Post by lawrenceliberty on Jun 9, 2017 17:54:56 GMT
Evil Star Ascendant!
By lawrenceliberty
If Evil Star is truly ascendant then who can stop him?
1
Aoron
Within an imposing structure on the otherwise barren planet Aoron a sinister assembly took place. Alien beings from several different worlds all knelt before a large throne and the purple and blue costumed figure who sat regally upon it.
“Evil Star!” they chanted in unison!
Evil Star smiled as his servants paid their respects to him. He had once eliminated all life on Aoron in a quest to secure the immortality and stellar power a device called the Star Band had granted him. He had long ago abandoned any claim to his nearly forgotten humanity. Power was all that mattered to him and now he possessed more power than he had ever known in his long existence.
He held a scarlet device shaped like a star. He had created the weapon long before but some sentient beings claimed that the Star Band now possessed a mind of its own and the humanoid who claimed it as his own was in truth merely a mortal pawn. These rumors were whispered at best since no one dared to defy the alien conqueror. Whatever the nature of his weapon, Evil Star was incredibly powerful and any past defeats he had suffered at the hands of the heroic Green Lantern or other noble beings were merely distant memories much like the faces of those he had once called his family. He had lived on and on while all around him had perished. He was immune to age, disease, and perhaps equally beyond feelings like remorse and love.
He could exult in power and he did so once more as he surveyed the mixture of bald beings with large skulls, warlike females, and deadly beings of various shapes and sizes who all possessed large wings.
He smiled again and said, “Once more shall I repeat your orders and once more shall I caution you all against failure. Should any of you disappoint me, you shall swiftly perish! Obey me and succeed and I shall reward you beyond your wildest imaginings! “
The aliens reverently bowed once more before their master.
Evil Star said, “As you know an alien parasite called Starbreaker feasted upon whole worlds for eons before ending his own material existence out of guilt that overwhelmed him when Captain Comet duped him into trying to absorb a personality altering energy source known as the Nefar Nebulae. When he perished the cosmic energy within his physical body was released throughout the cosmos and I secured most of it for myself! It enabled me to locate and equip you all so that you might help me acquire even greater power through the destruction of several planets! I realize that should these worlds explode due to bombs you will place at their respective cores, I will be able to draw their energy resources through my Star Band much like the late Starbreaker did when he fed more directly upon such worlds! Enable me to destroy these worlds and I shall reward you all!”
He stood up and raised one gloved fist in the arm.
“You have been given your assignments! Go and remember my dark radiance shines upon you!” he yelled.
The odd groups rushed off as if desperate to leave his presence. Some truly wanted to escape him while others sought to please him.
He watched them and he whispered to the Star Band and several small humanoid beings that crouched around his throne. Each of them resembled a miniature version of their master.
“Yes, my Starlings. You know what I want. You know how my power shall soon grow!” he said.
Evil Star was truly powerful now but he was self-absorbed at the best of times. Little did he realize that he had not been the only being to benefit from the energies released at the moment Starbreaker died.
An unseen presence watched and listened and vowed to stop Evil Star for reasons of his own.
“I have not acquired enough energy to restore my own material form but my mental powers are intact and I shall use them to stop Evil Star!” thought this miraculous being.
2
Earth
Happy Harbor, Rhode Island was a peaceful community for the most part although it had been the site of more than one clash between super heroes and costumed criminals as was fitting since it had also once housed the secret HQ of the Justice League of America during that group’s early days.
A young man with dark hair and a slightly nervous manner sat on the front porch of a small house in the little community and gazed up at the stars. It was a nice summer evening and James Carr was content.
“You know I’m really happy that you and Jayne Payton found each other and that you like working for Dr. Danvers at his California lab but I’m more than happy to stay right here. Teaching gym at our old school is all this Carr brother has ever wanted! Bro, you can hang out with super heroes and scientists but not this cat,” he said.
Lucas “Snapper” Carr grinned and said, “You sound like me or like I used to sound back when I was hanging around with the Justice League and watching way too many “77 Sunset Strip” reruns!”
Lucas frowned as he felt that annoying itch beneath the cast he wore over his broken leg. He sat in a porch swing and rested the injured leg on a divan.
“When I was with Superman, Batman, and the others in the early days of the Justice League I met all kinds of crazy villains from time and space but none of them did as much damage to me as I did when I fell down our steps!” he said with a sigh.
James nodded at his older brother and said, “Breaking your leg on your first night of vacation was a bad break…if you’ll excuse the expression!”
Lucas said, “I know but it was nice of you to keep me company tonight while our folks are enjoying a rare night out!”
He smiled and stepped off the porch to look up at the stars.
“Star light, star bright…!” he began when a beam of blue light erupted from the sky and a small vehicle landed noiselessly in his yard!
“Oh man”! he gasped as two figures emerged from the vehicle and approached him. The male was wrinkled but had the same vaguely elfin features as the younger girl who followed him. They looked as if they could be related and in fact they were father and daughter. Each of them had bright green hair!
A slightly calmer Lucas said, “Jasonar! Saranna! Oh man! What brings you here from Kalanar? Is Despero poking that freaky third eye of his into your business again?”
He quickly added, “This is my brother James. I met Jasonar and Saranna yeara ago! They come from a planet called Kalanar!”
James blinked rapidly and said, “I know! I remember reading your notes! They were like bedtime stories when I was a kid!”
The alien scientist Jasonar said, “I fear we are threatened by a force more deadly than even the tyrant Despero! We have come to ask for help from your Justice League allies!”
Lucas said, “They’re all away. I’ve been told by someone close to one of their members that they aren’t around right now!”
He referred to the fact that his girlfriend Jayne Payton knew her brother Will “Starman” Payton and his fellow heroes in the fabled Justice League of America were away on a mission. Lucas still enjoyed learning about his old friends via Jayne’s connection to Will. Even though Lucas had started out as a trusted mascot of sorts to the heroic team, a series of unfortunate events and he simple passing of time itself had somewhat estranged him from them for the most part. Things had improved over the last few years and he certainly thought of the members as friends but they were certainly not in regular contact with one another.
Saranna said, “We tried to find them at their base but they were not there! We thought to come here since you may also be able assist us!”
Lucas said, “I’ll help if I can but this broken leg makes me almost useless and to be honest I’m not as close to the team as I was when I was a kid! I barely know some of the newer members.”
Jasonar said, “It is your knowledge of the early members of the team that shall give us a fighting chance!”
Saranna smiled winningly and added, “We may yet benefit from your knowledge of the founding League members! No one knows them as well as you do!”
Lucas glanced over at James who was listening and watching intently. Clearly, meeting the alien duo was the most astounding thing that had ever happened to his younger brother.
“What do you mean? I’ll share what I can but I won’t betray any secrets!” he said as the irony of his words washed over him. He had indeed once betrayed the team and he still felt guilty over how easily he had been duped by one of their foes.
Jasonar said, “It is simple. Kalanar is in danger but the threat comes not from the deposed Despero but from the Justice League itself!”
3
Thronn
Alyssa the Golden Blade frowned as she walked toward the Presidential Palace. She did not like cities and while her role as a member of the celebrated Honor Team of Thronn meant that the heroine had traveled across her planet as well as to other worlds, she preferred the more rural environment of the Arden Archipelago where she was raised amongst her Sword Sisters and their Matriarch her mother S’brogan.
The blonde warrior woman wore gleaming golden armor and sandals and carried the legendary sword that had once belonged to her late husband Sigurd the Nornschild. She had taken up his heroic name and the weapon that inspired it since his death at the hands of alien invaders. She also mourned the loss of her other teammates Energiman and Magicko.
She had helped defeat the alien mastermind behind the invasion but her return had been delayed by other conflicts and she had only recently made her way back to her home planet of Thronn where life seemed to go on as it always had now that a group of Martian invaders had also perished.
The beautiful blonde shook her head as she remembered her last visit to her family home. Her mother had welcomed her and offered her support and comfort but it was her meeting with the community sage the Keeper of the Book that still troubled her thoughts.
Nyson the Keeper of the Book was a small man and in her eyes no matter what his physical size, the gray haired scholar could never measure up to her late father who had once held the esteemed position of Keeper of the Book.
Nyson had ushered her into the Sanctum Bibliarium with a brief grin and a deferential manner as befitted her status as Matriarch’s First Born and national heroine.
“I summoned you here because of a disturbing new entry in the Book. It materialized this morning. It seems to be a rather powerful omen!” he said as he led her to where a massive tome rested upon a table.
“The Book shows us signs of what is to come and allows us to gain insight from that which has passed and at times it defies all understanding in its mysterious depictions of events!” he said.
Alyssa said, “I am well acquainted with the Book. I spent much of my girlhood in this very chamber when I was not mastering the combat skills of my calling as a Sword Sister!”
Nyson nodded obsequiously and said, “Of course! I should have realized as much! Forgive me for presuming to prattle on and attempt to enhance my own status by proclaiming the lore of our land!”
Alyssa shook back her long blonde locks and said, “It is I who should apologize. I was rude. Please, show me what the Book reveals!”
Nyson smiled and said, “This drawing appears to be an eight sided structure. Naturally, that represents the Presidential Palace! This golden figure approaching the building can only be…!”
“Me! Clearly, that drawing of a female figure is meant to be me!” she said.
Nyson nodded and said, “And yet these other colorful beings around you are unknown to me! I have searched the library and find nothing to indicate their identities nor any roles they may have played in our history!”
Alyssa said, “My thanks, Nyson! Clearly, the answers will be found in the Palace and I am destined to go there!”
Now, Alyssa the Golden Blade stood inside the vast entry chamber of the Presidential Palace and waited impatiently. She was impatient by nature and losing her husband and friend made her less willing to wait around than ever before. She craved action!
She paced restlessly and paused as the Hall of Honors came into view. This section contained a tribute of sorts to the Honor Team of Thronn. She sighed as she saw the ruggedly handsome features of her late husband Sigurd on a holo prism sculpture. She could almost hear his voice and his laughter as charged into one battle after another. A second floating holo prism depicted the gaunt red and white clad form of Magicko the Scientist Supreme of the team. He was a kind man and his advanced science enabled him to appear as though he possessed magical powers. Now, he too had perished! Only the odd energy being Energiman remained alive if the strange being could be said to live. He had seemingly given up his life years before to summon help from the famous Green Lantern of Earth when the whole team had been captured by the evil genius Vant Orl! Green Lantern had freed them all and had defeated Vant Orl. Years later after Superman and yet another Green Lantern had enabled Energiman’s disembodied mind to regenerate a material body of his own, the reunited Honor Team had successfully defended their world from countless new perils yet none had truly seemed as dangerous as their former captor the alien known as Vant Orl.
Suddenly, Alyssa whirled and drew her blade as five palace guards in their black and red uniforms charged at her with ray guns drawn and ready to be fired!
“What is this madness? I am here by appointment!” she declared as she planted her feet and assumed a combat stance.
The guards said nothing but several fired upon her!
She blocked all the laser beams with her flashing magical sword and managed to disarm one of the guards with a hurled truncheon of her own.
She rolled forward and rose up to slice though another guardsman’s gun and then kick him into his nearest ally.
A spinning heel kick dropped the third trooper and she knocked the fourth one out with one punch.
Her super strength made her a match for anyone and her Sword Sister training and the magical weapon she carried enhanced her abilities even more.
The final guard dropped back and said, “I yield Sword Sister! You may enter the Presidential Suite! Our orders were merely to test you not to slay you!”
Alyssa shoved him aside and stalked into the plush suite.
“By the Matriarch!” she gasped as she saw the figure at the desk with the Thronnian Presidential Seal.
He was deathly pale and shaped like a blob with four wiggling tentacles extended from his torso.
“Vant Orl!” she cried as she darted forward and started to leap over the desk.
A bolt of energy blazed across her path and she fell backward to land on her feet after an acrobatic flip.
Her blue eyes widened as she recognized the source of the energy beam.
“Energiman! I thought you had perished! What are you doing in service to this alien cur?” she cried.
Energiman stepped forward and raised his hands in a placating manner.
“I was not killed but my energy form was scattered and it took me time to regain a humanoid body. I could only watch helplessly in sorrow as our friends perished and you were left to mourn, Alyssa! I am not under any spell or duress. Vant Orl has been given a full pardon for his own heroic actions in helping to defeat the alien invaders. He has been given named acting President as well because he alone may be able to stop a menace that threatens our whole world!” said Energiman.
Allysa scowled as she looked at her friend. He was a dark haired handsome man who resembled the hero Superman because that champion had allowed the energy being to once use his own body as a template when he needed to recreate a physical form for his disembodied mind. His features had altered over time but he still had a superficial resemblance to the Man of Steel. He wore a red and white costume that also looked familiar to Alyssa!
“I am indeed wearing Magicko’s old costume. It no longer has his array of weapons and data sources but it allows me to retain my physical form. You see, my energy powers are out of control and only this containment suit keeps me from exploding!” he said.
Vant Orl said, “He speaks the truth, Golden Blade. I altered the costume and saved his very life. I am not the being you once fought. I am sorry I imprisoned you and your friends long ago and I mourn for your husband and friend. We are on the same side!”
Alyssa shook her head and crossed her arms. “Tell me more!”
Vant Orl undulated slightly as his amorphous body leaned or oozed forward.
“I was contacted by agents of a being known as Evil Star. They wanted to enlist my aid in a plot to destroy Thronn. I was able to defy them because of my super will power. They could not force me to join their crusade. Instead, I used my influence to get this position. I’ve been called the Hero of the Red Brotherhood War. People now trust me. I hope you shall do so in time!” he said.
Energiman said, “Vant Orl is a genius. We always knew that! He has restored me and he wants us to form a new Honor Team! Will you join our cause?”
Alyssa nodded slowly. “I shall. My blade is ever ready to defend my home but I shall not offer trust blindly to one who once was my enemy.”
“My! She is magnificent!” said a high pitched voice as a petite woman entered the room and smiled up at Alyssa.
The newcomer was remarkable for her beauty and for her body which was entirely made of a translucent crystalline substance. Each facet of her curvy form gleamed in the lights of the office.
“This is the Princess Aria of Karalyx. She has joined our team! Her father is the Chief Justiciar of their planet!” said Vant Orl.
The shiny woman executed a brief courtesy and smiled broadly.
“You are truly beautiful!” she said to Alyssa! The Crystal Princess extended one delicate hand to the taller woman and said, “I am honored to meet you.”
Alyssa took her hand and said, “Well met, Princess Aria! The lawmen of your world are indeed legendary across the universe!”
Princess Aria blushed becomingly and a light pink hue illuminated her crystalline form.
Vant Orl said, “I have summoned the others as well. It is time we prepared to face Evil Star’s emissaries!”
Two young men in bright costumes entered the room and stepped forward expectantly. Alyssa smiled briefly in recognition. She knew them from a previous battle. Indeed, they had helped her avenge Sigurd’s death in a manner of speaking.
The first man was a handsome youth with long blond hair. He wore a gold costume with purple boots and trunks along a purple cape. He also wore a large gauntlet on one forearm.
“Do you remember me? I'm Ron Avon, Champion of Belgor! I came here with my friend Pulsar on orders from Era himself!” explained the young hero.
The second man smiled and said, “Era is one of the Guardians of the Clockwork Universe. He and his brothers work to keep order in the cosmos. He named me defender of the Cosmos and gave me the quantum bracelets I wear! Oh, and my name is Pulsar. Actually, I’m the second man to use that name. The first is now a Green Lantern. I’m trying to live up to his reputation!”
Pulsar wore a green and gold costume and the shining bracelets on each of his wrists gleamed as light reflected off tiny gemstones that studded their circumference.
Alyssa nodded slowly. This sudden reunion was a bit much to take in at once. Still, she knew both men slightly and respected them as heroes.
Ron Avon said, “Pulsar never told you before that his real name is Bob Altus and he comes from Earth!”
Pulsar said, “Sorry. I guess I did get carried away. You see, this is a second chance for me. I messed up rather badly when I was a hero during my teens on Earth!”
Ron Avon said, “Uh oh! We have no time to talk! My power gauntlet tells me Thronn is being invaded as we speak!”
Vant Orl said, “Blast it! I thought we’d have more time! “
They rushed outside to where around a dozen flying men swooped down from space. Each had an abnormally large skull and wore a black ring!
Vant Orl said, “The Anti-Green Lantern Corps! I thought those black rings had all be destroyed years ago. Apparently, Evil Star not only found a way to make more, he overcame their one liability. The rings destroy any user who lacks an advanced mentality. That won’t be a problem since Evil Star’s minions all appear to be the Headmen of Garon!”
Alyssa raised her sword and said, “I do not care where these mutant misfits originate! I shall drive them back to their unholy master or die trying!”
The newly formed Honor team of Thronn hurried into battle as one more world faced the peril of Evil Star!
4
Earth
As a small automated device carried Lucas Carr into Jasonar’s ship, the former JLA mascot said, “I don’t understand. How can the JLA be a threat to Kalanar?”
James nodded as he glanced in awe at the spaceship’s interior.
“Yeah, those heroes are always trying to help not to hurt!” he said sheepishly as Saranna concealed a smile and nodded to him in an encouraging manner.
Jasonar said, “I may be a scientist but I fear I am prone to poetic license at times. Your Justice League is no threat to us. We are being menaced by their alternate timeline counterparts!”
James said, “Sure. That makes…that makes absolutely no sense at all!”
Saranna gently touched his arm and said, “I realize this is all a bit too much for you to take in at once. We appreciate your help and your patience. You and your brother are both exceptional men!”
She continued, “When your Justice League last defeated Despero, they left behind new heroes to defend a world called Planet X from any new perils. This other League served this purpose well until they abruptly became as evil as the heroes they emulated were good. This Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Atom, Flash, and Martian Manhunter became tyrants in the service of our world’s newest oppressor the Hive Queen Tazzalla! She used them to take over our planet. She brought them here from Planet X!”
Lucas said, “Man! This is heavy stuff! Where did the League I know get these other Leaguers?”
Jasonar said, “I do not know the details. I was told only that a villain named Dr. Destiny created them as his own Lawless League by altering reality in some manner. He plucked them from some alternate timeline. With his defeat they became heroes until Hive Queen Tazzala enslaved them all!”
Lucas snapped his fingers and said, “Yeah! Dr. Destiny had a gem that allowed him to do all kinds of crazy things. If he made them as an evil Justice League, I guess someone else could change them again and again!”
James said, “You said they were enslaved by the Hive Queen Tazzala? Didn’t the JLA often battle an alien beauty called Zazzala the Queen Bee?”
Jasonar said, “The Hive Queen Tazzala is the sister of the more notorious Queen Bee Zazzala but she is deadly in her own right since she can control any male!”
Lucas said, “I get it now! If her enforcers are some kind of evil JLA, then I’m in a good position to know how to fight them! I do know the way their powers work if they are copies of my friends!”
Jasonar said, “We need your data to enhance our weapon of choice! The Hive Queen may enslave any male but not an artificial being like this one!”
He gestured to a glass tube in which a towering humanoid stood silently immobile. He wore a green and brown costume with an odd red cap. His ears were pointed and his eyes were cold and dark.
“Amazo? That’s Amazo! You’ve got the One Man Justice League in cold storage!” gasped Lucas.
Saranna said, “No! He is merely a copy my father created. Sadly, he doesn’t work!”
Jasonar said, “I failed. I thought I could use him against our enemies since one like him threatened the heroes you knew but I have failed to bring him to life!”
Lucas said, “The guy who made the first Amazo was a genius. Amazo was a robot or android but he could copy super powers and this made him deadly!”
At that moment the ship lurched to one side as dozens of tiny winged men swooped inside!
“Drones! Those are drone soldiers!” cried Lucas.
As the small soldiers swarmed into the ship, Jasonar fell backward and the container holding Amazo toppled forward into a console that erupted into flames and sent a barrage of energy at Lucas Carr!
James jumped forward to protect his brother and screamed in pain as the energy passed through the falling robot and into his own body!
Saranna screamed, “Father! You must help him! Our enemies have followed us here!”
Jasonar managed to smother the energy bursts with a special device as the swarm of warriors swept through the ship!
Lucas yelled, “James? Are you hurt?”
James Carr shuddered once and stood up. He frowned as the swarming invaders suddenly became clearer to him. He could see each of the speeding figures as if they were moving in slow motion!
He glared at them and beams of fiery energy shot out of his eyes and enabled him to herd them away from his new allies and his brother.
He hesitated for a second and slammed both hands together. Shockwaves knocked all of the tiny drones to the ground as if they had been struck by a hurricane!
James Carr said, “How did I do that? I just sort of knew what to do but I don’t know how I did it!”
Lucas said, “It’s like you have Amazo’s powers!”
Jasonar nodded and said, “I concur. In some manner the energy burst transferred the powers in Amazo’s absorbing cells into your body. I failed to awaken my Amazo but I may have created a superior version in you, young man…although by accident!”
Lucas snapped his fingers and said, “This is far out stuff! My little brother is a One Man Justice League?”
James looked at Saranna and said, “I’ll help you, Saranna! I’ll save your people! I can do it. I literally know I can do it!”
5
Thronn
The street that led up to the Presidential Palace had become a nightmarish scene of destruction as the dozen invaders accomplished what a larger group of attackers could not do as easily! They literally blasted the area into rubble with their powerful energy bolts!
Alyssa led her new team into battle with her usual grim determination!
“Those rings clearly mimic the functions of the power ring used by Green Lantern! Even one of those rings could bring Thronn down in ruins unless we stop them!” she thought.
She leaped upward and brought her gleaming blade down at the nearest attacker. He was almost identical to his brethren in that he was bald and his skull was unnaturally large. He also gazed at her and at all of Thronn with a look of superiority. This Headman would learn not to underestimate a Sword Sister!
Alyssa’s sword smashed through his protective force field! She didn’t know if the rings had any particular weakness or if it was merely the enchantment that her weapon contained that allowed her to shatter the alien’s ring construct but she didn’t care! She smashed the sword’s flat side into his face and grappled furiously in an effort to bring him down to earth!
He said, “For a primitive being you pose more of a challenge than I ever expected to be the case!”
Alyssa said, “This world has suffered enough from alien invaders! This day we draw a line that shall not be crossed while breath remains within one son or daughter of Thronn!”
She slapped him across the face and saw his smug expression change to one of dismay as she managed to bring them both down to the rubble!
Energiman was also locked in battle with two of the attackers but while his unique metabolism and protective suit enabled him to resist their energy based attacks, he was also a bit hesitant to use his full power against them!
“This suit is all that keeps me whole! I don’t wish to return to being merely a disembodied mental presence! And yet how can I give less than my all for my world?” he mused.
He raised both hands with his palms outward and released two bolts of concussive energy that sent the two Headmen reeling.
Nearby, Aria the Crystal Princess maintained her almost girlish demeanor as her crystalline body turned bright red and she emitted blazing bolts of fire that encircled her own foes. She was no stranger to combat and her lawman father had raised her with the awareness that individuals must make sacrifices for the common good.
“The Headmen are silent foes but they are awfully strong! I guess their power has gone to their heads!” she thought with a giggle.
Pulsar (Bob Altus of earth) was not as confident as he tried to appear. Years ago his scientist father had tried to make him into a super hero to rival or even supplant Superboy; however, Pulsar had refused to eliminate the Teen of Steel and had rejected his father and his desire for power. He had grown up in obscurity and had never imagined an alien being would one day offer him a second chance at heroism!
“Okay, I’ve got the quantum bands and I’ve got the trust of the Clockwork Guardians! Now, all I have to do with not fail them completely!” he thought ruefully.
He concentrated as black energy rays bounced off his glowing force field.
“I’ve commanded the bands to activate automatic shielding and they naturally protect me from mind control!” he thought as he mentally checked off his combat procedures!
He shuddered as a blast shook the shield but failed to shatter it.
He frowned and then focused his thoughts on making the golden energy shape itself into a huge fist that battered the Headman and finally broke through his black force bubble to squeeze him into submission!
“I’m doing it! I’m actually winning!” he whispered.
Ron Avon had no lack of confidence. The blond hero had been groomed since his youth to be a champion and had in fact liberated his home world from a group of tyrants with help from Superboy. Although his own powers had changed somewhat as he matured and he was still a teen by the standards of his long lived race, he was a bit cocky and felt no need to hesitate in battle.
“Gauntlet analysis of energy weapons is complete. While the original rings were Qwardian in origin and empowered by energy generated remotely by a anti-matter power battery, these rings are similar but are powered by stellar energy as directed by a being known as Evil Star!”
The way the power gauntlet spoke to Ron via telepathy was comforting to the young hero. He thought of the gauntlet as a friend and not as a mere tool or weapon. It more than compensated for the loss of his sensory powers that had occurred when he was caught in an explosive while battling one of his old foes!
Ron said, “Hmmm? So if these bald baddies can’t tap into their power source, they will be helpless!”
He created a rainbow -hued sphere that erupted in the sky and left several of the warriors stunned as they fought to restore their balance!
“Vant Orl may need the scoop on these thugs! Gauntlet, transmit findings to Presidential Palace!” he ordered as he dodged an attack and connected with a simple super strong punch of his own!
Princess Aria had turned a pale blue as she used her destructive aura to shatter a Headman’s looming energy drill!
Alyssa the Golden Blade was furiously battering two Headmen with her fists and sword as they closed in on her. She lashed out with devastating power and kicked one of them in the face. Her sword’s magic was generating enough magic to enable her body to break through their ring shields!
She choked one Headman and hurled him into his nearest comrade.
Then, she gasped as darkness filled the sky above them!
Energiman said, “By the Nebulae! That shadowy substance threatens to plunge the planet into total darkness! Do you recognize it?”
Alyssa scowled and said, “Of course! It is Ergal Prism power! That was the substance Vant Orl used to imprison us all years ago! That fiend has turned against Thronn once more!”
“What should we do?” asked Pulsar. “I think I can repel it but not all at once!”
Energiman said, “I know what I have to do. I must achieve total detonation of my body! I might be able to shatter the Ergal Prism before it totally envelops our world!”
Alyssa cursed as she listened to her friend. “No! You must not sacrifice yourself again! We can beat that blob into submission and force him to undo his energy barrier!”
Princess Aria said, “Wait, Fair Maid! Look! I think the field is weakening the Headmen!”
The petite princess was correct! The inky darkness of the Ergal Prism energy had indeed separated the Anti-Green Lantern Corps members from the energy Evil Star had been feeding to them from his remote base on Auron!
“Gauntlet analysis suggests the rings require an incredible amount of sheer power to operate and without the constant stimulation from Evil Star’s Star Band, the rings take a physical toil on their users! Even the Headmen’s advance brains can only operate the rings for a limited time without additional power sources!”
Ron Avon grinned broadly and said, “Gauntlet, that is music to my ears!”
He swooped down as the remaining ring warriors fell to the ground and he cried out, “It is true! Vant Orl is no traitor! He is a hero! He used the data my gauntlet sent him to find a way to cut off the invaders from most of their power! He saved Thronn!”
Energiman nodded in relief. “The Headmen are defeated!”
“Not yet, you worm! We may still achieve our master’s goal by blowing up this world and all who live here! Your field won’t prevent that!” cried a Headman.
The dozen aliens collapsed in unison and their rings shattered as black energy erupted across the battle field!
Alyssa gasped in shock as the ground shook and she thought, “They truly mean to destroy all of Thronn even though doing so has cost them their lives!”
6
Torma
“You can’t go home again!”
The phrase echoed in Ren Uoxon’s mind as the brown haired heroine flew down toward her planet of birth. She was very nervous about returning to Torma since she had been exiled from the small planet a few years ago and had not had any contact with her parents or friends since that harsh verdict had been rendered following the revelation that she was in fact female!
She had used advanced science invented by her father Danan to conceal her gender for most of her teen years when she was dressed as the planetary champion or Volar. As the seemingly male Volar she had been revered as the hero who had saved the planet from any and all threats. Even her exposure as a woman had only occurred after she and Captain Comet had rescued the people of Torma from a race of “space Amazons” known as Femizons or Quazars.
“Our victory was the end of life as I knew it. It didn’t matter one bit that I was the same person inside. It didn’t matter that I was as willing to give everything for Torma as ever. All anyone cared about was the fact that I was a woman and on Torma women were deemed too inferior to be heroic or to be anything more than dutiful and decorative domestics!” she mused.
It was true the revelation of her gender had inspired the rigid society of Torma to slowly integrate women into positions of authority but this change came with a price. Normal Torma women might arise out of their limited spheres of influence but not with the painful example of a woman- a petite and pretty woman at that- who was clearly superior to every male on Torma constantly creating friction merely by her existence.
“My own father gave me the news that I had to leave! I had to leave everything and everyone I’d ever known just because I was a woman!” she whispered sadly.
It was true that she had made good friends during her exile. She had become close to the heroic alien couple Vartox and Maxima and in some ways she knew they considered her to be a daughter to them due to her youth.
She had convinced them that she could respond to the sudden distress signal from Torma on her own. She remembered the look of paternal concern on Vartox’s features as the rugged hero had urged her to allow him to help her on this mission.
“Maxima and I want to go with you. We would stand beside you in this hour of need as you have always been loyal to our own causes since we met!” he had said.
The fiery flame haired Maxima had nodded and made what was to her imperious nature a show of genuine support.
“It is so! Together we three may easily triumph over any peril that Torma faces!” she had said with a haughty toss of her head.
Ren had thanked them and parted from them with tearful affection but as she had explained, “I have to do this alone! If they need me, I want to prove to them that I am still worthy to be planetary Volar!” she had said.
Now, as she used her magna vision to scan the surface of the planet she had loved for so long, she saw a familiar if sinister sight. A large spaceship hovered above the main marketplace of Machismus the largest city on the planet. A gleaming energy beam emerged from a port on the ship and bathed the area below with an unholy radiance!
“The Femizons again! Those female pirates have returned to take over Torma again!” she gasped.
She noticed scenes of mass panic as men and women raced away from the massive ship and its beams of destructive concussive power!
“They’ve released their fear stimulating radiation! I see scenes of mass hysteria everywhere! The Amazons use some kind of fear toxin that makes males timid. It was that weapon that enabled them to almost conquer my home last time they invaded. We were able to magically reverse the effect and make the warrior women victims of their own poison but I have no magical powers. All I can do is just use my magna powers as best I can! I can’t fail my folks or my home if they need me!” she thought.
She knew that a certain irony was found in the fact that in the past the fear radiation spread like a plague and only worked on men. Thus, this most male dominated of worlds was perfectly structured for women invaders with such a weapon to be lethally effective. Based on the visible energy beam, they were taking a more direct approach this time!
“I know when I left they said they were going to include women in major roles in the military and government but I only see the same old routine. Male leaders are herding females away as the fear makes the men panic!” she thought.
A few shouts of recognition rang out as the Tormanians pointed skyward and saw their former champion smash into the saucer-like ship!
Ren recognized the basic structure of the craft. It had a command bridge where the Quazar leaders congregated and directed their attack. The Quazars were all beautiful women with slightly pointed ears and cruel expressions. They relished war and had nothing but contempt for men especially since their own men were frail. The tall warrior women laughed with pleasure as their attack bore fruit.
“They are not even attempting to put up a fight! Evil Star has assured us that his power will prevent any magical reversal of the fear radiation this time nor will any of our men dare to help the Tormanians!” said one Quazar as she exulted in their triumph.
They gasped as Ren approached and sirens echoed through the craft moments after the woman’s super swift entrance!
“Your invasion ends now!” she said as she placed both hands on her hips and confronted them with a look of determination!
She would win back Torma and her people would welcome her back! She just knew it.
The tallest Quazar laughed coldly and said, “You can do nothing against us! You see our power has been enhanced by Evil Star! The fear radiation carries his power and nothing can stop its spread! Unlike before, there is no cure or carrier of any immunity!”
Ren said, “We’ll see about that!”
The Quazar said, “Really? I doubt that! Take her!”
The Space Amazons charged at Ren and began to batter the smaller woman. They were not as strong as she was but she felt their blows and she realized that this mysterious Evil Star they spoke of must have boosted their strength!
She grunted with pain and fell beneath their furious assault. They were savages and relished inflicting pain while Ren was a compassionate heroine. She also was determined to win so in spite of the beating she received, she valiantly tried t resist and refused to give up!
However, the odds were against her and she began to slow down as the women warriors continued to batter her with sheer numbers.
She glanced around the ship through a haze of pain and blood. She finally saw what she wanted to find. The fear radiation generator perched above the main deck like a mechanical bird of prey. She knew that the machine was the source of the fear plague no matter how Evil Star’s energy somehow gave it new potency from afar!
Ren lurched forward and knocked the nearest Quazar aside. She kicked and punched and dived until her bruised body reached the machine and with her final reserves of energy, the Magna Maid clutched the machine and slowly ripped it apart with one final burst of raw power and sheer courage!
The effort was too much for her. She collapsed on the deck and fought to catch her breath. Surely she had won! Surely without the radiation the Quazars could no longer make the men of Torma into cowardly victims!
The brutal leader Commander Xalta kicked Ren with one high heeled boot and said, “The little firebrand destroyed the radiation projector. She’ll regret that!”
At that moment three colorfully dressed newcomers burst into the ship and charged at the Quazars!
“Don’t touch her! She has achieved too much to suffer any more at your hands!”said a beautiful woman with dark hair and exotic features. She wore an orange costume with decorative black trim along the sleeves and the slightly puffy pants of her costume. Orange slippers completed her costume.
She stared at Commander Xalta with her oddly compelling eyes and the bigger woman began to tremble. Finally, the normally steely Xalta collapsed and began to whimper in fear.
“Nicely done, Elura! You certainly have not lost your touch!” said a petite blonde in a blue and black outfit that matched Elura’s in design if not in color.
Suddenly, the blonde became a blur as she raced forward at super speed and sent the Quazars flying in all directions!
“Alena is such a show off!” said a third woman who had shorter reddish hair and wore a bright yellow and black costume.
“You aren’t exactly subtle yourself, Nula!” said Elura with a smile.
Nula shrugged and raised both hands over her head.
A burst of vibrational energy swept outward from her body and knocked other Quazars off their feet!
“I’m just a woman who believes in good vibes even if they break things at times!” quipped Nula.
They helped Ren to her feet and ministered to her needs as she slowly stood up and asked, “Who are you? Did I stop them?”
Elura said, “You certainly did! In fact we Galactons came to help you repel them but you had them at a disadvantage before we reached the ship! Without their weapons, they’re just a bunch of bullies!”
Nula added, “We’re a group of adventurers. We seldom get to this part of space but we were known to the late Supergirl who even emulated us once with help from some friends for a good cause once! “
Elura added, “We tracked the Quazars here. Apparently, they are but one group of several beings that have been boosted in terms of physicality or resources by Evil Star! He once created miniature slaves known as Starlings. Now, he has used his weapon of choice to empower other aliens like the Quazars!”
She added, “I have limited telepathy. I projected images of what you did across your home below. Your courage was displayed for all to see!”
Alena said, “I hear the people cheering you as we speak!”
Indeed, the chant of “Volar!” echoed from below.
Ren smiled as tears filled her eyes! She had clearly won over the people of Torma once more!
She beamed with pleasure as she saw the cheering crowds!
Xalta was still shaking from the emotional manipulation she had suffered due to the Galacton known as Elura. Still, she managed to shout in defiance.
“We didn’t just show up and project our fear energy. We directed it by remote long before we made ourselves known to your people below. In fact, we made certain some were so crippled with fear that they agreed to obey our commands at any price!” she said.
Ren said, “What commands? Surely, you’ve lost now!”
The Quazar said, “We ordered the Science Council of Torma to activate certain bombs we supplied! Your world dies today!”
Ren breathed a silent prayer and glanced at the three Galactons. Was it too late to save her home?
7
Kalanor
Tazzala the Hive Queen resented her sister Zazzala the Queen Bee for several reasons. Zazzala was older and had always looked down on her sibling. She had also always been known for her beauty and her intellect while Tazzala was considered inferior to her sister in both regards. Now, having claimed Kalanor for herself in the absence of its previous tyrant Despero, the Hive Queen hoped to use the planet as a base from which she might eventually overthrow her sister and also claim their home world of Korll. When Evil Star promised to aid her in this task by enslaving the second Justice League, she had readily agreed to destroy Kalanor in exchange for promises of greater power and revenge on her sister!
Still, the purple haired beauty had copied much of Zazzala’s own techniques by using a magno nucleo rod to enslave and turn many Kalanorians into tiny winged drone warriors! She smiled to herself. She had to admit Zazzala’s plans had always worked at least temporarily.
She smiled again as she surveyed her personal League. Superman (Ripper Jones) was a bearded blond man in a red and blue costume that resembled the more famous one worn by the original Superman; however, Ripper’s emblem was slightly different in design. He was incredibly powerful but Evil Star’s power held him in thrall.
The green skinned Martian Manhunter (Ed Orson) was similar to the original hero of the same name too but he wore a solid red and blue costume that covered his arms and legs unlike the briefer one favored by his double.
Batman (Bill Gore) had once worn a beard but now he was clean shaven and his black and gray costume enabled him to hide in shadows when needed.
The diminutive Atom (Barney Judson) was brilliant but his keen mind could not break free of the hold his new Hive Queen had over him. His red and black costume was slightly different from that of the original Atom. He wore a mask but his hair was exposed and hung in a shaggy style around the mask.
Flash (Race Morrison) drummed his blurred fingers restlessly as he waited with the others. Perhaps in time his vibrations might disrupt the power that enslaved him but Tazzala doubted it.
Green Lantern (Monk Loomis) was bald. He frowned from time to time but he also was helpless to break the spell that enslaved his own formidable will. His green costume consisted of a broad vest and higher boots than those of his double.
Tazzala strolled by the row of heroes and tapped her golden magno nucleo wand in one gloved hand. It was good to be queen. She would have the detonation charges activated soon enough once she and her drones had fled the doomed world.
She raised both arms over her head and ran her hands through her cascading purple tresses! She exulted in her new power and the promise of more to come. In truth, she was already under Evil Star’s control as well although she did not realize it.
He was expending considerable energy to control or enhance so many people on the four worlds he sought to destroy.
Meanwhile, not far from the Hive Queen’s palace on Kalanor, Lucas “Snapper” Carr was strapped in a small hovering module that Jasonar had put together to give him some mobility.
He said, “I’m coming with you. I’m not going to let my kid brother battle some lunatic without help!”
James said, “Even though I can’t believe I’m on another planet, I’m good. I have the power of Amazo and he has the powers of all those League doubles Jasonar described. He tapped into their power from afar before he came to get us! He just didn’t know his Amazo would not awaken like it should!”
Saranna said, “You are both true heroes but what can you do for us now that your brother has such power?”
Lucas said, “I have power too. I can teleport. It is something I picked up during the Invasion a while back!”
Jasonar said, “But Lucas Carr, surely any power you possess may be duplicated by your brother now that he has the abilities of my flawed Amazo?”
Lucas said, “I don’t care! We’re family and I’m coming too!”
