DC Infinity - Justice League Issue 1

Somewhere in space a radio crackles.

" Houston , we're on schedule."

Astronaut Blake Walters floated in zero gravity, his umbilical the only thing keeping him attached to the space shuttle Freedom. He had been in orbit now for seven days on a satellite repair mission. The final part of their mission was underway, upgrading a LexCorp broadcast satellite.

" Roger that, Freedom ," came the reply from NASA's mission control. " Continue on. Your biometrics look fine. Everything is looking good. "

Walters continued installing the upgrade, with a new communications suite being installed that would make Wayne Technologies the new giant in telecommunications with their new WayneChip satellite broadband technology. The upgrade consisted of five stages of installation. Walters was on stage four.

"Ten-four, Freedom out," responded Walters.

Walters glanced down to the world below him. When you can see the world as a whole-as one massive living thing instead of nations divided-it makes war seem so cancerous. WayneTech was bringing the world together, and the new WayneChip satellite would help spread the wealth of knowledge across the globe. Maybe it was pretentious of him, but Walter really felt like he was giving the world a gift. As he stared down at the slowly spinning blue orb a shadow covered him.

"Walters," came shuttle commander David Bridge , "Gravimetric levels just spiked...is something happening out there?"

"No," never breaking his gaze, Walters simply replied, "Everything's fine. It's just the moon."

"The moon?" Bridge responded, "at this time of day?"

Silence. Bridge turned to his exterior cameras. There was nothing but static.

"Walters?

The radio crackled.

"Walters? Come in!"

No response.

The radio crackled.

"WALTERS!"

An alarm went off. Bridge recognized it as soon as it sounded. The airlock was being cycled.

"Walters, what the hell happened? I've lost all radio contact. I--" The all-clear signal beeped as the airlock completed its cycle. The interior hatch opened.

Bridge floated towards the stiff form of Walters as he entered. The form seemed almost dead, but there was still a presence there-facing the black and open abyss.

"Blake," said Bridge, "Are you ok, man? Talk to me!"

Still, Walters kept his back turned as though he was lost in a trance-gazing into the most beautiful thing in the world.

"Come on man," pleaded Bridge, "This really isn't funny anymore." He grabbed Walters by the shoulders and spun him around. There was no resistance.

Walters' visor was shattered. The vacuum of space had removed the fragments of glass. Bridge gazed into the open helmet-expecting nothing, but finding the moist, fleshy form of five wriggling arms gripping Walters' face.

... a blue, white and red starfish.

Bridge screamed.

DC Infinity Proudly Presents

The DC Universe's Premiere Super-Team...One Year Later!

"THE WORLD'S GREATEST SUPER-HEROES? - PART I"

Plot by Josh Krenz, Ken Hintze & Mike Hintze

Initial Concept by Ken Hintze

Written by Josh Krenz and Mike Hintze

22,300 Miles Above The Earth

The earth spun on its axis below like a blue marble. The view was one of the most spectacular anywhere... but the view was not the focus of the current conversation aboard the new Justice League Satellite.

"That's not the way we operate. You know that." Ralph Dibny, the Elongated Man, was furious. The recipient of his anger stood in a relaxed posture, a scowl on his face.

"Nobody was killed," said Batman. "The badguy was caught, the day was saved, end of story."

"That's not the end of the story, dammit! You're in the Justice League now. We need to set an example... and breaking the Riddler's legs was not it."

"That's just it," said Batman. "You and this Justice League of yours say you want to make a difference, yet you won't let us deal with criminals and threats in any way that's final. I for one have no desire to continually deal with these idiots every other week. The Riddler won't be bothering anyone anytime soon."

"The Riddler will not be the norm in the future," said Ralph. "And this is just as much your League as it is ours... even moreso."

"The flying rodent has a point," said a long legged blonde in fishnets. "The Riddler was going to kill hundreds. Broken legs are a blessing compared to what he deserved. We've all known guys like him. Up to now, the powers-that-be have been content to give guys like him a slap in the ass and wait for the next escape from the asylum. You want us to do this job, let us do it right. We know a little more about this than you."

"Canary, that's not the point and you know it," said Ray Palmer, the Atom, as he entered the room.

