Monsters, Rookies, Soldiers and Paradise
Syndicate Universe
Daily Planet
“Hi, Ms. Lane.” It was the raspy voice of Jimmy Olson, photographer, pervert and annoying confidant. He was poking his head in the door. He looked disappointed to see her dressed for work.
Di-ana was still trying to regain control of her breathing. The little pervert had almost given her a heart attack!
“Hello Jimmy,” she replied. Her voice sounded so much more confident than she felt. “I have nothing for you today. I have a lot on my mind and many things to do. Please leave and close the door behind you.”
Jimmy looked disappointed. “Okay, I’ll get some more pictures of you Monday. Is that cool?”
“Yes, Monday, will be fine; now please; close the door!” Di-ana almost screamed at him. She would be posing for no photographs for a while. She wanted to wring his worthless neck for scaring her so badly. Instead she calmed her own nerves and seeing as she wasn’t accomplishing anything other than hiding in plain sight she touched her signal device and set it to teleport home to the Floating Fortress. She hoped that it would buy her some time.
She then locked her office and walked out of the newsroom. Going into the stairwell, she flew to the top. As she came out onto the roof, she checked to make sure there were no helicopters in the area. She twirled into her Superwoman outfit and flew towards Ivy Town.
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JLA Universe
Central City
Central City Park
It was cold and snowing and Barry Allen sat alone on a bench in the park. It was the same park bench where a year ago, he had first talked to an attractive, young reporter for the “Picture News”. She had light brown hair and big green eyes. He had been jogging. So had she. They had both stopped at the same park bench. Their eyes had met simultaneously and both had offered the other a friendly smile. They had bumped into each other again the following week. The friendly smiles had been followed by hellos and introductions. Their third meeting turned into a jogging date. They ran together every Saturday after that.
Barry had never been considered a ladies’ man. He was tall and athletic; he had short, cropped blond hair and a pleasant, honest face. While Barry found it important to maintain a healthy body, it had never occurred to him to use his fitness as a tool in chasing the opposite sex. He had never pursued a girl just for the sake of a quick good time. He had his goals and his dreams, and preferred to study and read in his spare time. In fact, many female classmates had found the quiet, intelligent, athlete to be quite irresistible, but the shy Barry had taken little notice. Instead he had buried himself in his studies.
Barry’s dedication to his studies had paid off. Now he was considered one of Central City’s top forensic scientists. No one worked harder to reconstruct the events of a crime scene with the trace evidence they were given. He was methodical and slow. He meticulously looked over every shred of evidence recovered from the crime scenes. More than one serial killer had been put behind bars due to his dedication.
Barry had found himself twenty-five years old doing a job he loved but no one to share his life with. He knew he was still “young” and that he had “time” to find that certain special someone, but he was lonely and didn’t have the first clue as to how to go about finding her. And then he had met Iris.
He had not had to learn any lines. He had seen her and liked her, and apparently she had liked him just as well. Their jogging dates bloomed into more over the next couple of months. They went out to dinner, to movies, they had even gone dancing. They found that they both shared a love for tennis.
Two months after meeting they had shared their first kiss. Barry had felt clumsy and unskilled but she had smiled sweetly at him and asked him to kiss her again. He had, and he was pretty sure that after about the tenth kiss he was beginning to get the hang of it. They kissed often after that. Then, two months after their first kiss Iris had gone to his apartment for a dinner and movie date. He had wanted to make it perfect. He could not cook very well, so perfect, turned out to be Chinese take-out. He wanted to ask her what she would like to watch, but thought he should surprise her. He knew it must be something romantic, something that reflected how he felt about her. The problem was that he had not seen that many movies, let alone romantic ones.
Barry had developed a headache trying to think of the right movie. He finally decided on two options. She might think them a bit childish, but he was certain once he explained why he had picked them she would agree with him.
Iris arrived, he had taken her coat and they had kissed deeply. He had immediately felt the desire in her kiss. He sensed that tonight there would be much more than kissing. They ate the Chinese take-out. Part of the meal was spent in comfortable conversation. The other part they spent gazing hungrily at each other. Their eyes were bright with desire and anticipation.
Barry leaned back on the park bench and closed his eyes as the happy memories replayed in his mind. He had offered her the choice movies. She had laughed teasingly. “The Princess Bride or Sleeping Beauty?” she had asked. “I have something better in mind.”
