Justice League: The Other Side [IC]

[Stein]

Justice League: The Other Side

In Character | Out of Character | Characters

It was the death heard round the world. Around the galaxy. Around the universe.

The death that almost stopped time itself. Panicked voices whispered. Malicious voices plotted. Heroic voices sobbed. And all voices spoke it aloud at least once.

"The Man of Steel is no more."

The only solace that one might take from this death was that he died heroically. A death that honored him. But it still didn't change the fallout that ensued. There was chaos that ensued from this power vacuum, on both the sides of villains and heroes alike. Villains vyying for control and heroes desperately trying to squash them. The main problem was that where the villains were invigorated by the death of the Kryptonian, the heroes were exhausted mentally and emotionally. If a man like Kal-El could be bested by the scum of the universe, what chance did the rest of them have?

Criminal masterminds started using this vacuum as an opportunity to organize it seemed. They were gathering and lobbing assaults on major cities and governments. The casualty counts of the innocents seemed to be on the rise every day.

With their countries falling around them and nothing they could do, the United Nations did the one thing they could. They made a call to one of the greatest minds on Earth. The Dark Knight.

With the help of the Worlds Greatest Detective and the Martian Manhunter, they began to devise a plan. Divided, the heroes of Earth were weak when compared to the forces of evil. They had no support system, and it seemed like it was each man against the world. But by bringing them together under a central hub and name, things could change. Maybe, just maybe, justice would begin to have a fighting chance. With the Manhunters superior poise and diplomacy and the Batman's connections and intelligence and government resources, they were able to lay the foundation for their last hope.

A group of heroes that could work together to combat evil. A team that could stand up to the greatest foes plaguing not only the Earth, but the universe. A league of heroes.

The Justice League.

The room was dark, except for the faint glow of a terminal.

The room, silent. Save for the clicking of keys as they flew over the keyboard.

Bruce Wayne had been up for hours putting the finishing touched on his latest security system. It went along perfectly with his latest project. His greatest project to date.

The Watchtower.

Of course, he couldn't take all the credit. Some schematics from alien technology and the like had to be compiled, but not much. And of course, he had financed it with only a small portion of government backing.

He'd been toiling for weeks now, finishing the security program that was to go with it. Ignoring sleep, most food and water, and all contact with the outside world save for one pesky annoyance that wouldn't quit.

"Bruce. You must take time to rest. Your mind is near ready to sleep on its own. It might possibly leave your head just to have a rest."

"J'onn, we've been over this. The Watchtower doesn't go up unless everything, and I mean everything is going smoothly. That includes a security program. Now, you could force me to stop. But I doubt that would be in either of best interests."

The Martian Manhunter, who had appeared in the room, sighed lightly as he fazed out of the room again. He knew it was futile to argue with The World's Greatest Detective when he was in this mode. It would be like a regular human trying to move a mountain on his own. It just wouldn't be done. J'onn was no fool. Batman would never admit it, but he was burying himself in his work. Something he did when the world became too close to something that could affect him. Kal-El had been one of his closest comrades. Bruce had respected him. J'onn suspected that it reminded Bruce of how mortal Bruce himself was.

He floated down the hall of the Watchtower to wait patiently as Bruce finished the last touches on the security system. While he waited, he could at least get things underway.

The point of all this was simple: with the death of the Man of Steel, the world needed something to believe in again. The idea had been tried before to start a group of superhuman's to act as the worlds defense, but it had crumbled. Maybe, just maybe this time they'd be able to make this work. The applicants they'd chosen either had some connection to the original group, had been in it themselves, or even had connections to Superman himself.

Though....there were two people the Manhunter still had concerns about. Bruce had absolutely insisted on them though. He'd said they'd want to be part of a group that would pick up where Superman left off.

"Bruce, what you fail to realize is vengeance isn't the only driving force a loved one can have for one who has fallen," J'onn had said. "And it isn't something that's good to rely on."

Of course, Bruce had only scowled and looked away, drafting up the message to them anyway.

"Kara and Lois," J'onn muttered, as if simply saying their names would fix the situation. He had faith in them, but still had doubts in their emotional state.

He made his way to his destination: the console that would activate the beacons to the Watchtower. J'onn had personally given them to each and every individual that they had decided on to invite to the League. Better him than Bruce who had a more.....abrupt and cold nature to him. He'd given them strict instructions regarding it. It was very much a Red Pill/ Blue Pill scenario. They'd had a few weeks to ponder the opportunity and when the device he'd given them, a seemingly simple ring. The concept was simple, when the time came to give an answer, the ring would pulse all around, giving off a slightly warm light and sensation. Very discrete. The user had simply to touch it in a safe area, and two holographic square panels would appear. One read, one blue. The blue one would cause the ring to envelope them in hard-construct light bubble that after 5 seconds would warp them to the main deck of the Watchtower. The red one would simply cause the ring to shut down and the stone inside of it to lose its color, all the technology self-destructing within it. At that point, the user could do whatever they wanted to with it.

As he approached the console it hummed softly, as if it had become sentient and was awaiting this moment.

It was at that moment that his earpiece beeped. It was Bruce.

"Alright," came the gruff voice, "I've finally finished it, J'onn. Everything is in place and ready to go. Are you ready?"

