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#3

"Sweet Survivor"

by David Marshall

 

Oblivion Bar

"Go fish," said Ragman.

"Impossible!" Detective Chimp protested. "You're telling me you have no Jacks?"

"I said go fish, didn't I?" Ragman replied. "That implies I have none of the card you asked for - zip, zilch, zero, nada. Go fish."

Detective Chimp grunted and added a card from the stockpile to the increasingly large collection in his hand. It was no more helpful than the others he held. "You have to be cheating."

"Do you have any fives?" Ragman asked.

Of course he had fives! Detective Chimp had three of them and was hoping to collect a fourth so he would have some points - any points- on the board! He groaned and practically hurled the cards at his opponent. How did that pile of flesh and rags do it? Such a juvenile game should be easy for anyone with even a reasonable facsimile of deductive reasoning and he had more than anyone on the team!

Ragman swept the cards off the table and laid down four fives and turned them over.

"Do you have any..."

"Probably!" Detective Chimp huffed.

"Kings?" Ragman asked.

Detective Chimp threw his cards in the air. "That's it! I quit!"

"But D.C, I'm not cheating!" Ragman insisted.

Detective Chimp hopped on the bar and poured himself a beer on tap. Playing cards seemed like a good way to pass the time while they waited for their teammates to return from inside Ragman's tatters. Now he wasn't so sure. "Yeah, whatever!"

"Let's try another game," Ragman suggested. "Do you know how to play..."

A knock interrupted Ragman's question. He turned to Detective Chimp and shrugged. "Expecting someone?"

Detective Chimp shook his head and slurped his beer. A foam beard matted in his fur. "It's not going to answer itself."

Ragman gathered up the cards and placed the deck face down on the table before answering the door. "Lori?"

 

Inside the Tatterdemalion

"Are you sure we aren't in hell?" Moses asked.

"It couldn't be," Blue Devil answered. "D.C. isn't here."

Most of Shadowpact, along with Zatanna, were inside Ragman's tatters, following a being who introduced himself as the Golem of the Tatterdemalion. The best Nightshade could figure, the suit was a manifestation of the spirit of the Golem or something like that. Ragman once explained to her that the suit was created in the 16 th century by a Czech Rabbinical council using the same method employed in the making of a clay Golem. Instead of clay which produced a mindless agent of destruction, they substituted rags in hope that a human host would act more responsibly. But the suit was still very much a Golem. Or at least that's how Nightshade understood things.

"You are not in hell," the Golem affirmed. "You are here to earn redemption. Should you reject redemption then you go to hell."

Moses Moses wrung his hands. "But Mama Moses took me to church on Sundays!"

The Golem wasn't impressed.

"Dude, I believe this Golem guy and this whole suit of rags is a Jewish thing," Blue Devil whispered to Moses.

"Oh," Moses replied. "Mama Moses took me to Synagogue too! Catch my name? Moses! As in "let my people go"! She always said one can't be too careful with his immortal soul!"

Enchantress shook her head. "I bet she took you to temple in Katmandu every Thursday as well."

"Is that anywhere near Detroit ?" Moses asked.

"You are here," the Golem answered. "Your choices are redemption or hell."

"What happens if we choose redemption?" Nightmaster asked.

"You crossover into the afterlife on the higher plane of existence," the Golem explained.

"Excuse me? Mr. Golem?" Moses laughed. "You said afterlife? As in dead? On ice? The big sleep? That afterlife?"

"There is but one," the Golem replied.

Moses wrung his hands and searched around frantically.

Nightshade wasn't sure what he was looking for. "I thought you couldn't see."

Moses nodded. "It never hurts to try."

"So why do our powers not function properly?" Zatanna asked.

That was a good question. In fact Nightshade hadn't tried to teleport the team out of the Tatters. It was much too dangerous. Without a proper fix on the Land of the Nightshades they could end up in a dimension somewhere that even the Phantom Stranger couldn't find.

"Your abilities will be made available after processing," said the Golem.

Enchantress's face brightened. "So we'll get them back?" It was rare to hear hope in her voice.

The Golem shook his head. "Once processing is complete your abilities are made available to the Tatterdemalion as well as your innermost thoughts and life experiences that may aid its wearer in his fight."

Enchantress exploded. "So Ragman will be able to poke around in our heads?"

