Justice League: The New Wave (IC)

[Wyldfire]

Natasha squinted at the compliment, and relaxed a little bit. "Mr. Luthor's been very generous with the R&D budget. But I can see why. The benefits of this technology alone could be world-changing."

Memory is a resilient thing. And the brain is a marvelous thing. The only real way to erase memory is to damage the brain beyond the capacity to reroute itself. Jo had been subjected to things she had been taught early in her life and it was churning up things suppressed.

"Will be earth changing. Cancer extraction. Organ transplants. You will do a lot more than just that. "The mass Transmat gates were named the Irons gates."

Arching her eyebrows, Nat considered this. "Yes, I suppose white-dwarf matter could be used as a thermal siphon as well as a mass-exchange repository. I'll have to email Professor Palmer about that-- interesting."

"Fourth and fifth generations smooth out the process even more and Doctor Palmer's advances make the systems more and more portable."

"Yeah, that's my name, don't wear it out," Natasha chuckled faintly. "Although, Doctor Natasha Irons. I didn't cram a PhD courseload into my high school years for nothing. Sorry about your head, though-- Serling probably has some PRNs in the medlab? The only medications I have in here are caffeine pills because I don't let the techs drink Monster near my stuff."

Memory. Might be resilient but the one who suppressed her memories was very diligent in his work. In her psyche a voice bellowed "ENOUGH!" And Jo screamed and her nose began to bleed as she hit the floor.

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

McCullough's face curled into a snarl that could-- well-- crack a looking-glass.

"'Limey.' Shite!"

"Limeys are English, ye daft cunt!" Mirror Master roared.

"I'm Glaswegian! A blooday Scot!"

Velocity grinned as Mirror Master's face turned a bright red and he almost frothed at the mouth. Her 'Limey' insult had done the trick. She had read up on all of Flash's old enemies, Especially the Rogues, and knew what a proud Scot McCullough was. By calling him an Englishman she knew it would rile him up and an enraged opponent was liable to make mistakes.

Whether or not his etymology of informal British demonyms was entirely accurate, his rage was certainly something to behold.

"Dinnae be lumpin' me in wi' those imperialist bastards!"

And all of a sudden, his mirror gun was in his hand, and he unleashed a searing white blast at Velocity...

...his weapons had almost innumerable tricks, and even more since McCullough had inherited the tech and started tinkering with it. It might do anything if it hit her.

She had been paying very close attention to him, and as soon as his hand moved so had she. There was no way she could let any beams from that gun touch her. Just what it might do to her was anyone's guess, but she did not want to find out.

First she put some distance between her and him. He probably expected her to rush straight for him, but she had read enough files to know he had prepared a few nasty surprises for Flash each time he had done that. After all you didn't fight someone that could get to you in the blink of an eye without learning a trick or two yourself.

She stopped at what she hoped was out of range, about 500 meters away and well away from any reflective surfaces and took stock of her choices. One was the old whirlwind trick. Suck the air out of his vicinity until he passed out, or suck him into a vortex and spin him around until he was to giddy to move straight and then tie him up. Problem being his gun could hit her and who knew what other tricks he had in place.

Same went for rushing in to disarm him. Well luckily there was always the unexpected. Gathering a large handful of rubble she moved back towards him.

"Okay then you 'Wee Bonnie Lass'," she called out in a terrible attempt at a Scottish accent. "What say we get on with this. You said there were other Rogues around so I should probably quickly wrap you up and get ready for the challenging ones. Perhaps that Aussie will come after me next."

God if that didn't send him over the edge nothing would.

 

[Varshanka]

Later that Night.
********​

And a second later she pulled open the door and grinned at Karan.

Wearing a short skirt.

And a long jacket.

And a black t-shirt with a glowing arc reactor emblem in the middle, answering Karan's Captain America symbol with an Iron Man one.

"Hey, you," she beamed, tapping her watch to silence the music.

"Happy Valentine's Day."