"I'm quite appalled that you've even had the audacity to ask that question," the Martian told him, eliciting the first genuine chuckle from Batman that he'd heard in a long time.

"How could I have been so foolish? Send the call and meet me at the main deck to greet our guests........If we have any." Bruce finished the last part of that sentence with legitimate worry, the same thing J'onn had. But regardless, he pressed the series of buttons, sending the call, and made his way to the main deck. Patiently awaiting to see who would answer the call to Justice.

----------------------------------------------------

In another part of the world, or hell, maybe another dimension a purple glow lit the face of a young woman. Even though she was beautiful, her eyes betrayed her. They told of the power she held and the knowledge she was cursed with. They were older than herself, having seen things no man should see. But they still had many glints of a youthful spirit that couldn't be broken. A spirit that's greatest strength wasn't the power that she held in magic, but the power she held in determination.

That was the life of Doctor Fate, or as she was still known to many as, Zatanna Zatara, Magician extraordinaire.

She seemed to be in a trance as she stared at a crystal ball that gave off the purple glow. Something was troubling her, but she couldn't pinpoint what it was. There was a disturbance in the dimension. It was small, but persistent, and for the life of her, she couldn't pinpoint where it was coming from. Her father would probably chastise her for her inability to find the source of this disturbance.

"Dammit ball!" She cursed as her eyes began to glow with energy and she focused on the floating orb once more, "Reveal to me the rift in our space. Show me the trouble that brews on the border of our reality. Reveal it to me!" She gazed in to the orb, but it showed nothing.

"I swear on all gods and fates that I will destroy you one day......as soon as you stop alerting me to sales at my boutiques," she added on as she waved the ball away. It disappeared with a small pop. She concentrated briefly and she was back in her study. Or her father's study. Or....the study of the Fates. Whatever, she couldn't keep track.

She was just about sit down and relax to flit through a few tomes when she felt something. At first she thought it was an enemy. Her palms glowed as she whirled around, only to find no one. Looking down, she noticed her ring finger.

The beacon! The beacon J'onn had given her. It was glowing.

"Wait.....holy--It's actually glowing!" She exclaimed, looking at her hand. She'd known the time would come, but now that it was here.....she was nervous.

But, a Fate never backed down when help was needed. They never took the back burner when the world needed them. And the world, -nay, the universe - definitely needed her.

She gingerly touched the ring and watched as the two holographic square panels appeared. Without missing a beat, she laid her hand gingerly on the blue square and watched as she was engulfed.....and then transported.

The next thing she knew, she was in a different place, which didn't surprise her, she was used to warping. What did surprise her, however, was the view. As she turned, her view wasn't of the sky, a city, a cave, lava, or even underwater. It was the Earth. She was looking at the Earth.

"Of course you'd be the first," she heard a familiar voice. Whirling around she was met by the Batman himself.

"And of course you still have a flair for the dramatic Brucey. Space though? You seem to have outdone yourself this time. Though....I must say," Zatanna whirled around to take in her scenery, "it's quite nice."

"It's good to see you again Zatanna....or should I call you...?" Bruce started, a smile playing on his lips.

"Doctor Fate? Yes, you could call me that if it suits you, peasant," Zatanna said with a wave of her hand. "But! I'll always be a stage magician," at this point she bowed and took off her hat, a flock of doves flying out, "at heart."

Zatanna always had a way of getting through to Bruce where others couldn't. He didn't know how she did it, but she hadn't seemed to change much.

"Ah! Zatanna Zatara!" The Martian Manhunter appeared behind her, a smile on his face.

"J'onn, it's good to see you," Zatanna said with a smile as she hugged him.

"Now, where's everyone else!?"

[benjaminrk]

If Clark had had a choice this had not been the way he would have told Kara he was no more.
It had been a cheerful morning and barefooted she had walked out into the rich and warm sunshine to get the newspaper. As her eyes found an old picture of Clark in his proud costume she saw the headline.

Then everything went to ash...

The paper had literately turned to ash in her hand and so had the ground beneath it, and everything else her eyes had been on. Lasersight was never a power she had been able to control much, and mostly came when she was angry or upset, and at that time it had burned greater then ever.
Kara had screamed “NO!” repeatedly, and suddenly left the ground beneath her in an explosion of dirt and small rocks. Up into the air uncontrollably she had gone while screaming at the top of her lungs. Her morning pajamas danced by the powerful wind hitting her as she had continued higher and higher like a rocket launching from earth. She had went past birds and clouds until there was nothing but the cold air left around her and all she could see was her own breath. Then she could fly no more, and as icing started to form in her hair she let go, closed her eyes and fell.
She hadn't cared about anything anymore. Like a shooting star she had fall down through the air. But then she had heard a voice calling her name. It sounded familiar and friendly, as if someone actually cared whether or not she hurt herself. Then finally she tried to stop. As the ground had come closer and closer she had tried to stop herself from falling.
Then a paralyzing pain followed by a enormous explosion happened, and she knew she had stopped.
In a small crater she helplessly lied quite still. Sore, defeated and feeling broken she lied.

Blood!..

