Bat. There she injected Harley with a special serum that made her immune to numerous poisons.
"That Serum did a lot more than cure me of Joker's crap and make me able to touch Ivy." explains Harvey, as she does a few impressive acrobatics, "While I was a Gymnast when I was younger, her Serum gave me all kinds of enhanced abilities. I can even breathe underwater."
"So, the bleached skin was a side effect."
"Yup. Fortunately, Ives can make this lotion that prevents me from burning my firm white rear." says Harley slapping her ass, "We have been sunbathing and enjoying a vacation since the ritual was complete."
"So, what did the Ritual do?"
Pamela pales and it's hard to tell if Harley did as well.
Pamela describes finding the island with no map and finding the fountain. She crafted circles of flowers and stones, then sat in center while drinking water from the fountain. When the ritual began, Pamela remembers fire incinerating her and then finding herself in the Green. Her soul was in an ethereal realm of plants and green light, where she encountered the collective minds of the Parliament of Trees. It was like her soul was being purified of human sin. All the angry she had against humanity, all the greed she had towards material things, and all the pain from what she lost with her transformation was washed away by vibrant verdant light.
Harley's description of the ritual was far more horrifying. She watched her friend burn to death inside a glowing green circle unable to help. When the fire ended, all that was left was charged bone and Harley's tears. Then she heard the laughter of fairies and watched as the bones glowed with green sparks. First the bones reformed perfect and flawless, held in proper place by magic. The flourishing young plants grew and wrapped around the bones. Plant fibers became muscle tissue, water became blood, and simulacrums of organs became living organs. Long red hair and skin complete with markings formed last leaving a nude Ivy to awaken.
Harley goes on to describe how Ivy immediately seduced her upon awakening and started describing the sexual acts in detail, when Ivy covers her mouth.
"Is there anything you add about the scroll?"
"Not that I can remember. It was a pale beige parchment scroll tied with a red wax seal, but no signet mark. After I read part of it, it burnt itself to ash with green flame, and all the knowledge was absorbed." says Pamela, then her eyes widen, "I do remember after the scroll vanished, I heard a Ping sound like notification on a phone."
That sounds familiar and can I feel the claws back in my mind.
"I'm heading back."
"You're not going to arrest us"
"Dr. Quinzel, you are still Dr. Isley's psychologist, despite being more skin bleached than Michael Jackson. The only crime you are guilty of is not filling the paperwork for Isley's release, which can be forgiven because you were half dead!" I explain arms outstretched, "Ivy you escaped to save the life of your friend from one of the deadliest poisons on Earth, that Heroic. I was sent to investigate by Black Canary and I found a psych treating her patient. The only crime being a doctor having sex with her patient. A crime I don't give a damn about."
I get a quick kiss from both women, then I head back to the beach to signal pick up.
*DOOM*
Back at the Training Facility
October 06, 2010
"Seriously!?"
"Serious. Poison Ivy is better off reforming in the Caribbean that in a piece of shit like Arkham. That ritual was clearly the Green at work and those Arkham doctors don't have a clue with normal inmates, let alone avatars of the elemental planes"
I made my report to Black Canary and she informed Batman. Batman talked to Doctor Fate concerning the Green. Apparently, the New Doctor Fate also agreed that Poison Ivy is now under magic authority.
I just told the facts to Blackfire.
"I wonder why people put money in this Arkham place when they clearly don't do a good job?"
"It's probably because nobody wants to deal with them. Arkham inmates are the worst of the worst and nobody but the most obsessed and greedy are willing to deal with them."
There is an alarm and Black Canary comes running in with a remote. She clicks it and a live video begins to play on one of the display screens.
"We found out what happened to Joker."
On the screen, Joker the Clown Prince of Crime is strapped to an electric chair inside an industrial complex. The windows are covered by metal shutters and the lights are the ones illuminating Joker's pasty white face and the emergency warning lights. The chair appears to be rigged on a catwalk next to a tank of industrial acid.
Joker doesn't look very healthy. He was always a rail thin man standing an impressive 196 cm (6'5) with green eyes, slick green hair, and blood red lips. He looks even thinner and sickly in his dark purple and green suit with dark gloves. It looks like gloves are burnt and melted around his damaged fingers and Jaw is badly bruised if not broken.
