Legion
of Justice
Saving the Past
Part 1
TIME OUT OF JOINT by tynnechris
The year: 1942. The place: The world we know
as Earth-2.
Diana, princess of the Amazons was dreaming.
It was not a pleasant dream. A city, full of towering buildings and strange
vehicles. Flying, running and running throughout the city were dozens of men
and women wearing brightly colored costumes. And towering above it all was... a
titanic woman; no, not a woman, a machine, made of golden metal, that seemed to
sneer at the tiny beings below.
"Hear me, All-Star Squadron!!! I have
brought you now to this city of the future... where you will meet your DEATH at
the hands of MEKANIQUE!!!"
A gruesome battle then ensued. Countless of
the brightly-garbed beings tried to fight, only to be fried by the robotic
monstrosity's blasts. Even the Spectre and Green Lantern only seemed to feed
the robot's murderous frenzy when they tried their unearthly might. Finally,
only Liberty Belle and Johnny Quick remained. Libby clung to the injured
speedster... and looked up to see a giant gold foot closing in.
"No," she screamed,
"NOOO--"
Diana awoke... screaming the same word.
"Hera! Again that same dream. My allies,
my friends... all murdered. But where was I?! A few others were missing as
well. By the gods, what does it mean?"
The robot Mekanique had turned up at the
Perisphere headquarters of the All-Stars a few months ago. She claimed she was
from the future, that the future would be saved if the All-Stars saved the
lives of several people. Robotman seemed quite taken with her. Why had Diana
dreamed of her... doing that to her friends? If it was an omen, then she would
prepare herself. She felt cold as she remembered the sight: the greatest heroes
the world had to offer... crushed like they were nothing.
A SPLASHY ENTRANCE
The scene: Somewhere above the Indian Ocean.
It was daytime, apparently noon, some months after the Crisis on the world of
Earth-2. It was far from the coast, so any waves present were small, and no
boats could be seen. That was both good and bad; if there were boats nearby,
the crew would be shocked and frightened by the upcoming event. But then, those
who would soon appear would not mind any help they could get. Speaking of them,
here they came now!
A streaking emerald comet raced towards the
waters. It made contact! The splash was incredible.
"--guh... BURROUGHS!!! --sputter-- Oh
you moron!!" A girl emerged from the now-churning water, wearing a rather
outré indigo outfit.
"Listen: I am not taking the blame for
this. According to your grand-uncle's coordinates, this should've been Gotham,
or at least the old United States!" was the reply from a visored figure in
a dark green and black body-suit.
"It would've been if you'd not jumped
the gun, as usual. Where's Horus?"
"Can't the blasted bird swim?!"
"I'll get him, don't worry," said
another young woman, this one wearing a bodysuit that seemed to shimmer like a
night sky full of stars. Soon she emerged from the water encased in a
shimmering field, a tawny-brown-feathered figure that was drenched and
unconscious in tow.
The indigo-suited girl grimaced. "I
certainly hope Kid Terrific's group isn't in the same mess. We were supposed to
warn the forebears. And now we have to figure out where we flamin' are.
Ohhh..." Canary treaded water over to Greenfire, who remained silent after
his gruff remarks. She got the feeling then and there that saving the world
wasn't going to be much fun this time.
THE ADVENTURES OF JEMI OLSEN
The Smallville Gazette wasn't exactly big on
the earth-shattering stories one had in the big cities, at least not in Jemi's
opinion. Not that she was complaining; not exactly, at least. It was just that,
for a girl who grew up hearing the stories her grand-uncle could tell, covering
a tech-show in nearby Midvale paled in comparison. Here she stood, waiting in
the lobby while her brother tried to find the men's room. She sighed. The
convention could have at least brought in the interesting companies, like
TylerCo or Knight-Tech. Instead there were a slew of PCs that looked to be
virtual clones of each other. Exciting... really.
"Not too likely to be the most exciting
point of my career," she grumbled to herself. "And the punch tastes
like they forgot to add the sugar."
"Ms?" a floor person said who
looked her way.
"Nothing," said Jemi, smiling.
"Just speaking a thought out loud."
