Issue Number Six
"Birds of a Feather, Part Two"
What Has Come Before : The Justice Squadron suddenly found itself split in two : the visiting Hawkman, the feral Crimson Fox and the powerful young Maya had all been infected with some sort of mysterious plague, one which had set them against their teammates.
Now, the Knight, the Elongated Man, Sue Dibny, Revenant and Godiva attempt to restrain their friends before someone is truly hurt....
LONDON, ENGLAND
"Maya! Stop this nonsense!" Cyril Sheldrake had spent most of his life in a costume, first as the Squire, fighting at the side of his father. Now, as the second man to call himself the Knight, he tried his best to uphold the family tradition -- but when a flaming 16-year old girl bears down upon you, it's hard to remember your self-control. The Knight backhanded Maya, not trying to seriously injure the girl but definitely trying to halt her progress.
The metal platform which had flown the team here to London was dipping erratically, threatening to spill its residents overboard. The Elongated Man plucked up his wife and Godiva and stretched himself to a nearby rooftop, setting them both down. "That should ease some of the strain on our vessel -- Sue, get someplace safe! Godiva, you and I have to deal with Hawkman -- we're the only two who can reach him when he goes higher!"
Godiva nodded, stretching her golden hair towards the Winged Wonder, who was circling the Squadron. His mace was held tight in one hand, and his heavily muscled frame was covered with a thin sheen of sweat. Godiva couldn't help but wonder what had driven Hawkman and the others insane... the Crimson Fox had bitten Maya. Was it some sort of contagious disease? If so, they had to quarantine these 'heroes' before the rest of Londo was infected.
Godiva's hair snaked around Hawkman's ankle, becoming as hard steel. She used the incredible strength of her locks to pull the hero lower . Hawkman slammed down with his mace, but Godiva's control allowed her to transform her hair into an almost unbreakable bond. The mace hit again and again but caused nothing more than a tremor of pain to cross the beautiful woman's face.
The Elongated Man too the opportunity that this presented and stretched towards his former friend. Having seen him up close now, he was convinced that the man before him was Katar Hol and not Carter Hall, the original Hawkman. Ralph and Carter had spent many years together in the League, but he and Katar had met only sparingly. Still, he didn't want to see Katar do something that he would later regret. "Hawk... Sorry to do this, pal, but somebody's gotta take you down."
Ralph slammed a fist into Hawkman's chin, feeling the hard Thanagarian skin buckle. Pain shot through Ralph's knuckled and he realized that Katar was far too dense for him to hurt. Instead, he wrapped himself tight around Hawkman's arms, pinning them down. "Godiva, you can make your hair as hard as a sledgehammer -- and we're gonna need it!"
Godiva loosened her grip on Hawkman's leg and repositioned her hair. She formed it into a rock-hard fist and drove it across Katar's face. Once, twice and then a third time. Finally, the Thanagarian weakened in Ralph's grasp.
Elsewhere, the Crimson Fox had begun stalking Sue Dibny. The Elongated Man's wife, and soon-to-be mother of his first child, had taken her husband's advice and sought shelter. But the Fox had spotted her and made her move.
Constance jumped over Sue and landed in a crouch before the woman. The Fox's claws were extended and she snarled like an animal. Sue backed away. "Constance... Whatever's wrong, we can help you. I promise...."
The Fox made a dive for her, her claws coming down in a killing blow.
A blow that never met its mark.
Revenant caught her in mid-air, holding the twisting and cursing French woman in his strong arms. "Calme vous-même, mon ami*."
(*Calm yourself, my friend.)
The Crimson Fox bit at him, but he held her away from his exposed flesh as much as possible. He wasn't sure if she could transmit anything to him at all, but he was sure that his undead flesh would not be healthy for her in return.
Revenant saw the cold fury in her eyes, but he ignored it. Once of his most potent gifts was an ability to let a person see the true face of Hell. It was generally enough to turn one's hair white and induce unconsciousness.