Jasonar said, “Very well. I could use your unique abilities too. My own vehicle the dimensional traveler might be able to gain some extra precision in its warp drive if we tap into your will power and this teleportation ability you now possess!”
Lucas snapped his finger and said, “Exactly! So, what is your plan?”
Saranna said, “We hope to subdue the League or free them from the spell they are under by capturing them and the Hive Queen! We hoped the Amazo powers would enable us to do just that especially with your unique knowledge of how the Green Lantern, Superman etc. use their powers!”
Lucas said, “Like I told you before, Green Lantern’s ring won’t work on yellow. Superman is weakened by Kryptonite and it can kill him in time. The Martian Manhunter is weakened by fire. You probably already know all this!”
James frowned suddenly and Lucas noticing his brother’s expression, asked, “What’s wrong?”
James said, “We’re not alone! My enhanced senses allow me to detect that there are others approaching our ship!”
Saranna cried, “No! Surely, we have not been discovered! We subdued the drones she sent after us and even the Hive Queen could not expect us to have returned so swiftly!”
Jasonar said, “Indeed, we have other allies but I have not introduced them yet. They are unique as well!”
He said, “In truth, both originated on Earth! I merely secured their services when we met them in space! They both departed from your world for different reasons!”
He gestured to a sliding panel that opened to reveal a humanoid figure with long platinum blonde hair and golden skin. The man was muscular and wore a blue and gold costume. His eyes were a pale white and he moved forward with a silent grace and obvious majesty.
“This robotic being was dubbed the Inheritor by an earth scientist named Dr. Magnus. After the first model was destroyed in a rebellion against his maker, the second model proved equally strong willed though not of evil intent. He fled the lab and flew into space to walk his own path. He was damaged during the Invasion you spoke of before and I claimed him as a weapon against our foes. He is nearly mindless but his body may shape itself into any number of weapons!”
The final figure was also humanoid but broad wings sprouted from his back and his features had an equally avian look. He was powerfully build and certainly lacked the delicate bone structure of a true bird. He wore a silver and red costume.
He said, “I am Sunshrike although I was born as Richard Gray. I once called myself Condor when I worked with some heroes like Hawkman and Captain Comet. After my body began to mutate I departed Earth. I can fly through space unprotected and at great speed. I have found peace among the stars!”
James said, “Man! This is awesome! I can’t believe it all!”
Lucas said, “Take it easy. You’ll get used to meeting heroes and aliens. After all, I did!”
Jasonar said, “Let me run a scan on you Lucas. I think I may use your power to bring us all directly inside the Hive Queen’s palace! If we secure her, then her League will soon be free!”
Lucas nodded and said, “Sure. It’s not the weirdest thing I’ve ever done!”
Hours later, Jasonar nodded in approval as he ran his hands across a control panel.
“It should suffice! If you are all ready, we shall make the attempt to reclaim our world!” he announced.
Saranna said, “Father, you do sound grand but it becomes you!”
He smiled at his daughter and said, “Perhaps, you are correct. Let us merely let our actions speak in place of colorful phrases!”
He made a last adjustment and the dimensional traveler’s engine core tapped into Lucas Carr’s new powers to teleport them directly inside the Hive Queen’s Palace. Its location had been projected into Lucas Carr’s mind by his brother who used his own Martian derived mental abilities to take the location and image from Jasonar’s thoughts.
The Hive Queen loved splendor and she had used her drones to turn the structure into a luxurious palace marked by alien treasures of every type. Gems hovered in mid- air and flickered with a weird luminescence.
Tiny winged drones taken from the nobility of Kalanor swarmed around the room as if worshipping their Hive Queen and exulted in proximity to her sultry form.
The captive League reacted instantly even for men under mental domination!
Green Lantern’s power ring blazed with emerald energy but it was met with an explosion of yellow energy generated from the eyes of the silent Inheritor!
The golden robot passed through the green beam and elongated his arms to envelop Green Lantern! Directed by Snapper earlier, it knew the ring was powerless against anything of a yellow color.
Rather than fall before the relentless assault, Green Lantern used the ring indirectly against Inheritor by causing the projected energy to erupt upward from beneath the palace foundation to send rubble hurling at him!
The Inheritor shrugged off the attack and expanded his body until he sailed upward and forward and covered his foe!
Nearby the Flash had dashed into battle like the human whirlwind he was and the wind from his motions struck the newcomers like a storm!
Sunshrike resisted the winds and with wings that enabled him to soar through airless space, he swooped down on the Scarlet Speedster with stunning impact.
James Carr tapped into his own duplicate power ring to send a giant green fist crashing into Superman! The Man of Steel grunted but broke through to confront the young man.
“This isn’t easy. I mean, you’re Superman. How can anyone fight Superman?” he gasped as he held out one Martian elongated and altered hand to reveal a glowing green rock!
Superman fell back as the radiation from the Kryptonite the new team had secured via skillful use of the dimensional traveler’s enhanced teleporting properties washed over him.
Saranna ignored her father’s warning to be careful and darted forward to fire a ray gun at the Manhunter!
He shrank back in dismay as flames encircled his body.
Batman prepared to put out the fire that trapped his partner but Lucas Carr steered his own hovering cart forward and used his power to teleport himself out of the agile Caped Crusader’s path and return behind him. He had no delusions about being able to beat Batman in a fight but he hoped he could
The Atom sailed across the air adjusting his size and weight controls! The small hero crashed into Saranna and knocked the gun from her hands.
He was slapped across the room by the Inheritor who seemed to be able to see in every direction and merely projected a new limb from his own back to strike the Atom.
Sunshrike had managed to overwhelm the Flash with his own superior speed! The mutated bird-man was incredibly fast and he was much stronger than the Scarlet Speedster!
Batman managed to connect with Snapper in spite of the young man’s teleportation power. He struck him with a ruthless efficiency and Snapper collapsed within his hover chair!
Meanwhile, the flames had both weakened and trapped the Martian Manhunter but the swarming drones summoned by their Hive Queen smothered the flames and freed the Leaguer!
He smiled coldly and flew into battle as Saranna screamed and her father tried to shoot an energy beam of his own at the hulking alien!
He was too slow and in seconds both father and daughter were in the grip of the now giant –sized Martian!
James had managed to tap into the speed of Superman to rocket forward and break the couple free from the Martian’s hands but even his speed failed to prevent the alien from punching him in passing.
He grunted and then shrank from view to return with stunning force as he combined the Atom’s power with that of Superman himself!
He erupted through the Martian’s pliable form and left him groaning in pain before he connected with a flurry of punches!
His heat vision ignited the Martian and he nodded in approval as he saw the Inheritor drop a defeated Green Lantern at his feet.
Batman had tried to shield Superman from the Green Kryptonite but he was ripped into the air and slammed into the drones by the blindingly fast Sunshrike!
As James flew over to confront the Hive Queen herself, she shrieked in anger and raised her gleaming magno-nucleo wand!
“You will all bow down to me! I can still make you my subjects!” she hissed.
James suspected that the robotic Inheritor was immune to her power but he wondered if that immunity was something he could also duplicate!
He concentrated for a moment and then he smiled broadly.
He raised his hand and displayed an exact copy of the wand!
“I can duplicate your weapons too just like I did the power ring worn by your Lantern! I think I just cancelled your hold on them all!” he said.
Sure enough Batman and the other Lawless Leaguers blinked rapidly and shook off the spell that had entranced them! Superman regained his feet as the Kryptonite was removed. He was alive and should recover.
Snapper was awake again too and his fingers were snapping furiously. He was very proud of his brother.
Green Lantern said, “You freed us! How can we thank you?”
The enraged Hive Queen screamed, “You need not offer your gratitude since the bombs planted here will soon destroy you all!”
As Saranna revived Snapper, Jasonar turned to the others.
“I never realized they would rather see Kalanor perish if they could not dominate it!”
James said, “We’ve got to neutralize the bombs now!”
He had not won his first victory to see things fall to ruin now!
8
Aoron
Evil Star shuddered as he leaned against one of his starlings. He was tired. He had expended too much of the newly absorbed energy he had taken after Starbreaker’s death. Oh it was true using that vast energy as directed through his Stand Band to remotely empower and enhance the Hive Queen’s winged drones, the Headmen, and the Quazars had been a brilliant new use of his old power. It had enabled them to do things beyond their own past limitations. The drones could not fly through the void of outer space before nor could the Quazars transmit fear except via a living carrier and he had enabled them to overcome these weaknesses! Their victories were his victories! However, now as he waited for the bombs to detonate and his power to be greater than ever before, he felt tired and he knew he had over extended himself.
“It shall all be worthwhile when I drain the energy released by my bombs on those worlds!” he whispered.
“You shall not drain that destructive power because I have already done so! I took the energy directly from the bombs on each world. None of the worlds were seriously damaged since I took the concussive force of the bombs into my essence! They did not destroy any of your targets and I benefited greatly from their terrible might.”
Evil Star scowled as he saw a newcomer approach him across the ruined plains of Aoron.
He was humanoid with long platinum colored hair and golden skin. He was dressed in red and blue and he smiled enigmatically at the ruler of Aoron.
“Who are you? What are you?” he demanded.
“While the form I wear is based upon that of a robotic being known as the Inheritor, it is merely a container for my true essence. I was once known as the Unimaginable and I sought to be a hero but I was angry and arrogant and did not know the meaning of the term. I lost my life or most of it when I defied the Princess of Apokolips Pandora. I was honored and given posthumous membership in the Justice League of America on Earth!
“You are no robot! I can tell as much!” said Evil Star.
“No. I am fully human now but I based my appearance upon that of the Inheritor. I drifted through space as nothing more than a mere mental presence until Starbreaker’s demise. Just as you took some of his power I tapped into enough to enable me to trace the rest of it to you. I learned of your evil plan and I vowed to stop it. As a being of pure thought, I was able to simultaneously transmit myself to all the planets you threatened. I could do nothing more but wait and then drink in all the power contained in each of your bombs! I saved those worlds and in doing so I gained enough power to create this physical body for myself! I wish to be a hero,” he said.
Evil Star glowed with a purple radiance as he said, “I curse you! You have thwarted my ambitions. I am weakened now but you will regret this. I will submit to you since I sense you possess more power than the humanity you boast of so readily would suggest! Take me to Oa or whatever prison you wish. I am still immortal and have time to rest and regain my power! I will return and emblazon my name across the stars when I rule all!”
The Unimaginable shook his head and looked at Evil Star with eyes that gleamed with emotion.
“No. You misunderstood me. I said I want to be a hero. I am not one yet and do not limit myself to the actions one would associate with a noble being.”
He reached out and slowly the glow around Evil Star dimmed until he was left powerless! All of his starlings had been absorbed as well.
“You robbed me of my remaining power! I am dying! By the stars, I am dying!” he cried as his now wizened form collapsed to the rough sands of Aoron.
The Unimaginable nodded and waited and then calmly lifted the now dark Star Band from the dead man’s body.
“It is not quite empty of power but it its master is gone now!” he said as he tossed it aside and flew upward.
The corpse of the being known only as Evil Star would soon be covered by the shifting sands of the barren world he had once ruled.
The golden being once called the Unimaginable did not look back as he soared into the heavens.
“It is done. Now, begins my true quest for heroism and for that elusive quality known as humanity. I shall begin it with a more appropriate name than that of the Unimaginable. Let me now be known as the Mage!” he said.
Epilogue
Thronn
Alyssa the Golden Blade had to admit that she had been wrong about their former foe Vant Orl. He truly had used his genius to help them defeat the Headmen. She would offer him her thanks when she returned to the Presidential Palace. For now, as she and her teammates, including Pulsar and Ron Avon who had decided to stay on Thronn, surveyed the damage to their planet, it was enough to merely know they had won and they would have time to restore the world to its former greatness.
Torma
Volar (Ren Uoxon) wept joyful tears as she embraced her parents and the Galactons watched from one side. They had offered her membership in their Sorority of Space Heroines and she had accepted just as she had also been welcomed home by her family and her people at last!
“My gender doesn’t matter anymore to them! I really am home! I truly can go home again!” she thought with a smile as the people of Torma…her people….cheered her return!
Kalanor
The League expressed their thanks to the Carr brothers and Jasonar and Saranna as they secured the defeated Hive Queen and vowed to repair any damage done to the planet they had briefly enslaved.
“We want to return to defend Planet X when we are done here. We made a vow to do so!” explained Batman.
Jasonar said, “We understand. You were not to blame for your actions while under Tazzala’s spell!”
Saranna kissed James Carr and said, “And what of you? Will you stay with us? Will you stay with me a while?”
James nodded readily as his brother snapped his fingers and said, “In my own words from the distant past: like yeah, cats!”
Lucas knew he would return home in time. He had Jayne Payton to come home to and he wanted his work with Dr. Danvers to continue but for now it was enough to see his little brother’s joy at being a hero.
Sunshrike smiled but he knew his own plans called for him to return to exploring space. The silent robotic Inheritor had vanished. Its form had been altered into living flesh by the Unimaginable though no one on Kalanor realized what had happened to their robotic ally nor did they imagine his strange new destiny.
As the Mage made his way into space he gave little thought to the worlds he had saved. He had more to achieve if he was to truly become the hero he wanted to be. His quest would be an epic one!
The End
Evil Star Ascendant!
By lawrenceliberty
If Evil Star is truly ascendant then who can stop him?
1
Aoron
Within an imposing structure on the otherwise barren planet Aoron a sinister assembly took place. Alien beings from several different worlds all knelt before a large throne and the purple and blue costumed figure who sat regally upon it.
“Evil Star!” they chanted in unison!
Evil Star smiled as his servants paid their respects to him. He had once eliminated all life on Aoron in a quest to secure the immortality and stellar power a device called the Star Band had granted him. He had long ago abandoned any claim to his nearly forgotten humanity. Power was all that mattered to him and now he possessed more power than he had ever known in his long existence.
He held a scarlet device shaped like a star. He had created the weapon long before but some sentient beings claimed that the Star Band now possessed a mind of its own and the humanoid who claimed it as his own was in truth merely a mortal pawn. These rumors were whispered at best since no one dared to defy the alien conqueror. Whatever the nature of his weapon, Evil Star was incredibly powerful and any past defeats he had suffered at the hands of the heroic Green Lantern or other noble beings were merely distant memories much like the faces of those he had once called his family. He had lived on and on while all around him had perished. He was immune to age, disease, and perhaps equally beyond feelings like remorse and love.
He could exult in power and he did so once more as he surveyed the mixture of bald beings with large skulls, warlike females, and deadly beings of various shapes and sizes who all possessed large wings.
He smiled again and said, “Once more shall I repeat your orders and once more shall I caution you all against failure. Should any of you disappoint me, you shall swiftly perish! Obey me and succeed and I shall reward you beyond your wildest imaginings! “
The aliens reverently bowed once more before their master.
Evil Star said, “As you know an alien parasite called Starbreaker feasted upon whole worlds for eons before ending his own material existence out of guilt that overwhelmed him when Captain Comet duped him into trying to absorb a personality altering energy source known as the Nefar Nebulae. When he perished the cosmic energy within his physical body was released throughout the cosmos and I secured most of it for myself! It enabled me to locate and equip you all so that you might help me acquire even greater power through the destruction of several planets! I realize that should these worlds explode due to bombs you will place at their respective cores, I will be able to draw their energy resources through my Star Band much like the late Starbreaker did when he fed more directly upon such worlds! Enable me to destroy these worlds and I shall reward you all!”
He stood up and raised one gloved fist in the arm.
“You have been given your assignments! Go and remember my dark radiance shines upon you!” he yelled.
The odd groups rushed off as if desperate to leave his presence. Some truly wanted to escape him while others sought to please him.
He watched them and he whispered to the Star Band and several small humanoid beings that crouched around his throne. Each of them resembled a miniature version of their master.
“Yes, my Starlings. You know what I want. You know how my power shall soon grow!” he said.
Evil Star was truly powerful now but he was self-absorbed at the best of times. Little did he realize that he had not been the only being to benefit from the energies released at the moment Starbreaker died.
An unseen presence watched and listened and vowed to stop Evil Star for reasons of his own.
“I have not acquired enough energy to restore my own material form but my mental powers are intact and I shall use them to stop Evil Star!” thought this miraculous being.
2
Earth
Happy Harbor, Rhode Island was a peaceful community for the most part although it had been the site of more than one clash between super heroes and costumed criminals as was fitting since it had also once housed the secret HQ of the Justice League of America during that group’s early days.
A young man with dark hair and a slightly nervous manner sat on the front porch of a small house in the little community and gazed up at the stars. It was a nice summer evening and James Carr was content.
“You know I’m really happy that you and Jayne Payton found each other and that you like working for Dr. Danvers at his California lab but I’m more than happy to stay right here. Teaching gym at our old school is all this Carr brother has ever wanted! Bro, you can hang out with super heroes and scientists but not this cat,” he said.
Lucas “Snapper” Carr grinned and said, “You sound like me or like I used to sound back when I was hanging around with the Justice League and watching way too many “77 Sunset Strip” reruns!”
Lucas frowned as he felt that annoying itch beneath the cast he wore over his broken leg. He sat in a porch swing and rested the injured leg on a divan.
“When I was with Superman, Batman, and the others in the early days of the Justice League I met all kinds of crazy villains from time and space but none of them did as much damage to me as I did when I fell down our steps!” he said with a sigh.
James nodded at his older brother and said, “Breaking your leg on your first night of vacation was a bad break…if you’ll excuse the expression!”
Lucas said, “I know but it was nice of you to keep me company tonight while our folks are enjoying a rare night out!”
He smiled and stepped off the porch to look up at the stars.
“Star light, star bright…!” he began when a beam of blue light erupted from the sky and a small vehicle landed noiselessly in his yard!
“Oh man”! he gasped as two figures emerged from the vehicle and approached him. The male was wrinkled but had the same vaguely elfin features as the younger girl who followed him. They looked as if they could be related and in fact they were father and daughter. Each of them had bright green hair!
A slightly calmer Lucas said, “Jasonar! Saranna! Oh man! What brings you here from Kalanar? Is Despero poking that freaky third eye of his into your business again?”
He quickly added, “This is my brother James. I met Jasonar and Saranna yeara ago! They come from a planet called Kalanar!”
James blinked rapidly and said, “I know! I remember reading your notes! They were like bedtime stories when I was a kid!”
The alien scientist Jasonar said, “I fear we are threatened by a force more deadly than even the tyrant Despero! We have come to ask for help from your Justice League allies!”
Lucas said, “They’re all away. I’ve been told by someone close to one of their members that they aren’t around right now!”
He referred to the fact that his girlfriend Jayne Payton knew her brother Will “Starman” Payton and his fellow heroes in the fabled Justice League of America were away on a mission. Lucas still enjoyed learning about his old friends via Jayne’s connection to Will. Even though Lucas had started out as a trusted mascot of sorts to the heroic team, a series of unfortunate events and he simple passing of time itself had somewhat estranged him from them for the most part. Things had improved over the last few years and he certainly thought of the members as friends but they were certainly not in regular contact with one another.
Saranna said, “We tried to find them at their base but they were not there! We thought to come here since you may also be able assist us!”
Lucas said, “I’ll help if I can but this broken leg makes me almost useless and to be honest I’m not as close to the team as I was when I was a kid! I barely know some of the newer members.”
Jasonar said, “It is your knowledge of the early members of the team that shall give us a fighting chance!”
Saranna smiled winningly and added, “We may yet benefit from your knowledge of the founding League members! No one knows them as well as you do!”
Lucas glanced over at James who was listening and watching intently. Clearly, meeting the alien duo was the most astounding thing that had ever happened to his younger brother.
“What do you mean? I’ll share what I can but I won’t betray any secrets!” he said as the irony of his words washed over him. He had indeed once betrayed the team and he still felt guilty over how easily he had been duped by one of their foes.
Jasonar said, “It is simple. Kalanar is in danger but the threat comes not from the deposed Despero but from the Justice League itself!”
3
Thronn
Alyssa the Golden Blade frowned as she walked toward the Presidential Palace. She did not like cities and while her role as a member of the celebrated Honor Team of Thronn meant that the heroine had traveled across her planet as well as to other worlds, she preferred the more rural environment of the Arden Archipelago where she was raised amongst her Sword Sisters and their Matriarch her mother S’brogan.
The blonde warrior woman wore gleaming golden armor and sandals and carried the legendary sword that had once belonged to her late husband Sigurd the Nornschild. She had taken up his heroic name and the weapon that inspired it since his death at the hands of alien invaders. She also mourned the loss of her other teammates Energiman and Magicko.
She had helped defeat the alien mastermind behind the invasion but her return had been delayed by other conflicts and she had only recently made her way back to her home planet of Thronn where life seemed to go on as it always had now that a group of Martian invaders had also perished.
The beautiful blonde shook her head as she remembered her last visit to her family home. Her mother had welcomed her and offered her support and comfort but it was her meeting with the community sage the Keeper of the Book that still troubled her thoughts.
Nyson the Keeper of the Book was a small man and in her eyes no matter what his physical size, the gray haired scholar could never measure up to her late father who had once held the esteemed position of Keeper of the Book.
Nyson had ushered her into the Sanctum Bibliarium with a brief grin and a deferential manner as befitted her status as Matriarch’s First Born and national heroine.
“I summoned you here because of a disturbing new entry in the Book. It materialized this morning. It seems to be a rather powerful omen!” he said as he led her to where a massive tome rested upon a table.
“The Book shows us signs of what is to come and allows us to gain insight from that which has passed and at times it defies all understanding in its mysterious depictions of events!” he said.
Alyssa said, “I am well acquainted with the Book. I spent much of my girlhood in this very chamber when I was not mastering the combat skills of my calling as a Sword Sister!”
Nyson nodded obsequiously and said, “Of course! I should have realized as much! Forgive me for presuming to prattle on and attempt to enhance my own status by proclaiming the lore of our land!”
Alyssa shook back her long blonde locks and said, “It is I who should apologize. I was rude. Please, show me what the Book reveals!”
Nyson smiled and said, “This drawing appears to be an eight sided structure. Naturally, that represents the Presidential Palace! This golden figure approaching the building can only be…!”
“Me! Clearly, that drawing of a female figure is meant to be me!” she said.
Nyson nodded and said, “And yet these other colorful beings around you are unknown to me! I have searched the library and find nothing to indicate their identities nor any roles they may have played in our history!”
Alyssa said, “My thanks, Nyson! Clearly, the answers will be found in the Palace and I am destined to go there!”
Now, Alyssa the Golden Blade stood inside the vast entry chamber of the Presidential Palace and waited impatiently. She was impatient by nature and losing her husband and friend made her less willing to wait around than ever before. She craved action!
She paced restlessly and paused as the Hall of Honors came into view. This section contained a tribute of sorts to the Honor Team of Thronn. She sighed as she saw the ruggedly handsome features of her late husband Sigurd on a holo prism sculpture. She could almost hear his voice and his laughter as charged into one battle after another. A second floating holo prism depicted the gaunt red and white clad form of Magicko the Scientist Supreme of the team. He was a kind man and his advanced science enabled him to appear as though he possessed magical powers. Now, he too had perished! Only the odd energy being Energiman remained alive if the strange being could be said to live. He had seemingly given up his life years before to summon help from the famous Green Lantern of Earth when the whole team had been captured by the evil genius Vant Orl! Green Lantern had freed them all and had defeated Vant Orl. Years later after Superman and yet another Green Lantern had enabled Energiman’s disembodied mind to regenerate a material body of his own, the reunited Honor Team had successfully defended their world from countless new perils yet none had truly seemed as dangerous as their former captor the alien known as Vant Orl.
Suddenly, Alyssa whirled and drew her blade as five palace guards in their black and red uniforms charged at her with ray guns drawn and ready to be fired!
“What is this madness? I am here by appointment!” she declared as she planted her feet and assumed a combat stance.
The guards said nothing but several fired upon her!
She blocked all the laser beams with her flashing magical sword and managed to disarm one of the guards with a hurled truncheon of her own.
She rolled forward and rose up to slice though another guardsman’s gun and then kick him into his nearest ally.
A spinning heel kick dropped the third trooper and she knocked the fourth one out with one punch.
Her super strength made her a match for anyone and her Sword Sister training and the magical weapon she carried enhanced her abilities even more.
The final guard dropped back and said, “I yield Sword Sister! You may enter the Presidential Suite! Our orders were merely to test you not to slay you!”
Alyssa shoved him aside and stalked into the plush suite.
“By the Matriarch!” she gasped as she saw the figure at the desk with the Thronnian Presidential Seal.
He was deathly pale and shaped like a blob with four wiggling tentacles extended from his torso.
“Vant Orl!” she cried as she darted forward and started to leap over the desk.
A bolt of energy blazed across her path and she fell backward to land on her feet after an acrobatic flip.
Her blue eyes widened as she recognized the source of the energy beam.
“Energiman! I thought you had perished! What are you doing in service to this alien cur?” she cried.
Energiman stepped forward and raised his hands in a placating manner.
“I was not killed but my energy form was scattered and it took me time to regain a humanoid body. I could only watch helplessly in sorrow as our friends perished and you were left to mourn, Alyssa! I am not under any spell or duress. Vant Orl has been given a full pardon for his own heroic actions in helping to defeat the alien invaders. He has been given named acting President as well because he alone may be able to stop a menace that threatens our whole world!” said Energiman.
Allysa scowled as she looked at her friend. He was a dark haired handsome man who resembled the hero Superman because that champion had allowed the energy being to once use his own body as a template when he needed to recreate a physical form for his disembodied mind. His features had altered over time but he still had a superficial resemblance to the Man of Steel. He wore a red and white costume that also looked familiar to Alyssa!
“I am indeed wearing Magicko’s old costume. It no longer has his array of weapons and data sources but it allows me to retain my physical form. You see, my energy powers are out of control and only this containment suit keeps me from exploding!” he said.
Vant Orl said, “He speaks the truth, Golden Blade. I altered the costume and saved his very life. I am not the being you once fought. I am sorry I imprisoned you and your friends long ago and I mourn for your husband and friend. We are on the same side!”
Alyssa shook her head and crossed her arms. “Tell me more!”
Vant Orl undulated slightly as his amorphous body leaned or oozed forward.
“I was contacted by agents of a being known as Evil Star. They wanted to enlist my aid in a plot to destroy Thronn. I was able to defy them because of my super will power. They could not force me to join their crusade. Instead, I used my influence to get this position. I’ve been called the Hero of the Red Brotherhood War. People now trust me. I hope you shall do so in time!” he said.
Energiman said, “Vant Orl is a genius. We always knew that! He has restored me and he wants us to form a new Honor Team! Will you join our cause?”
Alyssa nodded slowly. “I shall. My blade is ever ready to defend my home but I shall not offer trust blindly to one who once was my enemy.”
“My! She is magnificent!” said a high pitched voice as a petite woman entered the room and smiled up at Alyssa.
The newcomer was remarkable for her beauty and for her body which was entirely made of a translucent crystalline substance. Each facet of her curvy form gleamed in the lights of the office.
“This is the Princess Aria of Karalyx. She has joined our team! Her father is the Chief Justiciar of their planet!” said Vant Orl.
The shiny woman executed a brief courtesy and smiled broadly.
“You are truly beautiful!” she said to Alyssa! The Crystal Princess extended one delicate hand to the taller woman and said, “I am honored to meet you.”
Alyssa took her hand and said, “Well met, Princess Aria! The lawmen of your world are indeed legendary across the universe!”
Princess Aria blushed becomingly and a light pink hue illuminated her crystalline form.
Vant Orl said, “I have summoned the others as well. It is time we prepared to face Evil Star’s emissaries!”
Two young men in bright costumes entered the room and stepped forward expectantly. Alyssa smiled briefly in recognition. She knew them from a previous battle. Indeed, they had helped her avenge Sigurd’s death in a manner of speaking.
The first man was a handsome youth with long blond hair. He wore a gold costume with purple boots and trunks along a purple cape. He also wore a large gauntlet on one forearm.
“Do you remember me? I'm Ron Avon, Champion of Belgor! I came here with my friend Pulsar on orders from Era himself!” explained the young hero.
The second man smiled and said, “Era is one of the Guardians of the Clockwork Universe. He and his brothers work to keep order in the cosmos. He named me defender of the Cosmos and gave me the quantum bracelets I wear! Oh, and my name is Pulsar. Actually, I’m the second man to use that name. The first is now a Green Lantern. I’m trying to live up to his reputation!”
Pulsar wore a green and gold costume and the shining bracelets on each of his wrists gleamed as light reflected off tiny gemstones that studded their circumference.
Alyssa nodded slowly. This sudden reunion was a bit much to take in at once. Still, she knew both men slightly and respected them as heroes.
Ron Avon said, “Pulsar never told you before that his real name is Bob Altus and he comes from Earth!”
Pulsar said, “Sorry. I guess I did get carried away. You see, this is a second chance for me. I messed up rather badly when I was a hero during my teens on Earth!”
Ron Avon said, “Uh oh! We have no time to talk! My power gauntlet tells me Thronn is being invaded as we speak!”
Vant Orl said, “Blast it! I thought we’d have more time! “
They rushed outside to where around a dozen flying men swooped down from space. Each had an abnormally large skull and wore a black ring!
Vant Orl said, “The Anti-Green Lantern Corps! I thought those black rings had all be destroyed years ago. Apparently, Evil Star not only found a way to make more, he overcame their one liability. The rings destroy any user who lacks an advanced mentality. That won’t be a problem since Evil Star’s minions all appear to be the Headmen of Garon!”
Alyssa raised her sword and said, “I do not care where these mutant misfits originate! I shall drive them back to their unholy master or die trying!”
The newly formed Honor team of Thronn hurried into battle as one more world faced the peril of Evil Star!
4
Earth
As a small automated device carried Lucas Carr into Jasonar’s ship, the former JLA mascot said, “I don’t understand. How can the JLA be a threat to Kalanar?”
James nodded as he glanced in awe at the spaceship’s interior.
“Yeah, those heroes are always trying to help not to hurt!” he said sheepishly as Saranna concealed a smile and nodded to him in an encouraging manner.
Jasonar said, “I may be a scientist but I fear I am prone to poetic license at times. Your Justice League is no threat to us. We are being menaced by their alternate timeline counterparts!”
James said, “Sure. That makes…that makes absolutely no sense at all!”
Saranna gently touched his arm and said, “I realize this is all a bit too much for you to take in at once. We appreciate your help and your patience. You and your brother are both exceptional men!”
She continued, “When your Justice League last defeated Despero, they left behind new heroes to defend a world called Planet X from any new perils. This other League served this purpose well until they abruptly became as evil as the heroes they emulated were good. This Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Atom, Flash, and Martian Manhunter became tyrants in the service of our world’s newest oppressor the Hive Queen Tazzalla! She used them to take over our planet. She brought them here from Planet X!”
Lucas said, “Man! This is heavy stuff! Where did the League I know get these other Leaguers?”
Jasonar said, “I do not know the details. I was told only that a villain named Dr. Destiny created them as his own Lawless League by altering reality in some manner. He plucked them from some alternate timeline. With his defeat they became heroes until Hive Queen Tazzala enslaved them all!”
Lucas snapped his fingers and said, “Yeah! Dr. Destiny had a gem that allowed him to do all kinds of crazy things. If he made them as an evil Justice League, I guess someone else could change them again and again!”
James said, “You said they were enslaved by the Hive Queen Tazzala? Didn’t the JLA often battle an alien beauty called Zazzala the Queen Bee?”
Jasonar said, “The Hive Queen Tazzala is the sister of the more notorious Queen Bee Zazzala but she is deadly in her own right since she can control any male!”
Lucas said, “I get it now! If her enforcers are some kind of evil JLA, then I’m in a good position to know how to fight them! I do know the way their powers work if they are copies of my friends!”
Jasonar said, “We need your data to enhance our weapon of choice! The Hive Queen may enslave any male but not an artificial being like this one!”
He gestured to a glass tube in which a towering humanoid stood silently immobile. He wore a green and brown costume with an odd red cap. His ears were pointed and his eyes were cold and dark.
“Amazo? That’s Amazo! You’ve got the One Man Justice League in cold storage!” gasped Lucas.
Saranna said, “No! He is merely a copy my father created. Sadly, he doesn’t work!”
Jasonar said, “I failed. I thought I could use him against our enemies since one like him threatened the heroes you knew but I have failed to bring him to life!”
Lucas said, “The guy who made the first Amazo was a genius. Amazo was a robot or android but he could copy super powers and this made him deadly!”
At that moment the ship lurched to one side as dozens of tiny winged men swooped inside!
“Drones! Those are drone soldiers!” cried Lucas.
As the small soldiers swarmed into the ship, Jasonar fell backward and the container holding Amazo toppled forward into a console that erupted into flames and sent a barrage of energy at Lucas Carr!
James jumped forward to protect his brother and screamed in pain as the energy passed through the falling robot and into his own body!
Saranna screamed, “Father! You must help him! Our enemies have followed us here!”
Jasonar managed to smother the energy bursts with a special device as the swarm of warriors swept through the ship!
Lucas yelled, “James? Are you hurt?”
James Carr shuddered once and stood up. He frowned as the swarming invaders suddenly became clearer to him. He could see each of the speeding figures as if they were moving in slow motion!
He glared at them and beams of fiery energy shot out of his eyes and enabled him to herd them away from his new allies and his brother.
He hesitated for a second and slammed both hands together. Shockwaves knocked all of the tiny drones to the ground as if they had been struck by a hurricane!
James Carr said, “How did I do that? I just sort of knew what to do but I don’t know how I did it!”
Lucas said, “It’s like you have Amazo’s powers!”
Jasonar nodded and said, “I concur. In some manner the energy burst transferred the powers in Amazo’s absorbing cells into your body. I failed to awaken my Amazo but I may have created a superior version in you, young man…although by accident!”
Lucas snapped his fingers and said, “This is far out stuff! My little brother is a One Man Justice League?”
James looked at Saranna and said, “I’ll help you, Saranna! I’ll save your people! I can do it. I literally know I can do it!”
5
Thronn
The street that led up to the Presidential Palace had become a nightmarish scene of destruction as the dozen invaders accomplished what a larger group of attackers could not do as easily! They literally blasted the area into rubble with their powerful energy bolts!
Alyssa led her new team into battle with her usual grim determination!
“Those rings clearly mimic the functions of the power ring used by Green Lantern! Even one of those rings could bring Thronn down in ruins unless we stop them!” she thought.
She leaped upward and brought her gleaming blade down at the nearest attacker. He was almost identical to his brethren in that he was bald and his skull was unnaturally large. He also gazed at her and at all of Thronn with a look of superiority. This Headman would learn not to underestimate a Sword Sister!
Alyssa’s sword smashed through his protective force field! She didn’t know if the rings had any particular weakness or if it was merely the enchantment that her weapon contained that allowed her to shatter the alien’s ring construct but she didn’t care! She smashed the sword’s flat side into his face and grappled furiously in an effort to bring him down to earth!
He said, “For a primitive being you pose more of a challenge than I ever expected to be the case!”
Alyssa said, “This world has suffered enough from alien invaders! This day we draw a line that shall not be crossed while breath remains within one son or daughter of Thronn!”
She slapped him across the face and saw his smug expression change to one of dismay as she managed to bring them both down to the rubble!
Energiman was also locked in battle with two of the attackers but while his unique metabolism and protective suit enabled him to resist their energy based attacks, he was also a bit hesitant to use his full power against them!
“This suit is all that keeps me whole! I don’t wish to return to being merely a disembodied mental presence! And yet how can I give less than my all for my world?” he mused.
He raised both hands with his palms outward and released two bolts of concussive energy that sent the two Headmen reeling.
Nearby, Aria the Crystal Princess maintained her almost girlish demeanor as her crystalline body turned bright red and she emitted blazing bolts of fire that encircled her own foes. She was no stranger to combat and her lawman father had raised her with the awareness that individuals must make sacrifices for the common good.
“The Headmen are silent foes but they are awfully strong! I guess their power has gone to their heads!” she thought with a giggle.
Pulsar (Bob Altus of earth) was not as confident as he tried to appear. Years ago his scientist father had tried to make him into a super hero to rival or even supplant Superboy; however, Pulsar had refused to eliminate the Teen of Steel and had rejected his father and his desire for power. He had grown up in obscurity and had never imagined an alien being would one day offer him a second chance at heroism!
“Okay, I’ve got the quantum bands and I’ve got the trust of the Clockwork Guardians! Now, all I have to do with not fail them completely!” he thought ruefully.
He concentrated as black energy rays bounced off his glowing force field.
“I’ve commanded the bands to activate automatic shielding and they naturally protect me from mind control!” he thought as he mentally checked off his combat procedures!
He shuddered as a blast shook the shield but failed to shatter it.
He frowned and then focused his thoughts on making the golden energy shape itself into a huge fist that battered the Headman and finally broke through his black force bubble to squeeze him into submission!
“I’m doing it! I’m actually winning!” he whispered.
Ron Avon had no lack of confidence. The blond hero had been groomed since his youth to be a champion and had in fact liberated his home world from a group of tyrants with help from Superboy. Although his own powers had changed somewhat as he matured and he was still a teen by the standards of his long lived race, he was a bit cocky and felt no need to hesitate in battle.
“Gauntlet analysis of energy weapons is complete. While the original rings were Qwardian in origin and empowered by energy generated remotely by a anti-matter power battery, these rings are similar but are powered by stellar energy as directed by a being known as Evil Star!”
The way the power gauntlet spoke to Ron via telepathy was comforting to the young hero. He thought of the gauntlet as a friend and not as a mere tool or weapon. It more than compensated for the loss of his sensory powers that had occurred when he was caught in an explosive while battling one of his old foes!
Ron said, “Hmmm? So if these bald baddies can’t tap into their power source, they will be helpless!”
He created a rainbow -hued sphere that erupted in the sky and left several of the warriors stunned as they fought to restore their balance!
“Vant Orl may need the scoop on these thugs! Gauntlet, transmit findings to Presidential Palace!” he ordered as he dodged an attack and connected with a simple super strong punch of his own!
Princess Aria had turned a pale blue as she used her destructive aura to shatter a Headman’s looming energy drill!
Alyssa the Golden Blade was furiously battering two Headmen with her fists and sword as they closed in on her. She lashed out with devastating power and kicked one of them in the face. Her sword’s magic was generating enough magic to enable her body to break through their ring shields!
She choked one Headman and hurled him into his nearest comrade.
Then, she gasped as darkness filled the sky above them!
Energiman said, “By the Nebulae! That shadowy substance threatens to plunge the planet into total darkness! Do you recognize it?”
Alyssa scowled and said, “Of course! It is Ergal Prism power! That was the substance Vant Orl used to imprison us all years ago! That fiend has turned against Thronn once more!”
“What should we do?” asked Pulsar. “I think I can repel it but not all at once!”
Energiman said, “I know what I have to do. I must achieve total detonation of my body! I might be able to shatter the Ergal Prism before it totally envelops our world!”
