"He's coming for YOU Gnort." The words hung in the
air like bad incense. The Scarlet Skier had uttered the warning
just before passing out. Gnort was relatively sure it wasn't from
his breath this time. Pretty sure at least. Just to make sure,
he went into the kitchen to grab a breath-treat. If being a Green
Lantern so many years had taught him anything, it was the value
of fresh breath.
It had been a half-hour since the party had been interrupted,
but no one had really felt like getting back to the festivities.
Maybe it was due to the fact that space armor tended to give even
the best cakes an unpleasant after taste. Or maybe it was due
to how quickly the team had divided itself to deal with the problem.
Ralph and Sue had picked the Scarlet Skier off of what was left
of the cake and took him into the clinic. Ted wasn't sure what
they could do for him, but it had to be better than the prodding
that was doubtless to occur at the nearest hospital. The first
priority was to figure out how threatening his injuries were.
If professionals had to be brought in... then that was what the
call he had placed to the Justice League had been.
Ted, Michael and Beatrice found themselves moving as one toward
the door. Ted stopped short, looking at Beatrice, "Command
Center?" he mouthed.
She nodded with an embarrassed smile. They both turned to Michael,
who merely shrugged his shoulders. There was a certain comfort,
Ted mused, of having people around who were on the same page.
Signal Man though (or was he calling himself The Signal this week?
It went back and forth depending on his mood)stayed in the room.
He examined the hole what was supposed to be a secure bunker ceiling.
He examined a piece of smooshed cake. Then he ate a piece of it,
perhaps to examine it from the inside. Perhaps though, he was
just hungry. He wasn't too sure of that himself.
He watched as the rest of his "team" exited, to go about
their "heroic" duties. He watched, and silently chuckled.
Before too long, their heroic duty would be to fall at HIS hand.
It would be soon he decided... it would be soon.
He decided to follow the others into the command center. Anything
he could learn there, about their equipment, about the way they
thought, would be of use when the time was right. Anything he
could learn would be useful when he killed them all. He cackled
to himself as he walked. Then he stopped, the echoes were getting
a bit too loud. He resumed his walk to the command center with
a comfortable inner silence.
Ted was the first to stop short when he rounded the corner. Thus
Michael and Beatrice ran right into him before seeing what he
was staring at. The swivel chair was turned with it's high back
to the door, and someone was sitting in it. Not just sitting,
but humming.
Michael looked at Beatrice, who nodded before transforming her
body into green flame. "I don't know who you are. But you
better have a good explaination - and FAST." Ted said, trying
his best to sound confident. Whoever it was, they had not only
managed to find the place, but also get by a fairly sophisicated
security system. Not the type of thing usually attributed to light-weights.
"Actually" a male voice replied as the chair swiveled
back toward them, "I have an invitation." Beatrice,
ready for an attack, stopped cold as she saw the smiling Buddy
Baker aka Animal Man holding out his invitation to join the team.
She transformed back to normal with a sigh of relief.
"So" Buddy continued," Who's in charge around here
anyway?"
"I am"
"I am"
"Sue is"
They stopped and looked at each other, then quickly looked back
to Buddy. "I am" Ted repeated as Michael shook his head.
Buddy smiled, "It's nice to see that somethings haven't changed."
No one really knew who started laughing. Only that it soon consumed
the room.
The Signal watched from around the corner, taking it all in. Sooner
or later...oh yes, sooner or later.
Ralph watched as Sue finished bandaging the Scarlet Skier up.
The good news was that he wasn't as bad off as he seemed at first.
His armor had protected him more than anyone would have thought.
The bad news was that he still wasn't able to tell them anymore
information about who or what had attacked him. Nor why whatever
it was was coming for Gnort.
Ralph watched Sue somemore and sighed. Some things would just
have to come with time. Like being a father. She glanced over
her shoulder and smiled. "Probably thinks I'm staring at
her butt again" Ralph muttered to himself, but then shook
his head, "Nah, she knows exactly what I'm thinking."
The smile spread across his face, "That I'm one lucky, lucky
man to be married to such an incredible woman."
"You've got that right buster."
Ralph looked up to see Sue smiling in front of him.
"Thinking out loud again was I?"
She touched his nose with her finger, "You dear man. Don't
you know by now that you don't have to speak at all?" And
with that she kissed him.
Ralph returned the sentiment with gusto.
The Roach crawled across the side of the building, careful not
to look down. Not that the fall would kill him - nothing could.
But it would certainly smart quite a bit. He kept his gaze fixed
on the darken office window three more stories up. He skiddled
across the remaining space with ease. That was just one of the
many advantages he had gained. One of the many powers he now used
to earn his living.
He clung to the window, wondering what sort of security the place
had. His employer had been rather vague, only saying that he believed
that the window was the best place of approach. After all, who
defended themselves this high up from cat burglars?
