DC Heroes

heroes_misc:

SUB DIEGO – The citizens of Sub Diego have elected their first mayor. There were two candidates on the ballot, but the winner from a successful write-in campaign is Arthur Curry. The world knows him as Aquaman. Mr. Curry was unavailable for comment and refused to be interviewed. What does this mean for the future of relations between the United States and the sovereign kingdom of Atlantis now that a former Atlantean king is now the mayor of Sub Diego. Is this the start of an effort by Atlantis to annex the sunken city? CONT PAGE 2A

marsneedschocos:

By the time the Justice League had first formed, J'onn had been on Earth nearly forty years.  During that time he had, by and large, operated in secret, invisibly, in-between operating in his human identities.  He had, briefly, assumed the identity of the Bronze Wraith and allied himself with the Justice Experience, before the untimely deaths of the others in that group.  But by and large, though he had been on Earth for a long time, the world of humans had still been strange and alien to him. 

It had taken the accidental exposure of his presence on Earth to start truly bringing him into the light.  The formation of the League, who had become his surrogate family, had been exactly what he had needed.

He had made friends in those days.  Barry Allen, drawn from their mutual work as policemen.  Hal Jordan, out of his respect for Alan Scott and Abin Sur.

And, of course, Arthur.  They had been the outsiders, the both of them, in those days.  J'onn, still seeking to understand humans, Arthur unused to the ways and demands of the surface world.  It had forged a friendship that, though strained at times, had endured throughout the long years.  When Arthur had lost his son, none had known his pain more than he.  When the League had all but disbanded, it had been J'onn, along with Zatanna and Ralph, who had stood with Arthur to forge it anew.

It was why Arthur, not unlike Bruce, continued to worry him.  Neither of his friends was the man J'onn had once known.  They were darker, harsher, quicker to judge and quicker to meet out harshness.  What had happened to the smiling Sea King who had happily called upon his "finny friends" in the cause of justice?  Had life truly worn his friend down so much?

Seeing the others again, reforming the League, had reminded J'onn of all of this.  It was for this reason, along with a humanitarian interest in seeing his old friend's new protectorate, the lead J'onn to plunge into the icy waters of the Pacific Ocean, gills growing in the sides of his neck as he shifted his physiology. 

He had called ahead, of course.

man_of_steel:

 

The Hall of Justice shone in the early morning, sunlight glinting off its gold and silver facade. Great glass panels allowed light to flood into its marble entryway.

The Man of Steel stood in the doorway for a brief moment, taking in the room. This had once been a bustling hub of activity, staffed with dozens of aides and security personnel. The main floor of the Hall of Justice had acted as an embassy, a link between the world of Super heroes and everyday people. Here, one could learn about the history of groups like the JSA and Justice League, and could file petitions for the League to help with a crisis. While the League was stretched thin, they still tried to find time to make people feel as though they were listened to. That the League cared.

Superman found himself wandering through the empty reception area, following a familiar route. He ran his hand over the desk where a young receptionist had sat. Her name had been Judy Torrence...

“What do you make of the Hall, Mister Kent?” she had asked him, some months ago...

Clark had frowned, looking up at the amazing architecture. “It's...breathtaking, of course. But I can't help but wonder what the point of all this is, ” he had said. His thoughts had been clouded with doubt, in those days leading up to the League's dissolution.

Judy had frowned, twirling her short blond hair on one finger, “I know there's a lot rumours going around that the League's going to break up- but I can't see why.” He had been surprised to see tears twinkle in her eyes. “People think that our heroes just spend their time fighting aliens and super-villains, but they help everyday people too...” She had opened up a drawer in her desk, and produced a book. As she flipped through it, Clark saw the faces of smiling children, tearful families holding one another, paramedics and firemen giving thumbs-up. “Who are they?” Clark had asked.

Judy had smiled “They're people the League has helped. They send in these pictures. Some of them were saved from floods or natural disasters, some were brought food during famines in their countries, some are just first-responders who didn't have to go into a burning building because a hero was able to do it for them.” Her eyes had shone with hope. “When aliens invade or monsters try to destroy a city- a thousand people are helped in a thousand different ways, by groups like the Justice League. But you don't see stories about these people on TV or in the paper. Because it happens to often, we take it for granted...

Superman smiled at the memory, and wondered where Judy Torrence was now. He vowed silently that should- no, when the League re-formed- that he would personally ask her to come back and work for them. Possibly as head of public relations.