He's sitting in a modified electric chair that looks like it was made in Kentucky. Joker is strapped to the chair by many bands, around his neck, chest, upper arms, wrists, waist, upper legs, and ankles, not allowing any form of movement. There is no chance to escape and the metal cap is secured to Joker's head.
A figure walks into view of the camera holding a small black remote. It's a small man only standing a hundred sixty-eight centimeters (5'6), but Joker looks very scared of him. He's dressed in beige trench coat of a noir detective, but his mask is unmistakable. A faceless mask of pure white with ever shifting symmetrical patterns of pure black.
"Rorschach."
Rorschach, real name Walter Joseph Kovacs, was the most feared vigilante in the Watchmen series who never compromised. I read the comic, watched the motion comic, and watched the live film, so I know the character. I also know what kind of damage he can do to the dc universe due to the crossovers of the brilliant MadHat886.
I stare at what I know to be Joker's Execution.
Rorschach holds up the black remote with three buttons.
"Last words" he says, his voice distorted by a device under his scarf.
"Fuck you, Dork Knight!" spits out Joker along with a little blood.
He clicks the first button.
Joker is electrocuted by the power boosted chair. It's clearly too much electricity as it arcs across the Joker's twitching body. Joker survives a lot longer than anybody should be able to as his nervous system is destroyed, his heart is burnt, and his brain is cooked. Even Jokers eyes melt out of there sockets.
The Joker begins to burn. I can't narrow down the precise cause as it could be his oily makeup, the cheap material of his ugly suit, or the traces of the chemicals used to brew his poisons and explosives. The green hair burns away, as skin begins to drip like melted plastic.
The masked vigilante waves his hand in front of his face as if to drive away the smell of Joker's death, which I imagine must be disgusting.
A moment later he raised his boot-clad foot and struck the back of the chair, tipping it over the railing and tossing it wholesale into the vat of acid. There is a faint scream as if Joker is once more trying to cheat death, but this time death will have its prize. Bones rises to the surface of the bubbling greenish-yellow chemicals, before they also dissolve.
It takes me a couple seconds to let the facts settle in. I just watched the death of the Joker at the hands of man dressed as Rorschach. Part of me is very happy as I hate Joker and would have gladly killed him if given a chance. The other part is worried about this vigilante and what he could do.
"Ash!" says Black Canary, getting my attention, "You said his name was 'Rorschach.' What do you know about him?"
"Walter Joseph Kovacs was born on March 21, 1940, the son of Sylvia Kovacs, who was a prostitute, and an unknown father only known to Kovacs as "Charlie". His mother was frequently abusive and condescending towards him. In July 1951, at the age of 11, Kovacs became involved in a violent fight with two older bullies, and subsequently his living conditions were finally looked into..."
I've read and watched the backstory many times and I possess enhanced memory due to my bizarre body brain.
"In March 1964, Kovacs read about the rape and murder of Kitty Genovese, who he believed was the Italian woman who had rejected the dress. Ashamed by what he read about the unresponsiveness of her neighbors; Kovacs became disillusioned with the underlying apathy that he saw as inherent in most people. This was the birth of Rorschach as he donned a mask made of the dress."
Black Canary is taking in the story at lot easier than Kovacs own psychologist, who had been broken by the horrors and nearly ruined his marriage before his death.
"In 1975, an investigation into the kidnapping of a young girl named Blair Roche led to the transformation of the "soft" Kovacs into the ruthlessly uncompromising Rorschach. The daughter of a bus driver, mistaken for the daughter of a rich industrialist, was kidnapped. Walter found the man and learned he had killed and dismembered the girl, feeding her to his two dogs. Rorschach killed the dogs then handcuffed the criminal - Gerald Grice – to a stove and soaked the house in kerosine. He left the man a hacksaw and set the place ablaze. Grice didn't make it out."
Blackfire looks a bit horrified at the examples of human cruelty. She and Starfire have been learning about human history including the blood-soaked history of World War II (over 70 million dead in six years). It's a little different to listen to gruesome stories of true crime, which are far more personal, not just stats. The same would be true if you heard the story of Auschwitz from a survivor instead of just hearing about the over 1.1 million men, women and children lost their lives there.
