Issue Number Sixteen
"The Extremist War, Part One"
PROLOGUE - FIRST SALVO
Bialya was burning.
Just days after the Justice Squadron had revealed the country's plans to create an army of human-driven robots*, the tiny nation had found itself caught up in a new nightmare -- one composed of four brutal metahuman killers... and several thirty-foot tall djinn.
(*See Justice Squadron # 14.)
The multi-colored beings demolished the outskirts of the capital city within minutes, marching on to the great palace. Their leaders, the Extremists, operated on a smaller scale than their mind-controlled djinn -- but they were no less deadly. Tracer, Gorgon and Dr. Diehard were blood-thirsty, eager to ruin this world as they had their own.
Diehard's magnetic powers ripped the Bialyan tanks apart, leaving the soldiers within at the mercy of Tracer's claws or Gorgon's tentacles.
Lord Havoc, meanwhile, was the first to burst into the palace. He ignored the gunfire of palace guards, dispatching any who stood in his way. The armored tyrant was moving on instinct now, the personality of Maxwell Lord deeply submerged. He was fully Havoc now.
Havoc found Sumaan Harjavti hiding in a bunker beneath the palace. He broke the necks of Harjavti's top bodyguards, tossing their corpses aside like garbage. "Sumaan... You've done quite well for yourself, haven't you? I'm sure your brother would be proud."
Sumaan blinked, raising his hands up in surrender. "Please... Why are you doing this? Do you want money? Power? I can give you these things!"
Havoc chuckled. Sumaan could see his own frightened reflection in the madman's armored face. "This country of yours has caused me a lot of grief over the years. First your brother, then that damned Queen Bee... and now you. I thought it was fitting that we strike Bialya first, as a test for our multidimensional allies. After all, the nations of the world will probably call us heroes for ridding them of scum like you."
Harjavti screamed as Havoc lifted him easily from the ground. The supervillain pointed a fist at the dictator's face and a small laser light appeared on the man's nose. "Nononononononono!"
"Shut up or you'll die slowly. I have a camera trained on you right now, Sumaan. I'm going to tell you once what I want you to say. Then I'll film you repeating my words. Understand? If you do it well enough, you might live...."
"Anything!"
"Good. Then listen closely -- and repeat every word very carefully...."
The sight of Sumaan Harjavti's blood and tear streaked face filled the world's televisions within hours. The once-proud dictator snivelled his way through an emotional speech...
"The Extremists... have returned. Unless the planet.. Earth... wishes to suffer the same fate as their homeworld of Angor, we shall turn over all power to the Extremists. They cannot be stopped... they will not... be stopped. Any attempts to... rebel... will only result in further... bloodshed."
The image had faded, with only Lord Havoc's words lingering behind. "Very good, Sumaan. You may live -- minus your tongue, of course. Let those words be your last."
War had come to planet Earth and no one was safe.
The Extremists were back.
END PROLOGUE
WORDENSHIRE, ENGLAND
Chandi Gupta bit her lower lip and stared around the table. She saw the concerned, almost edgy, looks of her teammates as they watched her.
Her eyes dipped back down to the cards she held in her hand. Taking a deep breath, she said "I raise your bet by five chips." Grabbing hold of her chips, she tossed them into the pot.
Katar Hol raised an eyebrow. The earth game of poker had similarities to a Thanagarian pastime called J'lar, but he'd had some trouble getting into the swing of this. Still, he met Chandi's gaze as he met her stakes.
Sue Dibny and her husband Ralph followed suit, while Dmitri cursed in Russian. He slammed his cards down on the table and stood. "I, my comrades, am officially out of the game."
The tall Russian sauntered into the monitor room, leaving behind the card game which had cost him too many brightly-colored chips to count. He was homesick already, but in less than a week's time his wife and children would join him here. Until then, he would occupy himself with whatever tasks became available.
Kimiyo Hoshi stared at the monitor screen with a look of shock. Dmitri could see she was watching some sort of news footage, but he couldn't imagine what could so unsettle her. As of late, she'd thrown herself into her lab work -- but it was merely an easy escape from the pain of having lost Erewhon.