"If it suits him," the Golem answered.

"Like hell he will!" Enchantress replied. "If he so much as..."

"That will be enough, June," said Nightmaster. "This is getting us nowhere."

"Agreed," said Zatanna. "Release my friends and keep me."

"I don't think so, fishnets," said Blue Devil. "We all leave or none of us do."

"Not so hasty," Moses laughed nervously. "None is such a strong word."

"So what does this processing entail?" Nightmaster asked.

The Golem placed his hand on the right side of Nightmaster's head. "Allow me to demonstrate."

At the Golem's touch, Nightmaster froze instantly.

Her friend's eerie stillness reminded Nightshade of the naked man in the city park when she was a little girl. Of course he wasn't a real man, only a statue. He was the only naked man she ever met who never lied to her. A girl remembers a thing like that.

"What the hell are you doing?" Enchantress asked the Golem.

"Processing," the Golem replied. "Your ally will not be harmed."

"Release him now," Enchantress ordered.

"Impossible," the Golem replied. "To sever our connection prematurely would render his mind useless to the Tatterdemalion."

For some reason everyone looked to Nightshade for answers. She wasn't sure what to do or say. Everything was happening too quickly. She closed her eyes and tried to imagine what Jim would say if the situation were reversed. "Let him continue, gang. After all, we're inside Ragman's suit. He's not going to let anything bad happen to us."

Enchantress crossed her arms. "You hope."

Nightshade nodded. "Yeah, I hope. Go ahead Golem."

The Golem placed a second hand on the other side of Nightmaster's head. "I see your life, Jim Rook. A young man singing to crowds of screaming teenage girls..."

Blue Devil's ears perked up. "Jimbo! You old dog, you! And they say I'm a devil!"

The Golem continued. "Whisked away to a strange land... no, a dimension apart from this one. Myrra, it was called? A descendant of a mighty warrior of that land named Nacht! You accept his sword and the love of a woman forces your hand in combat against an evil king...."

"Hey buddy," said Nightshade. "If we have to play secret origins in twenty-five words or less can you at least respect our privacy?"

"Have something to hide Nightshade?" Enchantress teased. "Some naughty little secret I don't know about?"

Nightshade grabbed a handful of Enchantress's dark locks. The witch hit an old nerve dating back to their days together in the Suicide Squad. "You know too damn much about me as is, June. As do I about you. I have nothing to hide. Can you say the same?"

Enchantress tugged at Nightshade's grip but was unable to break it. "Unhand me you cow before I...

Nightshade stared coldly into June Moone's eyes. "Before you what? We've done this before without your powers. The way I remember it, you didn't fare well. Try again?"

A large, blue hand touched Nightshade's shoulder. "Come on, Eve. Let it go. We've got to stick together."

Nightshade released her grip. "Thanks, Dan. I'm... sorry, June."

Enchantress didn't look the least bit pleased with her teammate's apology. She ran her fingers through her dark locks and combed them loosely into place. "If we ever get out of here..."

Her words froze in the air at the Golem's touch.

Nightshade turned to Blue Devil who seemed transfixed by the processing. "Penny for your thoughts."

"I wonder what it's like?" Blue Devil asked.

"The processing?" Nightshade asked. "Talk to Jim. He's coming back around."

Blue Devil shook his head. "I mean redemption - a second chance."

Nightshade put her arm as far around her friend as she could reach. "Everything happens for a reason. Maybe Shadowpact is your chance at redemption?"

Blue Devil forced a smile for Nightshade and brightened up. "Yeah, maybe."

 

Oblivion Bar

"Lori?" Ragman asked. "What are you doing here?"

Lori Zechlin was also known as Black Alice, an associate of the team who declined full-time membership. To the naked eye she was nothing more than a teenage girl immersed in gothic culture. Her usual attire was a black t-shirt with some sort of occult symbol emblazoned on the front and a pair of black jeans. She wore her hair in short pig tails and parted down the middle. Ragman wasn't sure if the hairstyle was about looking good or convenience. But looks could be deceiving. While Lori was a shy goth kid, Black Alice was much more. She was perhaps the most powerful metahuman in the known universe, a mystic leech capable of usurping the power of anyone with a connection to the arcane. She moved to a barstool and took a seat.

