Post by HoM on Feb 21, 2017 7:20:40 GMT -5
Previously, in JUSTICE LEAGUE…
It was a time of celebration! One of the team’s founding members-- and potentially the most powerful superhero the solar system had ever known-- had returned to Earth after a long absence! The Justice League welcomed the MARTIAN MANHUNTER back with open arms, not realising that it was all a ploy by one of the most sinister villains the solar system had ever know…
…In truth, J’ONN J’ONZZ wasn't back-- tt was his evil twin, MA'ALEFA'AK, and within seconds of being in their midst, the team fell under his psychic sway. All…except for BLUE BEETLE.
For some reason, TED KORD proved immune to the Martian’s psychic’s abilities, and after noticing one too many discrepancies in the orders ‘J’ONN’ was giving, began to fear the worst. But every avenue TED tried proved useless… the Martian beat him to the punch every direction he went, turning allies into enemies and leaving him completely isolated from those who might be able to help!
Finally, KORD broke into Laputa, the Justice League’s headquarters, in the hope of discovering ‘J’ONN’s’ secrets. Instead, with the help of GREEN LANTERN, the duo found that the newly-revealed MA'ALEFA'AK was building something on Mars, a monolith linked to numerous fire-themed villains.
Barely able to escape with his life after GREEN LANTERN sacrificed himself, BEETLE returned to Laputa, but MA'ALEFA'AK had the last laugh, striking him down with a catastrophic psychic attack.
With all this in mind, please join us now for the continuing adventures of the JUSTICE LEAGUE--
Inside the Justice League’s island headquarters, the alien horror that was Ma'alefa'ak loomed over the gibbering form of Blue Beetle, as the hero suffered through a mind-shattering psychic attack dealt by the Martian villain.
He had fragmented Ted Kord’s entire psyche, rendering his brain broken and unable to construct a coherent thought. Now all that was left was to finish the job, and then double down on the task at hand…
{…I’m going to enjoy this,} buzzed the toxic thoughts of Ma'alefa'ak.
Before he could physically reach into Beetle’s head and squeeze his brain into base juices, there was a commotion outside the conference room and the Martian instinctively reverted back to his brother’s form.
Battered and bruised, Cyborg and the Guardian rushed into the room and immediately saw the Martian Manhunter tending to their fallen comrade. The latter of the two heroes skidded to a stop beside Beetle, and checked his pulse while looking up at the man he assumed to be the Manhunter.
“What happened, J’onn?” asked the Guardian.
Without looking, a nonchalant Ma'alefa'ak reached out with the psychic abilities he’d utilised to take control of the Justice League barely twenty-four hours ago and began to influence his so-called teammate. “I don’t know, I found him like this. I’m sure everything will be all right.”
The Guardian shook his head angrily. “‘All right’? Beetle’s down! Let’s not assume the best here, J’onn!”
“What?” Ma'alefa'ak turned in surprise. He couldn’t sense the Guardian’s thought patterns. They were buried deep, deeper than they had been the day before, and when he tried to drape his immensity across Cyborg’s human consciousness, he found it inaccessible too. Something had changed in the last few minutes that meant the team were no longer open for him to manipulate.
The Guardian checked Ted’s pulse and found it erratic, then looked up to the man he thought to be the Martian Manhunter. He repeated his earlier question. “What happened? Do you know?”
“Some kind of psychic attack,” surmised Cyborg, checking the readings projected above his arm. “Brainwave activity is way below his usual baseline. J’onn, can you sense any foreign psychic presences in and around the island?”
Ma'alefa'ak shook his head and began constructing a lie. “There’s a shadow over the island, but it’s fading-- I’ll need time to locate it.”
Once again, he attempted to slip into the Guardian’s thoughts but he found that the super soldier’s defences were denser than ever before. What had changed?
“Hey, hey, is anyone else having trouble remembering the last twenty-four hours?” asked Cyborg. “Even my cybernetic components are showing static, and all I can remember is a blur.”
The Guardian nodded in agreement. “Things are blurry for me too. And where are the support staff? Something is off here. I need people manning the medical bay immediately. Vic, prep what we have and get Ted down there. I’m recalling the Justice League. I think we’ve been invaded and I want all hands on deck to figure out who’s behind the attack on Blue Beetle. We’re on lockdown until this mystery is solved.”
Ma'alefa'ak stewed in the corner of the room, still unable to reach into the minds of those already there. “We need to activate the blast shield. The threat could still be here. Nothing in or out.”
The Guardian hesitated for a moment but then agreed. He barked an order at the computer and the protective forcefield that could surround Laputa to prevent monsters spilling out into the world raised, trapping the four of them inside, and preventing anything getting in or out. Plenty of time for Ma'alefa'ak to figure out a way to extract himself from the situation…
JUSTICE LEAGUE
Stark naked, Bruce Wayne stared up at the ceiling, the bats that called this cave home hissing and shrieking at each other from their stalactite vantage points. There was a static ringing in his ears that he tried to dislodge with his thumb, but he had no luck, so he just lay there, his mind crystal clear as the low tide of confusion began to move up the shore of his consciousness.
Beside him, Queen Diana of Themyscira lay in a similar state. He turned to face her, marvelled at her beauty, her perfection, and her hand found his as she felt his eyes move over her. She smiled gently, enjoying the sensations still flowing through her.
“That was… interesting,” she said, softly.
Bruce squeezed her hand once and shook his head. “I’m not sure what happened…”
Diana let out a quiet laugh. “I’m sure you say that to all the women you bring down here, Bruce.”
Letting go of her hand, Bruce stood up. His body ached after the exertion of the last few hours-- the good kind of ache-- but he didn’t understand why they’d just done all that. He... of course he had feelings for Diana, they’d kissed, they’d talked, and while he was not especially chaste, he hadn’t intended for their relationship to accelerate to such a place so casually. Not that he was a prude, not that he was…
Rolling onto her front, it was Diana’s turn to objectify Bruce. While she was sculpted from clay and given life by a pantheon of gods-- born, for all intents and purposes, perfect-- his chiselled body was mottled with scar tissue and other markers of injury.
As he slowed his breathing, centred himself, she could see the map of burn marks created by exposure to acid and fire and more; chasms where bullets had landed; gorges where blades had found their mark; but that didn’t stop him from being beautiful to her. He was muscle where it mattered, a chest thatched by black hair, and as he cocked his head back to look at her, that rare smile that spoke volumes.
“We should get dressed,” said Bruce, the smile still present.
“I’m fine with you as you are,” replied Diana. She pressed a knuckle to her ear and rubbed, an uncomfortable expression across her face.
Bruce knelt beside her and took her hands into his. “Diana… I… remember everything we just did. And whilst… I thoroughly enjoyed it all… don’t you think it was somewhat out of character for us both?”
“I have to admit…” she trailed off, distracted. “Can you hear that?”
“That buzzing?”
“Yes, it’s been in my head since we woke up,” said Diana.
“Stay here.”
Bruce padded over to the computer and activated the full-body scanner that emerged from a sealed pit hidden nearby. He stepped inside and closed his eyes, several flashing rings rotating and moving up and down across his body as it went to work. Diana stood to watch this, wrapping a discarded cape from Bruce’s costume around herself as it happened.
When the scan cycle finished, data was uploaded immediately to the computer, and Bruce began to analyse it as soon as he stepped outside. Diana walked up behind him, placing a hand on his bare shoulder, watching as the readings from the scanner ran down the screen.
Bruce pointed at a scan of his brain. “What do you make of that?”
“Gods,” whispered Diana.
After he helped the Guardian carry Blue Beetle to the medical wing, Cyborg went to work on trying to diagnose the problems that had affected their headquarters.
“I can’t get the internal sensors active; it’s like the last day or so have been locked out,” he said.
Ma'alefa'ak may not have been able to get into the Justice League’s minds anymore, but the Martian psychic software used to run Laputa’s computers was easily manipulated. He began to tell the truth, suitably adjusted to not incriminate himself.
“Whoever attacked us must have knocked out the systems. I believe Blue Beetle holds the answer to the identity of our attacker.”
“He’s unresponsive to any stimuli, and his brainwaves are erratic. We’re not going to get an answer out of him any time soon,” said Guardian, checking the readings.
“I could link with him psychically. I’ll have to dive deep to begin repairing whatever damage has been done, but I believe I can do it,” said Ma'alefa'ak.
