PART THE FIRST
"Winds of Change"

 

PINGPINGPINGPINGPINGPINGPINGPINGPING The MotherBox attached to Orion’s arm emitted a constant stream of noise as it toiled mechanically to restrain the bloodlust of the scion of Darkseid.  Orion was gazing out through the glass wall of the JLA Watchtower’s observation deck, his muscles shaking, tendons standing out on his neck as if his head were about to separate from his body and smash its way out into the starry darkness.  Big Barda stood near Orion, but with her back to the view of outer space.

“We must take our leave of you, my comrades,” Barda said to Superman, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, the Huntress and Plastic-Man, who all stood before her.  “We may have stayed too long already.  The ancient truce has been violated and war has erupted between New Genesis and Apokalips.”

“We understand, Barda,” Superman said sympathetically.  “We’ve always known you had duties as New Gods which might take precedence over your JLA memberships …”

“Not merely ‘duties’, Superman,” Orion barked, turning around and facing the rest of the Leaguers for the first time since they had entered the room.  His eyes were wild, but soon were hidden in black shadows as he pulled on his helmet.  “To lead the forces of New Genesis in war against Darkseid’s minions is Orion’s birthright, his destiny!  If existence has any reason or meaning, this war gives meaning to mine!  Farewell!”  Orion stepped onto his astro-harness and rocketed toward the ceiling, passing through a small airlock and into the thin atmosphere of the Moon.

“Snff, snff, doesn’t he know I hate long, weepy good-byes?” Plastic Man asked, the corners of his pouting mouth sagging down to his knees.

“Orion is not one to stand on ceremony,” Barda conceded, “but his urgency is well-founded.  I must depart as well.  Goodbye, my friends.  Your Earth is in good hands.”

The Huntress slowly extended her right hand.  “Goodbye, Barda.  It’s been … interesting.  I learned a thing or two from you.”

The New God gripped the urban vigilante’s forearm in a warrior’s clasp.  “As have I.”

“Our thoughts will be with you,” the Martina Manhunter said.  “We hoped war would never come to your world, but now we hope for your victory.”

“Thank you,” Barda nodded.

“Yeah, and if you see DeSaad, whale on him with your rod a couple times for me, Barda,” Green Lantern added.

Barda was already flying toward the airlock in the ceiling.  “Until we meet again!” she called down, then passed through to the outside.  She joined Orion in the darkness, and before them a wide circle opened in space, filled with a blindingly bright yellow-orange miasma.  Even on the near-airless surface of the Moon, the Boom Tube generated a powerful concussion, the vibrations of which the Leaguers could feel in the structure of the Watchtower.  Orion and Barda flew into the Boom Tube, which closed behind them, vanishing from sight.

“I hope we do meet again,” Superman said.  “Good luck, friends.”

A voice from the electronic speakers built into the walls interrupted their reverie.  “Superman?  This is Oracle.  Can you gather everyone in the briefing room?  There’s a report coming in from Batman, something about a major earthquake in Gotham City …”

“You heard the lady,” Superman said, as he flew out of the room to the elevator down from the observation deck.  Martian Manhunter and Green Lantern flew behind him, and Plastic Man and Huntress brought up the rear on foot.

The heroes exited the elevator and continued on to the briefing room, where Wonder Woman and Zauriel were already waiting.  As they took their seats around the large meeting table, the Flash streaked through the doorway and into his seat, and Aquaman followed soon after.  Steel entered last, having come from his laboratory in the sub-basement of the Watchtower.

“We’re all here now, Oracle,” Superman announced.  “What’s Batman’s status handling this quake?”

“As quickly as it began, it’s stopped,” the Batman’s voice was broadcast across Oracle’s communications circuit. 

“Casualties?” Superman asked.

“Minimal, in terms of lives.  One structural casualty has me troubled.  Arkham Asylum took major damage.  There’s a full-scale breakout that requires my immediate attention.  Batman, out.”

“We’ll be down immediately to back you up,” Superman replied.  The JLA mobilized on that command, heading for the teleportation tube to return to Earth.  “Oracle, see if you can establish communication with Arkham.  Let us know what the situation is moment-to-moment until we arrive.”