“Hey you,” Karan beamed right back. And bringing her left arm around she held out a box of chocolates you could only get in Switzerland, and a potted Rose in bloom. “Blessed Aphrodite, you’re beautiful.” And then she stood there staring, before blurting out. “I wanna play with your arc reactor.”

And then her face turned bright Red. “I mean..um.. are you using magic or powers to make it glow?” Yeah she wanted to play with both arc reactors, but that was crude to say in the hallway.

 

[Varshanka]

Finding Beastly was easier than anticipated. But then she hadn’t figured thata green furred and skinned human would attend school. Not that it really mattered. She’d tracked people across glaciers and through sandstorm. It just took more time.

This Garfield was an easy target though. A personal target. Made him lucky it did. No money meant he survived.

She’d searched his place while he was out, and dropping a couple free pizza coupons under the door had ensured his roommate was gone as well.

Sitting in the chair she waited, shifting back and forth between male and female, pushing her body. Damned Luther wasn’t holding his bargain. Maybe he needed ‘incentive’. Gazing around the place she smiled at all the clocks. Dismantled. Taken apart. All the pieces where there, and could be put back together, given enough time. And that thought brought a snicker. Time.

People had no clue about time. They had so little time. Just like ants and fleas. Humanity was a pestilence on the planet.

Footsteps. Rhythmic. Yes. His gait, his stride and weight distribution pattern. Her eyes flicked to the door as he approached. She could drop him with a single shot through the thin wood structure.

If she wanted.

But she didn’t want him dead. He was interesting.

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Zatanna stared at Arrow hard for a long, long moment. "Constantine. ...of course."

"I can tell you right up front that John avoids The Ghost Rider like the plague. On top of that, I haven't seen him for weeks, he's been preoccupied with this group called... The Outsiders, of all things."

She took her top hat off, reached into it, and took out a cellphone, scrolling through the contacts.

"You're really going to have to make it worth his while." She paused. "Which probably means I'm going to regret this. Group therapy is going to be fun next week."

Connor stared at Zatanna wondering if she was pulling his leg, then realized she was deadly serious. Well if the Rider was so opposed to getting near this Constantine guy, then why had Xarathos sent him after him?

Damn this was just getting weirder by the minute. He was looking for help from an honest to god magician, who was not scared exactly but had a healthy respect for this Constantine, which meant he should too.

"Oh great. Just what sort of things is this guy interested in? I mean if I have to make this worth his time I am guessing he will want something in return. Just what am I going to be up for?"

 

[TertiusHuman]

Turned out that pizza and milkshake was not that popular after all.

After the clean up which Velocity did a lot with to begin with, the crews that Luthor sent in didn't have much to do. A teleport to HQ and a shower and another teleport placed Garfield exactly where he wanted to be.

Two pizzas later and quite an amount of milkshakes later, he decided that a party of one was just...boring. It never occurred to him that he had not actually told anybody where they should be to have the pizza and milkshake gathering.

He took the train back home, the dorm room was locked, which meant he had the room to himself... For a while. That meant no image inducer for a while. He unlocked the door and pushed open the door.

As he stepped into the gloomy interior, he paused. Instincts shouting at him and something else. He sniffed the air. Something smelled...different? He frowned and reached for the light switch.

"Hello? Whose there?"

 

[Varshanka]

As he stepped into the gloomy interior, he paused. Instincts shouting at him and something else. He sniffed the air. Something smelled...different? He frowned and reached for the light switch.

"Hello? Whose there?"

“Scent, Sight, or instinct?” Renegade asked from the shadowed room. Probably not scent, that would have been a given through the door and would have stopped him from opening. Instinct maybe, if he was drunk and his senses were dulled. High probability of Enhanced Sight.

Tapping a remote Renegade engaged a light from the corner of the room. Very bright and with a rather irritating hum. “Too easy to track and locate. Be happy I’m not here on assignment.” She replied.

 

[TertiusHuman]

Garfield jumped literally when his question got answered. He blinked at the sudden light and held up a hand block the glow from the source and he realized that his ears did not deceive him. It was Renegade alright. He dropped the hand.