Now he turned the tiniest part of that power on the Fox. Not enough to truly show her Damnation, but enough to end this pointless battle.
The Crimson Fox saw his eyes fade to black... and she screamed.
Meanwhile, Maya continued to resist the Knight's attempts to subdue her. Her flame powers were being supplemented by her rarely-used control over water and she had driven Cyril to the edge of the platform. A flaming arrow was lodged in his left shoulder, sending horrifying pain through him. He gritted his teeth as she patted out the fire, feeling thankful that his uniform was flame-retardent.
The Knight lunged for Maya, realizing that he was going to be forced to inflict serious pain on the young woman to stop her rampage. Somewhere inside there, she must be resisting this fury. From what I've read of her, she has the potential to be the most powerful of us all. She should have rightfully beaten me six ways to Sunday by now.
Cyril drove a knee into her midsection then grabbed her by the hair and slammed her face-first into the railing. It left her bloodied, but defeated.
Panting, the Knight checked to make sure that none of the others had been infected. "Round up the others and restrain them. We'll take them back to the castle and see if we can help them there."
The ghostly Revenant floated onto the platform, holding the Crimson Fox under his arm. "Have you considered what we'll do if they can't be cured?"
"No... That's not an option. We'll find a way to help, as God is my witness."
WORDENSHIRE CASTLE
Sue Dibny shook her head. "Sorry, Diana, but we don't have a clue yet. We'll be sure to let you know as soon as we do, though."
Onscreen, Wonder Woman smiled. "That sounds fine. Let us know if the League can do anything to help -- and our Watchtower facilities are yours to use if the Knight finds himself at a dead end."
"I'll pass it on - and thanks. Justice Squadron out." Sue watched as the monitor screen went dark, the JS logo appearing after a moment's time. I wonder if we should honored or annoyed? The League ignores us for weeks and then they hear that we're rampaging through London... BOOM! They call us. I love 'em all, but I gotta admit -- they've been a tad arrogant lately.
A soft kiss on her cheek made her look up with surprise. Ralph was standing there with a cup of cocoa in his hand. "The League call to check up on us?"
"Yep." Sue sipped the steaming chocolate and smiled. "Nice. Thanks, hon."
"You're welcome." Ralph pulled up a chair next to her. "You think we did the right thing getting back into the hero game?"
Sue chuckled. "Ralph, we're never going to be the average American couple. We need mysteries and excitement. Both of us."
"What about Jr.?"
"I'm sure he'll take after his dad. Don't worry." Sue leaned over and kissed Ralph on the cheek.
"Have you found anything?"
Cyril looked up as Godiva entered his lab. The bodies of their three teammates lay strapped to tables before them, only Hawkman awake as of yet. He roared his anger and strained against his bonds.
"I think so, though I'll be damned if I know what it all means."
Dorcas Leigh nodded. She'd known Cyril off-and-on over the years, having worked with him during her Global Guardians days. England was small enough that metahumans couldn't help but run into one another from time to time. She knew him to be brilliant, if somewhat stand-offish. "Well, what is it?"
Cyril moved over to Hawkman's side. He pointed towards a small puncture wound on the side of the Thanagarian's neck. "Hawkman's alien physiology is a bit hard for me to understand, but with the League's database to aid me, I think I've isolated a compound in his bloodstream that shouldn't be there. My best guess is that someone inserted this foreign substance through that wound."
Godiva leaned forward, her hair twisting subtly out of the way. "So someone did this deliberately, hoping he'd infect others?"
"Or at least to go on a rampage... Furthermore, I don't think it's a coincidence that Constance spotted him...."
"What do you mean?"
"Acting on a hunch, I had Revenant check out the area around the battlescene. He found several transmitters that were apparently sending back footage of our activities. Someone with knowledge of Constance's secret identity led a mind-controlled Hawkman to the area, in hopes of gathering information on our battle techniques."
Godiva leaned back and frowned. "Seems rather extreme. If they know her true identity, surely there could be easier ways of getting this information? Why bring Hawkman to England, for instance?"