The Roach sniffed at each crack and crevice until he found the
weak spot. Then he did something that would have caused quite
a stir if someone had happened to be watching it. He transformed
from his every day human guise to that of a small roach. He squeezed
his body into the crack, then out the other side. He skiddled
across the floor and into the adjoining room. He looked around
to make sure no one was there. Sure enough, the coast seemed to
be clear. He transformed back into his human guise just in time
to have a foot land in his face.
He fell backwards, trying to get a better look at his assailant.
Ray Palmer, aka the Atom watched as the Roach tried to spot him.
That was one of the many advantages of being able to change your
size quickly, keeping the element of surprise. He was about to
do it again when his foe used it first by sprouting antenna out
of his head. They twitched around in the air as Ray kept on the
move, hoping to cause confusion.
They followed him though, and the full-size Roach leapt in his
direction.
"Big or little" the decision went through his mind at
light speed. Go big and he could throw his opponent back, although
he would still be at a size disadvantage. Go smaller and he would
be missed altogether.
A split second later, the Roach hit the wall, hard. Ray almost
felt sorry for him. Almost. From his sub-atomic state, Ray couldn't
actually tell what was going on, but he knew the impact must have
be a doozy.
He felt his body growing as he watched the atoms shrinking until
he couldn't see them any longer. Just as well he had long ago
decided. Spending too much time in that state was probably not
a good idea.
The Roach was still a picking himself up. Ray finished him off
with a kick to the head. It was much easier thing to do now that
he was younger. There had been quite a few disadvantages to hitting
the restart button on his life* but getting in the best shape
of his life certainly hadn't been one of them.
(* Back in Zero Hour - GD)
He watched as the Roach fell to the ground unconscious, then waited
for a moment to make sure it wasn't just a feign. Villains tended
to do that sort of thing, like in horror movies they would wait
until everyone thought they were down for the count and then pop
back up when you had moved on. Not this time though, this guy
was down.
Ray turned back to the vial resting on the pedestal in the next
room. The Roach hadn't been the first one to come for it. Nor
would he be the last. Some things were just too much of a temptation
for the criminal lot. Putting such a powerful item in an vacant
space in a Detroit office building was just asking for trouble.
But since when had anyone asked him? Well, ok, since when had
they asked him for anything more than a bit of protection until
they could move it someplace safer?
He sighed and shook his head...the sooner this thing was someplace
else the sooner he could...
The Roach stood over the body of the Atom as he lay unconcious
on the floor. "Some superhero" he muttered to himself,
tucking his antenna back into his human form, "Doesn't even
know enough to watch his own back."
He was approaching Earth. He could smell it, even in space Earth
was distinctive for its smell. Most sane races avoided it for
that reason. Who wanted to have to get that "Sol 3 Smell"
out of their clothes? But this time, he had to go to Earth. After
all, that was where the Scarlet Skier had fled. That was where
Gnort was.
He laughed as his tail wagged in anticipation. Gnort was closer
than ever. Soon, Gnort would be dead...and then, well then he
might treat himself to something nice. After all, then he would
be free.
Buddy wasn't sure who he was more glad to see - Ralph or Sue.
After all, the others were nice enough but they were part of the
JLA. Ralph and Sue were from the short-lived Justice League Europe.
They were part of the family that he had joined ever so briefly.
Back then, things had been so... complicated. Now though... he
sighed and hugged them both.
"So...planning on hanging out this time?"
"RALPH" Sue warned.
"It's ok Sue" he reassured with a smile, "Really."
He turned back to Ralph, "Planning on making a nuisance of
yourself anymore?"
"Of course" Ralph said with a smirk.
"Well then, I guess I'll be hanging out for a bit."
Ralph put his hand on Buddy's shoulder. "I'm glad to hear
it."
"Not to interrupt this touching moment" came a voice,
"But would you mind sharing what's been going on with those
of us not in the 'in-crowd'."
Ted who had been standing back with the others to watch the reunion
didn't even have to turn around. "Well Signal Man. If you
hadn't been lurking back there for so long, we might have started
the briefing."
"You don't have to get snippy about it. Besides - where *is*
the dog boy anyway? We couldn't very well get started without
our mascot could we?"
"Gnort is hardly anyone's mascot" Michael started, "He's
a..."
"Fully qualified Green Lantern" Gnort finished as he
came in from behind The Signal depositing a empty Oreos package
in the garbage before taking a seat at the table.
"Actually" Michael leaned in to Ted, " I was about
to say that he was a member of the team."
Ted pats his friend on the shoulder, "I know man. Believe
me Booster, I know."
Ted waited until Gnort finds his way over to the table to join
the others to begin. Unfortunately Michael chose the same moment.
They stopped, cast each other a look before looking to Sue at
the far end of the table. She cast her eyes to the ceiling, hoping
for a reprieve. None was forthcoming.
