The Watchtower
Interacting with: Everyone
In the halcyon days of the League proper J'onn J'onzz, the Martian Manhunter, was the one who most often pulled monitor duty. Snapper didn't know why that was. Whether it was because J'onn was the member who had the fewest obligations on earth to pull him away from this lofty perch, or if it was because he enjoyed the quiet solitude of the low-orbit vigil, Snapper never asked. What he did know was the the Martian had always made it look easy. No matter the severity of the crisis J'onn was always unflappably calm, cool, an oasis of serenity in the center of whichever shitstorm happened to be assailing the earth that time.
Snapper was quickly beginning to believe that had been one of J'onn's alien powers, because he'd only been working the monitor shift for about ten minutes, and he was already starting to lose his shit.
He'd rallied initially, when the heroes arrived and looked to get everything in order. No sooner were they on their respective scenes than they'd identified the attacking hordes as the pawns of the intergalactic menace Starro and then devised a strategy to staunch the chaos. Freeing the civilians from the psychic parasites feeding on their faces was no more than a holding measure for now, but it would give the replacement League time to figure out a more permanent solution.
Or so Snapper had thought up until thirty seconds ago. That was when the deep space proximity alarm had started ringing, warning him that
something was headed this way. Something big. That would be cause enough for concern at the best of times, but considering the proper League was gone and the earth was currently fending off an invasion from alien Conan the Barbarian wannabe, Snapper felt confident in saying that this wasn't the best of times. He swallowed nervously before clicking on his communicator to both teams.
"Uh, hate to interrupt guys, but I think your problems are just starting."
The towering creature's head shot up at Nightwing's taunt, staring intently at the young vigilante for a moment, before lifting it's axe above it's head and bellowing a war cry at the Prodigal Son. The former acrobat had gotten the creature's attention, which began to barrel it's way through the masses, shoving, barging or throwing panicking civilians and indoctrinated hordes aside in it's quest to reach it's target.
Devil Ray's line wrapped itself around the hulking beasts leg, though it didn't notice at first. Even when it did realize it was entangled in a steel line it hardly concerned the beast. Does the malicious child worry about the retaliatory attacks of the flies he tears the wings from? Instead he abandoned his pursuit of Nightwing to instead lean down and grab a fistful of the line, and with one massive heave yanked the aquatic hero, who still held the other end of the line, forwards. It's intentions were clear, to drag the Damp Devil within range of it's deadly axe and then to split the human in twain, but fortunately for the Gotham native it never got the chance before Seraph came flying to the rescue.
A massive Kryptonian fist smashed into the creatures obsidian helm, though the alien metals refused to give. The giant was clearly a powerhouse, as it merely stumbled back a pace before righting it's footing and surging back into the attack, swinging it's axe at Seraph in a murderously quick underarm strike.
"Uh, hate to interrupt guys, but I think your problems are just starting."Snapper's message came over the comms seconds before a masked assailant leapt over the heads of the indoctrinated masses and threw himself at Nightwing.
His name was Mr Unknown, a well regarded vigilante in his native Japan, often referred to as the 'Batman of Tokyo'. A veritable master of martial arts, and armed with a kunai dagger in each hand, the former Boy Wonder had a fight upon his hands.
Miles overhead an object broke the earth's stratosphere, the UFO that had triggered the Watchtowers alrams. At first no more than a tiny black blip in the distant blue sky, it quickly ballooned in size to garguantuan proportions as it ate away at the miles towards Tokyo. As it got closer it's shape became more apparent. Five huge fleshy pink arms, at least twenty-five feet long from base to tip, serrated with bone-like spikes and protrusions, jutted out of a bulbous purple body. One massive eye protruded from that center mass, it's iris as red as fresh blood and criss-crossed with angry veins, staring unblinkingly towards where the heroes were battling the starfish controlled horde. The giant axe-wielder broke off it's fight with Seraph to watch this new, giant star's descent. The hulking beast threw it's massive arms up in a loose approximation of greeting.
M Y M A S T E R S T A R R O, I H A V E G A T H E R E D T H E S E N E W C H A M P I O N S. T H O U G H T H E Y A R E P A L E I M I T A T I O N S O F T H E O L D B R E E D, T H E Y W I L L S E R V E A S A F I N E V A N G U A R D. T H E C O N Q U E S T O F T H I S R O C K C A N N O W B E G I N!The voice rang through the heroes heads, and it would take them all a moment to realize the conversation was being conducted telepathically. It seemed that Nightwing was wrong to assume that the starfish upon the axe-wielders chest was Starro, and instead this giant monster that had just descended upon earth was the League's old foe, inflated too gigantic proportions compared to how the Conqueror had been upon their last meeting.
