Justice League: The New Wave (IC)

[Aussie_Wolf]

Green Arrow Caught between a hellspawn and a Demon.

Turning it’s head at an impossible angle Xarathos looked at the Son of Adam, and then pointed towards a figure walking towards them, as it crept along sticking to shadows and darkness as it flittered from building to tree to building.

Green was immediately on high alert. He had an arrow out, on the string and trained on the shadow before you could blink. He didn't shoot though as it was not moving like any of the previous attackers had been. They had basically rushed straight out and attacked, this felt different.

Crossing the last distance the figure pulled back it’s hood and glared at Xarathos, “You didn’t have to throw me so damned hard. I’m still picking glass out of my cloak.”

Lowering his bow, Connor shook his head. Yeah She had been thrown three blocks or so through glass windows and she was worried about picking glass out of her cloak!! Damn it must be great to have powers like that.

Pointing at The Archer she gave him a look. Then looked back at the Rider. “So.. still feel like going toe to toe? They have a lot of souls somewhere.. I can feel the psychic residue of torture and blood, and I’m sure you do as well. Probably what’s turned you into a crazy fireball.”

“Vengeance is Mine!!!”

Connor didn't know if Raven was doing it on purpose or this was just her way of talking, but he could swear she was enjoying teasing the hell out of the Rider. He might enjoy the occasional joke but...

Still what could you expect after that same person had just thrown you through a couple of walls. He would want to get his own back as well, even if it was only in a verbal sparring match.

“Yeah.. I know. Shit, learn a new phrase already.” Looking at Conner she asked, ”So what am I supposed to call you again? I get the mental image of Robin Hood from.. it. But I’m fairly certain you aren’t Robin Hood”

"The name is Green Arrow, and please Robin hood wishes he could shoot as well as me," he grinned. Then he looked at her seriously. "So where are all these people that are getting tortured? We find them we probably find the one running this show. So far I haven't seen a single civilian in this place."

 

[kizkiz]

Party Outside the Dome: Kiz, Rogues, and Leaguers (Veolocity be creeping)

>> M'gann M'orzz, Ward of High House Dream of Lord L'Zoril we have an accord. As Primus of High House Void mine is to detain that which can not be killed, to bear such foulness so that Creation may prosper. I hunt a great darkness, which I had thought defeated but failed. I know of it only as the Necromancer, Lord Legion of the Anti-Circle, That Which Should Not Be. I see no contradiction, superseding, nor violation of our core missions. Let us be allies.<<

Kiz was slow to rise. The two black pits for eyes dribbling streaks of nothingness in every direction continued to bore into her soul. "It is disrespectful to the dreamer to be so informed that they are dreaming; it lies to the sleeper to awaken to their dream. A master may set one upon the path, but they may never walk the path for the walker. And Rose, you already walk a path." He frowned, searching for an appropriate metaphor that wouldn't be too condescending. "You know the story of the childe and the butterfly, yes? The butterfly cannot be if it does not struggle on its own to emerge from its own self-imposed chrysalis even as it does not remember the sacrifice of the caterpillar to make its own prison. It is our pain, our mistakes, and our efforts that make us. Those poor fools who take shortcuts," and at this Kiz's eyes moved to Kaldur and the artifact he wielded before moving back to Rose, "They are never as strong as they could have been. Many die tiny deaths. The journey requires sacrifice, in which the novice determines their power by the magnitude of what they've given up to walk the path. It requires humility and fear too. But most of all, the path just needs to be walked."

Kiz paused, assessing the Super Heroes as the Void retreated and eyes became normal eyes again. "I express a degree of regret for not being able to shortcut your path, Rose." Kiz said, pressing both palms together and giving her a respectful bow, "But despite your station, my master's oaths preclude disclosing additional information outright. It was a mistake to say so much without making certain assurances. For this, I have regret."

"Let us be mundane then in our dealings. In my world, I am charged with going where others have failed and then to stop what they could not. I am not always strictly heroic in relation to all societies that I have encountered in accomplishing what is necessary, but I do act on behalf of the greater good of creation. Much like your United States of America, my world finds itself intervening on matters that threaten the greater good. Your country is concerned with your world, and my world is concerned with not just this universe but many dimensions affiliated with this universe. As your United States sometimes finds it necessary to act unilaterally against the wishes of even regional powers for what it deems both in best interest of itself and the world it operates within, so does my world. As an agent of my world, I find myself here at this time. I have visited your world in the past, for example aiding Constantine the Great to re-unite the Roman Empire and spread the faith of Christus.

"In this, at this time and at this place and I suspect in much more, we do not work at cross purposes." Kiz gestured to the dome. "I have been granted immunity by your Department of Extranormal Affairs for any perceived past crimes my arrival may have presented to the citizens of New York. In discharging my duty, I have hunted the Nagandharva..." He wasn't sure if many assembled besides perhaps the Atlantean would recognize the title. "Blood Mages, you may call them. I gained access into the dome and now a measure of control over it." Kiz patted the Key Dagger clipped at his hip.

"And these three have aided me in my quest." Kiz gestured behind himself at the Rogues. "During this threat upon both your nation and this city before us, we all here have commonality upon which to fashion an alliance of necessity. As such, I would propose pooling all forces assembled and any others encountered. If that is not acceptable, we can separate but at least work apart towards a common objective."

"In short I find no reason for hostility between any present, and many more reasons to pool resources to maximize chances for and minimize the cost of victory."

Assuming all agree, Kiz related what had been discovered and accomplished so far. The three assumed Super Heros a mile or so around the dome, who had been twiddling their thumbs. Did the Leaguers have a way to communicate with them? The presence of some Lieutenant in or around the Flash Museum. Others who moved towards the Arena and who the Rogues thought that triad was. And of course at a high level how they would be able to get back into the dome. As they were near the railroad tracks, it made sense to scout back to Flash Museum and then converge on the Stadium from a different vector from the Triad of the Archer, Hellion, and shadow person/Raven. Kiz saw no reason to hold anything, but neither did he waste time on extraneous details like how the Flash Museum was burned to the ground.