"Well am I supposed to hide away? Because then I can just go live in the park and you will have a harder time in finding me."

He pushed the door close and deactivated his image inducer.

"Also it was instinct and a different smell. What are you doing here? Last I saw you, you were on your way to HQ."

 

[Varshanka]

Garfield jumped literally when his question got answered. He blinked at the sudden light and held up a hand block the glow from the source and he realized that his ears did not deceive him. It was Renegade alright. He dropped the hand.

"Well am I supposed to hide away? Because then I can just go live in the park and you will have a harder time in finding me."

He pushed the door close and deactivated his image inducer.

"Also it was instinct and a different smell. What are you doing here? Last I saw you, you were on your way to HQ."

Shrugging the assassin smiled. "Got bored. Left early. Wanna go kill something?"

 

[TertiusHuman]

Garfield looked flabbergasted at Renegade.

"Kill something? Are you nuts? I almost got killed today and I don't think it is something to joke about."

He switched on the overhead light and the glare of the single light diminished slightly.

"If you want to hang out though, that can be arranged."

 

[Varshanka]

Garfield looked flabbergasted at Renegade.

"Kill something? Are you nuts? I almost got killed today and I don't think it is something to joke about."

Sighing softly, Renegade muttered to herself, “Wasn’t joking. I’m bored.”

He switched on the overhead light and the glare of the single light diminished slightly.

"If you want to hang out though, that can be arranged."

“Hang out? You going to turn into a bat? What can’t you become? What can you become? A Lumbering plant ripper.. a Brontosaurus? Seen the Whale. Is it always the same creature. A dog is a dog is a dog.. or can you become a basset hound, a Chihuahua, a Germen shepherd…? You should practice more, speed shifting. Learn martial arts incorporate it become a fast and furious ball of fur, fang, and claw.”

 

[Nevyn_Black]

Braggock paused in his work. He had a goodly pile of stone and concrete, laced with some steel and glass. He glanced around, seeing that he was alone, no humans in range. Reaching out a hand toward the pile, he let flames wash over the rubble.

The fire started out orange, but then burned yellow, and into white. Some of the debris flared up and evaporated in the heat, but the whole melted and merged. As the fires played around the shape of the pile of trash, it slowly formed into a kind of twisted column. The base sunk into the earth, but the top was flat and smooth as glass. The sides were rounded, rough edged. Braggock took back the flames and heat, cooling the object he had created.

The whole thing was a kind of slate grey with glittering crystal flecks and flakes. Inside the smooth glassy surface of the top, were spots of all sorts of colors The heat had brought out the shades of every mineral involved in the structure's matrix. Braggock, looked at the remaining wreckage and began picking steel fragments from it. He brought the steel together to the pedestal he'd created.

With his bare hands, he began to fold and bend the steel, using his heat to soften it to a nice cherry red, verging on orange. He added piece after piece, smoothing it and shaping it as he went. Hours passed in this work, silent and unhurried.

At last, he lifted his creation onto the pedestal and heat melded it to the thing. He stood back and looked up at what he had wrought. It shone in the dim afternoon light, shining brightly, silvery, as only polished steel can.

The chiseled features were not enacted in detail, but merely suggested. The muscles were present, but crudely rendered. The cape flowed long and silken in an eternal wind. The S on his chest was perfect and stood out from the rest.

The statue was six feet tall, the pedestal was almost six feet wide and four feet in height. There was no plaque. No words. But it stood tall. It was solid.

People would speculate for years, who had put it there, and how they had done it in a single day. But no one would ever wonder what it stood for. They knew that.

 

[TertiusHuman]

“Hang out? You going to turn into a bat? What can’t you become? What can you become? A Lumbering plant ripper.. a Brontosaurus? Seen the Whale. Is it always the same creature. A dog is a dog is a dog.. or can you become a basset hound, a Chihuahua, a Germen shepherd…? You should practice more, speed shifting. Learn martial arts incorporate it become a fast and furious ball of fur, fang, and claw.”

He stared for a few moments at Renegade.