"Oh..." he smiled. "You may be
right about the punch. We were in quite a hurry to set up, and--"
The man was cut off by an odd crackling
noise. Jemi realized that her hair was standing up on her head, like in science
class when the teacher had her touch a generator. All of the computer screens
went to flashing. What the heck? Suddenly the strange charge in the air seemed
to collect into the center of the show floor. The lights all dimmed, and a ball
of electrical energy seemed to form into distinct shapes.
"Oh God I hope this isn't a super
villain attack!!! We don't get those in Kansas!" screamed some passerby
right Jemi's ear. She tried to tell herself it was just the tension of the
strange thing happening that made her want to deck him.
A hush fell on the room as the shapes
became... people? A girl who looked to be her age wearing a garish skin-tight
outfit, which was made all the more weird by a yellow triangle on the outfit's
torso that read "Fair Play" in stylized script. Why did that seem so
familiar? Before Jemi could process that, there were the others: A boy who
shone from head to toe like he was made shiny gold, and a panther standing on
two legs?!?
"Ohhh crud... Did weee
overrr-shoot?" it spoke!!! And it had even managed to form its... muzzle
into a rather worried expression.
As one could guess, most people in the room
lost their composure. Quickly.
"AAAAAAGGGHHH!!!!"
"Super-villain freaks!!!"
"Call the police... hell, call
somebody!!!"
People started running everywhere, the show's
security trying calm them down, call the authorities, and get a bearing on the
bizarre intruders, all at the same time.
"Well, I don't think this is the
residence of the Monitor, do you?" Jemi heard the girl with the
"Fair-Play" triangle say to the man-panther.
That didn't sound like your typical
master-criminal thing to say, thought Jemi. She snuck as close as she could,
though the fact that everyone else was running away from the three was making
that difficult. Maybe they were a new hero-team, or maybe this was all a
prelude to vaporizing the room. Resolutely Jemi made her way over, the phrase,
This is either my first big scoop or the stupidest thing I've ever done,
repeating over and over in her head.
The girl of the three lifted up a bronze-colored
cube. One of the security people who managed to get past the panickers lifted
up his gun.
"Freeze now!!! Do not attempt to fire
that device!" He was sweating, flushed, and his voice was cracking like a
thirteen-year-old boy's. The girl lifted an eyebrow, making Jemi think
incongruously of Mr. Spock.
JEMI'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE
"I assure you, Officer, I mean to harm
no one. I am truly sorry to have disturbed you." The girl actually seemed
sincere, more worried about the officer's feelings than the fact he was
brandishing a gun at her. "This is not a weapon," she said, eying the
cube. "Gernsback... initiate." The cube came to life with a glow, and
the crackling effect was back in the air. Panther-guy and the golden metallic
guy moved closer to the "Fair Play" girl.
"Oh God they're gonna kill us
all!!!" shrieked the security man, turning and bolting at top-speed. Jemi
paid him no mind, now utterly fascinated by the glow enveloping the three
strangers. She was very close to them now; she even felt tendrils of the odd
energy touching her.
"Who are yo--" she started, but her
voice was cut off as if she was on a radio that got unplugged. The glow
vanished, along with the three strangers... and Jemi! The room was empty and
silent now, except for the hum of computers. A door opened, and into the main
hall came young Jimmy.
"Jemi?" he called. "I couldn't
wait for the police, and the show people didn't know where you were.
Ohmigosh... Jemi?!!" No one was there to answer.
MEANWHILE, IN THE EASTERN HEMISPHERE...
The sky above the ocean was streaked with two
trails... one a blazing emerald, the other a shining haze. Within these two
trails, Canary and her rather lost squad attempted to get their bearings. It
was only partly good news so far.
"According to the cube Cathy gave us, we
are in the right year, down to the month," Theresa had stated earlier, her
eyes gleaming like the starfield pattern she wore.
"And the bad news?" Canary asked.
"We're... on the wrong side of the
world. And, uh... the cube got drained by, uh..."
"It was Burroughs' stunt, wasn't
it?!?" said Canary. Greenfire huffed at that, but said nothing. Good, let
him stew. He might learn to control himself. Canary was distracted from her
negative thoughts by Horus. Poor guy. He still hasn't recovered from the
near-drowning. Was in and out of consciousness. When he is awake, he babbles...
like now.
