Breathless
Written by Unoaranya30
Chapter 10:
Two More
JLA Universe
Middleton
J'onn flew considerably slower on his return trip to Middleton. He had to in order for his new friends, Jorlan and Morlan to keep up. Not that these two were slow. A military jet would have been hard pressed to keep up with them. Their Nth metal wings lent them great speed and protection.
The trip that would have taken him two minutes now took him thirty.
When they were over the crash site J'onn announced, "This is the place."
The three landed softly in the forest. The nth metal wings of the two hawk men instantly folded into a small neat bundle on the back of their harnesses. The mangled ship lay at the bottom of the crater it had created. J'onn could not sense another life inside, but he knew what kind of mind to scan for. He broadened his telepathic search and instantly touched the aliens mind. It was definitely weak and definitely controlled by someone or something else.
"I've found him," he informed the twins.
Morlan and Jorlan each nodded that they understood. "Should we not check the ship for weapons and explosives?" Jorlan asked.
J'onn thought that would be a good idea. He grabbed a hold of the door and ripped it from its hinges. He placed a hand against the outer hull and was about to lean in but suddenly stepped back rubbing his hand and staring studiously at the ship.
"What is it, J'onn?" Morlan asked. The brothers were tensed for battle.
"The ship almost feels alive. It seemed to want to catalogue me when I touched it." J'onn answered.
The twins looked at each other, "Why don't we destroy it? We have the appropriate explosives for the job. It is too dangerous to enter and it may summon the alien back to see what has happened to his ship," Jorlan suggested.
J'onn agreed and the brothers set to work putting together four explosives from parts in their utility pouches. When the explosives were set, Morlan set one magnetically just inside the hull without touching the ship itself. Then setting the magnets he tossed the other three in different directions deeper in the ship.
They motioned J'onn to join them deeper in the forest. Once they were several meters away Jorlan detonated the explosives. J'onn watched in fascination as the ship glowed blue then seemed to disintegrate before their eyes.
"That is impressive technology," he commented. "It would have served my people well in the war against the white Martians."
The brothers glanced at J'onn. He had a faraway look on his face, lost in the past, in a life he could never return to.
For the briefest of moments J'onn felt the caress of his beloved wife as she touched his cheek. He heard the laughter of his two daughters as they tackled him to the ground demanding his attention. He, once again, felt the intimate connection as he and his wife joined physically and spiritually.
It was the approach of the alien they sought that brought him back to the present. He turned to his two new friends, "Our enemy approaches. I will mentally shield you so that he cannot detect you. I beg that you do not intervene unless you see that I am in danger. I plan to take this one alive and I do not believe that our weapons will be necessary."
The twins seemed taken aback but agreed to J'onn's plan.
J'onn turned and floated up into the sky, facing east, "Remember. You will not be visible to him."
Jorlan and Morlan waited, tensed for battle. With every fiber of their being, they wished for an excuse to attack and kill the alien, but they took control of their emotions and waited to see what J'onn would do.
Without any kind of warning, the alien appeared floating before J'onn. The speeds at which these aliens, Superman, J'onn, the Green Lantern and the Flashes could move were mindboggling.
There was a look of sadistic satisfaction on the alien's face. They noticed that J'onn did not try to either flee or engage the man. Instead he held up a hand in a sign of non-aggression and began speaking calmly to the alien.
"I know that you are here against your will, my friend. I do not wish to engage you in battle nor do I wish you harm but I will not allow you to harm another innocent life." J'onn reached out with his mind gently touching the mind of the alien. He was horrified with what he saw.
"You have suffered much. In this, we are brothers. Let me help you be free of your tormentors."
The alien's sadistic smile disappeared. In its place was a look of confusion. He seemed to be struggling with himself. His hands went to his head and he let out an audible groan.
J'onn moved to his side and touched his shoulder gently. The twins sensed treachery but J'onn was no fool. The alien tried to strike out at J'onn with his left fist.
J'onn moved with equal speed and caught the fist, then he struck the alien's already weakened and controlled mind telepathically. The alien instantly went limp in J'onn's arms.
Syndicate Universe
Woods Outside of Ivy Town Collage Campus
Hearing both Ultraman and Owlman in the woods close by, Protex nearly panicked. There was no way he could fight Owlman in his present condition let alone Ultraman.
Going intangible he sank into the ground and moved as fast as he could, which wasn't very fast at all, away from the two hunters.
He needed to get back to the lab if possible but for now he just wanted to stay alive. When his strength returned he would again journey to the parallel earth and reacquire Superwoman. He had no plans of ever returning to this plane of existence.
He reemerged, still intangible, at the bottom of a thickly forested hill. Staying well inside the tree line where there was little snow on the ground, he rested again. He reached out passively with his telepathic powers to get a sense of where his would be killers were.