“Check,” Oracle affirmed.

Wonder Woman sidled up to Superman as they were the last two leaving the room.  “You realize Batman probably didn’t want any backup.  He thinks of those psychotics in Arkham as ‘his’ problem.”

“And for all we know he’ll have the situation under control before we even get there,” Superman agreed.  “But something tells me there’s more going on here than we know.  All we can do now is help as best we can, and that means we all go down to Earth.”

---

ARKHAM ASYLUM

 

Klaxons wailed pointlessly at the night sky and searchlights swept over the rubble-strewn ground in seemingly random patterns.  Arkham Asylum was more than damaged – it was split open like a rotten piece of fruit.  A group of figures picked their way carefully through the debris, moving together yet noticeably keeping their distance from each other.  Led by the Joker, the insane criminals also included Pinhead, Two-Face, Scarecrow, Poison Ivy, Killer Croc, the Ventriloquist, Mr. Zsasz, Firefly, Clayface and Maximillian Zeus.  No love was lost among any of the inmates of Arkham; yet they knew their best hope to make good their escape was to stay together, at least until they were sure HE was nowhere close by.

“A-tiptoooeeee … a-through the toilehhhhhts …” the Joker sang falsetto as the group worked their way across a crumbled pile of ceramic and porcelain which had been a bathroom before the earthquake.

“Shut up, Joker,” Two-Face growled.

“You can’t make me, hee hee hee!!!” Joker replied with sick glee.

“I’ll make you, Joker,” Mr. Zsasz hissed, flexing his muscles and causing the scarred notches in his flesh to dance.  “I’ll cut your tongue out and feed it back to you in slivers.”

“Oh no!  Oh no!  Not that!” the Joker screamed with overblown terror.  “I’d rather kill myself!”  The Joker spied the top half of a toilet tank, which still had a seat attached but no bowl.  The Joker threaded his legs through the seat, said “Goodbye, cruel world!” and pressed the flush handle on the tank.  The Joker twisted his body in circles as he lowered the rest of his body through the toilet seat, laughing uncontrollably.

“All right, that’s it, the field trip is over, everyone back on the short bus,” Huntress commanded as she emerged from behind a pile of rubble, crossbow drawn.

“Ay, ain’t no dame gonna give orders to Scarface!” the small wooden dummy on the Ventriloquist’s arm seemed to say.

“You gotta be kidding me,” the scaly, muscular Killer Croc laughed malevolently.  “All of us together, and just you and your little kiddie arrows’re gonna take us down?”

Suddenly Killer Croc howled in pain, dropping to his knees and clutching his head.  “No,” a voice boomed down from above, “all of us are here to help her.”

The Arkham inmates looked up and saw Martian Manhunter, Steel, Zauriel and Green Lantern hovering in the air.  On a platform generated by Green Lantern’s power ring stood Aquaman and Plastic Man.  The King of Atlantis was staring down at Killer Croc, using his animal telepathy to mentally disable the reptilian murderer.

The inmates scattered, running as best they could among the debris, and the JLA members quickly pursued them.  Green Lantern cut an emerald slash through the darkness and landed in front of Poison Ivy.

The botanical villainess smiled disarmingly at Green Lantern, and her eyes flashed in the starlight as she tossed her long auburn hair over one shoulder.  Her Arkham-issued jump suit was not as flattering as the leafy corsets she preferred to wear, but her beauty was undeniable nonetheless.  “I know I shouldn’t have run away from the doctors who are trying to help me,” Poison Ivy cooed, drawing nearer to Green Lantern with every word, “but after all that time cooped up I’m such a … lonely … girl …”

“Sorry, Ivy, but Bats has been having me read up on all the bad guy profiles, and if you think I’m letting you touch me, you really ARE crazy,” Green Lantern explained, as he created a gigantic emerald lawn-mower between them.  The energy construct ran over Poison Ivy and sucked her into its leaf-bag attachment.