Down her forehead a small stream of blood had run. Clark never bled. There wasn't a single force on Earth that could make him bleed. Yet Kara couldn't even fall down without hurting herself. She hated herself for being so helpless, alone and unable to follow Clark on his best day.
Martha Kent had arrived shortly after that. She had been strong; for Kara she had been strong as she stepped down in the crater in the middle of the cornfield and hugged Kara.

A short time had past by and suddenly another visitor on Earth came to the Farm. A being who called himself J'onn. Kara was surprisingly not startled by him, as she had already heard enough stories and seen enough pictures to know there were other living civilizations than just Earthlings and Kryptonians in the Universe. He told her of a global force for good being assembled; an idea that could become something greater than even The Man of Steel himself. Despite the overwhelming responsibility he offered her, he had a way to make it seem possible and easy. He left with the words “I am sorry for your loss”.

The first couple of days were a confusing time for Kara. She had been brought to Earth by Clark. Raised by Martha and him and taught about Earth and her own powers for a little over a year. But never had she been out into the real world on her own. Now there was this huge thing; a kind of a military project, that people wanted her to be part of, and Clark wasn't even there to guide her.
But it was in that time she made her first grown up choice: She was gonna leave the farm and take on this initiative, and she would do it for Clark. Though still having doubts, she told Martha about this, and she told her she was gonna leave the next day; leave and experience the world. If she was really gonna defend it, she needed to understand it first. No more books and newspapers, Kara needed to see it for herself.

“Where will you go?”. It was early morning the next day. Martha had packed Kara's bags and stood with her in the entrance. Orange dimmed light peaked in through the windows.

“South. Following the main road. Past Smallville and wherever the sun leads me”. Kara was wearing a thin jacket, sneakers and jeans.

The old woman made a warm smiled; a smile of pride. This was the second child she had seen grow up. And the determination in Kara's eyes told Martha she HAD now grown up. “I made you something”. Martha pulled out a package made by recycled paper with strings tied around it. “I want you to open it. You will know when”.
“What is it?” Kara asked almost as a reflex.
Her step-mom made a pause. “Something the world needs” She finally answered. She gently put a hand on Kara's shoulder. “I know trying to follow in Clark's footsteps is a big burden. But... just remember: he experienced puberty too, he had doubts too, he made mistakes and he had limits too. Maybe you will never become The Man of Steel, but I can tell you: You are already well on your way to become a lot smart than he ever was, and with this strange new force being put together, you might be able to do more good than Clark ever could dream of. You are the last of a wise and noble race, remember that when exorcizing your great powers Kara, remember it always”.

Kara swung her arms around the woman. She had learn how to hug people passionately without hurting them. She then said her goodbyes, put on the ring she had gotten and flew off with her gear.
With the wind in her face she swam through the clouds like a fish in the ocean, while fields and buildings were as little as ants beneath her. When Smallville was far behind her. She flew down. Her landings were rarely graceful, but there were no one around to startle as she collided. Then her travel went on foot. Slowly she followed the road like any earth girl.

“The rock you can carry should always be left untouched Kara”.

She remember those words; the words spoken by Clark as he taught her.
On her journey she learned more about the world than both Martha and Clark had ever been able to explain. She learned about the kindness from the person next to you, as truck drivers stopped in the middle of nowhere and offered her a ride. She learned rationalise food and water and plan 2 steps ahead. And she learned humility as she faced a mountain taller than she had ever seen, and decided to climb it the old fashion way. On the edge of the hard rock she looked like any other mountain climber, besides the fact she had no safety gear, was carrying 2 big stuffed bags and still didn't break a sweat.
At the great mountain's peek she sat quite still. With her eyes closed she processed all her thoughts. It was at that time she remembered the package Martha had given her. It felt so long ago she had gotten it. Her hand reached for the bag, and in it she found the gift she had gotten. As the papers was carefully removed the red and blue colors clearly stood out. It was a costume. Like the one Martha had made for Clark. It looked like his to remind the world of him. But with enough of Kara in it to make it her own. The strong light from the sun almost made it shine as she held it up. This brought the first smile on Kara's lips in a long time. She was ready now.
In her new outfit she stayed at the peek for days. She slept when she needed to and ate when she felt like it.
The fellow life in the sky started to grown accustom to her, and soon thereafter a white eagles landed in front of her. It looked at her, and she looked at it.
Then the ring on her finger suddenly cast out a small warmth. It was time. As the eagle flew off gracefully she followed it with her eyes. Then she stood up, grabbed her bags and pressed the ring. A strange kind of hologram panel appeared, one blue button and one red. She was prepared for this and pressed the blue without further hesitation.

And then everything changed. Before she knew it she wasn't staring down into a stone mountain, she was staring down into all mountains, all seas and absolutely everything you could find on one half of Earth.
This came as a huge shock to her and in a second her bags were thrown from her body as she tossed out her hand and felt it slam against some kind of super hardened glass. A giant rumbling sounded as the big window and her palm collided, but the glass didn't get a scratch. For a few seconds she stood as if she was a statue. Then she turned around a bit nervous and looked upon 3 figures standing to greet her. At least that was what she hoped they were there for. She recognized J'onn, but he no idea who the others were.
“H-hello...”. She waved her hand and forced a smile, meanwhile backing up against the glass.

