The JSA: The World's Original Superteam! Since World War II, an incarnation of this fabled team has existed to defend Earth from all threats! Now, a new team has been formed, with members from older generations as well as new! They are: The Flash, Sentinel, Wildcat, Obsidian, Hourman, and Wonder Woman…the Justice Society of America!

Issue #3

Plot by Mike Hintze and Jason Brice
Written by Mike Hintze

Faux-DC Presents: "Once More, With Feeling!"

A COLD ARMAGEDDON CROSSOVER

---

"Are you sure this thing is gonna work?"

Obsidian looked around warily at the high tech room he was in. In front of him, amidst the machinery and technology, was a cylindrical chamber large enough for one man. It hummed with energy, and seemed to give off a vibration that could be felt through the floor. Obsidian preferred his own mode of transportation, which he had discovered only recently through the teachings of his new mentor and teacher. He was capable of entering a shadow dimension, and leaving through another point back to wherever he could imagine on Earth. It was quick and (at least to him) painless. Others seemed to be affected in some way by the journey, as if the shadows in the other dimension seemed to open up fears unbidden. He would have to look into that, but now, he had to go through with his promise of helping test the new transporters for Steel.

"Dr. Irons assures us it will work, and if he says so, I have no reason to doubt him. With his JLA experience, I'm sure he knows what he's doing," replied Dr. Jack England, resident Alien Technologies Department Head for STAR Metropolis. Together with Dr. John Irons, a.k.a. Steel, they comprised the technical team who was outfitting the new headquarters of the Justice Society of America.

The JSA had reassembled by accident recently, to handle the combined menace of Extant and an incredibly powerful Per Degaton, an old foe of the JSA from World War II. The battle took the team to the dawn of time, but they prevailed in the end. However, the team didn't leave unscathed. Wildcat was aged to a point where he was incapable of the physical activity required to continue in his costumed identity. Rick Tyler, the son of Rex Tyler (the original Hourman) was brought back into action taking his father's namesake, however he had been hit by a blast of chronal energy from Degaton. What changes that blast may have wrought was still unknown.

The President of the United States had been mind controlled, along with Sentinel, as part of Degaton's master plan. Nuclear disaster had been narrowly averted thanks to the JLA, but it ultimately was the JSA who stopped Degaton. Shaken by the scope of what had been narrowly averted, the President decided on a plan that would involve a new JSA.

Obsidian stepped into the chamber, and readied himself. At the first sign of trouble, he would convert to his shadow form. The air hummed around him, and then a flash of light hit his retinas. He found himself looking into a large green chamber, stylishly designed to be practical yet aesthetically pleasing. There was no source of light; rather the walls themselves seemed to emanate a pleasant illumination for one to see.

He was aboard the Justice Society's new headquarters, in geosynchronous orbit over Earth.

"Welcome to the Higher Authority, Obsidian," said Steel from a console off to the side of the teleport chamber. It seemed as if the wall of the room was flowing out to attach itself to Steel's armor. "I trust the trip went well?"

"Surprisingly...yes," replied Obsidian. "But¼what the hell is the wall doing to your armor?"

Steel smiled. "The Higher Authority is the culmination of a little experiment I've had cooking in my mind for a while. This entire station can interface with any computer technology, and receive and send data to any datasource. Like my armor."

Obsidian cocked his head to the side, confused. "But the walls look¼alive."

Steel laughed. "In a way, they are. Or at least, a reasonable facsimile. You see, this entire structure is composed entirely of Green Lantern energy."

A modicum of understanding fell over Obsidian's face. "So that explains the green color and lighting on everything. But how does that make this place 'alive'?"

Steel continued. "Essentially, this entire construct is one giant light wave. As such, it can also be turned to act as one giant fibreoptic relay. Fibreoptics is the use of light to transmit information, usually through glass tubing on Earth. Here, the light energy itself acts as the 'glass tubing'. Green Lantern and Sentinel used their respective abilities to create this construct. With the use of Martian technology from J'onn J'onzz and the League, as well as some New Genesisian tech (along with design help from John Stewart), we were able to adapt this construct into a large fibreoptic, artificially aware unit. The Higher Authority. Jay came up with the name."

Obsidian stood speechless for several moments. He hadn't understood what the hell was just said, but he knew what it amounted to: one kick?ass headquarters.