"He removes his mask and demands that Manhattan to 'do it". Rorschach never compromised even in the face of nuclear Armageddon. Rorschach's journal eventually exposed the truth, leading the citizens of New York to rally against Ozymandias, while the United States faces an inevitable nuclear war. Reggie Long, son of Kovacs's prison psychologist Dr. Malcolm Long, later takes on the Rorschach mantle after being driven insane by Veidt's monster. This became important during the Doomsday Clock."
"Doomsday Clock? A comic Event?" asks Blackfire. I had long ago told Starfire, Blackfire, and Raven about me coming from a universe where they were fictional characters. They took the news surprisingly well. Starfire enjoyed the fact she was Hero, Thoe she is surprised she marries Robin/Dick Grayson. Blackfire doesn't like losing to her sister, but is happy she became Queen in several timelines. Raven was just Happy she her father, the Demon Lord Trigon, died so many times.
"It was an event in DC Comics in which Doctor Manhattan altered the time stream as an experiment. As a result, the Justice Society never formed and the modern world was turning against superhumans similar to how it was the Watchmen universe. Arriving via dimensional travel, Reggie Long went to Batman for help, only for Batman to betray him and send him to Arkham Asylum, while Ozymandias went to Lex Luthor. After a talk with Superman, Manhattan regains his sense of hope and reverses his previous actions by destroying and recreating the DC Universe. It was a general happy ending with him destroying the nukes in his home universe and Ozy ending up in prison."
"Thank you" says Black Canary, "Rorschach's backstory should help the League deal with him."
"I wouldn't be so sure." I reply making her eyebrow arc, "I realized it while talking to you. This Rorschach isn't Walter or Reggie. The first Rorschach was a violent and ruthless vigilante who is driven by moral absolutism, uncompromising in the face of Death and Armageddon. He was very straight to the point and not into dramatics and showmanship. He would have killed Joker and tossed him like so much garbage, not set up cameras. Reggie was only Rorschach because he was tricked into believing due to Ozy."
I look at the image of the man in the Rorschach mask.
"In order to adopt this image. this is someone who knows about other worlds. To possess otherworldly knowledge like me."
*DOOM*
Watchtower - Justice League Satellite HQ
October 08, 2010
Teleportation – the instantaneous travel between two locations without crossing the intervening space.
In this universe, there are several forms of transport that fall under teleportation.
There are artificial wormholes that connect to distant points in spacetime decreasing the distance by bypassing the curvature of space. Zeta Beam technology and the Boom Tubes used by those of Apokalip and New Genesis are examples of this technology.
There are dimensional shifters, those that travel by using another dimension as a shortcut. Sometimes called Hyper Space or Slip Space, travelling a small distance inside the dimensions equates to much longer distant in Real space. This is one of the main methods of FTL (faster than light) space travel, other than warping spacetime around the space ship.
Finally, there are matter-energy transfer units which breakdown the target object into their component particles and reassemble them at the target location. This is method mostly used to transport non-living materials as sentient species don't like the idea of being disintegrated and a clone being crafted from your atoms.
The last one is rarely used, so sensors don't alarm when it's used. The Justice League are having a meeting around a circular table, when an odd sound is heard. They watch as swirling glowing particles appear in the center of the table. They swirl like glitter in water and the League watches an object phase into existence. Then the particles of light fade.
"What the Fuck?"
In the center of the table is a DVD box set. The title is Injustice: Gods Among Us: The complete Animated Series and the graphic on the front is Batman and Superman running towards each other in battle with Batman's fist glowing a Kryptonite green and Superman mid-firing his heat vision. In the background is a smiling face of the Joker with angry Flash and Green Lantern (Hal) on the right and angry Wonder Woman and Cyborg on the left. They guess he's Cyborg (Victor Stone) because he matches Ash's description. The box set is wrapped in a bow stained with dried blood, which Batman recognizes as the deceased Joker's bowtie.
Batman scans the boxset with a device in his cowl, then turns to Doctor Fate. Doctor Fate waves his hand over the box set scanning for danger before nodding. Satisfied it isn't a disguised bomb loaded with radioactive glitter or loaded with six million curses, Batman picks it up and examines it. He turns it over and reads the back.
"Based on the hit video games and comics, the story is brought to life"
Eyebrows are raised.
"In a parallel universe, the Joker tricks Superman into killing his pregnant wife Lois Lane and detonating a nuclear weapon that destroys Metropolis, killing millions of people. Mad with grief and rage, Superman murders the Joker, quickly losing his moral compass. See the beginning of Superman's Regime, and the ensuing war between the two factions that leaves the Justice League disbanded. See Batman's solution in another world. See the events between 1 & 2."