He was satisfied to see that they were not headed in his direction. He could heal on his own and usually quite quickly, but having taken so much punishment from the alternate Ultraman and then from Owlman he would take longer to heal. Perhaps it would take a few hours. He knew he could speed up the process if he could get a hold of another human, even an animal would work. But if he killed he would instantly be found out by the two who searched for him.
For now, he would just have to hide and rest and be patient.
JLA Universe
Approaching Central City
Despite the horrible treachery and the loss of so many trusted friends the day before, Kator found himself dangerously close to smiling. Not only had they made valuable new friends, but they were all quite fascinating as well. He and Shayera found that the two Flashes, who were both currently sharing their ship en route to the place known as Central City, were very easy company and very amusing. They felt as if they were in the presence of old friends.
The Flash and Kid Flash, as they referred to themselves, were both capable of moving many times the speed of light, both were very good natured and very different from one another in personality.
The bigger one dressed in the red outfit, was almost as tall as he. He was quiet, curious and analytical. He had already figured out what controls were for different weapons and would probably be capable of flying the craft himself in another few minutes. He and Kator had already formed a plan of attack should there be another Superman like alien awaiting them when they arrived.
The Flash had stated that during their encounter with the alien, he had been able to knock him off his feet by transferring a powerful dose of kinetic energy to him. He figured he could repeat the action again, but this time punch him with the lead blade Superman had made for him. He thought that would knock the alien unconscious.
Kator liked the plan. He, Shayera and Kid Flash would be ready to intervene should the alien be too much to handle.
He glanced back at Shayera and Kid Flash. The younger Flash was definitely a boy. He was already taller than Shayera and quite lanky. It was painfully obvious that he was going through puberty. His voice cracked at just the wrong times and he was all limbs. It didn't seem to bother him though. He had Shayera smiling ever since they had boarded the craft.
He was curious, tireless, full of questions and never shut his mouth. It seemed to move even faster than his thoughts or at least just as fast.
"So what is this button for? Zoom?"
"Like go faster zoom or like get a closer look at the nude beach zoom? Nude beach?"
"That's where people go to swim if they're really poor and don't have any bathing suits or if they lost their bathing suits or if they just never bothered to buy a bathing suit."
"Me. I think I might not ever buy a bathing suit. That way I can tan all over evenly and I won't have any tan lines. My dad always has tan lines from doing yard work and it looks pretty disgusting when he takes his shirt off."
"Actually he's my step dad. He has a big gut cuz he drinks a lot and watches football all the time. He is kinda mean to me and really mean to my mom so I'm glad he has nasty looking tan lines. I don't think he's ever been to a nude beach. Anyways I don't live with them anymore. I live with my aunt now. Well. not anymore, cuz she died. We still don't know who or what killed her, but my uncle Bar…um, The Flash and I are gonna find out and when we do he'll be sorry."
"I'm sorry. I know you don't wanna hear a sob story. You lost your brother and a lot of friends yesterday. I'm sorry about that. I know you must be really angry and you probably wanna bash some alien in the head with your mace there. I'd give you a hug but I know that it might not be appropriate my being a guy and you a girl…well actually it would be a lot more appropriate than me being a guy and you being a guy unless you were my dad or brother or best friend or you know, something like that. Anyways you already have a boyfriend. Yeah. That's what I was trying to say before about me being a guy and you a gir…Hey! Awww, thanks. You hug really nice. You know. You're really nice. I hope that we can all be friends for a long time. Like the rest of our lives. Are you crying? Was it something I said? Oh. Your brother. I'm sorry I mentioned him. I know sometimes I tend to say the wrong thing at just the wrong time."
"Hey. Do you have anything to eat or drink or maybe both on the ship. I'm starving. Its all the running around my uncle and I do. And I don't mean running around like doing errands, you know. It's more like catch this robber, stop Captain Cold, the Weather Wizard is trying to take over the planet. Hey look there's a fire breathing monster in our park! That sort of thing. I have to refuel a lot cuz I use so much energy."
"Oh, wow! What is this drink called? It is really deep blue. It's water? I guess I should have known since its blue like water is here. It just looks so much bluer. It's purified? Well that makes sense. At the store you can buy purified water here in blue bottles. But when you pour the water into a cup it doesn't look as blue. I think they just make the bottles really blue so they look prettier. My aunt used to boil her own water to drink. I thought it tasted just fine."
What is this stuff. Mmmm. It's really chewy. It's not some kind of weird meat is it. Cuz I like meat and all, but it would be really weird to have chewy meat, you know, and I mean chewy, like a breakfast bar, chewy. Well there are some crunchy breakfast bars too and I would think that crunchy meat would be even weirder. I would prefer it chewy but not gooey. And I guess this is kinda gooey. Hey! It tastes really good though. I feel like a million dollars already and I haven't had the whole bar."