"You need us," came a voice as a flash of lightning streamed into the meeting room. "The world needs us. We may go along with your way of thinking, especially after what Gabriel showed us, but don't think we're going to follow behind your jackboot."

Ralph Dibny looked away into space, lest his temper get the better of him. This Justice League was far from the one he and Ray had been a part of over the years (even the satellite they now used was the former home of the Secret Society of Super-Villains). and yet, they might be capable of saving the world in a way no other League before it could. This League had an experience with the threats they were facing that was unlike any even he and Ray could claim to have. The last year had been a trying one for many. but if what Gabriel had said was true, then this League was the last best hope for everyone. Not because they were better than their predecessors. but because they were the only choice left.

"I'm sorry to interrupt this exchange," said a youthful voice, "But we've just picked up an alert from NASA... the space shuttle is on a burn-up trajectory into the atmosphere!"

"Thank you, Firestorm," said the Atom, "Alert Green Lantern and Superman... Justice League, Go!"

The argument forgotten for now, the Elongated Man, Atom, Batman, Flash, Black Canary and Firestorm left the meeting chamber and scrambled for the hangar bay.

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The space shuttle Freedom was already flaring due to the oblique angle it was descending at. Bright flames coruscated around the nose and bow of the ship. The ceramic panels that protected it from the heat of re-entry were giving way. in minutes the shuttle would be overcome.

A blue and red streak of light came from out of the atmosphere. It slowed down as it approached the shuttle, the image of what the streak was began to resolve. The streak made contact with the shuttle and slowed its progress. One of the onboard cameras winked on, revealing a large red "S" in a diamond pattern.

A green energy enveloped the shuttle. The shuttle stopped entirely, suspended by emerald hands that stretched out from the energy bubble it was encased in. In the near distance, a man could be seen glowing iridescent, a green energy beam arcing from his hand to the bubble.

The shuttle door to the airlock was opened. Seconds later, the airlock cycled. The interior door irised opened, and Superman walked in. The Green Lantern energy field had created a gravity well similar to Earth-Normal. Superman looked around, but said nothing. His face was impassive, his features never changed. His eyes scanned the shuttle, looking for survivors.

" Main cockpit secure ," said Superman, " Continuing scan into interior spaces ."

" Acknowledged ," said Green Lantern, " Continuing to monitor environmental capsule. Justice League arrival imminent . "

" Acknowledged , " replied Superman. He made his way into the deep interior of the large shuttle.

Nearby, a shuttlecraft came across the terminator directly towards the emerald green sphere that housed the shuttle. Outside the craft, Jason Rusch, aka Firestorm the Nuclear Man, flew ahead, the flame atop his head arcing back as he accelerated.

Looks like Green Lantern and Supes beat us to it , thought Jason.

That it does , replied another voice in Jason's head. I would suggest taking point as the shuttle approaches. The others may be formidable, but are not much use in a space rescue .

Yeah, no kidding , thought Jason. He sped forward, leaving the shuttlecraft behind as if it were standing still.

In the craft. Batman piloted silently. Black Canary sat beside him. The Atom sat in the back, mulling over NASA situation reports from a terminal.

"You shouldn't let Atom get to you," she said. "You did a good job with the Riddler. Ray's just jealous he'll never be as good as you are." She winked at Batman flirtatiously.

A small grin came over Batman's face. "I know that and you know that," he said, "But someone is going to have to tell him that. Whether or not his face is intact when that happens depends on how lippy he gets."

"Ironic," said Canary, shaking her blonde hair back, "That a man that shrinks would have an inferiority complex."

"Enough banter," said Flash, instantly appearing between the two, "We're almost there. Mission Parameters prevail. Let's do our job and get these astronauts home in one piece."

"He's right," said Batman. "Let's save the day."

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Superman continued his search of the interior, finding no identifiable human heat signatures. The nearly disastrous re-entry would have ruined any recent heat sigs, but if the astronauts were still onboard. or alive. then they should show something.

" Firestorm, please dissipate all ambient heat in order to facilitate heat-location of the subjects ," he said.