She had pressed herself tightly to him. He had returned the embrace with a passion that for too long been held in check. They began to kiss again and this time they could not keep their hands off of each other. Slowly, their clothes were discarded as they made their way to his bedroom. They fell embracing naked on his bed. Both were breathing heavily with anticipation and hunger. They had explored each other’s bodies with caresses and kisses. She was very fit and very feminine. He was tall, lean and hard. Their explorations elicited a symphony of gasps and moans of pleasure. She pushed him down on his back, and straddled him. She began to pepper his hard chest with kisses. She continued to travel down leaving a wet trail.
Barry was having a difficult time controlling himself as it was, and then she had taken him into her mouth. He almost cried out at the amazing sensation. After a few minutes of the exquisite torture he had had to stop her, else it would have been over all too quickly. He pulled her up and rolled her under him. “My turn” he had said in a voice husky with need. She held her breath as he kissed each of her breasts tenderly. One hand traveled down her body until it reached her soft, wet center. She moaned shamelessly as he found the sensitive bud and focused his attention there. Just as she felt her body exploding in a wave of pleasure he buried himself in her.
He knew that he would not last long. He was already too close but she had already started. There was no more fight for self-control. They both just let go. They had no rhythm. They thrust and bucked and ground into each other desperately. Pillows and sheets fell to the floor, and then their small world exploded, tearing cries of pleasure from their lips as they fell satiated onto the bed.
They held each other, grinning and staring into each other’s eyes. Barry had propped himself on an elbow so that he could see her better. He placed soft kisses on her cheeks and nose and face while he caressed each of her nipples with his free hand. They were young and were quickly recovering. Their bodies were almost ready for another round of lovemaking.
Barry continued to caress her, his mind going a mile a minute. He again focused on her pretty face and without any hesitation or doubt had asked her to marry him. She had stared back at him, happy and surprised but gave him no answer until he repeated the question. This time while cupping her femininity and inserting a finger. Her head dropped back onto the bed and she had moaned out a yes. They had spent the next couple of hours loving each other, until finally exhaustion and sleep overtook them.
Barry passed his hand over his face as if to clear his mind of the erotic memories coursing through it. He wished that he could go back to that wonderful night and the weeks that had followed.
A month after proposing to Iris his life had changed forever. It was a rainy April evening. It had rained all day. In fact, it had rained all week. Barry didn’t care. He was excited about his life and his future with Iris. He had been in the lab, working overtime alone on a difficult case. He was standing next to the lab’s chemical cabinet looking over a freshly developed film when lightening had struck both him and the chemical cabinet.
Strangely he had felt no pain. One minute he was just an average young American, working hard to make a living, and in his case, to make the world a safer place. The next minute his whole body was crackling with an indescribable energy. He could feel every molecule and atom of his body. He turned and saw the mess of what was left of the chemical cabinet. He turned to go towards the chemical spill cabinet on the other side of the lab and found himself there. He finished cleaning up the mess and then left the building.
He was scared. He would make an appointment with his doctor first thing in the morning. Hopefully whatever was wrong with him would wear off by then. His thoughts turned to Iris. He would have to hurry. He was already a little late for their dinner date. He was often late for their dates but never intentionally. It was just the way his mind worked. When he was working on a case he was so focused that he lost all sense of time.
Barry decided to run home. As he took off he felt the strange surge of energy envelope him. Frightened, Barry stopped immediately. He found himself standing on the west coast. Slowly, the truth of what he had just done penetrated, and his thoughts and fears were replaced with excitement.
He began testing his speed. He discovered that he could move at near ten times the speed of light and that he could run over water and then, he remembered Iris. He was at her door in less than a second.
To say she was angry and hurt would have been an understatement. At first she would not open the door. He had been late before, but he had never stood her up. Finally, her curiosity won out and she opened the door to let him come in and explain. She was shocked at his appearance. His clothes were in tatters and he his face was a mix of excitement and fear.
Barry finally broke down and told her the truth. She was incredulous at first but believed him after a few demonstrations. Over the next six months, as he learned more and more about his new abilities, he decided to use them to fight and prevent the crimes that he investigated. Iris made him a costume. He liked it immensely. It was red with yellow lightning bolts and boots and it covered his features. It reminded him a little bit of Fawcett city’s resident superhero, Captain Marvel.
