Hot Head and Lucky were starting to wonder how they got themselves into this mess. One minute, they were planning on going home like any other night, and then – BAM – they suddenly have to save some kidnapped students by becoming a fused, walking inferno, nuclear man. And what do they get for their act of heroism? Oh nothing, just maybe having Thunder mistake them for someone who killed her father, and now said superhero was trying to put them six feet into the ground, or lower.
Firestorm was making as much use of the shield as he could, but even the lead properties weren’t strong enough to absorb the forceful strikes of Thunder. She zipped around as fast as lightning, coming at him from every direction. The amalgamated form watched her movements carefully, Hot Head wanted to go on the offensive and counter attack, but Lucky talked him out of it. If they were going to convince Thunder otherwise they needed to defend as much as possible, and hopefully she’d see that they weren’t trying to fight to her.
That in and of itself was easier said than done. Thunder was one thing, but the continuous hordes of demons still tried to pick a fight with Firestorm and Thunder. Two of them tried to bum rush her, but the super heroine dodged them easily, and fired twin blasts of lightning at them. The bolts struck and destroyed the creatures instantly. One of them had gotten behind her and was about to strike, but Firestorm released a plasma flame blast that engulfed the beast, hurling it away from her before exploding some feet away. Thunder looked up to Firestorm with an incredulous expression.
But that did little to sway her, she was determined to make him pay. Firestorm’s only saving grace was that Thunder still seemed concerned with protecting the people, which was why she was probably herding him away from densely populated areas and pushing him more towards the edge of town. The two super beings squared off in the sky, Firestorm’s shield had withstood all it could and had shattered, and leaving the Nuclear Man without a means to ground Thunder’s magical lightning.
“You really need to calm down! How many times do I have to say it?! I did not kill your father!”
“You hover there and say that to me, with all that power and flames! I’ll never forget what you did, and I’ll never forgive you!” Thunder roared.
“Listen to me! I haven’t even fought you once, if I’m the guy you say I am wouldn’t I have just flat tried to kill you by now! Anyway, we have bigger problems right now! Those things are swarming the city!”
Thunder’s electrical aura arced around her body. “I’ll deal with them after I’ve taken out their leader!”
The Champion of Magic disappeared, leaving Firestorm to look to and fro for her. Thunder reappeared behind him and dealt him a double-handed hammer fist to Firestorm’s back, sending the walking inferno flying right down to terra firma. He cut a groove into the earth as he smashed through construction equipment, steel beams and fences, finally stopping in the middle of the street. Firestorm groaned as he picked himself up, rubbing the back of his sore head.
“Hot Head get up, she’s coming back around!” Lucky warned.
Firestorm quickly sprung to his feet turned around. Thunder was flying towards them, her right fist cocked back and charged with magical lightning. Hot Head had had enough, reasoning with her was getting them nowhere but dead, sometimes you needed to beat some sense into people before they saw your point. The Nuclear Man channeled his plasma fire into his right fist, turning it into a fireball. Thunder continued towards him, Firestorm took a stance in preparation, and just as the two were about to make contact –!
“ENOUGH!”
Suddenly a sphere of light-blue energy appeared between the two fighters. Thunder struck the barrier with her punch at the same time as Firestorm, but the barrier seemed to absorb their force, and within a few seconds, threw it back at them. The result was both Firestorm and Thunder being thrown onto their backs. Firestorm was the first to recover and watched as the barrier came down and revealed its creator, donned in a white feathery cape, with green hair tied into a ponytail, and a suit made of blue and white, stood the Avatar of Peace, Dove.
“Dove!” Hot Head exclaimed.
“Thank god,” said Lucky.
Thunder got up and was about to go at it again, but someone was already standing in front of her to keep that from happening. Standing a couple of heads shorter than Thunder, donned in crimson red armor, with giant metallic wings was the Avatar of War, Hawk. She stood there, arms crossed, staring down Earth’s Mightiest Mortal as if daring her to make a move.
“Hawk, Dove, what are you two doing here?!” Thunder asked.
“We came here because all hell’s breaking loose, and you’re busy having a throw down!” Hawk scolded.