Plastic Man and Aquaman were diving off the emerald platform on which they had arrived.  Plastic Man formed himself into a red, yellow and flesh colored coin eight feet in diameter, yelled “Call it in the air!” and landed directly on Two-Face.  Aquaman launched his cybernetic hookline at the Scarecrow, entangling the master of fear’s legs and bringing him down in a heap on the ground.

Zauriel’s wings carried him over the head of Firefly, and the angel alighted before the inmate.  Holding his flaming sword to the side, Zauriel offered his free hand and said, “Come, I have no desire to see any human being hurt.  Return to where you belong.”  The pyromaniac villain eyed Zauriel scornfully, his eyes darting back to the flaming sword repeatedly.  Firefly lunged greedily at the heavenly weapon, which Zauriel quickly moved out of reach, followed by a quick blow with his free hand to the back of Firefly’s head, rendering the inmate unconscious.  “Undone by temptation,” Zauriel sighed.

---

On the far side of the Asylum, Superman and Wonder Woman descended from the sky.  “Dr. Arkham?” Wonder Woman called out.

“I’m here,” the head administrator of Arkham answered.  Superman and Wonder Woman followed the sound of his voice, and found the doctor in a ground-floor room, the outer wall of which had fallen in during the earthquake.  The doctor was tending to several figures, some of which did not look entirely human to the arriving Justice League members.  One was the size of an infant but had the facial hair and wrinkles of a middle-aged man.  One was human-sized but featureless and gray from head to toe, and seemed to be moaning pitifully with many voices at once.  Another appeared to be an awkward evolutionary stage between cow and man.  Yet another was a large man with skin resembling the bark of a tree.  All of these curious creatures wore remnants of Arkham security guard uniforms or orderlies’ whites.  There were other guards and orderlies in the room, as well, who looked like normal humans but were either screaming, crying, or both.  Lying near a far wall were sheets draped over two bodies.

“What’s happened here?” Superman asked.  “Is it related to the Earthquake?”

Before Dr. Arkham could finish administering a tranquilizer to the hysterical guard to whom he was attending, a voice from the shadows answered, “That’s what I’m trying to figure out.”  Batman stepped out of the darkness.

---

In the courtyard, Steel threw his hammer at Pinhead, and even though the blow was only glancing, the inertia-multiplying field of the weapon felled the super-strong inmate.  Green Lantern and his flying emerald lawnmower overtook the Ventriloquist and drew him up into the holding bag.  Green Lantern continued on to a small, temporary holding cell which the Flash was constructing at superspeed, using the heat of friction to fuse together rubble from the grounds.  Green Lantern detached the leaf bag from the mower and dumped Poison Ivy and the Ventriloquist in the stone structure.

“You’re no Frank Lloyd Wright, Wally, but this’ll do in a pinch,” Green Lantern said.

“So glad you think so,” the Flash answered sardonically as he continued assembling the holding cell.

J’onn J’onzz, the Manhunter from Mars, floated in the air above Clayface.  “Ah, the infamous Mr. J’onzz ” Basil Karlo grinned wickedly as he shifted his mudd-like form. “Shall we settle this one shape shifter to another?” Clayface transformed into a ten-foot tall reptilian monster. Its taloned hands began to glow as Clayface brought his flesh burning powers to bear.  “I’ve always wondered what my power could do to alien flesh.”

“You may continue to wonder, as you will not have an opportunity to lay your hands on me,” Martian Manhunter replied, unleashing his searing Martian vision on Clayface, while at the same time telepathically assaulting the villain’s control his over form.  The villain screamed as the heat engulfed his body, and oozed to the ground unconscious.

Green Lantern arrived beside Martian Manhunter, scooping Clayface up in an emerald bag marked with BIOHAZARD symbols, and flew off to gather the other subdued inmates.

---

“The earthquake was clearly not of natural origin,” Batman explained to Superman, Wonder Woman and Dr. Arkham.  “It was precisely focused, with Arkham Asylum at the epicenter.  And from examining the structural damage, I believe I’ve pinpointed the inmate’s cell which was at ground zero.”

“And that would be …?” Superman asked.