"Man," he said aloud, "Rick's gonna flip when he sees this place."

---

Tyler Chemicals World Headquarters, Jersey City, New Jersey

Rick Tyler stormed through the outer offices of his father's corporation with a look of intense seriousness on his face. Anyone who approached him thought twice about it as he headed towards the main office of Victor Ferdinand, acting Chief Operating Officer for Tyler Chemicals, in lieu of Rick himself.

When Rick's father, Rex Tyler, the original Hourman, had died during the cosmic battle known as Zero Hour, Rick inherited the Tyler Chemical fortune. He didn't fancy himself the corporate type, though, and decided to pursue his career as an artist. Moving to New York City, he had tried to set up shop and break in to the Art World. He didn't make it very far.

Bob Logan, a former accountant for Tyler Chemicals, contacted him. He claimed to have information and proof that Tyler Chemicals was involved with organized crime, particularly a group known as Intergang. Rick had heard of them before, most notably in the news when Superman had run afoul of them. Not taking any chances, he quickly called for superhuman backup, namely his friend Todd Rice, son of the Golden Age Green Lantern, and known as the shadow wielding Obsidian. But Rick was too late. An Intergangster had assassinated Bob while Rick was on the phone, and tried to escape. Activating his inherent superhuman strength he had internalized from the doses of his father's Miraclo pills over the years, he pursued the killer and her cohorts. Stopping them, he was unable to question them before they all vaporized into ashes from a suicide device implanted in their mouths. All but one¼and after some persuasion from Obsidian, he talked. He didn't know a lot, but it was enough that Rick meant to take things up with Victor personally. Victor had been a lifelong friend to Rick and his family, which made him want to clear this situation up as soon as possible.

Rick barreled past the secretary. She got up quickly, and stood in front of him, intending to stop him from entering Victor's office.

"Excuse me," she began, "But you can't just walk in here without an appointment." Her stern features made it clear she was serious.

"Look, miss," he replied just as sternly, "If you don't get out of my way, you're fired."

A look of realization swept across her face. "You-you're-Oh! I'm sorry, Mr. Tyler, I didn't recognize you! Your hair has grown out, and¼ oh, never mind! I'll tell Mr. Ferdinand you're here."

Rick kept walking. "Never mind. He'll see me." Opening the doors to the main office, Rick walked inside.

The office was fashionably well done, with leather furniture and exotic looking artwork adorning the walls. A large oak desk was the centerpiece to the room, and behind it was a large bay window opening to a view of the grounds of Tyler Chemicals. Sitting at the desk, was Victor Ferdinand. He was a mid?sized man, having put on a little weight recently, and had a receding hairline, with gray around the temples.

"Rick! My boy, it's good to see you! How have you been? Is something wrong? You look disturbed," he said, standing up as he did so.

"Something is very wrong, Victor. I need to ask you some questions." Rick stared Victor straight in the eyes.

Victor's pleasant demeanor faded. "You're here about Intergang, aren't you?"

Rick's face changed to utter surprise. "You know??? You know about them? Then tell me, are the accusations true? Is Tyler Chemicals acting as an agent of Intergang?"

Victor stood his ground. "Yes. And I'm prepared to take you in as a partner in it all. With Intergang, we can all be rich men. All we have to do is turn a blind eye to it all."

Rick couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You expect me to take part in this? Your friends in Intergang had a man killed because he was trying to tell me about this connection! I didn't believe you had anything to do with it¼but now I do. You realize I won't let you go through with this. Effective immediately, you're fired and I'm assuming control of the company. The authorities will be coming in, and a full investigation will be done. Get out, before I throw you out, you son of a bitch."

Victor only shook his head in dismay and disappointment. "Rick, Rick, Rick. I'm afraid I can't let you do that." With that, he pulled out a handheld device that looked like a small pager, aimed it at Rick and pushed a button. A loud boom was heard¼

¼heard was boom loud A .button a pushed and Rick at it aimed, pager small a like looked that device handheld¼

"Rick! My boy, it's good to see you! How have you been? Is something wrong? You look disturbed."

Rick was struck speechless. What the hell had just happened? One second Victor had a device aimed at him, and the next, he's right back at introductions again. It was if time¼reversed itself. Only, Rick remembered everything. And Victor¼well, as far as he was concerned, Rick had just walked into the room.