“You don’t understand, he killed my father! This whole thing’s probably his doing too!”
“The hell it is!” Firestorm retorted, earning him a seething look from Thunder that made him gulp. “With all due respect, it’s not.”
“Thunder he’s telling the truth, I sense no deceit in his words,” said Dove.
“How can you be sure?!”
“Because she’s not the only one who thinks so.”
Thunder, Hawk, Dove, and Firestorm looked up, watching as Green Lantern, Blue Lantern, and Arrow floated down towards them. Arrow was suspended within a bubble of blue light, while Green Lantern kept point as they met the other heroes on the ground. Blue Lantern released Arrow, who was cradling the alien device, something that did not go unnoticed by Firestorm.
“Thunder, listen, I know it’s hard, but believe me this person is not the one you’re wrathful towards. He’s done nothing wrong!” Blue Lantern urged.
Thunder could see that she was being scolded from all sides. Could they be right, could this person really not be the one who murdered her father a year ago? Echo took a moment, closing her eyes as she calmed her mind and racing heart. She then called onto the power, focusing her energy onto one of the six powers that made up her mystic form.
“Wisdom of Solomon.”
Within Echo’s mind she saw a clearer picture of this being before her, the one calling himself Firestorm. His power was not magical, powerful though it was. And for some reason, she sensed two souls within him, both melding together in perfect harmony, one bearing concern for the dominant soul controlling the body. A shocked and shame filled expression befell Thunder as she lowered her head.
“I’m sorry…please forgive me. You reminded me so much of the…creature, that killed my father that I just…lost it.”
Hot Head felt like chewing out Thunder, despite the numerous times he had been yelling that it wasn’t him.
“Let’s cut her some slack Hot Head, it sounds like whatever she went through was really traumatic for her.”
I guess you’re right. Besides, there’s something about her that reminds me of someone.
“Whirlwind perhaps?”
Not exactly, but it’s definitely a feeling like I’ve seen her before…or at least that sad look in her eyes.
“It’s all good Thunder.” The other heroes looked to Firestorm. “I can’t imagine how bad that must’ve been for you, and I’m sorry.”
“Good, now that we got that out of the way, can somebody please explain why the hell demons are attacking?!” Hawk asked.
“Hawk and I have been trying to keep those things away from the people, but they just keep coming! They’re all over Canterlot City,” said Dove.
“Not just Canterlot City,” Arrow spoke, “but the rest of the world as well.”
“And you are?”
“Arrow.” The hooded archer brought up the box before the group. “Those monsters are coming through portals created by this device, Green Lantern, Blue Lantern, and I just barely managed to close this one. But from the reports coming in, there’s more than just this one.”
Firestorm walked up to Arrow. “Can I see that right quick?” Arrow handed the device over to Firestorm. Through his microscopic vision, Hot Head and Lucky were able to look deep into the mechanical workings of the box, seeing the complex and otherworldly circuitry.
What do you think?
“Like nothing I’ve ever seen before. This is beyond next gen stuff, this is like something out of my imagination made real! We need to get this to S.T.A.R Labs, we can use their tech to plug in and find out what this thing is.”
“You okay there?” Dove asked.
Firestorm looked up and saw that the other heroes were looking at him in confusion, apparently he had been staring at the box in silence for a good bit of time and was raising concern among the others.
“Yeah just fine! But uh, we need to get to S.T.A.R Labs.”
“Wow, that’s just what Arrow said we should do before we left,” said Blue Lantern.
Thunder began taking into account their strengths and powers, her mind working overtime to develop a plan of attack for containing and minimizing the damage these creatures were doing to the city. Times like this she was glad she had such wisdom.
“Alright, I think I have an idea.”
“We’re all ears,” said Green Lantern.
“Arrow and Firestorm seem to have an idea of what to do with that thing. Get it to S.T.A.R Labs and see if you can find a way to close these portals.” Arrow and Firestorm nodded. “The rest of us will be on monster duty. Hawk and Dove, you’re with me, we’re running interference. Those things seem to like abducting people, we need them to focus on us! Blue Lantern and Green Lantern, you two have the advantage in firepower, so you two should take to the skies and shoot down as many as you can, any of them you can’t turn them to us and we’ll deal with them!”