"Hang out is just an expression. It is when you spend time with friends or people you know and have a laugh or two."

He flopped down on the couch, "I honestly have no idea where my limits lie. In fact I have never had the time to truly test it. At the moment it is almost more instinctive than planned when I shift into an animal. From what I have gathered, if I have seen it, I can turn into it. So yeah, Brontosaurus, the whale, Basset hound, Chihuahua...didn't you see the Chihuahua? First time I saw Raven, Chihuahua powers activated."

He chuckled at his own little joke.

"German shepherd, Alpaca, Tree frog. Once I saw something, even if it is just a picture I can shift into it. Like the dragon during our fight? Ghost Rider showed that to me and like we both know, it is not something that I could have seen except in story books. And each time it seems to be the same animal, it is like I gain the consciousness and abilities of the animal, sometimes memories and through it all, I remain myself. Almost like shrugging on a jacket you know?"

He paused, "You want something to drink? Think I have some Pepsi here somewhere. Oh and yeah Thea offered to train me in hand-to-hand, but never got around to that either."

 

[ChasNicollette]

auroboroS

At last, he lifted his creation onto the pedestal and heat melded it to the thing. He stood back and looked up at what he had wrought. It shone in the dim afternoon light, shining brightly, silvery, as only polished steel can.

The chiseled features were not enacted in detail, but merely suggested. The muscles were present, but crudely rendered. The cape flowed long and silken in an eternal wind. The S on his chest was perfect and stood out from the rest.

The statue was six feet tall, the pedestal was almost six feet wide and four feet in height. There was no plaque. No words. But it stood tall. It was solid.

People would speculate for years, who had put it there, and how they had done it in a single day. But no one would ever wonder what it stood for. They knew that.

Later, Natasha Irons would gaze in quiet adoration at the quiet, gleaming beauty of that sight.

She would gaze at news camera footage and then find it on satellite and take in the sight of that statue from every angle.

A Man of Steel.

Oh, how it shone.

And then.

Profoundly moved.

And thoroughly inspired.

She would go to work.

 

[ChasNicollette]

If You Value Your Lives, You Must Not Read This Comic!

In the present, however, Natasha had other things on her plate.

And on her deckplates.

Rebel began saying things about Irons Gates and-- that made no sense-- because Saul Erdel springboarded off of the advancements of Waldo Glenmorgan--

Memory. Might be resilient but the one who suppressed her memories was very diligent in his work. In her psyche a voice bellowed "ENOUGH!" And Jo screamed and her nose began to bleed as she hit the floor.

Natasha's brown brown eyes went wide in her face and she slapped the commlink so fast her fingers were on the button before her heart could pound again.

"DR. ROQUETTE! SERLING! MED TEAM TO THE MAIN TECH LAB!"

Maybe seconds passed, but they seemed like forever as Natasha knelt there next to Jo, checking her vitals-- where were her powers at right now, would CPR even work if Rebel was invulnerable or ultra-strong? Could she use jumper-cables instead?

--but then Serling was there, looking brisk and determined, scanning Jo with a tricorder device. Her earrings were smiling but her face sure wasn't. "Tell me what happened."

 

[ChasNicollette]

Thus Spake Zatannathustra.

Connor stared at Zatanna wondering if she was pulling his leg, then realized she was deadly serious. Well if the Rider was so opposed to getting near this Constantine guy, then why had Xarathos sent him after him?

Damn this was just getting weirder by the minute. He was looking for help from an honest to god magician, who was not scared exactly but had a healthy respect for this Constantine, which meant he should too.

"Oh great. Just what sort of things is this guy interested in? I mean if I have to make this worth his time I am guessing he will want something in return. Just what am I going to be up for?"

"He's a wheeler and a dealer," Zatanna agreed. "Legend has it he once bartered his soul to four Lords of Hell at once so that if he ever died there would be civil war in Perdition as they each fought to claim it. Chagrined, the four devils decided that Constantine had to live forever... for political reasons."

"He's that sort of man."

Zatanna hit "send," and then "speaker."

