DC Infinity - Justice League Issue 5

"Scream"

"The World's Greatest Heroes?" - Part 5

By Josh Krenz and Mike Hintze

I wonder if Ivy still wants to go shopping?

I mean, I know that I'm doing the hero thing now, but you know-girls gotsta be girls.

Black Canary sat by herself in the lobby of the Justice League Satellite. A loop of string sat between her fingers, carefully she maneuvered the loop back and forth in a game of Cat's Cradle.

I know that some birds eat plants now, but I'm sure she'd see beyond that. After all, canaries are known pollinators, right? I'm sure she'd look past that.

She started humming a little tune to herself. It was a little joyous piece, lots of major notes and crescendos--like a song from an ice cream truck.

This hero gig, I really like it. I bet Mister J would love it.it's just a shame, a real shame that he can't be here right now.

Silently, gliding on technology crafted by sinister minds, the door into the lobby slid open.

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ACQUIRING INPUTS.Done.

ANALYSING INPUTS.
Location: Lobby.
Purpose: Recreation/Leisure/Relaxation.
Possible Threats: None.
Surroundings: Plant, Ficus/ Couch, purple/ Table, round.
Occupants Detected: Black Canary.

ACTIVATE ABILITY: Sonic Scream/Canary Cry.

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Elsewhere in the Justice League Satellite Ray Palmer nursed his friend Ralph Dibny back to health. The two had recently encountered the unfriendly-end of an energy baton, the Elongated Man being worse for the wear from the unfortunate confrontation.

"How could he have done this to us?" mumbled The Atom as he applied a gingold-absorbing enzyme to his fallen friend. As the sponged on ointment crossed The Elongated Man's flesh it became taut and less elastic. "Think of all the things we've given them.everything we've done, they don't appreciate us-they don't want to do the right thing."

They do not understand how they fit into the puzzle. The pieces alone cannot see the whole.

"Why didn't we get an Aquaman?" the possibly delirious Dibny slurred through a drooling, drooping lip. "Aquaman.and all his fishy friends."

They don't understand that good can only come from sacrifice, from change, from growth.

"And Manhunter.why didn't we get a Martian? You can never have enough aliens hanging around."

We have seen the future. We know what is to come. They are too short sighted. They must be punished.

"No."

"'No' we don't have enough aliens? Or 'No' we don't need any aliens?"

This is not a democracy. It is not some flawed fascination. We are not looking to make the largest amount of people 'happy'. Happy is fake, happy is temporary-happy does nothing to make the world better, it just clouds logic and better judgment. We are the future. We are fate. We are what will come. Do not expect them to understand or sympathize with efficiency. They still worship the individual, the Justice League is not about making the individual happy-it is about making the future perfect.

Palmer continued to dab the extracted-enzyme across Dibny's limp form.

"You know," said Ralph, "I always wished that we could create something.spectacular together. Before she.died."

Ralph started to cry.

Ray Palmer stared off into an empty corner.

"We are creating something spectacular, Ralph. We are helping to create the future."

You are making things the way they should be.

"I miss her so much."

The sonic scream could be felt throughout the entire Justice League Satellite. Beakers shattered, chairs shifted, and lights flickered.

With maddening speed Ralph Dibny pulled himself together and upright. "She can't do that, can she?"

The two looked at each other for a brief moment. The Atom stood up and headed for the door.

In a moment of sobriety, Ralph Dibny called out to his only remaining friend. "Do you think our Aquaman will be able to speak to fish?"

They must be punished. They need to understand that the future is bigger than they are.

"No."

"That's a shame, we could ride giant seahorses."

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The room looked as though it had been ripped apart by an earthquake of massive proportions. The vibrations had ripped through most of the furniture, leaving behind the mangled frames and broken shapes. A single leaf remained on the lobby's only plant.

A moaning could be heard from behind the couch.

Her body in shock, Black Canary shivered and chocked on blood as the viscous liquid dripped from her nose and ears. Her eardrums had been shattered and blood streamed through her sinus cavity, oozing out from any available hole. It ran down her throat, into her stomach and lungs causing her to cough and seize violently.

The Atom looked down at her, but positioned the couch between the two.

They must be punished.