Blue Lantern and Green Lantern nodded. Hawk and Dove did as well.
“Then let’s go.”
Two stars of green and blue shined in the skies above Canterlot City. Candy and Del had created twin, giant constructs. Both were like oversized jetpacks, with giant thrusters on the back. On either side were two hundred foot long arms that Del and Candy controlled with handlebars. Protruding from the sides were large packs along with multiple panels that riddled the constructs at different key areas. Del and Candy torqued the handlebars and the thrusters ignited, propelling the Lanterns of Willpower and Hope forward.
The demons took notice of the incoming enemies and moved to intercept them. Del and Candy created helmets that acted as targeting sights, blips appeared as they locked onto the various demons swarming in the sky. Candy’s hip construct railguns appeared and on her shoulders the two beam launchers flipped forward into firing position. Del created two bulky energy cannon mounts on his shoulders. At the press of a button the panels on the constructs slid back, revealing silos and small beam cannons.
“Let ‘em have it!”
Del and Candy fired their barrage all at once. Del’s shoulder mounted cannons fired twin beams of emerald light, as the arms released even bigger blasts at the same time. The mini light cannons fired as well, and the missile silos released their ordnance. Candy’s hip mounted railgun constructs fired a volley as her shoulder cannons fired as well. Her thruster pack launching missiles and beam blasts alongside Del.
Between the two of them, the sky was blanketed in beams and missiles of cerulean and emerald light, each one finding its mark in the sky and exploding with resounding force, echoing across for miles.
Their first barrage was good, but there was still many more. Del decided to move in close, ceasing his long-range attack. The thrusters roared as he flew towards the swarm, the long arms of the construct loosened, allowing more free movement. At the tips, green light coalesced and formed dual two-hundred and fifty foot long beam blades. Del swung the right blade, carving through the swarm and decimating them with one swing. He got more on the backswing, and followed through with another from the left.
Meanwhile Candy was continuing her long-range attack, beam spamming all the demons that got away from Del’s slashing. She fired her thrusters and flew around, blasting all that came within her field of vision. Candy’s helmet alerted her to pursuers, but she was ready.
Candy launched some feather shaped fins from her back that flew after the demons, the eight fins zigzagged around the ten or so demons and shot them clean with a single, precision beam blast that cut through them, hitting their heads, hearts, or just carving them down the middle.
The sky rained with what little parts that they could. Both the Green Lantern and Blue Lantern knew this would not be an easy fight, and that this would not be the end of the swarm no matter how many of them they blew away. Still, they had to keep going, they had to keep the enemy away from the people and focused on them and their comrades down below.
On the street it was chaos, people screaming and running about in fear and panic as the demons flew above, releasing their fire breath or diving down to either capture or slaughter an innocent person. A father and daughter were frantically running, but the young girl lost her balance when her foot hit a divot in the concrete sidewalk.
She tumbled to the ground crying out as her father skidded to a halt and made a mad dash back to his daughter. Once he reached her, the demon was right on over them, snarling as it bared its hideous fangs. Flames began to build within its maw and the father held onto his daughter shielding her eyes and putting his back to the creature in a desperate attempt to protect his child.
At that moment the creature was pile drived right into the pavement hard. Thunder came down on the creature, slamming onto its head with both feet and burying it in concrete and rock. The father and daughter turned and saw the super heroine floating up from the crater where the dead monster lied, she smiled softly at the both of them as she spoke.
“Head that way, there are some police escorting civilians out of this mess! Hurry now!” Thunder ordered.
The man thanked Thunder as he rose up and carried his daughter as he ran as fast as he could, the young girl never took her eyes off of that woman, nor would she forget the image of her standing there as her twin tailed scarf bellowed in the wind and the sound of the lightning crackling around her.
