Issue 1, Chapter 9
Issue 1: Tower of Babel
Chapter 9
Wonder Woman put her hands on her hips as she looked over the live security footage, standing with her fellow League founders, Batman and Superman. The three stood behind Martian Manhunter and Green Lantern John Stewart, who sat in front of the wall of security monitors. Nightwing and the Titans just finished securing the rest of the intruders in the Watchtower’s Habitat Center. They actually had trouble with one of them, an animal shape-shifter, it looked like. She turned into a giant dragon and went into a blind rage against anyone standing in her way, including her allies. Luckily, the Titans managed to subdue her, but not without the assistance of the others. Diana smirked. She was impressed. They really seemed to work well together. They managed to hold their own against impossible odds not once, but twice. First against the League’s response team and then managing to put aside their differences to subdue their rampaging friend with minimal damage to the Watchtower. Perhaps there was more to these new arrivals.
Her eyes went over to another nearby monitor, watching the shape-shifter in question get carted off to the infirmary in the Medical Wing on a stretcher. Glancing over to another set of monitors showed the others were in the Waiting Room. They appeared distraught over the condition of their friend. A look of sympathy crossed Diana’s face as she crossed her arms. She watched the winged one begin to walk around impatiently. The others tried to talk her down, but she seemed to ignore their pleas, only continuing to pace around the room.
A final monitor held Batman’s attention. It was of a small interrogation room, mostly sparse save for the table and its occupant sitting in front of it. It was the first intruder Raven had secured. Batman’s eyes narrowed at the screen. The nervous girl had awoken not too long ago, and was shifting around in her seat awkwardly. She couldn’t do much now that she was bound by her hands. She also had a metal collar on her neck, designed to prevent her from using her powers. According to the report Raven had left them, this one in particular knew Azarathean spells and incantations, but she herself didn’t look Azarathean. So whoever she was and wherever she came from, she happened to have knowledge of the magical arts of Raven’s home dimension.
The others raised similar questions for the Dark Knight Detective. The shapeshifter in the infirmary could morph into any animal like Beast Boy. One seemed to possess immense strength and wore reflective bracelets like Wonder Woman. Another was a young archer, who wielded an expansive arsenal of trick arrows like Green Arrow’s sidekick, Speedy. There was the woman who could unleash piercing sonic cries like Black Canary, but was also good with a whip like Catwoman. Then there was the girl who looked Thanagarian, like Hawkgirl. She even came with a mace of Nth metal that could channel and conduct electricity.
The only one who didn’t surprise Batman at first was the speedster, the one with the pink hair over her mask. But her sudden appearance seemed to surprise even Wally. While West was certainly less… focused than his predecessor, his uncle Barry Allen, Wally would have known if there was a new speedster tapping into the Speed Force. Any speedster would have known. That is, unless they were on some kind of drug that gave users super speed like Velocity 9. But judging by how long it has been since the intruders were apprehended, Batman would have suspected any effects from the speed-altering drug would have left the pink one’s system by now. So far, however, that wasn’t the case. Looking at the security feed of the Waiting Room, she was still maintaining a bouncy and hyperactive attitude. She wasn’t even showing any other symptoms or side effects, like fidgeting, stammering, or random bouts of immense fatigue.
Whoever these people were, they seemed to possess abilities similar to key members of the Justice League and their affiliates, right down to the likenesses in their outfits.
“Do you think we showed too much force?” Wonder Woman asked, expressing her own concerns over these newcomers. “They don’t appear to be hostile. They look quite the opposite, actually...”
John Stewart scoffed. “Tell that to Guy…” he muttered. Switching camera feeds for a moment showed that Guy was still in a separate infirmary, hospitalized from the punch he took from the Thanagarian look-a-like. He was going to have a bone to pick once he got up.
“Gardner’s taken worse. He’ll be fine,” Batman dismissed, reaching over to switch the feed back to show the Waiting Room again. “We have have something else to worry about. Who are these people? Where did they come from? Why are they here?”
Batman’s line of questions seemed to linger in the room for a brief moment. It didn’t take long for Superman to break the silence. “Whatever the case, it doesn’t look like they’re in the mood to talk,” the Man of Steel observed, looking over to the monitor with the hooded mage in the interrogation room. “Most of them aren’t, anyway.”
Batman narrowed his eyes at the security footage in question. “I’ll get her to talk,” he said, then headed for the doorway out of the security room. He spun around to add one final request. “Wonder Woman, gather the others and have them ready for questioning."
Diana nodded and Batman turned to leave. The door slid open, and Green Lantern Hal Jordan stood on the other side. He stepped out of the way as Batman made his way out. He didn’t even bat an eye to the masked Lantern. Diana, however, was more courteous on her way out, giving him a warm smile and a nod in greeting. Hal smiled back at her and met the others inside the monitor room.