Barry smiled at the memory. She had accepted him and helped him. He had been nervous about telling her but she had laid all his fears to rest. A week after having developed his suit, she had given him a ring developed by her father. The ring had a secret compartment into which Barry could place his costume by compressing it at the molecular level. Barry was late for many of their dates and on a few occasions he missed them altogether, but Iris seemed to enjoy their little secret. She loved his new abilities and was even more thrilled when he began to use some of them in their already exciting lovemaking.
During the six months after the accident Barry was introduced to Iris’ nephew, Wally West. He was fourteen years old, he had a shock of red hair, and he was crazy about girls, (he hoped to one day date a Brazilian), and he was fascinated with police work in general and forensic science in particular. Barry became his hero. The fourteen year old’s good nature, enthusiasm, and seemingly boundless energy were a bit overwhelming at first, but infectious, and he won Barry over very quickly. Wally called him uncle almost as soon as he met him.
One month after Barry’s accident, Wally came to the lab to visit his “uncle” and to see what it was that his “uncle” did all day. They were alone in the lab, standing by the chemical cabinet, when lightning struck again. This time it was Wally who was hit. Barry couldn’t believe it. He lifted Wally off the ground to see if he was okay and found that Wally’s body was crackling with the same energy he possessed.
Wally was scared at first but when his uncle Barry revealed to him that he was in fact “The Flash”, he had been beside himself with excitement. Iris had also been scared at first but also proud of her nephew. She helped develop a suit for him and gave him a ring like Barry’s.
Barry and Wally tested their abilities often. They could both run ten times faster than the speed of light. They could run over water. They could vibrate through solid matter. They could both control every molecule in their bodies. They discovered that they could cause matter to explode by vibrating through it or by just touching it and changing the vibrations of its atoms. They had the ability to impart speed to living and nonliving entities and they could steal and return each other’s speed. And although they didn’t know it yet, they could both time and dimension travel.
The next month saw a dramatic drop in crime in Central City and the surrounding areas and there seemed to be less and less unsolved cases. The people of the city felt safer. They now had their own superhero. Everyone loved the Flash and kid Flash!
Barry’s happy memories came to a jarring halt as he remembered the horrible night that he had lost Iris. Wally and he had stopped a crazy new villain that called himself “the Weather Wizard”, from bringing on a new ice age. They had arrived back at Iris’s apartment in their civilian attire. Upon entering the apartment they had both instantly known that something was wrong. Nothing was out of place but there was an odor that turned their stomachs. Barry asked Wally to wait outside as he made his way to the bedroom.
The room looked slightly disheveled, not too bad, but the odor was definitely coming from there. When he entered he saw her. She was lying naked on the floor behind the bed. She was covered in some sort of viscous, offensive smelling slime and her eyes were staring vacantly into space. He knew, without touching her, that she was dead.
Time seemed to stand still. He couldn’t remember how he had managed to call the police. Everything was foggy. It didn’t seem real. Evidence was collected and sent to several different labs. It seemed no one had ever seen anything like it before. Barry had worked overtime trying to figure out what had happened to his Iris.
It seemed that the offensive slime that had covered her was some kind of saliva, but if it was, it matched nothing anyone had ever seen before. While no one had a clue what had attacked her it was obvious that she had been violated and that she had died from a heart attack. Upon autopsy it was discovered that her heart had what looked like claw marks on it.
Barry took a deep breath and wiped away a few tears. He didn’t know how, but he was going to find out who or what had done this to his Iris. Barry took another bite of his homemade sandwich. It was five o’clock and he was just eating his lunch. He stared off into the park, remembering their runs and their talks and their intimate moments.
He had all this amazing power and he couldn’t find his lovers killer! He was frustrated, angry and depressed. He knew that dwelling on the impossible wasn’t going to help him but he didn’t know what else to do.
“Hi Uncle Barry,” Wally said quietly.
Barry looked up to see his young friend standing next to him, “Hi, kiddo.”
Wally sat down next to Barry. Both sat quietly staring off into space for a little bit.
Wally broke the silence for the second time with an idea. “Why don’t we go to Metropolis today? Maybe we can meet Superman. I’ll bet he would help us find Aunt Iris’s killer.”
Barry didn’t respond right away. He didn’t like the idea of seeking help in solving his mystery but the more he thought about Wally’s suggestion the more he liked it. It seemed that whoever or whatever had killed Iris was not from this planet. Superman was an alien. Maybe he would be able to shed some light on the case.