And when inside, he could discover whatever it was Beetle had done to protect his teammates from his psychic influence, and then on completion erase the last, scant traces of his psyche, leaving him an empty shell, so that no one could learn the Martian’s true identity.
“We go together,” said the Guardian, placing a hand on the Martian’s shoulder. Ma'alefa'ak had to stop himself from flinching, the disgust he felt at being touched by this hairless monkey very real to him.
“I think it’s best if I do this alone, who knows what booby traps our enemy might have laid?”
“We do this together, or not at all, J’onn. I’m not losing anybody else to this mystery man.”
Ma'alefa'ak considered this. If the Guardian gave his permission to a mindlink, it might make reconnecting with his brain much easier. If he had someone under his control now, it would make taking Cyborg over much easier.
Ma'alefa'ak smiled. “Acceptable. Shall we begin?”
Diana checked the readings before. “The nanites Angela Spica designed for our nanotelepathic link are now clustered around your brain… and according to these readings, they’ve been reprogrammed.”
“But to what end?” pondered Bruce.
He sometimes forgot that for all the sword and sorcery surrounding Diana’s origins, Paradise Island was home to a race of super-advanced warrior women who dabbled in every corner of the sciences. Her understanding of the nanite technology shouldn’t have been a surprise.
Diana began to pull her costume back on, and she handed Bruce his trousers. Without taking his eyes off the readings he put them on.
A split second later, when she gasped in shock his attention shot back to her. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Where’s my lasso?” asked Diana.
“It’s gone? How’s that possible? Why… hh. I’m having trouble remembering the events leading up to our… time down here. I think we’ve been subjected to a psychic attack. Convenient that it took place around the time the Martian Manhunter returned to the Justice League…”
“When were the nanites reprogrammed?” asked Diana. She looked around the darkness, but could not sense a trace of the Lasso of Truth down here, under Gotham City. It had been taken from her, and she’d allowed it to happen. How was that possible?
“An hour ago, which coincides roughly with when we woke up…” said Bruce.
“Which would suggest that the reprogramming was not malicious, but perhaps an effort to free us from psychic control,” surmised Diana.
Bruce opened comms with Laputa, but received nothing but static in response. “Strange…”
Diana cast an eye back toward Bruce. “Any stranger than our day so far?”
Shifting his cowl down across his features, Bruce nodded. “The blast shield is up over Laputa. They’re in lockdown.”
“No signals will be able to get in or out. Who’s in there?”
“Access logs list Cyborg, Green Lantern, Guardian and the Manhunter. Someone’s erased Blue Beetle’s profile from the archives. Who would…” Bruce pushed another button to summon Alfred down into the cave. They’d need all the eyes they could get on this. When there came no response, he turned. “Something’s wrong here.”
Batman and Wonder Woman rushed upstairs and were surprised to find the reception area of Wayne Manor to be a burnt ruin, like someone had set off an incendiary grenade in its midst. Fire suppressant systems had activated, but Bruce was still taken aback-- although now he didn’t care about the décor. “Alfred? Alfred?!”
“In… in here, Master Bruce,” came the voice of Alfred. They rushed back to the study, where his faithful butler pulled himself out from behind Bruce’s father’s desk. He looked groggy. “Did we catch the bugger?”
“The… bugger?” repeated Diana, as she helped him up.
“Why, Blue Beetle, of course. Martian Manhunter put out the call that he’d gone rogue, I was able to catch him with the shotgun, but that damned body armour of his, he was able to get the drop on me. You were preoccupied of course, but that’s fine. All in a day’s work.”
Batman’s fist clenched. “Martian Manhunter. It must be. He must have tweaked our minds, made us focus on… each other… rather than the task at hand. My God…”
“The pyrotechnic villains! They all said the same thing when we took them into custody! But none of us noticed-- he made us not notice! Has J’onn gone rogue?”
Bruce nodded. “And Ted was the only one not affected-- but how? We need to find him. We need to find him fast.”
Diana hooked Alfred's arm over her shoulder and motioned toward the doorway down to the Cave. “I’ll help Alfred to the medical bay downstairs. Call in Angela Spica, she’s the expert on the nanotechnology. Then we can review the Manor’s security footage and see what we missed.”
"Good thinking," said Bruce, taking one last glance at the damage done to his ancestral home before doing as he was told.
The Guardian cast a glance in the Martian Manhunter’s direction, then turned his attention back to Cyborg. “Nothing so far?”
“The internal sensors are fried. Whatever happened, unless we remember, we’re not learning anything. Even my on-board circuits are playing up. It’s like someone sent a wrecking ball through us, Guardian.”
Harper nodded and considered their options, then looked over at the Manhunter. “We’ve been mangled, J’onn. Are you ready?”
“Whenever you are, Guardian,” replied the Martian Manhunter.
The Guardian nodded again, slowly, contemplatively. He began to tap his chest absentmindedly, then caught Cyborg’s eye. He looked down, drawing his teammate’s gaze downward, and continued to tap.
“I guess I’m ready then,” said the Guardian.
“Hey, are you sure about this?” asked Cyborg.
The Guardian had pulled a bed next to where they’d laid down Blue Beetle, and the Martian Manhunter stood over them both, one hand already on Kord’s temples, his long, alien fingers stretching to accommodate the width of the hero’s head.
“Only choice we have. I know we’re limited with what we can do here, but if there’s any way to access internal sensors, do it. Where’s the rest of the team? Are we alone on here? You’ve got this, Stone. Keep the porch light on, y’hear?” He rapped his fingers across the bed. Then exhaled, ready for whatever came next.
“You got it, chief,” said Cyborg.
Settling in, the Guardian closed his eyes on Laputa and a split second later, he opened them and he was-- where was-- how was---
Everything was blue.
The Martian Manhunter shifted and swirled beside him, his body suddenly liquid green, and he understood instinctively that they had stepped into Blue Beetle’s mindscape, and the form your took was true to your self, to your true, inner being.
The Guardian’s body was gold, the same colour as his shield. There was a black spot of uncertainty over his heart. He closed his eyes again, and felt a vibration run down his spine, up his stomach, and rise into his throat. He was unsure of himself. Even after all this time…
Beside him, the Manhunter’s form suddenly settled, and he was eight-feet-tall, hunched over, a large blue hooded cape covering the entirety of his body. You could see his crimson eyes burning in the darkness inside the hood, but nothing else.
Harper had to admit, he didn’t expect to see the greatest hero the world barely knew experiencing self-image problems. But it made sense, didn’t it?
“Is this Ted’s brain then? Tidier than I expected…” asked Harper.
{You’re thinking on a human scale,} replied the Manhunter, an odd resonance to his voice.
The Guardian was taken aback by the Manhunter’s words, but then followed the suggestion through. He wasn’t in his own body. He wasn’t limited. So, he thought larger. And his mind swirled and grew, and he looked down and realised why the world was blue. They had been standing on a large fragment of Kord’s head, which had seemingly been shattered, with the rest of the pieces currently floating in an event black void.
Blue Beetle’s masked face was a shattered into hundreds of pieces. Manhunter gestured around. {That large fragment over there is his sense of humour. That even larger one his cumulative knowledge. Other bits and pieces, memories, stray thoughts… all demolished.}
“Who could have done this?” asked the Guardian.
{A powerful psychic. Despero, perhaps? Maybe he escaped from the Nth metal mine on Thanagar… or some unknown entity, one you have not faced before.}
“‘We’, you mean,” corrected the Guardian.
{Of course.}
The duo looked around, and it was the Manhunter who pointed out that every fragment, no matter the size, had a tether attached at their base. The tether led down deeper into the darkness that was Ted Kord’s fragmented psyche. He beckoned the Guardian down, and they floated into the inky blank, their bodies becoming distorted the deeper they went.
“What-- is-- that--?” asked the Guardian, surprised at the sight that met them.
There was a perfect, iridescent sphere of cerulean light in the darkness, and tens of thousands of tethers were pin-pricked against its surface. It spun slowly on its own axis, and the Manhunter nodded in understanding.
{This is the pure, distilled version of Blue Beetle’s psyche. Condensed and barricaded. I’ve not seen anything like this before… this is the work of a powerful psychic. It’s how he was able to resist the attack that must have affected the rest of us… it looks like he’s had some work done.}
The Guardian tensed up. “Who could perform something like this?”
{It’s… beyond me…} admitted the Manhunter. {But there are ancient arts… known to my ancestors… the Blue Martians… but… they died billions of years before the Green and Whites manifested… their knowledge lost to legend… how could…}
The Martian Manhunter was baffled, and the burning that sizzled at his eyes intensified.