"What's this button for? Lasers? Wow! That is very cool!"
"How many weapons does the ship have? Lots huh? So like what kinds? Okay, it has pulse lasers. Nth metal missles. Mines. Heat ray? So like Superman's heat vision heat ray? Very cool."
Do you think the main pulse cannon can be repaired? If you do maybe my uncle and GL and J'onn, you know, the big, cool looking green guy, Superman, and Batman and his girlfriend can all help you repair it.
"How fast does your ship go? Does it have warp speed? You can set it for deep space travel and you can do light speed jumps? That is way cool. It's just like Star Wars! What? You've never seen Star Wars? Well. I know you're from another planet, but Star Wars is from another galaxy far far away. I thought maybe you had seen it way before I did. Not because you're old or anything, cuz you definitely don't look old. You look about as old as Batman's girlfriend. It's just that I thought maybe on your planet the movies come out faster than they do here on earth."
"Is there a place called Brazil where you come from? Just curious. I saw this magazine once, it had a lot of girls in it from this country named Brazil. The girls were all on a beach and they had bathing suits on. Well, most of them had bathing suits on. Anyways, it said in the magazine underneath one of the pictures that the most beautiful women in the world were from Brazil. I hope that one day, I can meet one. I want to marry the most beautiful girl in the world. I would be really nice to her and it wouldn't matter to me if she could afford a bathing suit or not. I would treat her like a princess."
"My uncle was really nice to my aunt. I never heard him shout at her and he always opened doors for her and took her places and she always seemed really happy. I'm gonna be like him. he's really smart too. I'm not that smart. Not like him but he says I am and that I just have to finish school and never let my brain get bored."
"Oh, I was wondering. Do your wings come off. They look like armor. Oh wow! They do come off! Can you fly without them? Sort of? Oh you mean as long as you're wearing nth metal you can defy gravity but the nth metal wings help you navigate and give you controlled speed. Cool. Could I try them on? After the mission? Sure. That's cool. What? Oh. We're here."
Kator cloaked the craft as they arrived over Central City Central Park. It was still dark in this part of the country. Kator left the craft in autopilot and hover mode then he dropped out with the Flash and Shayera with Kid Flash. They landed near the small crater created by the alien craft.
The park was deserted.
Kator and Shayera immediately took to the air, their pulse rifles at the ready and their lead coated energy blades and maces as well. The two of them could see perfectly well in the dark.
The Flashes zipped to the crater. Wally disappeared after a moment into the underbrush while Barry studied the alien ship very carefully. He had a lightstick that Kator had given him on the ship.
After a few minutes the young one reappeared suddenly. He seemed a bit disappointed. "It doesn't look like anything else came out of there Uncle Bar…I mean Flash."
The Flash looked up at him and smiled, "I think you're right son. I don't believe anything else was in this ship either. But the ship seems to be almost alive."
Kator and Shayera landed next to the two of them. The Flash turned to them, "I do not believe that there was another being on this ship. There are no signs of anything else having left it and no room on the inside for another body. The ship however seems to be alive or at least it has a very sophisticated computer system. I think is trying to read me but I move too fast for it. I think I should destroy it, but I'll run it by Batman first unless you two have any objections."
Kator and Shayera agreed with him.
Tapping the com-link in his ear, the Flash relayed his information to the Batman. His three companions saw him listen and nod his head a few times then he disconnected.
"Batman doesn't have a problem with us destroying it. He figures, like I do, that the less homing beacons we have here the better for our survival. Apparently his team has a ship that he is keeping to study and make weapons from. He said not to worry. Superman has disabled the computer and detection system on the ship that they found. Unfortunately, it seems that he was scanned before he destroyed it.
Kator and Shayera nodded grimly.
"So it looks as if the our enemy may come here next. I will contact home and request that my father send help." Kator promised. "We have explosives that will completely annihilate the ship."
"That's okay, Kator. Save your explosives. I can destroy it with no problem." Barry said to Kator. "But you two and Wally should stay clear just in case I'm unable to contain the explosion."
The Flash touched the outer hull of the ship. He could feel it trying to lock onto him. He vibrated his hand while still in contact with the hull until he felt the metal of the ship responding to his touch on the atomic level. He increased the speed of his hand until he felt the ship begin to vibrate.
Kator and Shayera moved to the other side of their ship out of sight of the alien craft.
Wally stayed near his uncle, to give him a hand if need be. He watched fascinated as the ship began to vibrate and hum to the tune of Barry's attack.
The Hull of the ship began to glow red, then it gave a violent shriek of protest.
Barry yelled out, "Clear!" just as the ship exploded.