"Ok then" she sighed, as she placed her palms down in
front of her on the table. "First I'd like to welcome our
newest member, Animal Man. Thank you for coming Buddy. I know
I speak for all of us when I say that we are better for having
you."
"Speak for yourself" The Signal muttered, then looked
around. No one had apparently heard. Either that, or they were
ignoring him. He would have to do better with his next bout of
sarcasm.
From a safe distance, Skeets took a note of each and every thing
the Signal muttered, wondering why it was that the ex-villain
was worth the effort. His was not to wonder why though. He tried
not to think of the rest of the quote, after all, it had taken
Booster long enough to reactivate him the last time. One more
time being trashed might just be the one that sent him to the
junk heap. Or worse, cannibalized for one of Beetle's gadgets.
If he wasn't a little flowing piece of robotic wonder, he would
have shivered at that prospect. As it was, his systems did their
best at imitating the gesture.
"Now to the situation at hand" Sue was saying. Skeets
continued to watch as she debriefed the group on the current condition
of the Scarlet Skier. Then she turned the floor over to Beetle
who detailed what the group had been able to find out about the
attacker. Which consisted of "we called the JLA to look into
it" but used a lot more words.
Skeets took a careful note of the guarded way Signal Man had reacted
to the news. There was certainly more going on there than met
the eye. Even an electronic one.
Beatrice Da Costa aka Fire listened and nodded in all the right
places. But her mind was a million miles away. Or at least a couple
thousand miles away. The appearance of Animal Man in their midst
had gotten her thinking about ...things. For the most selfish
of reasons, she wished Ice was still around. Granted, for that
to happen her best friend would have to still be alive. She needed
someone to talk to, someone who would understand her. Not the
best of reasons to go recruiting, especially when the group was
still young, and not exactly compact as it was. But this was a
good choice, she assured herself, a real benefit to the team.
And besides...it certainly didn't hurt that he had a cute rear.
In orbit above Earth, he made sure he rendered himself invisible
to scanners. After all, it certainly wouldn't do to let himself
be taken down by someone on the ground shooting off missiles at
him - or worse, for the Justice League to take any special notice
of his arrival. Not that they could stop him. No one could. He
was the most powerful being alive. Or so the little voices told
him. He tried not to listen to them, especially after the time
that they had told him that it was ok to wear plaid on Vega 9.
Apparently no one had thought to tell the inhabitants that it
wasn't a sign of invasion. He still had a couple of bare patches
in his coat from that excursion.
It didn't matter though, he thought as he glanced down at his
yellow glowing ring. He was the Anti-Gnort now. Soon everyone
would know that. Soon they all would taste his power and not be
able to get back up and ask for seconds. More important, Gnort
would be dead.
He felt his tail wag in anticipation.
Gnort sat in his room and wondered. He wondered if he should tell
the others what he had done, if he should mention what he did.
He had almost said something about it in the meeting, but the
minute he opened his mouth, Booster Gold was there shoving a treat
in it. Granted, it was a nice and chewy treat, but it didn't solve
the problem. It didn't let the others know that he knew who was
coming. Or more importantly, why they were coming. It wasn't just
a matter of the Anti-Gnort, or who it was. If it had just been
personal, someone out to kill him, Gnort could have dealt with
it. After all - people had been trying to kill him since he was
a pup. For some reason they seemed to be more inclined to kill
him the more time they spent with him. He wasn't quite sure about
the reason behind it, but it was an undeniable fact. But this
was different. Sure, they guy coming for him probably *thought*
that it was his only task.
But that was far from the truth. There was something bigger going
on. Something *much* bigger. Something that once engaged, they
might not survive.
Gnort thought about Booster Gold and the Blue Beetle. He thought
of the way they laughed together, of the unquestioning comradeship
that they shared even in the face of disaster.
He thought of Ralph and Sue. Of their love, of the litter they
had on the way. Baby, he reminded himself. Humans have babies,
and more than one was unusual. Still, it was a momentious occasion
for them. Standing side by side they were moving forward into
a new adventure - parenthood.
Gnort turned his thoughts to Fire - to Animal Man - even to that
Signal Man guy. He remembered hearing something about Animal Man's
family. Apparently he had sired his own litter somewhere. Sooner
or later he would go back to them.
Fire and Signal Man though...maybe he could get them to...he shook
his head. Somewhere they too no doubt had someone who needed them.
Someone who was counting on them to be there.
He packed light, glad for once not to have much. Not to need much.
He took one last look around the compound, thankful that everyone
appeared to be asleep. He had drawn the short straw for monitor
duty. Hopefully nothing would happen in the fifteen minutes before
the Blue Beetle would be relieving him.
He sighed as he walked out onto the streets of Detroit, casting
a glance back before taking to the air. After all - he probably
wasn't going to be coming back.
NEXT: The Anti-Gnort! The Roach! The
Signal! A couple new team members! Plus lots of other things with
exclaimation points after them!