 

[WiredIn]

An all too familiar shadow

Virgil froze, he only knew one person who dressed like that, moved like that. Raven. Virgil couldn't remember the last time he'd seen her, it had been a long time. What was the doing with an archer and a oversized candle? He scowled and shifted deeper into the shadow of the building for a moment before drifting closer all the while keeping to the shadows.

He wanted to trust her but this was all too odd, too much to process. An entire city quiet as a grave, a dome made of extreme amounts of energy and...something darker beneath it all. A parasite clinging to the back of the city. He didn't know who to trust, he just hoped it was just the weird snake men involved in all this.

 

[ChasNicollette]

All My Underdogs. (tags League, Kiz, GRID, Beast Boy, Velocity)

(Rose/M'gann/Hotline)

>> M'gann M'orzz, Ward of High House Dream of Lord L'Zoril we have an accord. As Primus of High House Void mine is to detain that which can not be killed, to bear such foulness so that Creation may prosper. I hunt a great darkness, which I had thought defeated but failed. I know of it only as the Necromancer, Lord Legion of the Anti-Circle, That Which Should Not Be. I see no contradiction, superseding, nor violation of our core missions. Let us be allies.<<

[Thankee-sai,] M'gann inclined her head to The Left Hand of The Void, her eyes twinkling in response to his eyes brimming over with fathomless black. [May it do you fine.]

And then she stepped back towards Rose, merging with her, settling back down into Rose's heart as though she had never left-- indeed she hadn't.

Kiz was slow to rise. The two black pits for eyes dribbling streaks of nothingness in every direction continued to bore into her soul.

Rose found those eyes-- horrifying, chilling, mesmerizing, fascinating. They reminded her of eyes she'd seen long ago the night before in a dream in another life in a previous iteration of The Universe-- except those eyes at least had twinkling constellations in them.

"It is disrespectful to the dreamer to be so informed that they are dreaming; it lies to the sleeper to awaken to their dream. A master may set one upon the path, but they may never walk the path for the walker. And Rose, you already walk a path."

For a moment, Rose wondered why it wasn't surprising to her that he knew her real name. And then she realized it was one of the least surprising things to happen to her over the past six, seven months, much less so today.

Of course he knew her name. Knew it effortlessly enough to be poetical about it.

He frowned, searching for an appropriate metaphor that wouldn't be too condescending. "You know the story of the childe and the butterfly, yes? The butterfly cannot be if it does not struggle on its own to emerge from its own self-imposed chrysalis even as it does not remember the sacrifice of the caterpillar to make its own prison. It is our pain, our mistakes, and our efforts that make us. Those poor fools who take shortcuts," and at this Kiz's eyes moved to Kaldur and the artifact he wielded before moving back to Rose,

(Kaldur smiled tightly, distantly at that.

He hadn't taken a shortcut. King Orin's life had been cut short.

Kaldur had had greatness thrust upon him, and done his best to answer that call.

Luthor had once joked-- Who died and made him king? --and had known the truth of his words.

Inheritance does not wait for you to be ready. It comes upon you in the night and you are either ready or not. He could only be as ready as he could be-- and become the man he needed to be as he dove into the very deepest part of the deepest deep end.)

"They are never as strong as they could have been. Many die tiny deaths. The journey requires sacrifice, in which the novice determines their power by the magnitude of what they've given up to walk the path. It requires humility and fear too. But most of all, the path just needs to be walked."

"I can't pretend to understand any of that," Rose admitted. "But I suppose your point is that I will in time, and I wouldn't if you just gave me the answer. I can't say I'm not disappointed. But we've got work to do here and stopping to help me achieve enlightenment'll just have to happen under a different fig tree."

Kiz paused, assessing the Super Heroes as the Void retreated and eyes became normal eyes again. "I express a degree of regret for not being able to shortcut your path, Rose." Kiz said, pressing both palms together and giving her a respectful bow, "But despite your station, my master's oaths preclude disclosing additional information outright. It was a mistake to say so much without making certain assurances. For this, I have regret."

Rose bowed back to him, eyes glowing faintly with light like red planets catching the sun. "It's cool. People being textbook enigmatic is something I'm getting used to. Mostly. I ran into three ladies in a broom closet once, you'd get on great with them."

"Let us be mundane then in our dealings. In my world, I am charged with going where others have failed and then to stop what they could not. I am not always strictly heroic in relation to all societies that I have encountered in accomplishing what is necessary, but I do act on behalf of the greater good of creation. Much like your United States of America, my world finds itself intervening on matters that threaten the greater good. Your country is concerned with your world, and my world is concerned with not just this universe but many dimensions affiliated with this universe. As your United States sometimes finds it necessary to act unilaterally against the wishes of even regional powers for what it deems both in best interest of itself and the world it operates within, so does my world. As an agent of my world, I find myself here at this time. I have visited your world in the past, for example aiding Constantine the Great to re-unite the Roman Empire and spread the faith of Christus."

Kaldur's face was perhaps inscrutable, but his eyebrow twitched. That... was an interesting name-drop.

But he was not so unschooled to think that outlaws could not be heroes, or that heroes only fit a certain mold.

But sometimes the only way to learn if a person was trustworthy... was to trust them. If he turned out to cross a line unacceptable, Kaldur reasoned, The League was there to stop him. So much the better if he turned out to be on the side of the angels.

"In this, at this time and at this place and I suspect in much more, we do not work at cross purposes." Kiz gestured to the dome. "I have been granted immunity by your Department of Extranormal Affairs for any perceived past crimes my arrival may have presented to the citizens of New York. In discharging my duty, I have hunted the Nagandharva..." He wasn't sure if many assembled besides perhaps the Atlantean would recognize the title.