Superman is very pale at those words and the rest of the League is not any better.
He opens the box set to reveal a set of DVDs each with different graphics of heroes fighting and marked with different season number. There is as a case marked Soundtrack and a Netflix Animation Art Book for Injustice.
Batman looks at a sticker whose logo is very similar to Rorschach's Blot only it's yellow and green instead of black and white.
"As seen on Interdimensional Cable"
Batman comes to a decision, "Call in Ash Grey. He might have a better idea about this event. I want to know why and how Rorschach managed to get this package on the Watchtower."
*DOOM*
One Hour Later.
"Interdimensional Cable!? Are you fucking serious!? Just when I thought it couldn't get worse! Fuck you, writer. Just have a Rorschach wannabe was bad enough, but now we have someone that is Rick Smart!?"
"Please calm down." asks Wonder Woman, while Flash tells me to "Chill".
"What do you mean by Rick Smart?" asks Bats
"In another set of universes, there is a man called Rick Sanchez and he's the smartest man in those universes. Rick smart is absurdly smart and Interdimensional Cable was one of his earlier creations that allowed him to watch any channel in the multiverse."
"That sounds cool." says Flash.
"Cool? It sounds cool on the surface, but then you realize the horrific applications Infinite channels means Infinite, as in access to any universe's media. CW's Flash series is broadcasted and suddenly all your Rogues know who you are and where your family is. Some channel plays a Batman film and the next day Wayne manor is blown to bits. There is probably a universe where Circe conquered the Amazons and turned them into stars on a Porn channel."
Flash looks horrified at the thought. Batman looks angry as usually. Wonder Woman looks a little red in the face.
"The bigger problem is the mind behind it. Rick Smart is absurdly smart, abandoning reason and turning the universe into your playground level of Smart." I say to the League, beginning to rant as I remember the Rick & Morty show in vivid detail, "Rick created a micro-universe and enslaved its inhabitants just to serve as a car battery. He created an artificial world inside a pocket dimension to be his psychotic daughter's playground. He removes curses from items crafted by the Devil and nearly drove the Devil to suicide."
Eyes widen in disbelief. I'm not done.
"To prove how worthless a group of galactic super heroes are, he killed a galactic conqueror and his army of doom. Then he set up traps like the movie SAW, all while blackout drunk. To get out of therapy he once turned himself into a pickle, built himself a mech suit using rat and cockroach parts when he was washed into the sewer, and slaughtered a facility filled with foreign government agents using super weapons fashioned from office supplies. This includes a tiny laser cannon capable of burning a hole through the heads of three people at the same time powered by double-a batteries."
I drink some water, I don't need it but I feel like it.
"The guy sells Anti-Matter Pistols to hired assassins so he can spend the money at Blips and Chitz!"
"Blips and what?", asks Flash.
"Alien 'Dave and Buster's'; TRY to keep up...!"
Dave and Buster's? Where did that come from? I never heard of that place! Must be an American franchise.
"The most impressive thing they accomplished was the Central Finite Curse, they literally sealed off universes where they are the smartest being from the rest of the multiverse. The literally cut an infinite number worlds from infinity. "
"Incoming Call"
My rants about Rick Sanchez are interrupted by a call from Captain Atom.
The Justice League is grateful for the distraction as the feats of Rich Sanchez were pushing their stress levels up.
A video call video opens to reveal Captain Nathaniel C. Adams in the glow-eye silver-skinned form he has had since he emerged from the Quantum field in 2006. Thirty-eight years prior he was forced to participate in an experiment in order to acquire a pardon for a crime he didn't commit. The former soldier is now trapped as radioactive energy inside of an alien metal shell.
Next to him is John Stewart, the second Green Lantern of Earth (not including the unofficial lantern Alan Scott of the Justice Society). John Stewart was also in the military, a member of the U.S. Marine Corps, and later became an architect. He became a Green Lantern in 2007, and was inducted in the Justice League in 2008.
In the background is Rorschach casually sitting on a reclining chair like a King sitting on a Throne; if kings used foot rests. I can't see the man's face with the white-and-black mask, but I can tell he is smiling.
"Rorschach send us a message to us, giving us his location and had me and Atom meet him at this factory. He also called numerous police officers and promised not to attack or flee any of them. If we listened to him peacefully. "
"What did he say?"