“Okay, son. Let’s go to Metropolis. I’m of no use here. I’m just sitting here moping and feeling sorry for myself. I’m certain that Superman will help us if he can,” he finally responded.
They both stood up and Barry pitched his lunch sack into the garbage. As they turned to head out of the now darkening park, they both felt a strange rippling in the air and the awful smell of sulfur. As they looked for the offending source, a large object crashed into the center of the park. The shock waves knocked over a few pedestrians and some small trees. Dirt and debris landed as far as four blocks away. They watched as a large, dark, grotesque creature emerged from the freshly made crater. It was at least fifteen feet tall. Smoke seemed to be billowing from it as well as the horrible smell of sulfur. The creature touched a tree and it went up in flames.
The two looked at each other. Their faces were set with determination. Not this time. In a blur of motion they changed into the suits in their rings; Wally into his yellow, Barry into his red.
“We get everyone clear first, and then we take down the monster,” Barry said grimly.
“You got it,” Wally responded with barely controlled anger.
Without another word the two blurred to the attack.
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Syndicate Universe
Gotham City
Owlman’s Cave
Owlman had just replaced his lost crystal. He felt much safer having one on his person, especially since the fiasco with Ultraman and Supewoman two days prior. He wasn’t sure what sort of revenge, if any, Ultraman was planning but he was certain that if Superwoman survived, she would seek paybacks for him having bound her.
He chuckled to himself. He had always known that Di-ana was only using him to spite her husband, but he had no complaints. Whatever her reasons, he had enjoyed the body of the most beautiful woman and the wife of the most powerful being he had ever met.
His body still ached from the blow Ultraman had dealt him but nothing was broken and he had come to, where he had fallen. This could only mean that Ultraman had finally stopped lying to himself and realized that his tormentor was his wife not the men she mocked him with.
Still, he would have to be on his toes.
He knew he could take Ultraman if he had black kryptonite but even then he had to plan carefully. Ultraman was no fool.
As he thought about how he could take his former friend down, he remembered the man he had confused with Jur-li. That one had not been affected by the black crystal. Perhaps he could enlist his help taking Ultraman down permanently. With Ultraman out of the way he had no doubt that he could make Di-ana his woman.
Now that he felt prepared for Ultraman, should he decide to retaliate, Owlman teleported to Ivy Town. Ray Palmer was involved in his little adventure earlier today and he was going to find out how. He was overdue for a visit anyway. Knowing how stubbornly proud he was, he was sure that he wouldn’t volunteer him any information. But that was fine, he had no qualms about beating what he wanted out of him. Maybe he would even have time to pay his wife, Jean, a visit. She never turned him down.
It was dark in Ivy Town, and most of the campus was deserted. But Owlman was certain that Ray would be in his lab playing with his amazing toys.
Like a giant, hungry shadow, Owlman made his way towards the science and research building that housed Molecule Man’s lab. He was about to enter when he heard a car starting. He recognized Ray’s car as he pulled out of the parking spot. He smiled to himself. Perhaps before giving Ray the one on one treatment, he would just go over his lab equipment first and see what he had been working on.
As Ray pulled out of the faculty parking lot, a shadow made its way, silently to Ray’s lab.
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JLA Universe
Middleton
Detectives Diane Meade and John Jones sat in an unmarked car outside a small abandoned residence. The address was one given to them from an anonymous phone tip. If the caller was telling the truth there was a young woman and her son being held hostage. The boyfriend belonged to part of a drug cartel. They received the drugs in ice-cream barrels and then distributed and sold the drugs to pushers in other cities. The boyfriend had discovered that his girlfriend was planning to leave him and that she had possibly already alerted the authorities to his activities.
The young man had decided to use his girlfriend and her child to bargain his way to freedom.
John knew that there was someone in the house trying to help the girl and her child. He scanned the minds inside trying to pinpoint which one it was and if there was any immediate danger to the young woman and her child. He did not like what he picked up.
The boyfriend had discovered that his own cousin had tried to help his girlfriend. His cousin was now dead in the back room. Now that he didn’t believe the police were coming for him, he would finish off his girlfriend and her son then skip town. He had the cash to do it.
“…you listening to me, John?” Diane asked looking at him intently.
John pulled back his attention to her. “Diane, I’m going to get closer to the house to see if I can hear anything. Call for backup.” With that he exited the car.