Kaldur did.

Rose recognized the Naga part as being related to snakes.

"Blood Mages, you may call them. I gained access into the dome and now a measure of control over it." Kiz patted the Key Dagger clipped at his hip.

If this was true, it was certainly the best news they'd had all day. Part of their mission had been to get inside-- Kaldur's only idea, lacking a teleporter without The Ghost Rider, would have been to brute-force the shield open using The Trident's own force-projection abilities, and he suspected this might have taken a toll on him not easily paid.

Either that or send the immaterial Martian Manhuntress in alone, a prospect he had not relished.

"And these three have aided me in my quest." Kiz gestured behind himself at the Rogues. "During this threat upon both your nation and this city before us, we all here have commonality upon which to fashion an alliance of necessity. As such, I would propose pooling all forces assembled and any others encountered. If that is not acceptable, we can separate but at least work apart towards a common objective."

"In short I find no reason for hostility between any present, and many more reasons to pool resources to maximize chances for and minimize the cost of victory."

"In times of war," Kaldur'ahm allowed, "it would not be unprecedented to recruit... counter-insurgents... from the local population. Their mettle is proven in battle, though their ends may be self-serving-- their enemy is still our enemy. And at least one of their number has seemed a man of honor in the past."

Cold tutted. "Given a certain definition of 'honor.'"

"Granted," Aquaman inclined his head.

Then he looked at Rose. "Martian Manhuntress. He spoke about you with familiarity, though he seemed strange to you. Can we trust him?"

Rose opened her mouth to declare that she had no idea.

But then her heart said: Yes. Yes we can.

Rose paused. And nodded. "Yeah. I think so."

Kaldur nodded back, and met Kiz' gaze. "Then for now, we are in league."

Assuming all agree, Kiz related what had been discovered and accomplished so far. The three assumed Super Heros a mile or so around the dome, who had been twiddling their thumbs. Did the Leaguers have a way to communicate with them?

Happily, this proved to be not necessary, as one after the other, in quick succession, those three heroes put distance behind them rather than thumb against thumb.

First, came the speedstress Velocity, pale as Rose and red of hair but with that bolt of lightning across her eye.

Shaking her head she took off and exactly 1.00657 secs later stopped 30 meters away from the Javelin as two groups of costumed Heroes? seemed to be meeting each other.

Pausing 90 feet or so away, she was displaying either caution or deference or both. Either could be considered wise under the circumstances.

Aboard the Javelin, Ruby frowned, rising from her seat and unholstering her H-Dial, dialing the H-E-R but leaving her thumb to hover over the O. "Getting crowded out there," she murmured to Nightwing. "I'm gonna go get their backs."

She hurried down the gangplank, quietly eyeing The Rogues... and taking the chance to get a better look at the tats on that bald beefcake in the big fluffy PETA nightmare.

Then, speaking of people and animals, came a Falco peregrinus of the deepest verdant green, barreling out of the sky...

As he transformed, he ended up running a few steps to a stop and found him among a bunch of strangers. "Oh hi guys." He glanced around, "And uhm gals."

...and almost literally screeching to a halt in the center of those gathered, showing neither caution nor deference, he became a green young man.

"And 'all of the above,'" Ruby quipped wryly, indicating that to classify her as strictly guy or girl would be unnecessarily limiting to her options.

And then on the shapeshifter's heels came another, dressed in armor-- or was that a robot? Red and yellow and purple with hints of sea-foam green.

As he approached he took stock of those gathered. "Well this is an interesting group of people."

"It is getting more interesting by the moment," Kaldur agreed. "We are The New Justice League," he indicated his compatriots, "and these are Kiz and some of The Rogues. We are allied against the makers of this dome and the horrors they wreak within. If you are with us in this, I am glad for your aid. Kiz was providing us some intel. Given how great our numbers, when he is done I think perhaps formal introductions are in order."

If Kiz was still so inclined, he could then continue relating what he and his merry band had learned.

The presence of some Lieutenant in or around the Flash Museum. Others who moved towards the Arena and who the Rogues thought that triad was.

"That's the Ghost Rider," Martian Manhuntress nodded eagerly at that unmistakable description. "She's with us. We need to help her!"

"And it sounds like she has joined forces with Raven, our ally on The Titans," Kaldur agreed. "A curious alliance to be sure, but not so curious as others here displayed."

"Dunno the arrow guy," Ruby shook her head. "The one we know wears red, not green, and he ain't a blond."

And of course at a high level how they would be able to get back into the dome. As they were near the railroad tracks, it made sense to scout back to Flash Museum and then converge on the Stadium from a different vector from the Triad of the Archer, Hellion, and shadow person/Raven. Kiz saw no reason to hold anything, but neither did he waste time on extraneous details like how the Flash Museum was burned to the ground.

Heatwave, in particular, noted that Kiz left out the detail of that arson. And while Heatwave was upset that he hadn't been the one who'd gotten to render that eyesore to ash in conflagration, he was even more irritated that Kiz wasn't bragging about it left and right. This was a big deal!

But whatever. Guy didn't know how to sear his brand into the map, that was his loss.

"Thank you for the comprehensiveness of your information, and for this means of entry you have acquired at no doubt some personal cost," Kaldur nodded to Kiz. "Please do not take offense if we confirm this sitrep with our own sensory apparatus once we have gained ingress-- but this is a good plan. A rendezvous with assets on the ground should be a priority, and then dismantling the machinery of Kobra's terror."

He glanced around. "But perhaps we should... go around the circle? Know whom we are fighting beside? At very least, it might behoove us before entering this... nest of Kobra... that we make mental note of whom not to shoot."

Kaldur glanced in the direction of the Javelin, and called louder: "Nightwing. You may wish to be a part of this."