The fragile figure looked up at the Atom. Her mask had been ripped from her face revealing her clownish eyes. Her blonde hair soaked up the pouring blood as she continued to choke and cough in her gasping state. For a moment their eyes locked, a single tear ran along her face-caressing her lips and mixing with the blood draining from her body.

Ray Palmer looked away.

"Ralph," he said into the Justice League communicator, "Bring some medical supplies down to the lobby. I'm going to find out who did this."

Another sonic scream rushed through the satellite. This one generated from Firestorm's holding cell. The lights briefly flickered on and off as shockwaves traveled through the space station.

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Superman blasted Amazo with his heat vision. The searing beams of light and energy ripped into the androids body, but did not seem to faze him.

"You stupid machine," growled Superman, "you have no idea what you are doing."

Amazo reacted with super-speed, rushing at the Man of Steel at an all-out run. Superman reacted with lightning reflexes; the two blurs collided with a devastating shock. The two metal forms landed solid against the station's reinforced, insulated walls.

ACTIVATE ARCHIVE: Hourman.

The two figures stood up and faced each other again.

"That boy is mine. Stay away."

Superman took in a deep breath and let loose a massive windstorm down the hallway. At first Amazo fought for balance, but eventually the gusts pushed him off balance. With a fighting effort Amazo dug his hands into the metal panels that constructed the Satellite's floor. Still, the bombardment of air was too much and the panels ultimately lifted from the floor sending Amazo barreling down the open passageway.

The gale dropped away. Superman regained his posture and dusted off his hands. Arrogantly he turned around with a metallic smirk on his face.

Amazo stood behind him.

With a solid swing Amazo's android fist connected with Superman's face. The Man of Steel ping-ponged down the metal hallway. His costume tore apart from the multiple impacts and some of his wiring systems broke through his metallic frame. Dusting himself off he started to march down the hallway, only to find Amazo's massive arms lifting him off the ground into a bear hug.

The metal casing continued to rip apart, taking chunks of Superman's cape and costume with it. Suddenly, a second Amazo appeared running down the hall. With brilliant speed the second Amazo ripped at Superman's inner wiring as the other Amazo held the struggling robot in place.

Finally, Amazo dropped the still figure to the ground. The two figures stood motionless above the fallen Man of Steel.

END ARCHIVE: Hourman.

The two Amazo's blurred into one as the temporal fields recombined.

ANALYSING THREATS: None detected.

OBJECTS DETECTED:
Hallway.
Superman Robot.
Firestorm.

TARGET ACQUIRED.

Amazo marched towards the now unguarded cell that contained the unconscious Jason Rusch. With a simple gesture he tore the metal away from the holding cell and approached the prone figure.

"I think you've gone far enough," the voice behind Amazo said.

Quickly Amazo spun on the spot and prepared for an all out assault.

ANALYSING THREATS:
Ray Palmer/The Atom.

ACTIVATE ARCHIVE: Superman.

Amazo flew into an assault of flurried fists; still his hypersonic speed was not fast enough to prevent The Atom from shrinking down. The microscopic Ray Palmer launched himself at the android Amazo. Even though he was practically invisible, Palmer maintained his original mass and density, concentrated at a single point. The force was unimaginable, and knocked Amazo backwards.

Ray Palmer launched himself again at the off-balance Amazo, connecting with a swift kick and a lightning fast roundhouse. The force once again set the former Green Lantern off balance, but did not fell the mighty construct. With acrobatic timing Palmer spun in mid-air and collided with another great impact-sending both man and machine flying in opposite directions.

Still, it did not shut the android down. Quickly, before Palmer could respond, the android activated his heat vision and flooded the hallway with an inferno of light and scorching heat.

The walls dripped molten metal. Slowly a prone shape started to grow from the steaming hallway. It was The Atom, unconscious from the intense blast.

Methodically Amazo grabbed Ray Palmer by the crown of his head and dragged him down the hallway, his fingers ripping into Palmer's skull. The pressure on Palmer's brain forced him to release a scream, but he could not act under the massive strength of the android.

The two continued through the space station until finally Amazo reached the space dock. The system had been designed by some of the world's greatest and wicked minds. Through outstanding feats of technology they had mastered the marriage between space pressures and vacuums, allowing for the space dock to essentially maintain permanent access to the ether.