Alyssa cursed as she listened to her friend. “No! You must not sacrifice yourself again! We can beat that blob into submission and force him to undo his energy barrier!”
Princess Aria said, “Wait, Fair Maid! Look! I think the field is weakening the Headmen!”
The petite princess was correct! The inky darkness of the Ergal Prism energy had indeed separated the Anti-Green Lantern Corps members from the energy Evil Star had been feeding to them from his remote base on Auron!
“Gauntlet analysis suggests the rings require an incredible amount of sheer power to operate and without the constant stimulation from Evil Star’s Star Band, the rings take a physical toil on their users! Even the Headmen’s advance brains can only operate the rings for a limited time without additional power sources!”
Ron Avon grinned broadly and said, “Gauntlet, that is music to my ears!”
He swooped down as the remaining ring warriors fell to the ground and he cried out, “It is true! Vant Orl is no traitor! He is a hero! He used the data my gauntlet sent him to find a way to cut off the invaders from most of their power! He saved Thronn!”
Energiman nodded in relief. “The Headmen are defeated!”
“Not yet, you worm! We may still achieve our master’s goal by blowing up this world and all who live here! Your field won’t prevent that!” cried a Headman.
The dozen aliens collapsed in unison and their rings shattered as black energy erupted across the battle field!
Alyssa gasped in shock as the ground shook and she thought, “They truly mean to destroy all of Thronn even though doing so has cost them their lives!”
6
Torma
“You can’t go home again!”
The phrase echoed in Ren Uoxon’s mind as the brown haired heroine flew down toward her planet of birth. She was very nervous about returning to Torma since she had been exiled from the small planet a few years ago and had not had any contact with her parents or friends since that harsh verdict had been rendered following the revelation that she was in fact female!
She had used advanced science invented by her father Danan to conceal her gender for most of her teen years when she was dressed as the planetary champion or Volar. As the seemingly male Volar she had been revered as the hero who had saved the planet from any and all threats. Even her exposure as a woman had only occurred after she and Captain Comet had rescued the people of Torma from a race of “space Amazons” known as Femizons or Quazars.
“Our victory was the end of life as I knew it. It didn’t matter one bit that I was the same person inside. It didn’t matter that I was as willing to give everything for Torma as ever. All anyone cared about was the fact that I was a woman and on Torma women were deemed too inferior to be heroic or to be anything more than dutiful and decorative domestics!” she mused.
It was true the revelation of her gender had inspired the rigid society of Torma to slowly integrate women into positions of authority but this change came with a price. Normal Torma women might arise out of their limited spheres of influence but not with the painful example of a woman- a petite and pretty woman at that- who was clearly superior to every male on Torma constantly creating friction merely by her existence.
“My own father gave me the news that I had to leave! I had to leave everything and everyone I’d ever known just because I was a woman!” she whispered sadly.
It was true that she had made good friends during her exile. She had become close to the heroic alien couple Vartox and Maxima and in some ways she knew they considered her to be a daughter to them due to her youth.
She had convinced them that she could respond to the sudden distress signal from Torma on her own. She remembered the look of paternal concern on Vartox’s features as the rugged hero had urged her to allow him to help her on this mission.
“Maxima and I want to go with you. We would stand beside you in this hour of need as you have always been loyal to our own causes since we met!” he had said.
The fiery flame haired Maxima had nodded and made what was to her imperious nature a show of genuine support.
“It is so! Together we three may easily triumph over any peril that Torma faces!” she had said with a haughty toss of her head.
Ren had thanked them and parted from them with tearful affection but as she had explained, “I have to do this alone! If they need me, I want to prove to them that I am still worthy to be planetary Volar!” she had said.
Now, as she used her magna vision to scan the surface of the planet she had loved for so long, she saw a familiar if sinister sight. A large spaceship hovered above the main marketplace of Machismus the largest city on the planet. A gleaming energy beam emerged from a port on the ship and bathed the area below with an unholy radiance!
“The Femizons again! Those female pirates have returned to take over Torma again!” she gasped.
She noticed scenes of mass panic as men and women raced away from the massive ship and its beams of destructive concussive power!
“They’ve released their fear stimulating radiation! I see scenes of mass hysteria everywhere! The Amazons use some kind of fear toxin that makes males timid. It was that weapon that enabled them to almost conquer my home last time they invaded. We were able to magically reverse the effect and make the warrior women victims of their own poison but I have no magical powers. All I can do is just use my magna powers as best I can! I can’t fail my folks or my home if they need me!” she thought.
She knew that a certain irony was found in the fact that in the past the fear radiation spread like a plague and only worked on men. Thus, this most male dominated of worlds was perfectly structured for women invaders with such a weapon to be lethally effective. Based on the visible energy beam, they were taking a more direct approach this time!
“I know when I left they said they were going to include women in major roles in the military and government but I only see the same old routine. Male leaders are herding females away as the fear makes the men panic!” she thought.
A few shouts of recognition rang out as the Tormanians pointed skyward and saw their former champion smash into the saucer-like ship!
Ren recognized the basic structure of the craft. It had a command bridge where the Quazar leaders congregated and directed their attack. The Quazars were all beautiful women with slightly pointed ears and cruel expressions. They relished war and had nothing but contempt for men especially since their own men were frail. The tall warrior women laughed with pleasure as their attack bore fruit.
“They are not even attempting to put up a fight! Evil Star has assured us that his power will prevent any magical reversal of the fear radiation this time nor will any of our men dare to help the Tormanians!” said one Quazar as she exulted in their triumph.
They gasped as Ren approached and sirens echoed through the craft moments after the woman’s super swift entrance!
“Your invasion ends now!” she said as she placed both hands on her hips and confronted them with a look of determination!
She would win back Torma and her people would welcome her back! She just knew it.
The tallest Quazar laughed coldly and said, “You can do nothing against us! You see our power has been enhanced by Evil Star! The fear radiation carries his power and nothing can stop its spread! Unlike before, there is no cure or carrier of any immunity!”
Ren said, “We’ll see about that!”
The Quazar said, “Really? I doubt that! Take her!”
The Space Amazons charged at Ren and began to batter the smaller woman. They were not as strong as she was but she felt their blows and she realized that this mysterious Evil Star they spoke of must have boosted their strength!
She grunted with pain and fell beneath their furious assault. They were savages and relished inflicting pain while Ren was a compassionate heroine. She also was determined to win so in spite of the beating she received, she valiantly tried t resist and refused to give up!
However, the odds were against her and she began to slow down as the women warriors continued to batter her with sheer numbers.
She glanced around the ship through a haze of pain and blood. She finally saw what she wanted to find. The fear radiation generator perched above the main deck like a mechanical bird of prey. She knew that the machine was the source of the fear plague no matter how Evil Star’s energy somehow gave it new potency from afar!
Ren lurched forward and knocked the nearest Quazar aside. She kicked and punched and dived until her bruised body reached the machine and with her final reserves of energy, the Magna Maid clutched the machine and slowly ripped it apart with one final burst of raw power and sheer courage!
The effort was too much for her. She collapsed on the deck and fought to catch her breath. Surely she had won! Surely without the radiation the Quazars could no longer make the men of Torma into cowardly victims!
The brutal leader Commander Xalta kicked Ren with one high heeled boot and said, “The little firebrand destroyed the radiation projector. She’ll regret that!”
At that moment three colorfully dressed newcomers burst into the ship and charged at the Quazars!
“Don’t touch her! She has achieved too much to suffer any more at your hands!”said a beautiful woman with dark hair and exotic features. She wore an orange costume with decorative black trim along the sleeves and the slightly puffy pants of her costume. Orange slippers completed her costume.
She stared at Commander Xalta with her oddly compelling eyes and the bigger woman began to tremble. Finally, the normally steely Xalta collapsed and began to whimper in fear.
“Nicely done, Elura! You certainly have not lost your touch!” said a petite blonde in a blue and black outfit that matched Elura’s in design if not in color.
Suddenly, the blonde became a blur as she raced forward at super speed and sent the Quazars flying in all directions!
“Alena is such a show off!” said a third woman who had shorter reddish hair and wore a bright yellow and black costume.
“You aren’t exactly subtle yourself, Nula!” said Elura with a smile.
Nula shrugged and raised both hands over her head.
A burst of vibrational energy swept outward from her body and knocked other Quazars off their feet!
“I’m just a woman who believes in good vibes even if they break things at times!” quipped Nula.
They helped Ren to her feet and ministered to her needs as she slowly stood up and asked, “Who are you? Did I stop them?”
Elura said, “You certainly did! In fact we Galactons came to help you repel them but you had them at a disadvantage before we reached the ship! Without their weapons, they’re just a bunch of bullies!”
Nula added, “We’re a group of adventurers. We seldom get to this part of space but we were known to the late Supergirl who even emulated us once with help from some friends for a good cause once! “
Elura added, “We tracked the Quazars here. Apparently, they are but one group of several beings that have been boosted in terms of physicality or resources by Evil Star! He once created miniature slaves known as Starlings. Now, he has used his weapon of choice to empower other aliens like the Quazars!”
She added, “I have limited telepathy. I projected images of what you did across your home below. Your courage was displayed for all to see!”
Alena said, “I hear the people cheering you as we speak!”
Indeed, the chant of “Volar!” echoed from below.
Ren smiled as tears filled her eyes! She had clearly won over the people of Torma once more!
She beamed with pleasure as she saw the cheering crowds!
Xalta was still shaking from the emotional manipulation she had suffered due to the Galacton known as Elura. Still, she managed to shout in defiance.
“We didn’t just show up and project our fear energy. We directed it by remote long before we made ourselves known to your people below. In fact, we made certain some were so crippled with fear that they agreed to obey our commands at any price!” she said.
Ren said, “What commands? Surely, you’ve lost now!”
The Quazar said, “We ordered the Science Council of Torma to activate certain bombs we supplied! Your world dies today!”
Ren breathed a silent prayer and glanced at the three Galactons. Was it too late to save her home?
7
Kalanor
Tazzala the Hive Queen resented her sister Zazzala the Queen Bee for several reasons. Zazzala was older and had always looked down on her sibling. She had also always been known for her beauty and her intellect while Tazzala was considered inferior to her sister in both regards. Now, having claimed Kalanor for herself in the absence of its previous tyrant Despero, the Hive Queen hoped to use the planet as a base from which she might eventually overthrow her sister and also claim their home world of Korll. When Evil Star promised to aid her in this task by enslaving the second Justice League, she had readily agreed to destroy Kalanor in exchange for promises of greater power and revenge on her sister!
Still, the purple haired beauty had copied much of Zazzala’s own techniques by using a magno nucleo rod to enslave and turn many Kalanorians into tiny winged drone warriors! She smiled to herself. She had to admit Zazzala’s plans had always worked at least temporarily.
She smiled again as she surveyed her personal League. Superman (Ripper Jones) was a bearded blond man in a red and blue costume that resembled the more famous one worn by the original Superman; however, Ripper’s emblem was slightly different in design. He was incredibly powerful but Evil Star’s power held him in thrall.
The green skinned Martian Manhunter (Ed Orson) was similar to the original hero of the same name too but he wore a solid red and blue costume that covered his arms and legs unlike the briefer one favored by his double.
Batman (Bill Gore) had once worn a beard but now he was clean shaven and his black and gray costume enabled him to hide in shadows when needed.
The diminutive Atom (Barney Judson) was brilliant but his keen mind could not break free of the hold his new Hive Queen had over him. His red and black costume was slightly different from that of the original Atom. He wore a mask but his hair was exposed and hung in a shaggy style around the mask.
Flash (Race Morrison) drummed his blurred fingers restlessly as he waited with the others. Perhaps in time his vibrations might disrupt the power that enslaved him but Tazzala doubted it.
Green Lantern (Monk Loomis) was bald. He frowned from time to time but he also was helpless to break the spell that enslaved his own formidable will. His green costume consisted of a broad vest and higher boots than those of his double.
Tazzala strolled by the row of heroes and tapped her golden magno nucleo wand in one gloved hand. It was good to be queen. She would have the detonation charges activated soon enough once she and her drones had fled the doomed world.
She raised both arms over her head and ran her hands through her cascading purple tresses! She exulted in her new power and the promise of more to come. In truth, she was already under Evil Star’s control as well although she did not realize it.
He was expending considerable energy to control or enhance so many people on the four worlds he sought to destroy.
Meanwhile, not far from the Hive Queen’s palace on Kalanor, Lucas “Snapper” Carr was strapped in a small hovering module that Jasonar had put together to give him some mobility.
He said, “I’m coming with you. I’m not going to let my kid brother battle some lunatic without help!”
James said, “Even though I can’t believe I’m on another planet, I’m good. I have the power of Amazo and he has the powers of all those League doubles Jasonar described. He tapped into their power from afar before he came to get us! He just didn’t know his Amazo would not awaken like it should!”
Saranna said, “You are both true heroes but what can you do for us now that your brother has such power?”
Lucas said, “I have power too. I can teleport. It is something I picked up during the Invasion a while back!”
Jasonar said, “But Lucas Carr, surely any power you possess may be duplicated by your brother now that he has the abilities of my flawed Amazo?”
Lucas said, “I don’t care! We’re family and I’m coming too!”
Jasonar said, “Very well. I could use your unique abilities too. My own vehicle the dimensional traveler might be able to gain some extra precision in its warp drive if we tap into your will power and this teleportation ability you now possess!”
Lucas snapped his finger and said, “Exactly! So, what is your plan?”
Saranna said, “We hope to subdue the League or free them from the spell they are under by capturing them and the Hive Queen! We hoped the Amazo powers would enable us to do just that especially with your unique knowledge of how the Green Lantern, Superman etc. use their powers!”
Lucas said, “Like I told you before, Green Lantern’s ring won’t work on yellow. Superman is weakened by Kryptonite and it can kill him in time. The Martian Manhunter is weakened by fire. You probably already know all this!”
James frowned suddenly and Lucas noticing his brother’s expression, asked, “What’s wrong?”
James said, “We’re not alone! My enhanced senses allow me to detect that there are others approaching our ship!”
Saranna cried, “No! Surely, we have not been discovered! We subdued the drones she sent after us and even the Hive Queen could not expect us to have returned so swiftly!”
Jasonar said, “Indeed, we have other allies but I have not introduced them yet. They are unique as well!”
He said, “In truth, both originated on Earth! I merely secured their services when we met them in space! They both departed from your world for different reasons!”
He gestured to a sliding panel that opened to reveal a humanoid figure with long platinum blonde hair and golden skin. The man was muscular and wore a blue and gold costume. His eyes were a pale white and he moved forward with a silent grace and obvious majesty.
“This robotic being was dubbed the Inheritor by an earth scientist named Dr. Magnus. After the first model was destroyed in a rebellion against his maker, the second model proved equally strong willed though not of evil intent. He fled the lab and flew into space to walk his own path. He was damaged during the Invasion you spoke of before and I claimed him as a weapon against our foes. He is nearly mindless but his body may shape itself into any number of weapons!”
The final figure was also humanoid but broad wings sprouted from his back and his features had an equally avian look. He was powerfully build and certainly lacked the delicate bone structure of a true bird. He wore a silver and red costume.
He said, “I am Sunshrike although I was born as Richard Gray. I once called myself Condor when I worked with some heroes like Hawkman and Captain Comet. After my body began to mutate I departed Earth. I can fly through space unprotected and at great speed. I have found peace among the stars!”
James said, “Man! This is awesome! I can’t believe it all!”
Lucas said, “Take it easy. You’ll get used to meeting heroes and aliens. After all, I did!”
Jasonar said, “Let me run a scan on you Lucas. I think I may use your power to bring us all directly inside the Hive Queen’s palace! If we secure her, then her League will soon be free!”
Lucas nodded and said, “Sure. It’s not the weirdest thing I’ve ever done!”
Hours later, Jasonar nodded in approval as he ran his hands across a control panel.
“It should suffice! If you are all ready, we shall make the attempt to reclaim our world!” he announced.
Saranna said, “Father, you do sound grand but it becomes you!”
He smiled at his daughter and said, “Perhaps, you are correct. Let us merely let our actions speak in place of colorful phrases!”
He made a last adjustment and the dimensional traveler’s engine core tapped into Lucas Carr’s new powers to teleport them directly inside the Hive Queen’s Palace. Its location had been projected into Lucas Carr’s mind by his brother who used his own Martian derived mental abilities to take the location and image from Jasonar’s thoughts.
The Hive Queen loved splendor and she had used her drones to turn the structure into a luxurious palace marked by alien treasures of every type. Gems hovered in mid- air and flickered with a weird luminescence.
Tiny winged drones taken from the nobility of Kalanor swarmed around the room as if worshipping their Hive Queen and exulted in proximity to her sultry form.
The captive League reacted instantly even for men under mental domination!
Green Lantern’s power ring blazed with emerald energy but it was met with an explosion of yellow energy generated from the eyes of the silent Inheritor!
The golden robot passed through the green beam and elongated his arms to envelop Green Lantern! Directed by Snapper earlier, it knew the ring was powerless against anything of a yellow color.
Rather than fall before the relentless assault, Green Lantern used the ring indirectly against Inheritor by causing the projected energy to erupt upward from beneath the palace foundation to send rubble hurling at him!
The Inheritor shrugged off the attack and expanded his body until he sailed upward and forward and covered his foe!
Nearby the Flash had dashed into battle like the human whirlwind he was and the wind from his motions struck the newcomers like a storm!
Sunshrike resisted the winds and with wings that enabled him to soar through airless space, he swooped down on the Scarlet Speedster with stunning impact.
James Carr tapped into his own duplicate power ring to send a giant green fist crashing into Superman! The Man of Steel grunted but broke through to confront the young man.
“This isn’t easy. I mean, you’re Superman. How can anyone fight Superman?” he gasped as he held out one Martian elongated and altered hand to reveal a glowing green rock!
Superman fell back as the radiation from the Kryptonite the new team had secured via skillful use of the dimensional traveler’s enhanced teleporting properties washed over him.
Saranna ignored her father’s warning to be careful and darted forward to fire a ray gun at the Manhunter!
He shrank back in dismay as flames encircled his body.
Batman prepared to put out the fire that trapped his partner but Lucas Carr steered his own hovering cart forward and used his power to teleport himself out of the agile Caped Crusader’s path and return behind him. He had no delusions about being able to beat Batman in a fight but he hoped he could
The Atom sailed across the air adjusting his size and weight controls! The small hero crashed into Saranna and knocked the gun from her hands.
He was slapped across the room by the Inheritor who seemed to be able to see in every direction and merely projected a new limb from his own back to strike the Atom.
Sunshrike had managed to overwhelm the Flash with his own superior speed! The mutated bird-man was incredibly fast and he was much stronger than the Scarlet Speedster!
Batman managed to connect with Snapper in spite of the young man’s teleportation power. He struck him with a ruthless efficiency and Snapper collapsed within his hover chair!
Meanwhile, the flames had both weakened and trapped the Martian Manhunter but the swarming drones summoned by their Hive Queen smothered the flames and freed the Leaguer!
He smiled coldly and flew into battle as Saranna screamed and her father tried to shoot an energy beam of his own at the hulking alien!
He was too slow and in seconds both father and daughter were in the grip of the now giant –sized Martian!
James had managed to tap into the speed of Superman to rocket forward and break the couple free from the Martian’s hands but even his speed failed to prevent the alien from punching him in passing.
He grunted and then shrank from view to return with stunning force as he combined the Atom’s power with that of Superman himself!
He erupted through the Martian’s pliable form and left him groaning in pain before he connected with a flurry of punches!
His heat vision ignited the Martian and he nodded in approval as he saw the Inheritor drop a defeated Green Lantern at his feet.
Batman had tried to shield Superman from the Green Kryptonite but he was ripped into the air and slammed into the drones by the blindingly fast Sunshrike!
As James flew over to confront the Hive Queen herself, she shrieked in anger and raised her gleaming magno-nucleo wand!
“You will all bow down to me! I can still make you my subjects!” she hissed.
James suspected that the robotic Inheritor was immune to her power but he wondered if that immunity was something he could also duplicate!
He concentrated for a moment and then he smiled broadly.
He raised his hand and displayed an exact copy of the wand!
“I can duplicate your weapons too just like I did the power ring worn by your Lantern! I think I just cancelled your hold on them all!” he said.
Sure enough Batman and the other Lawless Leaguers blinked rapidly and shook off the spell that had entranced them! Superman regained his feet as the Kryptonite was removed. He was alive and should recover.
Snapper was awake again too and his fingers were snapping furiously. He was very proud of his brother.
Green Lantern said, “You freed us! How can we thank you?”
The enraged Hive Queen screamed, “You need not offer your gratitude since the bombs planted here will soon destroy you all!”
As Saranna revived Snapper, Jasonar turned to the others.
“I never realized they would rather see Kalanor perish if they could not dominate it!”
James said, “We’ve got to neutralize the bombs now!”
He had not won his first victory to see things fall to ruin now!
8
Aoron
Evil Star shuddered as he leaned against one of his starlings. He was tired. He had expended too much of the newly absorbed energy he had taken after Starbreaker’s death. Oh it was true using that vast energy as directed through his Stand Band to remotely empower and enhance the Hive Queen’s winged drones, the Headmen, and the Quazars had been a brilliant new use of his old power. It had enabled them to do things beyond their own past limitations. The drones could not fly through the void of outer space before nor could the Quazars transmit fear except via a living carrier and he had enabled them to overcome these weaknesses! Their victories were his victories! However, now as he waited for the bombs to detonate and his power to be greater than ever before, he felt tired and he knew he had over extended himself.
“It shall all be worthwhile when I drain the energy released by my bombs on those worlds!” he whispered.
“You shall not drain that destructive power because I have already done so! I took the energy directly from the bombs on each world. None of the worlds were seriously damaged since I took the concussive force of the bombs into my essence! They did not destroy any of your targets and I benefited greatly from their terrible might.”
Evil Star scowled as he saw a newcomer approach him across the ruined plains of Aoron.
He was humanoid with long platinum colored hair and golden skin. He was dressed in red and blue and he smiled enigmatically at the ruler of Aoron.
“Who are you? What are you?” he demanded.
“While the form I wear is based upon that of a robotic being known as the Inheritor, it is merely a container for my true essence. I was once known as the Unimaginable and I sought to be a hero but I was angry and arrogant and did not know the meaning of the term. I lost my life or most of it when I defied the Princess of Apokolips Pandora. I was honored and given posthumous membership in the Justice League of America on Earth!
“You are no robot! I can tell as much!” said Evil Star.
“No. I am fully human now but I based my appearance upon that of the Inheritor. I drifted through space as nothing more than a mere mental presence until Starbreaker’s demise. Just as you took some of his power I tapped into enough to enable me to trace the rest of it to you. I learned of your evil plan and I vowed to stop it. As a being of pure thought, I was able to simultaneously transmit myself to all the planets you threatened. I could do nothing more but wait and then drink in all the power contained in each of your bombs! I saved those worlds and in doing so I gained enough power to create this physical body for myself! I wish to be a hero,” he said.
Evil Star glowed with a purple radiance as he said, “I curse you! You have thwarted my ambitions. I am weakened now but you will regret this. I will submit to you since I sense you possess more power than the humanity you boast of so readily would suggest! Take me to Oa or whatever prison you wish. I am still immortal and have time to rest and regain my power! I will return and emblazon my name across the stars when I rule all!”
The Unimaginable shook his head and looked at Evil Star with eyes that gleamed with emotion.
“No. You misunderstood me. I said I want to be a hero. I am not one yet and do not limit myself to the actions one would associate with a noble being.”
He reached out and slowly the glow around Evil Star dimmed until he was left powerless! All of his starlings had been absorbed as well.
“You robbed me of my remaining power! I am dying! By the stars, I am dying!” he cried as his now wizened form collapsed to the rough sands of Aoron.
The Unimaginable nodded and waited and then calmly lifted the now dark Star Band from the dead man’s body.
“It is not quite empty of power but it its master is gone now!” he said as he tossed it aside and flew upward.
The corpse of the being known only as Evil Star would soon be covered by the shifting sands of the barren world he had once ruled.
The golden being once called the Unimaginable did not look back as he soared into the heavens.
“It is done. Now, begins my true quest for heroism and for that elusive quality known as humanity. I shall begin it with a more appropriate name than that of the Unimaginable. Let me now be known as the Mage!” he said.
Epilogue
Thronn
Alyssa the Golden Blade had to admit that she had been wrong about their former foe Vant Orl. He truly had used his genius to help them defeat the Headmen. She would offer him her thanks when she returned to the Presidential Palace. For now, as she and her teammates, including Pulsar and Ron Avon who had decided to stay on Thronn, surveyed the damage to their planet, it was enough to merely know they had won and they would have time to restore the world to its former greatness.
Torma
Volar (Ren Uoxon) wept joyful tears as she embraced her parents and the Galactons watched from one side. They had offered her membership in their Sorority of Space Heroines and she had accepted just as she had also been welcomed home by her family and her people at last!
“My gender doesn’t matter anymore to them! I really am home! I truly can go home again!” she thought with a smile as the people of Torma…her people….cheered her return!
Kalanor
The League expressed their thanks to the Carr brothers and Jasonar and Saranna as they secured the defeated Hive Queen and vowed to repair any damage done to the planet they had briefly enslaved.
“We want to return to defend Planet X when we are done here. We made a vow to do so!” explained Batman.
Jasonar said, “We understand. You were not to blame for your actions while under Tazzala’s spell!”
Saranna kissed James Carr and said, “And what of you? Will you stay with us? Will you stay with me a while?”
James nodded readily as his brother snapped his fingers and said, “In my own words from the distant past: like yeah, cats!”
Lucas knew he would return home in time. He had Jayne Payton to come home to and he wanted his work with Dr. Danvers to continue but for now it was enough to see his little brother’s joy at being a hero.
Sunshrike smiled but he knew his own plans called for him to return to exploring space. The silent robotic Inheritor had vanished. Its form had been altered into living flesh by the Unimaginable though no one on Kalanor realized what had happened to their robotic ally nor did they imagine his strange new destiny.
As the Mage made his way into space he gave little thought to the worlds he had saved. He had more to achieve if he was to truly become the hero he wanted to be. His quest would be an epic one!
The End
Evil Star Ascendant!
By lawrenceliberty
If Evil Star is truly ascendant then who can stop him?
1
Aoron
Within an imposing structure on the otherwise barren planet Aoron a sinister assembly took place. Alien beings from several different worlds all knelt before a large throne and the purple and blue costumed figure who sat regally upon it.
“Evil Star!” they chanted in unison!
Evil Star smiled as his servants paid their respects to him. He had once eliminated all life on Aoron in a quest to secure the immortality and stellar power a device called the Star Band had granted him. He had long ago abandoned any claim to his nearly forgotten humanity. Power was all that mattered to him and now he possessed more power than he had ever known in his long existence.
He held a scarlet device shaped like a star. He had created the weapon long before but some sentient beings claimed that the Star Band now possessed a mind of its own and the humanoid who claimed it as his own was in truth merely a mortal pawn. These rumors were whispered at best since no one dared to defy the alien conqueror. Whatever the nature of his weapon, Evil Star was incredibly powerful and any past defeats he had suffered at the hands of the heroic Green Lantern or other noble beings were merely distant memories much like the faces of those he had once called his family. He had lived on and on while all around him had perished. He was immune to age, disease, and perhaps equally beyond feelings like remorse and love.
He could exult in power and he did so once more as he surveyed the mixture of bald beings with large skulls, warlike females, and deadly beings of various shapes and sizes who all possessed large wings.
He smiled again and said, “Once more shall I repeat your orders and once more shall I caution you all against failure. Should any of you disappoint me, you shall swiftly perish! Obey me and succeed and I shall reward you beyond your wildest imaginings! “
The aliens reverently bowed once more before their master.
Evil Star said, “As you know an alien parasite called Starbreaker feasted upon whole worlds for eons before ending his own material existence out of guilt that overwhelmed him when Captain Comet duped him into trying to absorb a personality altering energy source known as the Nefar Nebulae. When he perished the cosmic energy within his physical body was released throughout the cosmos and I secured most of it for myself! It enabled me to locate and equip you all so that you might help me acquire even greater power through the destruction of several planets! I realize that should these worlds explode due to bombs you will place at their respective cores, I will be able to draw their energy resources through my Star Band much like the late Starbreaker did when he fed more directly upon such worlds! Enable me to destroy these worlds and I shall reward you all!”
He stood up and raised one gloved fist in the arm.
“You have been given your assignments! Go and remember my dark radiance shines upon you!” he yelled.
The odd groups rushed off as if desperate to leave his presence. Some truly wanted to escape him while others sought to please him.
He watched them and he whispered to the Star Band and several small humanoid beings that crouched around his throne. Each of them resembled a miniature version of their master.
“Yes, my Starlings. You know what I want. You know how my power shall soon grow!” he said.
Evil Star was truly powerful now but he was self-absorbed at the best of times. Little did he realize that he had not been the only being to benefit from the energies released at the moment Starbreaker died.
An unseen presence watched and listened and vowed to stop Evil Star for reasons of his own.
“I have not acquired enough energy to restore my own material form but my mental powers are intact and I shall use them to stop Evil Star!” thought this miraculous being.
2
Earth
Happy Harbor, Rhode Island was a peaceful community for the most part although it had been the site of more than one clash between super heroes and costumed criminals as was fitting since it had also once housed the secret HQ of the Justice League of America during that group’s early days.
A young man with dark hair and a slightly nervous manner sat on the front porch of a small house in the little community and gazed up at the stars. It was a nice summer evening and James Carr was content.
“You know I’m really happy that you and Jayne Payton found each other and that you like working for Dr. Danvers at his California lab but I’m more than happy to stay right here. Teaching gym at our old school is all this Carr brother has ever wanted! Bro, you can hang out with super heroes and scientists but not this cat,” he said.
Lucas “Snapper” Carr grinned and said, “You sound like me or like I used to sound back when I was hanging around with the Justice League and watching way too many “77 Sunset Strip” reruns!”
Lucas frowned as he felt that annoying itch beneath the cast he wore over his broken leg. He sat in a porch swing and rested the injured leg on a divan.
“When I was with Superman, Batman, and the others in the early days of the Justice League I met all kinds of crazy villains from time and space but none of them did as much damage to me as I did when I fell down our steps!” he said with a sigh.
James nodded at his older brother and said, “Breaking your leg on your first night of vacation was a bad break…if you’ll excuse the expression!”
Lucas said, “I know but it was nice of you to keep me company tonight while our folks are enjoying a rare night out!”
He smiled and stepped off the porch to look up at the stars.
“Star light, star bright…!” he began when a beam of blue light erupted from the sky and a small vehicle landed noiselessly in his yard!
“Oh man”! he gasped as two figures emerged from the vehicle and approached him. The male was wrinkled but had the same vaguely elfin features as the younger girl who followed him. They looked as if they could be related and in fact they were father and daughter. Each of them had bright green hair!
A slightly calmer Lucas said, “Jasonar! Saranna! Oh man! What brings you here from Kalanar? Is Despero poking that freaky third eye of his into your business again?”
He quickly added, “This is my brother James. I met Jasonar and Saranna yeara ago! They come from a planet called Kalanar!”
James blinked rapidly and said, “I know! I remember reading your notes! They were like bedtime stories when I was a kid!”
The alien scientist Jasonar said, “I fear we are threatened by a force more deadly than even the tyrant Despero! We have come to ask for help from your Justice League allies!”
Lucas said, “They’re all away. I’ve been told by someone close to one of their members that they aren’t around right now!”
He referred to the fact that his girlfriend Jayne Payton knew her brother Will “Starman” Payton and his fellow heroes in the fabled Justice League of America were away on a mission. Lucas still enjoyed learning about his old friends via Jayne’s connection to Will. Even though Lucas had started out as a trusted mascot of sorts to the heroic team, a series of unfortunate events and he simple passing of time itself had somewhat estranged him from them for the most part. Things had improved over the last few years and he certainly thought of the members as friends but they were certainly not in regular contact with one another.
Saranna said, “We tried to find them at their base but they were not there! We thought to come here since you may also be able assist us!”
Lucas said, “I’ll help if I can but this broken leg makes me almost useless and to be honest I’m not as close to the team as I was when I was a kid! I barely know some of the newer members.”
Jasonar said, “It is your knowledge of the early members of the team that shall give us a fighting chance!”
Saranna smiled winningly and added, “We may yet benefit from your knowledge of the founding League members! No one knows them as well as you do!”
Lucas glanced over at James who was listening and watching intently. Clearly, meeting the alien duo was the most astounding thing that had ever happened to his younger brother.
“What do you mean? I’ll share what I can but I won’t betray any secrets!” he said as the irony of his words washed over him. He had indeed once betrayed the team and he still felt guilty over how easily he had been duped by one of their foes.
Jasonar said, “It is simple. Kalanar is in danger but the threat comes not from the deposed Despero but from the Justice League itself!”
3
Thronn
Alyssa the Golden Blade frowned as she walked toward the Presidential Palace. She did not like cities and while her role as a member of the celebrated Honor Team of Thronn meant that the heroine had traveled across her planet as well as to other worlds, she preferred the more rural environment of the Arden Archipelago where she was raised amongst her Sword Sisters and their Matriarch her mother S’brogan.
The blonde warrior woman wore gleaming golden armor and sandals and carried the legendary sword that had once belonged to her late husband Sigurd the Nornschild. She had taken up his heroic name and the weapon that inspired it since his death at the hands of alien invaders. She also mourned the loss of her other teammates Energiman and Magicko.
She had helped defeat the alien mastermind behind the invasion but her return had been delayed by other conflicts and she had only recently made her way back to her home planet of Thronn where life seemed to go on as it always had now that a group of Martian invaders had also perished.
The beautiful blonde shook her head as she remembered her last visit to her family home. Her mother had welcomed her and offered her support and comfort but it was her meeting with the community sage the Keeper of the Book that still troubled her thoughts.
Nyson the Keeper of the Book was a small man and in her eyes no matter what his physical size, the gray haired scholar could never measure up to her late father who had once held the esteemed position of Keeper of the Book.
Nyson had ushered her into the Sanctum Bibliarium with a brief grin and a deferential manner as befitted her status as Matriarch’s First Born and national heroine.
“I summoned you here because of a disturbing new entry in the Book. It materialized this morning. It seems to be a rather powerful omen!” he said as he led her to where a massive tome rested upon a table.
“The Book shows us signs of what is to come and allows us to gain insight from that which has passed and at times it defies all understanding in its mysterious depictions of events!” he said.
Alyssa said, “I am well acquainted with the Book. I spent much of my girlhood in this very chamber when I was not mastering the combat skills of my calling as a Sword Sister!”
Nyson nodded obsequiously and said, “Of course! I should have realized as much! Forgive me for presuming to prattle on and attempt to enhance my own status by proclaiming the lore of our land!”
Alyssa shook back her long blonde locks and said, “It is I who should apologize. I was rude. Please, show me what the Book reveals!”
Nyson smiled and said, “This drawing appears to be an eight sided structure. Naturally, that represents the Presidential Palace! This golden figure approaching the building can only be…!”
“Me! Clearly, that drawing of a female figure is meant to be me!” she said.
Nyson nodded and said, “And yet these other colorful beings around you are unknown to me! I have searched the library and find nothing to indicate their identities nor any roles they may have played in our history!”
Alyssa said, “My thanks, Nyson! Clearly, the answers will be found in the Palace and I am destined to go there!”
Now, Alyssa the Golden Blade stood inside the vast entry chamber of the Presidential Palace and waited impatiently. She was impatient by nature and losing her husband and friend made her less willing to wait around than ever before. She craved action!
She paced restlessly and paused as the Hall of Honors came into view. This section contained a tribute of sorts to the Honor Team of Thronn. She sighed as she saw the ruggedly handsome features of her late husband Sigurd on a holo prism sculpture. She could almost hear his voice and his laughter as charged into one battle after another. A second floating holo prism depicted the gaunt red and white clad form of Magicko the Scientist Supreme of the team. He was a kind man and his advanced science enabled him to appear as though he possessed magical powers. Now, he too had perished! Only the odd energy being Energiman remained alive if the strange being could be said to live. He had seemingly given up his life years before to summon help from the famous Green Lantern of Earth when the whole team had been captured by the evil genius Vant Orl! Green Lantern had freed them all and had defeated Vant Orl. Years later after Superman and yet another Green Lantern had enabled Energiman’s disembodied mind to regenerate a material body of his own, the reunited Honor Team had successfully defended their world from countless new perils yet none had truly seemed as dangerous as their former captor the alien known as Vant Orl.
Suddenly, Alyssa whirled and drew her blade as five palace guards in their black and red uniforms charged at her with ray guns drawn and ready to be fired!
“What is this madness? I am here by appointment!” she declared as she planted her feet and assumed a combat stance.
The guards said nothing but several fired upon her!
She blocked all the laser beams with her flashing magical sword and managed to disarm one of the guards with a hurled truncheon of her own.
She rolled forward and rose up to slice though another guardsman’s gun and then kick him into his nearest ally.
A spinning heel kick dropped the third trooper and she knocked the fourth one out with one punch.
Her super strength made her a match for anyone and her Sword Sister training and the magical weapon she carried enhanced her abilities even more.
The final guard dropped back and said, “I yield Sword Sister! You may enter the Presidential Suite! Our orders were merely to test you not to slay you!”
Alyssa shoved him aside and stalked into the plush suite.
“By the Matriarch!” she gasped as she saw the figure at the desk with the Thronnian Presidential Seal.
He was deathly pale and shaped like a blob with four wiggling tentacles extended from his torso.
“Vant Orl!” she cried as she darted forward and started to leap over the desk.
A bolt of energy blazed across her path and she fell backward to land on her feet after an acrobatic flip.
Her blue eyes widened as she recognized the source of the energy beam.
“Energiman! I thought you had perished! What are you doing in service to this alien cur?” she cried.
Energiman stepped forward and raised his hands in a placating manner.
“I was not killed but my energy form was scattered and it took me time to regain a humanoid body. I could only watch helplessly in sorrow as our friends perished and you were left to mourn, Alyssa! I am not under any spell or duress. Vant Orl has been given a full pardon for his own heroic actions in helping to defeat the alien invaders. He has been given named acting President as well because he alone may be able to stop a menace that threatens our whole world!” said Energiman.
Allysa scowled as she looked at her friend. He was a dark haired handsome man who resembled the hero Superman because that champion had allowed the energy being to once use his own body as a template when he needed to recreate a physical form for his disembodied mind. His features had altered over time but he still had a superficial resemblance to the Man of Steel. He wore a red and white costume that also looked familiar to Alyssa!
“I am indeed wearing Magicko’s old costume. It no longer has his array of weapons and data sources but it allows me to retain my physical form. You see, my energy powers are out of control and only this containment suit keeps me from exploding!” he said.
Vant Orl said, “He speaks the truth, Golden Blade. I altered the costume and saved his very life. I am not the being you once fought. I am sorry I imprisoned you and your friends long ago and I mourn for your husband and friend. We are on the same side!”
Alyssa shook her head and crossed her arms. “Tell me more!”