But for now, Superman had to content himself with leaving the Lobby and Museum level- and taking the secure elevator to the top floor.

The sliding doors opened, and Superman stepped out onto the Executive Level. A great conference table dominated the room, symbols etched into the back of chairs. Superman was early, so he went and stood before the glass wall that overlooked the the city beyond. He waited for the others to arrive- so they might start to rebuild the Justice League of America.

marsneedschocos:

Once J'onn, Diana, and Zatanna had connected with Bruce and Arthur, determining where the last Appelaxian had arrived had, truthfully, been a very simple matter.  Looking back over the League history and taking into account the location of the others, well, the Arctic circle had been easy enough to figure out. 

Back to where it all began.

The Invisible Plane, the Batplane, and J'onn flew there now.

It had been too long since he had fought beside this noble individuals, those who were his friends.   Arthur, who had been another outsider when they had first formed the League, his first friend within the super-hero community and who he barely understood any more.  Bruce, who he had bonded with, in a way, owing to his status as essentially a policeman on Mars, and who he feared for more and more with each year that passed.  Zatanna, who had stood with him, Arthur, and Ralph when there had been no one else to hold the League together.  And Diana, who he called a friend, but who possessed a fierce, warrior side that sometimes frightened him.

He could think of few better people to save the world with.

princess_diana:

After meeting with Bruce, Diana got back on the jet with J'onn and set a course to Vegas.

"Well, that went well given the circumstances.  And Bruce going independently to get Arthur does save a little on time.  I suppose all in all we're on our way to getting this taken care of."  She looked at J'onn. "What do you think?"

marsneedschocos:

J'onn J'onzz, Manhunter from Mars, was worried.  Though he had protected Denver from the wrath of the fire creature, he had gleaned enough from its mind to know that it had not come alone.  Five more of the creatures had come to the Earth, for the purpose of once more using it as a battleground in their struggle for supremacy.  There was the hope, of course, that others of his adopted home's champions would defeat those creatures, but he had long learned that to leave anything just to hope alone was folly.

The creature's mind had been like fire itself, making it difficult to touch even when he had steeled himself against it.  He had numbers, but precious few locations.  Only one, New York City, supposedly a place Diana currently called home.  He would have to investigate for himself, and perhaps from there, learn more.

As he approached the city, from the air, he cast out a mental call for Diana, wherever she might be.

marsneedschocos:

Whenever possible, private detective John Jones preferred to eat at one of the Dairy Queens of Denver, Colorado.  Certainly, there were places with better food and at times he ate there, but he always returned to the land of frozen treats and for one simple reason: Choco Blizzards.  Earth would never be Mars, he had long ago accepted that, but new delights such as Chocos went a quite a ways toward making up for it.

The Blizzard, the day to day habits of his civilian identity, burying himself in work, went a long way to toward taking his mind off many things which troubled him.  That the League had disbanded was high among them.  The League had been a part of his life ever since he had participated in its formation.  Others had come and gone, but always he had remained.  He could have protested the disbandment, could even have remained and rebuilt anew, but no.  Something vital, something important to the League had been lost, broken.  These wounds would take time to heal.

How much things had changed since the old days.  They had all been quite happy, friends, sure of themselves and their powers,  sure that the path they were on was the right one.  And now?

Barry and Hal were dead.   Arthur and Bruce were barely recognizable as the men he had once known.  Even Diana was different from the new visitor to Man's World she had been when she had first met them all.  Clark remained largely the same, he supposed, if perhaps even more settled into his role as a leader in the super-human community.

But J'onn?  J'onn had been on Earth since the mid 1950's, long before most of the current generation of heroes had even been born.  He had been brought to Earth as an adult, not an infant like Clark.  He had new friends, new connections on this planet, but he was still much the same he had been.

An overwhelming moment of panic set upon his senses, the telepathic nosie of numerous citizens all crying out at once.  A glance up instantly told him what was the cause.  A meteor, hurling toward the city, already too close for him to do anything about it.  It had to be alien in nature, advanced.  This was no natural phenomena.  

What he could do was help people.  Turning invisible and resuming his public Martian form, he pulled people from the path of the meteor at high speed, moments before the meteor hit.

Where have I seen this before...?

The meteor impacted with the street, hard, but not with the speed it should have had.  It was as though it had slowed itself.  It cracked and something inside it began to grow...  and burn.

It was a giant of fire.