And this was the first step into the Justice League...

[Knighthawk]

Lalo wore one ring and only one ring. He had absorbed the technology from the ring given to him by the Martian for later and spent his time traveling the planet, African continent country of Bialya and 'exercising' by way of learning the techniques and technology the planet had to offer.

"If you ever want to learn of a people, learn them at their worst, learn of them when they fight. What are they capable of when they strip themselves of their humanity to demonize them beyond recognition or minimize the enemy to mere numbers? Know them at their worst so you can help them become their best."

Such as it was that he engaged either side with barely any use of his ring, but relying on experience and ability over raw powers to learn all he could. He used his ring for translations and encyclopedic knowledge most of the time, such as what a Kryptonian was from the Oa data banks as to why this superman was so special. When the Martian came to him, he offered him a chance to be more than just a guardian of space, but to be a guardian to humanity.

Now he knew more of the situation when his ring activates the assimilated systems and produced the two boxes on a projected construct, Sadly this was right in the middle of him sneaking around a munitions dump. Thoroughly screwed, he activated the blue function as a dozen soldiers opened fire on his position. He disappeared in a ball of light with only a grenade pin as a souvenir out of a whole crate that was beside him.

Looking around he found himself in a space station and quickly formed his costume of ionized air, ready for a mission.

"Green lantern reporting for duty."

[FutaNeko0200]

Lois Lane, Ace reporter, or at least she was until these powers kicked back in. She didn't know how nor why, but she knew there was a reason for her having them. Which was part of the reason she took her leave of absence with Chloe Sullivan. Taking that time to look at her life, and put these powers under control. These powers taken directly from Superman's own DNA. Probably the only part of Superman left on this plane of existence. It was within her, the powers of the Man of Steel, or at least what she had developed. She was basically, as Chloe had put it, a flying Tank that could blow really hard. She had almost hit Chloe for that one.

It was near the end of her leave that she was approached by the Martian Manhunter, told that the heroes since superman's death had been vying for control of the planet, trying to keep the peace but were failing. She knew this fact, she could see it in the Televisons and the papers. She was given the opportunity to help, but didn't have to pick at that time. She in-fact had not wanted to help, but was told to keep the ring while she decided, told that, she would know when the time to make her decision would come. It was after she returned that she made the decision to try and help keep things civil. First in the best way she knew how as a reporter, but it was after she made her first heroic rescue that she decided to take on a better role, the role that had been layed in front of her. She donned the costume, made for her by Superman, and took to the streets of a wild Metropolis, doing what she could by herself to help the streets. But even with all that power and energy it wore on her quickly.

It was today right after work that the ring glowed softly, and pulsated. Was this it? Was it time? She decided to take a walk, a few blocks down and duck into an alley where she touched the ring. The ring sent out a hologram, a blue and red square. "Very Matrix-esque. And here i thought he didn't have a sense of humor." She looked at the squares, thinking on what had happened to her over the couple years, the time she spent with superman, their short lived romance, his fall, her mourning, her leave of training, being approached by Martian Manhunter, and now. This was a culmination of the last two years. It all boiled down to this, choose red and go on trying to fight by herself, and possibly die? Or choose blue, and help a greater cause, be what the people need. She had wanted to help the world, first by exposing the truth of evil, and now by fighting it. She picked the blue, and was immediately teleported, seeing a bright white light, and finally the earth... wait the earth? And... Superman... no not superman, but the costume looked the same, but something more akin to a cheerleading uniform.

She looked around and saw what looked like some kind of fort or base, until her eyes laid themselves upon Batman, she was sure it was Batman though, talking to Zatara, stage magician and heroine. Her head turned once more and she saw Martian Manhunter, the one whom gave him the ring. She wasn't surprised that she was around these costumed heroes, as much as she was about seeing the earth. Still wearing her reporter's suit, with the costume on underneath, she walked past Kara and too the glass window, looking down upon earth, staring, wondering how Superman saw it. From the way she reacted you would think she were used to being around heroes, and while that may have been true, it was more like she was in shock of this whole ordeal, perhaps thoughts over the last couple of years, still on her head. Her right hand, touched the cold glass as she stared at the watery planet.

[Lord Wraith]

Screeches of bats could be heard as they were rudely awakend from their slumber. The echoing of fists being smashed against leather filled the dimmly lit Batcave. Alfred Thaddeus Crane Pennyworth swung over and over until even the wrappings on his hands gave way and his knuckles were no longer protected. It had been years since he spent so long in front of a punching bag, the exercise at hand making him feel like a young recruit in the British Military again. Ever since his trip into the Lazarus Pit, Alfred had been determined not to let his new found youth go to waste.

Bruce was originally less than thrilled at Alfred's eagerness to take up a more active role in the war on crime. But just like Alfred reluctantly assisted Bruce on his own path years ago, now it was Bruce's turn to return the favour. A small smile passed over Alfred's grizzled face. Even with the more useful appearance, he couldn't hide the years he wore on his face. It was ironic though, Alfred had intially trained the Dark Knight before Bruce went off to travek the globe to expand his knowledge and skills. Yet, here they were with Alfred now being Bruce's student. The student had become the teacher and vice versa.