"I did it," Lori muttered numbly.

Detective Chimp bounded on the bar. "Did what, kid ?"

Black Alice looked perplexed as if she expected Ragman and D.C. to know what she'd done. "I... destroyed it. I'm so sorry!" She burst into tears.

Ragman handed her a glass of water. "Drink this. It'll help you catch your breath and calm down. What did you destroy Lori?" He almost dreaded to hear the answer. Black Alice was capable of nearly anything. She once stole the Spectre's power during Shadowpact's battle with him and Eclipso. Whatever upset her couldn't be good news.

Black Alice gulped the water down and placed the empty glass on the bar. She took a deep breath. Her words came in whispers. "Everything. I... I destroyed it all!"

Detective Chimp lit his pipe and sat next to Lori. "Everything is a vague term. What are we talking about here? Your home? Your town? The country? The world?"

Lori shook her head. "You don't understand. I mean everything - reality as we know it."

This was bad. End of the universe bad.

"So why weren't we affected by this phenomena?" Detective Chimp asked.

He had a point. Black Alice couldn't have destroyed everything if the Oblivion Bar still existed. But something obviously had her spooked. And if it could spook Black Alice, it scared the absolute hell out of Ragman.

"I don't know," Lori answered. "If I knew the answer to that I'd be Dr. Fate."

"Assuming what you say is true," said Detective Chimp. "What can a chimp, a card cheat, and the Corpse Bride do about it?"

"I do not cheat!" Ragman yelled. Not technically anyway. He was sure Detective Chimp used all his resources when they played cards. Was it wrong for him to do the same? So what if he had the information from several hundred brains fed to him every waking second?

"One of these days I'm going to expose you as the fraud you are, Rags," Detective Chimp shot back.

Black Alice rolled her eyes and threw her arms up. "God, why did I even come here?"

"You had nowhere else to go apparently," Detective Chimp answered dryly. "So how did this happen? More boy trouble?"

Black Alice leered. She lifted her glass and sucked an ice cube into her mouth. She crunched it in half and spit the remainder of the cube back into her glass. "Only if the boys in question are named Dr. Light and Deathstroke. The Society sent them."

"The Society only sent two lowlifes after you?" Ragman asked. "Are they nuts?"

Black Alice shook her head. "There were four of them - two men and two women."

Detective Chimp moved to the tap to pour another beer but it was dry. He held up his empty glass. "Damn! Now I have to go domestic! Any idea who the skirts were?"

Black Alice shook her head. "No idea."

Ragman felt the familiar sensation of connection with a new soul. It was akin to a fresh forest fire blazing within him. The darkest secrets of Jim Rook's soul were laid bare to him. It seemed right to shut out the whispers. It was one thing to know the shame of rank strangers. It was another to know the faults of a friend. "Jim's online with me."

"Online?" Alice asked. "I don't get it. Who's Jim? What's going on?"

Detective Chimp chugged his beer and placed his glass on the bar. "Nightmaster, Jim Rook. Rags absorbed the rest of the team along with Zatanna inside his Sunday best."

Black Alice looked as if she was told Ragman grew another head. "Gross! Why?"

"Long story and I'm more Shabbat than Sunday School, D.C. though I doubt the Tatterdemalion would be welcome attire in either house of worship," Ragman corrected. "Uh oh."

"Uh oh, what?" asked Detective Chimp.

"Enchantress has been assimilated and isn't liking it one bit."

"Fascinating gentlemen, but what about my problem?" Black Alice asked. "How can we save the universe if I blew it up?"

"We can't," said Detective Chimp. "End of story."

Black Alice looked stunned. "So what do we do? Sit around here and drink?"

Detective Chimp shook his head. "You're not old enough, kid. Can I interest you in a game of Go Fish?"

"D.C's kidding of course," said Ragman. "Tell her you're kidding, D.C."

Detective Chimp shuffled the cards. "No? I'll settle for Solitaire then."

"What makes you so sure you destroyed reality?" Ragman asked.

"Um... it's kinda like not there anymore," Black Alice answered.

"Reality is fine," said Detective Chimp. "You're here, we're here, and the Oblivion is still here. Even though the Oblivion exists outside normal reality it is still hinged to it and if it's still here, I'd wager everything else is still there too."