Batman was tense as he worked the Cave’s computers, mapping the events of the last twenty-four hours.
“… And the automatic download of footage shows Blue Beetle entering Cargo Bay 12, then less than fifteen minutes later, appearing in the meeting room. We can surmise he was able to get past Green Lantern somehow… but we don’t know where John is at the time of Beetle’s attack.”
The footage rolled on the main computer, Ted staggering forward, clutching at his head, blood dribbling from his nose, then collapsing on the floor moments before the Martian Manhunter loomed over him, his body shifting into odd, ugly configurations.
Seconds later, Cyborg and the Guardian entered. They talked about raising the blast shield, then the Martian Manhunter looked at the camera and the feed cut off-- his psychic abilities overriding the software that fed data outside the island-- then the blast shield was raised.
Diana grimaced. “They’re trapped in there with a rogue Martian. And the only help they have…”
“…Is the signal Ted sent out before he was taken down,” finished Angie Spica.
She’d teleported over as soon as Wonder Woman got in touch. For some reason, she was back in her old apartment, somewhere she hadn’t been for months since joining up with the Justice League. She’d found application forms for teaching positions across the country on her desk-- for some reason she’d believed she no longer had a place with the Justice League. When Batman and Wonder Woman shared their hypothesis regarding the Martian Manhunter tweaking their brains, everything fell into place.
She’d just finished injecting Alfred with a dose of the nanites, and she’d managed to duplicate the programming currently infecting the others. It didn’t take long until his mind had cleared, though he didn’t remember much of what had happened in the last twenty-four hours. A side effect of a haphazard job, more than likely.
“Do you know what the nature of the… ‘reprogramming’… is?” asked Batman.
Angie considered the question then nodded. “Firstly, I’m thinking Ted used Cyborg’s white noise projector as a carrier wave; he reprogrammed the nanites in his own head then sent the signal out via Cyborg. Anyone with the nanites in their heads now has a psychic shield to prevent J’onn-- or whoever that is-- getting their hooks in them again. That doesn’t explain how he could resist in the first place, but we can cross that bridge when we get to it.”
“But we can’t get into Laputa, even with all we know. We have to hope that the team realises what’s happening, and are able to lower the shields so we can get back in,” said Diana.
“Martians are one of the most dangerous races you’ve ever encountered, sir; your only protection against the Manhunter was his own benevolence… If he’s gone rogue…” started Alfred.
“It can’t be J’onn. It doesn’t track with anything we know about him,” said Batman.
Angie tried to ignore the fact that a British man in his fifties was sat alongside the rest of the group, but raised her hand to add something. “Do any of you remember how J’onn’s people died?”
“A pyrotelepathic virus engineered by his--” Diana caught on immediately. “--J’onn has a brother. A psychopathic telepath imprisoned back on Mars.”
Batman growled, realising the implication. “J’onn never came back. It’s Ma'alefa'ak.”
The air behind the group crackled, and they immediately sprung to action. A localised forcefield draped over the area of atmosphere that was fizzling, similar in strength to the one that was currently erected around Laputa. A half-dozen incendiary grenades were ready to be transferred inside the forcefield just in case--
“Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa,” said the figure as he materialised in the Cave, “power down, guys. It’s me! And, uh, well… we might have a problem!”
“Booster?” said Wonder Woman in surprise.
Booster Gold shrugged and pushed his hands up against the forcefield. “Something’s wrong with Ted and I can’t get to him. It’s something bad. And if anyone’s gonna be able to help me help him, it’s gonna be the Justice League, right? You still are the Justice League, yeah?”
“If you really are Booster Gold, prove it,” said Batman.
“What? What do you mean?”
“Teleporting into the Cave? How do you know where this place is?”
“I’m from the future, Bats, I mean, it’s common knowledge in my century. No offence. Not the best kept secret,” said Gold.
Batman looked over at Wonder Woman. “We’re dealing with an immensely powerful telepath with shape-changing abilities…”
“It’s Booster. He’s telling the truth,” stated Diana.
Bruce grimaced. Her innate ability to discern a person’s honesty was an unproven commodity, but if he trusted her with his life, he would have to trust her with this.
Batman dropped the forcefield and Booster Gold stumbled out, nearly tripping over his own feet. “The blast door is up, right? That’s why I can’t teleport in?”
“Yeah, we’re having a heck of a day,” said Angie.
Alfred eased himself off his bed and shook his head disdainfully at the state of his tie. As he rearranged it, he began to head to the small kitchenette in one of the alcoves within the cavern. “I shall put the kettle on, sirs and madams. It looks like we have a lot to discuss.”
“Can we reconstitute his mind?” asked the Guardian.
{Blue Martian…} murmured a distracted Martian Manhunter.
“Focus, J’onn. One mystery at a time. Do you think a Blue Martian is behind this?”
{No, they’re long dead… not that such a thing as genocide would stop a great Martian race from rising again…}
The Guardian grit his teeth, noticing the smile on his teammate’s face. “You’re wandering…”
{The time it would take to draw the fragments of Ted Kord’s psyche back together is time we do not have. Besides, I am looking for a singular piece of information…}
Harper made to take a step forward, instead he floated forward in the mental void. “J’onn--?”
The Guardian was flung against the throbbing, blue sphere that made up the part of Kord’s brain that was still protected from a psychic assault. He felt his body creak under the pressure of the attack, and strained to release himself from the invisible bonds that held him down.
The Martian Manhunter began to peel off the robes that obscured his body. {I sicken of this charade, Guardian. I’m not here to bring your friend back. I’m here to ensure whatever he knows dies with him. I didn’t expect to find my ancestors’ handiwork here, but like you say, a mystery for another time. Now, prepare to view my true form-- for I am not my brother, I am--}
“Ohhh, you’re Ma'alefa'ak. That makes sense!” said the Guardian, his tone that of someone who finally found the missing piece of some elaborate puzzle. He was also, clearly, not that impressed.
Meanwhile, with the robes falling off his body to reveal a gnarled, dark green psychic self, Ma'alefa'ak couldn’t help but be confused by his prisoner’s response. He cocked his head as he stared at Harper, and simply said, {…What?}
Sat around a table near the central computers of the cave, Batman, Booster Gold and Wonder Woman, along with Alfred Pennyworth and Angela Spica, drank from hot cups and mugs of teas and coffees, trying to warm themselves after the shock of the last few hours.
“Listen, Ted and I… we went on some adventures together, and it involved time travel. Billions of years ago, right? These things happen when you’re a gaggle of idiots; him with the big brain and me with that can-do attitude. We met a Blue Martian and had some work done. And I think that’s… well, a) it linked us, and b) it’s telling me that something is reeeally wrong right now.”
“…You’re not telling the entire truth, Booster*,” said Wonder Woman.
“I’m telling you all that matters,” retorted Booster.
Diana tensed, but with that, she could tell he meant it.
Angie held her hands up. “Guys, we can’t get to Laputa if the blast shield is up, we can’t do anything until that drops. Do we know how to get around that?”
“No,” replied Batman.
“Just ‘no’? You don’t have any countermeasures? Any Plan Bs?”
Batman shook his head. “The being we suspect is Ma'alefa'ak is stuck on Laputa for the time being. Our only hope is the team still inside the base, and that they’re able to put it together like we have. But Cyborg and Guardian don’t have the tools at hand to take down a Martian… and it won’t take long for it to bring the shield down after he’s done with them. The fact that it’s up still… suggests he might not be revealing himself for the time being.”
“I’ve tried communicating with reservists, but anyone without the nanites in their heads is compromised. We need to distribute that to anyone we bring into the fold if we have a hope of keeping them out of the Martian’s grasp. The Atom is checking in on Doctor Light now, he said he’d get over to us ASAP,” said Angie.
Wonder Woman nodded. “And on that subject, many of our members are currently MIA; Green Lantern for one, Barda and Miracle, Majestic…. Hawkman too.”
The computer began to beep and Batman checked the signal; someone was asking permission to teleport into the Cave; clearance codes matched those of the Atom and Doctor Light.
“Right on cue,” said Booster Gold.
“We came as soon as we could. Sorry, guys,” said the Atom, materialising on a platform across the way from the central platform they were all sat on. “I don’t remember much, but when I woke up I was in the process of dismantling my size-control belt. It’s a Martian, right?”
“And for some reason I was packing up my apartment in Ivy Town. I assume whoever did this to us will reimburse my plane fare to Japan?” said Doctor Light.