" You got it ," replied Firestorm over the commlink. Seconds later, the temperature dropped significantly. Superman re-scanned the interior. and found one low-level humanoid heat pattern, in a storage locker a dozen feet away. He approached the locker slowly.

" Do not be alarmed ," said Superman. " This is the Justice League. We are here to rescue you. Please remain calm ." He reached for the door and opened it.

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Static crackled through the commlink as Superman's connection was cut off. Batman could see Green Lantern's face turn towards the shuttle as he registered the static. " Green Lantern, stand by, " said Batman. " I'm going in ."

" The hell you are ," said the Elongated Man and The Atom in unison in the background.

" Going in ?" said Firestorm, " I should go in. You can't do much here in space, no offense, man ."

" None taken ," said Batman, " Now shut up. If I don't communicate back in one minute, come inside. Understood? "

" Yeah.I guess ," said Firestorm. " Just how the heck are you going to get over there anyway? EVA suit? "

" I'm already onboard ," said Batman. " Now quiet. Radio silence for sixty seconds ."

Already onboard? Thought Jason, How the hell did he do that ?

There is far more to this Batman than meets the eye , replied the other voice in Jason's head, I think it would be prudent to wait and see what happens .

Still, he could have been a bit more polite , thought Jason. Just because he calls himself Batman doesn't mean he has to be a grim jerk-off. I'll bet the Professor would have had a witty comeback for him.

Perhaps. But dealing with such as this Dark Knight comes with the territory, Jason , replied the voice in Jason's head.

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Batman made his way through the shuttle, the interior surprisingly dark considering the reflection from the Earth below. A small blade, serrated like a batwing, was in one hand with a black baton in the other. If Superman was down, then there might be more to this rescue than met the eye.

He turned a corner into a lab area and saw Superman lying on the floor. Seeing no one else, he went to the Man of Steel and turned him over. Batman grunted as he did so. He pulled back as he saw Superman.

A large starfish was affixed to Superman's face. It was wriggling as sparks flew from beneath it. Several feet away, one of the astronauts was lying on the floor, his face covered in slime, not breathing. Batman didn't have to check vitals to know the man was dead. The insignia on his uniform shows him to be the shuttle commander , thought Batman.

Batman impaled the starfish on Superman with his blade. The creature wriggled and died, its internal fluids leaking out. It released its grip on Superman.

Superman's face was damaged, revealing part of his true nature beneath. Batman could see that he would be all right, given time. Odd , thought Batman, if this starfish is what I think it is, Superman shouldn't have been affected . Leaving Superman for now, Batman continued on.

"This is Batman," he said, "Everyone stay clear. Superman will be all right. I'm checking the rest of the shuttle."

" What happened to him ?" asked Black Canary.

"I'm not sure," he replied. "Some kind of starfish."

"Starro?!" Elongated Man grabbed the communicator headset from Black Canary. "Get the hell out of there, Batman, now. We need to get Green Lantern to transport the shuttle to a secure location that can be quarantined."

No answer came from Batman.

"Dammit," said the Atom, "If he's taken over by Starro while onboard, then we've got a load of trouble."

"Give him a chance , " said the Flash. "He's running on Mission Parameters now, Ralph. You know as well as I that he's going to do the right thing . "

"He'd better," said the Atom. "For all our sakes, he'd better."

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The new Dark Knight continued to secure the remainder of the shuttle's interior. The baton in his hand crackled with electrical energy. Batman punched in a code on his gauntlet's keypad and his mind reeled for a split second as his onboard systems did their work.

Infrared and sonic scans from his cowl revealed nothing, which was odd in itself. There was no background signatures... it was as if Starro was masking all forms of detection. Batman was sure that wasn't something it was known for doing in the past.

The main cargo hold was pitch black. Batman entered the vast chamber and turned on his spotlight. His chest emblem burst with light, casting a wide beam across plasteel crates and other equipment. As he panned across the room, he saw something move. Gripping his baton, he moved towards his quarry.

He leaped up onto a crate and cast his chest beam downwards. There, he saw five human beings... the rest of the shuttle crew. They were lying down as if asleep... with the exception of the colorful starfish on each of their faces. If they're all down and out, thought Batman, then what just moved ? A second later, he got his answer.