"Easy way to find out," said Ragman. He flipped on the television.

The television blared to life and was set to the news. A live report from downtown Opal City showed a giant robot parading among its art-deco spires. The Metal Men were on the scene.

"See?" said Detective Chimp. "Nothing to worry about except the Metal Men dying yet again."

"I heard Magnus claims he coined the phrase, 'Takes a licking and keeps on ticking'," said Ragman.

"But how is that possible?" Black Alice asked. "I saw the Earth blow up with my own eyes."

"What did the dames look like?" Detective Chimp asked.

Black Alice pursed her lips. "One was beautiful - dark and mysterious. She seemed to be in charge of the operation."

"Talia," said Detective Chimp. "And the other?"

"She wore a mostly green outfit and seemed edgy - like she was ready to explode at any moment," said Black Alice. "She said something about facing my worst fears and then I got mad and destroyed the world."

Detective Chimp lit his pipe. "Phobia. Kid, you've been duped."

"What do you mean?" Black Alice asked.

"Phobia's power is to make people believe their worst fear has come true," Detective Chimp explained. "In your case you fear your power getting out of control."

"Or hurting my dad," said Black Alice. "So it didn't really happen?"

"I bet your dad is probably out looking for you as we speak," said Detective Chimp.

Or not.

The door to the Oblivion Bar blew off its hinges. A swirling wind threatened to blow the members of Shadowpact off their feet. When at last it died down, Talia al Ghul pushed her way into the bar. Following her were Phobia, Deathstroke, Dr. Light, and Felix Faust. Black Alice's father was unconscious and floated in tow behind Faust.

"Dad!" Black Alice shouted. Her voice was a mixture of relief and new found worry.

"Your concern is touching," said Talia. "Return with us, Lori and no one gets hurt."

"Except these two losers," said Dr. Light, referring to Ragman and Detective Chimp. "Hey, Deathstroke. Ever carved a baboon?"

"Chimpanzee," Detective Chimp corrected. "But what should I expect an ass to know?"

Faust laughed. "He's an astute one that chimp!"

"Shut up!" Dr. Light yelled. "The four of us could have handled this just fine."

"And how would you have gotten here?" Faust asked. "The Metro doesn't run a line outside reality."

"That's enough," said Talia. "What's your answer Lori? Going to be a good little girl?"

"Go to hell!" Black Alice yelled. "All of you!"

"It's too bad you feel that way, child" Talia replied. "Faust."

At Talia's command arcane energy poured from Faust's hands and struck Black Alice's dad. His unconscious form writhed uncontrollably at the onslaught.

"Perhaps you'll reconsider our generous offer?" Talia asked.

"Get down!" Ragman yelled. He grabbed Detective Chimp and Black Alice in his arms and practically threw them behind the bar. A magic bolt knocked Faust to the floor. His right arm was the first thing to de-solidify.

"What the...? Help! One of those freaks has done something to me!" Faust yelled.

Behind the bar, Black Alice and Detective Chimp looked to Ragman for an explanation.

"Moses just came online," said Ragman. "This is going to be ugly."

"Moses?" Black Alice asked. "Who's that?"

"Another long story," said Ragman. "Someone we met since you turned us down."

Detective Chimp hopped on the bar. "Not true, Fausty. You did it to yourself. You see the old age of magic has come to an end. There are new rules now. Magic comes with a price and in your case it looks like you may end up as a glob of protoplasmic goo!"

Black Alice's father fell to the floor.

"Someone shut that monkey up!" Talia ordered.

Deathstroke leapt toward Detective Chimp and swung his battle staff. "My pleasure."

Detective Chimp barely managed to dodge the staff. He placed his long arms on the bar and propelled himself into Deathstroke. His feet struck the world's deadliest assassin on the chin.

Deathstroke reeled from the vicious kick.

"Didn't expect that, did you?" asked Detective Chimp. "Ragman? Lori? Some help? Now would be good."

Ragman bound the bar and punched Dr. Light into the wall. Dr. Light was far from helpless though. He struck Ragman in the chest with a beam of light borrowed from the chandelier overhead. The blast knocked Ragman over a table. His chest burned like fire. He had no idea Light was that powerful. He scooted to the far wall. If he could buy a little time...

Black Alice rushed to her father. Once she saw he was ok she uttered only one word. "Shazam!"