Partly because Nightwing was a trusted member of the team, and should be included in this discussion-- rather than being made to sit behind the wheel in case of a need for rapid escape.

And partly because, ahem, Kaldur reflected wryly, Damian had little patience for those of little training and it might benefit him to be reminded who was on their side, here.

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

A Quick Intro

Velocity was impressed at the group of people that she saw gathered in front of her.

From the Javelin had come a veritable who's who of the next gen of superheros.

The heir to the throne of Atlantis Kaldur'ahm, known to the world as Aquaman. He was even carrying the trident and everything.

Beside him was a pale skinned woman with a red pony tale. She almost chuckled at the sight. She had heard that the new Martian Manhunter looked a lot like her, but to see it was a bit weird. Still Velocity's skin was pure white and she was not so well developed. She was sure no one would have trouble telling them apart.

The Lady bristling with all the weapons must be someone new. They had not been briefed on her but the blond bombshell needed no introductions. Wonder Girl herself. probably the only one here that had a chance of keeping up with her. Well maybe.

Then another lady stepped forth and although Velocity recognized this one too as the hero known as Hotline, she also realized how many females were present. What had all the males taken the day off.

Taking a glance towards the rogues she walked slowly towards the group. Truthfully she was not really scared of anyone here. Sure she might not be able to take anyone of them in a straight up fight, but none of them could contain her. If she wanted to she could be gone before they could blink.

The only ones she was really worried about were Heatwave and Cold. As far as she knew they were the only two that had experience fighting super fast adversaries. Honestly though, she always wondered why one on one, the Flash had so many problems with them.

Stopping just outside the circle that had been created she smiled warmly.

"Hi, the names Velocity. As the name implies I am fast. Not Flash fast yet but I am getting there. You want a package delivered anywhere in the world in an hour, I am your girl."

 

[LuckyVic]

Nightwing had been monitoring from the Javelin, watching as the group of people arrived to meet the rest of this new League. He recognized some of them, either from news reports from other cities, after all knowledge is power, and some he knew from his days as Robin. He knew Dick had some run-ins with them when he was Nightwing, but there also hadn’t been a Nightwing for a few years until just a few months ago. He had also gone to great pains to show that this new Nightwing wasn’t like the original. But there were enough similarities that people could feel safe with him.

He had already started to rise from his chair, tired of surveilling the on goings from the Javelin’s monitoring systems, when he heard Kaldur.

Kaldur glanced in the direction of the Javelin, and called louder: "Nightwing. You may wish to be a part of this."

Partly because Nightwing was a trusted member of the team, and should be included in this discussion-- rather than being made to sit behind the wheel in case of a need for rapid escape.

And partly because, ahem, Kaldur reflected wryly, Damian had little patience for those of little training and it might benefit him to be reminded who was on their side, here.

Nightwing slowing emerged from the Javelin, there was no need to be sneaky now since Kaldur had already let them know he was there. He’d have to remind him later that when you have backup hidden it’s best not to let anyone know that you have hidden backup.

He stepped out and moved towards the others, but didn’t say anything as he began to get a closer look at all those that had gathered about.

 

[kizkiz]

Kiz's fifth introduction for the morning...

Kiz was used to boredom. What people who longed for immortality or at least to leave past their expiration date didn't realize was that there really wasn't that much novelty in the universe. Kiz couldn't remember the wild eyes excitement of youth, but he dreamed about it sometimes in the long periods of solitude he was often forced to endure. The novelty of boredom itself across desolate expanses filled those romantic notions of forging across endless expanses of cold, cold white or shifting sea of burning gold grew old after awhile. It was around the thousand year point when many went insane. Suicide amongst the long lived was not any higher on a per year basis, but over time low likelihoods accumulated to almost sure outcomes. Even the tiniest defect in mind or soul were either worn away or exacerbated until they consumed everything. Overtime the little quirks either disappeared and the big things became bigger. The long lived tend towards archetypes and stereotypes atop layers of odd complexity.

Kiz was also accustom to the maddening tedium of doing the same thing over and over again. You had to get used to. If you let it bother you, you'd go insane. How many times had he said his name or given some curriculum vitae of who he was or why he was where he was? It had been too many times to let it bother him anymore.

He watched the individual "super heroes" give their introductions. It wasn't anything he couldn't have figured out himself. One was fast, perhaps an avatar of the Speedforce itself. Another tapped into the Red. He knew of the Atlantean and what to expect from him. The Killer, well it was a curiosity but he doubted someone such as it would divulge anything informative. He watched it move and assess, like a predator always considering which prey to focus on a how to go about find its next dinner. Such Killers were common enough that he'd encountered their like off and on over the tens of thousands of years absolute or thousands of years relative that he had been around. Most interesting to him was the late arrivals for reasons less so having to do with their powers or resumes and more so to do with why they choose to arrive late in the first part. The armored knight, the shadow hugging assassin, and the deliciously tattooed lady. The latter was novel because she had a device that was niggling in its familiarity, but just out of reach.

When introductions fell upon him a second time in as many minutes, he repeated his lines. Even though the Rogues had started to call him Bellorophon, he'd already introduced himself as Kiz to the majority of the Leaguers, so he followed suit with the re-introductions. "I am Kiz or Bellorophon. I bind terrible things that cannot be killed to my flesh and soul. I use them. I am Primus of High House Void, you might think of me as a master magician if the magicians of your world could ever be considered true masters." More disdain than he had planned infected his words. "Although my powers veer towards the manipulation of time and space, and to a lesser degree survival along the extremes of both."