Batman was tackled from the side by something large, bulky and angry. He was flung against the far bulkhead, expelling all of his breath from him as he impacted. Batman was only halfway up when his attacker leaped at him again. Batman grabbed for his baton, but it was ten feet away, crackling on the shuttle bay floor. He flicked his wrist quickly and the baton leaped up and shot back into his hand. As it landed, so did the attacker. When the large figure landed on Batman, it was immediately flung back several feet as an energy discharge flared.

Batman got up and aimed his chest beam at his attacker. For a moment, he was unsure what to make of it...

His attacker was an astronaut... or at least, used to be. The astronaut was wearing the remnants of his EVA suit, but the suit looked as if it were dozens of sizes too small. The seams were straining and seemed to wriggle with movement as if something was just under the surface, trying to get out. There was a starfish on his face.

The attacker's mouth opened just below where the starfish had attached itself. A gurgling sound came out... and something wet fired out at Batman.

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"We've lost contact," said Black Canary. "I can't raise Batman on any frequency."

"Dammit," said The Atom. "He must have been taken down by Starro."

"We need to back him up," said Flash. "Now. Send in Green Lantern."

"No," said Atom. "If whatever is onboard that shuttle can take down our Superman, then that means Green Lantern is vulnerable, too. No... I'm going in. If I shrink down small enough, Starro won't even know I'm there."

"Be careful, Ray", said Ralph.

"I will," said the Atom. "Green Lantern, prepare to beam me in."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Seconds later, The Atom was aboard the shuttle. Green Lantern had fired him across into a hole in the shuttle drilled by the Lantern's ring. It was patched up as Atom went through, leaving Palmer in the main cockpit. He was almost smaller than the eye could see, small enough to be reasonably undetectable... but large enough that with his mass control, he'd be able to knock down just about anything that came in his way.

He bounced down towards the shuttle bay, seeing the dead body of one of the astronauts. Superman was lying on the floor, his face almost totally repaired. At least he'll be all right, thought Ray.

Atom entered the shuttle bay and had to adjust his eyes to the near darkness. There was noise coming from the rear of the shuttle... some kind of reflected light... he moved closer.

A grotesque creature... obviously one of the former astronauts... was holding up Batman against the bulkhead. A starfish was affixed to Batman's face, his mask pulled back, exposing his white hair. Batman was fighting the control of the starfish as it fought with him mentally. The astronaut's strained suit was wriggling and roiling with sickening, undulating motion.

The Atom shrank down to the size of a fly and launched himself at Batman's face. He needed to kill the starfish on him first, then his attention would be directed at the inhuman creature. Starro never operated like this before , thought the Atom, What the hell is happening here ?

A split second before he made contact with Batman's starfish, he was grabbed in mid-air and slammed against the bulkhead, landing him on the floor. Before losing consciousness, he saw Batman standing above him, no longer fighting the control of the starfish. The grotesque creature beside Batman stood above the Atom... and spat a wet, wriggling starfish towards him.

Then everything went black.

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"We have incoming!" said Black Canary. She motioned at the heads up display showing something approaching them at incredible speed. Canary engaged the thrusters to avoid collision... but it was too late. All Canary and Flash could do was watch as a red comet flared towards them...

... and collided with an emerald energy shield. The red energy dissipated on contact.

Firestorm rushed to their aid, ready to take on the source of this new attack. He could see nothing... until static screamed over his commlink. He looked towards the shuttle and saw Green Lantern's energies around the shuttle disappearing as Green Lantern himself began to drift lifelessly, his ring sparking wildly.

Behind the ring-bearer, a man dressed in blue with a red glowing star over his face floated, aiming a staff at Green Lantern. Beside him, was a man dressed in black and gold armor. In the armored man's hands was a wriggling starfish. The armored man threw it at Firestorm faster than the young hero could react. It slapped into Firestorm's face, affixing itself to him.

Canary and Flash were helpless as this happened. Neither of them could function in space. But they had to do something...

The red-star faced man aimed his staff at the shuttlecraft. Another red comet-like bolt was fired.

It struck the shuttlecraft and blew it apart.

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Next Issue : The new Justice League is down and out... who can save the day now? Find out in 2 weeks!

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