"Shiera... oh, beloved... I can feel you
near... Hector... my son.... I've missed you both so..." His speech grew
slurred, and he was out again.
For what seemed like the millionth time,
Canary wished Cathy was on this squad. Among other things, she knew Feitheran
physiology, and might've been able to snap their Hawk Lad out of whatever it
was that he was going through. Theresa laid a hand gently on Canary's shoulder.
"I have good news," said Star Lass
"I could use some. Are we near
Gotham?"
"No... but we are near another of our
destinations!"
"Where?"
"Badhnesia!"
OH, BADHNESIA!
"Noodles!!! All over the statue... Never
saw such a mess!!! Well, not since I accidentally made T-Bolt conjure up
Tapioca pudding by the metric ton, and that was a joke... which just goes to
show that in this crazy world anything can happen. I mean, my life has been
living proof of that since the day I said that phrase. Er, am I boring
you?" Johnny Thunder ceased his stream of running commentary to gaze at
his neighbor in first class, one... what was his name? ... Delbert Saxonfield,
or some such weird name.
Delbert's head snapped up, and he wiped a bit
of drool from his face. "...ah... No, no, Mr. Thunder... I love listening
to celebrities recount their experiences. I still don't see why you travel by
plane, though... A man of your, er... talents..."
"Shucks, I was never very talented. It
just feels good to travel in an ordinary way for once. It's actually a novelty
in my case. Besides, I haven't visited Badhnesia for a long time. It seems more
like a homecoming this way."
Johnny looked out the window, admiring the
view as the clouds floated close beneath. Mr. Saxonfield settled back in and
was soon snoring. Johnny sighed and pulled out his copy of Jonathan Law's
latest thriller. Heh. Unlike most authors, good ol' Jon had actually lived
through adventures far beyond those on the printed page, and he had made quite
a good writing career out of it. He ought'a drop by Jonathan's place sometime
this year, he thought to himself.
***
"LD-7 reporting... Target: Johnny
Thunder is soon to reach the Badhnesian International Airport. I am
ready."
"Excellent."
***
Landing out in a vacant field, the Legion of
Justice Squad A pulled out their supplies, such as they were. Canary tended to
Hawk Lad. Star Lass and a grudgingly penitent Greenfire flew off in search of
the local airport. Discussion of Canary's "pep-talk" was their
conversation topic of choice.
"She didn't really mean that about
selling us to the Mist-Master and his Society of Assassins, did she?"
asked Greenfire.
"If we fail to save Thunder? No..."
"Good. I've had enough of her
threats!"
"...she's more likely to order Liberty
Lad to fold us into an envelope, then mail us to Wotan's palace on Hades!"
"..."
"You'd better believe it!"
JEMI'S BOGUS JOURNEY
Jimmy Olsen, the bearer of his grand-uncle's
namesake, studied the videotape of his sister's last known appearance. A
cameraman had videotaped part of the show for Midvale's local TV station, only
to have it become a major news story about the mystery superhumans, and -- the
tape didn't record for very long -- the man had run off before Jemi's fate
could be seen. Jimmy sighed, rewound the tape again. If only the sound quality
wasn't so bad. He reached one of the few parts where bits of dialog could be
heard:
"...crud, did we over (garbled)?"
"...(garbled) I don't think this is the
residence of the Monitor, do you?"
The sole security person to confront the
beings claimed that they had lifted a weapon of some sort, but that just didn't
fit. The girl was wearing a uniform that had struck Jimmy as being familiar,
somehow, and then he found out why: The red and green bodysuit, the "Fair
Play" insignia... it was a streamlined version of a costume worn by the
deceased JSA member known as Mister Terrific; hardly something a super-villain
would choose... or would they?
Jimmy sighed again. His parents were
inconsolable, and the authorities couldn't help more than they already were.
Mrs. Kent had said that Mr. Kent was on a trip of some sort, and that Clark was
gone 'til after the weekend. It was just too frustrating.
"Where are you, sis?!!"
TYING UP SOME LOOSE ENDS
"LD-7 reporting to Mekanique: Thunder
will not be here... the Ragnarok incident has occurred."
"Excellent! This is a bonus. Return to
the base, Lightning-Master."