“The Psycho Pirate.  These workers,” Batman gestured at the bizarrely changed guards and orderlies, “seem to be the handiwork of the Psycho Pirate as well, and his ability to alter the nature of his victims to match emotions he produces in them.  The helplessness of a baby, the gray nothingness of despair, the docility of a cow or the passivity of a tree – these men must have been directly in the path of the Psycho Pirate as he tried to escape.  The others, who appear unchanged but are clearly in the throes of strong emotional manipulations, may simply have been caught in his wake.”

“Did the Psycho Pirate also kill those men?” Wonder Woman asked, pointing toward the bodies on the far side of the room.

“No,” Dr. Arkham replied.  “That would be Mr. Zsasz’s handiwork.”

---

Zsasz brandished a jagged shard of glass at Aquaman, who waited deliberately for the killer to make the first move.  Blood was trickling down Zsasz’s hand as he clenched his scavenged weapon.  Suddenly Zsasz sprang ferociously through the air, and Aquaman raised his hand to catch the inmate’s shard-wielding hand.  Aquaman grabbed the wrist tightly, but with surprising strength Zsasz was able to bring his arm down and nearly stab the King of Atlantis with the shard.  Zsasz snatched the shard with his free hand, drawing fresh blood, and brought the broken glass down hard into Aquaman’s right eye.

Zsasz stared at his hand as it passed by Aquaman’s face – the glass shard was gone.  Then Zsasz noticed the Flash standing directly beside him and Aquaman.  The Flash was waggling the glass shard at Zsasz like a scolding parent.  It was the last thing Zsasz saw clearly before a flurry of superspeed punches rendered him unconscious.

“Got a special iron coffin for you, psycho-boy,” Flash said as he ran with Mr. Zsasz to the temporary holding cell.

Maxie Zeus stood tall facing down Steel and Martian Manhunter.  “Hephaestus!” he said to Steel reproachfully.  “Noble forger of mine own lightning bolts!  Have you turned on Zeus as well, allying yourself with this …” he gestured at Martian Manhunter “… Stygian creature?”

“Afraid so,” Steel replied, firing several pinions from his armor’s wrist-launchers and trapping Maxie Zeus against a large section of broken wall.

Plastic Man bounced over with a woozy Two-Face under his arm.  “Th-th-th-that’s all, folks!” he enthused.

“Not quite all,” the Martian Manhunter said somberly.  “Where is the Joker?”

---

“So, the Psycho Pirate was obviously determined to escape, based on the lengths he took to evade the guards,” Superman nodded.  “And he was responsible for the earthquake as well?”

“Unlikely,” Batman shook his head.  “The Psycho Pirate’s powers have changed over time, but have always been tied closely to emotions.  The crust of the planet has no discernable emotions,” the Dark Knight added humorlessly.

“Could he have been tapping into fear of Earthquakes?” Wonder Woman suggested.

“Again, unlikely,” Batman dismissed the idea.  “The possibilities are these: One, Psycho Pirate’s powers have increased dramatically, allowing him to cause the earthquake.  Two, the earthquake was caused by someone else who specifically wanted the Psycho Pirate free, and has further plans for him.  In either case, I do not like the implications.”

“We’ll get to the bottom of it,” Superman promised.  Suddenly a cackling scream could be heard just outside the room.  Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman ran outside, and spotted the Huntress on her knees, straddling the prone form of the Joker.  A weighted bola was wrapped around the Joker’s ankles.  Huntress had the front of Joker’s uniform clenched in one fist, the other cocked back menacingly.  The blood trickling down the Joker’s pointed white chin indicated the Huntress had already applied her fist to him at least once.

“Heh hee heeeeee,” Joker wheezed.  “I like the rough stuff, gorgeous.”  The Huntress growled in disgust and let her fist fly again, smashing the Joker’s nose.  The Joker laughed harder than ever.

“Huntress!  That’s enough!” Batman called out.  Huntress did not respond, watching the Joker closely for any excuse to strike again.  Batman approached the two of them, bat-cuffs in hand.  “Huntress, get off of him.”