"That much I can explain. The serum isn't Terran-based. It's an alien compound, designed to work with the Thanagarian physiology. I'd bet that whoever implanted this in Hawkman had no idea that it would work on humans. Otherwise, they would have used anyone as their pawn. The fact they used Hawkman indicates to me that our opponent is a Thanagarian himself, with somewhat limited knowledge of our own internal systems. And he's affiliated with the Secret Society."
Godiva blinked. "What?"
"The transmitters... the technology matches this exactly." He held up the tiny transmitter found by Ralph Dibny in San Francisco*. "The Society was testing us...."
(*See our first issue.)
Godiva nodded slowly. "We'll have to warn the others. But what about our friends? Are they going to recover?"
"I've sent my findings up to the Watchtower. With any luck, they'll find something that will clear their minds..."
ELSEWHERE
The Thanagarian stood before his Master, his hawk-wings drawn close to his body. He wore a dark, twisted version of Hawkman's own costume, one that was darker in tone. "They'll find a way to purge his system of the Rage drug. I wish that I'd been able to get close enough to kill him, instead of using him this way."
The Master nodded slowly, his massive body shifting in his huge throne-like chair. "No matter, Fel Andar. We've seen them now. It won't be hard to find their weaknesses."
Fel Andar, who had found himself dubbed Kestrel by his new associates, grunted. "I fought alongside the Justice League during my period as a spy for Thanagar*. This Squadron is a pitiful replacement. They lack the physical power of the League and their most experienced members are a rubberized fool and a Cosmetics queen. We can destroy them at our leisure."
(*See Justice League International # 10!)
The Master smiled. It was a horrifying sight, but Fel Andar stood his ground. "Agreed, Kestrel. Let them take in your arch-foe. Let them believe themselves invincible. I've fought and defeated greater heroes than they... by the time my real enemies know that I have returned, it shall be too late -- the Secret Society of Super-Villains shall be well on its way to ultimate victory!"
WORDENSHIRE CASTLE - THE NEXT DAY
Katar stood on the balcony, looking out at the overcast sky. "I've spent most of my time of late looking for Shayera Thal, my former partner and companion. She disappeared at some point during my imprisonment* and no one knows where she is. When I learned that someone had sighted a Thanagarian in England, I came in pursuit. Instead of finding her, however, I was attacked with some sort of ranged weapon -- infected with the Rage drug." He turned to look at the assembled members of the Squadron, including Constance and Maya, both recovered from their bout with the drug. "I'm sorry for my actions and I hope you'll forgive me."
(*For the full story of how Katar returned from the void, check out DCL's Justice Society #s 2-5!)
Constance smiled. Her face was bruised from her battle with him, but she still looked radiant. "You are more than forgiven, mon ami. In fact, we are willing to help you in any way that we can -- if your beloved is involved somehow with the Society, you shall need all ze help you can get."
Katar nodded, his visage grave. Maya felt her heart skip a beat. He was so intense! Down girl, she thought playfully.
"If you'll have me... then yes. I will remain with you, in exchange for you helping me find Shayera."
Constance smiled. "You have our word. Welcome, Katar!"
In Justice Squadron # 7 : The Secret Society stands revealed! Who is their mysterious leader and what is his deadly agenda? Plus : A surprise back-up story!
AUTHOR'S NOTES
This issue brings in Hawkman, one of my favorite characters. He wasn't originally in my plans for the JS (which is why he didn't join during our first arc, like everyone else) but when I learned from Tim Hartin that he was available, I snatched him up. Look for him to become a real fixture here - and the mystery of what has happened to Hawkwoman will be dealt with in time. The current roster consists of seven members, but at least one of them will leave following the Society storyline. Make your bets now, folks.
Next issue reveals all about the Secret Society. The full roster, their leader and what their evil scheme truly is. We'll also see a special back-up story, by a "famous" fanfic writer (at least as famous as any of us get!).
All this and the team goes to watch the Manchester United football team! Who could ask for more?
Keep in touch,