***
The Ultra-Humanite was ticked! "I
thought you promised me this 'Legion of Doom' would help me destroy the JSA,
Mekanique!!!"
Mekanique seemed amused by the outburst.
"But they will help us. The Ragnarok incident's outcome is uncertain, but
either the JSA will be gone forever, or it will be greatly weakened by the
battle. We, in the meanwhile, will destroy all the future JSAers, and any hope
of the United System and the Legion of Justice to even exist, much less
challenge Frederson's -- and your -- future empires."
"Infinity, Inc. and the Junior
JSA?"
"And all of the families, allies, and
loved ones. Why don't we start with... Will Power?"
"I've never heard of that one."
"And now you never will..."
***
Star Lass froze Greenfire in the sky with a
field.
"What now?!?" complained the 23rd
century bearer of the Starheart.
"Canary contacted me. According to the
cube, Ragnarok has started. Thunder will already be gone."
"Crud."
"We have to find a way to the United
States... now!!!"
***
Kiku listened to the news report. Johnny
Thunder had disappeared, and advanced reports from the JSA Brownstone indicated
that he had gone off with the team to save the world... again. The report also
mentioned further action being taken by a Junior JSA. The idea intrigued her.
"If I cannot meet my favorite hero, then
I will go meet his young friends!" She started turning the dial.
Legion of Justice: Justice Denied by
tynnechris
THE MESS WE'RE IN
When we last saw the Legion of Justice, the
23rd century's greatest heroes and heirs to the JSA's place as Earth-2's
protectors, things were a mess, to say the least. Good as they were at the
super-hero biz, they were rookies to the game of time travel, and the insidious
Mekanique had a vast advantage technologically. Her mechano-spatial powers gave
her superior time travel ability. Plus, she was able to determine which events
would preserve the fascistic future of Joh Frederson and the scientist Rotwang
and which would destroy the future of the JSA legacy, without guesswork. To
make matters worse, she had allied herself with the Ultra-Humanite, who was
supplying her and the mysterious Legion of Doom with additional members and
power.
Two squads were sent back by the Legion of
Justice: Squad A was led by Canary to warn the JSA, and Squad B was led by Kid
Terrific to find the fabled files of the second Monitor, and thus learn the key
to saving their time without causing devastating paradoxes. It had not gone
well. Canary's team materialized way off course, perhaps due to the
inexperience of Greenfire, the 23rd century's wielder of the Starheart energy.
Weary and lost, their morale was low.
Kid Terrific also encountered problems.
Instead of reaching the Monitor's files, her squad hit the Midvale tech show,
starting a panic and accidentally taking cub-reporter Jemi Olsen with them as
they sought to get away. The Legion of Justice had to get its act together
soon, or their forebears would be killed... and thus them as well.
TOUGH LOVE
Canary was hungry. Very hungry. Several days
of nutro-bars just weren't convincing her system she had eaten. At least Horus
had stopped hallucinating, which was the only pleasant detail of a thoroughly
disgusting day. Theresa and Drake had gotten news that the Ragnarok event had
occurred, and for a while all their efforts went into trying to fix the
time-cube. No luck. She was a crime fighter, not a time-scientist. Star Lass
was able to keep its communication channel open, at least. When news reached
that the JSA had returned from the event, they all knew there was no more time.
The warning and aid had to come now, while Mekanique's influence was still in a
window of low ebb. Drake, wonder of wonders, looked to be their salvation.
Who'd have thought?
"I'm sorry, Canary. I really am. I know
you think I'm just being a jerk again, but I'm serious. The most I've ever been
able to do with this blasted 'Starheart' power is blast and fly. Maybe the
accident that merged it with me changed it so it's all I can do."
Greenfire's odd crackle of a voice sounded worn out and despairing instead of
the hot tone it usually took. His visor seemed dimmer than ever. Time for a
little "tough love."
"Bull-crap! The power you hold is one of
the mightiest mojos in the entire multiverse!" She got right up into his
personal space. He flinched back, which was odd, since he claimed that his
physical sensations were nil. Well, too bad. "The Green Lantern could use
his power to create objects, people, grow, shrink, walk through walls,
translate languages, you name it! And the power could definitely take us to the
JSA Brownstone in an instant! You just have to have the will and the belief,
Drake!"