“Are you crazy, John? There are seven armed men in there!” she hissed at him but he was gone.
“There are six now.” He said to himself as he moved silently to the shrubs at the side of the house where he had sensed the young woman and her child. As he disappeared from Diane’s view he went invisible and intangible, passing through the wall of the house into the room that had been turned into a prison for the young woman and her boy. He saw that the boy was asleep on dirty mattress on the floor. The mother sat next to her son staring nervously at the door. She knew that her boyfriend, Silvio, would be coming for her soon. She had heard the screams of his cousin as he had tortured a confession out of him.
The door to the room opened. Silvio stepped in carrying wicked looking blade. He had a nasty sneer on his face. He opened his mouth to say something but before he could utter a word he dropped to the floor and lay still.
She sat stunned for a moment, then seeing a possible opportunity she crept to the door and peered out. The living room was very quiet. All of Silvio’s men were unconscious on the floor. She rushed to her son, picked him up and fled from the house.
Diane called for backup, pulled her revolver and stepped from the car to go find John.
“Where are you going?” John voice asked from behind the car.
Diane twirled around angry. “Don’t scare me like that! That was stupid what you just did!”
“I’m sorry, Diane. I was just coming back. I was unable to get a look inside the house but it seems to quiet,” John apologized.
Before Diane could reply a young woman came running from the house carrying a small boy in her arms. She ran straight to them yelling for help. They sat her down and she told them her story, promising to testify if they would protect her and her son.
Backup arrived and the officers went into the house and arrested the six unconscious men. There were enough drugs and weapons in the house to put them away for a long time without the testimony of the girl or the dead body in the back room.
Diane looked at John suspiciously. “John, did you do something to those guys?”
“Like what, Diane? Go in and knock all six armed men out cold before they could fire a shot? Something like that?” John answered her.
“No, no, that’s impossible,” she admitted dropping the matter as ridiculous.
They were preparing to leave the scene when a large object fell from the sky crashing into a wooded area across the street from the house they had been watching. As they stared towards the area of the crash a large, dark grey, creature, at least fifteen feet tall, leaped from the crater in the woods and landed heavily on the street in front of them.
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Syndicate Universe
Gotham City
Owlman’s Cave
Ultraman stood in Owlman’s cave scanning with his hearing and super vision. Owlman was not here. Or perhaps he was hiding from him setting a trap. Owlman had the ability to mask himself from his senses when he wanted to. Ultraman still hadn’t figured out how he was able to accomplish that.
He did not fear Owlman but he respected the man’s ability to outthink and defeat foe’s more powerful than him. He had even taken him down once. Jur-li had been overconfident and Owlman had defeated him with one of the two weaknesses that he knew about, a black kryptonite crystal.
Ultraman had grabbed Owlman and promised to kill him if he ever caught him with his Di-ana. Owlman had seemed genuinely frightened, a ruse to take Ultraman off his guard. Just as Ultraman had turned his face and begun to release his grip, satisfied that his point had been made, Owlman had struck him in the throat with a black crystal.
Ultraman had fallen to the ground drained of all power and in agony. Owlman had proceeded to beat him unconscious without uttering a word.
Ultraman had regained consciousness in his floating fortress, alone. He had instantly known that Di-ana was with Owlman, but he had no proof. She had arrived later, talking sweetly to him never once mentioning the fight, or better put, the beating he had received at the hands of Owlman.
Ultraman had grabbed her demanding to know who she had been with. She had denied being with anyone. He had accepted her claims of innocence and had dragged her off to their room. They had made love for hours and when he awoke she was gone again.
Jur-li tried to push the pleasant memories of Di-ana from his mind. She was nothing to him now. She was his solely for his pleasure. He would make sure she suffered long for his many humiliations. Before she had mocked him and sneered at his attentions. Now she trembled with fear at the sight of him.
Jur-li gave up his search for Owlman. He flew out of the cave and headed towards his floating fortress. Di-ana would be waiting expectantly for him bound and ready he thought with a cruel smile. After he had had some more revenge he would release her from her bonds and allow her to fight with him against the invaders.
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JLA Universe
Arctic
The Thanagarian ship hovered a couple hundred feet over the large hole in the ice created by the alien vessel that had crashed there. There were two officers’ and eighteen wingmen. They were an elite group of commandos with orders to search and destroy their enemy.