Vant Orl undulated slightly as his amorphous body leaned or oozed forward.
“I was contacted by agents of a being known as Evil Star. They wanted to enlist my aid in a plot to destroy Thronn. I was able to defy them because of my super will power. They could not force me to join their crusade. Instead, I used my influence to get this position. I’ve been called the Hero of the Red Brotherhood War. People now trust me. I hope you shall do so in time!” he said.
Energiman said, “Vant Orl is a genius. We always knew that! He has restored me and he wants us to form a new Honor Team! Will you join our cause?”
Alyssa nodded slowly. “I shall. My blade is ever ready to defend my home but I shall not offer trust blindly to one who once was my enemy.”
“My! She is magnificent!” said a high pitched voice as a petite woman entered the room and smiled up at Alyssa.
The newcomer was remarkable for her beauty and for her body which was entirely made of a translucent crystalline substance. Each facet of her curvy form gleamed in the lights of the office.
“This is the Princess Aria of Karalyx. She has joined our team! Her father is the Chief Justiciar of their planet!” said Vant Orl.
The shiny woman executed a brief courtesy and smiled broadly.
“You are truly beautiful!” she said to Alyssa! The Crystal Princess extended one delicate hand to the taller woman and said, “I am honored to meet you.”
Alyssa took her hand and said, “Well met, Princess Aria! The lawmen of your world are indeed legendary across the universe!”
Princess Aria blushed becomingly and a light pink hue illuminated her crystalline form.
Vant Orl said, “I have summoned the others as well. It is time we prepared to face Evil Star’s emissaries!”
Two young men in bright costumes entered the room and stepped forward expectantly. Alyssa smiled briefly in recognition. She knew them from a previous battle. Indeed, they had helped her avenge Sigurd’s death in a manner of speaking.
The first man was a handsome youth with long blond hair. He wore a gold costume with purple boots and trunks along a purple cape. He also wore a large gauntlet on one forearm.
“Do you remember me? I'm Ron Avon, Champion of Belgor! I came here with my friend Pulsar on orders from Era himself!” explained the young hero.
The second man smiled and said, “Era is one of the Guardians of the Clockwork Universe. He and his brothers work to keep order in the cosmos. He named me defender of the Cosmos and gave me the quantum bracelets I wear! Oh, and my name is Pulsar. Actually, I’m the second man to use that name. The first is now a Green Lantern. I’m trying to live up to his reputation!”
Pulsar wore a green and gold costume and the shining bracelets on each of his wrists gleamed as light reflected off tiny gemstones that studded their circumference.
Alyssa nodded slowly. This sudden reunion was a bit much to take in at once. Still, she knew both men slightly and respected them as heroes.
Ron Avon said, “Pulsar never told you before that his real name is Bob Altus and he comes from Earth!”
Pulsar said, “Sorry. I guess I did get carried away. You see, this is a second chance for me. I messed up rather badly when I was a hero during my teens on Earth!”
Ron Avon said, “Uh oh! We have no time to talk! My power gauntlet tells me Thronn is being invaded as we speak!”
Vant Orl said, “Blast it! I thought we’d have more time! “
They rushed outside to where around a dozen flying men swooped down from space. Each had an abnormally large skull and wore a black ring!
Vant Orl said, “The Anti-Green Lantern Corps! I thought those black rings had all be destroyed years ago. Apparently, Evil Star not only found a way to make more, he overcame their one liability. The rings destroy any user who lacks an advanced mentality. That won’t be a problem since Evil Star’s minions all appear to be the Headmen of Garon!”
Alyssa raised her sword and said, “I do not care where these mutant misfits originate! I shall drive them back to their unholy master or die trying!”
The newly formed Honor team of Thronn hurried into battle as one more world faced the peril of Evil Star!
4
Earth
As a small automated device carried Lucas Carr into Jasonar’s ship, the former JLA mascot said, “I don’t understand. How can the JLA be a threat to Kalanar?”
James nodded as he glanced in awe at the spaceship’s interior.
“Yeah, those heroes are always trying to help not to hurt!” he said sheepishly as Saranna concealed a smile and nodded to him in an encouraging manner.
Jasonar said, “I may be a scientist but I fear I am prone to poetic license at times. Your Justice League is no threat to us. We are being menaced by their alternate timeline counterparts!”
James said, “Sure. That makes…that makes absolutely no sense at all!”
Saranna gently touched his arm and said, “I realize this is all a bit too much for you to take in at once. We appreciate your help and your patience. You and your brother are both exceptional men!”
She continued, “When your Justice League last defeated Despero, they left behind new heroes to defend a world called Planet X from any new perils. This other League served this purpose well until they abruptly became as evil as the heroes they emulated were good. This Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Atom, Flash, and Martian Manhunter became tyrants in the service of our world’s newest oppressor the Hive Queen Tazzalla! She used them to take over our planet. She brought them here from Planet X!”
Lucas said, “Man! This is heavy stuff! Where did the League I know get these other Leaguers?”
Jasonar said, “I do not know the details. I was told only that a villain named Dr. Destiny created them as his own Lawless League by altering reality in some manner. He plucked them from some alternate timeline. With his defeat they became heroes until Hive Queen Tazzala enslaved them all!”
Lucas snapped his fingers and said, “Yeah! Dr. Destiny had a gem that allowed him to do all kinds of crazy things. If he made them as an evil Justice League, I guess someone else could change them again and again!”
James said, “You said they were enslaved by the Hive Queen Tazzala? Didn’t the JLA often battle an alien beauty called Zazzala the Queen Bee?”
Jasonar said, “The Hive Queen Tazzala is the sister of the more notorious Queen Bee Zazzala but she is deadly in her own right since she can control any male!”
Lucas said, “I get it now! If her enforcers are some kind of evil JLA, then I’m in a good position to know how to fight them! I do know the way their powers work if they are copies of my friends!”
Jasonar said, “We need your data to enhance our weapon of choice! The Hive Queen may enslave any male but not an artificial being like this one!”
He gestured to a glass tube in which a towering humanoid stood silently immobile. He wore a green and brown costume with an odd red cap. His ears were pointed and his eyes were cold and dark.
“Amazo? That’s Amazo! You’ve got the One Man Justice League in cold storage!” gasped Lucas.
Saranna said, “No! He is merely a copy my father created. Sadly, he doesn’t work!”
Jasonar said, “I failed. I thought I could use him against our enemies since one like him threatened the heroes you knew but I have failed to bring him to life!”
Lucas said, “The guy who made the first Amazo was a genius. Amazo was a robot or android but he could copy super powers and this made him deadly!”
At that moment the ship lurched to one side as dozens of tiny winged men swooped inside!
“Drones! Those are drone soldiers!” cried Lucas.
As the small soldiers swarmed into the ship, Jasonar fell backward and the container holding Amazo toppled forward into a console that erupted into flames and sent a barrage of energy at Lucas Carr!
James jumped forward to protect his brother and screamed in pain as the energy passed through the falling robot and into his own body!
Saranna screamed, “Father! You must help him! Our enemies have followed us here!”
Jasonar managed to smother the energy bursts with a special device as the swarm of warriors swept through the ship!
Lucas yelled, “James? Are you hurt?”
James Carr shuddered once and stood up. He frowned as the swarming invaders suddenly became clearer to him. He could see each of the speeding figures as if they were moving in slow motion!
He glared at them and beams of fiery energy shot out of his eyes and enabled him to herd them away from his new allies and his brother.
He hesitated for a second and slammed both hands together. Shockwaves knocked all of the tiny drones to the ground as if they had been struck by a hurricane!
James Carr said, “How did I do that? I just sort of knew what to do but I don’t know how I did it!”
Lucas said, “It’s like you have Amazo’s powers!”
Jasonar nodded and said, “I concur. In some manner the energy burst transferred the powers in Amazo’s absorbing cells into your body. I failed to awaken my Amazo but I may have created a superior version in you, young man…although by accident!”
Lucas snapped his fingers and said, “This is far out stuff! My little brother is a One Man Justice League?”
James looked at Saranna and said, “I’ll help you, Saranna! I’ll save your people! I can do it. I literally know I can do it!”
5
Thronn
The street that led up to the Presidential Palace had become a nightmarish scene of destruction as the dozen invaders accomplished what a larger group of attackers could not do as easily! They literally blasted the area into rubble with their powerful energy bolts!
Alyssa led her new team into battle with her usual grim determination!
“Those rings clearly mimic the functions of the power ring used by Green Lantern! Even one of those rings could bring Thronn down in ruins unless we stop them!” she thought.
She leaped upward and brought her gleaming blade down at the nearest attacker. He was almost identical to his brethren in that he was bald and his skull was unnaturally large. He also gazed at her and at all of Thronn with a look of superiority. This Headman would learn not to underestimate a Sword Sister!
Alyssa’s sword smashed through his protective force field! She didn’t know if the rings had any particular weakness or if it was merely the enchantment that her weapon contained that allowed her to shatter the alien’s ring construct but she didn’t care! She smashed the sword’s flat side into his face and grappled furiously in an effort to bring him down to earth!
He said, “For a primitive being you pose more of a challenge than I ever expected to be the case!”
Alyssa said, “This world has suffered enough from alien invaders! This day we draw a line that shall not be crossed while breath remains within one son or daughter of Thronn!”
She slapped him across the face and saw his smug expression change to one of dismay as she managed to bring them both down to the rubble!
Energiman was also locked in battle with two of the attackers but while his unique metabolism and protective suit enabled him to resist their energy based attacks, he was also a bit hesitant to use his full power against them!
“This suit is all that keeps me whole! I don’t wish to return to being merely a disembodied mental presence! And yet how can I give less than my all for my world?” he mused.
He raised both hands with his palms outward and released two bolts of concussive energy that sent the two Headmen reeling.
Nearby, Aria the Crystal Princess maintained her almost girlish demeanor as her crystalline body turned bright red and she emitted blazing bolts of fire that encircled her own foes. She was no stranger to combat and her lawman father had raised her with the awareness that individuals must make sacrifices for the common good.
“The Headmen are silent foes but they are awfully strong! I guess their power has gone to their heads!” she thought with a giggle.
Pulsar (Bob Altus of earth) was not as confident as he tried to appear. Years ago his scientist father had tried to make him into a super hero to rival or even supplant Superboy; however, Pulsar had refused to eliminate the Teen of Steel and had rejected his father and his desire for power. He had grown up in obscurity and had never imagined an alien being would one day offer him a second chance at heroism!
“Okay, I’ve got the quantum bands and I’ve got the trust of the Clockwork Guardians! Now, all I have to do with not fail them completely!” he thought ruefully.
He concentrated as black energy rays bounced off his glowing force field.
“I’ve commanded the bands to activate automatic shielding and they naturally protect me from mind control!” he thought as he mentally checked off his combat procedures!
He shuddered as a blast shook the shield but failed to shatter it.
He frowned and then focused his thoughts on making the golden energy shape itself into a huge fist that battered the Headman and finally broke through his black force bubble to squeeze him into submission!
“I’m doing it! I’m actually winning!” he whispered.
Ron Avon had no lack of confidence. The blond hero had been groomed since his youth to be a champion and had in fact liberated his home world from a group of tyrants with help from Superboy. Although his own powers had changed somewhat as he matured and he was still a teen by the standards of his long lived race, he was a bit cocky and felt no need to hesitate in battle.
“Gauntlet analysis of energy weapons is complete. While the original rings were Qwardian in origin and empowered by energy generated remotely by a anti-matter power battery, these rings are similar but are powered by stellar energy as directed by a being known as Evil Star!”
The way the power gauntlet spoke to Ron via telepathy was comforting to the young hero. He thought of the gauntlet as a friend and not as a mere tool or weapon. It more than compensated for the loss of his sensory powers that had occurred when he was caught in an explosive while battling one of his old foes!
Ron said, “Hmmm? So if these bald baddies can’t tap into their power source, they will be helpless!”
He created a rainbow -hued sphere that erupted in the sky and left several of the warriors stunned as they fought to restore their balance!
“Vant Orl may need the scoop on these thugs! Gauntlet, transmit findings to Presidential Palace!” he ordered as he dodged an attack and connected with a simple super strong punch of his own!
Princess Aria had turned a pale blue as she used her destructive aura to shatter a Headman’s looming energy drill!
Alyssa the Golden Blade was furiously battering two Headmen with her fists and sword as they closed in on her. She lashed out with devastating power and kicked one of them in the face. Her sword’s magic was generating enough magic to enable her body to break through their ring shields!
She choked one Headman and hurled him into his nearest comrade.
Then, she gasped as darkness filled the sky above them!
Energiman said, “By the Nebulae! That shadowy substance threatens to plunge the planet into total darkness! Do you recognize it?”
Alyssa scowled and said, “Of course! It is Ergal Prism power! That was the substance Vant Orl used to imprison us all years ago! That fiend has turned against Thronn once more!”
“What should we do?” asked Pulsar. “I think I can repel it but not all at once!”
Energiman said, “I know what I have to do. I must achieve total detonation of my body! I might be able to shatter the Ergal Prism before it totally envelops our world!”
Alyssa cursed as she listened to her friend. “No! You must not sacrifice yourself again! We can beat that blob into submission and force him to undo his energy barrier!”
Princess Aria said, “Wait, Fair Maid! Look! I think the field is weakening the Headmen!”
The petite princess was correct! The inky darkness of the Ergal Prism energy had indeed separated the Anti-Green Lantern Corps members from the energy Evil Star had been feeding to them from his remote base on Auron!
“Gauntlet analysis suggests the rings require an incredible amount of sheer power to operate and without the constant stimulation from Evil Star’s Star Band, the rings take a physical toil on their users! Even the Headmen’s advance brains can only operate the rings for a limited time without additional power sources!”
Ron Avon grinned broadly and said, “Gauntlet, that is music to my ears!”
He swooped down as the remaining ring warriors fell to the ground and he cried out, “It is true! Vant Orl is no traitor! He is a hero! He used the data my gauntlet sent him to find a way to cut off the invaders from most of their power! He saved Thronn!”
Energiman nodded in relief. “The Headmen are defeated!”
“Not yet, you worm! We may still achieve our master’s goal by blowing up this world and all who live here! Your field won’t prevent that!” cried a Headman.
The dozen aliens collapsed in unison and their rings shattered as black energy erupted across the battle field!
Alyssa gasped in shock as the ground shook and she thought, “They truly mean to destroy all of Thronn even though doing so has cost them their lives!”
6
Torma
“You can’t go home again!”
The phrase echoed in Ren Uoxon’s mind as the brown haired heroine flew down toward her planet of birth. She was very nervous about returning to Torma since she had been exiled from the small planet a few years ago and had not had any contact with her parents or friends since that harsh verdict had been rendered following the revelation that she was in fact female!
She had used advanced science invented by her father Danan to conceal her gender for most of her teen years when she was dressed as the planetary champion or Volar. As the seemingly male Volar she had been revered as the hero who had saved the planet from any and all threats. Even her exposure as a woman had only occurred after she and Captain Comet had rescued the people of Torma from a race of “space Amazons” known as Femizons or Quazars.
“Our victory was the end of life as I knew it. It didn’t matter one bit that I was the same person inside. It didn’t matter that I was as willing to give everything for Torma as ever. All anyone cared about was the fact that I was a woman and on Torma women were deemed too inferior to be heroic or to be anything more than dutiful and decorative domestics!” she mused.
It was true the revelation of her gender had inspired the rigid society of Torma to slowly integrate women into positions of authority but this change came with a price. Normal Torma women might arise out of their limited spheres of influence but not with the painful example of a woman- a petite and pretty woman at that- who was clearly superior to every male on Torma constantly creating friction merely by her existence.
“My own father gave me the news that I had to leave! I had to leave everything and everyone I’d ever known just because I was a woman!” she whispered sadly.
It was true that she had made good friends during her exile. She had become close to the heroic alien couple Vartox and Maxima and in some ways she knew they considered her to be a daughter to them due to her youth.
She had convinced them that she could respond to the sudden distress signal from Torma on her own. She remembered the look of paternal concern on Vartox’s features as the rugged hero had urged her to allow him to help her on this mission.
“Maxima and I want to go with you. We would stand beside you in this hour of need as you have always been loyal to our own causes since we met!” he had said.
The fiery flame haired Maxima had nodded and made what was to her imperious nature a show of genuine support.
“It is so! Together we three may easily triumph over any peril that Torma faces!” she had said with a haughty toss of her head.
Ren had thanked them and parted from them with tearful affection but as she had explained, “I have to do this alone! If they need me, I want to prove to them that I am still worthy to be planetary Volar!” she had said.
Now, as she used her magna vision to scan the surface of the planet she had loved for so long, she saw a familiar if sinister sight. A large spaceship hovered above the main marketplace of Machismus the largest city on the planet. A gleaming energy beam emerged from a port on the ship and bathed the area below with an unholy radiance!
“The Femizons again! Those female pirates have returned to take over Torma again!” she gasped.
She noticed scenes of mass panic as men and women raced away from the massive ship and its beams of destructive concussive power!
“They’ve released their fear stimulating radiation! I see scenes of mass hysteria everywhere! The Amazons use some kind of fear toxin that makes males timid. It was that weapon that enabled them to almost conquer my home last time they invaded. We were able to magically reverse the effect and make the warrior women victims of their own poison but I have no magical powers. All I can do is just use my magna powers as best I can! I can’t fail my folks or my home if they need me!” she thought.
She knew that a certain irony was found in the fact that in the past the fear radiation spread like a plague and only worked on men. Thus, this most male dominated of worlds was perfectly structured for women invaders with such a weapon to be lethally effective. Based on the visible energy beam, they were taking a more direct approach this time!
“I know when I left they said they were going to include women in major roles in the military and government but I only see the same old routine. Male leaders are herding females away as the fear makes the men panic!” she thought.
A few shouts of recognition rang out as the Tormanians pointed skyward and saw their former champion smash into the saucer-like ship!
Ren recognized the basic structure of the craft. It had a command bridge where the Quazar leaders congregated and directed their attack. The Quazars were all beautiful women with slightly pointed ears and cruel expressions. They relished war and had nothing but contempt for men especially since their own men were frail. The tall warrior women laughed with pleasure as their attack bore fruit.
“They are not even attempting to put up a fight! Evil Star has assured us that his power will prevent any magical reversal of the fear radiation this time nor will any of our men dare to help the Tormanians!” said one Quazar as she exulted in their triumph.
They gasped as Ren approached and sirens echoed through the craft moments after the woman’s super swift entrance!
“Your invasion ends now!” she said as she placed both hands on her hips and confronted them with a look of determination!
She would win back Torma and her people would welcome her back! She just knew it.
The tallest Quazar laughed coldly and said, “You can do nothing against us! You see our power has been enhanced by Evil Star! The fear radiation carries his power and nothing can stop its spread! Unlike before, there is no cure or carrier of any immunity!”
Ren said, “We’ll see about that!”
The Quazar said, “Really? I doubt that! Take her!”
The Space Amazons charged at Ren and began to batter the smaller woman. They were not as strong as she was but she felt their blows and she realized that this mysterious Evil Star they spoke of must have boosted their strength!
She grunted with pain and fell beneath their furious assault. They were savages and relished inflicting pain while Ren was a compassionate heroine. She also was determined to win so in spite of the beating she received, she valiantly tried t resist and refused to give up!
However, the odds were against her and she began to slow down as the women warriors continued to batter her with sheer numbers.
She glanced around the ship through a haze of pain and blood. She finally saw what she wanted to find. The fear radiation generator perched above the main deck like a mechanical bird of prey. She knew that the machine was the source of the fear plague no matter how Evil Star’s energy somehow gave it new potency from afar!
Ren lurched forward and knocked the nearest Quazar aside. She kicked and punched and dived until her bruised body reached the machine and with her final reserves of energy, the Magna Maid clutched the machine and slowly ripped it apart with one final burst of raw power and sheer courage!
The effort was too much for her. She collapsed on the deck and fought to catch her breath. Surely she had won! Surely without the radiation the Quazars could no longer make the men of Torma into cowardly victims!
The brutal leader Commander Xalta kicked Ren with one high heeled boot and said, “The little firebrand destroyed the radiation projector. She’ll regret that!”
At that moment three colorfully dressed newcomers burst into the ship and charged at the Quazars!
“Don’t touch her! She has achieved too much to suffer any more at your hands!”said a beautiful woman with dark hair and exotic features. She wore an orange costume with decorative black trim along the sleeves and the slightly puffy pants of her costume. Orange slippers completed her costume.
She stared at Commander Xalta with her oddly compelling eyes and the bigger woman began to tremble. Finally, the normally steely Xalta collapsed and began to whimper in fear.
“Nicely done, Elura! You certainly have not lost your touch!” said a petite blonde in a blue and black outfit that matched Elura’s in design if not in color.
Suddenly, the blonde became a blur as she raced forward at super speed and sent the Quazars flying in all directions!
“Alena is such a show off!” said a third woman who had shorter reddish hair and wore a bright yellow and black costume.
“You aren’t exactly subtle yourself, Nula!” said Elura with a smile.
Nula shrugged and raised both hands over her head.
A burst of vibrational energy swept outward from her body and knocked other Quazars off their feet!
“I’m just a woman who believes in good vibes even if they break things at times!” quipped Nula.
They helped Ren to her feet and ministered to her needs as she slowly stood up and asked, “Who are you? Did I stop them?”
Elura said, “You certainly did! In fact we Galactons came to help you repel them but you had them at a disadvantage before we reached the ship! Without their weapons, they’re just a bunch of bullies!”
Nula added, “We’re a group of adventurers. We seldom get to this part of space but we were known to the late Supergirl who even emulated us once with help from some friends for a good cause once! “
Elura added, “We tracked the Quazars here. Apparently, they are but one group of several beings that have been boosted in terms of physicality or resources by Evil Star! He once created miniature slaves known as Starlings. Now, he has used his weapon of choice to empower other aliens like the Quazars!”
She added, “I have limited telepathy. I projected images of what you did across your home below. Your courage was displayed for all to see!”
Alena said, “I hear the people cheering you as we speak!”
Indeed, the chant of “Volar!” echoed from below.
Ren smiled as tears filled her eyes! She had clearly won over the people of Torma once more!
She beamed with pleasure as she saw the cheering crowds!
Xalta was still shaking from the emotional manipulation she had suffered due to the Galacton known as Elura. Still, she managed to shout in defiance.
“We didn’t just show up and project our fear energy. We directed it by remote long before we made ourselves known to your people below. In fact, we made certain some were so crippled with fear that they agreed to obey our commands at any price!” she said.
Ren said, “What commands? Surely, you’ve lost now!”
The Quazar said, “We ordered the Science Council of Torma to activate certain bombs we supplied! Your world dies today!”
Ren breathed a silent prayer and glanced at the three Galactons. Was it too late to save her home?
7
Kalanor
Tazzala the Hive Queen resented her sister Zazzala the Queen Bee for several reasons. Zazzala was older and had always looked down on her sibling. She had also always been known for her beauty and her intellect while Tazzala was considered inferior to her sister in both regards. Now, having claimed Kalanor for herself in the absence of its previous tyrant Despero, the Hive Queen hoped to use the planet as a base from which she might eventually overthrow her sister and also claim their home world of Korll. When Evil Star promised to aid her in this task by enslaving the second Justice League, she had readily agreed to destroy Kalanor in exchange for promises of greater power and revenge on her sister!
Still, the purple haired beauty had copied much of Zazzala’s own techniques by using a magno nucleo rod to enslave and turn many Kalanorians into tiny winged drone warriors! She smiled to herself. She had to admit Zazzala’s plans had always worked at least temporarily.
She smiled again as she surveyed her personal League. Superman (Ripper Jones) was a bearded blond man in a red and blue costume that resembled the more famous one worn by the original Superman; however, Ripper’s emblem was slightly different in design. He was incredibly powerful but Evil Star’s power held him in thrall.
The green skinned Martian Manhunter (Ed Orson) was similar to the original hero of the same name too but he wore a solid red and blue costume that covered his arms and legs unlike the briefer one favored by his double.
Batman (Bill Gore) had once worn a beard but now he was clean shaven and his black and gray costume enabled him to hide in shadows when needed.
The diminutive Atom (Barney Judson) was brilliant but his keen mind could not break free of the hold his new Hive Queen had over him. His red and black costume was slightly different from that of the original Atom. He wore a mask but his hair was exposed and hung in a shaggy style around the mask.
Flash (Race Morrison) drummed his blurred fingers restlessly as he waited with the others. Perhaps in time his vibrations might disrupt the power that enslaved him but Tazzala doubted it.
Green Lantern (Monk Loomis) was bald. He frowned from time to time but he also was helpless to break the spell that enslaved his own formidable will. His green costume consisted of a broad vest and higher boots than those of his double.
Tazzala strolled by the row of heroes and tapped her golden magno nucleo wand in one gloved hand. It was good to be queen. She would have the detonation charges activated soon enough once she and her drones had fled the doomed world.
She raised both arms over her head and ran her hands through her cascading purple tresses! She exulted in her new power and the promise of more to come. In truth, she was already under Evil Star’s control as well although she did not realize it.
He was expending considerable energy to control or enhance so many people on the four worlds he sought to destroy.
Meanwhile, not far from the Hive Queen’s palace on Kalanor, Lucas “Snapper” Carr was strapped in a small hovering module that Jasonar had put together to give him some mobility.
He said, “I’m coming with you. I’m not going to let my kid brother battle some lunatic without help!”
James said, “Even though I can’t believe I’m on another planet, I’m good. I have the power of Amazo and he has the powers of all those League doubles Jasonar described. He tapped into their power from afar before he came to get us! He just didn’t know his Amazo would not awaken like it should!”
Saranna said, “You are both true heroes but what can you do for us now that your brother has such power?”
Lucas said, “I have power too. I can teleport. It is something I picked up during the Invasion a while back!”
Jasonar said, “But Lucas Carr, surely any power you possess may be duplicated by your brother now that he has the abilities of my flawed Amazo?”
Lucas said, “I don’t care! We’re family and I’m coming too!”
Jasonar said, “Very well. I could use your unique abilities too. My own vehicle the dimensional traveler might be able to gain some extra precision in its warp drive if we tap into your will power and this teleportation ability you now possess!”
Lucas snapped his finger and said, “Exactly! So, what is your plan?”
Saranna said, “We hope to subdue the League or free them from the spell they are under by capturing them and the Hive Queen! We hoped the Amazo powers would enable us to do just that especially with your unique knowledge of how the Green Lantern, Superman etc. use their powers!”
Lucas said, “Like I told you before, Green Lantern’s ring won’t work on yellow. Superman is weakened by Kryptonite and it can kill him in time. The Martian Manhunter is weakened by fire. You probably already know all this!”
James frowned suddenly and Lucas noticing his brother’s expression, asked, “What’s wrong?”
James said, “We’re not alone! My enhanced senses allow me to detect that there are others approaching our ship!”
Saranna cried, “No! Surely, we have not been discovered! We subdued the drones she sent after us and even the Hive Queen could not expect us to have returned so swiftly!”
Jasonar said, “Indeed, we have other allies but I have not introduced them yet. They are unique as well!”
He said, “In truth, both originated on Earth! I merely secured their services when we met them in space! They both departed from your world for different reasons!”
He gestured to a sliding panel that opened to reveal a humanoid figure with long platinum blonde hair and golden skin. The man was muscular and wore a blue and gold costume. His eyes were a pale white and he moved forward with a silent grace and obvious majesty.
“This robotic being was dubbed the Inheritor by an earth scientist named Dr. Magnus. After the first model was destroyed in a rebellion against his maker, the second model proved equally strong willed though not of evil intent. He fled the lab and flew into space to walk his own path. He was damaged during the Invasion you spoke of before and I claimed him as a weapon against our foes. He is nearly mindless but his body may shape itself into any number of weapons!”
The final figure was also humanoid but broad wings sprouted from his back and his features had an equally avian look. He was powerfully build and certainly lacked the delicate bone structure of a true bird. He wore a silver and red costume.
He said, “I am Sunshrike although I was born as Richard Gray. I once called myself Condor when I worked with some heroes like Hawkman and Captain Comet. After my body began to mutate I departed Earth. I can fly through space unprotected and at great speed. I have found peace among the stars!”
James said, “Man! This is awesome! I can’t believe it all!”
Lucas said, “Take it easy. You’ll get used to meeting heroes and aliens. After all, I did!”
Jasonar said, “Let me run a scan on you Lucas. I think I may use your power to bring us all directly inside the Hive Queen’s palace! If we secure her, then her League will soon be free!”
Lucas nodded and said, “Sure. It’s not the weirdest thing I’ve ever done!”
Hours later, Jasonar nodded in approval as he ran his hands across a control panel.
“It should suffice! If you are all ready, we shall make the attempt to reclaim our world!” he announced.
Saranna said, “Father, you do sound grand but it becomes you!”
He smiled at his daughter and said, “Perhaps, you are correct. Let us merely let our actions speak in place of colorful phrases!”
He made a last adjustment and the dimensional traveler’s engine core tapped into Lucas Carr’s new powers to teleport them directly inside the Hive Queen’s Palace. Its location had been projected into Lucas Carr’s mind by his brother who used his own Martian derived mental abilities to take the location and image from Jasonar’s thoughts.
The Hive Queen loved splendor and she had used her drones to turn the structure into a luxurious palace marked by alien treasures of every type. Gems hovered in mid- air and flickered with a weird luminescence.
Tiny winged drones taken from the nobility of Kalanor swarmed around the room as if worshipping their Hive Queen and exulted in proximity to her sultry form.
The captive League reacted instantly even for men under mental domination!
Green Lantern’s power ring blazed with emerald energy but it was met with an explosion of yellow energy generated from the eyes of the silent Inheritor!
The golden robot passed through the green beam and elongated his arms to envelop Green Lantern! Directed by Snapper earlier, it knew the ring was powerless against anything of a yellow color.
Rather than fall before the relentless assault, Green Lantern used the ring indirectly against Inheritor by causing the projected energy to erupt upward from beneath the palace foundation to send rubble hurling at him!
The Inheritor shrugged off the attack and expanded his body until he sailed upward and forward and covered his foe!
Nearby the Flash had dashed into battle like the human whirlwind he was and the wind from his motions struck the newcomers like a storm!
Sunshrike resisted the winds and with wings that enabled him to soar through airless space, he swooped down on the Scarlet Speedster with stunning impact.
James Carr tapped into his own duplicate power ring to send a giant green fist crashing into Superman! The Man of Steel grunted but broke through to confront the young man.
“This isn’t easy. I mean, you’re Superman. How can anyone fight Superman?” he gasped as he held out one Martian elongated and altered hand to reveal a glowing green rock!
Superman fell back as the radiation from the Kryptonite the new team had secured via skillful use of the dimensional traveler’s enhanced teleporting properties washed over him.
Saranna ignored her father’s warning to be careful and darted forward to fire a ray gun at the Manhunter!
He shrank back in dismay as flames encircled his body.
Batman prepared to put out the fire that trapped his partner but Lucas Carr steered his own hovering cart forward and used his power to teleport himself out of the agile Caped Crusader’s path and return behind him. He had no delusions about being able to beat Batman in a fight but he hoped he could
The Atom sailed across the air adjusting his size and weight controls! The small hero crashed into Saranna and knocked the gun from her hands.
He was slapped across the room by the Inheritor who seemed to be able to see in every direction and merely projected a new limb from his own back to strike the Atom.
Sunshrike had managed to overwhelm the Flash with his own superior speed! The mutated bird-man was incredibly fast and he was much stronger than the Scarlet Speedster!
Batman managed to connect with Snapper in spite of the young man’s teleportation power. He struck him with a ruthless efficiency and Snapper collapsed within his hover chair!
Meanwhile, the flames had both weakened and trapped the Martian Manhunter but the swarming drones summoned by their Hive Queen smothered the flames and freed the Leaguer!
He smiled coldly and flew into battle as Saranna screamed and her father tried to shoot an energy beam of his own at the hulking alien!
He was too slow and in seconds both father and daughter were in the grip of the now giant –sized Martian!
James had managed to tap into the speed of Superman to rocket forward and break the couple free from the Martian’s hands but even his speed failed to prevent the alien from punching him in passing.
He grunted and then shrank from view to return with stunning force as he combined the Atom’s power with that of Superman himself!
He erupted through the Martian’s pliable form and left him groaning in pain before he connected with a flurry of punches!
His heat vision ignited the Martian and he nodded in approval as he saw the Inheritor drop a defeated Green Lantern at his feet.
Batman had tried to shield Superman from the Green Kryptonite but he was ripped into the air and slammed into the drones by the blindingly fast Sunshrike!
As James flew over to confront the Hive Queen herself, she shrieked in anger and raised her gleaming magno-nucleo wand!
“You will all bow down to me! I can still make you my subjects!” she hissed.
James suspected that the robotic Inheritor was immune to her power but he wondered if that immunity was something he could also duplicate!
He concentrated for a moment and then he smiled broadly.
He raised his hand and displayed an exact copy of the wand!
“I can duplicate your weapons too just like I did the power ring worn by your Lantern! I think I just cancelled your hold on them all!” he said.
Sure enough Batman and the other Lawless Leaguers blinked rapidly and shook off the spell that had entranced them! Superman regained his feet as the Kryptonite was removed. He was alive and should recover.
Snapper was awake again too and his fingers were snapping furiously. He was very proud of his brother.
Green Lantern said, “You freed us! How can we thank you?”
The enraged Hive Queen screamed, “You need not offer your gratitude since the bombs planted here will soon destroy you all!”
As Saranna revived Snapper, Jasonar turned to the others.
“I never realized they would rather see Kalanor perish if they could not dominate it!”
James said, “We’ve got to neutralize the bombs now!”
He had not won his first victory to see things fall to ruin now!
8
Aoron
Evil Star shuddered as he leaned against one of his starlings. He was tired. He had expended too much of the newly absorbed energy he had taken after Starbreaker’s death. Oh it was true using that vast energy as directed through his Stand Band to remotely empower and enhance the Hive Queen’s winged drones, the Headmen, and the Quazars had been a brilliant new use of his old power. It had enabled them to do things beyond their own past limitations. The drones could not fly through the void of outer space before nor could the Quazars transmit fear except via a living carrier and he had enabled them to overcome these weaknesses! Their victories were his victories! However, now as he waited for the bombs to detonate and his power to be greater than ever before, he felt tired and he knew he had over extended himself.
“It shall all be worthwhile when I drain the energy released by my bombs on those worlds!” he whispered.
“You shall not drain that destructive power because I have already done so! I took the energy directly from the bombs on each world. None of the worlds were seriously damaged since I took the concussive force of the bombs into my essence! They did not destroy any of your targets and I benefited greatly from their terrible might.”
Evil Star scowled as he saw a newcomer approach him across the ruined plains of Aoron.
He was humanoid with long platinum colored hair and golden skin. He was dressed in red and blue and he smiled enigmatically at the ruler of Aoron.
“Who are you? What are you?” he demanded.
“While the form I wear is based upon that of a robotic being known as the Inheritor, it is merely a container for my true essence. I was once known as the Unimaginable and I sought to be a hero but I was angry and arrogant and did not know the meaning of the term. I lost my life or most of it when I defied the Princess of Apokolips Pandora. I was honored and given posthumous membership in the Justice League of America on Earth!
“You are no robot! I can tell as much!” said Evil Star.
“No. I am fully human now but I based my appearance upon that of the Inheritor. I drifted through space as nothing more than a mere mental presence until Starbreaker’s demise. Just as you took some of his power I tapped into enough to enable me to trace the rest of it to you. I learned of your evil plan and I vowed to stop it. As a being of pure thought, I was able to simultaneously transmit myself to all the planets you threatened. I could do nothing more but wait and then drink in all the power contained in each of your bombs! I saved those worlds and in doing so I gained enough power to create this physical body for myself! I wish to be a hero,” he said.
Evil Star glowed with a purple radiance as he said, “I curse you! You have thwarted my ambitions. I am weakened now but you will regret this. I will submit to you since I sense you possess more power than the humanity you boast of so readily would suggest! Take me to Oa or whatever prison you wish. I am still immortal and have time to rest and regain my power! I will return and emblazon my name across the stars when I rule all!”
The Unimaginable shook his head and looked at Evil Star with eyes that gleamed with emotion.
“No. You misunderstood me. I said I want to be a hero. I am not one yet and do not limit myself to the actions one would associate with a noble being.”
He reached out and slowly the glow around Evil Star dimmed until he was left powerless! All of his starlings had been absorbed as well.
“You robbed me of my remaining power! I am dying! By the stars, I am dying!” he cried as his now wizened form collapsed to the rough sands of Aoron.
The Unimaginable nodded and waited and then calmly lifted the now dark Star Band from the dead man’s body.
“It is not quite empty of power but it its master is gone now!” he said as he tossed it aside and flew upward.
The corpse of the being known only as Evil Star would soon be covered by the shifting sands of the barren world he had once ruled.
The golden being once called the Unimaginable did not look back as he soared into the heavens.
“It is done. Now, begins my true quest for heroism and for that elusive quality known as humanity. I shall begin it with a more appropriate name than that of the Unimaginable. Let me now be known as the Mage!” he said.
Epilogue
Thronn
Alyssa the Golden Blade had to admit that she had been wrong about their former foe Vant Orl. He truly had used his genius to help them defeat the Headmen. She would offer him her thanks when she returned to the Presidential Palace. For now, as she and her teammates, including Pulsar and Ron Avon who had decided to stay on Thronn, surveyed the damage to their planet, it was enough to merely know they had won and they would have time to restore the world to its former greatness.
Torma
Volar (Ren Uoxon) wept joyful tears as she embraced her parents and the Galactons watched from one side. They had offered her membership in their Sorority of Space Heroines and she had accepted just as she had also been welcomed home by her family and her people at last!
“My gender doesn’t matter anymore to them! I really am home! I truly can go home again!” she thought with a smile as the people of Torma…her people….cheered her return!
Kalanor
The League expressed their thanks to the Carr brothers and Jasonar and Saranna as they secured the defeated Hive Queen and vowed to repair any damage done to the planet they had briefly enslaved.
“We want to return to defend Planet X when we are done here. We made a vow to do so!” explained Batman.
Jasonar said, “We understand. You were not to blame for your actions while under Tazzala’s spell!”
Saranna kissed James Carr and said, “And what of you? Will you stay with us? Will you stay with me a while?”
James nodded readily as his brother snapped his fingers and said, “In my own words from the distant past: like yeah, cats!”
Lucas knew he would return home in time. He had Jayne Payton to come home to and he wanted his work with Dr. Danvers to continue but for now it was enough to see his little brother’s joy at being a hero.
Sunshrike smiled but he knew his own plans called for him to return to exploring space. The silent robotic Inheritor had vanished. Its form had been altered into living flesh by the Unimaginable though no one on Kalanor realized what had happened to their robotic ally nor did they imagine his strange new destiny.
As the Mage made his way into space he gave little thought to the worlds he had saved. He had more to achieve if he was to truly become the hero he wanted to be. His quest would be an epic one!