The phone rang.

"Fortunately, you've got me here. And I'm one of the only people on this planet and this plane that has what it takes to keep your nocks out of hock with this shock-jock."

After a few rings, John answered. "Oi, Zed, wotcher. Can I call yeh back? Only I'm up to me bollocks in trouble wiv this Outsiders lot an'--"

Zatanna gritted her teeth, and shot Connor a look that said this is a fine mess you've gotten me into.

And aloud, she said: "Uoy ewo em a rovaf."

John stopped practically mid-sentence.

"Fuck."

Then hung up.

A second or two later, he appeared next to Zatanna looking rather the worse for wear and none too pleased.

"Bilocation spell, ennit? I can be in two places at once, only I'm not all 'ere."

"Now. Wot?"

 

[ChasNicollette]

Miss Martian vs The Maid of Might.

“Hey you,” Karan beamed right back. And bringing her left arm around she held out a box of chocolates you could only get in Switzerland, and a potted Rose in bloom.

Rose made a noise that wasn't human at the sight of the chocolates. (It might actually have been a Martian sound.) And then she sighed delightedly at the sight of the rose. She took both gratefully, and sniffed the rose daintily, happily, eyes closed. "Thank you, these are amazing."

Then she grinned sheepishly. "You know... I have X-ray vision now? I, uh-- I guess that's gonna take some of the mystery out of the chocolate sampler, here."

“Blessed Aphrodite, you’re beautiful.”

Rose turned as pink as her namesake. "Okay, but you're an actual goddess. You... you take my breath away."

And then she stood there staring, before blurting out. “I wanna play with your arc reactor.”

Rose couldn't help but guffaw in surprise, so unladylike, and clapped a hand over her mouth. And then she replied, grinning-- "Well, that's-- I wanna make you see stars!"

And then her face turned bright Red. “I mean..um.. are you using magic or powers to make it glow?” Yeah she wanted to play with both arc reactors, but that was crude to say in the hallway.

"It's... bioluminesence," Rose grinned softly. "It's a shapeshifty thing. So... powers. I guess? I don't think I have magic."

 

[ChasNicollette]

Superhuman Resources.

The Sandman nodded and rolled his shoulders. Glad they approve. Given time it should improve. Once the they get used to it and all.

Ruby nodded in quiet approval of her own.

"Look, ah, Sandy."

"There's sort of a tradition with this bunch that the people who help us out on missions get a free shot at being a member if they want it."

"And... I guess you'll have to get vetted and all."

"But what do you think? Ever consider being a member of The New Justice League?"

"Talking of which, d'you think your craggy mate would be into that?"

 

[ChasNicollette]

Out of The Looking-Glass, Into the Fire.

She moved at impossible hypersonic speeds, because of course she did, and his energy beam missed her by a wide berth, sizzling as it struck a scorched wall, carving a square-shaped outline in that surface that glowed and pulsed.

She stopped at what she hoped was out of range, about 500 meters away and well away from any reflective surfaces and took stock of her choices.

"Okay then you 'Wee Bonnie Lass'," she called out in a terrible attempt at a Scottish accent. "What say we get on with this. You said there were other Rogues around so I should probably quickly wrap you up and get ready for the challenging ones. Perhaps that Aussie will come after me next."

God if that didn't send him over the edge nothing would.

McCullough seethed and snarled and sneered... his lip curling, his grip on his mirror gun knuckling white... but he centered himself. Focused. And didn't take the bait.

"Nae. Harkness ehn't affiliated wi' us, the bawbag."

"Ye're dealing with th' proper Rogues now. An' we mean business!"

And then he bellowed: "BLACKSMITH! It's th' lily ginger wannabe awlright. Ye wan' we should make an example o' her?"

And that glowing square etched into the wall kind of... shimmered.

And a reply came back, a female voice, arch and dark and cool, answering plainly: "Oh, do let's. It's high time the world started taking The Rogues seriously."

...and out of the square, like a spacetime portal, there reached a massive, metallic hand all jagged and craggy with rust, and pulling himself out into the open came Girder, grinning like a maniac.

