Post by redsycorax on Apr 24, 2024 4:56:22 GMT
On Earth-952, the world entered a devastating nuclear/conventional war in 1952 when the USSR invaded Yugoslavia after Tito's assassination. The war ended in 1955, with communism overthrown in Russia, but not China, and substantial areas of the United States, Western Europe and Russia devastated by nuclear airdrops. As for the world's mightiest heroes of that era, they each fared differently. Superman had to deal with the heartbreak of losing Lois Lane to radiation poisoning, while in Gotham, Batwoman grieved the loss of her niece Bette Kane (Bat-Girl) when New York was destroyed. Given the destruction of Washington DC and her inability to prevent the devastation of eastern US cities, Wonder Woman returned to Paradise Island to mourn Steve Trevor's brave but pointless sacrifice in a thwarted attempt to save the nation's capital. Green Arrow lost Speedy to an outlaw's bullet and he was left alone to police an anarchic Star City in the throes of economic collapse. In the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantis has been destroyed and amongst its dead, Aquaman.
Ten years later...
++
GOTHAM:
"Batwoman..."
"What is it, Batman? And if this is about the incident on Ravello Drive last week, save your criticism. I did what I had to do."
"You've been using excessive force lately, Kathy. I'm worried about you."
"Don't patronise me, Bruce!" Batwoman snapped back at him.
"Against women?"
Batwoman sighed and shook her head: "Look, Bruce, this whole world has no time or place for misguided chivalry. Given the gender imbalance that the war created, yes, there are more female criminals out there now, and while we're all willing to cut some leeway when it's just a widow turning to petty crime trying to feed her orphaned children, the same cannot and must not apply to female drug runners and distributors, mob bosses and gang hitwomen. If they carry on like their male counterparts, they get treated the same way as their male counterparts. Look at the GCPD records if you aren't willing to take my word."
There was some distant applause from a black clad figure who carried a bow and wore a hood to conceal his mask:
"Green Arrow?"
"Obsidian Arrow, now, Batman. Good to see you. I finally managed to get Star City under enough control to lend a hand here, if you need me."
Batwoman raised an eyebrow: "Was that applause for me?"
"I like your approach to law enforcement, Batwoman. I used to have a female counterpart called Queen Arrow for a while, although she died when Coast City went up. A pity."
Batwoman nodded: "I've always had some interest in archery myself. Given that countermeasures call for developing some expertise, perhaps you and I can go on joint patrol at some point."
Batman frowned at this: "A word of caution. We do not use firearms ourselves, nor do we kill. And although the GCPD is lenient on the use of reasonable force, they're becoming worryingly tolerant when it comes to excessive force."
Obsidian Arrow responded: "Perhaps it's not as bad here as it was out in Star City. I've had to use lethal force a handful of times. And we have had to restore the death penalty out there."
"We have been relatively fortunate here. Most of my 'rogues gallery' reformed, with the exception of the Joker. My former companion Robin is now Nightwing and out on his own in Metropolis. Commissioner Dent runs a fairly tight ship here, although I do miss Jim Gordon sometimes. Although there is the Joker..."
Batwoman cleared her throat: "Ahem. He's getting worse, Batman. Have you read the forensic reports from Director Quinzel at Arkham? He's becoming increasingly psychotic. And resistant to chemical restraints, given the production shortage. Anyway, nice meeting you, Obsidian Arrow. Please, take up my joint patrol offer. And perhaps we can also talk shop."
As she sped off on her Batcycle, Obsidian Arrow whistled: "Is that Kathy Kane? She's gotten harder-edged over the years."
"She's excellent in the field, Oliver, but she's got me worried. She changed after losing Bat-Girl and overcoming her drinking problem. And given what we've all had to face, she's definitely lost innocence and a degree of compassion over the years."
"Do you talk much to Clark lately?"
"Not since he shifted to Cheyenne as the Daily Planet National Affairs reporter. I'm afraid the "World's Finest" team doesn't get as much time together as we used to."
"Is it my imagination, or has he changed since he lost Lois to radiation cancer?"
"That, and the developments with Lex Luthor. Now that's something I wish would happen here with the Joker, although Kathy's right, damn it. He's too far gone. But Lex... hell, he's cleaned up his act. He saw the light and reformed after the end of the war and his humanitarian and technological prowess have saved thousands of lives. And then there's that other development..."
CHEYENNE:
"President Luthor will see you now, Mr Kent."
"Clark! How are you? I haven't seen you in months."
"I was following the western coastal reirrigation project over in California."
"It seems so long ago since Smallville, doesn't it? When you and I were young. Now, though, we lead such different lives. And to think I once suspected you of being Superman, and Lois and I fought interminably over him. Poor Lois. I may have been her rival in love, but when it came down to it, you were there for her right through her battle against radiation cancer. I suppose that decided me on my own course of action after Lex reformed."
"The better man won, Lana. And look at you now. The second US female president."
"Even if Eleanor Roosevelt's going to be a tough act to follow, I know I have what it takes. I have a good man alongside me."
"How's Lex taking the position of, er, "First Gentleman?"
"He's got everything he wanted. Corporate power, scientific reknown, forgiveness for his criminal period. In a way, I think the war was the making of him. It certainly made me love him."
Clark managed a smile, but inside, regret rained. He didn't realise the quality of Lana Lang until it was too late, and while he was mourning Lois' death, Lex reformed and in the process of reformation, won Lana's heart as she stopped hoping Superman would take her hand in marriage and found a new man in her life.
And now Lana Luthor was President Lana Luthor and as unreachable to him as the farthest star.
Still, at least he had...