Lori was gone. In her stead stood a seething female version of Black Adam dressed in tight, black short shorts and a black belly shirt with the familiar lightning bolt emblazoned on the front. Her feet were clad in flats similar to those worn by Mary Marvel, but black. She grabbed Talia in a bear hug. "You don't listen well. I said go to hell!"

Felix Faust was little more than a puddle now. His eyeballs floated around what passed for his head. His mouth would disappear into the muck and reappear. "No fair! Why hasn't she turned to goo? She's usurped the power of Shazam for Christ sake!"

Dr. Light grabbed Ragman by the hood and forced him to look at him. "I have no idea who you are cretin, but lets see what happens when I take you apart rag by rag. Shall we? Or shall I be done with you and simply burn you?"

"Or choice number three," added a deep, bellowing voice Ragman recognized immediately.

"Choice number three? Who the..." Dr. Light asked. He peeked over his shoulder in time to take a massive blue fist to his jaw. He slumped to the floor.

"I turn out the lights," said Blue Devil. He helped Ragman to his feet.

"What took you so long?" Ragman asked.

"I wouldn't say that too loudly," Blue Devil warned. "Enchantress is kinda pissed at you."

"Noted," Ragman replied. "Let's see who needs some help."

Nightshade squared off with Phobia.

"Show me your worst fears woman," Phobia hissed.

Darkness covered both ladies.

"What the?" Phobia asked as the blackness consumed her.

"You want fear?" Nightshade asked. "Welcome to your worst nightmare!"

The darkness dissipated and both women were gone.

Nightmaster squared off with the Deathstroke.

"A fellow swordsman?" Deathstroke taunted. "I'm going to enjoy this." He drew his sword from the sheath upon his back. Neither Deathstroke nor Nightmaster spoke a word as their weapons clanged together.

It was obvious Deathstroke had the upper hand when it came to agility, but thanks to his enchanted sword, Nightmaster parried a blur of attacks. Again and again Deathstroke looked to land the finishing blow, but each time the Nightsword guided its master's hand to a miraculous block.

"We could do this all day long, Deathstroke," Nightmaster grunted.

"Fine by me," Deathstroke replied. "Your dumb luck has to end sometime and when it does you'll be just another nobody impaled on my blade!"

"Yalc emoceb drows s'ekorshtead!" Zatanna commanded.

Deathstroke's sword shattered into dust against Nightmaster's blade. He whirled his shotgun around and placed it under his arm. "So Zatanna prefers I go Indiana Jones on your ass?"

Before Deathstroke could fire his gun, Detective Chimp hurled himself through the air and tossed salt in the assassin's lone, exposed eye.

Deathstroke dropped his gun. "Son of a..."

The shotgun went off when it hit the ground. The blast splintered a table and blew a hole in a wall near Ragman. Luckily he wasn't injured and took advantage of the situation. He grabbed a broken leg from the splintered table and hurled it at Deathstroke. Thanks to Trebian Pejos, a former standout pitcher in the Latin leagues who poisoned a teammate that took his spot in the starting rotation, his aim was true. The table leg struck Deathstroke in the side of the head. He fell unconscious.

Black Alice continued to crush Talia. She had to be stopped.

Talia struggled but was no match for the power of a god. "Unhand me, wretched child!"

"Unhand you?" Black Alice asked incredulously. "Why? So you can attack my home again? No way! That grinding sound you hear in your ears? That would be the strength of Anon slowly grinding your bones to dust! Your lungs should explode any minute now!"

Nightmaster, Blue Devil, and Ragman tried to pry Black Alice's arms apart. For naught.

"Lori, stop! If you kill her..." warned Nightmaster.

Black Alice's vice was unrelenting. "Then I'll be no better than the Society? Is that what you were going to say? Sorry but you'll have to find an understudy for my part in your little morality play."

Talia's face was turning blue. Blood erupted from her mouth with a gasp and she went limp in Black Alice's arms.

"Lori, honey? Is that you?" It was Black Alice's father. He awakened sometime during the melee. "You can't do this, sweetheart! Do you hear me?"

"Yes, I can!" Black Alice exploded. "I can do anything!" The tears that poured from her eyes bore witness to the emotional trauma taking place within her.