"WHERE IS SHE?"

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

"He's a wheeler and a dealer," Zatanna agreed. "Legend has it he once bartered his soul to four Lords of Hell at once so that if he ever died there would be civil war in Perdition as they each fought to claim it. Chagrined, the four devils decided that Constantine had to live forever... for political reasons."

"He's that sort of man."

Zatanna hit "send," and then "speaker."

The phone rang.

"Fortunately, you've got me here. And I'm one of the only people on this planet and this plane that has what it takes to keep your nocks out of hock with this shock-jock."

After a few rings, John answered. "Oi, Zed, wotcher. Can I call yeh back? Only I'm up to me bollocks in trouble wiv this Outsiders lot an'--"

Zatanna gritted her teeth, and shot Connor a look that said this is a fine mess you've gotten me into.

And aloud, she said: "Uoy ewo em a rovaf."

John stopped practically mid-sentence.

"Fuck."

Then hung up.

A second or two later, he appeared next to Zatanna looking rather the worse for wear and none too pleased.

"Bilocation spell, ennit? I can be in two places at once, only I'm not all 'ere."

"Now. Wot?"

'Great', thought Connor. Not only is this a guy that can outwit and piss off Lords of Hell, but he sounds pissed off himself right now. Just the time to be asking favours of someone.

On top of that Zatanna had just called in a marker in no uncertain terms by using her magic. Shit, he really was not going to be in a good mood.

This was proven true by his terse explanation and an even terser call for an explanation of why he was here. Well Zee had done her job so it was time to get her off the hook.

Stepping forward he looked the guy in the eye. "Don't blame Zatanna for the call up, she only did it for me. Names Green Arrow although maybe the outfit gave it away. I need your help urgently. You seem like someone with your ear to the ground so I expect you know about the 'New JLA' team Lex is putting together. I am on it and a team mate of mine is the new Rider." He looked at the guy trying to gauge his reaction to the news but so far he hadn't really given him much to go on about why he needed him.

"Anyway during a battle here she lost control, or allowed Xarathos to come forth in all his Daemonic glory. Last time she was able to get him under control. This time not so much. Before Xarothos disappeared he said one word, your name."

Looking intently at him Connor pointed a finger towards him. "So this is what is going to happen. You are going to tell me why, and then you are going to help me put him back inside my friends body, or point me to somebody who can. Afterwards you can name your price."

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Oh joy. Not only did she have Mirror Master to contend with, but now she had the power house Girder,and the Brains of Blacksmith to watch out for. Damn a three on one was hard at the best of times, but these sorts of odds were not in her favor.

Even if she called for backup, she wondered if it would get here in time. Sure with the teleport technology available to them it was possible, but she would still have to keep them busy for awhile.

Activating the com-link she called it in. "This is Velocity in Keystone. I have a sighting of 3 Rogues and there may be more working in the area. Confirmed are Mirror Master, Blacksmith, and Girder. Assistance is required near the Flash Museum."

She hoped someone got that as that was all the time she could spare. Deciding a good defense was a good offense, she sped towards the two opponents she could see and launched a barrage of rocks. The ones she hurled at Girder were aimed at his legs and knees and hurled with the force of a category 5 hurricane. She knew his body was capable of withstanding blows from cyborg, but small objects hurled at enough force might pierce it, and at critical points could render him immobile or at least slow him down.

The ones she threw at Mirror Master were much slower of course and were aimed at his gun more than him. Of course if a few did happen to hit his chest or stomach, well that was just his bad luck.

 

[Lunaramblings]

Ruby nodded in quiet approval of her own.

"Look, ah, Sandy."

"There's sort of a tradition with this bunch that the people who help us out on missions get a free shot at being a member if they want it."

"And... I guess you'll have to get vetted and all."

"But what do you think? Ever consider being a member of The New Justice League?"

"Talking of which, d'you think your craggy mate would be into that?"