Dmitri moved up behind his friend and rested a hand on her chair. "Is something wrong, Kimi?"
Dr. Light looked up at him with haunted eyes. "Something's very wrong. Bialya has been nearly destroyed."
Dmitri's face fell. He had no love lost for the terrorists' den, but he'd seen enough devastation in his own homeland to know the horrors of war. "How?"
"The Extremists... and they seem to have some giant-sized companions." Kimi pointed to the multi-colored beings who strode through Bialya as if it were a minature toy city. "The worst of it all, of course, is that the Extremists -- the ones who are causing all this death -- are led by Maxwell Lord."
"It seems impossible. All of you have tried to explain to me how Max is now Lord Havoc -- but the Max who visited me in Russia seemed harmless!"
"His personality seems to swing between his old self and this new Havoc persona, from what I've heard. Of course, he's always been manipulative. He conned me into joining the League in the first place*."
(*Waaaay back in Justice League # 1.)
Dmitri watched as Kimi leaned forward to touch the communications console. Constance D'Aramis, the Crimson Fox, was out on a date but the castle's sophisticated system would transmit Kimi's emergency signal to her immediately. The rest of the team heard her chilling statement first-hand. "Everyone needs to convene in the meeting room immediately! This is a code-red emergency. Bialya has fallen."
ELSEWHERE IN LONDON
Constance D'Aramis snuggled closer to the man next to her. He was warm and well-built, his somewhat long hair tangled with hers. Giving up leadership of the Justice Squadron had helped relieve her stress enormously -- but not as much as this night had. "Richard... that was magnifique."
The man known to some as Lionheart smiled at her words. Despite being descended from Richard I, Richard Plante was something of a common man. Even a few years ago, he never would have believed he'd be lying in his flat with a woman like Constance D'Aramis in his arms. "We did have a great time, didn't we?"
Constance propped herself up on an elbow. "Oui. I'm glad that we finally went out. Dinner was delicious." She kissed his shoulder. "You were even better."
Richard leaned forward to kiss her on the mouth once more, feeling the stirrings of passion beginning to return. He missed his opportunity, however, as Constance rolled away in answer to a series of chimes emanating from her clothes. Picking up her communicator, she said "Oui?"
Kimi's words spilled out quickly and efficiently. Constance sighed. "I shall be there immediately -- contact our liason at the United Nations and see if the League has responded all ready."
"They haven't. Ralph has been in touch with the U.N. and they say that the League is away on business -- possibly outside the solar system."
Constance felt a blush touch her cheeks. Of course Ralph would have already done these things... Still, it was hard to stop being a leader. "It is up to us, then. See you soon."
Richard watched as Constance began getting dressed. "Do you need my help? I can be in my Lionheart armor within five minutes...."
"No, mon cheri. Stay here in London -- if the Extremists turn their eye towards England, your country will need you."
Richard frowned. He hated seeing a woman, even one as capable as this, going off to fight while he stayed behind. But he also knew that Constance was a rare person, one who bristle under his old-fashioned sense of chivalry. She'd talked often enough about Cyril Sheldrake*, after all.
(*The Knight, a founding member of the Squadron -- he's been missing since issue 9. A body resembling his, however, was found last issue.)
"Take care, luv."
Constance winked. "I shall. Wait for me."
BIALYA
"The European Commonwealth has authorized us to enter any European nation in pursuit of the Extremists. The U.N. is working on getting us emergency entry into other nations, as well." The Elongated Man stretched his neck around, peering out at the scorched landscape of Bialya through a breathing mask. The smell of death and ozone hung heavy in the air.
Hawkman soared high above, but he could hear the Elongated Man's words via their transmitters. "That's good because we won't be able to waste any time when these monsters strike next. The footprints of those creatures... they're huge. If what Kimi says is true, we might have to call in reinforcements. The JSA, the Titans... everyone."
Dr. Light turned to the Elongated Man. "I concur. The energy signatures match those the JLA encountered during the Triumph incident*. These beings that the Extremists have with them are definitely 5th-dimensional."