A month earlier their planet, Thanagar, had been attacked by an armada of armed ships. Their only identifying mark had been spheres with flames coming out of them. They had made no demands, just simply attacked. The Thanagarian armada had quickly retaliated. The battle had been long and fierce. There had been much loss of life and destruction to the environment on the planet of Thanagar. It seemed the invaders expected nothing less than an easy and total victory. It had been apparent from the first attack that they meant to invade conquer and destroy.
But the Thanagarian military was highly disciplined, well trained, and well armed and they had a peerless military leader in Admiral Paran Katar. Under his leadership the Thanagarians had slowly driven back the vicious invaders.
After a month of heavy losses on both sides the mysterious Armada suddenly disappeared but not before firing off twenty some odd vessels into space. The odd part was that they had not aimed them at Thanagar. It was as if the armada had jumped dimensions. There was no trace of them, no trail or path from their engines for the Thanagarians to follow.
Admiral Paran Katar had assigned his most decorated wingmen to hunt down and destroy each of the vessels that had been fired into space by the enemy. The group was lead by officers Thanatos Than and Paran’s own son Katar Hol. Paran was proud of his son. Katar was a peerless hand to hand fighter and an expert with any weapon put in his hands. The eighteen wingmen under his command he had personally trained. In addition to their already impressive skills the Thanagarians possessed Nth metal armor and technology.
The smaller Thanagarian Armada had won against the invaders due to a mix of superior leadership, highly skilled and trained soldiers and their Nth metal armor. The nth metal had many amazing qualities. It could defy gravity, impart extra strength to its wearer and was highly resistant to damage from every type of weapon that had been tested on it.
Thanagarian wingmen used nth metal harnesses with attached nth metal wings to fly at tremendous speeds and to increase their already impressive strength. Most of their weapons were made up of nth metal including their daggers, energy blades, shields and energy maces. Their pulse rifles were made partially from nth metal and other common Thanagarian metals.
Kator Hol and Thanatos Than stared intently at the deep crater in the tundra hundreds of feet below them. They had managed to destroy fourteen of the twenty-one vessels fired from the strange ships before they had been pulled into the atmosphere of this small blue planet.
Behind the two officers sat the other eighteen wingmen. Shayera Thul and Kantos Thul, brother and sister were at a monitoring system. It seemed that all the remaining vessels had landed here on this planet. Shayera hoped that they would be able to find and eliminate each one before whatever was in the vessels began to destroy life on this lovely little planet.
Something else had joined their crash party as well. They had no idea where it was. It had appeared out of nowhere as they had entered this system and had crashed somewhere on the surface. Neither, Shayera, or Kantos had been able to track it once it disappeared from view. It was a serious concern but they had to ignore it for the moment while they dealt with the evil that they did know.
Shayera looked at the back of Kator Hol’s head. Her fiancé was a great leader and fighter. She knew she could trust him to be victorious and careful of the lives of his soldiers. He seldom smiled. His smiles were reserved for battle and for her. She was proud of her future husband.
Kator was tall, well over six feet. He was thickly muscled and had a mess of curly black hair that fell down over his ears, neck and forehead. His eyes were dark and usually serious and intense. There were very few who had the pleasure of seeing mirth or kindness in them. Shayera was one of those few. She enjoyed seeing her lover’s, handsome, grim face, transform into a relaxed and kind one.
Shayera Thul was a red haired beauty. She was small of stature and very feminine looking but the fact that she was the only woman in the group of elite wingmen was a testament to her extensive abilities and skill.
“There seems to be movement, sir,” Kantos reported.
“I see,” Thanatos replied. “Let’s wait until we have a good shot so that we can move on to the next monster.”
They watched as something seemed to claw its way to the surface of the crater. They were having a hard time distinguishing it from its surroundings.
“It looks like it has assimilated the properties of its surroundings,” Kator stated. “Can you lock the pulse cannon onto it, Kantos?”
“I can, sir, but it would destroy much of the surrounding surface,” Kantos replied.
“Very well, we will engage it with our pulse rifles.” Kator selected four wingmen to go down with him to eliminate the creature. As they geared up, Shayera also rose from her seat and went to her gear. Kator saw her went to her.
“What are you doing? I want you to stay here,” he whispered into her ear.
She smiled up at him sweetly. “Is that an order, sir?”