"Rick? What's the matter?", asked Victor.

In reply, Rick wound up and punched Victor in the jaw, knocking him clear across the room, to land unconscious. Checking Victor's pockets, he found a pager?like device, just like the one that was aimed at him before¼before whatever it was that happened.

He reached into his jacket, and pulled out his cell phone. Hitting speed dial, he waited for the line to be picked up.

"Hello, Garrick residence."

"Jay? It's Rick Tyler," he responded, "I need an emergency pickup. Have you ever been to the corporate grounds of Tyler Chemicals? My dad's old office?"

"Well, yes Rick, I have. Are you in trouble?", replied Jay Garrick, the original Flash.

"I will be if I don't get out of here fast. Can you help me?"

A gust of wind was felt, and a second later, "You got it, Rick" came from behind him. Whirling in surprise, Rick almost hit Jay, but then realized what had just happened.

"Dammit, Jay, Dad always hated it when you did that."

Jay smiled. "What's the use of superspeed if you can't spook your friends once in a while? I was here for a whole nanosecond after I checked the office for an ambush. Couldn't find anything. Say, is that Victor Ferdinand on the floor?"

Rick went to pick Victor up. "Yes, it is. And he's why we need to get out of here. I'll explain on the way."

A second later, Ferdinand's secretary walked in. The office was empty. Scratching her head, she closed the door, wondering how she could have missed her bosses leaving, and why it was suddenly drafty in the office.

---

Deep Space

"<Report!>*"

(*Translated from the Khund - BiLingual Mike)

The bridge of the Gertok Nohtrek, translated loosely into English as The Sword That Disembowels Our Enemies, was in a state of excitement. Khund warriors rushed everywhere at the command of their leader, High Commander Krug. Officers checked power flux generators, weapons charges and various other systems. Finally, 1st Officer Mrad stepped up to High Commander Krug.

"Sir! All systems report nominal! Pulse cannons at standby, Quantum projectiles fully charged!" Mrad stood at attention.

Krug looked up from his command chair. He was commanding one of the most powerful starships in the Khund fleet, and this was her first major run. The Gertok Nohtrek had made several runs onto outlying worlds before this, and met with horrifying success. This was due to a new weapons system that had been found in ruins on Hretik IV by a squad of Khundian commandos. A chamber had been found below ground on the desolate planet, seemingly untouched for thousands of years. But what they found…

Inside the chamber were hundreds of what the Khund scientists called Quantum Projectiles. In all preliminary tests, the Projectiles were capable of devolving whatever target was hit, within a three hundred mile radius. Anything, whether it was metal, organic or energy, was hit with a temporal wave that reversed time on the targets. The most effective method of destroying an enemy, without damaging natural resources of attacked planets. Minerals and metals were de-aged, but not to the extent those millions of years of their formation were changed. The maximum de-aging effect was a mere hundred years…enough for the use the Khunds had for the Projectiles.

They had field-tested the weapons, but never in a full combat situation. Now that they were a part of another Alien Alliance, headed by Mongul and the creature known as the Cyborg* (albeit this time to destroy Earth, not control its superhumans) they would be able to use the Projectiles to destroy the one planet that had constantly been a thorn in the Khund Empire's side, and destroy all of its superhumans. The Khunds had kept the Projectiles a secret from the rest of the Alliance, and intended to use them as a surprise weapon. Once the Earth was destroyed, the rest of the Alliance would be next.

(*See Superman #10 and 11, and all the other Cold Armageddon Crossover Issues! - Read'em All Mike)

And the Khund Empire would become the pre-eminent force in the universe.

At least, as far as High Commander Krug was concerned.

One of the bridge officers spoke up. "High Commander! We've entered the Sol Star System! The fleet has already assembled near Sol 3's moon. ETA…16 grotons."

"Very well," replied Krug, "Today…the Earth falls."

---

The Higher Authority, Over Earth

"Welcome to 1999," said a decidedly unamused Ted Grant, formerly known as Wildcat. He walked along with a cane, his wizened body barely able to stand. He had been aged considerably from his encounter with Degaton, having a blast of chronal energy strike him at the dawn of time. He should have been in a wheelchair, and certainly shouldn't have made the trip to the Higher Authority in his condition. But enough of the young man he used to be remained in spirit that he wasn't about to let age stop him from seeing the new headquarters for the newly reformed Justice Society of America.