The End
By lawrenceliberty
If Evil Star is truly ascendant then who can stop him?
1
Aoron
Within an imposing structure on the otherwise barren planet Aoron a sinister assembly took place. Alien beings from several different worlds all knelt before a large throne and the purple and blue costumed figure who sat regally upon it.
“Evil Star!” they chanted in unison!
Evil Star smiled as his servants paid their respects to him. He had once eliminated all life on Aoron in a quest to secure the immortality and stellar power a device called the Star Band had granted him. He had long ago abandoned any claim to his nearly forgotten humanity. Power was all that mattered to him and now he possessed more power than he had ever known in his long existence.
He held a scarlet device shaped like a star. He had created the weapon long before but some sentient beings claimed that the Star Band now possessed a mind of its own and the humanoid who claimed it as his own was in truth merely a mortal pawn. These rumors were whispered at best since no one dared to defy the alien conqueror. Whatever the nature of his weapon, Evil Star was incredibly powerful and any past defeats he had suffered at the hands of the heroic Green Lantern or other noble beings were merely distant memories much like the faces of those he had once called his family. He had lived on and on while all around him had perished. He was immune to age, disease, and perhaps equally beyond feelings like remorse and love.
He could exult in power and he did so once more as he surveyed the mixture of bald beings with large skulls, warlike females, and deadly beings of various shapes and sizes who all possessed large wings.
He smiled again and said, “Once more shall I repeat your orders and once more shall I caution you all against failure. Should any of you disappoint me, you shall swiftly perish! Obey me and succeed and I shall reward you beyond your wildest imaginings! “
The aliens reverently bowed once more before their master.
Evil Star said, “As you know an alien parasite called Starbreaker feasted upon whole worlds for eons before ending his own material existence out of guilt that overwhelmed him when Captain Comet duped him into trying to absorb a personality altering energy source known as the Nefar Nebulae. When he perished the cosmic energy within his physical body was released throughout the cosmos and I secured most of it for myself! It enabled me to locate and equip you all so that you might help me acquire even greater power through the destruction of several planets! I realize that should these worlds explode due to bombs you will place at their respective cores, I will be able to draw their energy resources through my Star Band much like the late Starbreaker did when he fed more directly upon such worlds! Enable me to destroy these worlds and I shall reward you all!”
He stood up and raised one gloved fist in the arm.
“You have been given your assignments! Go and remember my dark radiance shines upon you!” he yelled.
The odd groups rushed off as if desperate to leave his presence. Some truly wanted to escape him while others sought to please him.
He watched them and he whispered to the Star Band and several small humanoid beings that crouched around his throne. Each of them resembled a miniature version of their master.
“Yes, my Starlings. You know what I want. You know how my power shall soon grow!” he said.
Evil Star was truly powerful now but he was self-absorbed at the best of times. Little did he realize that he had not been the only being to benefit from the energies released at the moment Starbreaker died.
An unseen presence watched and listened and vowed to stop Evil Star for reasons of his own.
“I have not acquired enough energy to restore my own material form but my mental powers are intact and I shall use them to stop Evil Star!” thought this miraculous being.
2
Earth
Happy Harbor, Rhode Island was a peaceful community for the most part although it had been the site of more than one clash between super heroes and costumed criminals as was fitting since it had also once housed the secret HQ of the Justice League of America during that group’s early days.
A young man with dark hair and a slightly nervous manner sat on the front porch of a small house in the little community and gazed up at the stars. It was a nice summer evening and James Carr was content.
“You know I’m really happy that you and Jayne Payton found each other and that you like working for Dr. Danvers at his California lab but I’m more than happy to stay right here. Teaching gym at our old school is all this Carr brother has ever wanted! Bro, you can hang out with super heroes and scientists but not this cat,” he said.
Lucas “Snapper” Carr grinned and said, “You sound like me or like I used to sound back when I was hanging around with the Justice League and watching way too many “77 Sunset Strip” reruns!”
Lucas frowned as he felt that annoying itch beneath the cast he wore over his broken leg. He sat in a porch swing and rested the injured leg on a divan.
“When I was with Superman, Batman, and the others in the early days of the Justice League I met all kinds of crazy villains from time and space but none of them did as much damage to me as I did when I fell down our steps!” he said with a sigh.
James nodded at his older brother and said, “Breaking your leg on your first night of vacation was a bad break…if you’ll excuse the expression!”
Lucas said, “I know but it was nice of you to keep me company tonight while our folks are enjoying a rare night out!”
He smiled and stepped off the porch to look up at the stars.
“Star light, star bright…!” he began when a beam of blue light erupted from the sky and a small vehicle landed noiselessly in his yard!
“Oh man”! he gasped as two figures emerged from the vehicle and approached him. The male was wrinkled but had the same vaguely elfin features as the younger girl who followed him. They looked as if they could be related and in fact they were father and daughter. Each of them had bright green hair!
A slightly calmer Lucas said, “Jasonar! Saranna! Oh man! What brings you here from Kalanar? Is Despero poking that freaky third eye of his into your business again?”
He quickly added, “This is my brother James. I met Jasonar and Saranna yeara ago! They come from a planet called Kalanar!”
James blinked rapidly and said, “I know! I remember reading your notes! They were like bedtime stories when I was a kid!”
The alien scientist Jasonar said, “I fear we are threatened by a force more deadly than even the tyrant Despero! We have come to ask for help from your Justice League allies!”
Lucas said, “They’re all away. I’ve been told by someone close to one of their members that they aren’t around right now!”
He referred to the fact that his girlfriend Jayne Payton knew her brother Will “Starman” Payton and his fellow heroes in the fabled Justice League of America were away on a mission. Lucas still enjoyed learning about his old friends via Jayne’s connection to Will. Even though Lucas had started out as a trusted mascot of sorts to the heroic team, a series of unfortunate events and he simple passing of time itself had somewhat estranged him from them for the most part. Things had improved over the last few years and he certainly thought of the members as friends but they were certainly not in regular contact with one another.
Saranna said, “We tried to find them at their base but they were not there! We thought to come here since you may also be able assist us!”
Lucas said, “I’ll help if I can but this broken leg makes me almost useless and to be honest I’m not as close to the team as I was when I was a kid! I barely know some of the newer members.”
Jasonar said, “It is your knowledge of the early members of the team that shall give us a fighting chance!”
Saranna smiled winningly and added, “We may yet benefit from your knowledge of the founding League members! No one knows them as well as you do!”
Lucas glanced over at James who was listening and watching intently. Clearly, meeting the alien duo was the most astounding thing that had ever happened to his younger brother.
“What do you mean? I’ll share what I can but I won’t betray any secrets!” he said as the irony of his words washed over him. He had indeed once betrayed the team and he still felt guilty over how easily he had been duped by one of their foes.
Jasonar said, “It is simple. Kalanar is in danger but the threat comes not from the deposed Despero but from the Justice League itself!”
3
Thronn
Alyssa the Golden Blade frowned as she walked toward the Presidential Palace. She did not like cities and while her role as a member of the celebrated Honor Team of Thronn meant that the heroine had traveled across her planet as well as to other worlds, she preferred the more rural environment of the Arden Archipelago where she was raised amongst her Sword Sisters and their Matriarch her mother S’brogan.
The blonde warrior woman wore gleaming golden armor and sandals and carried the legendary sword that had once belonged to her late husband Sigurd the Nornschild. She had taken up his heroic name and the weapon that inspired it since his death at the hands of alien invaders. She also mourned the loss of her other teammates Energiman and Magicko.
She had helped defeat the alien mastermind behind the invasion but her return had been delayed by other conflicts and she had only recently made her way back to her home planet of Thronn where life seemed to go on as it always had now that a group of Martian invaders had also perished.
The beautiful blonde shook her head as she remembered her last visit to her family home. Her mother had welcomed her and offered her support and comfort but it was her meeting with the community sage the Keeper of the Book that still troubled her thoughts.
Nyson the Keeper of the Book was a small man and in her eyes no matter what his physical size, the gray haired scholar could never measure up to her late father who had once held the esteemed position of Keeper of the Book.
Nyson had ushered her into the Sanctum Bibliarium with a brief grin and a deferential manner as befitted her status as Matriarch’s First Born and national heroine.
“I summoned you here because of a disturbing new entry in the Book. It materialized this morning. It seems to be a rather powerful omen!” he said as he led her to where a massive tome rested upon a table.
“The Book shows us signs of what is to come and allows us to gain insight from that which has passed and at times it defies all understanding in its mysterious depictions of events!” he said.
Alyssa said, “I am well acquainted with the Book. I spent much of my girlhood in this very chamber when I was not mastering the combat skills of my calling as a Sword Sister!”
Nyson nodded obsequiously and said, “Of course! I should have realized as much! Forgive me for presuming to prattle on and attempt to enhance my own status by proclaiming the lore of our land!”
Alyssa shook back her long blonde locks and said, “It is I who should apologize. I was rude. Please, show me what the Book reveals!”
Nyson smiled and said, “This drawing appears to be an eight sided structure. Naturally, that represents the Presidential Palace! This golden figure approaching the building can only be…!”
“Me! Clearly, that drawing of a female figure is meant to be me!” she said.
Nyson nodded and said, “And yet these other colorful beings around you are unknown to me! I have searched the library and find nothing to indicate their identities nor any roles they may have played in our history!”
Alyssa said, “My thanks, Nyson! Clearly, the answers will be found in the Palace and I am destined to go there!”
Now, Alyssa the Golden Blade stood inside the vast entry chamber of the Presidential Palace and waited impatiently. She was impatient by nature and losing her husband and friend made her less willing to wait around than ever before. She craved action!
She paced restlessly and paused as the Hall of Honors came into view. This section contained a tribute of sorts to the Honor Team of Thronn. She sighed as she saw the ruggedly handsome features of her late husband Sigurd on a holo prism sculpture. She could almost hear his voice and his laughter as charged into one battle after another. A second floating holo prism depicted the gaunt red and white clad form of Magicko the Scientist Supreme of the team. He was a kind man and his advanced science enabled him to appear as though he possessed magical powers. Now, he too had perished! Only the odd energy being Energiman remained alive if the strange being could be said to live. He had seemingly given up his life years before to summon help from the famous Green Lantern of Earth when the whole team had been captured by the evil genius Vant Orl! Green Lantern had freed them all and had defeated Vant Orl. Years later after Superman and yet another Green Lantern had enabled Energiman’s disembodied mind to regenerate a material body of his own, the reunited Honor Team had successfully defended their world from countless new perils yet none had truly seemed as dangerous as their former captor the alien known as Vant Orl.
Suddenly, Alyssa whirled and drew her blade as five palace guards in their black and red uniforms charged at her with ray guns drawn and ready to be fired!
“What is this madness? I am here by appointment!” she declared as she planted her feet and assumed a combat stance.
The guards said nothing but several fired upon her!
She blocked all the laser beams with her flashing magical sword and managed to disarm one of the guards with a hurled truncheon of her own.
She rolled forward and rose up to slice though another guardsman’s gun and then kick him into his nearest ally.
A spinning heel kick dropped the third trooper and she knocked the fourth one out with one punch.
Her super strength made her a match for anyone and her Sword Sister training and the magical weapon she carried enhanced her abilities even more.
The final guard dropped back and said, “I yield Sword Sister! You may enter the Presidential Suite! Our orders were merely to test you not to slay you!”
Alyssa shoved him aside and stalked into the plush suite.
“By the Matriarch!” she gasped as she saw the figure at the desk with the Thronnian Presidential Seal.
He was deathly pale and shaped like a blob with four wiggling tentacles extended from his torso.
“Vant Orl!” she cried as she darted forward and started to leap over the desk.
A bolt of energy blazed across her path and she fell backward to land on her feet after an acrobatic flip.
Her blue eyes widened as she recognized the source of the energy beam.
“Energiman! I thought you had perished! What are you doing in service to this alien cur?” she cried.
Energiman stepped forward and raised his hands in a placating manner.
“I was not killed but my energy form was scattered and it took me time to regain a humanoid body. I could only watch helplessly in sorrow as our friends perished and you were left to mourn, Alyssa! I am not under any spell or duress. Vant Orl has been given a full pardon for his own heroic actions in helping to defeat the alien invaders. He has been given named acting President as well because he alone may be able to stop a menace that threatens our whole world!” said Energiman.
Allysa scowled as she looked at her friend. He was a dark haired handsome man who resembled the hero Superman because that champion had allowed the energy being to once use his own body as a template when he needed to recreate a physical form for his disembodied mind. His features had altered over time but he still had a superficial resemblance to the Man of Steel. He wore a red and white costume that also looked familiar to Alyssa!
“I am indeed wearing Magicko’s old costume. It no longer has his array of weapons and data sources but it allows me to retain my physical form. You see, my energy powers are out of control and only this containment suit keeps me from exploding!” he said.
Vant Orl said, “He speaks the truth, Golden Blade. I altered the costume and saved his very life. I am not the being you once fought. I am sorry I imprisoned you and your friends long ago and I mourn for your husband and friend. We are on the same side!”
Alyssa shook her head and crossed her arms. “Tell me more!”
Vant Orl undulated slightly as his amorphous body leaned or oozed forward.
“I was contacted by agents of a being known as Evil Star. They wanted to enlist my aid in a plot to destroy Thronn. I was able to defy them because of my super will power. They could not force me to join their crusade. Instead, I used my influence to get this position. I’ve been called the Hero of the Red Brotherhood War. People now trust me. I hope you shall do so in time!” he said.
Energiman said, “Vant Orl is a genius. We always knew that! He has restored me and he wants us to form a new Honor Team! Will you join our cause?”
Alyssa nodded slowly. “I shall. My blade is ever ready to defend my home but I shall not offer trust blindly to one who once was my enemy.”
“My! She is magnificent!” said a high pitched voice as a petite woman entered the room and smiled up at Alyssa.
The newcomer was remarkable for her beauty and for her body which was entirely made of a translucent crystalline substance. Each facet of her curvy form gleamed in the lights of the office.
“This is the Princess Aria of Karalyx. She has joined our team! Her father is the Chief Justiciar of their planet!” said Vant Orl.
The shiny woman executed a brief courtesy and smiled broadly.
“You are truly beautiful!” she said to Alyssa! The Crystal Princess extended one delicate hand to the taller woman and said, “I am honored to meet you.”
Alyssa took her hand and said, “Well met, Princess Aria! The lawmen of your world are indeed legendary across the universe!”
Princess Aria blushed becomingly and a light pink hue illuminated her crystalline form.
Vant Orl said, “I have summoned the others as well. It is time we prepared to face Evil Star’s emissaries!”
Two young men in bright costumes entered the room and stepped forward expectantly. Alyssa smiled briefly in recognition. She knew them from a previous battle. Indeed, they had helped her avenge Sigurd’s death in a manner of speaking.
The first man was a handsome youth with long blond hair. He wore a gold costume with purple boots and trunks along a purple cape. He also wore a large gauntlet on one forearm.
“Do you remember me? I'm Ron Avon, Champion of Belgor! I came here with my friend Pulsar on orders from Era himself!” explained the young hero.
The second man smiled and said, “Era is one of the Guardians of the Clockwork Universe. He and his brothers work to keep order in the cosmos. He named me defender of the Cosmos and gave me the quantum bracelets I wear! Oh, and my name is Pulsar. Actually, I’m the second man to use that name. The first is now a Green Lantern. I’m trying to live up to his reputation!”
Pulsar wore a green and gold costume and the shining bracelets on each of his wrists gleamed as light reflected off tiny gemstones that studded their circumference.
Alyssa nodded slowly. This sudden reunion was a bit much to take in at once. Still, she knew both men slightly and respected them as heroes.
Ron Avon said, “Pulsar never told you before that his real name is Bob Altus and he comes from Earth!”
Pulsar said, “Sorry. I guess I did get carried away. You see, this is a second chance for me. I messed up rather badly when I was a hero during my teens on Earth!”
Ron Avon said, “Uh oh! We have no time to talk! My power gauntlet tells me Thronn is being invaded as we speak!”
Vant Orl said, “Blast it! I thought we’d have more time! “
They rushed outside to where around a dozen flying men swooped down from space. Each had an abnormally large skull and wore a black ring!
Vant Orl said, “The Anti-Green Lantern Corps! I thought those black rings had all be destroyed years ago. Apparently, Evil Star not only found a way to make more, he overcame their one liability. The rings destroy any user who lacks an advanced mentality. That won’t be a problem since Evil Star’s minions all appear to be the Headmen of Garon!”
Alyssa raised her sword and said, “I do not care where these mutant misfits originate! I shall drive them back to their unholy master or die trying!”
The newly formed Honor team of Thronn hurried into battle as one more world faced the peril of Evil Star!
4
Earth
As a small automated device carried Lucas Carr into Jasonar’s ship, the former JLA mascot said, “I don’t understand. How can the JLA be a threat to Kalanar?”
James nodded as he glanced in awe at the spaceship’s interior.
“Yeah, those heroes are always trying to help not to hurt!” he said sheepishly as Saranna concealed a smile and nodded to him in an encouraging manner.
Jasonar said, “I may be a scientist but I fear I am prone to poetic license at times. Your Justice League is no threat to us. We are being menaced by their alternate timeline counterparts!”
James said, “Sure. That makes…that makes absolutely no sense at all!”
Saranna gently touched his arm and said, “I realize this is all a bit too much for you to take in at once. We appreciate your help and your patience. You and your brother are both exceptional men!”
She continued, “When your Justice League last defeated Despero, they left behind new heroes to defend a world called Planet X from any new perils. This other League served this purpose well until they abruptly became as evil as the heroes they emulated were good. This Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Atom, Flash, and Martian Manhunter became tyrants in the service of our world’s newest oppressor the Hive Queen Tazzalla! She used them to take over our planet. She brought them here from Planet X!”
Lucas said, “Man! This is heavy stuff! Where did the League I know get these other Leaguers?”
Jasonar said, “I do not know the details. I was told only that a villain named Dr. Destiny created them as his own Lawless League by altering reality in some manner. He plucked them from some alternate timeline. With his defeat they became heroes until Hive Queen Tazzala enslaved them all!”
Lucas snapped his fingers and said, “Yeah! Dr. Destiny had a gem that allowed him to do all kinds of crazy things. If he made them as an evil Justice League, I guess someone else could change them again and again!”
James said, “You said they were enslaved by the Hive Queen Tazzala? Didn’t the JLA often battle an alien beauty called Zazzala the Queen Bee?”
Jasonar said, “The Hive Queen Tazzala is the sister of the more notorious Queen Bee Zazzala but she is deadly in her own right since she can control any male!”
Lucas said, “I get it now! If her enforcers are some kind of evil JLA, then I’m in a good position to know how to fight them! I do know the way their powers work if they are copies of my friends!”
Jasonar said, “We need your data to enhance our weapon of choice! The Hive Queen may enslave any male but not an artificial being like this one!”
He gestured to a glass tube in which a towering humanoid stood silently immobile. He wore a green and brown costume with an odd red cap. His ears were pointed and his eyes were cold and dark.
“Amazo? That’s Amazo! You’ve got the One Man Justice League in cold storage!” gasped Lucas.
Saranna said, “No! He is merely a copy my father created. Sadly, he doesn’t work!”
Jasonar said, “I failed. I thought I could use him against our enemies since one like him threatened the heroes you knew but I have failed to bring him to life!”
Lucas said, “The guy who made the first Amazo was a genius. Amazo was a robot or android but he could copy super powers and this made him deadly!”
At that moment the ship lurched to one side as dozens of tiny winged men swooped inside!
“Drones! Those are drone soldiers!” cried Lucas.
As the small soldiers swarmed into the ship, Jasonar fell backward and the container holding Amazo toppled forward into a console that erupted into flames and sent a barrage of energy at Lucas Carr!
James jumped forward to protect his brother and screamed in pain as the energy passed through the falling robot and into his own body!
Saranna screamed, “Father! You must help him! Our enemies have followed us here!”
Jasonar managed to smother the energy bursts with a special device as the swarm of warriors swept through the ship!
Lucas yelled, “James? Are you hurt?”
James Carr shuddered once and stood up. He frowned as the swarming invaders suddenly became clearer to him. He could see each of the speeding figures as if they were moving in slow motion!
He glared at them and beams of fiery energy shot out of his eyes and enabled him to herd them away from his new allies and his brother.
He hesitated for a second and slammed both hands together. Shockwaves knocked all of the tiny drones to the ground as if they had been struck by a hurricane!
James Carr said, “How did I do that? I just sort of knew what to do but I don’t know how I did it!”
Lucas said, “It’s like you have Amazo’s powers!”
Jasonar nodded and said, “I concur. In some manner the energy burst transferred the powers in Amazo’s absorbing cells into your body. I failed to awaken my Amazo but I may have created a superior version in you, young man…although by accident!”
Lucas snapped his fingers and said, “This is far out stuff! My little brother is a One Man Justice League?”
James looked at Saranna and said, “I’ll help you, Saranna! I’ll save your people! I can do it. I literally know I can do it!”
5
Thronn
The street that led up to the Presidential Palace had become a nightmarish scene of destruction as the dozen invaders accomplished what a larger group of attackers could not do as easily! They literally blasted the area into rubble with their powerful energy bolts!
Alyssa led her new team into battle with her usual grim determination!
“Those rings clearly mimic the functions of the power ring used by Green Lantern! Even one of those rings could bring Thronn down in ruins unless we stop them!” she thought.
She leaped upward and brought her gleaming blade down at the nearest attacker. He was almost identical to his brethren in that he was bald and his skull was unnaturally large. He also gazed at her and at all of Thronn with a look of superiority. This Headman would learn not to underestimate a Sword Sister!
Alyssa’s sword smashed through his protective force field! She didn’t know if the rings had any particular weakness or if it was merely the enchantment that her weapon contained that allowed her to shatter the alien’s ring construct but she didn’t care! She smashed the sword’s flat side into his face and grappled furiously in an effort to bring him down to earth!
He said, “For a primitive being you pose more of a challenge than I ever expected to be the case!”
Alyssa said, “This world has suffered enough from alien invaders! This day we draw a line that shall not be crossed while breath remains within one son or daughter of Thronn!”
She slapped him across the face and saw his smug expression change to one of dismay as she managed to bring them both down to the rubble!
Energiman was also locked in battle with two of the attackers but while his unique metabolism and protective suit enabled him to resist their energy based attacks, he was also a bit hesitant to use his full power against them!
“This suit is all that keeps me whole! I don’t wish to return to being merely a disembodied mental presence! And yet how can I give less than my all for my world?” he mused.
He raised both hands with his palms outward and released two bolts of concussive energy that sent the two Headmen reeling.
Nearby, Aria the Crystal Princess maintained her almost girlish demeanor as her crystalline body turned bright red and she emitted blazing bolts of fire that encircled her own foes. She was no stranger to combat and her lawman father had raised her with the awareness that individuals must make sacrifices for the common good.
“The Headmen are silent foes but they are awfully strong! I guess their power has gone to their heads!” she thought with a giggle.
Pulsar (Bob Altus of earth) was not as confident as he tried to appear. Years ago his scientist father had tried to make him into a super hero to rival or even supplant Superboy; however, Pulsar had refused to eliminate the Teen of Steel and had rejected his father and his desire for power. He had grown up in obscurity and had never imagined an alien being would one day offer him a second chance at heroism!
“Okay, I’ve got the quantum bands and I’ve got the trust of the Clockwork Guardians! Now, all I have to do with not fail them completely!” he thought ruefully.
He concentrated as black energy rays bounced off his glowing force field.
“I’ve commanded the bands to activate automatic shielding and they naturally protect me from mind control!” he thought as he mentally checked off his combat procedures!
He shuddered as a blast shook the shield but failed to shatter it.
He frowned and then focused his thoughts on making the golden energy shape itself into a huge fist that battered the Headman and finally broke through his black force bubble to squeeze him into submission!
“I’m doing it! I’m actually winning!” he whispered.
Ron Avon had no lack of confidence. The blond hero had been groomed since his youth to be a champion and had in fact liberated his home world from a group of tyrants with help from Superboy. Although his own powers had changed somewhat as he matured and he was still a teen by the standards of his long lived race, he was a bit cocky and felt no need to hesitate in battle.
“Gauntlet analysis of energy weapons is complete. While the original rings were Qwardian in origin and empowered by energy generated remotely by a anti-matter power battery, these rings are similar but are powered by stellar energy as directed by a being known as Evil Star!”
The way the power gauntlet spoke to Ron via telepathy was comforting to the young hero. He thought of the gauntlet as a friend and not as a mere tool or weapon. It more than compensated for the loss of his sensory powers that had occurred when he was caught in an explosive while battling one of his old foes!
Ron said, “Hmmm? So if these bald baddies can’t tap into their power source, they will be helpless!”
He created a rainbow -hued sphere that erupted in the sky and left several of the warriors stunned as they fought to restore their balance!
“Vant Orl may need the scoop on these thugs! Gauntlet, transmit findings to Presidential Palace!” he ordered as he dodged an attack and connected with a simple super strong punch of his own!
Princess Aria had turned a pale blue as she used her destructive aura to shatter a Headman’s looming energy drill!
Alyssa the Golden Blade was furiously battering two Headmen with her fists and sword as they closed in on her. She lashed out with devastating power and kicked one of them in the face. Her sword’s magic was generating enough magic to enable her body to break through their ring shields!
She choked one Headman and hurled him into his nearest comrade.
Then, she gasped as darkness filled the sky above them!
Energiman said, “By the Nebulae! That shadowy substance threatens to plunge the planet into total darkness! Do you recognize it?”
Alyssa scowled and said, “Of course! It is Ergal Prism power! That was the substance Vant Orl used to imprison us all years ago! That fiend has turned against Thronn once more!”
“What should we do?” asked Pulsar. “I think I can repel it but not all at once!”
Energiman said, “I know what I have to do. I must achieve total detonation of my body! I might be able to shatter the Ergal Prism before it totally envelops our world!”
Alyssa cursed as she listened to her friend. “No! You must not sacrifice yourself again! We can beat that blob into submission and force him to undo his energy barrier!”
Princess Aria said, “Wait, Fair Maid! Look! I think the field is weakening the Headmen!”
The petite princess was correct! The inky darkness of the Ergal Prism energy had indeed separated the Anti-Green Lantern Corps members from the energy Evil Star had been feeding to them from his remote base on Auron!
“Gauntlet analysis suggests the rings require an incredible amount of sheer power to operate and without the constant stimulation from Evil Star’s Star Band, the rings take a physical toil on their users! Even the Headmen’s advance brains can only operate the rings for a limited time without additional power sources!”
Ron Avon grinned broadly and said, “Gauntlet, that is music to my ears!”
He swooped down as the remaining ring warriors fell to the ground and he cried out, “It is true! Vant Orl is no traitor! He is a hero! He used the data my gauntlet sent him to find a way to cut off the invaders from most of their power! He saved Thronn!”
Energiman nodded in relief. “The Headmen are defeated!”
“Not yet, you worm! We may still achieve our master’s goal by blowing up this world and all who live here! Your field won’t prevent that!” cried a Headman.
The dozen aliens collapsed in unison and their rings shattered as black energy erupted across the battle field!
Alyssa gasped in shock as the ground shook and she thought, “They truly mean to destroy all of Thronn even though doing so has cost them their lives!”
6
Torma
“You can’t go home again!”
The phrase echoed in Ren Uoxon’s mind as the brown haired heroine flew down toward her planet of birth. She was very nervous about returning to Torma since she had been exiled from the small planet a few years ago and had not had any contact with her parents or friends since that harsh verdict had been rendered following the revelation that she was in fact female!
She had used advanced science invented by her father Danan to conceal her gender for most of her teen years when she was dressed as the planetary champion or Volar. As the seemingly male Volar she had been revered as the hero who had saved the planet from any and all threats. Even her exposure as a woman had only occurred after she and Captain Comet had rescued the people of Torma from a race of “space Amazons” known as Femizons or Quazars.
“Our victory was the end of life as I knew it. It didn’t matter one bit that I was the same person inside. It didn’t matter that I was as willing to give everything for Torma as ever. All anyone cared about was the fact that I was a woman and on Torma women were deemed too inferior to be heroic or to be anything more than dutiful and decorative domestics!” she mused.
It was true the revelation of her gender had inspired the rigid society of Torma to slowly integrate women into positions of authority but this change came with a price. Normal Torma women might arise out of their limited spheres of influence but not with the painful example of a woman- a petite and pretty woman at that- who was clearly superior to every male on Torma constantly creating friction merely by her existence.
“My own father gave me the news that I had to leave! I had to leave everything and everyone I’d ever known just because I was a woman!” she whispered sadly.
It was true that she had made good friends during her exile. She had become close to the heroic alien couple Vartox and Maxima and in some ways she knew they considered her to be a daughter to them due to her youth.
She had convinced them that she could respond to the sudden distress signal from Torma on her own. She remembered the look of paternal concern on Vartox’s features as the rugged hero had urged her to allow him to help her on this mission.
“Maxima and I want to go with you. We would stand beside you in this hour of need as you have always been loyal to our own causes since we met!” he had said.
The fiery flame haired Maxima had nodded and made what was to her imperious nature a show of genuine support.
“It is so! Together we three may easily triumph over any peril that Torma faces!” she had said with a haughty toss of her head.
Ren had thanked them and parted from them with tearful affection but as she had explained, “I have to do this alone! If they need me, I want to prove to them that I am still worthy to be planetary Volar!” she had said.
Now, as she used her magna vision to scan the surface of the planet she had loved for so long, she saw a familiar if sinister sight. A large spaceship hovered above the main marketplace of Machismus the largest city on the planet. A gleaming energy beam emerged from a port on the ship and bathed the area below with an unholy radiance!
“The Femizons again! Those female pirates have returned to take over Torma again!” she gasped.
She noticed scenes of mass panic as men and women raced away from the massive ship and its beams of destructive concussive power!
“They’ve released their fear stimulating radiation! I see scenes of mass hysteria everywhere! The Amazons use some kind of fear toxin that makes males timid. It was that weapon that enabled them to almost conquer my home last time they invaded. We were able to magically reverse the effect and make the warrior women victims of their own poison but I have no magical powers. All I can do is just use my magna powers as best I can! I can’t fail my folks or my home if they need me!” she thought.
She knew that a certain irony was found in the fact that in the past the fear radiation spread like a plague and only worked on men. Thus, this most male dominated of worlds was perfectly structured for women invaders with such a weapon to be lethally effective. Based on the visible energy beam, they were taking a more direct approach this time!
“I know when I left they said they were going to include women in major roles in the military and government but I only see the same old routine. Male leaders are herding females away as the fear makes the men panic!” she thought.
A few shouts of recognition rang out as the Tormanians pointed skyward and saw their former champion smash into the saucer-like ship!
Ren recognized the basic structure of the craft. It had a command bridge where the Quazar leaders congregated and directed their attack. The Quazars were all beautiful women with slightly pointed ears and cruel expressions. They relished war and had nothing but contempt for men especially since their own men were frail. The tall warrior women laughed with pleasure as their attack bore fruit.
“They are not even attempting to put up a fight! Evil Star has assured us that his power will prevent any magical reversal of the fear radiation this time nor will any of our men dare to help the Tormanians!” said one Quazar as she exulted in their triumph.
They gasped as Ren approached and sirens echoed through the craft moments after the woman’s super swift entrance!
“Your invasion ends now!” she said as she placed both hands on her hips and confronted them with a look of determination!
She would win back Torma and her people would welcome her back! She just knew it.
The tallest Quazar laughed coldly and said, “You can do nothing against us! You see our power has been enhanced by Evil Star! The fear radiation carries his power and nothing can stop its spread! Unlike before, there is no cure or carrier of any immunity!”
Ren said, “We’ll see about that!”
The Quazar said, “Really? I doubt that! Take her!”
The Space Amazons charged at Ren and began to batter the smaller woman. They were not as strong as she was but she felt their blows and she realized that this mysterious Evil Star they spoke of must have boosted their strength!
She grunted with pain and fell beneath their furious assault. They were savages and relished inflicting pain while Ren was a compassionate heroine. She also was determined to win so in spite of the beating she received, she valiantly tried t resist and refused to give up!
However, the odds were against her and she began to slow down as the women warriors continued to batter her with sheer numbers.
She glanced around the ship through a haze of pain and blood. She finally saw what she wanted to find. The fear radiation generator perched above the main deck like a mechanical bird of prey. She knew that the machine was the source of the fear plague no matter how Evil Star’s energy somehow gave it new potency from afar!
Ren lurched forward and knocked the nearest Quazar aside. She kicked and punched and dived until her bruised body reached the machine and with her final reserves of energy, the Magna Maid clutched the machine and slowly ripped it apart with one final burst of raw power and sheer courage!
The effort was too much for her. She collapsed on the deck and fought to catch her breath. Surely she had won! Surely without the radiation the Quazars could no longer make the men of Torma into cowardly victims!
The brutal leader Commander Xalta kicked Ren with one high heeled boot and said, “The little firebrand destroyed the radiation projector. She’ll regret that!”
At that moment three colorfully dressed newcomers burst into the ship and charged at the Quazars!
“Don’t touch her! She has achieved too much to suffer any more at your hands!”said a beautiful woman with dark hair and exotic features. She wore an orange costume with decorative black trim along the sleeves and the slightly puffy pants of her costume. Orange slippers completed her costume.
She stared at Commander Xalta with her oddly compelling eyes and the bigger woman began to tremble. Finally, the normally steely Xalta collapsed and began to whimper in fear.
“Nicely done, Elura! You certainly have not lost your touch!” said a petite blonde in a blue and black outfit that matched Elura’s in design if not in color.
Suddenly, the blonde became a blur as she raced forward at super speed and sent the Quazars flying in all directions!
“Alena is such a show off!” said a third woman who had shorter reddish hair and wore a bright yellow and black costume.
“You aren’t exactly subtle yourself, Nula!” said Elura with a smile.
Nula shrugged and raised both hands over her head.
A burst of vibrational energy swept outward from her body and knocked other Quazars off their feet!
“I’m just a woman who believes in good vibes even if they break things at times!” quipped Nula.
They helped Ren to her feet and ministered to her needs as she slowly stood up and asked, “Who are you? Did I stop them?”
Elura said, “You certainly did! In fact we Galactons came to help you repel them but you had them at a disadvantage before we reached the ship! Without their weapons, they’re just a bunch of bullies!”
Nula added, “We’re a group of adventurers. We seldom get to this part of space but we were known to the late Supergirl who even emulated us once with help from some friends for a good cause once! “
Elura added, “We tracked the Quazars here. Apparently, they are but one group of several beings that have been boosted in terms of physicality or resources by Evil Star! He once created miniature slaves known as Starlings. Now, he has used his weapon of choice to empower other aliens like the Quazars!”
She added, “I have limited telepathy. I projected images of what you did across your home below. Your courage was displayed for all to see!”
Alena said, “I hear the people cheering you as we speak!”
Indeed, the chant of “Volar!” echoed from below.
Ren smiled as tears filled her eyes! She had clearly won over the people of Torma once more!
She beamed with pleasure as she saw the cheering crowds!
Xalta was still shaking from the emotional manipulation she had suffered due to the Galacton known as Elura. Still, she managed to shout in defiance.
“We didn’t just show up and project our fear energy. We directed it by remote long before we made ourselves known to your people below. In fact, we made certain some were so crippled with fear that they agreed to obey our commands at any price!” she said.
Ren said, “What commands? Surely, you’ve lost now!”
The Quazar said, “We ordered the Science Council of Torma to activate certain bombs we supplied! Your world dies today!”
Ren breathed a silent prayer and glanced at the three Galactons. Was it too late to save her home?
7
Kalanor
Tazzala the Hive Queen resented her sister Zazzala the Queen Bee for several reasons. Zazzala was older and had always looked down on her sibling. She had also always been known for her beauty and her intellect while Tazzala was considered inferior to her sister in both regards. Now, having claimed Kalanor for herself in the absence of its previous tyrant Despero, the Hive Queen hoped to use the planet as a base from which she might eventually overthrow her sister and also claim their home world of Korll. When Evil Star promised to aid her in this task by enslaving the second Justice League, she had readily agreed to destroy Kalanor in exchange for promises of greater power and revenge on her sister!
Still, the purple haired beauty had copied much of Zazzala’s own techniques by using a magno nucleo rod to enslave and turn many Kalanorians into tiny winged drone warriors! She smiled to herself. She had to admit Zazzala’s plans had always worked at least temporarily.
She smiled again as she surveyed her personal League. Superman (Ripper Jones) was a bearded blond man in a red and blue costume that resembled the more famous one worn by the original Superman; however, Ripper’s emblem was slightly different in design. He was incredibly powerful but Evil Star’s power held him in thrall.
The green skinned Martian Manhunter (Ed Orson) was similar to the original hero of the same name too but he wore a solid red and blue costume that covered his arms and legs unlike the briefer one favored by his double.
Batman (Bill Gore) had once worn a beard but now he was clean shaven and his black and gray costume enabled him to hide in shadows when needed.
The diminutive Atom (Barney Judson) was brilliant but his keen mind could not break free of the hold his new Hive Queen had over him. His red and black costume was slightly different from that of the original Atom. He wore a mask but his hair was exposed and hung in a shaggy style around the mask.
Flash (Race Morrison) drummed his blurred fingers restlessly as he waited with the others. Perhaps in time his vibrations might disrupt the power that enslaved him but Tazzala doubted it.
Green Lantern (Monk Loomis) was bald. He frowned from time to time but he also was helpless to break the spell that enslaved his own formidable will. His green costume consisted of a broad vest and higher boots than those of his double.
Tazzala strolled by the row of heroes and tapped her golden magno nucleo wand in one gloved hand. It was good to be queen. She would have the detonation charges activated soon enough once she and her drones had fled the doomed world.
She raised both arms over her head and ran her hands through her cascading purple tresses! She exulted in her new power and the promise of more to come. In truth, she was already under Evil Star’s control as well although she did not realize it.
He was expending considerable energy to control or enhance so many people on the four worlds he sought to destroy.
Meanwhile, not far from the Hive Queen’s palace on Kalanor, Lucas “Snapper” Carr was strapped in a small hovering module that Jasonar had put together to give him some mobility.
He said, “I’m coming with you. I’m not going to let my kid brother battle some lunatic without help!”
James said, “Even though I can’t believe I’m on another planet, I’m good. I have the power of Amazo and he has the powers of all those League doubles Jasonar described. He tapped into their power from afar before he came to get us! He just didn’t know his Amazo would not awaken like it should!”
Saranna said, “You are both true heroes but what can you do for us now that your brother has such power?”
Lucas said, “I have power too. I can teleport. It is something I picked up during the Invasion a while back!”
Jasonar said, “But Lucas Carr, surely any power you possess may be duplicated by your brother now that he has the abilities of my flawed Amazo?”
Lucas said, “I don’t care! We’re family and I’m coming too!”