“Hey guys. Sorry I’m late,” Hal greeted. “I heard about Gardner. What’s up?”
“Batman is on his way to question one of the intruders the Titans captured for us,” Martian Manhunter filled in. “The others are in the Medical Wing. Wonder Woman has gone to have them transferred for further questioning once their friend has recovered.”
Hal nodded. “Okay. What about Guy? Is he doing okay?”
John Stewart smirked and showed the footage of Guy recovering to his fellow Lantern. “See for yourself,” he said. “He look okay to you?”
Hal leaned in closer to look at the footage and smirked too, failing to suppress a chuckle. “Yeah, he’ll be fine,” he concluded. “Wish I could’ve been there, though. I’d have taken pictures.”
John laughed. They won’t let Guy live this one down, that was for sure.
The ringing in Twilight’s head had thankfully stopped when she awoke from consciousness not too long ago. Now, she found herself in some sort of interrogation cell. It was cramped and dimly lit, She was bound by her wrists and stared blankly at the black two-way mirror in front of her. Her reflection showed she didn’t take too much damage from the fight she had with that one witch girl. What did she call herself again? Raven, was it? How did she know that? She didn’t remember them exchanging names. The only things they exchanged were fists and magic attacks.
She winced and felt her head flare up again in pain as she struggled to figure that part out. Was this how everyone in this universe treated outsiders? If so, Sunset could keep that big crown thingy for all she cared! She had much bigger responsibilities back in Equestria! She could still rule as a princess without the Element of Magic, right?
No. She shook that thought aside. What was she thinking? The fate of Equestria rested on her shoulders! If Sunset Shimmer wasn’t stopped now, it could mean the end of everything!
The distinct hisssssss of the door sliding open snapped her out of her mental spiral. Even with the light above her, she could barely make out the outline of the shadowy figure as it entered the cold metal box that was the interrogation room. She could make out the long, pointed ears atop the figure’s head, along with its white eyes that lacked any pupils. The figure also appeared to be shrouded in a long, black cloak. Twilight let out an audible gulp and struggled to put on her bravest face as the door slid shut behind the figure. Then, the figure spoke.
“If you’re worried about your friends, don’t be. They’ll be all right. We’re taking good care of them,” it said as it approached her slowly, its voice in a low, gravelly tone. “But if you want to see them anytime soon, you’ll have to cooperate and start giving me some answers.”
Twilight blinked as a bead of sweat trickled down her temple. She stared up at this figure as it approached her, the light revealing more of its form. She watched as the shadows gave way to show a tall, imposing man clad in dark garb that made him look like a bat. Long, pointed ears adorned a black cowl, his back trailed by matching long cape. Emblazoned on a gray chest was a large, black bat symbol. The only color that wasn’t black, or at the very least dark gray, was a metal belt at his waist, coated in a dull yellow, with many pouches lining it. Twilight did her best not to chuckle. Rarity would probably throw a fit if she saw such a garish ensemble.
The eyes, as Twilight quickly discovered upon returning to them, did not in fact lack pupils. The light reflected off of them to show blue irises containing black pupils. The mask was simply covering his eyes via some sort of reflective lens technology. The mask didn’t cover his entire face, however, as the lower half exposed the only resemblance of a human face in the entire ensemble, a chiseled jaw and chin with strong cheekbones… and a pair of lips curled into a menacing scowl.
“I know you don’t feel like answering me,” he spoke again, his low tones holding only the slightest hint of remorse and caring. “But you and your friends appeared out of nowhere, attacked one of us, and then quickly scattered across our station. This is the only way we can figure out if we can trust you. So tell me… are you willing to cooperate?”
Twilight looked at the masked man again. Despite his threatening stature and appearance, the tone he used made it seem like she could trust him. For a moment, and only for a moment, Twilight started to think that maybe things got off on the wrong foot. Maybe things can still work out. She just needed to answer whatever questions this bat-man asked as honestly and truthfully as possible, just as Applejack would. Still, she struggled to give only the slightest nod.
“O-okay,” she stammered softly, clearing her throat to speak up as she sat up more in her chair. “What do you want to know?”
Batman eased his scrutinizing glare and crossed his arms.
“You can start by telling me your name.”
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Glad to see you back.
8546854
Good to be back.
Yellow.
8584361 Hello, old friend!
8585645
Yellow. Red. Blue. Green.
8585645
Finally finished reading it. Yay!
any idea when we can expect an update and new chapter?
9531577
Yeah, it's been a while, hasn't it? I guess I just ran out of steam at some point and never bothered picking it back up. Don't worry. I'll get this back up and running soon. I can't give a rough estimate, but I really do want to get back into writing for this again.