“Glad to see there’s still a sense of humour here,” said Booster.
Batman shook his head, sharply. “But there shouldn’t be, Booster. A Martian is capable of touching the minds of every conscious and unconscious being across this planet. At the same time. Can you imagine the psychic processing power that would take? The only reason we’re free from his influence is a fluke, because of some adventure Ted and you apparently shared. The only reason…”
“Then let’s just hope that the team on Laputa put it together, like you said,” said Booster.
{You knew?} spat Ma'alefa'ak.
“As soon as we walked in on you standing over Beetle, I knew something wasn’t right. Your complete lack of empathy, your sluggish response to simple questions, as if you were formulating the appropriate response to keep us happy. You can’t get in our heads anymore, can you? Martians are hyper-adaptive thanks to their psychic ability, but if we lock you out of our heads, you’re just a super-powered thug.”
{Brave words. But you stand in the ruin that is one of your own. A psychic desolation of my making. This is my world, Harper. What’s next for you? I have the answer…}
“I’m going to get out of here and kick your ass,” promised the Guardian. He pushed his fingers across Ted’s central psyche, then began to slam his fist against the surface-- bang-bang-bang, bang-bang-bang, again and again.
{Or I could strip your brain back. Take a look at that war computer that makes you tick. Reprogram every part of you to hate. To kill the Justice League. You could do it, I think. Before, you hesitated because I had to use subtle arts, gently manipulate rather than utterly dominate. Every strategy you ever devised, all ready to be initiated. How does that sound?}
“Sounds like you need to start paying more attention,” said the Guardian.
And then he vanished. Ma'alefa'ak was flabbergasted, spun around, then screamed as his psychic self was yanked out of Ted Kord’s body. He was alone in the medical bay, no sign of Cyborg, no sign of the Guardian or Blue Beetle-- where had they gone?
“They ran… Computer, locate the Guardian--”
<All command operations are deactivated, unable to recognise authority of request,> said Laputa’s computer.
Ma'alefa'ak laughed at the slight inconvenience, then reached out into the Martian psychic software, only to find it completely excised from the databases that operated the island’s systems. During the time spent inside Blue Beetle’s mind, Cyborg had been busy.
He phased through the bulkheads to the outside, and saw that the blast shield was still covering the island. He pushed his hand against it, but flinched as it sent a burst of energy through him. He wouldn’t be able to phase through it.
Finally, he headed back into Laputa and located the central computer, only to find that it had been disintegrated by a concentrated white noise burst. He recognised the after-effects from his earlier research on the team. Cyborg had really done a number on this place.
“Door?” he asked, but no portal opened. He was trapped. While he had planned for this eventuality, he was impressed by the Justice League ingenuity, and headed down to Cargo Bay 12.
Alarms blared-- the blast shield around Laputa was down! As the team scrambled in response, there was an immense clattering where Batman kept his vehicles, as dozens of containers began to shower down from orange portals that formed in the air above them.
“What’s going on?” asked Angie.
“Emergency evacuation procedure,” replied Batman.
“The weapons caches on Laputa have been bundled up and sent to a safe location-- here,” said Wonder Woman.
Hundreds of boxes of various sizes scattered across the launch platforms, all emblazed with stamps that read ‘LAPUTA’ and ‘DO NOT OPEN’. After they’d finished arriving, Cyborg stepped onto the central platform amongst them, carrying Blue Beetle in his arms. The Guardian staggered afterwards, then nodded at his cybernetic teammate.
“I just put the blast shield back up. Ma'alefa'ak’s locked in there; we should have a livefeed from the cameras, I jury-rigged something before we left-- he can’t block the transmissions anymore,” said Cyborg.
“Vic! You got out!” said Angie, embracing Cyborg, while Booster Gold took Blue Beetle from his arms.
“Alfie?” said Booster.
Pennyworth motioned Gold forward, and they went to work on Beetle, connecting him to the medical machines in the area a few steps away from the central platform.
Meanwhile, Angie and the Atom were next to Cyborg as he transformed his arm into a device capable of uploading the software required for the cave’s computers to hook into the island’s jury-rigged systems.
“How’d you figure it out?” asked Batman, walking side-by-side with the Guardian.
“I knew in my gut it wasn’t him. His reaction to what happened, his nonchalance. I expected alien, but not alien.”
“And your escape?” asked Doctor Light.
Cyborg fielded that one, still working away at the computer. “Guardian counted on him not knowing Morse Code. Started communicating using that, and as soon as they went diving into Beetle’s head, I began sabotaging the island so when I got the signal, I could drop the shield and get us out of there.”
“Why were you in Ted’s head?” asked Booster, looking up from the medical bay.
“Ma'alefa'ak did a number on him, his brain has been put through a blender,” said the Guardian.
“We saw the after-effect before the footage cut out,” said Batman.
“Ah, man, no, no,” murmured Booster, thudding his head on the table next to Beetle’s.
“Anyway, I managed to get a message out when we were inside, Cyborg dropped the shield and teleported everything out. Now we have one problem-- one major problem. A really god damn pissed off Martian.”
“The Guardian somehow made Ted’s hand tap out the ‘go’ signal, it was crazy,” said Cyborg, resting his head against Angie’s. “I’m really happy to see you too.”
“Okay, we’re at half strength, and we have a--”
Another alarm blared at the computer, and the Atom read what that meant. “There’s been a power shutdown at Laputa, the entire base is dark-- the shield is down--”
“I’ve got camera feeds back up, bit patchy, but bear with,” said Cyborg.
Cameras tracked Ma'alefa'ak floating through Laputa, checking the usual avenues he might have available to him, testing the forcefield, before heading back to Cargo Bay 12. He entered the room that had no camera coverage, then a second later the entire base went dark.
“A massive power surge-- what’s down there?”
“We never saw it,” explained the Guardian. He looked back at Beetle. “He must’ve.”
“We need to get over there, then,” said Batman.
“A small reconnaissance force, not our entire strength,” said the Guardian.
Batman nodded in agreement. “Atom, Doctor Light, Cyborg and myself. I have armaments downstairs, and Victor can adjust his cybernetics to output extreme heat. Ray can shrink between the molecular bonds of a Martian’s body and disrupt them, and Kimiyo can also generate heat if she puts her mind to it.”
“Are you sure? There are more of us at the ready,” questioned Wonder Woman.
“We keep our most powerful in reserve, a strike force capable of coming in and assisting if needs be, but like the Guardian said, this is a recon mission.”
“Find out what’s in that damn cargo bay then we have an informed position to act from,” said the Guardian.
Diana’s hand found Bruce’s, and she whispered, “It goes without saying, but be careful.”
“Always,” replied the Dark Knight, before heading off to prepare for their mission.
“The Justice League have recovered from my psychic attack, John,” said Ma'alefa'ak, strolling past the bound form of the Green Lantern; wrapped around the semi-conscious hero was Wonder Woman’s Lasso of Truth. His power ring was next to depleted, the lasso kept him compliant, but he fought with all his will to escape. Unfortunately, that wasn’t getting him far.
The rogue Martian considered the immense array that held the unconscious bodies of all the fire-themed villains the Justice League had gathered for him. Psyche-receptive organic material, harvested from Ma'alefa'ak’s own body connected the mechanical construct to their brains, pooling their collective madness into one immense reservoir, ready to be drank from.
The Martian smiled, looked at the defeated Green Lantern, then back at the array. “I think it’s time I took the next step toward my ultimate goal, don’t you, John?”
“They’ll… stop… you…” said John, straining against the unbreakable bonds of the ropes holding him.
“You really think that, don’t you? You really believe that,” chuckled Ma'alefa'ak.
Sweat dribbling down his brow, John looked at the Lasso of Truth, then grit his teeth. “I… know it…”
NEXT ISSUE: The Justice League learn the truth regarding Ma'alefa'ak’s master plan, but will it be too late to prevent it from coming to fruition? And will Booster Gold be able to draw Blue Beetle back from the brink of utter mental annihilation? FIND OUT NEXT MONTH!
It was a time of celebration! One of the team’s founding members-- and potentially the most powerful superhero the solar system had ever known-- had returned to Earth after a long absence! The Justice League welcomed the MARTIAN MANHUNTER back with open arms, not realising that it was all a ploy by one of the most sinister villains the solar system had ever know…
…In truth, J’ONN J’ONZZ wasn't back-- tt was his evil twin, MA'ALEFA'AK, and within seconds of being in their midst, the team fell under his psychic sway. All…except for BLUE BEETLE.