“It is a request and my strong desire that you stay here on the ship, my love,” he said softly, staring into her eyes.
“I desire to fight by your side,” she replied quietly yet defiantly.
“Stay,” he whispered back, “If I get into trouble you can come rescue me.”
“Do not get into trouble, darling,” she relented.
He kissed her tenderly, and then he and the four wingmen dropped out of the ship towards the strange creature they had chased for the last ten days.
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Syndicate Universe
Ivy Town
Molecule Man’s Lab
Protex reentered Ray’s Lab after he had gone. There were more adjustments he wanted to make to the instrument. So far Ray had not discovered that his instrument had been tampered with and used prior to his testing it, but that would not last long. Ray was no idiot.
Protex realized that Ray’s tele-porter was actually a dimensional tele-porter. He was sure that Ray would realize this soon and that their two test subjects probably already suspected Ray’s involvment in their strange disappearances earlier today.
Protex wanted to adjust the instrument so that whoever was sent could stay as long as they chose. When he had used the instrument two weeks prior, he had found himself in a snowy little town in the Midwest. He had sensed instantly that he was not in his own dimension. Instead of exploring he had almost instantly given into his more basic desires of breeding and feeding.
He had singled out what would have been considered an attractive female by human standards. He had started trying to breed with her but had sensed someone coming. He had known that his time was short and in a fit of rage at being interrupted had phased a taloned hand into the pathetic females chest and destroyed her heart, just as he had been pulled back to his dimension.
He was beginning to appreciate the delicate beauties of the human female body but there was just no comparison to the white or green Martian female anatomy, especially the white Martian female. He had not seen a human female with fangs or a tail. Most of them had “hair” covering the skin on their head, and they could not change their shape at will. And so far none of the human females he had attempted to breed with had survived.
While this had been very disappointing he had begun to enjoy his breeding attempts. The terror of his victims was like a psychic energy meal and he had begun to derive a small amount of pleasure from using them. Once the females died he had food for a couple of days.
The last several months he had had to be much more discreet. It seemed that Owlman and Superwoman were onto him as well as Ray. Owlman would be very difficult to deal with. While he was nowhere near as powerful as he, the arrogant human seemed able to shield himself from Protex’s mind. He also knew Protex’s weakness and had been, until recently, Ultraman’s best friend.
Superwoman would also be difficult. He was more powerful than she physically but she, like Owlman, was also immune to his psychic attacks and control and she, like Ultraman, possessed that cursed heat vision, his one weakness.
There was no female he desired more than Superwoman. Even he thought her beautiful, for a non-martian. She was very powerful and he was certain that she would be able to survive the breeding process. While she did not seem to frighten easily, the last couple of days he had sensed terror in her. That was something he could use against her if only he could get her alone and unsuspecting.
Protex stopped his work. His eyes narrowed. A malicious grin came over his chalk white face. His opportunity was now. Superwoman was in the building and heading for him. The sinister nightmarish shape of Protex disappeared and Ray Palmer stood in his place.
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JLA Universe
Bermuda Triangle
The powerful orange and green clad form of the king of Atlantis sliced through the waters of the Caribbean. His beautiful red-haired wife moved next to him. They had been married for just hours and were taking a brief break from their lovemaking, to enjoy the warm tropical sun. The waters were teaming with life. All seemed to be able to sense that this was a grand day for their king.
The king and his new queen held hands as they moved through the waters at tremendous speeds. They had spent the last couple of hours becoming one in an underwater island cave that was open to the bright warm sky. It was after five now and there was perhaps another two hours of daylight left here close to the equator. The king pulled his happy queen into another sensual embrace. They kissed tenderly, and then with unspoken agreement headed back to their honeymoon cave. They broke the surface of the water
Shooting up into the air and then diving smoothly back in, just as a school of dolphins joined them in their frolicking.
The dolphins swam off as the two royal figures approached their temporary home away from Atlantis. Just as they were entering their cave, the king sensed a sudden shift in the mood of his ocean subjects and then he and his bride both felt the shock waves as a large object crashed into the waters he called home, perhaps half a kilometer away.
The fear and confusion of his ocean friends was immediately apparent. The king turned to his beautiful wife.
“ Mera, I must investigate this, my love,” he said tenderly caressing her lovely face.
“Not alone, you mustn’t,” was her reply.