And he was not amused.

"What on Earth could possibly be the matter, Ted?", replied Alan Scott, a.k.a. The Sentinel, the original Green Lantern from World War II. He was more fortunate than Ted had been. After all, he still had his youth. "We're aboard a space station capable of making any and all amenities we could ever need. Ted, this is the perfect place to have the Justice Society. From here, we can respond to any emergency in seconds. Hell, we have more mobility here than the JLA! What's not to like?"

Ted grumbled. "I hate the idea that we're like Gods in the sky. We're not above the people we protect, Alan. Being here makes it sure seem that way, let me tell you. That's one thing I've never liked about the JLA. They make themselves out to be like Gods, living on the moon like they do. I think we need to be above that."

Alan turned his head to the wall. "Wheelchair for Ted." Suddenly, the wall closest to Ted flowed out with a green tendril, and shaped itself into a replica of a wheelchair. Alan helped Ted down into it.

"Well…maybe its not so bad up here after all," he said reluctantly.

A door flowed open, and several figures walked through. Obsidian, Flash and Hourman. Obsidian wore a variation of his usual uniform, with a lighter shade of black where navy used to be. His cloak was made of a reflectionless substance, as if it was made of pure shadow matter. Hourman was dressed in red and black, with a stylized hourglass on his chest. His mask was similar to his father's, but red with black eyelets. His cloak was the same shade of red. Flash took off his traditional silver helmet, and smiled at everyone.

"Looks like the gang's all here. Has Steel left yet?", asked Jay.

"He was called back to the Watchtower a while ago. Besides, his job is finished. The Higher Authority is ready to roll," replied Sentinel. "Isn't that right, Dinah?"

Suddenly, a female voice rang out from everywhere, soothing yet mechanical in a way. "YES, SENTINEL. THE HIGHER AUTHORITY IS ONLINE."

Everyone stopped in their tracks. "What the hell was that??", exclaimed Ted.

"That," Sentinel replied, " Is Dinah, or rather, D.I.N.A.H. The Defensive Integrated Network and Administrative Housekeeping program. J'onn J'onzz and Steel helped develop it, with Jay's and my input. We thought it would be nice to have the 'personality' of the Higher Authority named after Dinah Lance, the original Black Canary."

Ted still looked perturbed, but kept his silence.

"So," Obsidian said, "This pretty much makes it official, huh? The JSA is back in business."

"Well, it's not official until the press conference in a couple of days. The President's milking this for all its worth," said Jay.

Hourman looked around the room. The new Justice Society. He had only dreamed of being in the same group his father helped bring to greatness, but here he was. The Flash, Sentinel, Obsidian, Wildcat…and Hourman, although not the original. He hoped he had what it took to be a part of this legend. After all, if he had any intentions of saving Tyler Chemicals, he would need the JSA's help like never before. Not just for the Intergang situation, but also for helping to understand his new powers…or whatever they were.

"I hope you wouldn't start anything officially without me, gentlemen," came a voice from another entranceway. Everyone turned to look…and smiled. At least, the older heroes did. Obsidian and Hourman both had to stop their jaws from hitting the ground at the vision of beauty before them.

Hippolyta, Queen of Themyscira and former Golden Age Wonder Woman, entered the chamber. She wore a variation of the breastplate she had worn before, with the golden WW logo arcing up to act as armor for her shoulders. A star-spangled loincloth was draped over her crotch on front and back. She wore a red cloak with white stars bordering it, and held a large battleaxe in one hand, a golden WW engraved into the blade. Her other hand held a large shield, with the same WW logo on it. Her tiara was different than that she had previously been known to wear. Instead of a red star in the center, she had another WW logo in its place. She looked both breathtakingly beautiful and ready to take on anyone in a fight.

Jay Garrick, the Flash, stepped forward. "Polly! I was just going to tell the others of your coming as a surprise, but you beat me to it."

Hippolyta smiled at Jay. "You mean I actually beat the Flash to something? I'll have to let Diana know. I know she'd have a kick of letting Wally in on that."

Obsidian leaned over to Hourman. "Jeez, I'd let her beat me anyday!"