"It's a tradeoff. I kill Joker, Superman doesn't turn into 'King of Earth Superman' with the stupid Pope hat." Replies Rorschach on the throne.
"Why haven't you arrested him?"
"We uh... We... can't."
"Yeah, see, I got a little something from your current President," Rorschach replied as he pulled a laminated sheet of paper from his coat and waved it about. It was crisp and white bearing the President's seal, for all intents and purposes looking like the most-patriotic piece of paper ever conceived. "So, you know, fuck you guys~"
"That explains why he called two ex-soldiers." I say while the jaws of the League are dropped. "Care to explain Ink Blot?"
"You must be Ash Grey the Doomsday. I have been wanting to meet you for a long time" says Rorschach, "To answer your inquiry, I saved the life of the President while I was out on a walk."
"A walk?" Flash asks with a raised brow.
"A very enthusiastic 'walk'," he replies cattily. "Anywho, a group of middle-eastern terrorist shitbags led by a Meta with mind-control powers gets into the White House. They were going to execute him in the Oval Office on live television to demoralize 'a corrupt and heretical America'," he said mockingly making air quotes. "Long story short, I killed them all and the President owes me. Short story long, I saved the President's life because America is where I keep all my stuff and I'm very 'anti-terrorist', and the man says he needs people 'like me' to take care of the worst of the worst and clear up a really ugly To-Do list."
Kill Orders. In Wildbow's series, a Kill Order is a document issued by the PRT allowing for the murder of a cape with no legal repercussions. A rarely wielded tool, a kill order brings society's wrath down onto its target. The kind of people that get kill orders are those that violate the rules – those that commit mass murder of innocent, those that go after the civilian lives of a hero or villain attacking friends and family, those that use excessive mind control, those that create technological or biological minions capable of reproduction, etc...
Joker was one of the worst super villains as he was completely unpredictable and was willing to go after anyone for his own exertainment. In one timeline he kidnapped Commissioner James Gordon after shooting Barbara Gordon in the spine, torturing the man and even showing him photos of his shot daughter stripped naked. In another timeline, he beat Robin number 2 – Jason Todd - with a crowbar then killed him with an explosion. In another timeline, he tortured a young Robin - Tim Drake – into a miniature version of himself and even implanted his mind into the boy to be reborn later. If the government was going to make a list of villains that need to die – Joker would be at the very top.
The reactions of Justice League members are amused to me. Aquaman and Wonder Woman understand the situation the best as they are royalty and understand the politics. The needs of many out weights the needs of the few and one who possess a threat to many must be eliminated for the sake of the many.
Martian Manhunter seems to understand, the death penalty is rare on Mars, but some of their criminals are too dangerous for simple life imprisonment. Green Lantern (Hal) was a military fighter pilot and understands the need to eliminate threats Tho he severely disliked the idea.
Superman and Batman have the worst reactions. Superman is big blue boy scout, the symbol of truth, justice, and American way. He's an immigrant who believes in the good in America, so he doesn't like to think about the darker side of America. The President ordering the secret deaths of people, even super villains, cracks his image. Batman believes in hope that his parents believed in. He believes in change and the victory of good over evil, despite living in a city drenched in evil. The President ordering the deaths of criminals make him feel like everything he stands for is being rejected.
Both Superman and Batman walk out of the room.
*DOOM*
[Somewhere classified]
It was late night when I got a message, asking me to meet him. He even reprogrammed a Zeta Tube to send me to him.
I walk up to Rorschach and he raises his hand. At first, I think it's in greeting, or telling me to stop, but then he starts tapping something I can't see, even with my super-human senses.
The next moment a black square window with green lettering appeared in front of me.
[Friend Request from [Rorschach]]
[Yes/No]
I click [Yes] and my view of the world changes. Hit Points, Skill Points, Stamina, a Directional Bearing Indicator; everything you'd expect to find in a videogame HUD and more.
Above Rorschach's head, I see a Title.
[Rorschach – The Gamer]
Squinting my eyes, more information appears beside him.
[Real Name: Unavailable]
[NewMystery356]
"No way..."
"Way~" the man behind the mask grinned. We never met in-person in our original world, so I don't know if this is his original voice or not. "So... How are things?" he asks in an infuriatingly-cryptic tone.