For some reason, TED KORD proved immune to the Martian’s psychic’s abilities, and after noticing one too many discrepancies in the orders ‘J’ONN’ was giving, began to fear the worst. But every avenue TED tried proved useless… the Martian beat him to the punch every direction he went, turning allies into enemies and leaving him completely isolated from those who might be able to help!
Finally, KORD broke into Laputa, the Justice League’s headquarters, in the hope of discovering ‘J’ONN’s’ secrets. Instead, with the help of GREEN LANTERN, the duo found that the newly-revealed MA'ALEFA'AK was building something on Mars, a monolith linked to numerous fire-themed villains.
Barely able to escape with his life after GREEN LANTERN sacrificed himself, BEETLE returned to Laputa, but MA'ALEFA'AK had the last laugh, striking him down with a catastrophic psychic attack.
With all this in mind, please join us now for the continuing adventures of the JUSTICE LEAGUE--
JUSTICE LEAGUE ROLL-CALL:
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| THE ATOM | THE BATMAN | BIG BARDA | BLUE BEETLE |
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| CYBORG | DOCTOR LIGHT | GREEN LANTERN | THE GUARDIAN |
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| HAWKMAN | MAJESTIC | MARTIAN MANHUNTER | MISTER MIRACLE | WONDER WOMAN |
Inside the Justice League’s island headquarters, the alien horror that was Ma'alefa'ak loomed over the gibbering form of Blue Beetle, as the hero suffered through a mind-shattering psychic attack dealt by the Martian villain.
He had fragmented Ted Kord’s entire psyche, rendering his brain broken and unable to construct a coherent thought. Now all that was left was to finish the job, and then double down on the task at hand…
{…I’m going to enjoy this,} buzzed the toxic thoughts of Ma'alefa'ak.
Before he could physically reach into Beetle’s head and squeeze his brain into base juices, there was a commotion outside the conference room and the Martian instinctively reverted back to his brother’s form.
Battered and bruised, Cyborg and the Guardian rushed into the room and immediately saw the Martian Manhunter tending to their fallen comrade. The latter of the two heroes skidded to a stop beside Beetle, and checked his pulse while looking up at the man he assumed to be the Manhunter.
“What happened, J’onn?” asked the Guardian.
Without looking, a nonchalant Ma'alefa'ak reached out with the psychic abilities he’d utilised to take control of the Justice League barely twenty-four hours ago and began to influence his so-called teammate. “I don’t know, I found him like this. I’m sure everything will be all right.”
The Guardian shook his head angrily. “‘All right’? Beetle’s down! Let’s not assume the best here, J’onn!”
“What?” Ma'alefa'ak turned in surprise. He couldn’t sense the Guardian’s thought patterns. They were buried deep, deeper than they had been the day before, and when he tried to drape his immensity across Cyborg’s human consciousness, he found it inaccessible too. Something had changed in the last few minutes that meant the team were no longer open for him to manipulate.
The Guardian checked Ted’s pulse and found it erratic, then looked up to the man he thought to be the Martian Manhunter. He repeated his earlier question. “What happened? Do you know?”
“Some kind of psychic attack,” surmised Cyborg, checking the readings projected above his arm. “Brainwave activity is way below his usual baseline. J’onn, can you sense any foreign psychic presences in and around the island?”
Ma'alefa'ak shook his head and began constructing a lie. “There’s a shadow over the island, but it’s fading-- I’ll need time to locate it.”
Once again, he attempted to slip into the Guardian’s thoughts but he found that the super soldier’s defences were denser than ever before. What had changed?
“Hey, hey, is anyone else having trouble remembering the last twenty-four hours?” asked Cyborg. “Even my cybernetic components are showing static, and all I can remember is a blur.”
The Guardian nodded in agreement. “Things are blurry for me too. And where are the support staff? Something is off here. I need people manning the medical bay immediately. Vic, prep what we have and get Ted down there. I’m recalling the Justice League. I think we’ve been invaded and I want all hands on deck to figure out who’s behind the attack on Blue Beetle. We’re on lockdown until this mystery is solved.”
Ma'alefa'ak stewed in the corner of the room, still unable to reach into the minds of those already there. “We need to activate the blast shield. The threat could still be here. Nothing in or out.”
The Guardian hesitated for a moment but then agreed. He barked an order at the computer and the protective forcefield that could surround Laputa to prevent monsters spilling out into the world raised, trapping the four of them inside, and preventing anything getting in or out. Plenty of time for Ma'alefa'ak to figure out a way to extract himself from the situation…
JUSTICE LEAGUE
Issue Sixty-One: “Veteran of the Psychic Wars”
HoM / FLINCHUM / BOWERS
THE CAVE:
Stark naked, Bruce Wayne stared up at the ceiling, the bats that called this cave home hissing and shrieking at each other from their stalactite vantage points. There was a static ringing in his ears that he tried to dislodge with his thumb, but he had no luck, so he just lay there, his mind crystal clear as the low tide of confusion began to move up the shore of his consciousness.
Beside him, Queen Diana of Themyscira lay in a similar state. He turned to face her, marvelled at her beauty, her perfection, and her hand found his as she felt his eyes move over her. She smiled gently, enjoying the sensations still flowing through her.
“That was… interesting,” she said, softly.
Bruce squeezed her hand once and shook his head. “I’m not sure what happened…”
Diana let out a quiet laugh. “I’m sure you say that to all the women you bring down here, Bruce.”
Letting go of her hand, Bruce stood up. His body ached after the exertion of the last few hours-- the good kind of ache-- but he didn’t understand why they’d just done all that. He... of course he had feelings for Diana, they’d kissed, they’d talked, and while he was not especially chaste, he hadn’t intended for their relationship to accelerate to such a place so casually. Not that he was a prude, not that he was…
Rolling onto her front, it was Diana’s turn to objectify Bruce. While she was sculpted from clay and given life by a pantheon of gods-- born, for all intents and purposes, perfect-- his chiselled body was mottled with scar tissue and other markers of injury.
As he slowed his breathing, centred himself, she could see the map of burn marks created by exposure to acid and fire and more; chasms where bullets had landed; gorges where blades had found their mark; but that didn’t stop him from being beautiful to her. He was muscle where it mattered, a chest thatched by black hair, and as he cocked his head back to look at her, that rare smile that spoke volumes.
“We should get dressed,” said Bruce, the smile still present.
“I’m fine with you as you are,” replied Diana. She pressed a knuckle to her ear and rubbed, an uncomfortable expression across her face.
Bruce knelt beside her and took her hands into his. “Diana… I… remember everything we just did. And whilst… I thoroughly enjoyed it all… don’t you think it was somewhat out of character for us both?”
“I have to admit…” she trailed off, distracted. “Can you hear that?”
“That buzzing?”
“Yes, it’s been in my head since we woke up,” said Diana.
“Stay here.”
Bruce padded over to the computer and activated the full-body scanner that emerged from a sealed pit hidden nearby. He stepped inside and closed his eyes, several flashing rings rotating and moving up and down across his body as it went to work. Diana stood to watch this, wrapping a discarded cape from Bruce’s costume around herself as it happened.
When the scan cycle finished, data was uploaded immediately to the computer, and Bruce began to analyse it as soon as he stepped outside. Diana walked up behind him, placing a hand on his bare shoulder, watching as the readings from the scanner ran down the screen.
Bruce pointed at a scan of his brain. “What do you make of that?”
“Gods,” whispered Diana.
LAPUTA:
After he helped the Guardian carry Blue Beetle to the medical wing, Cyborg went to work on trying to diagnose the problems that had affected their headquarters.
“I can’t get the internal sensors active; it’s like the last day or so have been locked out,” he said.
Ma'alefa'ak may not have been able to get into the Justice League’s minds anymore, but the Martian psychic software used to run Laputa’s computers was easily manipulated. He began to tell the truth, suitably adjusted to not incriminate himself.
“Whoever attacked us must have knocked out the systems. I believe Blue Beetle holds the answer to the identity of our attacker.”
“He’s unresponsive to any stimuli, and his brainwaves are erratic. We’re not going to get an answer out of him any time soon,” said Guardian, checking the readings.
“I could link with him psychically. I’ll have to dive deep to begin repairing whatever damage has been done, but I believe I can do it,” said Ma'alefa'ak.