Hourman was almost speechless. "That's Wonder Woman's mom?? None of my friend's mothers ever looked like that!"

"None of your friend's mothers were immortal either, buster," whispered Wildcat.

"Well," replied Obsidian, "Technically, Hector Hall's mom was, if you count reincarnation."

Wildcat looked up at Obsidian. "Smart-ass."

"Well," began Sentinel, " I would like to bring this first meeting of the new JSA to order. Dinah, conference room, please." Suddenly the room shifted around them, and everyone had the vague sensation they were moving. Then, the room stabilized, and they were inside an immense chamber, with a green chandelier on the roof, and assorted pictures of various incarnations of the JSA on the walls. An ornate conference table was situated in the center of the room. It was made of polished silver, and various chairs were situated around the table. "Welcome to the Meeting Room, everyone. Please have a seat." Everyone sat in a chair, and as they did so, the chairs suddenly displayed a hologram of each member's respective symbol above their heads. "We should get our first order of business done before we get into anything else. That business being, election of our first chairman in this new version of the Justice Society. Jay, Ted and I have discussed this, and we feel that the job should go to one of the new members. Any objections, Hippolyta?"

Hippolyta smiled. "None, I think it is a wonderful idea."

"Well, with that, I guess we can make an announcement. I would like to officially extend an invitation to the position of Chairman of the JSA to…Rick Tyler, Hourman."

Hourman abruptly stood up. "Me?? Chairman?? But…Todd would be a far better chairman! He's had more experience than me…I'm still new to this!"

Obsidian put his hand on Rick's shoulder. "Rick, I recommended you to them. Being chairman is the kind of experience you can use. Trust me, it'll be a blast! You'll be the guy who speaks for us when the crap hits the fan in one of those global disasters that seem to happen every year. I know you can do it!"

"Well," Hourman replied nervously, "I guess I haven't got a choice, do I? Consider me officially chaired!"

Everyone gave applause at Rick's acceptance. But inside, he was hoping to God he wasn't leading the JSA to its doom.

---

Deep Space

A glowing sphere of energy sliced through the ether, nearing its destination at faster than light speeds. It could have been easily mistaken for a comet…if it wasn't for the humanoid figure within it.

The figure was visible if one was close enough, although the globe's speed would prevent one from getting too close, even in the fastest starship. The figure wore a black and gold cloak, and a black uniform that looked as if it was embroidered with red circuitry. His golden helmet and amulet looked eerily out of place with the rest of his high-tech outfit.

But then, Fate was never one to care about looking fashionable.

This was not the same Fate as had been known recently, however. Jared Stevens, the mercenary who had been the latest Agent of Order under the mantle of Fate, had been murdered by an unknown assailant who was looking to make the power of Fate his own. The blades and armband of Stevens escaped, however, and reformed itself into the previous forms it had held: Fate's helmet, amulet and cloak. The Lord of Order who was the source of Fate's power, (and for all intents and purposes was Fate) named Nabu, had been imprisoned by the enemy who had killed Stevens, but not before he had spirited away the artifacts of Fate. The artifacts were sent to fulfill an ancient pact that had been made ages ago between Highfather of the New Gods, Ganthet of the Guardians of the Universe, and others who had become known as the Quintessence. Nabu himself had been approached to become one of their number, but had declined, instead making a pact that would have them aid each other in a time of need.

Now was that time.

The artifacts of Fate had come to Apokolips and chosen one of the denizens there to become the vessel for the new incarnation of Fate. With that being chosen, the newly restored Fate then proceeded to Oa, where he was able to draw upon the destroyed planet's Green Lantern energy to replenish his power. Now, Fate sped towards Earth…and to another part of his new mission.

This Fate did not have the presence of Nabu as other Fates had had in the past. This Fate was prodded on by preprogrammed commands set by Nabu to enable Fate to accomplish his goal.

For the enemy who held Nabu was the greatest threat the universe had ever known.

Like a robot, Fate sped towards Earth, speeding by an alien fleet of vessels as he did so. He took note of them, but did nothing else as he sped towards the blue orb ahead of him.

To Earth, and existence's only hope:

The Justice Society of America.