A careful observer would notice that his tattoos moved. It was subtle and slow, but they didn't persist in the same orientation for long. Like a bored soldier, they sighed, shifted, and looked around. Even though by his calculations around a thousand people were dying per minute, Kiz didn't let the statistic rush him. The shockwave of such decimation upon the most populace cities of the Americas was not his concern. It was sad, just like watching a whole litter of kittens tied in a plastic bag and dumped into a river was sad. But there were all sorts of people in the time and space he operated within. If he let every minor atrocity distract him, he'd never get anything done. So Kiz waited, as he was used to. His mind wandered a bit to thoughts of apple pie and long naps beneath azure skies, but he excused himself this on account of how fucking tired he was.

 

[Zet_Cross]

Not that anyone could see it but under the helmet Milton was having a mini panic attack. What!? A name? "Oh... I'm uh..." OK rule numero uno: never use your real name. Wait that's it. "You can call me GRID and no I'm not a robot. I'm armed" he lifts the cannon on his right arm. "with a concussive, high energy cannon and various other support system in this suit."

What is the phrase humans use, ah yes. 'What am I? Chopped liver?' Unable to mentally respond Milton muttered under his breath. "No, your something I don't want them knowing about. Not yet anyway."

 

[Varshanka]

Connor didn't know if Raven was doing it on purpose or this was just her way of talking, but he could swear she was enjoying teasing the hell out of the Rider. He might enjoy the occasional joke but...

Still what could you expect after that same person had just thrown you through a couple of walls. He would want to get his own back as well, even if it was only in a verbal sparring match.

"The name is Green Arrow, and please Robin hood wishes he could shoot as well as me," he grinned. Then he looked at her seriously. "So where are all these people that are getting tortured? We find them we probably find the one running this show. So far I haven't seen a single civilian in this place."

“Where? Over that way.. I think. The psychic emanations are like an echo of past and present. Reverberating off the dome and being hard to pinpoint. I’m not a shark that can pinpoint another’s pain and misery. That’s psycho Bitch’s department.” Raven replied with a gesture to The Rider.

Looking at the two Mortals as they spoke the Rider flexed the chains as they reformed into winged armour. “I am Vengeance!!” It told them, it’s voice echoing with the screams of the damned from within it’s helm.

Turning Xarathos looked into the distance, but not westerly instead it was looking easterly. “Murder. Pain. Torment. Renegade.”

“Sounds like another demon?” Raven said to The Green Arrow. “I don’t see anything, but I’m not stupid enough to try scrying with all the magic in the air. That’s like checking the flashlight batteries in a dark room, while aiming it at your eyeball.”

Shaking her head as the Rider started walking, off towards the new threat apparently she asked, half yelling sarcastically. “Can we rush in like a bull in a china shop and smash everything to bits?”

Raising it’s left hand the Rider extended it’s middle finger to her.

 

[ChasNicollette]

Rogue Gallery.

The Rogues weren't much happier about this intro business than Kiz was.

Less so, because at least they had a rep on this planet that shoulda spoken for itself. Kids these days and their Facebooks and their Instagrams, nobody read The Picture News anymore.

"I'm Captain Cold," Len Snart declared. "I shoot cold."

He gestured to Heatwave. "Heatwave. Shoots heat."

Heatwave grunted, flexed his hand near his heat gun.

Cold chucked a thumb behind him at Lisa. "Glider. She glides."

Glider squinted, rustling her tendrils.

 

[ChasNicollette]

Here's the 411 on The 911. (Hotline)

"I am Kiz or Bellorophon. I bind terrible things that cannot be killed to my flesh and soul. I use them. I am Primus of High House Void, you might think of me as a master magician if the magicians of your world could ever be considered true masters." More disdain than he had planned infected his words. "Although my powers veer towards the manipulation of time and space, and to a lesser degree survival along the extremes of both."

"Obviously you've never watched Mordru and Doctor Fate duke it out like Price and Karloff," Ruby mused. "You talk about surviving time and space, I had to duck behind a chunk of Stonehenge and hang on for dear life."

It didn't take a massive intuitive leap to observe the glyphic things scuttling and twitching in Kiz' skin-- and what he said about binding terrible things to his flesh-- and realize that his tattoos were those terrible things. Eeeyikes. Talk about keeping your enemies closer.

"I was gonna ask who does your ink, but something tells me that's more of a DIY job. Not bad."

"I'm H-E-R-O Hotline, most folks just call me Hotline."

She held up her Dial. "I use this to turn into superheroes from across hypertime and hyperspace. One of these days I'll figure out how to pick which ones I turn into when."

 

[Varshanka]

Riders on the Storm

Shifting from foot to foot Karan debated on how to call herself, she was just starting to shift weight and raise her hand to introduce herself when Renegade moved.

Reaching up to her throat Renegade touched her voxcoder. “Renegade.” One word. No name, no description. Fuck’em. Let them deal with it.

Taking a step away from Renegade, and a little closer to Rose, Karan raised her hand. “Um, Hi. I’m Wondergirl. I don’t have any guns or shoot fire or snow or glide or anything cool.”

And she most certainly was not not not going to use any enhanced visions on the weird guy and the weird tattoo's.

 

[ChasNicollette]

"I hear you can talk to fish."

Reaching up to her throat Renegade touched her voxcoder. “Renegade.” One word. No name, no description.

Kaldur arched an eyebrow at that. Though he was not especially surprised.

He put a fist across his forehead in the manner of an Atlantean salute.

"I am Kaldur'ahm of Shayeris, Steward and Champion of Atlantis under the Crown and Throne of Queen Mera, long may she reign. On the surface, I am called Aquaman. I possess various aquatic abilities, some electrical power, and I wield The Champion's Trident, which gives me access to the portfolio of Neptune."

"I have the honor of being The Chairman of The New Justice League, may we do justice to The Old."

 

[ChasNicollette]

My Favorite Kryptonian. (Rose/M'gann)

Taking a step away from Renegade, and a little closer to Rose, Karan raised her hand. “Um, Hi. I’m Wondergirl. I don’t have any guns or shoot fire or snow or glide or anything cool.”

Rose shot Karan a sidelong grin, and stepped up a bit.