And when inside, he could discover whatever it was Beetle had done to protect his teammates from his psychic influence, and then on completion erase the last, scant traces of his psyche, leaving him an empty shell, so that no one could learn the Martian’s true identity.
“We go together,” said the Guardian, placing a hand on the Martian’s shoulder. Ma'alefa'ak had to stop himself from flinching, the disgust he felt at being touched by this hairless monkey very real to him.
“I think it’s best if I do this alone, who knows what booby traps our enemy might have laid?”
“We do this together, or not at all, J’onn. I’m not losing anybody else to this mystery man.”
Ma'alefa'ak considered this. If the Guardian gave his permission to a mindlink, it might make reconnecting with his brain much easier. If he had someone under his control now, it would make taking Cyborg over much easier.
Ma'alefa'ak smiled. “Acceptable. Shall we begin?”
THE CAVE:
Diana checked the readings before. “The nanites Angela Spica designed for our nanotelepathic link are now clustered around your brain… and according to these readings, they’ve been reprogrammed.”
“But to what end?” pondered Bruce.
He sometimes forgot that for all the sword and sorcery surrounding Diana’s origins, Paradise Island was home to a race of super-advanced warrior women who dabbled in every corner of the sciences. Her understanding of the nanite technology shouldn’t have been a surprise.
Diana began to pull her costume back on, and she handed Bruce his trousers. Without taking his eyes off the readings he put them on.
A split second later, when she gasped in shock his attention shot back to her. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Where’s my lasso?” asked Diana.
“It’s gone? How’s that possible? Why… hh. I’m having trouble remembering the events leading up to our… time down here. I think we’ve been subjected to a psychic attack. Convenient that it took place around the time the Martian Manhunter returned to the Justice League…”
“When were the nanites reprogrammed?” asked Diana. She looked around the darkness, but could not sense a trace of the Lasso of Truth down here, under Gotham City. It had been taken from her, and she’d allowed it to happen. How was that possible?
“An hour ago, which coincides roughly with when we woke up…” said Bruce.
“Which would suggest that the reprogramming was not malicious, but perhaps an effort to free us from psychic control,” surmised Diana.
Bruce opened comms with Laputa, but received nothing but static in response. “Strange…”
Diana cast an eye back toward Bruce. “Any stranger than our day so far?”
Shifting his cowl down across his features, Bruce nodded. “The blast shield is up over Laputa. They’re in lockdown.”
“No signals will be able to get in or out. Who’s in there?”
“Access logs list Cyborg, Green Lantern, Guardian and the Manhunter. Someone’s erased Blue Beetle’s profile from the archives. Who would…” Bruce pushed another button to summon Alfred down into the cave. They’d need all the eyes they could get on this. When there came no response, he turned. “Something’s wrong here.”
Batman and Wonder Woman rushed upstairs and were surprised to find the reception area of Wayne Manor to be a burnt ruin, like someone had set off an incendiary grenade in its midst. Fire suppressant systems had activated, but Bruce was still taken aback-- although now he didn’t care about the décor. “Alfred? Alfred?!”
“In… in here, Master Bruce,” came the voice of Alfred. They rushed back to the study, where his faithful butler pulled himself out from behind Bruce’s father’s desk. He looked groggy. “Did we catch the bugger?”
“The… bugger?” repeated Diana, as she helped him up.
“Why, Blue Beetle, of course. Martian Manhunter put out the call that he’d gone rogue, I was able to catch him with the shotgun, but that damned body armour of his, he was able to get the drop on me. You were preoccupied of course, but that’s fine. All in a day’s work.”
Batman’s fist clenched. “Martian Manhunter. It must be. He must have tweaked our minds, made us focus on… each other… rather than the task at hand. My God…”
“The pyrotechnic villains! They all said the same thing when we took them into custody! But none of us noticed-- he made us not notice! Has J’onn gone rogue?”
Bruce nodded. “And Ted was the only one not affected-- but how? We need to find him. We need to find him fast.”
Diana hooked Alfred's arm over her shoulder and motioned toward the doorway down to the Cave. “I’ll help Alfred to the medical bay downstairs. Call in Angela Spica, she’s the expert on the nanotechnology. Then we can review the Manor’s security footage and see what we missed.”
"Good thinking," said Bruce, taking one last glance at the damage done to his ancestral home before doing as he was told.
LAPUTA:
The Guardian cast a glance in the Martian Manhunter’s direction, then turned his attention back to Cyborg. “Nothing so far?”
“The internal sensors are fried. Whatever happened, unless we remember, we’re not learning anything. Even my on-board circuits are playing up. It’s like someone sent a wrecking ball through us, Guardian.”
Harper nodded and considered their options, then looked over at the Manhunter. “We’ve been mangled, J’onn. Are you ready?”
“Whenever you are, Guardian,” replied the Martian Manhunter.
The Guardian nodded again, slowly, contemplatively. He began to tap his chest absentmindedly, then caught Cyborg’s eye. He looked down, drawing his teammate’s gaze downward, and continued to tap.
“I guess I’m ready then,” said the Guardian.
“Hey, are you sure about this?” asked Cyborg.
The Guardian had pulled a bed next to where they’d laid down Blue Beetle, and the Martian Manhunter stood over them both, one hand already on Kord’s temples, his long, alien fingers stretching to accommodate the width of the hero’s head.
“Only choice we have. I know we’re limited with what we can do here, but if there’s any way to access internal sensors, do it. Where’s the rest of the team? Are we alone on here? You’ve got this, Stone. Keep the porch light on, y’hear?” He rapped his fingers across the bed. Then exhaled, ready for whatever came next.
“You got it, chief,” said Cyborg.
Settling in, the Guardian closed his eyes on Laputa and a split second later, he opened them and he was-- where was-- how was---
Everything was blue.
BLUE BEETLE’S MINDSCAPE:
The Martian Manhunter shifted and swirled beside him, his body suddenly liquid green, and he understood instinctively that they had stepped into Blue Beetle’s mindscape, and the form your took was true to your self, to your true, inner being.
The Guardian’s body was gold, the same colour as his shield. There was a black spot of uncertainty over his heart. He closed his eyes again, and felt a vibration run down his spine, up his stomach, and rise into his throat. He was unsure of himself. Even after all this time…
Beside him, the Manhunter’s form suddenly settled, and he was eight-feet-tall, hunched over, a large blue hooded cape covering the entirety of his body. You could see his crimson eyes burning in the darkness inside the hood, but nothing else.
Harper had to admit, he didn’t expect to see the greatest hero the world barely knew experiencing self-image problems. But it made sense, didn’t it?
“Is this Ted’s brain then? Tidier than I expected…” asked Harper.
{You’re thinking on a human scale,} replied the Manhunter, an odd resonance to his voice.
The Guardian was taken aback by the Manhunter’s words, but then followed the suggestion through. He wasn’t in his own body. He wasn’t limited. So, he thought larger. And his mind swirled and grew, and he looked down and realised why the world was blue. They had been standing on a large fragment of Kord’s head, which had seemingly been shattered, with the rest of the pieces currently floating in an event black void.
Blue Beetle’s masked face was a shattered into hundreds of pieces. Manhunter gestured around. {That large fragment over there is his sense of humour. That even larger one his cumulative knowledge. Other bits and pieces, memories, stray thoughts… all demolished.}
“Who could have done this?” asked the Guardian.
{A powerful psychic. Despero, perhaps? Maybe he escaped from the Nth metal mine on Thanagar… or some unknown entity, one you have not faced before.}
“‘We’, you mean,” corrected the Guardian.
{Of course.}
The duo looked around, and it was the Manhunter who pointed out that every fragment, no matter the size, had a tether attached at their base. The tether led down deeper into the darkness that was Ted Kord’s fragmented psyche. He beckoned the Guardian down, and they floated into the inky blank, their bodies becoming distorted the deeper they went.
“What-- is-- that--?” asked the Guardian, surprised at the sight that met them.
There was a perfect, iridescent sphere of cerulean light in the darkness, and tens of thousands of tethers were pin-pricked against its surface. It spun slowly on its own axis, and the Manhunter nodded in understanding.
{This is the pure, distilled version of Blue Beetle’s psyche. Condensed and barricaded. I’ve not seen anything like this before… this is the work of a powerful psychic. It’s how he was able to resist the attack that must have affected the rest of us… it looks like he’s had some work done.}
The Guardian tensed up. “Who could perform something like this?”