"Your mom... It would break her heart to know we raised a killer. Please honor her memory and allow that woman to live," Mr. Zechlin begged.

"It's people like this garbage who killed Mom," Black Alice replied. "They're all the same whether it's small time drug pushers or super-villains. They see us as prey! Give me one good reason I shouldn't rid the world of her now!"

It was barely audible at first but Lori's father's voice sang softly, "You wonder if the dreams we shared together have abandoned us or we abandoned them. And you cast about and try to find new meaning so that you can feel that closeness once again."

"Don't sing that," Black Alice yelled.

"Carry on my sweet survivor. Carry on my lonely friend."

"Please stop," Black Alice begged.

Her father continued with the song. "Don't give up on the dream and don't you let it end."

"I know what you're trying to do," Black Alice insisted. "It won't work. Mom hasn't sang Peter, Paul, and Mary to me since I was a kid!

"Carry on my sweet survivor though you know that something's gone. For everything that matters, carry on." The final words lost clarity and tailed off as Mr. Zechlin lost consciousness once more.

Black Alice dropped Talia and crumpled to the floor. "Oh god! What am I doing?" She wailed and the Black Adam costume disappeared . It was replaced by Lori's regular clothes. She crawled to her father and threw herself on his chest in tears.

Nightshade and Phobia returned from the Land of the Nightshades. It was obvious Phobia received a hard lesson in terror. She crumpled to the floor in a fetal position.

Nightmaster grabbed the stricken villainess by the shoulders. "Nightshade will transport Talia to the nearest Lazarus Pit. Blue Devil's scooping Faust into a jar as we speak. He should be fine when his spell wears off. As for you and the rest of your trash - get out of my bar! And if you even think about using your power on us, I'll carve you like a Thanksgiving turkey. Do I make myself clear?"

"As crystal," Phobia stuttered.

"Everyone else, Lori's going to need us," said Nightmaster.

 

Epilogue: Oblivion Bar, A Few Hours Later

Detective Chimp threw back a beer. "So how did you escape the Tatterdemalion if you couldn't use your powers? I never heard the complete story."

Blue Devil swept the last remaining evidence of Shadowpact's battle with the Society into a dust pan. "Once we were processed, Rags could access our powers. He used Moses's ability to see magic to find the Land of Nightshades . Once Nightshade was able to get a fix on Spooky World the rest was simple teleportation."

"Simple teleportation? Now there's two words you don't hear together in a sentence everyday," said Detective Chimp. "How's Lori?"

"She and her dad are in the back talking still," Blue Devil replied. "Kid's been through a lot."

"I had no idea she found her mother dead," said Detective Chimp. "Suicide. Tough break. You look troubled."

Detective Chimp was the last person Blue Devil thought he could talk to about things. Turned out the chimp was easy to talk to. "A part of me hoped to stay in the Tatterdemalion."

"Now why in the bloody hell would you want a fool thing like that?" Detective Chimp asked. Easy to talk to maybe, but sensitivity wasn't his strong suit.

"Redemption," Blue Devil answered. "To be human again."

Detective Chimp placed a hand on Blue Devil's shoulder. "Dan Cassidy, you're the most human man I know."

"Thanks," said Blue Devil. "I think."

Enchantress stumbled into the room in sweats and an oversized t-shirt. "I couldn't sleep."

"You obviously miss your beauty rest often," Detective Chimp huffed.

"Stow it, Cheeta," said Enchantress. "I'm not up to sparring with you."

"Why's she calling you a Wonder Woman villain?" Blue Devil asked.

"She's referring to the Chimpanzee that appeared in the Tarzan movies," said Detective Chimp. "Nice fellow by the way. The witch gets a point for originality."

Enchantress poured a shot of whiskey. "Have I told you today just how much I loathe you?"

Detective Chimp perked up. "Hey! I thought all the good stuff was gone!"

"A simple matter of concealment," said Enchantress.

"Dammit! Now all the whiskey in the world's gonna dry up as punishment for a simple concealment spell!" Detective Chimp huffed.

Enchantress laughed. "No worries, D.C. The concealment I'm referring to has nothing to do with magic. I hid it somewhere I knew you'd never look."

"Oh? And where that may be?" Blue Devil asked.

Enchantress smiled devilishly. "Behind a case of Ginger Ale."