---

The Higher Authority

"ALERT! ALERT! VESSELS OF EXTRATERRESTRIAL ORIGIN ARE APPROACHING EARTH! APPROXIMATE LEVEL OF THREAT: CRIMSON. VESSELS OF KHUND, DOMINION, BRANX, GORDANIAN, THANAGARIAN AND OTHER VESSELS HAVE BEEN ACCURATELY IDENTIFIED."

The members of the JSA stood up from their meeting. Most of them had been startled by Dinah's voice, but then they quickly realized the emergency of their situation.

"Dinah, initiate defense protocols!", ordered Sentinel.

"DEFENSE PROTOCOLS INITIATED. COMMUNICATIONS SENT TO THE JUSTICE LEAGUE AND TITANS."

The Higher Authority then began to shift its mass. What were gleaming towers outside before tilted and transformed into large cannons. An emerald energy web erected itself around the station, as the Authority continued to change its shape. When it was done, it resembled a large warship, with the JSA logo emblazoned for any targets to see.

"HIGHER AUTHORITY READY FOR DEFENSE. JSA CHAIRMAN HOURMAN, STANDBY FOR DEFENSIVE INTERFACE."

Hourman looked up in surprise. "What?" Suddenly, the walls reached out with emerald tendrils and enveloped Hourman. He was brought up to another room in the station, where he was situated into a command chair. A visor lowered down, and affixed itself to his face. From there, he could see the entire vista of space. And what he saw made his mouth go dry.

A vast armada of starships was closing in on Earth. Ships of every conceivable design made up the fleet. Hourman wondered how the hell he and the JSA could stop them. He remembered from the Invasion several years ago that The Dominion, Thanagarians and Khunds had invaded Earth. Why were they back?

And what the hell could he do about it from inside this control room?

---

High Commander Krug smiled at his forward viewscreen. His crew had detected a perfect testing place with which to make a first assault on Earth. A space station comprised mostly of an unknown energy was orbiting Earth.

A veritable sitting duck.

"Ready Quantum Projectile! Prepare to fire on my mark!", yelled Krug.

First Officer Mrad replied, "Projectile ready! On your command, sir!"

Krug waited a few seconds. After all, dramatic pause made every situation that much more impressive. "……FIRE!"

The Projectile leapt from the launch bay of the Gertok Nohtrek. It sparked purplish energy all around it as it sped towards the Terran space station. Krug had to admit… he was impressed. He hadn't realized that the Terrans had technology advanced enough to construct a space station entirely out of energy. No matter. They and their station would be ash momentarily.

The Projectile sped towards the station. The station had erected a protective web of energy about itself. But as in past attacks, Krug knew the Projectile was capable of breaking the toughest shields.

The Projectile hit the shields, and punched a hole through them. It sped faster and faster…and erupted on the station. A wave of energy washed over the it, and moments later…it was no more.

Krug laughed aloud. Now to do the same to Earth.

Humans were such pitiful creatures.

---

One minute earlier

"Dinah, how the hell do I stop these guys?"

Hourman was almost in a panic now. Street crime he could deal with. But an alien invasion?? He had no clue how to do this.

"YOU MAY ENGAGE AUTO DEFENSES, OR TAKE AN ACTIVE ROLE IN MANNING THE HIGHER AUTHORITY DEFENSE WEB. AS CHAIRMAN, YOU HAVE ULTIMATE CONTROL."

I wish Alan had told me that sooner, thought Hourman. He looked into his defense view. One of the ships was breaking off from the rest, and was approaching the Authority. No sooner had Hourman realized this, than something was launched at him. Its speed was incredible. He began to speak, but before he could tell Dinah to activate Auto-Defenses, the shot broke the Authority's shields…and slammed into the station….

---

…station the into slammed and…shields Authority's the broke shot the, Defenses-Auto activate to Dinah tell could he before but, speak….

It happened again!, thought Hourman. Time had reversed itself. His power had kicked in! He looked at the armada approaching, and saw the ship that had just attacked him just breaking off towards the station.

"Dinah! Put a Green Lantern Energy Bubble around that ship…NOW!", he yelled.

Immediately, green beams of light shot out from the Higher Authority, and enveloped the starship. Before anyone onboard could react, a shot was fired…and immediately impacted on the bubble. The ship glowed with a purplish energy, and began to change shape. The metal of its hull began to crack apart, as it turned into the ore it was originally mined from.