Jasonar said, “Very well. I could use your unique abilities too. My own vehicle the dimensional traveler might be able to gain some extra precision in its warp drive if we tap into your will power and this teleportation ability you now possess!”
Lucas snapped his finger and said, “Exactly! So, what is your plan?”
Saranna said, “We hope to subdue the League or free them from the spell they are under by capturing them and the Hive Queen! We hoped the Amazo powers would enable us to do just that especially with your unique knowledge of how the Green Lantern, Superman etc. use their powers!”
Lucas said, “Like I told you before, Green Lantern’s ring won’t work on yellow. Superman is weakened by Kryptonite and it can kill him in time. The Martian Manhunter is weakened by fire. You probably already know all this!”
James frowned suddenly and Lucas noticing his brother’s expression, asked, “What’s wrong?”
James said, “We’re not alone! My enhanced senses allow me to detect that there are others approaching our ship!”
Saranna cried, “No! Surely, we have not been discovered! We subdued the drones she sent after us and even the Hive Queen could not expect us to have returned so swiftly!”
Jasonar said, “Indeed, we have other allies but I have not introduced them yet. They are unique as well!”
He said, “In truth, both originated on Earth! I merely secured their services when we met them in space! They both departed from your world for different reasons!”
He gestured to a sliding panel that opened to reveal a humanoid figure with long platinum blonde hair and golden skin. The man was muscular and wore a blue and gold costume. His eyes were a pale white and he moved forward with a silent grace and obvious majesty.
“This robotic being was dubbed the Inheritor by an earth scientist named Dr. Magnus. After the first model was destroyed in a rebellion against his maker, the second model proved equally strong willed though not of evil intent. He fled the lab and flew into space to walk his own path. He was damaged during the Invasion you spoke of before and I claimed him as a weapon against our foes. He is nearly mindless but his body may shape itself into any number of weapons!”
The final figure was also humanoid but broad wings sprouted from his back and his features had an equally avian look. He was powerfully build and certainly lacked the delicate bone structure of a true bird. He wore a silver and red costume.
He said, “I am Sunshrike although I was born as Richard Gray. I once called myself Condor when I worked with some heroes like Hawkman and Captain Comet. After my body began to mutate I departed Earth. I can fly through space unprotected and at great speed. I have found peace among the stars!”
James said, “Man! This is awesome! I can’t believe it all!”
Lucas said, “Take it easy. You’ll get used to meeting heroes and aliens. After all, I did!”
Jasonar said, “Let me run a scan on you Lucas. I think I may use your power to bring us all directly inside the Hive Queen’s palace! If we secure her, then her League will soon be free!”
Lucas nodded and said, “Sure. It’s not the weirdest thing I’ve ever done!”
Hours later, Jasonar nodded in approval as he ran his hands across a control panel.
“It should suffice! If you are all ready, we shall make the attempt to reclaim our world!” he announced.
Saranna said, “Father, you do sound grand but it becomes you!”
He smiled at his daughter and said, “Perhaps, you are correct. Let us merely let our actions speak in place of colorful phrases!”
He made a last adjustment and the dimensional traveler’s engine core tapped into Lucas Carr’s new powers to teleport them directly inside the Hive Queen’s Palace. Its location had been projected into Lucas Carr’s mind by his brother who used his own Martian derived mental abilities to take the location and image from Jasonar’s thoughts.
The Hive Queen loved splendor and she had used her drones to turn the structure into a luxurious palace marked by alien treasures of every type. Gems hovered in mid- air and flickered with a weird luminescence.
Tiny winged drones taken from the nobility of Kalanor swarmed around the room as if worshipping their Hive Queen and exulted in proximity to her sultry form.
The captive League reacted instantly even for men under mental domination!
Green Lantern’s power ring blazed with emerald energy but it was met with an explosion of yellow energy generated from the eyes of the silent Inheritor!
The golden robot passed through the green beam and elongated his arms to envelop Green Lantern! Directed by Snapper earlier, it knew the ring was powerless against anything of a yellow color.
Rather than fall before the relentless assault, Green Lantern used the ring indirectly against Inheritor by causing the projected energy to erupt upward from beneath the palace foundation to send rubble hurling at him!
The Inheritor shrugged off the attack and expanded his body until he sailed upward and forward and covered his foe!
Nearby the Flash had dashed into battle like the human whirlwind he was and the wind from his motions struck the newcomers like a storm!
Sunshrike resisted the winds and with wings that enabled him to soar through airless space, he swooped down on the Scarlet Speedster with stunning impact.
James Carr tapped into his own duplicate power ring to send a giant green fist crashing into Superman! The Man of Steel grunted but broke through to confront the young man.
“This isn’t easy. I mean, you’re Superman. How can anyone fight Superman?” he gasped as he held out one Martian elongated and altered hand to reveal a glowing green rock!
Superman fell back as the radiation from the Kryptonite the new team had secured via skillful use of the dimensional traveler’s enhanced teleporting properties washed over him.
Saranna ignored her father’s warning to be careful and darted forward to fire a ray gun at the Manhunter!
He shrank back in dismay as flames encircled his body.
Batman prepared to put out the fire that trapped his partner but Lucas Carr steered his own hovering cart forward and used his power to teleport himself out of the agile Caped Crusader’s path and return behind him. He had no delusions about being able to beat Batman in a fight but he hoped he could
The Atom sailed across the air adjusting his size and weight controls! The small hero crashed into Saranna and knocked the gun from her hands.
He was slapped across the room by the Inheritor who seemed to be able to see in every direction and merely projected a new limb from his own back to strike the Atom.
Sunshrike had managed to overwhelm the Flash with his own superior speed! The mutated bird-man was incredibly fast and he was much stronger than the Scarlet Speedster!
Batman managed to connect with Snapper in spite of the young man’s teleportation power. He struck him with a ruthless efficiency and Snapper collapsed within his hover chair!
Meanwhile, the flames had both weakened and trapped the Martian Manhunter but the swarming drones summoned by their Hive Queen smothered the flames and freed the Leaguer!
He smiled coldly and flew into battle as Saranna screamed and her father tried to shoot an energy beam of his own at the hulking alien!
He was too slow and in seconds both father and daughter were in the grip of the now giant –sized Martian!
James had managed to tap into the speed of Superman to rocket forward and break the couple free from the Martian’s hands but even his speed failed to prevent the alien from punching him in passing.
He grunted and then shrank from view to return with stunning force as he combined the Atom’s power with that of Superman himself!
He erupted through the Martian’s pliable form and left him groaning in pain before he connected with a flurry of punches!
His heat vision ignited the Martian and he nodded in approval as he saw the Inheritor drop a defeated Green Lantern at his feet.
Batman had tried to shield Superman from the Green Kryptonite but he was ripped into the air and slammed into the drones by the blindingly fast Sunshrike!
As James flew over to confront the Hive Queen herself, she shrieked in anger and raised her gleaming magno-nucleo wand!
“You will all bow down to me! I can still make you my subjects!” she hissed.
James suspected that the robotic Inheritor was immune to her power but he wondered if that immunity was something he could also duplicate!
He concentrated for a moment and then he smiled broadly.
He raised his hand and displayed an exact copy of the wand!
“I can duplicate your weapons too just like I did the power ring worn by your Lantern! I think I just cancelled your hold on them all!” he said.
Sure enough Batman and the other Lawless Leaguers blinked rapidly and shook off the spell that had entranced them! Superman regained his feet as the Kryptonite was removed. He was alive and should recover.
Snapper was awake again too and his fingers were snapping furiously. He was very proud of his brother.
Green Lantern said, “You freed us! How can we thank you?”
The enraged Hive Queen screamed, “You need not offer your gratitude since the bombs planted here will soon destroy you all!”
As Saranna revived Snapper, Jasonar turned to the others.
“I never realized they would rather see Kalanor perish if they could not dominate it!”
James said, “We’ve got to neutralize the bombs now!”
He had not won his first victory to see things fall to ruin now!
8
Aoron
Evil Star shuddered as he leaned against one of his starlings. He was tired. He had expended too much of the newly absorbed energy he had taken after Starbreaker’s death. Oh it was true using that vast energy as directed through his Stand Band to remotely empower and enhance the Hive Queen’s winged drones, the Headmen, and the Quazars had been a brilliant new use of his old power. It had enabled them to do things beyond their own past limitations. The drones could not fly through the void of outer space before nor could the Quazars transmit fear except via a living carrier and he had enabled them to overcome these weaknesses! Their victories were his victories! However, now as he waited for the bombs to detonate and his power to be greater than ever before, he felt tired and he knew he had over extended himself.
“It shall all be worthwhile when I drain the energy released by my bombs on those worlds!” he whispered.
“You shall not drain that destructive power because I have already done so! I took the energy directly from the bombs on each world. None of the worlds were seriously damaged since I took the concussive force of the bombs into my essence! They did not destroy any of your targets and I benefited greatly from their terrible might.”
Evil Star scowled as he saw a newcomer approach him across the ruined plains of Aoron.
He was humanoid with long platinum colored hair and golden skin. He was dressed in red and blue and he smiled enigmatically at the ruler of Aoron.
“Who are you? What are you?” he demanded.
“While the form I wear is based upon that of a robotic being known as the Inheritor, it is merely a container for my true essence. I was once known as the Unimaginable and I sought to be a hero but I was angry and arrogant and did not know the meaning of the term. I lost my life or most of it when I defied the Princess of Apokolips Pandora. I was honored and given posthumous membership in the Justice League of America on Earth!
“You are no robot! I can tell as much!” said Evil Star.
“No. I am fully human now but I based my appearance upon that of the Inheritor. I drifted through space as nothing more than a mere mental presence until Starbreaker’s demise. Just as you took some of his power I tapped into enough to enable me to trace the rest of it to you. I learned of your evil plan and I vowed to stop it. As a being of pure thought, I was able to simultaneously transmit myself to all the planets you threatened. I could do nothing more but wait and then drink in all the power contained in each of your bombs! I saved those worlds and in doing so I gained enough power to create this physical body for myself! I wish to be a hero,” he said.
Evil Star glowed with a purple radiance as he said, “I curse you! You have thwarted my ambitions. I am weakened now but you will regret this. I will submit to you since I sense you possess more power than the humanity you boast of so readily would suggest! Take me to Oa or whatever prison you wish. I am still immortal and have time to rest and regain my power! I will return and emblazon my name across the stars when I rule all!”
The Unimaginable shook his head and looked at Evil Star with eyes that gleamed with emotion.
“No. You misunderstood me. I said I want to be a hero. I am not one yet and do not limit myself to the actions one would associate with a noble being.”
He reached out and slowly the glow around Evil Star dimmed until he was left powerless! All of his starlings had been absorbed as well.
“You robbed me of my remaining power! I am dying! By the stars, I am dying!” he cried as his now wizened form collapsed to the rough sands of Aoron.
The Unimaginable nodded and waited and then calmly lifted the now dark Star Band from the dead man’s body.
“It is not quite empty of power but it its master is gone now!” he said as he tossed it aside and flew upward.
The corpse of the being known only as Evil Star would soon be covered by the shifting sands of the barren world he had once ruled.
The golden being once called the Unimaginable did not look back as he soared into the heavens.
“It is done. Now, begins my true quest for heroism and for that elusive quality known as humanity. I shall begin it with a more appropriate name than that of the Unimaginable. Let me now be known as the Mage!” he said.
Epilogue
Thronn
Alyssa the Golden Blade had to admit that she had been wrong about their former foe Vant Orl. He truly had used his genius to help them defeat the Headmen. She would offer him her thanks when she returned to the Presidential Palace. For now, as she and her teammates, including Pulsar and Ron Avon who had decided to stay on Thronn, surveyed the damage to their planet, it was enough to merely know they had won and they would have time to restore the world to its former greatness.
Torma
Volar (Ren Uoxon) wept joyful tears as she embraced her parents and the Galactons watched from one side. They had offered her membership in their Sorority of Space Heroines and she had accepted just as she had also been welcomed home by her family and her people at last!
“My gender doesn’t matter anymore to them! I really am home! I truly can go home again!” she thought with a smile as the people of Torma…her people….cheered her return!
Kalanor
The League expressed their thanks to the Carr brothers and Jasonar and Saranna as they secured the defeated Hive Queen and vowed to repair any damage done to the planet they had briefly enslaved.
“We want to return to defend Planet X when we are done here. We made a vow to do so!” explained Batman.
Jasonar said, “We understand. You were not to blame for your actions while under Tazzala’s spell!”
Saranna kissed James Carr and said, “And what of you? Will you stay with us? Will you stay with me a while?”
James nodded readily as his brother snapped his fingers and said, “In my own words from the distant past: like yeah, cats!”
Lucas knew he would return home in time. He had Jayne Payton to come home to and he wanted his work with Dr. Danvers to continue but for now it was enough to see his little brother’s joy at being a hero.
Sunshrike smiled but he knew his own plans called for him to return to exploring space. The silent robotic Inheritor had vanished. Its form had been altered into living flesh by the Unimaginable though no one on Kalanor realized what had happened to their robotic ally nor did they imagine his strange new destiny.
As the Mage made his way into space he gave little thought to the worlds he had saved. He had more to achieve if he was to truly become the hero he wanted to be. His quest would be an epic one!
The End
Evil Star Ascendant!
By lawrenceliberty
If Evil Star is truly ascendant then who can stop him?
1
Aoron
Within an imposing structure on the otherwise barren planet Aoron a sinister assembly took place. Alien beings from several different worlds all knelt before a large throne and the purple and blue costumed figure who sat regally upon it.
“Evil Star!” they chanted in unison!
Evil Star smiled as his servants paid their respects to him. He had once eliminated all life on Aoron in a quest to secure the immortality and stellar power a device called the Star Band had granted him. He had long ago abandoned any claim to his nearly forgotten humanity. Power was all that mattered to him and now he possessed more power than he had ever known in his long existence.
He held a scarlet device shaped like a star. He had created the weapon long before but some sentient beings claimed that the Star Band now possessed a mind of its own and the humanoid who claimed it as his own was in truth merely a mortal pawn. These rumors were whispered at best since no one dared to defy the alien conqueror. Whatever the nature of his weapon, Evil Star was incredibly powerful and any past defeats he had suffered at the hands of the heroic Green Lantern or other noble beings were merely distant memories much like the faces of those he had once called his family. He had lived on and on while all around him had perished. He was immune to age, disease, and perhaps equally beyond feelings like remorse and love.
He could exult in power and he did so once more as he surveyed the mixture of bald beings with large skulls, warlike females, and deadly beings of various shapes and sizes who all possessed large wings.
He smiled again and said, “Once more shall I repeat your orders and once more shall I caution you all against failure. Should any of you disappoint me, you shall swiftly perish! Obey me and succeed and I shall reward you beyond your wildest imaginings! “
The aliens reverently bowed once more before their master.
Evil Star said, “As you know an alien parasite called Starbreaker feasted upon whole worlds for eons before ending his own material existence out of guilt that overwhelmed him when Captain Comet duped him into trying to absorb a personality altering energy source known as the Nefar Nebulae. When he perished the cosmic energy within his physical body was released throughout the cosmos and I secured most of it for myself! It enabled me to locate and equip you all so that you might help me acquire even greater power through the destruction of several planets! I realize that should these worlds explode due to bombs you will place at their respective cores, I will be able to draw their energy resources through my Star Band much like the late Starbreaker did when he fed more directly upon such worlds! Enable me to destroy these worlds and I shall reward you all!”
He stood up and raised one gloved fist in the arm.
“You have been given your assignments! Go and remember my dark radiance shines upon you!” he yelled.
The odd groups rushed off as if desperate to leave his presence. Some truly wanted to escape him while others sought to please him.
He watched them and he whispered to the Star Band and several small humanoid beings that crouched around his throne. Each of them resembled a miniature version of their master.
“Yes, my Starlings. You know what I want. You know how my power shall soon grow!” he said.
Evil Star was truly powerful now but he was self-absorbed at the best of times. Little did he realize that he had not been the only being to benefit from the energies released at the moment Starbreaker died.
An unseen presence watched and listened and vowed to stop Evil Star for reasons of his own.
“I have not acquired enough energy to restore my own material form but my mental powers are intact and I shall use them to stop Evil Star!” thought this miraculous being.
2
Earth
Happy Harbor, Rhode Island was a peaceful community for the most part although it had been the site of more than one clash between super heroes and costumed criminals as was fitting since it had also once housed the secret HQ of the Justice League of America during that group’s early days.
A young man with dark hair and a slightly nervous manner sat on the front porch of a small house in the little community and gazed up at the stars. It was a nice summer evening and James Carr was content.
“You know I’m really happy that you and Jayne Payton found each other and that you like working for Dr. Danvers at his California lab but I’m more than happy to stay right here. Teaching gym at our old school is all this Carr brother has ever wanted! Bro, you can hang out with super heroes and scientists but not this cat,” he said.
Lucas “Snapper” Carr grinned and said, “You sound like me or like I used to sound back when I was hanging around with the Justice League and watching way too many “77 Sunset Strip” reruns!”
Lucas frowned as he felt that annoying itch beneath the cast he wore over his broken leg. He sat in a porch swing and rested the injured leg on a divan.
“When I was with Superman, Batman, and the others in the early days of the Justice League I met all kinds of crazy villains from time and space but none of them did as much damage to me as I did when I fell down our steps!” he said with a sigh.
James nodded at his older brother and said, “Breaking your leg on your first night of vacation was a bad break…if you’ll excuse the expression!”
Lucas said, “I know but it was nice of you to keep me company tonight while our folks are enjoying a rare night out!”
He smiled and stepped off the porch to look up at the stars.
“Star light, star bright…!” he began when a beam of blue light erupted from the sky and a small vehicle landed noiselessly in his yard!
“Oh man”! he gasped as two figures emerged from the vehicle and approached him. The male was wrinkled but had the same vaguely elfin features as the younger girl who followed him. They looked as if they could be related and in fact they were father and daughter. Each of them had bright green hair!
A slightly calmer Lucas said, “Jasonar! Saranna! Oh man! What brings you here from Kalanar? Is Despero poking that freaky third eye of his into your business again?”
He quickly added, “This is my brother James. I met Jasonar and Saranna yeara ago! They come from a planet called Kalanar!”
James blinked rapidly and said, “I know! I remember reading your notes! They were like bedtime stories when I was a kid!”
The alien scientist Jasonar said, “I fear we are threatened by a force more deadly than even the tyrant Despero! We have come to ask for help from your Justice League allies!”
Lucas said, “They’re all away. I’ve been told by someone close to one of their members that they aren’t around right now!”
He referred to the fact that his girlfriend Jayne Payton knew her brother Will “Starman” Payton and his fellow heroes in the fabled Justice League of America were away on a mission. Lucas still enjoyed learning about his old friends via Jayne’s connection to Will. Even though Lucas had started out as a trusted mascot of sorts to the heroic team, a series of unfortunate events and he simple passing of time itself had somewhat estranged him from them for the most part. Things had improved over the last few years and he certainly thought of the members as friends but they were certainly not in regular contact with one another.
Saranna said, “We tried to find them at their base but they were not there! We thought to come here since you may also be able assist us!”
Lucas said, “I’ll help if I can but this broken leg makes me almost useless and to be honest I’m not as close to the team as I was when I was a kid! I barely know some of the newer members.”
Jasonar said, “It is your knowledge of the early members of the team that shall give us a fighting chance!”
Saranna smiled winningly and added, “We may yet benefit from your knowledge of the founding League members! No one knows them as well as you do!”
Lucas glanced over at James who was listening and watching intently. Clearly, meeting the alien duo was the most astounding thing that had ever happened to his younger brother.
“What do you mean? I’ll share what I can but I won’t betray any secrets!” he said as the irony of his words washed over him. He had indeed once betrayed the team and he still felt guilty over how easily he had been duped by one of their foes.
Jasonar said, “It is simple. Kalanar is in danger but the threat comes not from the deposed Despero but from the Justice League itself!”
3
Thronn
Alyssa the Golden Blade frowned as she walked toward the Presidential Palace. She did not like cities and while her role as a member of the celebrated Honor Team of Thronn meant that the heroine had traveled across her planet as well as to other worlds, she preferred the more rural environment of the Arden Archipelago where she was raised amongst her Sword Sisters and their Matriarch her mother S’brogan.
The blonde warrior woman wore gleaming golden armor and sandals and carried the legendary sword that had once belonged to her late husband Sigurd the Nornschild. She had taken up his heroic name and the weapon that inspired it since his death at the hands of alien invaders. She also mourned the loss of her other teammates Energiman and Magicko.
She had helped defeat the alien mastermind behind the invasion but her return had been delayed by other conflicts and she had only recently made her way back to her home planet of Thronn where life seemed to go on as it always had now that a group of Martian invaders had also perished.
The beautiful blonde shook her head as she remembered her last visit to her family home. Her mother had welcomed her and offered her support and comfort but it was her meeting with the community sage the Keeper of the Book that still troubled her thoughts.
Nyson the Keeper of the Book was a small man and in her eyes no matter what his physical size, the gray haired scholar could never measure up to her late father who had once held the esteemed position of Keeper of the Book.
Nyson had ushered her into the Sanctum Bibliarium with a brief grin and a deferential manner as befitted her status as Matriarch’s First Born and national heroine.
“I summoned you here because of a disturbing new entry in the Book. It materialized this morning. It seems to be a rather powerful omen!” he said as he led her to where a massive tome rested upon a table.
“The Book shows us signs of what is to come and allows us to gain insight from that which has passed and at times it defies all understanding in its mysterious depictions of events!” he said.
Alyssa said, “I am well acquainted with the Book. I spent much of my girlhood in this very chamber when I was not mastering the combat skills of my calling as a Sword Sister!”
Nyson nodded obsequiously and said, “Of course! I should have realized as much! Forgive me for presuming to prattle on and attempt to enhance my own status by proclaiming the lore of our land!”
Alyssa shook back her long blonde locks and said, “It is I who should apologize. I was rude. Please, show me what the Book reveals!”
Nyson smiled and said, “This drawing appears to be an eight sided structure. Naturally, that represents the Presidential Palace! This golden figure approaching the building can only be…!”
“Me! Clearly, that drawing of a female figure is meant to be me!” she said.
Nyson nodded and said, “And yet these other colorful beings around you are unknown to me! I have searched the library and find nothing to indicate their identities nor any roles they may have played in our history!”
Alyssa said, “My thanks, Nyson! Clearly, the answers will be found in the Palace and I am destined to go there!”
Now, Alyssa the Golden Blade stood inside the vast entry chamber of the Presidential Palace and waited impatiently. She was impatient by nature and losing her husband and friend made her less willing to wait around than ever before. She craved action!
She paced restlessly and paused as the Hall of Honors came into view. This section contained a tribute of sorts to the Honor Team of Thronn. She sighed as she saw the ruggedly handsome features of her late husband Sigurd on a holo prism sculpture. She could almost hear his voice and his laughter as charged into one battle after another. A second floating holo prism depicted the gaunt red and white clad form of Magicko the Scientist Supreme of the team. He was a kind man and his advanced science enabled him to appear as though he possessed magical powers. Now, he too had perished! Only the odd energy being Energiman remained alive if the strange being could be said to live. He had seemingly given up his life years before to summon help from the famous Green Lantern of Earth when the whole team had been captured by the evil genius Vant Orl! Green Lantern had freed them all and had defeated Vant Orl. Years later after Superman and yet another Green Lantern had enabled Energiman’s disembodied mind to regenerate a material body of his own, the reunited Honor Team had successfully defended their world from countless new perils yet none had truly seemed as dangerous as their former captor the alien known as Vant Orl.
Suddenly, Alyssa whirled and drew her blade as five palace guards in their black and red uniforms charged at her with ray guns drawn and ready to be fired!
“What is this madness? I am here by appointment!” she declared as she planted her feet and assumed a combat stance.
The guards said nothing but several fired upon her!
She blocked all the laser beams with her flashing magical sword and managed to disarm one of the guards with a hurled truncheon of her own.
She rolled forward and rose up to slice though another guardsman’s gun and then kick him into his nearest ally.
A spinning heel kick dropped the third trooper and she knocked the fourth one out with one punch.
Her super strength made her a match for anyone and her Sword Sister training and the magical weapon she carried enhanced her abilities even more.
The final guard dropped back and said, “I yield Sword Sister! You may enter the Presidential Suite! Our orders were merely to test you not to slay you!”
Alyssa shoved him aside and stalked into the plush suite.
“By the Matriarch!” she gasped as she saw the figure at the desk with the Thronnian Presidential Seal.
He was deathly pale and shaped like a blob with four wiggling tentacles extended from his torso.
“Vant Orl!” she cried as she darted forward and started to leap over the desk.
A bolt of energy blazed across her path and she fell backward to land on her feet after an acrobatic flip.
Her blue eyes widened as she recognized the source of the energy beam.
“Energiman! I thought you had perished! What are you doing in service to this alien cur?” she cried.
Energiman stepped forward and raised his hands in a placating manner.
“I was not killed but my energy form was scattered and it took me time to regain a humanoid body. I could only watch helplessly in sorrow as our friends perished and you were left to mourn, Alyssa! I am not under any spell or duress. Vant Orl has been given a full pardon for his own heroic actions in helping to defeat the alien invaders. He has been given named acting President as well because he alone may be able to stop a menace that threatens our whole world!” said Energiman.
Allysa scowled as she looked at her friend. He was a dark haired handsome man who resembled the hero Superman because that champion had allowed the energy being to once use his own body as a template when he needed to recreate a physical form for his disembodied mind. His features had altered over time but he still had a superficial resemblance to the Man of Steel. He wore a red and white costume that also looked familiar to Alyssa!
“I am indeed wearing Magicko’s old costume. It no longer has his array of weapons and data sources but it allows me to retain my physical form. You see, my energy powers are out of control and only this containment suit keeps me from exploding!” he said.
Vant Orl said, “He speaks the truth, Golden Blade. I altered the costume and saved his very life. I am not the being you once fought. I am sorry I imprisoned you and your friends long ago and I mourn for your husband and friend. We are on the same side!”
Alyssa shook her head and crossed her arms. “Tell me more!”
Vant Orl undulated slightly as his amorphous body leaned or oozed forward.
“I was contacted by agents of a being known as Evil Star. They wanted to enlist my aid in a plot to destroy Thronn. I was able to defy them because of my super will power. They could not force me to join their crusade. Instead, I used my influence to get this position. I’ve been called the Hero of the Red Brotherhood War. People now trust me. I hope you shall do so in time!” he said.
Energiman said, “Vant Orl is a genius. We always knew that! He has restored me and he wants us to form a new Honor Team! Will you join our cause?”
Alyssa nodded slowly. “I shall. My blade is ever ready to defend my home but I shall not offer trust blindly to one who once was my enemy.”
“My! She is magnificent!” said a high pitched voice as a petite woman entered the room and smiled up at Alyssa.
The newcomer was remarkable for her beauty and for her body which was entirely made of a translucent crystalline substance. Each facet of her curvy form gleamed in the lights of the office.
“This is the Princess Aria of Karalyx. She has joined our team! Her father is the Chief Justiciar of their planet!” said Vant Orl.
The shiny woman executed a brief courtesy and smiled broadly.
“You are truly beautiful!” she said to Alyssa! The Crystal Princess extended one delicate hand to the taller woman and said, “I am honored to meet you.”
Alyssa took her hand and said, “Well met, Princess Aria! The lawmen of your world are indeed legendary across the universe!”
Princess Aria blushed becomingly and a light pink hue illuminated her crystalline form.
Vant Orl said, “I have summoned the others as well. It is time we prepared to face Evil Star’s emissaries!”
Two young men in bright costumes entered the room and stepped forward expectantly. Alyssa smiled briefly in recognition. She knew them from a previous battle. Indeed, they had helped her avenge Sigurd’s death in a manner of speaking.
The first man was a handsome youth with long blond hair. He wore a gold costume with purple boots and trunks along a purple cape. He also wore a large gauntlet on one forearm.
“Do you remember me? I'm Ron Avon, Champion of Belgor! I came here with my friend Pulsar on orders from Era himself!” explained the young hero.
The second man smiled and said, “Era is one of the Guardians of the Clockwork Universe. He and his brothers work to keep order in the cosmos. He named me defender of the Cosmos and gave me the quantum bracelets I wear! Oh, and my name is Pulsar. Actually, I’m the second man to use that name. The first is now a Green Lantern. I’m trying to live up to his reputation!”
Pulsar wore a green and gold costume and the shining bracelets on each of his wrists gleamed as light reflected off tiny gemstones that studded their circumference.
Alyssa nodded slowly. This sudden reunion was a bit much to take in at once. Still, she knew both men slightly and respected them as heroes.
Ron Avon said, “Pulsar never told you before that his real name is Bob Altus and he comes from Earth!”
Pulsar said, “Sorry. I guess I did get carried away. You see, this is a second chance for me. I messed up rather badly when I was a hero during my teens on Earth!”
Ron Avon said, “Uh oh! We have no time to talk! My power gauntlet tells me Thronn is being invaded as we speak!”
Vant Orl said, “Blast it! I thought we’d have more time! “
They rushed outside to where around a dozen flying men swooped down from space. Each had an abnormally large skull and wore a black ring!
Vant Orl said, “The Anti-Green Lantern Corps! I thought those black rings had all be destroyed years ago. Apparently, Evil Star not only found a way to make more, he overcame their one liability. The rings destroy any user who lacks an advanced mentality. That won’t be a problem since Evil Star’s minions all appear to be the Headmen of Garon!”
Alyssa raised her sword and said, “I do not care where these mutant misfits originate! I shall drive them back to their unholy master or die trying!”
The newly formed Honor team of Thronn hurried into battle as one more world faced the peril of Evil Star!
4
Earth
As a small automated device carried Lucas Carr into Jasonar’s ship, the former JLA mascot said, “I don’t understand. How can the JLA be a threat to Kalanar?”
James nodded as he glanced in awe at the spaceship’s interior.
“Yeah, those heroes are always trying to help not to hurt!” he said sheepishly as Saranna concealed a smile and nodded to him in an encouraging manner.
Jasonar said, “I may be a scientist but I fear I am prone to poetic license at times. Your Justice League is no threat to us. We are being menaced by their alternate timeline counterparts!”
James said, “Sure. That makes…that makes absolutely no sense at all!”
Saranna gently touched his arm and said, “I realize this is all a bit too much for you to take in at once. We appreciate your help and your patience. You and your brother are both exceptional men!”
She continued, “When your Justice League last defeated Despero, they left behind new heroes to defend a world called Planet X from any new perils. This other League served this purpose well until they abruptly became as evil as the heroes they emulated were good. This Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Atom, Flash, and Martian Manhunter became tyrants in the service of our world’s newest oppressor the Hive Queen Tazzalla! She used them to take over our planet. She brought them here from Planet X!”
Lucas said, “Man! This is heavy stuff! Where did the League I know get these other Leaguers?”
Jasonar said, “I do not know the details. I was told only that a villain named Dr. Destiny created them as his own Lawless League by altering reality in some manner. He plucked them from some alternate timeline. With his defeat they became heroes until Hive Queen Tazzala enslaved them all!”
Lucas snapped his fingers and said, “Yeah! Dr. Destiny had a gem that allowed him to do all kinds of crazy things. If he made them as an evil Justice League, I guess someone else could change them again and again!”
James said, “You said they were enslaved by the Hive Queen Tazzala? Didn’t the JLA often battle an alien beauty called Zazzala the Queen Bee?”
Jasonar said, “The Hive Queen Tazzala is the sister of the more notorious Queen Bee Zazzala but she is deadly in her own right since she can control any male!”
Lucas said, “I get it now! If her enforcers are some kind of evil JLA, then I’m in a good position to know how to fight them! I do know the way their powers work if they are copies of my friends!”
Jasonar said, “We need your data to enhance our weapon of choice! The Hive Queen may enslave any male but not an artificial being like this one!”
He gestured to a glass tube in which a towering humanoid stood silently immobile. He wore a green and brown costume with an odd red cap. His ears were pointed and his eyes were cold and dark.
“Amazo? That’s Amazo! You’ve got the One Man Justice League in cold storage!” gasped Lucas.
Saranna said, “No! He is merely a copy my father created. Sadly, he doesn’t work!”
Jasonar said, “I failed. I thought I could use him against our enemies since one like him threatened the heroes you knew but I have failed to bring him to life!”
Lucas said, “The guy who made the first Amazo was a genius. Amazo was a robot or android but he could copy super powers and this made him deadly!”
At that moment the ship lurched to one side as dozens of tiny winged men swooped inside!
“Drones! Those are drone soldiers!” cried Lucas.
As the small soldiers swarmed into the ship, Jasonar fell backward and the container holding Amazo toppled forward into a console that erupted into flames and sent a barrage of energy at Lucas Carr!
James jumped forward to protect his brother and screamed in pain as the energy passed through the falling robot and into his own body!
Saranna screamed, “Father! You must help him! Our enemies have followed us here!”
Jasonar managed to smother the energy bursts with a special device as the swarm of warriors swept through the ship!
Lucas yelled, “James? Are you hurt?”
James Carr shuddered once and stood up. He frowned as the swarming invaders suddenly became clearer to him. He could see each of the speeding figures as if they were moving in slow motion!
He glared at them and beams of fiery energy shot out of his eyes and enabled him to herd them away from his new allies and his brother.
He hesitated for a second and slammed both hands together. Shockwaves knocked all of the tiny drones to the ground as if they had been struck by a hurricane!
James Carr said, “How did I do that? I just sort of knew what to do but I don’t know how I did it!”
Lucas said, “It’s like you have Amazo’s powers!”
Jasonar nodded and said, “I concur. In some manner the energy burst transferred the powers in Amazo’s absorbing cells into your body. I failed to awaken my Amazo but I may have created a superior version in you, young man…although by accident!”
Lucas snapped his fingers and said, “This is far out stuff! My little brother is a One Man Justice League?”
James looked at Saranna and said, “I’ll help you, Saranna! I’ll save your people! I can do it. I literally know I can do it!”
5
Thronn
The street that led up to the Presidential Palace had become a nightmarish scene of destruction as the dozen invaders accomplished what a larger group of attackers could not do as easily! They literally blasted the area into rubble with their powerful energy bolts!
Alyssa led her new team into battle with her usual grim determination!
“Those rings clearly mimic the functions of the power ring used by Green Lantern! Even one of those rings could bring Thronn down in ruins unless we stop them!” she thought.
She leaped upward and brought her gleaming blade down at the nearest attacker. He was almost identical to his brethren in that he was bald and his skull was unnaturally large. He also gazed at her and at all of Thronn with a look of superiority. This Headman would learn not to underestimate a Sword Sister!
Alyssa’s sword smashed through his protective force field! She didn’t know if the rings had any particular weakness or if it was merely the enchantment that her weapon contained that allowed her to shatter the alien’s ring construct but she didn’t care! She smashed the sword’s flat side into his face and grappled furiously in an effort to bring him down to earth!
He said, “For a primitive being you pose more of a challenge than I ever expected to be the case!”
Alyssa said, “This world has suffered enough from alien invaders! This day we draw a line that shall not be crossed while breath remains within one son or daughter of Thronn!”
She slapped him across the face and saw his smug expression change to one of dismay as she managed to bring them both down to the rubble!
Energiman was also locked in battle with two of the attackers but while his unique metabolism and protective suit enabled him to resist their energy based attacks, he was also a bit hesitant to use his full power against them!
“This suit is all that keeps me whole! I don’t wish to return to being merely a disembodied mental presence! And yet how can I give less than my all for my world?” he mused.
He raised both hands with his palms outward and released two bolts of concussive energy that sent the two Headmen reeling.
Nearby, Aria the Crystal Princess maintained her almost girlish demeanor as her crystalline body turned bright red and she emitted blazing bolts of fire that encircled her own foes. She was no stranger to combat and her lawman father had raised her with the awareness that individuals must make sacrifices for the common good.
“The Headmen are silent foes but they are awfully strong! I guess their power has gone to their heads!” she thought with a giggle.
Pulsar (Bob Altus of earth) was not as confident as he tried to appear. Years ago his scientist father had tried to make him into a super hero to rival or even supplant Superboy; however, Pulsar had refused to eliminate the Teen of Steel and had rejected his father and his desire for power. He had grown up in obscurity and had never imagined an alien being would one day offer him a second chance at heroism!
“Okay, I’ve got the quantum bands and I’ve got the trust of the Clockwork Guardians! Now, all I have to do with not fail them completely!” he thought ruefully.
He concentrated as black energy rays bounced off his glowing force field.
“I’ve commanded the bands to activate automatic shielding and they naturally protect me from mind control!” he thought as he mentally checked off his combat procedures!
He shuddered as a blast shook the shield but failed to shatter it.
He frowned and then focused his thoughts on making the golden energy shape itself into a huge fist that battered the Headman and finally broke through his black force bubble to squeeze him into submission!
“I’m doing it! I’m actually winning!” he whispered.
Ron Avon had no lack of confidence. The blond hero had been groomed since his youth to be a champion and had in fact liberated his home world from a group of tyrants with help from Superboy. Although his own powers had changed somewhat as he matured and he was still a teen by the standards of his long lived race, he was a bit cocky and felt no need to hesitate in battle.
“Gauntlet analysis of energy weapons is complete. While the original rings were Qwardian in origin and empowered by energy generated remotely by a anti-matter power battery, these rings are similar but are powered by stellar energy as directed by a being known as Evil Star!”
The way the power gauntlet spoke to Ron via telepathy was comforting to the young hero. He thought of the gauntlet as a friend and not as a mere tool or weapon. It more than compensated for the loss of his sensory powers that had occurred when he was caught in an explosive while battling one of his old foes!
Ron said, “Hmmm? So if these bald baddies can’t tap into their power source, they will be helpless!”
He created a rainbow -hued sphere that erupted in the sky and left several of the warriors stunned as they fought to restore their balance!
“Vant Orl may need the scoop on these thugs! Gauntlet, transmit findings to Presidential Palace!” he ordered as he dodged an attack and connected with a simple super strong punch of his own!
Princess Aria had turned a pale blue as she used her destructive aura to shatter a Headman’s looming energy drill!
Alyssa the Golden Blade was furiously battering two Headmen with her fists and sword as they closed in on her. She lashed out with devastating power and kicked one of them in the face. Her sword’s magic was generating enough magic to enable her body to break through their ring shields!
She choked one Headman and hurled him into his nearest comrade.
Then, she gasped as darkness filled the sky above them!
Energiman said, “By the Nebulae! That shadowy substance threatens to plunge the planet into total darkness! Do you recognize it?”
Alyssa scowled and said, “Of course! It is Ergal Prism power! That was the substance Vant Orl used to imprison us all years ago! That fiend has turned against Thronn once more!”
“What should we do?” asked Pulsar. “I think I can repel it but not all at once!”
Energiman said, “I know what I have to do. I must achieve total detonation of my body! I might be able to shatter the Ergal Prism before it totally envelops our world!”
Alyssa cursed as she listened to her friend. “No! You must not sacrifice yourself again! We can beat that blob into submission and force him to undo his energy barrier!”