"She's being modest. Wonder Girl has all the powers of Superman, and the training of Wonder Woman! How cool is that?"

She hesitated.

And sent a thought to Karan's mind.

[...shit. I hope it's okay that I brag about you.]

Clearing her throat, Rose attempted to recover her poise.

"I'm Martian Manhuntress. I have all the same powers as The Martian Manhunter and... ah... none of the training. But I'm getting better!"

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

“Where? Over that way.. I think. The psychic emanations are like an echo of past and present. Reverberating off the dome and being hard to pinpoint. I’m not a shark that can pinpoint another’s pain and misery. That’s psycho Bitch’s department.” Raven replied with a gesture to The Rider.

Looking at the two Mortals as they spoke the Rider flexed the chains as they reformed into winged armour. “I am Vengeance!!” It told them, it’s voice echoing with the screams of the damned from within it’s helm.

Turning Xarathos looked into the distance, but not westerly instead it was looking easterly. “Murder. Pain. Torment. Renegade.”

“Sounds like another demon?” Raven said to The Green Arrow. “I don’t see anything, but I’m not stupid enough to try scrying with all the magic in the air. That’s like checking the flashlight batteries in a dark room, while aiming it at your eyeball.”

Shaking her head as the Rider started walking, off towards the new threat apparently she asked, half yelling sarcastically. “Can we rush in like a bull in a china shop and smash everything to bits?”

Raising it’s left hand the Rider extended it’s middle finger to her.

So it looked like they were headed for the edge of the dome chasing some demon that the Rider was not going to let escape.

Well it was not like he had much choice but to follow the two of them. They were the heavy hitters and could sense where the people might be.Sure as Raven had said, she couldn't exactly pinpoint their location for fear of blowing her mind, but she could still give them a general location and it seemed so could the Rider. Between the two of them they had a good chance of finding who was doing this and putting a stop to it.

Alone he would just be relying on pure luck.

"Well I guess east it is then and I would say God help anything that gets in our way but considering who I am traveling with," he grinned "I think that might be rather inappropriate don't you."

 

[kizkiz]

I say hello, you say goodbye! (Kiz, Rogues, Leaguers.)

"Obviously you've never watched Mordru and Doctor Fate duke it out like Price and Karloff," Ruby mused. "You talk about surviving time and space, I had to duck behind a chunk of Stonehenge and hang on for dear life."

"They are masters in the way a hand shoved up the ass of a puppet and made to speak is a living person that you might want to have dinner with." Kiz rolled his eyes. "That the Lords of Chaos and Order wage proxy wars here is disturbing but not something to brag about."

Ruby plowed ahead, "I was gonna ask who does your ink, but something tells me that's more of a DIY job. Not bad."

It was not often that Kiz had to bite down the urge to kill someone. There were few things in life that bothered him any more. Deathless nightmares that destroyed worlds were one. People that mocked or thought through quaint derisive statements to patronize the burden he carried were the other. Sure someone could walk up to him and say 'Nice tattoos fuck face,' and perhaps Kiz would feel annoyance and beat the person to within an inch of his life. But few people had ever expressed any less than awe at the work of torture and art sutured upon his soul -- and then because that's how the soul and body operated -- upon his flesh.

Ruby continued on like she didn't realize the impact her offhand comment had on Kiz, "I'm H-E-R-O Hotline, most folks just call me Hotline."

Ruby held up her Dial. "I use this to turn into superheroes from across hypertime and hyperspace. One of these days I'll figure out how to pick which ones I turn into when."

"Oh," Kiz said, watching the Dial, one of the more powerful artifacts loosed on earth. "That thing." It might be how Mozart would react to someone who rolled up with a cellphone and auto-tuning or Michelangelo after seeing some 3D print David. Would such people cheer the progress of man that invalidated personal endowment coupled with a lifetime of training? Or maybe how the President of the United States would react if someone made a 3rd grade science kit that allowed children to assemble nuclear bombs in the privacy of their own homes then go play with them outside at their leisure. "At least you don't have the other one," Kiz shivered visibly. "Still I can't say raping a Heroes soul is something to brag about."

But then she talked about the Solar Incarna. His eyes widened, and he forgot the Dialer and her atrocities. "I had heard several of the Solar Incarna graced this world." Kiz brought both of his hands together and bowed as low as he had to her but moments ago. "May the Light guides us, and in the Darkness bind us." He paused for a long breath then raised back up and smiled a true smile. "Light. Dream. Void. A rare convergence. There must be a grave injustice that was forgotten but if remembered in time..." His voice trailed off as he turned and regarded Glider. "Deathless...Artifacts..." He frowned, then shook his head dismissing the curiosity for now.

"To the dome!" He clapped his hands three times, turned, and fixed the place where the dome and the earth converged. Attuning himself to that place, he pulled himself through the Void and was then not where he used to be but instead in that new place and time. Some might refer to such movements as manipulating both hyperspace and hypertime. There were many names for concepts that the myopic tried to describe to the blind. None of them including Kiz knew the absolute Truth. Still, there it was. Names for things people wanted to describe that could not be described.

He removed the Key Dagger and then with a mushroom cloud of released, raw arcane power much like what would happen if he exposed his Anima Banner but instead directed towards the Key Dagger and what it must do. He slid the dagger into the dome like there had been a keyhole hiding in that exact spot all along. He drug his hands through creation and tore holes in it through which the Void bleed out. His sigils formed the outline of a door composed of unreadable cursive script that moved and shifted as if alive but nothing of the Void was alive it just wasn't dead either.

He turned the key and then demonstrating to them that it wasn't a trap he was leading them to, he walked through with Havel's shield and setup the first line of defense. Of course with the retreat of the Rider, it had freed up many of the Blood Mages to explore the curious anomalies they had felt minutes ago in the area. And the Blood Mages brought friends. They always did.