Looking down at the now bloodied knuckles, Alfred smiled as he walked over to his costume's display. The Owlman costume was an interesting choice considering that owl's tended to prey on bats. Yet the imagery couldn't be further from the truth, in part Alfred truly thought Bruce suggested it due to the imagery associated with age and wisdom. Reaching into his supplies Alfred pulled out some bandages and began to wrap his knuckles. It would appear he would need to wear his gloves later while attending to his role as the butler.

It was interesting really that Bruce worried about Alfred leading a double life. The man had in fact lead one for years. Alfred was no butler, no he was a soldier and he longer to be at war once again. Looking at the helm which he donned for war though, he realized just how different things were than when he changed his name from that of his famous father to the boy who wished to enlist as a soldier. But down deep inside, Alfred knew he would always be an actor. He had been merely acting out different roles all his life. And now the role he was playing was that of Owlman.

Albeit he was rusty when it came to actively brawling. His style was rusty and stiff especially compared to Bruce's fluid martial arts. Alfred preferred the old boxing styles. And the cape, the cape was definitely hard to adapt to. How Bruce and Abel managed their kicks and flourishes in the bloody thing eluded Alfred. The batarangs too were something to adapt too. When he was young Alfred had used a variety of fire arms, and continued to keep at least one shotgun around the mansion despite Bruce's opposition to them. When Bruce first became Batman, Alfred insisted on a gun but Bruce had flat out refused. Though Bruce would prefer Alfred not resort to firearms, the former soldier and special ops agent still made sure he was well equipped out in the field. His Owlman gauntlets were equipped with tranq guns mounted under the wrist as well as keeping a handgun on the back of his utility belt just in case. His aim was still impecable.

Finishing wrapping his hands, Alfred polished off the ring which Bruce had given him. It was a bit gaudy for his taste with the large gem and all. While Alfred had a dramatic flair about him, he was never about the bling. None the less he held onto it knowing he would need it.

With Clark's death, the world had become a different place. The power vaccuum was definitely affecting the world. Alfred knew he as Owlman could only do so much even teamed up with Batman. But part of something bigger, they could return the power balance.

Suiting up for his daily patrol, Alfred noticed the ring begin to glow and project blue and red panels.

"Couldn't they have just bloody phoned?" Alfred mumbled as he pushed the blue panel, the cool light wrapping around him as he warped to the Watchtower.

Looking around Alfred nodded impressed at Bruce's latest accomplishment. He nodded to the others. Once again finding himself the little man among giants. Batman was regarded as more than man and the others had powers. Here was Alfred, old and out of practice and as experienced as he was in the world of superheroes he was very inexperienced.

At least his voice manipulation skills were of the finest quality. Alfred's Owlman voice was in some ways more intimidating than Bruce's own bat voice. His proper manner put aside, the Owlman took a step off the teleporter's platform and walked into the Watchtower sliding the ring into his utility belt's pocket.

"Leave it to Earth's finest to make recruiting a team difficult." Owlman's gruff voice said as he greeted those around him.
"Miss Fate, Batman, J'Onn, Superwoman, Supergirl, and I assume you're a Green Lantern?" Owlman said turning his goggled cowl towards Lalo. "Only Green Lanterns wear those dreadful colours."

[Sloth]

I just want to note that I was attempting to get a feel for the Eskrima sticks and what not, so forgive me for stereotypically including a fight scene in the intro.

Nightwing
Outskirts of Blüdhaven

The loud clack of metal meeting metal echoed along the walls of the gym as Abel reached the final interval of the building's salmon ladder. He breathed inwardly as he let go of the staff and turned his body as fast as he could to catch himself into an underhanded position along his Bō and begin a uniform pull-up regiment. This was just another day in the gym for the former assassin turned government operative, a work out regime that would put most professional athletes to shame, such was normal for the children of Ra's al Ghul. Abel could hear the sound of the gym's doors being thrust open as he continued his training, paying no matter to the obvious sound of a group of people storming towards him.

"Hey! Bug-boy!" one of the rather large thugs yelled as they walked into the work-out room, the small amount of pedestrians fleeing the scene at the sheer sight of one very specific logo on the majority of the gang's clothing. The Blockbuster logo. Abel exhaled as he completed another pull-up, keeping completely silent as the group called out to him "Hey! al Ghul! Get down from there!" Abel continued his pull-ups as if nothing were happening, to the annoyance of his aggressors. "Fine, if you won't come down, I'll bring you down!" at the sound of this, Abel pulled his staff out from the "ladder" and dropped to the floor, causing some of the thugs to draw their various weapons, be they knives or brass knuckled fists. The supposed leader of the group put on a vicious sneer, "You messed with the bosses business, and he doesn't take kindly to that." The Tarantula kept silent as his opposition began circling him. "Get this fool boys!" the de-facto leader of the group called out, and the five or so thugs all lunged at Abel simultaneously. Abel simply pressed the small button near the middle of the weapon which detached the upper half from the lower, and swiftly blocked the incoming knife with the first of his two Eskrima sticks, leaping into the air and flipped over the thug who's knife he had blocked to avoid the others' attacks.