Huntress pushed the Joker down to the ground roughly and stood up, muttering, “Whatever you say, Dad.”

“WHAT did you call me?” Batman looked at her sternly.  Huntress locked eyes with him, and for a moment both felt an eerie unease between them, as if a cosmic chord had been struck out of tune.  The Huntress broke eye contact first and turned away from Batman, who bent down to cuff the Joker.  The cackling maniac was in too much pain to resist.  

---

THE SPHINX, EGYPT

 

Two figures stood atop the head of the Wonder of the Ancient World known as the Sphinx.  One was a man dressed in a drab inmate’s jumpsuit, with a wild shock of light brown hair that jumped out over one uncertain blue eye and one golden eyepatch-shaped plate.  He held a golden spear gently in his hands, as if afraid to grasp the weapon too tightly.  Joining him was a dwarf-sized being, stretched out on a floating lounge chair that hovered near the man’s shoulder.  A giant television screen floated impossibly in the air before them, showing the JLA as they finished apprehending the escapees at Arkham Asylum.  With a snap of the smaller man’s fingers, the screen disappeared.

“Well, THAT wasn’t much fun.  That Super-simpleton didn’t even get involved at all, did he?  Not that there was much to get involved with where your old nuthouse-mates are concerned, hmmmm, Psycho Pirate?  All gimmick, no BANG!  Let them loose without their bags of tricks or theme-party henchman, not even a plan to poison the city’s water supply, and it’s not much of a challenge for the big, bad Jay Ell Ayy.”  The dwarf looked up at Psycho Pirate, and punched him in a friendly way on the shoulder.  “But all that matters is that we’re together now, right, PP?”

“I … I … I guess …,” the Psycho Pirate stammered, like a man long unaccustomed to conversations.  He curled and uncurled his fingers around the shaft of the spear and said, “What … what is this?”

“It’s the answer to your prayers!” the little man exclaimed.  “And possibly, the answer to mine as well,” he added to himself.  With a broad salesman’s smile and a carnival barker’s voice, he went on, “What it’s called isn’t important.  What it can do is what’s important!”

“And … what’s that?” the Psycho Pirate whispered nervously.

“Anything!  Anything you want, anything you can imagine!  It brought an earthquake your way and set you free, didn’t it?”

The Psycho Pirate nodded, and his diminutive companion continued, “And I’m not just shining you on when I say ‘anything,’ PP.  Earthquakes are small potatoes.  When someone with your unique talents is holding something like that there spear, the word ‘impossible’ ceases to have any meaning!  You could literally remake the whole world!  Or unmake it, so there’s nothing left but you and me and maybe some brownies to snack on!  Anything you want!”

“Anything …?” Psycho Pirate asked, a small smile flickering around the corners of his mouth.

“Anything at ALL!” the little man urged him on.

The Psycho Pirate wound his fingers tightly around the spear.  Suddenly his jumpsuit was transformed into proper clothing – black jeans, black undershirt, a long black trenchcoat with its sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and black fingerless gloves.  The Medusa Mask which covered his eye began to depict demonic expressions.  The smile on Psycho Pirate’s lips settled into place.  The spear began to glow.  

---

JLA WATCHTOWER

The JLA returned to their lunar base and assembled once again in the main briefing room.  The heroes each took a seat and Superman opened the meeting.

“Our efforts to recapture the escapees from Arkham were largely successful,” Superman began.  “Only three inmates remain at large: Dr. Destiny, the Riddler and the Psycho Pirate.  Psycho Pirate is our primary target as of now.  We believe he was responsible, at least in part, for the earthquake which destroyed the sanitarium, and is the most dangerous of those on the loose.  I’d like to ask for volunteers to make the first attempts to relocate and apprehend him.”

“Ummm, Superman?  This is Oracle,” an electronically amplified voice sounded from the ceiling of the room.  “I’m sure the Psycho Pirate should be brought in ASAP … but in the time it took you all to teleport back up to the Watchtower, a few things have happened which might also need your attention.”

“Such as …?” Superman inquired.