Thunder turned around and saw the multitudes of demons landing on the ground and floating in the air, snarling and screeching at her with malice and bloodlust. The Champion of Magic smirked, they thought they could get her with numbers, but she was worth more than that, plus, she wasn’t exactly alone. From the air, Hawk dropped down and landed with a metallic thud onto the asphalt, her wings flared out as she stared down the horde. Dove appeared as swift as the wind, arms crossed over her chest as her cape flapped to and fro. This did little to deter the creatures as they readied themselves to attack.
“Not going to try and reason with them are you Dove?” Hawk asked.
“Normally I’d seek a diplomatic solution, but it’s obvious talking to and reasoning with mindless monsters doesn’t get us anywhere. So I’ll just give them some tough love!” Dove emphasized her point by smashing her right fist into the palm of her left hand.
“That’s what I wanted to hear! C’mon!”
Hawk flapped her metal wings and took off like a rocket right for the beasts. She summoned a Bastard sword in her right hand, and a held a katana in her left, reverse-grip style. She slashed at the first demon, cutting it right down the middle and sending a spray of blue-green blood spraying about.
She spun around and cut another one across its abdomen with the katana. Not losing momentum, she flipped the katana around till its blade was pointing up. Hawk entered a frenzy attack, slashing and hacking at every demon that tried to surround her. Hawk’s metal wings sheened in the light of the moon as they flared out, slicing any demon that dared to attack her from behind and defending her like shields when they released their fire breath.
These creatures were no match for her, as the Avatar of War, she was able to anticipate these simple creatures’ attack patterns and stay five moves ahead of them. She hurled her katana and Bastard sword at two incoming demons, embedding them right in their heads. Hawk summoned two large chakram rings, and took a stance. She pirouetted, becoming a living buzz saw as she sliced through one monster after another. A Dancer of Death, there was no other way to describe her motions and actions other than that.
“She seems…happy.” Thunder commented.
“That’s nothing, she’s having fun now. Well, better not fall behind!”
Dove took off, speeding down the street in a blur of white and blue. The demons that got around Hawk were now heading right for her. Dove channeled her powers to her hands and readied herself. One of the demons lashed out with its claws, but Dove jumped up and flipped over it, the creature stopped when it noticed its prey was no longer in front of it.
Dove hurried to its back and struck it with her right palm, sending a concentrated shockwave burst of her power through its back and out its chest, sending entrails and armor flying out its chest.
Five more came for her, Dove summoned two spheres of condensed mana and fired them. Two of the beasts got struck in the chest armor, getting hit with the equivalent force of a dark matter ball, the spherical energy pierced through them and flew off into the air where it shattered and dispersed. A third tried to grab Dove, with flash of her cape she momentarily disoriented the monster and shoved a blue sphere right in its mouth, firing it and taking its head off with it.
Dove released another pair of energy orbs, firing at the last two. The orbs swallowed the demons, when Dove clenched her fists the orbs shrunk down to the size of marbles and crushed the demons within into nothingness before disappearing in a shower of particles.
Thunder was treated to her own party, surrounded by the demons a she entered a fighting stance. One of the demons tried to slash at her with its claws, but Thunder blocked it with her right forearm, another tried to attack her from her left. Thunder rolled the demon she had blocked, letting the two of them smash into each other.
She vaulted off their heads and dropped down with an ax kick to the head of another, slamming it right down into the asphalt. Thunder brought both of her hands together and fired a powerful lightning bolt that struck the two demons and threw them into the side of a building before exploding. Two of them tried to fry her with their fire breath.
The Champion of Magic twirled around, the two tails of her scarf spiraling around her. The flames seemed to be repelled by the magical garment, keeping the flames spiraling around her. Thunder united these flames with her lightning magic and formed a blazing electrical javelin. She hurled it at the demon, piercing it through its chest and incinerating it all at once.
The next one was about to retreat to the safety of the swarm, but Thunder wasn’t about to let it run away that easily. She dashed away towards the remaining demon and grabbed hold of it. She sent a powerful electrical charge into its body, lighting up the monster like a Christmas tree. Thunder planted her feet and hurled the beast right at the rest of the swarm. The charged creature landed in the thick of the swarm, exploding and sending a wave of electrical energy arcing from one monster to the next, frying them like a bug zapper.