The king knew that the queen would not be dissuaded and without further argument sped off into the deep waters following the trail of the mysterious intruder.
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JLA Universe
Themyscira
Queen Hippolyta was not happy.
She had just spoken with the Oracle. It seemed that soon a great evil would attack the amazons, and her army would be rescued from humiliation by a small group of men.
Too add insult to injury she was to hold a tournament in order to choose a champion from among her amazons. The champion would be given a suit of armor fashioned by Hephaestus and bracelets made from Zeus’ Aegis shield. The champion was to go out into the world to share the Amazonian way of life and to champion the cause of justice and peace.
The Oracle had gone on to say that the champion would suffer much but that she would make her proud. She would forge a bond that would unite the amazons forever with the world of men.
Hippolyta wasn’t sure what that last statement implied or if she was comfortable with it. What kind of bond could an Amazon make that would forever unite them with the world of men? No, she didn’t like it at all.
Hippolyta walked down to the shore. Her general and closest friend, Philippus, was training her two daughters in the art of battle and self-defense. As the queen neared, she watched with pride as her older daughter, Diana, disarmed and defeated six of her best warriors.
Philippus also seemed to be quite pleased but pointed out that she must never depend solely on her superior strength to win a battle. She illustrated her point by having the eighteen year old, Diana spar with her one on one. They used long swords and the fight was impressive. Philippus was obviously the more skilled of the two and if one were to go by physical appearances, the more powerful as well. The slender, lovely Diana moved with a speed that almost left the onlookers dizzy, all except for the queen, Diana’s younger sister, Donna, and Philippus.
Philippus knew the power her two young pupils possessed came from the goddesses themselves. She knew that none on the island could hope to win against the queens daughters based on power alone. But she had seen many more powerful foes fall before her sword due to patience, skill and craft. She wanted her beloved pupils to learn this lesson well and to never take their powers, skills or mind for granted.
Diana skillfully parried each stab, slice and stroke of her teacher’s weapon. Her teacher in turn deflected each of her attacks. She searched carefully for an opening to claim victory and spied it with Philippus’s next lunge.
Philippus saw her opening and executed her trap.
Philippus lunged, stabbing at Diana’s midsection. Diana swiftly sidestepped deflecting her teacher’s blade with the point of hers turned down, then stepping in she stabbed up, knocking her teacher’s sword out of her grasp. She arched her blade back down at Philippus fluidly as she had been taught. Philippus staggered to her left, Diana’s right, then suddenly her clumsy off balance act disappeared and she was grasping Diana’s sword hand with both of hers.
With her left hand she squeezed the muscle below Diana’s thumb instantly weakening Diana’s hold on her blade. With her right hand she grasped the handle of Diana’s weapon disarming her. As she popped the blade from Diana’s hand she slammed her right leg into Diana’s right leg. She wrist-locked Diana right, pulling her arm away from her body, pivoted her hip and brought the flat of Diana’s blade to her throat crashing her to the sand.
Diana was surprised, shaken and humbled and very proud to have Philippus as her teacher and friend. The lesson was obvious. Never underestimate your opponent. Her victory over six warriors had left her overconfident. Her weaker opponent had defeated her using strategy and skill. She would remember her lesson forever.
As Philippus helped Diana back to her feet they heard, the twelve, year old Donna holler, “Mother!”
All turned and bowed to their queen while Donna rushed too her and hugged her so hard that, for a moment, the queen couldn’t breathe. She laughed as she squeezed her youngest and more mischievous daughter back, for a moment, forgetting her concerns of the future.
“Did you see us fighting, Mother?!” little Donna asked. “We are getting really good.”
“Yes, you are, my child,” the beautiful queen answered with a laugh.
Diana walked up to her mother the queen and embraced her. “May we go for a swim, Mother?”
Hippolyta gave her two beautiful, raven-haired daughters permission and watched as they played in the surf. For a moment her fears of the future were forgotten as she lovingly observed the two beautiful gifts the goddesses had given to her.
It wasn’t long before the princesses had convinced their friends and mother to join them in the water. For a few minutes only laughter filled the air. Then two things happened that brought the queen’s fears rushing back and filled her heart with foreboding.
The first to trouble the queen was her oldest daughter requesting permission to participate in the contest for the following day. The second to trouble her was seen by all who were present; several large objects appeared, falling from the heavens. Most disappeared in the distance but one seemed to come close and landed far out in the ocean.