“Okay, let’s see …” Oracle sighed, trying to remain calm.  “There’s someone in Metropolis causing a disturbance at the Daily Planet … he’s … bear with me, this gets a little weird … he’s eating the globe that sits on top of the Daily Planet building.  He’s wearing a costume with a right half that looks like yours and a left half that looks like Batman’s, sort of.  And he’s demanding that you come face him so he can prove he’s the better man, or he’ll eat the entire city, building by building.

“Also, the S.T.A.R. labs in San Diego just … turned inside out.  That’s what the reports are saying anyway.  The physical building literally inverted, and everything that was inside got out.  Unfortunately, Chemo was being held in one of the sub-basements under observation.  Now he’s wading down the coast of Baja California, Mexico.

“There’s some stories coming in from Rome of a … a trio of monsters, led by a young man, just causing destruction and general mayhem.  And someone else is currently laying waste to one of the biggest oil fields in Saudi Arabia – they’ve been flying over the derricks and shooting green flames, sonic blasts, lasers – you name it.”

“Is it Amazo?” Batman asked.  “It sounds like duplication of Justice League powers – Fire, Black Canary, Dr. Light …”

“Possibly … no, no, scratch that, this just in,” Oracle interrupted herself.  “Whoever it is, it’s not Amazo.  It’s a shapeshifter, just not a very subtle one.  They keep changing shape in mid-air, from one guise to another.  Military is starting to move in but if the power levels demonstrated so far are any indication, they don’t have much of a chance …

“Now I’m hearing about a conflict in Tiannamen Square … there’s a group of four villains claiming that they are taking over China … calling themselves the ‘Monster Society of Oom’?  None of them match any records I have of known super-criminals.”

The JLA looked around the table at each other, stunned by the chaos which had already broken out.  Green Lantern gave voice to everyone’s thoughts: “Is that ALL, Oracle?”

“So far,” she confirmed, “No, wait, one more.  Some kind of giant creature heading toward Central City.  Big and ugly, that’s all I’ve got right now.”

“All right,” Superman said commandingly, “Oracle, mobilize as many Justice League reservists as you can.  We’ll split up now; have the rest back us up, unless new crises emerge.  I’ll go to Metropolis.  Aquaman, you take Chemo in the Pacific.  Green Lantern and Flash, you head for Central City.  Wonder Woman and Steel, take the shapechanger in Saudi Arabia.  J’onn and Plastic Man, you’re in China.  Zauriel, I want you to stay here on monitor duty.  Batman, Huntress, can you attend to the situation in Rome before you continue working on locating the Psycho Pirate?”

“I’m going back to the Batcave,” Batman contradicted him, “to figure out what the connection is between these random major attacks.  That may in turn lead us to the Psycho Pirate.  I’ll stay in radio contact.”  With that the Dark Knight quickly left the room.

Superman’s brow furrowed momentarily, then smoothed as he continued, “Oracle, we’re spread a bit thin.  Put a call out to the Justice League reserves, especially any currently living in Europe who can respond to Rome quickly.  Anyone else who can pitch in anywhere is welcome to do so.”  The man of Steel then turned to face Huntress.

The Huntress looked back at Superman, defiantly at first, but then with admiration and respect.  “Just tell me where you need me the most,” Huntress said with a sweetness no one in the room had heard before.

“Why don’t you … accompany Green Lantern and Flash?” Superman suggested, a bit disconcerted.  With all assignments in place, the League departed for the teleporter room once again.  Zauriel was left alone in the meeting room.  “I’m reporting to the monitor womb now,” Zauriel said to the ceiling.

“Gotcha,” Oracle answered.  “I’ll feed you info as I get it.”

Zauriel spread his feathered wings and flew down the corridors to the womb.  He entered the tall, narrow chamber, flew up to the main seat, and set himself to the controls.  After a few moments, he felt a presence in the womb with him.  Slowly, Zauriel rose, turning in mid-air to see a figure cloaked in green hovering in the higher recesses of the monitor room.

“Greetings.  It’s been a long time,” Zauriel said to the visitor.

The Spectre said nothing.  

TO BE CONTINUED …

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