The three heroes regrouped, standing back to back as they watched the swarm of demons concentrate on them and them alone. “Quick question before this gets any more intense?” Thunder asked.
“What?” Hawk asked.
“Why’d you guys listen to me? After I almost killed Firestorm because I thought he was someone else.”
“Look, we all have our own little traumatic backstory in some form or another, we’re superheroes it comes with the territory,” said Hawk.
“But you were able to recognize your mistake and own up to it, and in the end, you devised a plan for us to execute, that and I don’t think anyone else had any better ideas,” said Dove.
Thunder smiled. “Thanks, I promise this isn’t the last time we’ll fight together!”
“Damn right it isn’t!”
The three heroines let loose a powerful battle cry as they each split apart and dove right into the fray, creating a series of explosions through the demon hordes.
Firestorm had created a metal platform for Arrow to stand on as they flew towards the S.T.A.R Labs facility. It was widely known as the most advanced and technologically cutting edge research and development lab in the world, anything and everything could be found here. When the two arrived, they were disappointed to see that the swarm had found their way to this place as well. Firestorm and Arrow looked to each other and nodded in silent agreement.
Arrow leaped off the metal platform and landed on the ground, notching three sharp tipped arrows into the bow. The hooded archer released all three with an audible “twang”. The arrows whistled as they cut through the air, finding their homes in the heads of three of the demons, hitting them with such force that it threw them on their backs where they landed, dead.
A few more came at him from the sides, but Arrow back flipped away from them and notched another. He fired it, the sharpened tip hitting the creature’s head, but before it fell, the contraption fixed just a few inches up the arrow shaft opened up. The container fired a small volley of high speed, super-heated shrapnel that pierced through the creatures armor and flesh and killed a good ten to fifteen of them.
Arrow was about to fire another, but paused when he saw Firestorm taking on the few that were behind him. He smashed his blazing fist into one demon after the other, unleashing his plasma fire and burning the monsters to ciders. A demon came up from behind him and got its large arms under his armpits, hoisting Firestorm up so that he couldn’t do much but flail around helplessly.
Another one was coming to lay down some hurt on him, but Hot Head was quicker to react. He retracted the flames that made up his mane, and in the next moment, bellowed them out like a jet engine taking off. The demon that was holding him had its head and some of it upper body burned away, allowing Hot Head to counter.
Atomic rings formed around his hands as Lucky directed him, the earth beneath their feet began to rise as stalagmites jutted up from beneath, aimed at an angle as they snaked their way towards the demon. Before the demon could fly away he was impaled by a giant earth spike right to the gut, it flinched and roared for a bit before finally dying out. Firestorm put the ground back to normal and nodded to Arrow. The two of them then made their way into the building.
There were some more inside, but the duo (or trio if you count Lucky) were making their way down the halls as they burned, pierced, and smashed their way through one demon to the next. At Lucky’s direction, Hot Head led them to one of the research labs that was perfect for analyzing the box.
Once they got there, Firestorm used his powers to transmute the walls and doors into a reinforced versions of what they used to be. Neither of them knew for how long this would last if the horde really came after them, but hopefully it would be enough, considering that their comrades in arms were busy trying to get the majority of the attacking swarm to focus on them instead.
“Let’s hurry,” said Arrow.
The hooded archer wasted little time in putting the box in one of the analysis chambers. The box rose up, suspended in the air by the unseen energy of the chamber’s gravitational beam. Arrow fiddled with the computer, typing away as the various firewalls for the access came up. Hot Head watched as Arrow breezed through most of them, but inside he could feel Lucky’s worry.
What’s wrong?
“Arrow can make it through the majority of the firewalls, but for the essential stuff we’ll need –”
{Access Denied}
“Dammit!” Arrow cursed.
Hot Head looked to monitor, showing the words “Access Denied: Please input code credentials”.
“What’s that about?” Firestorm asked.
“We need a scientist’s access codes in order to use the more complex systems to analyze this thing, otherwise we’d only skim the surface and not even get close to the core of this machine.”
“So, can’t you like, hack it or something? You were doing that just a minute ago!”
Arrow sighed. “Not this portion, this is sensitive information and it won’t allow me passed it if I don’t have the right code. We need a scientist to grant us access.”