{It’s… beyond me…} admitted the Manhunter. {But there are ancient arts… known to my ancestors… the Blue Martians… but… they died billions of years before the Green and Whites manifested… their knowledge lost to legend… how could…}
The Martian Manhunter was baffled, and the burning that sizzled at his eyes intensified.
THE CAVE:
Batman was tense as he worked the Cave’s computers, mapping the events of the last twenty-four hours.
“… And the automatic download of footage shows Blue Beetle entering Cargo Bay 12, then less than fifteen minutes later, appearing in the meeting room. We can surmise he was able to get past Green Lantern somehow… but we don’t know where John is at the time of Beetle’s attack.”
The footage rolled on the main computer, Ted staggering forward, clutching at his head, blood dribbling from his nose, then collapsing on the floor moments before the Martian Manhunter loomed over him, his body shifting into odd, ugly configurations.
Seconds later, Cyborg and the Guardian entered. They talked about raising the blast shield, then the Martian Manhunter looked at the camera and the feed cut off-- his psychic abilities overriding the software that fed data outside the island-- then the blast shield was raised.
Diana grimaced. “They’re trapped in there with a rogue Martian. And the only help they have…”
“…Is the signal Ted sent out before he was taken down,” finished Angie Spica.
She’d teleported over as soon as Wonder Woman got in touch. For some reason, she was back in her old apartment, somewhere she hadn’t been for months since joining up with the Justice League. She’d found application forms for teaching positions across the country on her desk-- for some reason she’d believed she no longer had a place with the Justice League. When Batman and Wonder Woman shared their hypothesis regarding the Martian Manhunter tweaking their brains, everything fell into place.
She’d just finished injecting Alfred with a dose of the nanites, and she’d managed to duplicate the programming currently infecting the others. It didn’t take long until his mind had cleared, though he didn’t remember much of what had happened in the last twenty-four hours. A side effect of a haphazard job, more than likely.
“Do you know what the nature of the… ‘reprogramming’… is?” asked Batman.
Angie considered the question then nodded. “Firstly, I’m thinking Ted used Cyborg’s white noise projector as a carrier wave; he reprogrammed the nanites in his own head then sent the signal out via Cyborg. Anyone with the nanites in their heads now has a psychic shield to prevent J’onn-- or whoever that is-- getting their hooks in them again. That doesn’t explain how he could resist in the first place, but we can cross that bridge when we get to it.”
“But we can’t get into Laputa, even with all we know. We have to hope that the team realises what’s happening, and are able to lower the shields so we can get back in,” said Diana.
“Martians are one of the most dangerous races you’ve ever encountered, sir; your only protection against the Manhunter was his own benevolence… If he’s gone rogue…” started Alfred.
“It can’t be J’onn. It doesn’t track with anything we know about him,” said Batman.
Angie tried to ignore the fact that a British man in his fifties was sat alongside the rest of the group, but raised her hand to add something. “Do any of you remember how J’onn’s people died?”
“A pyrotelepathic virus engineered by his--” Diana caught on immediately. “--J’onn has a brother. A psychopathic telepath imprisoned back on Mars.”
Batman growled, realising the implication. “J’onn never came back. It’s Ma'alefa'ak.”
The air behind the group crackled, and they immediately sprung to action. A localised forcefield draped over the area of atmosphere that was fizzling, similar in strength to the one that was currently erected around Laputa. A half-dozen incendiary grenades were ready to be transferred inside the forcefield just in case--
“Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa,” said the figure as he materialised in the Cave, “power down, guys. It’s me! And, uh, well… we might have a problem!”
“Booster?” said Wonder Woman in surprise.
Booster Gold shrugged and pushed his hands up against the forcefield. “Something’s wrong with Ted and I can’t get to him. It’s something bad. And if anyone’s gonna be able to help me help him, it’s gonna be the Justice League, right? You still are the Justice League, yeah?”
“If you really are Booster Gold, prove it,” said Batman.
“What? What do you mean?”
“Teleporting into the Cave? How do you know where this place is?”
“I’m from the future, Bats, I mean, it’s common knowledge in my century. No offence. Not the best kept secret,” said Gold.
Batman looked over at Wonder Woman. “We’re dealing with an immensely powerful telepath with shape-changing abilities…”
“It’s Booster. He’s telling the truth,” stated Diana.
Bruce grimaced. Her innate ability to discern a person’s honesty was an unproven commodity, but if he trusted her with his life, he would have to trust her with this.
Batman dropped the forcefield and Booster Gold stumbled out, nearly tripping over his own feet. “The blast door is up, right? That’s why I can’t teleport in?”
“Yeah, we’re having a heck of a day,” said Angie.
Alfred eased himself off his bed and shook his head disdainfully at the state of his tie. As he rearranged it, he began to head to the small kitchenette in one of the alcoves within the cavern. “I shall put the kettle on, sirs and madams. It looks like we have a lot to discuss.”
BLUE BEETLE’S MINDSCAPE:
“Can we reconstitute his mind?” asked the Guardian.
{Blue Martian…} murmured a distracted Martian Manhunter.
“Focus, J’onn. One mystery at a time. Do you think a Blue Martian is behind this?”
{No, they’re long dead… not that such a thing as genocide would stop a great Martian race from rising again…}
The Guardian grit his teeth, noticing the smile on his teammate’s face. “You’re wandering…”
{The time it would take to draw the fragments of Ted Kord’s psyche back together is time we do not have. Besides, I am looking for a singular piece of information…}
Harper made to take a step forward, instead he floated forward in the mental void. “J’onn--?”
The Guardian was flung against the throbbing, blue sphere that made up the part of Kord’s brain that was still protected from a psychic assault. He felt his body creak under the pressure of the attack, and strained to release himself from the invisible bonds that held him down.
The Martian Manhunter began to peel off the robes that obscured his body. {I sicken of this charade, Guardian. I’m not here to bring your friend back. I’m here to ensure whatever he knows dies with him. I didn’t expect to find my ancestors’ handiwork here, but like you say, a mystery for another time. Now, prepare to view my true form-- for I am not my brother, I am--}
“Ohhh, you’re Ma'alefa'ak. That makes sense!” said the Guardian, his tone that of someone who finally found the missing piece of some elaborate puzzle. He was also, clearly, not that impressed.
Meanwhile, with the robes falling off his body to reveal a gnarled, dark green psychic self, Ma'alefa'ak couldn’t help but be confused by his prisoner’s response. He cocked his head as he stared at Harper, and simply said, {…What?}
THE CAVE:
Sat around a table near the central computers of the cave, Batman, Booster Gold and Wonder Woman, along with Alfred Pennyworth and Angela Spica, drank from hot cups and mugs of teas and coffees, trying to warm themselves after the shock of the last few hours.
“Listen, Ted and I… we went on some adventures together, and it involved time travel. Billions of years ago, right? These things happen when you’re a gaggle of idiots; him with the big brain and me with that can-do attitude. We met a Blue Martian and had some work done. And I think that’s… well, a) it linked us, and b) it’s telling me that something is reeeally wrong right now.”
“…You’re not telling the entire truth, Booster*,” said Wonder Woman.
*No, he’s not! Check out Justice League #54 for more details
“I’m telling you all that matters,” retorted Booster.
Diana tensed, but with that, she could tell he meant it.
Angie held her hands up. “Guys, we can’t get to Laputa if the blast shield is up, we can’t do anything until that drops. Do we know how to get around that?”
“No,” replied Batman.
“Just ‘no’? You don’t have any countermeasures? Any Plan Bs?”
Batman shook his head. “The being we suspect is Ma'alefa'ak is stuck on Laputa for the time being. Our only hope is the team still inside the base, and that they’re able to put it together like we have. But Cyborg and Guardian don’t have the tools at hand to take down a Martian… and it won’t take long for it to bring the shield down after he’s done with them. The fact that it’s up still… suggests he might not be revealing himself for the time being.”
“I’ve tried communicating with reservists, but anyone without the nanites in their heads is compromised. We need to distribute that to anyone we bring into the fold if we have a hope of keeping them out of the Martian’s grasp. The Atom is checking in on Doctor Light now, he said he’d get over to us ASAP,” said Angie.
Wonder Woman nodded. “And on that subject, many of our members are currently MIA; Green Lantern for one, Barda and Miracle, Majestic…. Hawkman too.”
The computer began to beep and Batman checked the signal; someone was asking permission to teleport into the Cave; clearance codes matched those of the Atom and Doctor Light.
“Right on cue,” said Booster Gold.