Earth spiraled below the open dock, reminding the master's of this vessel what stood to be lost. The world was a whole; it consisted of many parts but always acted in a global sense. A beetle flapping its wings in North America affected the elections in Germany. You couldn't think about individual loss, or individual hurt. The world needed a Justice League.

With an unenthusiastic fling Amazo lobbed The Atom into the open nothingness. The figure floated away towards the massive globe as Amazo turned in search for his last victim, Firestorm.

SEARCHING FOR TARGET: Firestorm.

Amazo left the space dock. Behind him, through the open space hatch The Atom shrank down to amazing sizes. He had done it a few times before, but never really remembered the afterwards.

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The body of Jason Rusch sat motionless within its metal cell. The Firestorm matrix was a potential hazard to everyone if it went unchecked, and precautions had been put into place to prevent any damage of the advanced system. Still, with robotic determination Amazo marched into the room to deal with the fallen Justice League member.

He prepared his heat vision for a massive blast, intending to evaporate Jason with a single blast. The android's eyes changed from yellow to red as the searing light crept through the open sockets. Still, Amazo let the energy build to catastrophic levels.

Then, without warning a massive blast of energy struck him from behind, ripping a massive chunk of absorption cells from Amazo's back. He turned around to face his assailant but was quickly toppled by another blast, this one tearing off another chunk from Amazo's chest.

It was Monarch, a ruler from a future never meant to be. Amazo activated his hypersonic speed and made a mad dash towards the massive figure filling up the hallway. The effort was futile, as Monarch grabbed the charging figure by the throat and clamped his massive mandible down. The android flailed in place, but Monarch refused to shift his grasp. Amazo slapped his fists against the side of his captor, but the shots simply bounced off like child's play. With his one free hand Monarch grabbed Amazo's shoulder and ripped the arm from its socket. Nonchalantly the arm was flung aside, left jerking on the ground.

The massive hand continued to squeeze Amazo's metallic skull until finally the absorption cells and metal frame collapsed underneath the pressure. A soft whirring sound slipped out of the fallen android as Monarch dropped the pile onto the group.

Monarch turned and walked up the hallway.

"Look at this," he said in reference to the fallen Superman. "We have no Superman now."

We don't have a Green Lantern either.

"Fix Superman, he is more important to our plans. Remember, the world needs a Justice League."

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Within a few days of the incident Black Canary was already walking around, Superman had been largely reconstructed. His inner programming sped the process up a lot, allowing for most of the work to be done by his automated systems.

Once, in a different life, Canary had been given a serum by Ivy that helped her become stronger, faster, and form immunities to most toxins. It was kicking in now, and really helped the healing process. Still, it felt different and strange in this cold space ship. She didn't really have any friends-and no one seemed to be interested in her.

Maybe I'll just visit.you know, for a couple hours. A couple hours couldn't hurt.

She wobbled over to one of the teleporters and punched in a series of digits. The machine asked her to confirm the location, which she did. She entered the teleport tube and quickly vanished. The words "Arkham Asylum" spread across the read out beside the tube.

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"Well, Black Canary.you do understand that under most circumstances we don't let people visit him. There are certain exceptions of course, you being one of them."

"Well, I'm really grateful."

"This relates to a case, I imagine? That thing on the train?"

Black Canary hesitated for a moment.

"Sure it does."

The doctor nodded his head, stood aside and typed in the access code, allowing the door to slide open. The figure within the room sat under a pale light, his grinning face pointed towards his bound hands and feet.

"Please, close the door," Black Canary requested of the doctor.

"Well.that's not usually our policy, you understand."

"Of course I do."

The doctor looked her firmly in the eyes, and with a disapproving nod closed the door behind her.

Carefully, she strode into the room, swaying a little back and forth like a schoolgirl on a first date.

"High toots.I mean.Mister J."

There was no answer.

"I.I missed you.and well.I just wanted to see how things were going."

Still, the grinning man continued to watch his feet.

"I was wondering.do you want to go for a walk in the park?"

Slowly the man lifted his head. With wild bloodshot eyes the Joker looked Black Canary in the face.

"Harley!" he flirted, "where have you been all my life? Come, take that stupid mask off and let's go have some fun."

Next Issue: The conclusion to 'The World's Greatest Heroes?' ! With an ending you will not believe!

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