“Unfortunately all of them more or less high tailed it outta here,” said Firestorm.
“Not all of them.”
Firestorm paused as he looked off towards Lucky’s floating ethereal head. What are you talking about?
“I can get us access to this.”
One problem, last time I checked, I wasn’t as fast as you at keyboarding. On top of that, I know for a fact that I’d mess this up if I started pressing buttons.
That was the conundrum. Lucky had the ability to access it, but thanks to their union there was no way for him to do it. Neither of them knew if they could even separate from being Firestorm long enough to allow Lucky to do so, but even if they were, were they really prepared to show who they really were to a vigilante archer. He may be a hero and willing to fight to stop these things despite not having any powers, but they didn’t have any idea what someone like Arrow would do with that kind of information.
“If only there was a way to switch out or something!”
“Switch out” you mean like give you control or something?
Suddenly the sun emblem on Firestorm’s chest glowed. Arrow watched as the Nuclear Man’s body shined as three atomic rings formed around him. The body type was changing within the rings, and within a few moments a new Firestorm was in his place. This one stood at six-feet-five-inches, nearly as tall.
Around his forearms were gold bands that had red lines etched into them, his hands were made of purple flames, but each finger was encased in gold armor, his arms themselves made out of the same colored flames. On his shins were greaves of the exact same color, but his feet were bare and made of the same flames, but they didn’t burn the ground he stood upon.
A vest of yellow cloth covered most of his chest, leaving the V opening to reveal his flame body. Near the stomach region of the vest was the sun emblem, this time it was purple, with red rings around it. White lines came down from the shoulder and neck area and connected to the sun, each with a red orb in it. A white sash with a gold plated buckle kept the vest secure at the waist, and on his shoulders were small gold pauldrons.
From his collarbone up to his head was covered in a yellow cowl, his face was no longer olive skinned, but it was that of Caucasian. The red lines formed the corona crown, but his hair was made of purple flames, a gold band tied off part of the flames to form a long flaming ponytail that whipped back and forth.
When this new Firestorm opened his eyes, he gasped, looking at himself with astonishment. He flexed his fingers and moved his head around, blinking a few times.
“I’m…I’m outside?”
“And I’m inside!”
We switched, the Matrix must’ve granted us the ability to switch drivers!
“Well don’t waste time bro, hurry and help Arrow out, we don’t know exactly know how long we can stay like this.”
“Firestorm…are you alright?” Arrow asked wearily.
Lucky shook his head and gave Arrow a confident expression. “Y-Yeah, fine, why do you ask?”
“Your form has changed completely, you’re even taller now and your flames have changed color.”
“Oh that! Well, this is my…uh…well to tell you the truth Firestorm is more than one person. We’re actually two people in one body, my friend just switched over to me because he thought I could help!”
There was a time where Arrow would’ve thought such things were the work of science fiction, but seeing as he was living in a scenario ripped straight from one and fighting side-by-side with other teen heroes who had enough power to level a city if they wanted to, keeping an open mind was something he did constantly, otherwise he’d risk going insane at trying to fit everything into logical reasoning.
“Well, Firestorm, see what you can do,” said Arrow as he stood aside.
Lucky walked up to the control panel, his white eyes glanced over at Arrow and back up to the screen as he released a sigh. “Look, I don’t know you that well, but considering the fate of the world is at stake, I’m taking a leap of faith here with what I’m about to do.”
Arrow was about to ask but then Firestorm typed away at the keyboard at blinding speed, numbers and letters appeared on the screen in sequence that Arrow was able to figure was the access code. After a few seconds the computer beeped its approval of his code.
{Code Accepted. Access granted to Lucky Star.}
“Well, now you know my secret identity, at least one of ours.”
The hooded archer now understood what he meant by a “leap of faith”. He was trusting him with his real name. “We are in the middle of crisis, some things tend to get lost during the frenzy of battle, such things like remembering certain names.”
“I like this guy’s style.”
“Thanks Arrow.”
“Let’s hurry, I’ll start the spectral analyzer, you see about managing a data beam probe into it.”