Abel kicked the goons feet out from under him, spinning the man's right hand side as he spun the first of his metallic staffs, and, seconds later, virtually impaled the poor soul into the ground. This phased some of the thugs and caused two of them to run away, and Abel threw both of his sticks underhandedly, impacting the left and right leg of each criminal respectively, causing them to fall to the ground. He then turned around to block simultaneous incoming fists from the remaining cronies, thrusting the one to his right away from him as he ducked a clothesline from the left, throwing his arm around the man's hand and twisting it with a moderate amount of his strength, snapping it instantly before dropping the man to the ground. The Tarantula then jumped over a bench towards the two thugs who he had thrown his weapons at, leaping into the air as he placed his hands onto their respective heads, using his momentum and their own balance against them as he brought them to the ground once more.

Abel rolled backwards, relieving the pressure he had placed on the goons, and instead held one down before punching him in the face, the sheer force of his head ricocheting off the hardwood floor knocking him unconscious. Abel would've continued, but the loud sound of the ring he had been given pulsing from within his gym bag echoed throughout the room, and after a few seconds of silence after the two remaining adversaries ran out of the building, Abel culdn't help but feel the room begin to heat up.

So....it is today... Abel thought as he unzipped his bag, moving aside his athletic tape and sweatshirts and even his mask as he retrieved the technological marvel that was the ring from the bag, and almost instantaneously after he touched it, the panels Batman mentioned in his note seemingly sprung out of the bag, bringing in a raised eyebrow from Nightwing. He exhaled slowly as he tapped his finger onto the blue panel, and soon found himself enveloped in a small bubble like contraption, and didn't even have enough time to properly gaze the structure before he seemed to fade out of the physical plane.

Nightwing's first experience with warping only lasted a few seconds, but when he appeared on the main deck of the massive space station known as the watchtower, he couldn't help but peer down to his bare hands to ensure everything made it, and thankfully, it did. He brought his head up to see he was staring down at Earth, which brought a small grin to his face "I never thought you had it in you, Bruce."

[natty]

"And that kids, is why science is important." Barack Belawa finished as he switched off the projector. "Any questions?"

The smartly dressed business man turned and looked round at his viewers. All of them school students on a school trip to Kord Industries. All of them bored. Bad enough Barack had to lecture a bunch of kids on what Kord Industries actually does, but the least they could do was actually pay attention. Nearly half of the group were staring at their phones, the others either chatting among themselves or even dozing off. Was he nearly that boring? Back in Zambia, his students had listened intently, taking in everything. Yet here? Living proof of how bad western civilization had made the children of today.

One student however was listening. Nathaniel Brooks. He was a good kid. Barack knew him well. His father worked for the company. While his classmates had preoccupied themselves with other forms of entertainment, he had been catching onto every word. He reminded Belawa of his old students. It was enough to even make the man smile.

"If Kord Industries is able to create this kind of tech, then how come they're not doing anything to stop all local gang violence?" Nathaniel asked studying Barack's face.

Does he know? Has this one teenager discovered that the boring office worker Barack Belawa was in fact the infamous Blue Beetle? Has he also realized that the small parts disappearing every week were going to Barack? Shaking the thought out of his head, he answered. "Here at Kord Industries we do our best to help, although we try to reframe from meaningless violence."

The boy kept his look, his expression not changing. He knew. How? Barack had no idea.

Quickly changing the subject, the businessman dismissed the group before heading for the door. His exit however was blocked by Nathaniel. Barack raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't you be heading back to the bus?"

Nathaniel looked Belawa firmly in the eye. "Cut the act, I know who you are." He stated, standing his ground. "And if you're wondering, it wasn't that hard to figure out. With your adventurous background and the fact the Blue Beetle turned up months after your arrival in the States, it was pretty obvious". He laughed. "I'm not an idiot."

Barack was stumped. Was it that easy? Was the mystery of the Blue Beetle so easy that a mere boy could discover it? It was embarrassing! "What do you want Brooks"?

"I want in"!

Was he joking? He had to be! How could he possibly think he could fight mob bosses? Or even worse things? Grodd had taken ages to defeat! Before he could decline the grande offer of a sidekick, he felt something in his right pocket. Was it happening now? "Can we talk about this later?" Barack asked. "I have to take a call."

Nathaniel simply nodded and exited with a turn of his heel. As soon as he was gone, Belawa reached into his pocket. The ring! He felt the heat radiate off it as he pulled it out. It was silver in colour and small in size. Nothing that unusual. Apart from the fact it was glowing ever so slightly. Was it finally time? Did the heroic Martian Manhunter finally deem him ready? There was only one way to find out! Pressing his finger against the warm metal, the ring glowed more brightly and two strange panel appeared. One blue, the other red. Now it was his time to choose. Within milliseconds his mind was made up. His hand darted to the blue panel and he waited. As first nothing happened. Then it began. Barack was engulfed in a blast of white light. The world seemed to evaporate around him. Once the light faded, he found himself overlooking a view he only imagined seeing for himself. The Earth.

It took several seconds for Barack to overcome the shock that he was in space, and several more to look around at his surroundings. Around him stood those he assumed were his new teammates. Silently calming the fan-boy inside him, Barack stepped forward, intent on introducing himself.