Princess Aria said, “Wait, Fair Maid! Look! I think the field is weakening the Headmen!”
The petite princess was correct! The inky darkness of the Ergal Prism energy had indeed separated the Anti-Green Lantern Corps members from the energy Evil Star had been feeding to them from his remote base on Auron!
“Gauntlet analysis suggests the rings require an incredible amount of sheer power to operate and without the constant stimulation from Evil Star’s Star Band, the rings take a physical toil on their users! Even the Headmen’s advance brains can only operate the rings for a limited time without additional power sources!”
Ron Avon grinned broadly and said, “Gauntlet, that is music to my ears!”
He swooped down as the remaining ring warriors fell to the ground and he cried out, “It is true! Vant Orl is no traitor! He is a hero! He used the data my gauntlet sent him to find a way to cut off the invaders from most of their power! He saved Thronn!”
Energiman nodded in relief. “The Headmen are defeated!”
“Not yet, you worm! We may still achieve our master’s goal by blowing up this world and all who live here! Your field won’t prevent that!” cried a Headman.
The dozen aliens collapsed in unison and their rings shattered as black energy erupted across the battle field!
Alyssa gasped in shock as the ground shook and she thought, “They truly mean to destroy all of Thronn even though doing so has cost them their lives!”
6
Torma
“You can’t go home again!”
The phrase echoed in Ren Uoxon’s mind as the brown haired heroine flew down toward her planet of birth. She was very nervous about returning to Torma since she had been exiled from the small planet a few years ago and had not had any contact with her parents or friends since that harsh verdict had been rendered following the revelation that she was in fact female!
She had used advanced science invented by her father Danan to conceal her gender for most of her teen years when she was dressed as the planetary champion or Volar. As the seemingly male Volar she had been revered as the hero who had saved the planet from any and all threats. Even her exposure as a woman had only occurred after she and Captain Comet had rescued the people of Torma from a race of “space Amazons” known as Femizons or Quazars.
“Our victory was the end of life as I knew it. It didn’t matter one bit that I was the same person inside. It didn’t matter that I was as willing to give everything for Torma as ever. All anyone cared about was the fact that I was a woman and on Torma women were deemed too inferior to be heroic or to be anything more than dutiful and decorative domestics!” she mused.
It was true the revelation of her gender had inspired the rigid society of Torma to slowly integrate women into positions of authority but this change came with a price. Normal Torma women might arise out of their limited spheres of influence but not with the painful example of a woman- a petite and pretty woman at that- who was clearly superior to every male on Torma constantly creating friction merely by her existence.
“My own father gave me the news that I had to leave! I had to leave everything and everyone I’d ever known just because I was a woman!” she whispered sadly.
It was true that she had made good friends during her exile. She had become close to the heroic alien couple Vartox and Maxima and in some ways she knew they considered her to be a daughter to them due to her youth.
She had convinced them that she could respond to the sudden distress signal from Torma on her own. She remembered the look of paternal concern on Vartox’s features as the rugged hero had urged her to allow him to help her on this mission.
“Maxima and I want to go with you. We would stand beside you in this hour of need as you have always been loyal to our own causes since we met!” he had said.
The fiery flame haired Maxima had nodded and made what was to her imperious nature a show of genuine support.
“It is so! Together we three may easily triumph over any peril that Torma faces!” she had said with a haughty toss of her head.
Ren had thanked them and parted from them with tearful affection but as she had explained, “I have to do this alone! If they need me, I want to prove to them that I am still worthy to be planetary Volar!” she had said.
Now, as she used her magna vision to scan the surface of the planet she had loved for so long, she saw a familiar if sinister sight. A large spaceship hovered above the main marketplace of Machismus the largest city on the planet. A gleaming energy beam emerged from a port on the ship and bathed the area below with an unholy radiance!
“The Femizons again! Those female pirates have returned to take over Torma again!” she gasped.
She noticed scenes of mass panic as men and women raced away from the massive ship and its beams of destructive concussive power!
“They’ve released their fear stimulating radiation! I see scenes of mass hysteria everywhere! The Amazons use some kind of fear toxin that makes males timid. It was that weapon that enabled them to almost conquer my home last time they invaded. We were able to magically reverse the effect and make the warrior women victims of their own poison but I have no magical powers. All I can do is just use my magna powers as best I can! I can’t fail my folks or my home if they need me!” she thought.
She knew that a certain irony was found in the fact that in the past the fear radiation spread like a plague and only worked on men. Thus, this most male dominated of worlds was perfectly structured for women invaders with such a weapon to be lethally effective. Based on the visible energy beam, they were taking a more direct approach this time!
“I know when I left they said they were going to include women in major roles in the military and government but I only see the same old routine. Male leaders are herding females away as the fear makes the men panic!” she thought.
A few shouts of recognition rang out as the Tormanians pointed skyward and saw their former champion smash into the saucer-like ship!
Ren recognized the basic structure of the craft. It had a command bridge where the Quazar leaders congregated and directed their attack. The Quazars were all beautiful women with slightly pointed ears and cruel expressions. They relished war and had nothing but contempt for men especially since their own men were frail. The tall warrior women laughed with pleasure as their attack bore fruit.
“They are not even attempting to put up a fight! Evil Star has assured us that his power will prevent any magical reversal of the fear radiation this time nor will any of our men dare to help the Tormanians!” said one Quazar as she exulted in their triumph.
They gasped as Ren approached and sirens echoed through the craft moments after the woman’s super swift entrance!
“Your invasion ends now!” she said as she placed both hands on her hips and confronted them with a look of determination!
She would win back Torma and her people would welcome her back! She just knew it.
The tallest Quazar laughed coldly and said, “You can do nothing against us! You see our power has been enhanced by Evil Star! The fear radiation carries his power and nothing can stop its spread! Unlike before, there is no cure or carrier of any immunity!”
Ren said, “We’ll see about that!”
The Quazar said, “Really? I doubt that! Take her!”
The Space Amazons charged at Ren and began to batter the smaller woman. They were not as strong as she was but she felt their blows and she realized that this mysterious Evil Star they spoke of must have boosted their strength!
She grunted with pain and fell beneath their furious assault. They were savages and relished inflicting pain while Ren was a compassionate heroine. She also was determined to win so in spite of the beating she received, she valiantly tried t resist and refused to give up!
However, the odds were against her and she began to slow down as the women warriors continued to batter her with sheer numbers.
She glanced around the ship through a haze of pain and blood. She finally saw what she wanted to find. The fear radiation generator perched above the main deck like a mechanical bird of prey. She knew that the machine was the source of the fear plague no matter how Evil Star’s energy somehow gave it new potency from afar!
Ren lurched forward and knocked the nearest Quazar aside. She kicked and punched and dived until her bruised body reached the machine and with her final reserves of energy, the Magna Maid clutched the machine and slowly ripped it apart with one final burst of raw power and sheer courage!
The effort was too much for her. She collapsed on the deck and fought to catch her breath. Surely she had won! Surely without the radiation the Quazars could no longer make the men of Torma into cowardly victims!
The brutal leader Commander Xalta kicked Ren with one high heeled boot and said, “The little firebrand destroyed the radiation projector. She’ll regret that!”
At that moment three colorfully dressed newcomers burst into the ship and charged at the Quazars!
“Don’t touch her! She has achieved too much to suffer any more at your hands!”said a beautiful woman with dark hair and exotic features. She wore an orange costume with decorative black trim along the sleeves and the slightly puffy pants of her costume. Orange slippers completed her costume.
She stared at Commander Xalta with her oddly compelling eyes and the bigger woman began to tremble. Finally, the normally steely Xalta collapsed and began to whimper in fear.
“Nicely done, Elura! You certainly have not lost your touch!” said a petite blonde in a blue and black outfit that matched Elura’s in design if not in color.
Suddenly, the blonde became a blur as she raced forward at super speed and sent the Quazars flying in all directions!
“Alena is such a show off!” said a third woman who had shorter reddish hair and wore a bright yellow and black costume.
“You aren’t exactly subtle yourself, Nula!” said Elura with a smile.
Nula shrugged and raised both hands over her head.
A burst of vibrational energy swept outward from her body and knocked other Quazars off their feet!
“I’m just a woman who believes in good vibes even if they break things at times!” quipped Nula.
They helped Ren to her feet and ministered to her needs as she slowly stood up and asked, “Who are you? Did I stop them?”
Elura said, “You certainly did! In fact we Galactons came to help you repel them but you had them at a disadvantage before we reached the ship! Without their weapons, they’re just a bunch of bullies!”
Nula added, “We’re a group of adventurers. We seldom get to this part of space but we were known to the late Supergirl who even emulated us once with help from some friends for a good cause once! “
Elura added, “We tracked the Quazars here. Apparently, they are but one group of several beings that have been boosted in terms of physicality or resources by Evil Star! He once created miniature slaves known as Starlings. Now, he has used his weapon of choice to empower other aliens like the Quazars!”
She added, “I have limited telepathy. I projected images of what you did across your home below. Your courage was displayed for all to see!”
Alena said, “I hear the people cheering you as we speak!”
Indeed, the chant of “Volar!” echoed from below.
Ren smiled as tears filled her eyes! She had clearly won over the people of Torma once more!
She beamed with pleasure as she saw the cheering crowds!
Xalta was still shaking from the emotional manipulation she had suffered due to the Galacton known as Elura. Still, she managed to shout in defiance.
“We didn’t just show up and project our fear energy. We directed it by remote long before we made ourselves known to your people below. In fact, we made certain some were so crippled with fear that they agreed to obey our commands at any price!” she said.
Ren said, “What commands? Surely, you’ve lost now!”
The Quazar said, “We ordered the Science Council of Torma to activate certain bombs we supplied! Your world dies today!”
Ren breathed a silent prayer and glanced at the three Galactons. Was it too late to save her home?
7
Kalanor
Tazzala the Hive Queen resented her sister Zazzala the Queen Bee for several reasons. Zazzala was older and had always looked down on her sibling. She had also always been known for her beauty and her intellect while Tazzala was considered inferior to her sister in both regards. Now, having claimed Kalanor for herself in the absence of its previous tyrant Despero, the Hive Queen hoped to use the planet as a base from which she might eventually overthrow her sister and also claim their home world of Korll. When Evil Star promised to aid her in this task by enslaving the second Justice League, she had readily agreed to destroy Kalanor in exchange for promises of greater power and revenge on her sister!
Still, the purple haired beauty had copied much of Zazzala’s own techniques by using a magno nucleo rod to enslave and turn many Kalanorians into tiny winged drone warriors! She smiled to herself. She had to admit Zazzala’s plans had always worked at least temporarily.
She smiled again as she surveyed her personal League. Superman (Ripper Jones) was a bearded blond man in a red and blue costume that resembled the more famous one worn by the original Superman; however, Ripper’s emblem was slightly different in design. He was incredibly powerful but Evil Star’s power held him in thrall.
The green skinned Martian Manhunter (Ed Orson) was similar to the original hero of the same name too but he wore a solid red and blue costume that covered his arms and legs unlike the briefer one favored by his double.
Batman (Bill Gore) had once worn a beard but now he was clean shaven and his black and gray costume enabled him to hide in shadows when needed.
The diminutive Atom (Barney Judson) was brilliant but his keen mind could not break free of the hold his new Hive Queen had over him. His red and black costume was slightly different from that of the original Atom. He wore a mask but his hair was exposed and hung in a shaggy style around the mask.
Flash (Race Morrison) drummed his blurred fingers restlessly as he waited with the others. Perhaps in time his vibrations might disrupt the power that enslaved him but Tazzala doubted it.
Green Lantern (Monk Loomis) was bald. He frowned from time to time but he also was helpless to break the spell that enslaved his own formidable will. His green costume consisted of a broad vest and higher boots than those of his double.
Tazzala strolled by the row of heroes and tapped her golden magno nucleo wand in one gloved hand. It was good to be queen. She would have the detonation charges activated soon enough once she and her drones had fled the doomed world.
She raised both arms over her head and ran her hands through her cascading purple tresses! She exulted in her new power and the promise of more to come. In truth, she was already under Evil Star’s control as well although she did not realize it.
He was expending considerable energy to control or enhance so many people on the four worlds he sought to destroy.
Meanwhile, not far from the Hive Queen’s palace on Kalanor, Lucas “Snapper” Carr was strapped in a small hovering module that Jasonar had put together to give him some mobility.
He said, “I’m coming with you. I’m not going to let my kid brother battle some lunatic without help!”
James said, “Even though I can’t believe I’m on another planet, I’m good. I have the power of Amazo and he has the powers of all those League doubles Jasonar described. He tapped into their power from afar before he came to get us! He just didn’t know his Amazo would not awaken like it should!”
Saranna said, “You are both true heroes but what can you do for us now that your brother has such power?”
Lucas said, “I have power too. I can teleport. It is something I picked up during the Invasion a while back!”
Jasonar said, “But Lucas Carr, surely any power you possess may be duplicated by your brother now that he has the abilities of my flawed Amazo?”
Lucas said, “I don’t care! We’re family and I’m coming too!”
Jasonar said, “Very well. I could use your unique abilities too. My own vehicle the dimensional traveler might be able to gain some extra precision in its warp drive if we tap into your will power and this teleportation ability you now possess!”
Lucas snapped his finger and said, “Exactly! So, what is your plan?”
Saranna said, “We hope to subdue the League or free them from the spell they are under by capturing them and the Hive Queen! We hoped the Amazo powers would enable us to do just that especially with your unique knowledge of how the Green Lantern, Superman etc. use their powers!”
Lucas said, “Like I told you before, Green Lantern’s ring won’t work on yellow. Superman is weakened by Kryptonite and it can kill him in time. The Martian Manhunter is weakened by fire. You probably already know all this!”
James frowned suddenly and Lucas noticing his brother’s expression, asked, “What’s wrong?”
James said, “We’re not alone! My enhanced senses allow me to detect that there are others approaching our ship!”
Saranna cried, “No! Surely, we have not been discovered! We subdued the drones she sent after us and even the Hive Queen could not expect us to have returned so swiftly!”
Jasonar said, “Indeed, we have other allies but I have not introduced them yet. They are unique as well!”
He said, “In truth, both originated on Earth! I merely secured their services when we met them in space! They both departed from your world for different reasons!”
He gestured to a sliding panel that opened to reveal a humanoid figure with long platinum blonde hair and golden skin. The man was muscular and wore a blue and gold costume. His eyes were a pale white and he moved forward with a silent grace and obvious majesty.
“This robotic being was dubbed the Inheritor by an earth scientist named Dr. Magnus. After the first model was destroyed in a rebellion against his maker, the second model proved equally strong willed though not of evil intent. He fled the lab and flew into space to walk his own path. He was damaged during the Invasion you spoke of before and I claimed him as a weapon against our foes. He is nearly mindless but his body may shape itself into any number of weapons!”
The final figure was also humanoid but broad wings sprouted from his back and his features had an equally avian look. He was powerfully build and certainly lacked the delicate bone structure of a true bird. He wore a silver and red costume.
He said, “I am Sunshrike although I was born as Richard Gray. I once called myself Condor when I worked with some heroes like Hawkman and Captain Comet. After my body began to mutate I departed Earth. I can fly through space unprotected and at great speed. I have found peace among the stars!”
James said, “Man! This is awesome! I can’t believe it all!”
Lucas said, “Take it easy. You’ll get used to meeting heroes and aliens. After all, I did!”
Jasonar said, “Let me run a scan on you Lucas. I think I may use your power to bring us all directly inside the Hive Queen’s palace! If we secure her, then her League will soon be free!”
Lucas nodded and said, “Sure. It’s not the weirdest thing I’ve ever done!”
Hours later, Jasonar nodded in approval as he ran his hands across a control panel.
“It should suffice! If you are all ready, we shall make the attempt to reclaim our world!” he announced.
Saranna said, “Father, you do sound grand but it becomes you!”
He smiled at his daughter and said, “Perhaps, you are correct. Let us merely let our actions speak in place of colorful phrases!”
He made a last adjustment and the dimensional traveler’s engine core tapped into Lucas Carr’s new powers to teleport them directly inside the Hive Queen’s Palace. Its location had been projected into Lucas Carr’s mind by his brother who used his own Martian derived mental abilities to take the location and image from Jasonar’s thoughts.
The Hive Queen loved splendor and she had used her drones to turn the structure into a luxurious palace marked by alien treasures of every type. Gems hovered in mid- air and flickered with a weird luminescence.
Tiny winged drones taken from the nobility of Kalanor swarmed around the room as if worshipping their Hive Queen and exulted in proximity to her sultry form.
The captive League reacted instantly even for men under mental domination!
Green Lantern’s power ring blazed with emerald energy but it was met with an explosion of yellow energy generated from the eyes of the silent Inheritor!
The golden robot passed through the green beam and elongated his arms to envelop Green Lantern! Directed by Snapper earlier, it knew the ring was powerless against anything of a yellow color.
Rather than fall before the relentless assault, Green Lantern used the ring indirectly against Inheritor by causing the projected energy to erupt upward from beneath the palace foundation to send rubble hurling at him!
The Inheritor shrugged off the attack and expanded his body until he sailed upward and forward and covered his foe!
Nearby the Flash had dashed into battle like the human whirlwind he was and the wind from his motions struck the newcomers like a storm!
Sunshrike resisted the winds and with wings that enabled him to soar through airless space, he swooped down on the Scarlet Speedster with stunning impact.
James Carr tapped into his own duplicate power ring to send a giant green fist crashing into Superman! The Man of Steel grunted but broke through to confront the young man.
“This isn’t easy. I mean, you’re Superman. How can anyone fight Superman?” he gasped as he held out one Martian elongated and altered hand to reveal a glowing green rock!
Superman fell back as the radiation from the Kryptonite the new team had secured via skillful use of the dimensional traveler’s enhanced teleporting properties washed over him.
Saranna ignored her father’s warning to be careful and darted forward to fire a ray gun at the Manhunter!
He shrank back in dismay as flames encircled his body.
Batman prepared to put out the fire that trapped his partner but Lucas Carr steered his own hovering cart forward and used his power to teleport himself out of the agile Caped Crusader’s path and return behind him. He had no delusions about being able to beat Batman in a fight but he hoped he could
The Atom sailed across the air adjusting his size and weight controls! The small hero crashed into Saranna and knocked the gun from her hands.
He was slapped across the room by the Inheritor who seemed to be able to see in every direction and merely projected a new limb from his own back to strike the Atom.
Sunshrike had managed to overwhelm the Flash with his own superior speed! The mutated bird-man was incredibly fast and he was much stronger than the Scarlet Speedster!
Batman managed to connect with Snapper in spite of the young man’s teleportation power. He struck him with a ruthless efficiency and Snapper collapsed within his hover chair!
Meanwhile, the flames had both weakened and trapped the Martian Manhunter but the swarming drones summoned by their Hive Queen smothered the flames and freed the Leaguer!
He smiled coldly and flew into battle as Saranna screamed and her father tried to shoot an energy beam of his own at the hulking alien!
He was too slow and in seconds both father and daughter were in the grip of the now giant –sized Martian!
James had managed to tap into the speed of Superman to rocket forward and break the couple free from the Martian’s hands but even his speed failed to prevent the alien from punching him in passing.
He grunted and then shrank from view to return with stunning force as he combined the Atom’s power with that of Superman himself!
He erupted through the Martian’s pliable form and left him groaning in pain before he connected with a flurry of punches!
His heat vision ignited the Martian and he nodded in approval as he saw the Inheritor drop a defeated Green Lantern at his feet.
Batman had tried to shield Superman from the Green Kryptonite but he was ripped into the air and slammed into the drones by the blindingly fast Sunshrike!
As James flew over to confront the Hive Queen herself, she shrieked in anger and raised her gleaming magno-nucleo wand!
“You will all bow down to me! I can still make you my subjects!” she hissed.
James suspected that the robotic Inheritor was immune to her power but he wondered if that immunity was something he could also duplicate!
He concentrated for a moment and then he smiled broadly.
He raised his hand and displayed an exact copy of the wand!
“I can duplicate your weapons too just like I did the power ring worn by your Lantern! I think I just cancelled your hold on them all!” he said.
Sure enough Batman and the other Lawless Leaguers blinked rapidly and shook off the spell that had entranced them! Superman regained his feet as the Kryptonite was removed. He was alive and should recover.
Snapper was awake again too and his fingers were snapping furiously. He was very proud of his brother.
Green Lantern said, “You freed us! How can we thank you?”
The enraged Hive Queen screamed, “You need not offer your gratitude since the bombs planted here will soon destroy you all!”
As Saranna revived Snapper, Jasonar turned to the others.
“I never realized they would rather see Kalanor perish if they could not dominate it!”
James said, “We’ve got to neutralize the bombs now!”
He had not won his first victory to see things fall to ruin now!
8
Aoron
Evil Star shuddered as he leaned against one of his starlings. He was tired. He had expended too much of the newly absorbed energy he had taken after Starbreaker’s death. Oh it was true using that vast energy as directed through his Stand Band to remotely empower and enhance the Hive Queen’s winged drones, the Headmen, and the Quazars had been a brilliant new use of his old power. It had enabled them to do things beyond their own past limitations. The drones could not fly through the void of outer space before nor could the Quazars transmit fear except via a living carrier and he had enabled them to overcome these weaknesses! Their victories were his victories! However, now as he waited for the bombs to detonate and his power to be greater than ever before, he felt tired and he knew he had over extended himself.
“It shall all be worthwhile when I drain the energy released by my bombs on those worlds!” he whispered.
“You shall not drain that destructive power because I have already done so! I took the energy directly from the bombs on each world. None of the worlds were seriously damaged since I took the concussive force of the bombs into my essence! They did not destroy any of your targets and I benefited greatly from their terrible might.”
Evil Star scowled as he saw a newcomer approach him across the ruined plains of Aoron.
He was humanoid with long platinum colored hair and golden skin. He was dressed in red and blue and he smiled enigmatically at the ruler of Aoron.
“Who are you? What are you?” he demanded.
“While the form I wear is based upon that of a robotic being known as the Inheritor, it is merely a container for my true essence. I was once known as the Unimaginable and I sought to be a hero but I was angry and arrogant and did not know the meaning of the term. I lost my life or most of it when I defied the Princess of Apokolips Pandora. I was honored and given posthumous membership in the Justice League of America on Earth!
“You are no robot! I can tell as much!” said Evil Star.
“No. I am fully human now but I based my appearance upon that of the Inheritor. I drifted through space as nothing more than a mere mental presence until Starbreaker’s demise. Just as you took some of his power I tapped into enough to enable me to trace the rest of it to you. I learned of your evil plan and I vowed to stop it. As a being of pure thought, I was able to simultaneously transmit myself to all the planets you threatened. I could do nothing more but wait and then drink in all the power contained in each of your bombs! I saved those worlds and in doing so I gained enough power to create this physical body for myself! I wish to be a hero,” he said.
Evil Star glowed with a purple radiance as he said, “I curse you! You have thwarted my ambitions. I am weakened now but you will regret this. I will submit to you since I sense you possess more power than the humanity you boast of so readily would suggest! Take me to Oa or whatever prison you wish. I am still immortal and have time to rest and regain my power! I will return and emblazon my name across the stars when I rule all!”
The Unimaginable shook his head and looked at Evil Star with eyes that gleamed with emotion.
“No. You misunderstood me. I said I want to be a hero. I am not one yet and do not limit myself to the actions one would associate with a noble being.”
He reached out and slowly the glow around Evil Star dimmed until he was left powerless! All of his starlings had been absorbed as well.
“You robbed me of my remaining power! I am dying! By the stars, I am dying!” he cried as his now wizened form collapsed to the rough sands of Aoron.
The Unimaginable nodded and waited and then calmly lifted the now dark Star Band from the dead man’s body.
“It is not quite empty of power but it its master is gone now!” he said as he tossed it aside and flew upward.
The corpse of the being known only as Evil Star would soon be covered by the shifting sands of the barren world he had once ruled.
The golden being once called the Unimaginable did not look back as he soared into the heavens.
“It is done. Now, begins my true quest for heroism and for that elusive quality known as humanity. I shall begin it with a more appropriate name than that of the Unimaginable. Let me now be known as the Mage!” he said.
Epilogue
Thronn
Alyssa the Golden Blade had to admit that she had been wrong about their former foe Vant Orl. He truly had used his genius to help them defeat the Headmen. She would offer him her thanks when she returned to the Presidential Palace. For now, as she and her teammates, including Pulsar and Ron Avon who had decided to stay on Thronn, surveyed the damage to their planet, it was enough to merely know they had won and they would have time to restore the world to its former greatness.
Torma
Volar (Ren Uoxon) wept joyful tears as she embraced her parents and the Galactons watched from one side. They had offered her membership in their Sorority of Space Heroines and she had accepted just as she had also been welcomed home by her family and her people at last!
“My gender doesn’t matter anymore to them! I really am home! I truly can go home again!” she thought with a smile as the people of Torma…her people….cheered her return!
Kalanor
The League expressed their thanks to the Carr brothers and Jasonar and Saranna as they secured the defeated Hive Queen and vowed to repair any damage done to the planet they had briefly enslaved.
“We want to return to defend Planet X when we are done here. We made a vow to do so!” explained Batman.
Jasonar said, “We understand. You were not to blame for your actions while under Tazzala’s spell!”
Saranna kissed James Carr and said, “And what of you? Will you stay with us? Will you stay with me a while?”
James nodded readily as his brother snapped his fingers and said, “In my own words from the distant past: like yeah, cats!”
Lucas knew he would return home in time. He had Jayne Payton to come home to and he wanted his work with Dr. Danvers to continue but for now it was enough to see his little brother’s joy at being a hero.
Sunshrike smiled but he knew his own plans called for him to return to exploring space. The silent robotic Inheritor had vanished. Its form had been altered into living flesh by the Unimaginable though no one on Kalanor realized what had happened to their robotic ally nor did they imagine his strange new destiny.
As the Mage made his way into space he gave little thought to the worlds he had saved. He had more to achieve if he was to truly become the hero he wanted to be. His quest would be an epic one!
The End
Evil Star Ascendant!
By lawrenceliberty
If Evil Star is truly ascendant then who can stop him?
1
Aoron
Within an imposing structure on the otherwise barren planet Aoron a sinister assembly took place. Alien beings from several different worlds all knelt before a large throne and the purple and blue costumed figure who sat regally upon it.
“Evil Star!” they chanted in unison!
Evil Star smiled as his servants paid their respects to him. He had once eliminated all life on Aoron in a quest to secure the immortality and stellar power a device called the Star Band had granted him. He had long ago abandoned any claim to his nearly forgotten humanity. Power was all that mattered to him and now he possessed more power than he had ever known in his long existence.
He held a scarlet device shaped like a star. He had created the weapon long before but some sentient beings claimed that the Star Band now possessed a mind of its own and the humanoid who claimed it as his own was in truth merely a mortal pawn. These rumors were whispered at best since no one dared to defy the alien conqueror. Whatever the nature of his weapon, Evil Star was incredibly powerful and any past defeats he had suffered at the hands of the heroic Green Lantern or other noble beings were merely distant memories much like the faces of those he had once called his family. He had lived on and on while all around him had perished. He was immune to age, disease, and perhaps equally beyond feelings like remorse and love.
He could exult in power and he did so once more as he surveyed the mixture of bald beings with large skulls, warlike females, and deadly beings of various shapes and sizes who all possessed large wings.
He smiled again and said, “Once more shall I repeat your orders and once more shall I caution you all against failure. Should any of you disappoint me, you shall swiftly perish! Obey me and succeed and I shall reward you beyond your wildest imaginings! “
The aliens reverently bowed once more before their master.
Evil Star said, “As you know an alien parasite called Starbreaker feasted upon whole worlds for eons before ending his own material existence out of guilt that overwhelmed him when Captain Comet duped him into trying to absorb a personality altering energy source known as the Nefar Nebulae. When he perished the cosmic energy within his physical body was released throughout the cosmos and I secured most of it for myself! It enabled me to locate and equip you all so that you might help me acquire even greater power through the destruction of several planets! I realize that should these worlds explode due to bombs you will place at their respective cores, I will be able to draw their energy resources through my Star Band much like the late Starbreaker did when he fed more directly upon such worlds! Enable me to destroy these worlds and I shall reward you all!”
He stood up and raised one gloved fist in the arm.
“You have been given your assignments! Go and remember my dark radiance shines upon you!” he yelled.
The odd groups rushed off as if desperate to leave his presence. Some truly wanted to escape him while others sought to please him.
He watched them and he whispered to the Star Band and several small humanoid beings that crouched around his throne. Each of them resembled a miniature version of their master.
“Yes, my Starlings. You know what I want. You know how my power shall soon grow!” he said.
Evil Star was truly powerful now but he was self-absorbed at the best of times. Little did he realize that he had not been the only being to benefit from the energies released at the moment Starbreaker died.
An unseen presence watched and listened and vowed to stop Evil Star for reasons of his own.
“I have not acquired enough energy to restore my own material form but my mental powers are intact and I shall use them to stop Evil Star!” thought this miraculous being.
2
Earth
Happy Harbor, Rhode Island was a peaceful community for the most part although it had been the site of more than one clash between super heroes and costumed criminals as was fitting since it had also once housed the secret HQ of the Justice League of America during that group’s early days.
A young man with dark hair and a slightly nervous manner sat on the front porch of a small house in the little community and gazed up at the stars. It was a nice summer evening and James Carr was content.
“You know I’m really happy that you and Jayne Payton found each other and that you like working for Dr. Danvers at his California lab but I’m more than happy to stay right here. Teaching gym at our old school is all this Carr brother has ever wanted! Bro, you can hang out with super heroes and scientists but not this cat,” he said.
Lucas “Snapper” Carr grinned and said, “You sound like me or like I used to sound back when I was hanging around with the Justice League and watching way too many “77 Sunset Strip” reruns!”
Lucas frowned as he felt that annoying itch beneath the cast he wore over his broken leg. He sat in a porch swing and rested the injured leg on a divan.
“When I was with Superman, Batman, and the others in the early days of the Justice League I met all kinds of crazy villains from time and space but none of them did as much damage to me as I did when I fell down our steps!” he said with a sigh.
James nodded at his older brother and said, “Breaking your leg on your first night of vacation was a bad break…if you’ll excuse the expression!”
Lucas said, “I know but it was nice of you to keep me company tonight while our folks are enjoying a rare night out!”
He smiled and stepped off the porch to look up at the stars.
“Star light, star bright…!” he began when a beam of blue light erupted from the sky and a small vehicle landed noiselessly in his yard!
“Oh man”! he gasped as two figures emerged from the vehicle and approached him. The male was wrinkled but had the same vaguely elfin features as the younger girl who followed him. They looked as if they could be related and in fact they were father and daughter. Each of them had bright green hair!
A slightly calmer Lucas said, “Jasonar! Saranna! Oh man! What brings you here from Kalanar? Is Despero poking that freaky third eye of his into your business again?”
He quickly added, “This is my brother James. I met Jasonar and Saranna yeara ago! They come from a planet called Kalanar!”
James blinked rapidly and said, “I know! I remember reading your notes! They were like bedtime stories when I was a kid!”
The alien scientist Jasonar said, “I fear we are threatened by a force more deadly than even the tyrant Despero! We have come to ask for help from your Justice League allies!”
Lucas said, “They’re all away. I’ve been told by someone close to one of their members that they aren’t around right now!”
He referred to the fact that his girlfriend Jayne Payton knew her brother Will “Starman” Payton and his fellow heroes in the fabled Justice League of America were away on a mission. Lucas still enjoyed learning about his old friends via Jayne’s connection to Will. Even though Lucas had started out as a trusted mascot of sorts to the heroic team, a series of unfortunate events and he simple passing of time itself had somewhat estranged him from them for the most part. Things had improved over the last few years and he certainly thought of the members as friends but they were certainly not in regular contact with one another.
Saranna said, “We tried to find them at their base but they were not there! We thought to come here since you may also be able assist us!”
Lucas said, “I’ll help if I can but this broken leg makes me almost useless and to be honest I’m not as close to the team as I was when I was a kid! I barely know some of the newer members.”
Jasonar said, “It is your knowledge of the early members of the team that shall give us a fighting chance!”
Saranna smiled winningly and added, “We may yet benefit from your knowledge of the founding League members! No one knows them as well as you do!”
Lucas glanced over at James who was listening and watching intently. Clearly, meeting the alien duo was the most astounding thing that had ever happened to his younger brother.
“What do you mean? I’ll share what I can but I won’t betray any secrets!” he said as the irony of his words washed over him. He had indeed once betrayed the team and he still felt guilty over how easily he had been duped by one of their foes.
Jasonar said, “It is simple. Kalanar is in danger but the threat comes not from the deposed Despero but from the Justice League itself!”
3
Thronn
Alyssa the Golden Blade frowned as she walked toward the Presidential Palace. She did not like cities and while her role as a member of the celebrated Honor Team of Thronn meant that the heroine had traveled across her planet as well as to other worlds, she preferred the more rural environment of the Arden Archipelago where she was raised amongst her Sword Sisters and their Matriarch her mother S’brogan.
The blonde warrior woman wore gleaming golden armor and sandals and carried the legendary sword that had once belonged to her late husband Sigurd the Nornschild. She had taken up his heroic name and the weapon that inspired it since his death at the hands of alien invaders. She also mourned the loss of her other teammates Energiman and Magicko.
She had helped defeat the alien mastermind behind the invasion but her return had been delayed by other conflicts and she had only recently made her way back to her home planet of Thronn where life seemed to go on as it always had now that a group of Martian invaders had also perished.
The beautiful blonde shook her head as she remembered her last visit to her family home. Her mother had welcomed her and offered her support and comfort but it was her meeting with the community sage the Keeper of the Book that still troubled her thoughts.
Nyson the Keeper of the Book was a small man and in her eyes no matter what his physical size, the gray haired scholar could never measure up to her late father who had once held the esteemed position of Keeper of the Book.
Nyson had ushered her into the Sanctum Bibliarium with a brief grin and a deferential manner as befitted her status as Matriarch’s First Born and national heroine.
“I summoned you here because of a disturbing new entry in the Book. It materialized this morning. It seems to be a rather powerful omen!” he said as he led her to where a massive tome rested upon a table.
“The Book shows us signs of what is to come and allows us to gain insight from that which has passed and at times it defies all understanding in its mysterious depictions of events!” he said.
Alyssa said, “I am well acquainted with the Book. I spent much of my girlhood in this very chamber when I was not mastering the combat skills of my calling as a Sword Sister!”
Nyson nodded obsequiously and said, “Of course! I should have realized as much! Forgive me for presuming to prattle on and attempt to enhance my own status by proclaiming the lore of our land!”
Alyssa shook back her long blonde locks and said, “It is I who should apologize. I was rude. Please, show me what the Book reveals!”
Nyson smiled and said, “This drawing appears to be an eight sided structure. Naturally, that represents the Presidential Palace! This golden figure approaching the building can only be…!”
“Me! Clearly, that drawing of a female figure is meant to be me!” she said.
Nyson nodded and said, “And yet these other colorful beings around you are unknown to me! I have searched the library and find nothing to indicate their identities nor any roles they may have played in our history!”
Alyssa said, “My thanks, Nyson! Clearly, the answers will be found in the Palace and I am destined to go there!”
Now, Alyssa the Golden Blade stood inside the vast entry chamber of the Presidential Palace and waited impatiently. She was impatient by nature and losing her husband and friend made her less willing to wait around than ever before. She craved action!
She paced restlessly and paused as the Hall of Honors came into view. This section contained a tribute of sorts to the Honor Team of Thronn. She sighed as she saw the ruggedly handsome features of her late husband Sigurd on a holo prism sculpture. She could almost hear his voice and his laughter as charged into one battle after another. A second floating holo prism depicted the gaunt red and white clad form of Magicko the Scientist Supreme of the team. He was a kind man and his advanced science enabled him to appear as though he possessed magical powers. Now, he too had perished! Only the odd energy being Energiman remained alive if the strange being could be said to live. He had seemingly given up his life years before to summon help from the famous Green Lantern of Earth when the whole team had been captured by the evil genius Vant Orl! Green Lantern had freed them all and had defeated Vant Orl. Years later after Superman and yet another Green Lantern had enabled Energiman’s disembodied mind to regenerate a material body of his own, the reunited Honor Team had successfully defended their world from countless new perils yet none had truly seemed as dangerous as their former captor the alien known as Vant Orl.
Suddenly, Alyssa whirled and drew her blade as five palace guards in their black and red uniforms charged at her with ray guns drawn and ready to be fired!
“What is this madness? I am here by appointment!” she declared as she planted her feet and assumed a combat stance.
The guards said nothing but several fired upon her!
She blocked all the laser beams with her flashing magical sword and managed to disarm one of the guards with a hurled truncheon of her own.
She rolled forward and rose up to slice though another guardsman’s gun and then kick him into his nearest ally.
A spinning heel kick dropped the third trooper and she knocked the fourth one out with one punch.
Her super strength made her a match for anyone and her Sword Sister training and the magical weapon she carried enhanced her abilities even more.
The final guard dropped back and said, “I yield Sword Sister! You may enter the Presidential Suite! Our orders were merely to test you not to slay you!”
Alyssa shoved him aside and stalked into the plush suite.
“By the Matriarch!” she gasped as she saw the figure at the desk with the Thronnian Presidential Seal.
He was deathly pale and shaped like a blob with four wiggling tentacles extended from his torso.
“Vant Orl!” she cried as she darted forward and started to leap over the desk.
A bolt of energy blazed across her path and she fell backward to land on her feet after an acrobatic flip.
Her blue eyes widened as she recognized the source of the energy beam.
“Energiman! I thought you had perished! What are you doing in service to this alien cur?” she cried.
Energiman stepped forward and raised his hands in a placating manner.
“I was not killed but my energy form was scattered and it took me time to regain a humanoid body. I could only watch helplessly in sorrow as our friends perished and you were left to mourn, Alyssa! I am not under any spell or duress. Vant Orl has been given a full pardon for his own heroic actions in helping to defeat the alien invaders. He has been given named acting President as well because he alone may be able to stop a menace that threatens our whole world!” said Energiman.
Allysa scowled as she looked at her friend. He was a dark haired handsome man who resembled the hero Superman because that champion had allowed the energy being to once use his own body as a template when he needed to recreate a physical form for his disembodied mind. His features had altered over time but he still had a superficial resemblance to the Man of Steel. He wore a red and white costume that also looked familiar to Alyssa!
“I am indeed wearing Magicko’s old costume. It no longer has his array of weapons and data sources but it allows me to retain my physical form. You see, my energy powers are out of control and only this containment suit keeps me from exploding!” he said.
Vant Orl said, “He speaks the truth, Golden Blade. I altered the costume and saved his very life. I am not the being you once fought. I am sorry I imprisoned you and your friends long ago and I mourn for your husband and friend. We are on the same side!”
Alyssa shook her head and crossed her arms. “Tell me more!”