 

[WiredIn]

Virgil scowled as Raven, the candle and the bowman moved on not towards his preferred goal, the river, but away from it. What purpose could it serve to head away from the source of all this. Could they not see that this all originated at the river. The head of the beast you might say. He glanced towards the river and sighed before sile try continuing following them, trying to remain hidden in the shadows of buildings and along rooftops.

 

[TertiusHuman]

Beast Boy

He felt a bit giddy, Aquaman, Nightwing, Captain Cold, Heatwave...He could actually feel the excitement electrifying his insides, making him want to dart from one to the other, asking for autographs, acting like a fanboy...oh yeah...wait...

He ran a hand through his tousled hair, and took a deep breath to calm himself down a bit. "I am Garfield..." the tension of trying to keep normal got to him and in an instant an overweight cat stood where he had was, the green hues reflecting those of the iconic cat, then he morphed back to his human form, "Ahem sorry about that, no not THAT Garfield, my Garfield."

He glanced around and went on, "And I want to know if anybody has a paper and pen?"

He grinned, "A book with pictures of animals would also be nice."

 

[ChasNicollette]

No Dial Tone. (Hotline)

Ruby continued on like she didn't realize the impact her offhand comment had on Kiz.

She really didn't. She was a genius, but she wasn't flawless.

Maybe she had gotten too used to superheroic and cosmic things happening around her in the 20 years since her ten-year-old self had found The Hero Dial in its original configuration. Too used to hearing the hyperbole slung by this crowd to realize it when a new player was taking the game up to a level that was unprecedented by even her standards.

Perhaps she didn't realize quite how sheltered this Earth had been from the wars that raged across the omnicosm, and quite how in-the-thick-of-it Kiz had been. In any case, she had sincerely meant her words as a compliment-- and had not, by any stretch of the imagination, meant to damn Kiz' millenniums-long struggle with faint praise.

Some things you just can't know unless you see them face to face.

And this world hadn't seen multiversal war yet. Hadn't yet faced The Necromancer, The Great Darkness, seen the travesties and abominations of The New Dial Wars... yet. This was not a world that had fought off Mageddon with the help of New Genesis and Wonderworld... that had been a previous iteration of this region of spacetime. This was not the universe of Earth-15, laid waste by a boy made powerful by his madness. This was not Earth-14, last bulwark against The Great Darkness' warfront in The Sphere of The Gods, and the thundering repercussions this caused in The Speed Force Wall.

This was Earth-1. And it was young yet in the ways of things.

So it was perhaps fair enough that Ruby did not immediately comprehend the horizons and heights to which Kiz' scope reached.

But it was also perhaps fair enough that Kiz was furious at being diminished.

"Oh," Kiz said, watching the Dial, one of the more powerful artifacts loosed on earth. "That thing."

Ruby hesitated, and in that instant, eye-for-an-eye, she felt all those feelings of being diminished that Kiz had felt. And then-- "Wait, you've seen this before?"

"At least you don't have the other one," Kiz shivered visibly. "Still I can't say raping a Heroes soul is something to brag about."

"What other--" Ruby sputtered, mind spinning not unlike Rose had been a minute ago. "And what the fuck I would never--"

She trailed off, and stared at The Dial, and hurriedly backspaced the H-E-R so that she wouldn't Dial prematurely by mistake. You don't do that, do you?

Twenty years of Dialing this Dial, and Ruby had never once experienced a Hero feeling... coerced or co-opted as their consciousness had merged with hers. They had always been fighting the good fight, and she'd given them another good fight to fight good with her, and they had fought good, every one of them. Even Captain Lachrymose, who by very nature had been a mopey-ass bastard.

Twenty years of waking up in a cold sweat with other Heroes' nightmares, finding in odd moments that she remembered fragments from other Heroes' lives, and it had never once occurred to her that when they went back to wherever it was they came from that they might dream her dreams and remember her memories? That she might fuck up their lives with her fucked-up-ness?

No, no, no, no, no--

Too many of her friends had been assaulted in her life for her to tolerate anything resembling rape. She herself had had too many close scrapes, too many men insisting that what she needed was a "real man" when she told them she was a lesbian-- or back in her younger days when she had thought that she was a transgender boy rather than being genderfluid, men had threatened to "set her straight"--

--oh those confusing times, thank God for the woman who'd saved her from all that, helped her find herself--

--she'd never actually been assaulted herself but she had felt that darkness, in particular, encroach on her ability to just live her life.

How could she possibly tolerate even the possibility that she was doing anything remotely like that to anyone else?

...how could she ever Dial again?

Shaken to her core, her signature flippant confidence replaced with emotional lockdown and pallid, clammy skin, she holstered her phone. And didn't speak again for some time.

 

[ChasNicollette]

Download of The Wild.

He ran a hand through his tousled hair, and took a deep breath to calm himself down a bit. "I am Garfield..." the tension of trying to keep normal got to him and in an instant an overweight cat stood where he had was, the green hues reflecting those of the iconic cat, then he morphed back to his human form, "Ahem sorry about that, no not THAT Garfield, my Garfield."

He glanced around and went on, "And I want to know if anybody has a paper and pen?"

He grinned, "A book with pictures of animals would also be nice."

As Kiz teleported over to the dome wall to present his portal through it, Aquaman hung back for a moment and regarded "Garfield."

"You have the power to become animals. But you require visual reference? Interesting."

He glanced down at his LexIcon smartwatch, and began hitting a few buttons, glancing around at the landscape.

"I am currently enacting security protocols on this watch, deleting League-critical data-- as I might if it were to fall into the wrong hands. (No offense.) And-- using what cell coverage is available-- I'm downloading a database of zoological images that can be used offline. Given the interference with proximity to the dome, I imagine we will be cut off from all communications once we are under it."

After a few moments more, he unsnapped the smartwatch and handed it to Garfield.