Y O U H A V E S E R V E D W E L L, C O B I. E N S L A V E T H E M A L L, S A V E T H E K R Y P T O N I A N. I D E S I R E T O S E E A T R U E E N D P U T T O T H A T M I S R E A B L E R A C E! With that the axe-wielder, his name now revealed as Cobi, raised his weapon in salute before pressing his attack on Seraph once more, snarling at the Kryptonian like a dog as he brought his axe around in a decapitating arc. Behind him Starro surged into action, the giant creature seemingly not content to sit upon the sidelines. Giant arms topped with vicious scythe like claws reached out for Static, Starling, Devil Ray and Miss Appear, all while the telepathically controlled horde converged on the heroes.
The Question's strike rocked Bloodsport back, the unhinged villain stumbling from his feet and hitting the floor on his arse, his appropriated shotgun flying from his grasp. Down, but not out, the con clenched his fists and rolled quickly to his feet. He snarled at the faceless vigilante.
"I tangled with Superman, you faceless coward! I don't need a gun to gut the likes of you!" With that he threw a clod of dirt and mud, that he'd surreptitiously palmed when he'd fallen, at the Question's face. Without waiting to see if the impromptu missile had inflicted the desired blinding effect he followed in quick, charging inside the vigilante's defenses, planning on leading with a series of straight jabs, then ending the combo with a devastating hay-maker. Dirty boxing at it's best and purest.
Mark Moonrider's electric blast and Red Arrow's projectile both struck at once, the Starfish controlling Comet shriveling up from the discharge and dropping from the heroes face, though the intergalactic adventurer was left unconscious, losing his grip on Black and tumbling towards the ground. Manchester let out one short scream before a lasso wrapped itself around his ankle. The Brit felt himself being dragged through the air.
"Oh, this is getting old fast!" he muttered to himself, resolving to clock the next bugger in a costume that he happened to lay eyes on. So, when Donna maneuvered him into her grip, that's what he did. A devious uppercut came up under the Amazon's guard, fueled by Manchester's telekinetic prowess, connecting with the underside of her chin with a resounding kra-koom.
Elsewhere Jon bundled Captain Comet into his gentle grasp long before the unconscious hero hit the ground. A minor victory, but a victory nonetheless.
"Uh, hate to interrupt guys, but I think your problems are just starting."Down on the ground formerly locked up prisoners were making full use of the gaping hole in the maximum security wings wall. A who's who of Superman Rogue's where fleeing the prison. Livewire, Metallo and King Shark were the latest to egress,
Livewire leaping into the air and attempting to zoom past Jon,
while King Shark loped across the prison year, up a staircase set against the prison walls, and leapt over the top handrails into the sea. As soon as he hit the water he began to power himself across the the Metropolis bay, inadvertently putting himself on a collision coarse with the Beast from B'wana.
Metallo on the other hand had checked his headlong escape, instead fixing his gaze towards the sky. . .
Towards Jon.
"Superman." He spat, robotic voicebox adding a metallic chill to the name. Without a second thought the cyborg leapt into the air, hydraulic powered legs easily giving him the power to collide with Jon. Comet tumbled from the Kryptonian-hybrids arms as Metallo attempted to wrap his fingers around his foes neck.
"You're not him." Hissed John Corben, as they tumbled through the air. "I see that now. . . But you'll do in a pinch."
In the prison Luthor had already delved deep into the mostly empty cell blocks. Most cages were empty, evidence of an explosive battle between the guards and the inmates painted everywhere. Here, a mangled body of a guardsman who had caught a shiv in the face, there, another guard hiding under a table. Fires were springing up at an alarming rate, while a piercing and pained shrieking was sounding in the distance. The grimness of the scene might have managed to distract the newly minted Superman from the danger at his heels, or perhaps it was his own over-confidence that allowed him to be taken unawares, but whatever it was he didn't hear the Parasite until it was too late.
"Sooo hungry. . .", came a sibilant whisper at Luthor's ear, before two noodle thin arms, the purple flesh upon them wasted and knotted, wrapped themselves around his chest and face. The energy levels of his suit began to drop at an alarming rate, while the muscles in the Parasite's arms began to pulse with new life.
"Soo good."
Outside, back in the energy prison he'd been left in, the unsupervised Shrapnel screamed his frustration, railing wildly at the forcefield walls in between electrical blasts, though he was having little effect. One more blast shocked him to his core, eliciting a shriek of pure, primal rage. Suddenly he stopped his wild swinging, instead his entire body beginning to visibly vibrate.
Then he exploded.
Luthor's prison couldn't hold the explosive energies, his drones suffering electrical shortouts and sent skidding across the prison yard. The metal shards of Shrapnel's body where likewise sent flying, but, surely by some unseen force, quickly began to piece themselves back together. In seconds Shrapnel had reformed himself, unharmed and unhurt, though no less angry than he had been inside Luthor's cage.
"THAT'S IT!" he snarled, "EVERYBODY DIES, STARTING WITH YOU FUCKING CAPES!" And with that he turned his attentions to the Imp and Red Arrow. He pointed an arm at each target, before exploding his own arms and sending a barrage of razor-sharp fletchets towards each of the vigilantes.