Vant Orl undulated slightly as his amorphous body leaned or oozed forward.
“I was contacted by agents of a being known as Evil Star. They wanted to enlist my aid in a plot to destroy Thronn. I was able to defy them because of my super will power. They could not force me to join their crusade. Instead, I used my influence to get this position. I’ve been called the Hero of the Red Brotherhood War. People now trust me. I hope you shall do so in time!” he said.
Energiman said, “Vant Orl is a genius. We always knew that! He has restored me and he wants us to form a new Honor Team! Will you join our cause?”
Alyssa nodded slowly. “I shall. My blade is ever ready to defend my home but I shall not offer trust blindly to one who once was my enemy.”
“My! She is magnificent!” said a high pitched voice as a petite woman entered the room and smiled up at Alyssa.
The newcomer was remarkable for her beauty and for her body which was entirely made of a translucent crystalline substance. Each facet of her curvy form gleamed in the lights of the office.
“This is the Princess Aria of Karalyx. She has joined our team! Her father is the Chief Justiciar of their planet!” said Vant Orl.
The shiny woman executed a brief courtesy and smiled broadly.
“You are truly beautiful!” she said to Alyssa! The Crystal Princess extended one delicate hand to the taller woman and said, “I am honored to meet you.”
Alyssa took her hand and said, “Well met, Princess Aria! The lawmen of your world are indeed legendary across the universe!”
Princess Aria blushed becomingly and a light pink hue illuminated her crystalline form.
Vant Orl said, “I have summoned the others as well. It is time we prepared to face Evil Star’s emissaries!”
Two young men in bright costumes entered the room and stepped forward expectantly. Alyssa smiled briefly in recognition. She knew them from a previous battle. Indeed, they had helped her avenge Sigurd’s death in a manner of speaking.
The first man was a handsome youth with long blond hair. He wore a gold costume with purple boots and trunks along a purple cape. He also wore a large gauntlet on one forearm.
“Do you remember me? I'm Ron Avon, Champion of Belgor! I came here with my friend Pulsar on orders from Era himself!” explained the young hero.
The second man smiled and said, “Era is one of the Guardians of the Clockwork Universe. He and his brothers work to keep order in the cosmos. He named me defender of the Cosmos and gave me the quantum bracelets I wear! Oh, and my name is Pulsar. Actually, I’m the second man to use that name. The first is now a Green Lantern. I’m trying to live up to his reputation!”
Pulsar wore a green and gold costume and the shining bracelets on each of his wrists gleamed as light reflected off tiny gemstones that studded their circumference.
Alyssa nodded slowly. This sudden reunion was a bit much to take in at once. Still, she knew both men slightly and respected them as heroes.
Ron Avon said, “Pulsar never told you before that his real name is Bob Altus and he comes from Earth!”
Pulsar said, “Sorry. I guess I did get carried away. You see, this is a second chance for me. I messed up rather badly when I was a hero during my teens on Earth!”
Ron Avon said, “Uh oh! We have no time to talk! My power gauntlet tells me Thronn is being invaded as we speak!”
Vant Orl said, “Blast it! I thought we’d have more time! “
They rushed outside to where around a dozen flying men swooped down from space. Each had an abnormally large skull and wore a black ring!
Vant Orl said, “The Anti-Green Lantern Corps! I thought those black rings had all be destroyed years ago. Apparently, Evil Star not only found a way to make more, he overcame their one liability. The rings destroy any user who lacks an advanced mentality. That won’t be a problem since Evil Star’s minions all appear to be the Headmen of Garon!”
Alyssa raised her sword and said, “I do not care where these mutant misfits originate! I shall drive them back to their unholy master or die trying!”
The newly formed Honor team of Thronn hurried into battle as one more world faced the peril of Evil Star!
4
Earth
As a small automated device carried Lucas Carr into Jasonar’s ship, the former JLA mascot said, “I don’t understand. How can the JLA be a threat to Kalanar?”
James nodded as he glanced in awe at the spaceship’s interior.
“Yeah, those heroes are always trying to help not to hurt!” he said sheepishly as Saranna concealed a smile and nodded to him in an encouraging manner.
Jasonar said, “I may be a scientist but I fear I am prone to poetic license at times. Your Justice League is no threat to us. We are being menaced by their alternate timeline counterparts!”
James said, “Sure. That makes…that makes absolutely no sense at all!”
Saranna gently touched his arm and said, “I realize this is all a bit too much for you to take in at once. We appreciate your help and your patience. You and your brother are both exceptional men!”
She continued, “When your Justice League last defeated Despero, they left behind new heroes to defend a world called Planet X from any new perils. This other League served this purpose well until they abruptly became as evil as the heroes they emulated were good. This Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Atom, Flash, and Martian Manhunter became tyrants in the service of our world’s newest oppressor the Hive Queen Tazzalla! She used them to take over our planet. She brought them here from Planet X!”
Lucas said, “Man! This is heavy stuff! Where did the League I know get these other Leaguers?”
Jasonar said, “I do not know the details. I was told only that a villain named Dr. Destiny created them as his own Lawless League by altering reality in some manner. He plucked them from some alternate timeline. With his defeat they became heroes until Hive Queen Tazzala enslaved them all!”
Lucas snapped his fingers and said, “Yeah! Dr. Destiny had a gem that allowed him to do all kinds of crazy things. If he made them as an evil Justice League, I guess someone else could change them again and again!”
James said, “You said they were enslaved by the Hive Queen Tazzala? Didn’t the JLA often battle an alien beauty called Zazzala the Queen Bee?”
Jasonar said, “The Hive Queen Tazzala is the sister of the more notorious Queen Bee Zazzala but she is deadly in her own right since she can control any male!”
Lucas said, “I get it now! If her enforcers are some kind of evil JLA, then I’m in a good position to know how to fight them! I do know the way their powers work if they are copies of my friends!”
Jasonar said, “We need your data to enhance our weapon of choice! The Hive Queen may enslave any male but not an artificial being like this one!”
He gestured to a glass tube in which a towering humanoid stood silently immobile. He wore a green and brown costume with an odd red cap. His ears were pointed and his eyes were cold and dark.
“Amazo? That’s Amazo! You’ve got the One Man Justice League in cold storage!” gasped Lucas.
Saranna said, “No! He is merely a copy my father created. Sadly, he doesn’t work!”
Jasonar said, “I failed. I thought I could use him against our enemies since one like him threatened the heroes you knew but I have failed to bring him to life!”
Lucas said, “The guy who made the first Amazo was a genius. Amazo was a robot or android but he could copy super powers and this made him deadly!”
At that moment the ship lurched to one side as dozens of tiny winged men swooped inside!
“Drones! Those are drone soldiers!” cried Lucas.
As the small soldiers swarmed into the ship, Jasonar fell backward and the container holding Amazo toppled forward into a console that erupted into flames and sent a barrage of energy at Lucas Carr!
James jumped forward to protect his brother and screamed in pain as the energy passed through the falling robot and into his own body!
Saranna screamed, “Father! You must help him! Our enemies have followed us here!”
Jasonar managed to smother the energy bursts with a special device as the swarm of warriors swept through the ship!
Lucas yelled, “James? Are you hurt?”
James Carr shuddered once and stood up. He frowned as the swarming invaders suddenly became clearer to him. He could see each of the speeding figures as if they were moving in slow motion!
He glared at them and beams of fiery energy shot out of his eyes and enabled him to herd them away from his new allies and his brother.
He hesitated for a second and slammed both hands together. Shockwaves knocked all of the tiny drones to the ground as if they had been struck by a hurricane!
James Carr said, “How did I do that? I just sort of knew what to do but I don’t know how I did it!”
Lucas said, “It’s like you have Amazo’s powers!”
Jasonar nodded and said, “I concur. In some manner the energy burst transferred the powers in Amazo’s absorbing cells into your body. I failed to awaken my Amazo but I may have created a superior version in you, young man…although by accident!”
Lucas snapped his fingers and said, “This is far out stuff! My little brother is a One Man Justice League?”
James looked at Saranna and said, “I’ll help you, Saranna! I’ll save your people! I can do it. I literally know I can do it!”
5
Thronn
The street that led up to the Presidential Palace had become a nightmarish scene of destruction as the dozen invaders accomplished what a larger group of attackers could not do as easily! They literally blasted the area into rubble with their powerful energy bolts!
Alyssa led her new team into battle with her usual grim determination!
“Those rings clearly mimic the functions of the power ring used by Green Lantern! Even one of those rings could bring Thronn down in ruins unless we stop them!” she thought.
She leaped upward and brought her gleaming blade down at the nearest attacker. He was almost identical to his brethren in that he was bald and his skull was unnaturally large. He also gazed at her and at all of Thronn with a look of superiority. This Headman would learn not to underestimate a Sword Sister!
Alyssa’s sword smashed through his protective force field! She didn’t know if the rings had any particular weakness or if it was merely the enchantment that her weapon contained that allowed her to shatter the alien’s ring construct but she didn’t care! She smashed the sword’s flat side into his face and grappled furiously in an effort to bring him down to earth!
He said, “For a primitive being you pose more of a challenge than I ever expected to be the case!”
Alyssa said, “This world has suffered enough from alien invaders! This day we draw a line that shall not be crossed while breath remains within one son or daughter of Thronn!”
She slapped him across the face and saw his smug expression change to one of dismay as she managed to bring them both down to the rubble!
Energiman was also locked in battle with two of the attackers but while his unique metabolism and protective suit enabled him to resist their energy based attacks, he was also a bit hesitant to use his full power against them!
“This suit is all that keeps me whole! I don’t wish to return to being merely a disembodied mental presence! And yet how can I give less than my all for my world?” he mused.
He raised both hands with his palms outward and released two bolts of concussive energy that sent the two Headmen reeling.
Nearby, Aria the Crystal Princess maintained her almost girlish demeanor as her crystalline body turned bright red and she emitted blazing bolts of fire that encircled her own foes. She was no stranger to combat and her lawman father had raised her with the awareness that individuals must make sacrifices for the common good.
“The Headmen are silent foes but they are awfully strong! I guess their power has gone to their heads!” she thought with a giggle.
Pulsar (Bob Altus of earth) was not as confident as he tried to appear. Years ago his scientist father had tried to make him into a super hero to rival or even supplant Superboy; however, Pulsar had refused to eliminate the Teen of Steel and had rejected his father and his desire for power. He had grown up in obscurity and had never imagined an alien being would one day offer him a second chance at heroism!
“Okay, I’ve got the quantum bands and I’ve got the trust of the Clockwork Guardians! Now, all I have to do with not fail them completely!” he thought ruefully.
He concentrated as black energy rays bounced off his glowing force field.
“I’ve commanded the bands to activate automatic shielding and they naturally protect me from mind control!” he thought as he mentally checked off his combat procedures!
He shuddered as a blast shook the shield but failed to shatter it.
He frowned and then focused his thoughts on making the golden energy shape itself into a huge fist that battered the Headman and finally broke through his black force bubble to squeeze him into submission!
“I’m doing it! I’m actually winning!” he whispered.
Ron Avon had no lack of confidence. The blond hero had been groomed since his youth to be a champion and had in fact liberated his home world from a group of tyrants with help from Superboy. Although his own powers had changed somewhat as he matured and he was still a teen by the standards of his long lived race, he was a bit cocky and felt no need to hesitate in battle.
“Gauntlet analysis of energy weapons is complete. While the original rings were Qwardian in origin and empowered by energy generated remotely by a anti-matter power battery, these rings are similar but are powered by stellar energy as directed by a being known as Evil Star!”
The way the power gauntlet spoke to Ron via telepathy was comforting to the young hero. He thought of the gauntlet as a friend and not as a mere tool or weapon. It more than compensated for the loss of his sensory powers that had occurred when he was caught in an explosive while battling one of his old foes!
Ron said, “Hmmm? So if these bald baddies can’t tap into their power source, they will be helpless!”
He created a rainbow -hued sphere that erupted in the sky and left several of the warriors stunned as they fought to restore their balance!
“Vant Orl may need the scoop on these thugs! Gauntlet, transmit findings to Presidential Palace!” he ordered as he dodged an attack and connected with a simple super strong punch of his own!
Princess Aria had turned a pale blue as she used her destructive aura to shatter a Headman’s looming energy drill!
Alyssa the Golden Blade was furiously battering two Headmen with her fists and sword as they closed in on her. She lashed out with devastating power and kicked one of them in the face. Her sword’s magic was generating enough magic to enable her body to break through their ring shields!
She choked one Headman and hurled him into his nearest comrade.
Then, she gasped as darkness filled the sky above them!
Energiman said, “By the Nebulae! That shadowy substance threatens to plunge the planet into total darkness! Do you recognize it?”
Alyssa scowled and said, “Of course! It is Ergal Prism power! That was the substance Vant Orl used to imprison us all years ago! That fiend has turned against Thronn once more!”
“What should we do?” asked Pulsar. “I think I can repel it but not all at once!”
Energiman said, “I know what I have to do. I must achieve total detonation of my body! I might be able to shatter the Ergal Prism before it totally envelops our world!”
Alyssa cursed as she listened to her friend. “No! You must not sacrifice yourself again! We can beat that blob into submission and force him to undo his energy barrier!”
Princess Aria said, “Wait, Fair Maid! Look! I think the field is weakening the Headmen!”
The petite princess was correct! The inky darkness of the Ergal Prism energy had indeed separated the Anti-Green Lantern Corps members from the energy Evil Star had been feeding to them from his remote base on Auron!
“Gauntlet analysis suggests the rings require an incredible amount of sheer power to operate and without the constant stimulation from Evil Star’s Star Band, the rings take a physical toil on their users! Even the Headmen’s advance brains can only operate the rings for a limited time without additional power sources!”
Ron Avon grinned broadly and said, “Gauntlet, that is music to my ears!”
He swooped down as the remaining ring warriors fell to the ground and he cried out, “It is true! Vant Orl is no traitor! He is a hero! He used the data my gauntlet sent him to find a way to cut off the invaders from most of their power! He saved Thronn!”
Energiman nodded in relief. “The Headmen are defeated!”
“Not yet, you worm! We may still achieve our master’s goal by blowing up this world and all who live here! Your field won’t prevent that!” cried a Headman.
The dozen aliens collapsed in unison and their rings shattered as black energy erupted across the battle field!
Alyssa gasped in shock as the ground shook and she thought, “They truly mean to destroy all of Thronn even though doing so has cost them their lives!”
6
Torma
“You can’t go home again!”
The phrase echoed in Ren Uoxon’s mind as the brown haired heroine flew down toward her planet of birth. She was very nervous about returning to Torma since she had been exiled from the small planet a few years ago and had not had any contact with her parents or friends since that harsh verdict had been rendered following the revelation that she was in fact female!
She had used advanced science invented by her father Danan to conceal her gender for most of her teen years when she was dressed as the planetary champion or Volar. As the seemingly male Volar she had been revered as the hero who had saved the planet from any and all threats. Even her exposure as a woman had only occurred after she and Captain Comet had rescued the people of Torma from a race of “space Amazons” known as Femizons or Quazars.
“Our victory was the end of life as I knew it. It didn’t matter one bit that I was the same person inside. It didn’t matter that I was as willing to give everything for Torma as ever. All anyone cared about was the fact that I was a woman and on Torma women were deemed too inferior to be heroic or to be anything more than dutiful and decorative domestics!” she mused.
It was true the revelation of her gender had inspired the rigid society of Torma to slowly integrate women into positions of authority but this change came with a price. Normal Torma women might arise out of their limited spheres of influence but not with the painful example of a woman- a petite and pretty woman at that- who was clearly superior to every male on Torma constantly creating friction merely by her existence.
“My own father gave me the news that I had to leave! I had to leave everything and everyone I’d ever known just because I was a woman!” she whispered sadly.
It was true that she had made good friends during her exile. She had become close to the heroic alien couple Vartox and Maxima and in some ways she knew they considered her to be a daughter to them due to her youth.
She had convinced them that she could respond to the sudden distress signal from Torma on her own. She remembered the look of paternal concern on Vartox’s features as the rugged hero had urged her to allow him to help her on this mission.
“Maxima and I want to go with you. We would stand beside you in this hour of need as you have always been loyal to our own causes since we met!” he had said.
The fiery flame haired Maxima had nodded and made what was to her imperious nature a show of genuine support.
“It is so! Together we three may easily triumph over any peril that Torma faces!” she had said with a haughty toss of her head.
Ren had thanked them and parted from them with tearful affection but as she had explained, “I have to do this alone! If they need me, I want to prove to them that I am still worthy to be planetary Volar!” she had said.
Now, as she used her magna vision to scan the surface of the planet she had loved for so long, she saw a familiar if sinister sight. A large spaceship hovered above the main marketplace of Machismus the largest city on the planet. A gleaming energy beam emerged from a port on the ship and bathed the area below with an unholy radiance!
“The Femizons again! Those female pirates have returned to take over Torma again!” she gasped.
She noticed scenes of mass panic as men and women raced away from the massive ship and its beams of destructive concussive power!
“They’ve released their fear stimulating radiation! I see scenes of mass hysteria everywhere! The Amazons use some kind of fear toxin that makes males timid. It was that weapon that enabled them to almost conquer my home last time they invaded. We were able to magically reverse the effect and make the warrior women victims of their own poison but I have no magical powers. All I can do is just use my magna powers as best I can! I can’t fail my folks or my home if they need me!” she thought.
She knew that a certain irony was found in the fact that in the past the fear radiation spread like a plague and only worked on men. Thus, this most male dominated of worlds was perfectly structured for women invaders with such a weapon to be lethally effective. Based on the visible energy beam, they were taking a more direct approach this time!
“I know when I left they said they were going to include women in major roles in the military and government but I only see the same old routine. Male leaders are herding females away as the fear makes the men panic!” she thought.
A few shouts of recognition rang out as the Tormanians pointed skyward and saw their former champion smash into the saucer-like ship!
Ren recognized the basic structure of the craft. It had a command bridge where the Quazar leaders congregated and directed their attack. The Quazars were all beautiful women with slightly pointed ears and cruel expressions. They relished war and had nothing but contempt for men especially since their own men were frail. The tall warrior women laughed with pleasure as their attack bore fruit.
“They are not even attempting to put up a fight! Evil Star has assured us that his power will prevent any magical reversal of the fear radiation this time nor will any of our men dare to help the Tormanians!” said one Quazar as she exulted in their triumph.
They gasped as Ren approached and sirens echoed through the craft moments after the woman’s super swift entrance!
“Your invasion ends now!” she said as she placed both hands on her hips and confronted them with a look of determination!
She would win back Torma and her people would welcome her back! She just knew it.
The tallest Quazar laughed coldly and said, “You can do nothing against us! You see our power has been enhanced by Evil Star! The fear radiation carries his power and nothing can stop its spread! Unlike before, there is no cure or carrier of any immunity!”
Ren said, “We’ll see about that!”
The Quazar said, “Really? I doubt that! Take her!”
The Space Amazons charged at Ren and began to batter the smaller woman. They were not as strong as she was but she felt their blows and she realized that this mysterious Evil Star they spoke of must have boosted their strength!
She grunted with pain and fell beneath their furious assault. They were savages and relished inflicting pain while Ren was a compassionate heroine. She also was determined to win so in spite of the beating she received, she valiantly tried t resist and refused to give up!
However, the odds were against her and she began to slow down as the women warriors continued to batter her with sheer numbers.
She glanced around the ship through a haze of pain and blood. She finally saw what she wanted to find. The fear radiation generator perched above the main deck like a mechanical bird of prey. She knew that the machine was the source of the fear plague no matter how Evil Star’s energy somehow gave it new potency from afar!
Ren lurched forward and knocked the nearest Quazar aside. She kicked and punched and dived until her bruised body reached the machine and with her final reserves of energy, the Magna Maid clutched the machine and slowly ripped it apart with one final burst of raw power and sheer courage!
The effort was too much for her. She collapsed on the deck and fought to catch her breath. Surely she had won! Surely without the radiation the Quazars could no longer make the men of Torma into cowardly victims!
The brutal leader Commander Xalta kicked Ren with one high heeled boot and said, “The little firebrand destroyed the radiation projector. She’ll regret that!”
At that moment three colorfully dressed newcomers burst into the ship and charged at the Quazars!
“Don’t touch her! She has achieved too much to suffer any more at your hands!”said a beautiful woman with dark hair and exotic features. She wore an orange costume with decorative black trim along the sleeves and the slightly puffy pants of her costume. Orange slippers completed her costume.
She stared at Commander Xalta with her oddly compelling eyes and the bigger woman began to tremble. Finally, the normally steely Xalta collapsed and began to whimper in fear.
“Nicely done, Elura! You certainly have not lost your touch!” said a petite blonde in a blue and black outfit that matched Elura’s in design if not in color.
Suddenly, the blonde became a blur as she raced forward at super speed and sent the Quazars flying in all directions!
“Alena is such a show off!” said a third woman who had shorter reddish hair and wore a bright yellow and black costume.
“You aren’t exactly subtle yourself, Nula!” said Elura with a smile.
Nula shrugged and raised both hands over her head.
A burst of vibrational energy swept outward from her body and knocked other Quazars off their feet!
“I’m just a woman who believes in good vibes even if they break things at times!” quipped Nula.
They helped Ren to her feet and ministered to her needs as she slowly stood up and asked, “Who are you? Did I stop them?”
Elura said, “You certainly did! In fact we Galactons came to help you repel them but you had them at a disadvantage before we reached the ship! Without their weapons, they’re just a bunch of bullies!”
Nula added, “We’re a group of adventurers. We seldom get to this part of space but we were known to the late Supergirl who even emulated us once with help from some friends for a good cause once! “
Elura added, “We tracked the Quazars here. Apparently, they are but one group of several beings that have been boosted in terms of physicality or resources by Evil Star! He once created miniature slaves known as Starlings. Now, he has used his weapon of choice to empower other aliens like the Quazars!”
She added, “I have limited telepathy. I projected images of what you did across your home below. Your courage was displayed for all to see!”
Alena said, “I hear the people cheering you as we speak!”
Indeed, the chant of “Volar!” echoed from below.
Ren smiled as tears filled her eyes! She had clearly won over the people of Torma once more!
She beamed with pleasure as she saw the cheering crowds!
Xalta was still shaking from the emotional manipulation she had suffered due to the Galacton known as Elura. Still, she managed to shout in defiance.
“We didn’t just show up and project our fear energy. We directed it by remote long before we made ourselves known to your people below. In fact, we made certain some were so crippled with fear that they agreed to obey our commands at any price!” she said.
Ren said, “What commands? Surely, you’ve lost now!”
The Quazar said, “We ordered the Science Council of Torma to activate certain bombs we supplied! Your world dies today!”
Ren breathed a silent prayer and glanced at the three Galactons. Was it too late to save her home?
7
Kalanor
Tazzala the Hive Queen resented her sister Zazzala the Queen Bee for several reasons. Zazzala was older and had always looked down on her sibling. She had also always been known for her beauty and her intellect while Tazzala was considered inferior to her sister in both regards. Now, having claimed Kalanor for herself in the absence of its previous tyrant Despero, the Hive Queen hoped to use the planet as a base from which she might eventually overthrow her sister and also claim their home world of Korll. When Evil Star promised to aid her in this task by enslaving the second Justice League, she had readily agreed to destroy Kalanor in exchange for promises of greater power and revenge on her sister!
Still, the purple haired beauty had copied much of Zazzala’s own techniques by using a magno nucleo rod to enslave and turn many Kalanorians into tiny winged drone warriors! She smiled to herself. She had to admit Zazzala’s plans had always worked at least temporarily.
She smiled again as she surveyed her personal League. Superman (Ripper Jones) was a bearded blond man in a red and blue costume that resembled the more famous one worn by the original Superman; however, Ripper’s emblem was slightly different in design. He was incredibly powerful but Evil Star’s power held him in thrall.
The green skinned Martian Manhunter (Ed Orson) was similar to the original hero of the same name too but he wore a solid red and blue costume that covered his arms and legs unlike the briefer one favored by his double.
Batman (Bill Gore) had once worn a beard but now he was clean shaven and his black and gray costume enabled him to hide in shadows when needed.
The diminutive Atom (Barney Judson) was brilliant but his keen mind could not break free of the hold his new Hive Queen had over him. His red and black costume was slightly different from that of the original Atom. He wore a mask but his hair was exposed and hung in a shaggy style around the mask.
Flash (Race Morrison) drummed his blurred fingers restlessly as he waited with the others. Perhaps in time his vibrations might disrupt the power that enslaved him but Tazzala doubted it.
Green Lantern (Monk Loomis) was bald. He frowned from time to time but he also was helpless to break the spell that enslaved his own formidable will. His green costume consisted of a broad vest and higher boots than those of his double.
Tazzala strolled by the row of heroes and tapped her golden magno nucleo wand in one gloved hand. It was good to be queen. She would have the detonation charges activated soon enough once she and her drones had fled the doomed world.
She raised both arms over her head and ran her hands through her cascading purple tresses! She exulted in her new power and the promise of more to come. In truth, she was already under Evil Star’s control as well although she did not realize it.
He was expending considerable energy to control or enhance so many people on the four worlds he sought to destroy.
Meanwhile, not far from the Hive Queen’s palace on Kalanor, Lucas “Snapper” Carr was strapped in a small hovering module that Jasonar had put together to give him some mobility.
He said, “I’m coming with you. I’m not going to let my kid brother battle some lunatic without help!”
James said, “Even though I can’t believe I’m on another planet, I’m good. I have the power of Amazo and he has the powers of all those League doubles Jasonar described. He tapped into their power from afar before he came to get us! He just didn’t know his Amazo would not awaken like it should!”
Saranna said, “You are both true heroes but what can you do for us now that your brother has such power?”
Lucas said, “I have power too. I can teleport. It is something I picked up during the Invasion a while back!”
Jasonar said, “But Lucas Carr, surely any power you possess may be duplicated by your brother now that he has the abilities of my flawed Amazo?”
Lucas said, “I don’t care! We’re family and I’m coming too!”
Jasonar said, “Very well. I could use your unique abilities too. My own vehicle the dimensional traveler might be able to gain some extra precision in its warp drive if we tap into your will power and this teleportation ability you now possess!”
Lucas snapped his finger and said, “Exactly! So, what is your plan?”
Saranna said, “We hope to subdue the League or free them from the spell they are under by capturing them and the Hive Queen! We hoped the Amazo powers would enable us to do just that especially with your unique knowledge of how the Green Lantern, Superman etc. use their powers!”
Lucas said, “Like I told you before, Green Lantern’s ring won’t work on yellow. Superman is weakened by Kryptonite and it can kill him in time. The Martian Manhunter is weakened by fire. You probably already know all this!”
James frowned suddenly and Lucas noticing his brother’s expression, asked, “What’s wrong?”
James said, “We’re not alone! My enhanced senses allow me to detect that there are others approaching our ship!”
Saranna cried, “No! Surely, we have not been discovered! We subdued the drones she sent after us and even the Hive Queen could not expect us to have returned so swiftly!”
Jasonar said, “Indeed, we have other allies but I have not introduced them yet. They are unique as well!”
He said, “In truth, both originated on Earth! I merely secured their services when we met them in space! They both departed from your world for different reasons!”
He gestured to a sliding panel that opened to reveal a humanoid figure with long platinum blonde hair and golden skin. The man was muscular and wore a blue and gold costume. His eyes were a pale white and he moved forward with a silent grace and obvious majesty.
“This robotic being was dubbed the Inheritor by an earth scientist named Dr. Magnus. After the first model was destroyed in a rebellion against his maker, the second model proved equally strong willed though not of evil intent. He fled the lab and flew into space to walk his own path. He was damaged during the Invasion you spoke of before and I claimed him as a weapon against our foes. He is nearly mindless but his body may shape itself into any number of weapons!”
The final figure was also humanoid but broad wings sprouted from his back and his features had an equally avian look. He was powerfully build and certainly lacked the delicate bone structure of a true bird. He wore a silver and red costume.
He said, “I am Sunshrike although I was born as Richard Gray. I once called myself Condor when I worked with some heroes like Hawkman and Captain Comet. After my body began to mutate I departed Earth. I can fly through space unprotected and at great speed. I have found peace among the stars!”
James said, “Man! This is awesome! I can’t believe it all!”
Lucas said, “Take it easy. You’ll get used to meeting heroes and aliens. After all, I did!”
Jasonar said, “Let me run a scan on you Lucas. I think I may use your power to bring us all directly inside the Hive Queen’s palace! If we secure her, then her League will soon be free!”
Lucas nodded and said, “Sure. It’s not the weirdest thing I’ve ever done!”
Hours later, Jasonar nodded in approval as he ran his hands across a control panel.
“It should suffice! If you are all ready, we shall make the attempt to reclaim our world!” he announced.
Saranna said, “Father, you do sound grand but it becomes you!”
He smiled at his daughter and said, “Perhaps, you are correct. Let us merely let our actions speak in place of colorful phrases!”
He made a last adjustment and the dimensional traveler’s engine core tapped into Lucas Carr’s new powers to teleport them directly inside the Hive Queen’s Palace. Its location had been projected into Lucas Carr’s mind by his brother who used his own Martian derived mental abilities to take the location and image from Jasonar’s thoughts.
The Hive Queen loved splendor and she had used her drones to turn the structure into a luxurious palace marked by alien treasures of every type. Gems hovered in mid- air and flickered with a weird luminescence.
Tiny winged drones taken from the nobility of Kalanor swarmed around the room as if worshipping their Hive Queen and exulted in proximity to her sultry form.
The captive League reacted instantly even for men under mental domination!
Green Lantern’s power ring blazed with emerald energy but it was met with an explosion of yellow energy generated from the eyes of the silent Inheritor!
The golden robot passed through the green beam and elongated his arms to envelop Green Lantern! Directed by Snapper earlier, it knew the ring was powerless against anything of a yellow color.
Rather than fall before the relentless assault, Green Lantern used the ring indirectly against Inheritor by causing the projected energy to erupt upward from beneath the palace foundation to send rubble hurling at him!
The Inheritor shrugged off the attack and expanded his body until he sailed upward and forward and covered his foe!
Nearby the Flash had dashed into battle like the human whirlwind he was and the wind from his motions struck the newcomers like a storm!
Sunshrike resisted the winds and with wings that enabled him to soar through airless space, he swooped down on the Scarlet Speedster with stunning impact.
James Carr tapped into his own duplicate power ring to send a giant green fist crashing into Superman! The Man of Steel grunted but broke through to confront the young man.
“This isn’t easy. I mean, you’re Superman. How can anyone fight Superman?” he gasped as he held out one Martian elongated and altered hand to reveal a glowing green rock!
Superman fell back as the radiation from the Kryptonite the new team had secured via skillful use of the dimensional traveler’s enhanced teleporting properties washed over him.
Saranna ignored her father’s warning to be careful and darted forward to fire a ray gun at the Manhunter!
He shrank back in dismay as flames encircled his body.
Batman prepared to put out the fire that trapped his partner but Lucas Carr steered his own hovering cart forward and used his power to teleport himself out of the agile Caped Crusader’s path and return behind him. He had no delusions about being able to beat Batman in a fight but he hoped he could
The Atom sailed across the air adjusting his size and weight controls! The small hero crashed into Saranna and knocked the gun from her hands.
He was slapped across the room by the Inheritor who seemed to be able to see in every direction and merely projected a new limb from his own back to strike the Atom.
Sunshrike had managed to overwhelm the Flash with his own superior speed! The mutated bird-man was incredibly fast and he was much stronger than the Scarlet Speedster!
Batman managed to connect with Snapper in spite of the young man’s teleportation power. He struck him with a ruthless efficiency and Snapper collapsed within his hover chair!
Meanwhile, the flames had both weakened and trapped the Martian Manhunter but the swarming drones summoned by their Hive Queen smothered the flames and freed the Leaguer!
He smiled coldly and flew into battle as Saranna screamed and her father tried to shoot an energy beam of his own at the hulking alien!
He was too slow and in seconds both father and daughter were in the grip of the now giant –sized Martian!
James had managed to tap into the speed of Superman to rocket forward and break the couple free from the Martian’s hands but even his speed failed to prevent the alien from punching him in passing.
He grunted and then shrank from view to return with stunning force as he combined the Atom’s power with that of Superman himself!
He erupted through the Martian’s pliable form and left him groaning in pain before he connected with a flurry of punches!
His heat vision ignited the Martian and he nodded in approval as he saw the Inheritor drop a defeated Green Lantern at his feet.
Batman had tried to shield Superman from the Green Kryptonite but he was ripped into the air and slammed into the drones by the blindingly fast Sunshrike!
As James flew over to confront the Hive Queen herself, she shrieked in anger and raised her gleaming magno-nucleo wand!
“You will all bow down to me! I can still make you my subjects!” she hissed.
James suspected that the robotic Inheritor was immune to her power but he wondered if that immunity was something he could also duplicate!
He concentrated for a moment and then he smiled broadly.
He raised his hand and displayed an exact copy of the wand!
“I can duplicate your weapons too just like I did the power ring worn by your Lantern! I think I just cancelled your hold on them all!” he said.
Sure enough Batman and the other Lawless Leaguers blinked rapidly and shook off the spell that had entranced them! Superman regained his feet as the Kryptonite was removed. He was alive and should recover.
Snapper was awake again too and his fingers were snapping furiously. He was very proud of his brother.
Green Lantern said, “You freed us! How can we thank you?”
The enraged Hive Queen screamed, “You need not offer your gratitude since the bombs planted here will soon destroy you all!”
As Saranna revived Snapper, Jasonar turned to the others.
“I never realized they would rather see Kalanor perish if they could not dominate it!”
James said, “We’ve got to neutralize the bombs now!”
He had not won his first victory to see things fall to ruin now!
8
Aoron
Evil Star shuddered as he leaned against one of his starlings. He was tired. He had expended too much of the newly absorbed energy he had taken after Starbreaker’s death. Oh it was true using that vast energy as directed through his Stand Band to remotely empower and enhance the Hive Queen’s winged drones, the Headmen, and the Quazars had been a brilliant new use of his old power. It had enabled them to do things beyond their own past limitations. The drones could not fly through the void of outer space before nor could the Quazars transmit fear except via a living carrier and he had enabled them to overcome these weaknesses! Their victories were his victories! However, now as he waited for the bombs to detonate and his power to be greater than ever before, he felt tired and he knew he had over extended himself.
“It shall all be worthwhile when I drain the energy released by my bombs on those worlds!” he whispered.
“You shall not drain that destructive power because I have already done so! I took the energy directly from the bombs on each world. None of the worlds were seriously damaged since I took the concussive force of the bombs into my essence! They did not destroy any of your targets and I benefited greatly from their terrible might.”
Evil Star scowled as he saw a newcomer approach him across the ruined plains of Aoron.
He was humanoid with long platinum colored hair and golden skin. He was dressed in red and blue and he smiled enigmatically at the ruler of Aoron.
“Who are you? What are you?” he demanded.
“While the form I wear is based upon that of a robotic being known as the Inheritor, it is merely a container for my true essence. I was once known as the Unimaginable and I sought to be a hero but I was angry and arrogant and did not know the meaning of the term. I lost my life or most of it when I defied the Princess of Apokolips Pandora. I was honored and given posthumous membership in the Justice League of America on Earth!
“You are no robot! I can tell as much!” said Evil Star.
“No. I am fully human now but I based my appearance upon that of the Inheritor. I drifted through space as nothing more than a mere mental presence until Starbreaker’s demise. Just as you took some of his power I tapped into enough to enable me to trace the rest of it to you. I learned of your evil plan and I vowed to stop it. As a being of pure thought, I was able to simultaneously transmit myself to all the planets you threatened. I could do nothing more but wait and then drink in all the power contained in each of your bombs! I saved those worlds and in doing so I gained enough power to create this physical body for myself! I wish to be a hero,” he said.
Evil Star glowed with a purple radiance as he said, “I curse you! You have thwarted my ambitions. I am weakened now but you will regret this. I will submit to you since I sense you possess more power than the humanity you boast of so readily would suggest! Take me to Oa or whatever prison you wish. I am still immortal and have time to rest and regain my power! I will return and emblazon my name across the stars when I rule all!”
The Unimaginable shook his head and looked at Evil Star with eyes that gleamed with emotion.
“No. You misunderstood me. I said I want to be a hero. I am not one yet and do not limit myself to the actions one would associate with a noble being.”
He reached out and slowly the glow around Evil Star dimmed until he was left powerless! All of his starlings had been absorbed as well.
“You robbed me of my remaining power! I am dying! By the stars, I am dying!” he cried as his now wizened form collapsed to the rough sands of Aoron.
The Unimaginable nodded and waited and then calmly lifted the now dark Star Band from the dead man’s body.
“It is not quite empty of power but it its master is gone now!” he said as he tossed it aside and flew upward.
The corpse of the being known only as Evil Star would soon be covered by the shifting sands of the barren world he had once ruled.
The golden being once called the Unimaginable did not look back as he soared into the heavens.
“It is done. Now, begins my true quest for heroism and for that elusive quality known as humanity. I shall begin it with a more appropriate name than that of the Unimaginable. Let me now be known as the Mage!” he said.
Epilogue
Thronn
Alyssa the Golden Blade had to admit that she had been wrong about their former foe Vant Orl. He truly had used his genius to help them defeat the Headmen. She would offer him her thanks when she returned to the Presidential Palace. For now, as she and her teammates, including Pulsar and Ron Avon who had decided to stay on Thronn, surveyed the damage to their planet, it was enough to merely know they had won and they would have time to restore the world to its former greatness.
Torma
Volar (Ren Uoxon) wept joyful tears as she embraced her parents and the Galactons watched from one side. They had offered her membership in their Sorority of Space Heroines and she had accepted just as she had also been welcomed home by her family and her people at last!
“My gender doesn’t matter anymore to them! I really am home! I truly can go home again!” she thought with a smile as the people of Torma…her people….cheered her return!
Kalanor
The League expressed their thanks to the Carr brothers and Jasonar and Saranna as they secured the defeated Hive Queen and vowed to repair any damage done to the planet they had briefly enslaved.
“We want to return to defend Planet X when we are done here. We made a vow to do so!” explained Batman.
Jasonar said, “We understand. You were not to blame for your actions while under Tazzala’s spell!”
Saranna kissed James Carr and said, “And what of you? Will you stay with us? Will you stay with me a while?”
James nodded readily as his brother snapped his fingers and said, “In my own words from the distant past: like yeah, cats!”
Lucas knew he would return home in time. He had Jayne Payton to come home to and he wanted his work with Dr. Danvers to continue but for now it was enough to see his little brother’s joy at being a hero.
Sunshrike smiled but he knew his own plans called for him to return to exploring space. The silent robotic Inheritor had vanished. Its form had been altered into living flesh by the Unimaginable though no one on Kalanor realized what had happened to their robotic ally nor did they imagine his strange new destiny.
As the Mage made his way into space he gave little thought to the worlds he had saved. He had more to achieve if he was to truly become the hero he wanted to be. His quest would be an epic one!
The End