"This should contain a fairly comprehensive and searchable index of images. But be careful with it-- these watches are sturdy and well-insulated but not indestructible."

Aquaman then turned and hurried towards the dome.

"It is best for us all to be as well-armed as possible."

 

[ChasNicollette]

Crossroads. (Rose/M'gann/Hotline)

"I had heard several of the Solar Incarna graced this world." Kiz brought both of his hands together and bowed as low as he had to her but moments ago. "May the Light guides us, and in the Darkness bind us."

As Kaldur helped Garfield with his "ammunition" problem. And Ruby tried to self-regulate a worldview that had been summarily shattered--

--Rose blinked. "Wait, what?" She stared at Karan. "Are you a secret mythological figure? ...is everyone here a secret mythological figure?"

He paused for a long breath then raised back up and smiled a true smile. "Light. Dream. Void. A rare convergence. There must be a grave injustice that was forgotten but if remembered in time..." His voice trailed off as he turned and regarded Glider. "Deathless...Artifacts..." He frowned, then shook his head dismissing the curiosity for now.

Kiz continued to make no sense to Rose, and she didn't feel proficient enough or bold enough to go poking around in his head looking for translations.

"To the dome!" He clapped his hands three times, turned, and fixed the place where the dome and the earth converged. Attuning himself to that place, he pulled himself through the Void and was then not where he used to be but instead in that new place and time.

"Yeah," Cold shrugged, as Glider dutifully gathered up her brother and his odd-couple bromance and swirled them off with intangible superspeed to follow Kiz to the dome. "He does th--"

"-at," he finished, as they unfurled from Glider a moment later.

He removed the Key Dagger and then with a mushroom cloud of released, raw arcane power much like what would happen if he exposed his Anima Banner but instead directed towards the Key Dagger and what it must do.

The sheer power hummed in Kaldur's tattoos and Trident as he approached, and he shielded his eyes with one hand. He could see in the darkness of six thousand fathoms, and that was-- very, very bright. "Neptune's Beard!"

He slid the dagger into the dome like there had been a keyhole hiding in that exact spot all along. He drug his hands through creation and tore holes in it through which the Void bleed out. His sigils formed the outline of a door composed of unreadable cursive script that moved and shifted as if alive but nothing of the Void was alive it just wasn't dead either.

He turned the key and then demonstrating to them that it wasn't a trap he was leading them to, he walked through with Havel's shield and setup the first line of defense. Of course with the retreat of the Rider, it had freed up many of the Blood Mages to explore the curious anomalies they had felt minutes ago in the area. And the Blood Mages brought friends. They always did.

Slinging the Champion's Trident off of his back and holding it ready, Kaldur followed closely behind Kiz.

The Rogues followed, weapons out where applicable.

Ruby hurriedly, silently, taped up her knuckles. If she couldn't Dial, she could still fight. She took another breath to try and steady herself before joining the procession.

Her head hurt. Her heart hurt.

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Moving on

Velocity wasn't to sure who the bald tattooed guy was, but he seemed to know a lot about what was going on, and about some of the Leaguers. Problem was, some of what he had to say shook them to their core.

Miss Martian and him seemed to be having a conversation on a whole other level that had nothing to do with the current situation, but it sorted itself out okay.

He shattered Hotlines confidence in herself and her abilities in five seconds, A great thing to do just before going into battle.

Then of course he disappeared. Well teleported really. Velocity watched him gaze towards the portal then start to fade away then reappear at the portal.

Hmm neat trick. Be better if it could be done over longer distances though.

Shaking her head she decided to wait at the plane, after all it wasn't as if she couldn't be over there and through whatever they were going to do within half a second anyway. Better to keep out of the way for now until everything was ready.

Walking over to Renegade she looked at the woman and her array of weapons.

"Mind if I borrow a Knife or two. I don't normally use them, but against these creatures I have no problems killing."

 

[LuckyVic]

Nightwing never introduced himself to any of them. He figured it wasn't needed since Aquaman had pretty much let them know who he was when he called for him. So when it was time to move out he just fell in step. Always being mindful of his surroundings as his grandfather and father had taught him.

"Mind if I borrow a Knife or two. I don't normally use them, but against these creatures I have no problems killing."

Nightwing had overheard the woman. He reached into his utility belt and produced two collapseable wing-dings. "Just flip these open and throw." he said in his Batman voice.

 

[TertiusHuman]

Gifts are best...used!

Garfield stared at the watch in his hands.

Aquaman gave him a watch. Not just any watch. Aquaman's very own watch!

So perhaps he should do something with it?

He slipped it onto his wrist, then he looked at it once more.

Sooo cooool...

Oh wait.

He looked around, saw the portal/door thingy made by the Kiz guy, taking a few steps he leapt and landed in a cheetah form, racing his own way down towards the dome, drawing up close to the group, shifting into a silverback gorilla and trundled forward.

 

[Varshanka]

Wait.. what?

Rose shot Karan a sidelong grin, and stepped up a bit.

"She's being modest. Wonder Girl has all the powers of Superman, and the training of Wonder Woman! How cool is that?"

She hesitated.

And sent a thought to Karan's mind.

[...shit. I hope it's okay that I brag about you.]

[Yes, you can brag if I can blush.. ] Kara though as she blushed to her roots. A stray though crossing her mind as she considered giving Rose a kiss. Her fingers running through that long red hair, her teeth caressing that pale as moonlight neck.

--Rose blinked. "Wait, what?" She stared at Karan. "Are you a secret mythological figure? ...is everyone here a secret mythological figure?"

“I’m..me. Just me.” Karan replied, confused by the weird guy with the scary strange tattoo’s. What mythological being could she be? Plus he was weird and creepy. Kinda made her skin crawl. And that was saying something since she’d had The Rider standing next to her – and that one was a psychopath – on fire.