(*See "Crisis Times Five" in JLA # 28-31.)
"How the heck did he get ahold of them?" Ralph's nose twitched as he pondered this new mystery. "Think they kidnapped that J.J. Thunder kid?"
Rocket Red stepped forward, his cocked a bit of an angle. "I think I may have the solution, comrade Ralph. My battlesuit is not quite like those of other Rocket Reds -- it has sensors that are much more delicate than any made here on Earth."
"You're detecting something right now, Dmitri?" The Fox asked.
"There are traces of an energy signature here that does not match with those of the Djinn. It seems more human in design. I think the Extremists are using some sort of machine to bring the Djinn here."
Dr. Light rubbed her chin. "A transporter of some kind, then. If that's the case... I might be able to trace it to its source."
"Wait a minute, guys. Remember when we faced the Secret Society? We traced Revenant's communicator to their hideout -- and it was a big trap! Maybe these Extremist guys are doing the same thing?"
The Crimson Fox nodded at Maya. "Good point, Chandi. But I don't think we can sit by while they plan their next strike. We have to take that chance."
Rocket Red agreed, as did Hawkman. Finally, the Elongated Man made his decision, as well. "All right -- I think I know what we have to do."
"And?" Maya prompted.
"And we go in expecting a trap. We'll be armed to the teeth and ready to take these jerks down."
"Remember, though, that one of those jerks is Max."
Ralph clenched a fist. "Yep, Connie, I remember. But he's our jerk -- and we're taking him back!"
ELSEWHERE - SOUTH AMERICA
Lord Havoc sat in his private chambers, ignoring the sounds of mayhem outside. His troops were no doubt enjoying themselves with the natives, cutting loose to celebrate their victory in Bialya.
But Havoc knew that the war would not truly begin until the Squadron arrived. The heroes would trace the energies given off by Iker's trandimensional transporter, arriving en masse within 24 hours.
He hadn't bothered warning the other Extremists because part of him hoped that the Squadron would swoop in and defeat them. Part of him wanted to be free of the illness, free of the Havoc personality.
The other half of him wanted to watch the Squadron die horribly.
Outside, Tracer stalked his prey with relish. His enhanced senses made it easy to detect the girl's fear and sweat. They were like an aphrodisiac to him. He had tracked her for more than a mile, but the chase was soon to end. He would pounce her, twist her around so that he stare into her eyes... and then he'd slit throat open from ear to ear. He couldn't wait.
Gorgon, meanwhile, had assembled a group of young boys to satisfy his dark desires. Their screams echoed in the jungle.
Dr. Diehard was the only one not enjoying himself. He stewed inside Havoc's base of operations, a makeshift tower brought together by Diehard's magnetic power. Even though he was, in truth, merely a robotic recreation of a long-dead master villain, Diehard felt uneasy. Something in Havoc's manner troubled him -- not merely his seeming insanity, of course -- Havoc had always been a bit off-kilter.
This was different. Sometimes Havoc almost seemed disgusted what the Extremists were doing. I don't know what you're up to, Havoc. Maybe you've lost your stomach for killing... If so, maybe it's time the Extremists had a new leader....
In Justice Squadron # 17 : "The Extremist War" continues! Will Maxwell Lord find redemption -- or death? Be here as our heroes take part in their bloodiest battle yet!
EUROPINIONS
This story pays homage to one of my all-time favorite JLE stories -- the original Extremist storyline that ran in Justice League Europe # 15-19. The group of villains that appeared there were deadly and powerful. I figured they'd become perennial archfoes. Instead, their name was usurped by several loser variations and the group as a whole was defeated by Supergirl and Power Girl in Supergirl # 15-16.
I wanted to return them to their status of deadly killers. When the Extremists come to town, heroes should fear for their lives.
The Justice Squadron and the Extremists -- this one will be a long, bloody battle that will leave only one group standing.
When it's over, the Squadron will be changed forever. Big chances are coming -- and the DCL Universe is going to be rocked by them!
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