JLA Universe
Coast City
Hal, Golin and Santor floated over the beach where Hal had battled the yellow monster that had ruined his date the day before. It was still dark here on the west coast. They had arrived mere moments after leaving the group back at the Midwest farm, encased in Hal's power ring energy. The two hawkmen had met Green Lantern's before in their space travels but had never experienced the amazing power rings energy. They were impressed.
Able to see in the dark, they carefully scanned the sky and their surroundings for an attack from the enemy. After having fought the grueling and losing battle against the one in the arctic, they were itching for a rematch.
While they watched for an attack Hal scanned the water with his ring searching for the ship that had brought the creature to this very spot the day before. The ring locked onto the ship and beeped informing him.
"Is there anything or any being still in the ship, Ring?" Hal asked.
The ring responded with, "Scanning." After a moment it came back with, "There is no life aboard the ship."
"Is there any life form or forms in the city or surrounding area like the being we fought earlier?" Hal elaborated.
"Scanning." A long pause. "There is a being matching the abilities of the being fought earlier floating in the clouds above the city, watching us right now."
Hal felt a chill run up his spine. "Golin! Santor! He knows we're here, and he's watching us!"
Hal covered them in green energy. "Okay guys. I know you want a piece of him more than I do but let me engage him first. I'll hold my own against this joker then you guys bash him with your lead coated maces or swords and we'll have our prisoner."
Santor and Golin conversed quickly in Thangarian. Hal was about to have his ring translate for him when Golin handed him his mace. "Take this my friend. We cannot move at the speeds that you two will be moving in a fight and there is no guarantee that we would be able to intervene on time to save you if we have to. I would suggest attempting to communicate with him and avoid a fight if at all possible. If you cannot avoid a fight we will do all in our power to help you defeat him."
Hal looked at Golin and Santor with respect and smiled disarmingly, "New plan of action. Try my hardest not to piss the ridiculously tough alien off by talking nicely to him. Maybe when this is all over the four of us can sit down and have some tea and share some laughs together."
Hal handed Golin his mace back, "Keep this. I have a lead knife, my ring, my looks, and an amazing way with people. Besides if I show up to talk to the big guy holding your mace in my hands, I have the feeling the conversation would be extremely short."
Golin accepted his mace. Both hawk men looked at Hal with concern and apprehension.
"I hope you know what you're doing my friend."
"Me too," Hal replied. "I'm gonna make you invisible with my ring. So as long as I'm conscious he won't be able to see you. Don't worry. You're gonna love being invisible. You get to see things you wouldn't believe. Okay, see you in a few minutes hopefully."
Hal pulled away from the two concerned Hawkmen, "Ring. Make Golin and Santor invisible to the alien and everybody else as well."
"Hawkmen are now invisible," his ring replied.
Satisfied, Hal turned flew at a non aggressive speed above the city to the spot where the alien floated.
This one was just as tall as the one he had fought but a little thinner. The face looked cruel yet the eyes seemed a bit lost. All in all he was quite scary looking. A good two inches taller than himself maybe a little more. He reeked of raw power. Hal decided that if it came to a fight he wanted to avoid getting punched in the worst way.
The alien said something to him. The voice did not sound like it belonged to him.
"I'm a Green Lantern. I'm sort of like a space cop. This planet is my home. I'm pretty sure you didn't come here of your own free will so I don't want to fight you and I just wanted you to know that if you'd like we could grab a burger or a hot dog down at one of the stands close to the beach. Well, I guess we couldn't right now cuz it's still dark but we could take a stroll down by the water if you like, or we can stay up here. It doesn't matter to me, but we do need to talk."
The alien spoke again in a strange language. The voice was still creepy and everything about the man screamed imminent danger.
"Ring. Translate for me." Hal commanded.
"Alien says that he is going to enjoy ripping you in half and that soon your world will be enslaved to the Dark One."
Hal did not like where this was going, "Ring can you scan his mind for some kind of mind control device or chip or something? And while you're at it, if he attacks me, I need you to move me at least as fast as him and let me focus and see everything that is going on. Oh, and one more thing. Make sure that you shield me better than you did earlier tonight. I'm still in pain from the butt whoopin I took from this guy's buddy."
Hal's ring responded with, "Affirmitive" and "Scanning".
Hal smiled sweetly at the evil looking face, "Hey, it's cool. We all get angry about something every once in a while and we say things like that and I know it sucks that your space car is under water and probably ruined. Did you just get leather seats or new rims or something?"
The alien smiled wickedly and balled his fists. They seemed ridiculously large to Hal, and he had large hands, himself.
"Mind control device located," the ring stated.
"Can you destroy it or nullify it without hurting our good budd….Ooooofffff!"
The alien slammed into Hal, grabbing him around the torso and speeding towards the ocean.
Hal could feel the ring encasing him in energy. Just before they hit the water he willed the energy surrounding him to violently expand out, breaking the alien's grip and freeing him of his hold just as the waters of the Pacific swallowed them both.