The Sandman took in the offer for a moment. He knew that Morpheus had reservations about Lex and what he was upto... but what better way to keep tabs than to be on the team. After a few seconds The Sandman nods as he speaks.
"I would be honored. I have trained a long time to be a hero and to make this world a better and safer place.As for the kid... I don't like to speak for others, but he seems like he wouldn't be opposed. Then again I only just met him. It's hard to explain, but I was drawn to find him."

 

[Wyldfire]

In the present, however, Natasha had other things on her plate.

And on her deckplates.

Rebel began saying things about Irons Gates and-- that made no sense-- because Saul Erdel springboarded off of the advancements of Waldo Glenmorgan--



Natasha's brown brown eyes went wide in her face and she slapped the commlink so fast her fingers were on the button before her heart could pound again.

"DR. ROQUETTE! SERLING! MED TEAM TO THE MAIN TECH LAB!"

Maybe seconds passed, but they seemed like forever as Natasha knelt there next to Jo, checking her vitals-- where were her powers at right now, would CPR even work if Rebel was invulnerable or ultra-strong? Could she use jumper-cables instead?

--but then Serling was there, looking brisk and determined, scanning Jo with a tricorder device. Her earrings were smiling but her face sure wasn't. "Tell me what happened."

Jo's eyes fluttered open and snapped shut. Her hand ineffectually tried to cover her face. She managed to slur out "Bright". She tried to get up but her arms and legs would barely move.

She tried her eyes again and managed a crack. "Who let Diehard out? Felt like he got me in the back. Him and HVAC both liked yelling enough".

She did her floppy attempt to get up again. "So tired. Did I fall asleep on you Dr. Irons?"

 

[ChasNicollette]

Grateful (You're Not) Dead.

Jo's eyes fluttered open and snapped shut. Her hand ineffectually tried to cover her face. She managed to slur out "Bright". She tried to get up but her arms and legs would barely move.

Natasha glanced up immediately-- "Climate Control: lights to 30 percent!"

And the room darkened considerably, lit by pale lights from the ceiling and the various glows of the experiments that dotted the room.

She tried her eyes again and managed a crack. "Who let Diehard out? Felt like he got me in the back. Him and HVAC both liked yelling enough".

Serling smiled faintly, lowering the "tricorder" but keeping it scanning: "It's okay, Rebel. Cool out. Can you describe how you're feeling?"

She did her floppy attempt to get up again. "So tired. Did I fall asleep on you Dr. Irons?"

"Didn't mean to bore you," Nat quipped worriedly.

She glanced at Serling. "Serl, she-- started saying the whackest things. Like talking about history that hasn't happened yet, it was so out of left field. Then she popped a blood vessel in her nasal region and dropped to the deck."

Serling frowned, adjusting her glasses. "Sounds like a long, strange trip. Rebel, you could have some sort of concussion or intercranial hemmoraging from the fight-- we don't know for sure the upper limits of your ultra invulnerability. In fact, there's a lot-- need I remind you --about your powers and your self that we don't know."

"With your permission, I'd like to bring you back to my lab and run some deeper scans, MRIs and so forth. Maybe work up a complete metagenetic profile, determine the nature of this 'ultra energy' that lets you reallocate your superhuman attributes at will? It's possible that your powers yourselves could be causing your retrograde amnesia-- one of the only kinds of retro I'm not chill with --and other, more deleterious side effects."

 

[ChasNicollette]

Sands of Time, Hotline of Hypertime.

"I would be honored. I have trained a long time to be a hero and to make this world a better and safer place.As for the kid... I don't like to speak for others, but he seems like he wouldn't be opposed. Then again I only just met him. It's hard to explain, but I was drawn to find him."

"That's cool, I'll go talk to him too," Ruby grinned faintly.

"Cheers, mate."

Ruby chuckled a bit, half-turning away. "It's not as hard to grok as you might think. I once fell into a cave and found a phone from God-knows-where that turns me into people from everywhere else. Sounds to me you've found the right crowd."

"Swing by NJLHQ in Metropolis when you're ready. No worries, no hurries."