[Teen Idle]

A burst of white light permeated the darkness as the last of the criminals was blasted off his feet, dropping the bags of expensive jewellery he and his accomplices had tried to steal. Before Doctor Light had to move another muscle, police officers that had monitoring the scene leapt upon them and began detaining them. Cheers from surrounding bystanders heralded her apparent victory, though Kimiyo barely acknowledged them as she flew upwards and over the towering skyline of Tokyo, her white cape billowing behind her as though she were being stalked by some friendly spectre. She mulled over the events of a few moments ago as her apartment block - the tallest in the country - came into view on the horizon. She had taken but a couple of minutes to stop the thieves, but it had taken her almost ten minutes to actually reach the crimescene, and this was not good enough for the perfectionist Doctor. Glumly, she landed gracefully on the balcony of her top-floor penthouse apartment and entered through the doors, which she had left open. It was a warm night, and somehow she doubted anyone would be scaling the tower to break in.

Before she had even had time to remove her helmet, an odd sensation of warmth circled her finger, tingling the skin even through her gloves. She glanced down at her hands and realised that it was the delicate silver ring that she wore religiously. She'd been given it by the Martian Manhunter, some form of alien hero from what she had gathered. She knew little of other superheroes, the only one she had ever really heard of was Superman. Prior to his demise, he was a hero. Now, he was to become a legend. Her brief mourning of the Man of Steel was interrupted as she realized that J'onn had instructed her of what to do in such an occasion, and so she recalled the information she'd been given.

Pressing the sapphire stone in the ring as the green-skinned man had instructed, two holographic panels formed before her; one red was blue, the other red - just as the alien had said. Ensuring she had remembered the orders before performing the action, she tapped the blue panel lightly. It shimmered gently and within a few seconds she became encapsulated with light of a similar hue as the world began to shift around her. No longer was she looking at her sprawling apartment. No, what she gazed upon now was perhaps just a little bigger.

Planet Earth, floating somewhat idly in the vast galaxy she had studied so religiously. Her fixation with the view was soon broken by voices behind her, and she turned to see a small group of people - apparently awaiting her arrival, though Kimiyo knew better than to expect it was a personalized welcome party. She recognized the Martian Manhunter from their previous encounter, but the rest of the group were practically anonymous.

"Kimiyo Hoshi," she said bluntly as she approached the group like an efficient businesswoman, stretching out a hand to be shaken. "But you may call me Doctor Light."

[Taka Uchiha]

There he stood upon the tallest building in all of Keystone City. It was a magnificent spot to behold as one could watch the sun raise over the horizon or the moon dip below the city as it was submerging in water. For Randy, it was a spot of comfort and relaxation. His mind was allowed to be free with his thoughts whilst it also the first place he met Superman. To be truthful then it was Superman that got Randy to take heroics serious all those years ago. A man of great power and humanity turned out to be the one that would influence Randy the most. Now he had to cope with the loss of someone who was a legend. Randy could remember the first time that they teamed up to stop Gorilla Grodd, Randy's greatest enemy.

Though Randy wanted to sit here and go on and on about how cool his idol was and about his life as a Flash, he had other things to do. The wind felt so grand against his body. The breeze flowing through his clothes and gently running across his skin was a marvelous feeling. Unfortunately that feeling would be destroyed by the sounds of police sirens below. It was funny how something was going on the street directly below where he was standing. "Time for the Flash." Randy snapped his fingers and the speed force seemed to blur his body, creating his suit. It was a rather advantageous way of putting on the suit as he didn't need to wear it up civilians clothes or in a backpack. "Wonder who's down there? I might be overwhelmed today." The Flash snickered before running down the side of the building. Within literal seconds, The Flash was at the bottom of the building, staring at one of the national banks across from it. The cops were scattered outside, trying to call to the criminals within.

"So what's the news, Officer?" Flash asked, tapping one of them on their shoulder.

"Five men are holding up inside. From what we know, they are armed to the teeth." The officer responded, knowing that things would be fine with the Flash around.

"So Whelmed. Be back in a Flash."

Instead of running for once, Flash casually began walking toward the bank. One of the bank robbers called out to his bodies that the Flash was coming. By the time they turned back to look at him, He was already standing beside the guy whilst looking through his binoculars. "Hey you should pay attention." Flash said to his unsuspecting victim. "Yeah. He's the fastest guy around. I'm surprise......." The man's sentence was cut short as he finally looked upon the face of the Flash, who had a big grin on his face. Before anyone could do anything, Flash struck with five blows that didn't even register until the Flash had already ran around the room and collecting the gun of each armed robber. He stood in the middle of the bank, holding all the firearms. " Heh Too slow." The man in red and yellow exclaimed. Within a minute, and that was him being lazy, each man was knocked out and laying on the ground of the police cars. He didn't even get the chance to move from the area before the ring upon his hand went off.