“We came as soon as we could. Sorry, guys,” said the Atom, materialising on a platform across the way from the central platform they were all sat on. “I don’t remember much, but when I woke up I was in the process of dismantling my size-control belt. It’s a Martian, right?”
“And for some reason I was packing up my apartment in Ivy Town. I assume whoever did this to us will reimburse my plane fare to Japan?” said Doctor Light.
“Glad to see there’s still a sense of humour here,” said Booster.
Batman shook his head, sharply. “But there shouldn’t be, Booster. A Martian is capable of touching the minds of every conscious and unconscious being across this planet. At the same time. Can you imagine the psychic processing power that would take? The only reason we’re free from his influence is a fluke, because of some adventure Ted and you apparently shared. The only reason…”
“Then let’s just hope that the team on Laputa put it together, like you said,” said Booster.
BLUE BEETLE’S MINDSCAPE:
{You knew?} spat Ma'alefa'ak.
“As soon as we walked in on you standing over Beetle, I knew something wasn’t right. Your complete lack of empathy, your sluggish response to simple questions, as if you were formulating the appropriate response to keep us happy. You can’t get in our heads anymore, can you? Martians are hyper-adaptive thanks to their psychic ability, but if we lock you out of our heads, you’re just a super-powered thug.”
{Brave words. But you stand in the ruin that is one of your own. A psychic desolation of my making. This is my world, Harper. What’s next for you? I have the answer…}
“I’m going to get out of here and kick your ass,” promised the Guardian. He pushed his fingers across Ted’s central psyche, then began to slam his fist against the surface-- bang-bang-bang, bang-bang-bang, again and again.
{Or I could strip your brain back. Take a look at that war computer that makes you tick. Reprogram every part of you to hate. To kill the Justice League. You could do it, I think. Before, you hesitated because I had to use subtle arts, gently manipulate rather than utterly dominate. Every strategy you ever devised, all ready to be initiated. How does that sound?}
“Sounds like you need to start paying more attention,” said the Guardian.
And then he vanished. Ma'alefa'ak was flabbergasted, spun around, then screamed as his psychic self was yanked out of Ted Kord’s body. He was alone in the medical bay, no sign of Cyborg, no sign of the Guardian or Blue Beetle-- where had they gone?
“They ran… Computer, locate the Guardian--”
<All command operations are deactivated, unable to recognise authority of request,> said Laputa’s computer.
Ma'alefa'ak laughed at the slight inconvenience, then reached out into the Martian psychic software, only to find it completely excised from the databases that operated the island’s systems. During the time spent inside Blue Beetle’s mind, Cyborg had been busy.
He phased through the bulkheads to the outside, and saw that the blast shield was still covering the island. He pushed his hand against it, but flinched as it sent a burst of energy through him. He wouldn’t be able to phase through it.
Finally, he headed back into Laputa and located the central computer, only to find that it had been disintegrated by a concentrated white noise burst. He recognised the after-effects from his earlier research on the team. Cyborg had really done a number on this place.
“Door?” he asked, but no portal opened. He was trapped. While he had planned for this eventuality, he was impressed by the Justice League ingenuity, and headed down to Cargo Bay 12.
THE CAVE:
Alarms blared-- the blast shield around Laputa was down! As the team scrambled in response, there was an immense clattering where Batman kept his vehicles, as dozens of containers began to shower down from orange portals that formed in the air above them.
“What’s going on?” asked Angie.
“Emergency evacuation procedure,” replied Batman.
“The weapons caches on Laputa have been bundled up and sent to a safe location-- here,” said Wonder Woman.
Hundreds of boxes of various sizes scattered across the launch platforms, all emblazed with stamps that read ‘LAPUTA’ and ‘DO NOT OPEN’. After they’d finished arriving, Cyborg stepped onto the central platform amongst them, carrying Blue Beetle in his arms. The Guardian staggered afterwards, then nodded at his cybernetic teammate.
“I just put the blast shield back up. Ma'alefa'ak’s locked in there; we should have a livefeed from the cameras, I jury-rigged something before we left-- he can’t block the transmissions anymore,” said Cyborg.
“Vic! You got out!” said Angie, embracing Cyborg, while Booster Gold took Blue Beetle from his arms.
“Alfie?” said Booster.
Pennyworth motioned Gold forward, and they went to work on Beetle, connecting him to the medical machines in the area a few steps away from the central platform.
Meanwhile, Angie and the Atom were next to Cyborg as he transformed his arm into a device capable of uploading the software required for the cave’s computers to hook into the island’s jury-rigged systems.
“How’d you figure it out?” asked Batman, walking side-by-side with the Guardian.
“I knew in my gut it wasn’t him. His reaction to what happened, his nonchalance. I expected alien, but not alien.”
“And your escape?” asked Doctor Light.
Cyborg fielded that one, still working away at the computer. “Guardian counted on him not knowing Morse Code. Started communicating using that, and as soon as they went diving into Beetle’s head, I began sabotaging the island so when I got the signal, I could drop the shield and get us out of there.”
“Why were you in Ted’s head?” asked Booster, looking up from the medical bay.
“Ma'alefa'ak did a number on him, his brain has been put through a blender,” said the Guardian.
“We saw the after-effect before the footage cut out,” said Batman.
“Ah, man, no, no,” murmured Booster, thudding his head on the table next to Beetle’s.
“Anyway, I managed to get a message out when we were inside, Cyborg dropped the shield and teleported everything out. Now we have one problem-- one major problem. A really god damn pissed off Martian.”
“The Guardian somehow made Ted’s hand tap out the ‘go’ signal, it was crazy,” said Cyborg, resting his head against Angie’s. “I’m really happy to see you too.”
“Okay, we’re at half strength, and we have a--”
Another alarm blared at the computer, and the Atom read what that meant. “There’s been a power shutdown at Laputa, the entire base is dark-- the shield is down--”
“I’ve got camera feeds back up, bit patchy, but bear with,” said Cyborg.
Cameras tracked Ma'alefa'ak floating through Laputa, checking the usual avenues he might have available to him, testing the forcefield, before heading back to Cargo Bay 12. He entered the room that had no camera coverage, then a second later the entire base went dark.
“A massive power surge-- what’s down there?”
“We never saw it,” explained the Guardian. He looked back at Beetle. “He must’ve.”
“We need to get over there, then,” said Batman.
“A small reconnaissance force, not our entire strength,” said the Guardian.
Batman nodded in agreement. “Atom, Doctor Light, Cyborg and myself. I have armaments downstairs, and Victor can adjust his cybernetics to output extreme heat. Ray can shrink between the molecular bonds of a Martian’s body and disrupt them, and Kimiyo can also generate heat if she puts her mind to it.”
“Are you sure? There are more of us at the ready,” questioned Wonder Woman.
“We keep our most powerful in reserve, a strike force capable of coming in and assisting if needs be, but like the Guardian said, this is a recon mission.”
“Find out what’s in that damn cargo bay then we have an informed position to act from,” said the Guardian.
Diana’s hand found Bruce’s, and she whispered, “It goes without saying, but be careful.”
“Always,” replied the Dark Knight, before heading off to prepare for their mission.
MARS:
“The Justice League have recovered from my psychic attack, John,” said Ma'alefa'ak, strolling past the bound form of the Green Lantern; wrapped around the semi-conscious hero was Wonder Woman’s Lasso of Truth. His power ring was next to depleted, the lasso kept him compliant, but he fought with all his will to escape. Unfortunately, that wasn’t getting him far.
The rogue Martian considered the immense array that held the unconscious bodies of all the fire-themed villains the Justice League had gathered for him. Psyche-receptive organic material, harvested from Ma'alefa'ak’s own body connected the mechanical construct to their brains, pooling their collective madness into one immense reservoir, ready to be drank from.
The Martian smiled, looked at the defeated Green Lantern, then back at the array. “I think it’s time I took the next step toward my ultimate goal, don’t you, John?”
“They’ll… stop… you…” said John, straining against the unbreakable bonds of the ropes holding him.
“You really think that, don’t you? You really believe that,” chuckled Ma'alefa'ak.
Sweat dribbling down his brow, John looked at the Lasso of Truth, then grit his teeth. “I… know it…”
TO BE CONTINUED
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NEXT ISSUE: The Justice League learn the truth regarding Ma'alefa'ak’s master plan, but will it be too late to prevent it from coming to fruition? And will Booster Gold be able to draw Blue Beetle back from the brink of utter mental annihilation? FIND OUT NEXT MONTH!