"I ... this power is too much. I didn't
ask for it... I don't even deserve it. I'm just an idiot who got caught in an
accident. Why can't you see that?!? I'll fail... like I've done before..."
He had never said anything like this before.
He sounded sincere, sounded... Canary was surprised to feel her cheeks wet.
Tears... lovely. "You... you aren't a failure, Drake. You're just intense
and try too hard to seem... Oh, I don't know how to put it. You do try, even
though you hate it. You help us... that's not failure, it's strength... it's
heroism. I admire you... when you do that." She thought she heard him
gasp. Or was that her? She felt a light pressure on her shoulder. She looked
up. His gloved hand was on her shoulder, just slightly.
"Get Theresa and Horus. I'm going to
take us to the JSA. I have the power, after all."
She smiled, just for a moment. "It's
about blasted time!!!" she thundered next.
GREENFIRE TO THE RESCUE
Horus, the one called the Hawk Lad by his
people due to the strange resemblance he bore to the look of the armor and helm
once worn by the legendary Carter Hall, was confused. He tried to connect to
the here and now. He was the first Feitheran member of the Legion of Justice.
They were on a mission to save the great heroes of the past, including the
inspiration for them all, the JSA. If they failed, the 23rd century United
System would be transformed into a place where all were under the boot of the
fascistic reign of Frederson, like the ancient home-world and several other
systems were. It was the Legion's most important mission yet, and he must
concentrate on getting it together, he realized.
But if he let his mind wander, suddenly that
seemed like someone else's life, someone else's problem. He was above a city
like one seen in the 20th century holo-room at Knight Base. He was soaring, a
helm over his face, the most beautiful woman in the world soaring beside him.
They were so happy together, knowing they were meant to be... eternal mates...
Shiera...
"Horus?" It was Star Lass. Theresa.
She was by him. Yes. The mission. Warn the JSA, here, now. "Join hands
with Drake and I, Horus... we don't want to risk losing anyone."
He joined hands with her and Greenfire. His
eyes were drawn to the star-field pattern of her costume; it was fascinating.
Like the stars over the desert sky... in the palace made of stone... the Pharaoh's
gods took on a dim gleam underneath them... Horus shook his head. Hard.
Greenfire concentrated his magical flame
about them, and soon they were awash in cool flickering green. It felt alive
with purpose, with his will. There was a moment of intense brightness, and
then...
...FFFAAAASSSSHHH...
...they were somewhere else. It was a
brightly lit room, full of wonderful and strange artifacts and figures.
"The JSA trophy room! I could kiss you,
Green!"
"Too bad I don't have lips, then,
huh?" His ears must have been deceiving him. Horus would have thought Drake
had just told a joke if he didn't know better.
"We finally did it!" Theresa was
flushed with wonder. "We'll be able to warn the forebears... and probably
help them 'save the day,' too, if Cathy's team did their part! This may sound
goofy, but I'm really looking forward to our first team-up!" Horus had to
laugh, and so did the others. The prospect of a great battle after all the
hopeless waiting actually seemed sweet.
"You're right... it does sound
goofy!" a harsh voice at the other end of the room injected. The
Legionnaires turned as one. Perched on a model of the All-Star Squadron
perisphere was a girl dressed in a scarlet robe, a fragment of an old gold mask
covering one eye.
"Psycho Queen," said Canary.
"Perfect."
ENTER… THE LEGION OF DOOM
"I'm not going to ask how you got here
or what you're doing," said Canary. "I already know--" Before
she finished the word "know," she was whirling in a move that would
put that "Emma Peel" lady from the vintage Earth vids to shame. Her
move connected... with the Perisphere model. Psycho Queen had vanished.
"Actions before words. How
typical," the sneering voice came from behind them. The Legionnaires
turned again. A hollow feeling was starting to form in the pit of their
collective stomach. "Did you forget we have Mekanique on our side? We've
been ready for you for hours. Take out the -- snort -- 'big gun' first,
Fabricator."
A boy in black, wearing a cowl, materialized
by Psycho Queen. His hand glinted before the young heroes could react.
Greenfire clunked down on the floor, his containment suit coated with wood. It
was something of a shock.
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