Lucky nodded and set to work. Arrow was working another panel, activating the chamber’s scanners as it layered one beam after another over, under, and across its entire surface. Lucky maneuvered four mechanical arms that had pinpoint lasers mounted on them. The lasers fired a green beam into the box, roving over its surface as they searched for a viable means to gather whatever data that the alien tech might contain.
Arrow’s panel beeped, displaying its findings on the monitor before him. “Whatever these things are, they’re using spacial distortion to rip open wormholes. I would’ve thought that they were magical or from some dark pit of hell, but they’re using wormhole generating technology to enter from some other part of the universe.”
Lucky turned to Arrow. “If that’s true, I don’t think these guys are behind it then. From the way they move and fight, none of them seem to have the brains to make something like this. It also means there’s someone else pulling their strings, sending them in as an advance force.”
“Guess it’s what we were all thinking, this is an invasion.”
Suddenly the computer beeped as the green beams of the arms locked onto something inside the box.
{Data detected. Data has properties that may be of importance to Project Kr. Do you wish to transfer data for later use?}
“‘Project Kr?’ what the heck is that?”
“Don’t know, don’t care, we need to see the data now.”
Lucky quickly typed his command into the computer. |Do not transfer data. Cancel. Initiate data retrieval and display on main monitor.|
{Transfer canceled. Initiating data retrieval and display.}
The monitor went dark for a moment, soon alien writing formed on the screen, causing Lucky and Arrow to back away from it as it showed various horrifying images.
{Initiating Parademon induction.} The computer’s voice had changed from female sounding to male.
{One: conquer known worlds.} Various planets appeared, all of them being ravaged by these creatures called Parademons.
{Two: collect organic material.} The Parademons flew out and grabbed hold of many different alien people, dragging them, men, women, and children, kicking and screaming to large towers.
{Three: process organic material.} The captives were placed in pods and strapped down. A blue-green substance filled the pods and the beings inside were completely silenced.
{Four: reconstitute organic material.} The blue-green gel reformed into something else, a grotesque, bare version of the Parademon without any armor.
{Five: all hail Tirek.} The image then shifted to hordes upon hordes of Parademons swarming the air and marching on the ground, all while a giant creature that stood on four legs and had its arms behind its back watched the army of monsters as its yellow eyes blazed.
The images cut out, and the computer returned to normal. Firestorm and Arrow looked to each other with shock. This was an invasion, from another world, an alien world, one that was practically a living hell for all. And it was about to bring that hell right to them, more data appeared on the screen, displaying the functions of the box and what was still operational.
Lucky went back to the keyboard and typed away. “Looks like the box…‘Father Box’…is operational to a degree. But whatever you and the Lanterns did to it overloaded the circuitry. We could still use it to hack into the remaining portals and close them down, but we’d need a fresh one that’s still connected to them.”
“I’ll relay that to the Lanterns,” said Arrow.
“You can do that?”
“Before we arrived the Lanterns and I were able to connect to a wireless signal that can only be picked up by their rings. This way any communication between them and me is secured.” Arrow touched the comm. device in his ear. “Green Lantern come in, this is Arrow.”
The sounds of explosions and Parademon death throes could be heard echoing in the background as the battle raged on.
{Arrow? What’s goin’ on, you guys got somethin’?!}
“Something. We know that the creatures are called ‘Parademons’, they’re foot soldiers of an alien world that’s seeking to conquer Earth and use its people as…material to make more of those things we’re fighting.”
{You’re kidding! What world?!} Blue Lantern asked.
“I’m looking over the data…someplace called…‘Apokolips’. Ring any bells?” Lucky asked loud enough to hear him.
{None, Green Lantern and I have been around different parts of our sector, but we’ve never heard of Apokolips. Over.}
“Good news is we might have a way to get rid of them.”
{…………}
“Green Lantern? Blue Lantern? Are you there? Over.”
{Uh…y’all might wanna figure out how to do that fast.}
“Why’s that?” Arrow asked.
{Oh nothing special, just that the water’s on fire and there’s a spooky big tower rising up from it. No big deal }, said Blue Lantern.