The light was warm while he could feel a small sensation upon his hand. He had forgotten that he was sent a ring from the almighty Batman. He honestly skeptical as he was sure that he wasn't the right hero for any job that involved Batman. The only real big thing he did was save those people from that nuke last summer and he still wasn't fast enough to get to those within the immediate blast zone after it went off. For now though Randy would check things out. Pressing a small button on the side, a bubble seemed to wrap around the Flash. For five seconds he was essentially the most bored man on the planet until he was warped to main deck alongside other various heroes. Ironically for the fastest man on the planet, he was the last person there. He not stood amongst a grab-bag of heroes, few he had never heard about. "Well well that was slow. I could have ran here faster then that." Randy blurted out. His eyes wondered the place and it was very different from what he was used to. All the technology was quite daunting but, it was no surprise considering who built it.

Without becoming a giddy child, Flash scanned across the heroes he know of. Well the ones actually in costume. Flash's eyes laid upon the one named Doctor light. He had warped in at enough time to here the tidbit of information. And with that, Flash was the first person in front of her. "The Flash. Fastest man on the Planet. Maybe you've heard of me?" Oh Randy was terrible at first introductions.

[Stein]

Zatanna watched as one by one, the heroes came in. Some of them, like Lois, she knew. Though seeing Lois here at all, she was surprised. She'd heard something about powers, but had never checked up to see if they were true. Seeing her now, she couldn't help but wonder how she'd fare. Lois had always been strong though, so Zatanna wasn't overly concerned.

What did concern her, however, was the blonde girl who showed up. She had an insignia akin to that of Clark's. But Zatanna had never seen her before. Another Kryptonian? There was no way. Yet, here this girl was. Tall, resonating quiet power, an aura of innocence, and shy. Yep, definitely some relation to that farm boy. She made a note to talk to her when she had more time.

Soon though, she felt a familiar aura, and turned around to find its source. She was met by the appearance of Owlman, and was instantly thrown off for a second. That was, until she focused a little harder. She knew that aura! She'd been chastised by that aura!

Walking over to him, she patted him on the shoulder and whispered "You can't fool me, Alfred. I know that judgmental tone anywhere. No matter which voice you use." She threw her arms around him in a hug before he could respond. "It's so good to see you again."

She didn't have a chance to really talk to him though, as more people were arriving.

--------------------------------

It was a good thing that Batman had the Martian by his side. There's no way he would be able to deal with handling this team. His patience was already wearing slightly thin. Though, he felt he could chalk that up to his lack of sleep and just wanting to rest.

As the heroes showed up, he checked his internal HUD of his cowl, looking at the time. Finally, after about 10 minutes, he cleared his throat, stepping forward. "Randy, you can flirt with Doctor Light at a later time," Batman stated in an off-hand manner "we've got business to attend to."

"Yes, yes we do," J'onn said, speaking up and floating over to Bruce. They made their way to the row of consoles at the front of the base, the part overlooking the Earth, and turned to faced their soon to be team. "Well, it seems that most of you have answered the call. And for that, I am most grateful."

"All except for Aquaman," Bruce threw in, in a manner as if that was to be expected.

"Yes well, we can only hope that he'll come around and join us," J'onn finished. "But, for those of you here, we won't bother with useless formalities. As you all know I am J'onn J'onzz, or the Martian Manhunter. And this is Bruce Wayne. But for our purposes, he's more commonly referred to as the Batman. You are here because -not just the world- but the entire universe seemed to have been dealt a blow at the death of Superman. It's created a power vacuum, and evil has taken this opportunity to rise up. Many forces that were kept at bay before Kal-El's death are now growing bolder. Ready to lodge full scale attacks against the Earth. Many already have."

The reason we are here is because this world needs a fighting chance. It seems that darkness is starting to envelope our world, the place we call home, the only place that many of you have ever known. You were called here because out of all the heroes, you were the most promising. You all have either had ties to our former association or to Superman himself. And not only that, you all have shown exemplary skill and power. We are the start of something that I hope can grow. The start of a band of heroes that have a network to lean on. One so it is not every hero against the world. But, it is one solid force against all the evil of the world. With your efforts combined, we can usher in a period of relief. One where evil isn't as bold as it is now. One that Kal-El would have wanted. The government has sanctioned me as an ambassador. And granted us this opportunity to create a league of heroes that will stand up against threats that would harm this world."

You all know the gist of what we're about. With that, I'm here to ask: Will you join us? Will you stand with us? Will you lay down your life for the possibility that this world, or even, this universe, may survive? Will you band together to serve as a beacon to those who have lost hope? What do you say?"

J'onn's face was serious yet pleading. His tone was soft yet stout and set. He held himself with an air of confidence that even Bruce had to acknowledge. And Bruce had to hand it to him. The damn Martian was good at swaying a crowd. He knew how to connect with everyone on a different level. He found himself paying full attention and hanging on some of his words.

The room was silent for a moment before the first person spoke up.

--------------------------------------

Zatanna had to admit, J'onn was good at what he did. Very good. She found herself moved by his speech, and even a bit mournful at the passing of such a great hero. But this opportunity couldn't have come at a better time. Maybe with all of these heroes in one solid force, they could stop her visions from coming true. Maybe, they would truly be able to save this world.

She spoke first. "J'onn. Bruce," she looked at each one respectively, "As a Lord of Order, I Zatanna Zatara pledge myself wholly to this cause. I would be honored to help." She took off her hat and tilted her head slightly in small bow.