"Dinah, teleport any lifesigns to a cell onboard the Authority. We don't want anyone dead…at least not yet."

"OF COURSE, HOURMAN. AND MAY I ADD…EXCELLENT REFLEXES."

Hourman smiled. Maybe he did have what it takes to be a leader.

That, or horseshoes up his ass.

---

Sentinel, Flash and Obsidian entered the newly constructed holding area. Hourman had just informed them of their new guests, and that they would need tending to.

Sentinel entered first, his hands glowing with emerald energy, prepared to strike at the slightest provocation. But what he saw…

…Made him burst out laughing. Flash and Obsidian joined in a second later.

The prisoners were obviously Khunds, but hardly warriors. Unless the Khund Empire was used to sending in infants on planetary conquests.

There were approximately 3 dozen baby Khunds sitting on the floor of the holding cell, screaming and crying.

"Jesus," said Obsidian aloud, "We're being invaded by Sesame Street??"

---

Fate reached out with his mystic senses, and tried to gain a semblance of the Earth's state. What he received almost made him double over. Pain and terror was all pervading as he sensed the horror Earth was experiencing from the alien invasion. But he had to ignore the pain he felt. His mission was far more pressing than an invasion of Earth. If he failed, all of existence was in jeopardy.

He pressed onward, psychically fixing on his old teammates in the Justice Society of America.

---

"JUSTICE LEAGUE IS NOT ACKNOWLEDGING OUR HAILS. THE WATCHTOWER IS OFFLINE."

The assembled JSA'ers stood in silence for a few moments. If the JLA Watchtower was unreachable, the worst had to be assumed. They had seen the news reports only moments ago, where Superman was apparently abducted by his enemy, the Cyborg. The locale of Leesburg had been leveled to the ground, and the city of Los Angeles was also under siege*. The entire planet was being hit, but so far these had been the most devastating strikes, next to perhaps Metropolis itself.

(* See Supergirl #5 and Green Lantern #210! - Recommendin' Mike)

"All right, then," Hourman began. "We have to move fast. We'll only have a little more time before more of the armada decides to avenge their buddies after what we just did. I'm going to put Dinah on Auto-Defense, while Obsidian teleports us all to the Watchtower. Whatever has happened there, I don't want to trust our teleport signal relay we have with them, in case the aliens have co-opted it. I'll instruct Dinah to break all teleport links with the Watchtower in case they learn of the link-up we share. Obsidian has the best chance of teleporting us in secretly. I realize Earth is under siege, but we'll stand a better chance knowing J'onn J'onzz and the rest of the JLA are free. They're the big guns, and we need them. Sound good?"

Everyone nodded in agreement. "Excellent plan, son," said the Flash. "I think you're really getting the hang of this."

"Thanks, Jay," replied Hourman. Hearing that was just the confidence booster he needed.

Suddenly, a bright flash of light illuminated the meeting room, and a figure appeared before the team. The figure was garbed in a golden helmet, cloak and amulet, with red and black uniform.

"Fate??", asked Flash, unsure of who this person really was.

"I have need of you, Justice Society. The universe has need of you." With that, Fate waved his hand over the team, and everyone disappeared within a globe of arcane energies.

Leaving Ted Grant, in his emerald wheelchair, alone in the Higher Authority. "What the hell just happened? Where did they go??"

---

Dinah's voice came from the station walls. " LOCATION OF TEAM MEMBERS UNKNOWN. WILDCAT, AS SENIOR MEMBER IN ATTENDANCE ONBOARD THE HIGHER AUTHORITY, YOU HAVE COMMAND OF THE STATION AND ITS DEFENSES."

Ted muttered to himself. "Take me to the command station, Dinah. We've got some alien ass to kick!"

Emerald energy lifted Wildcat up, and into the battle command chamber.

While, from the shadows, apparently undetected, a man who called himself Dr. Mid-Nite watched…

---

Next Issue: Where has Fate taken the Justice Society? What threat could possibly seem more important than Cold Armageddon?? The answers begin to reveal themselves, as the next major story arc for JSA begins! If you thought "The More Things Change" was a huge story, you ain't seen nothin' yet! Be here next issue for Part One of "Evil Reborn"! Plus: Cold Armageddon continues with Ted Grant: Alien Ass-Kicker!

Mike Hintze
12/5/99