METROPOLIS:
"Supergirl!"
"Hello, Nightwing. Good to see you again. I've just returned from a decontamination effort northwards. It reminds me so much of what Kal and I lost..."
"I'm just grateful someone competent and careful is here, Kara. It's not like it was ten years ago, I can tell you that. This 'new' generation of heroes, they're almost impossible to distinguish from the villains Bruce and I fought. Does Clark ever talk to you about pre-war life?"
"My parents Zor-El and Alura had some second thoughts about sending me here, but then they located Kal and talked it over. Even if this world is damaged, it hasn't been destroyed altogether. What is it?"
"Trouble, I'm afraid. Look over at Gotham."
"Rao. Is that...no, it can't be... Arkham Asylum?"
"I don't think we can waste time on this. Kara, what does your supersmell sense tell you?"
"It's consistent with a fuel air explosive. Oh, those poor people. Dick, it's the Joker. I can't sense him anywhere. I've got nothing on telescopic vision, x-ray vision, infra-red vision, supersmell or superhearing ranges. And I'd know his particular morphological register anywhere, we've fought enough times."
"Bruce, did you get that?"
GOTHAM:
"Check, Dick. Look, we have a visitor. Star City's ... Obsidian Arrow. He isn't the Oliver Queen you might remember."
"Blazes. You think he might kill the Joker if he gets there first?"
"Either him or Kathy, given how she's been behaving lately."
"I'll be right there. Kara? Can I trouble you for a lift?"
"Thought you'd never ask, handsome..."
And with that, the Woman of Tomorrow lifted the Darknight Dynamo aloft and wrapped him inside her cape as they travelled into the skies above Metropolis.
Little did they know what was waiting for them...
The garish figure of the Clown Prince of Crime was there, with his maniacal grin, cadaverous white skin, and his emerald green hair. He looked upward to witness the incoming assailants and grinned sadistically. He waved at Supergirl and Nightwing and triumphantly held aloft a detonator. Supergirl's x-ray vision scanned it, then she gasped and suddenly veered away from the embattled city. Nightwing asked: "Kara, what is it-"
"Dick, t-that madman has a nuclear detonator. I-if we'd engaged him, he would activate it and G-Gotham would be incinerated. Damn him!"
"Bruce?"
"I don't understand, Dick. He never had that standard of technology before." Then Supergirl's brow furrowed:
"Wait a minute. That isn't the Joker's DNA, not totally. In fact, there are alien polymorphic genome traces... Martian ones..." Kara said as her microscopic vision scanned the Joker.
"J'Onn J'Onnz? But he's been missing since '56."
"I can't fathom J'Onn being party to something like this, Kara, not given what he told us he went through, the civil war that almost destroyed Mars- of course." Batman gasped.
"You mean somehow, the Joker merged with a white Martian?" Nightwing queried
"Which means he has almost Kryptonian class abilities." Supergirl commented.
"Clark?"
In distant Cheyenne, Superman had been watching the unfolding drama and was busily scanning the terrain around the Joker, alerted by his cousin to the presence of residual white Martian genomic traces. Then he found what he was looking for- but as he soared to intercept the deadly payload, a familiar presence appeared alongside him:
"Diana?"
"Clark, the Amazon scientists on Themiscyra foresaw the event in our timesphere. If you do tackle the bomb on your own, or if Kara does, then a motion sensor will detonate and it'll go off. It's salted with green kryptonite. It will kill either of you."
"Diana, I have no choice. I've had a good life. If it has to come to this, I'll gladly sacrifice my life to save a city of millions."
"I know you will, old friend. But it's set to Kryptonian physiology, which means..."
"Diana, no! Would Steve had wanted you to do this? Would Hippolyta? And how can you stop me?" And then, from her invisible jet's locker, Wonder Woman produced:
"Red kryptonite? Diana, what have you done? Powers...ebbing... diminishing... I won't be able to make it there in time."
"No, Clark. But I will." And with that, the invisible plane accelerated away. It reached Gotham an instant later and Wonder Woman wrenched free the metallic canister that held the nuclear device and accelerated skyward, as the countdown sequence ticked down to...
To a moment where a green luminscent form materialised alongside her:
"Lex Luthor?!"
"Experimental teleport device, Princess."
"Please, get back to Cheyenne. The device will detonate within two minutes!"
"Well, now. This world needs icons of heroism. It needs a Superman, a Batman and a Wonder Woman. Too much for me to allow you to let you throw your life away."
"Lex, you don't have to prove yourself! You've redeemed yourself over and over again since you put aside your quarrel with Superman!"
"Goodbye, Princess. Tell Lana I love her. I love her so much. I'm only sorry that I was such a fool for so long until we realised it." And with that, Lex Luthor snapped a teleport bracelet on Wonder Woman's wrist and activated it. Lex Luthor looked out over the fragile, pockmarked planet below, smiling to himself.
Two minutes later, and one hundred thousand miles above the Earth, a five megaton nuclear device exploded. And in the midst of that inferno perished one of humanity's homeborn heroes, whose brilliance had improved and lifted so many human lives out of post-apocalyptic despair and hopelessness.
Miles below, Superman looked away from the momentary, blinding pinpoint of light. Sombrely, he commented:
"Oh, Lex. What have you done? Okay, you win. There's no way that I'll ever surmount this, even if I would have gladly done so. Goodbye... old friend..."
In Gotham, Supergirl had moved in and used her heat vision to construct a fire ring around the white Martian/Joker hybrid. As the two entities diverged, Batman and Nightwing looked down at the figure:
"Bruce? Dick? What is it?"
"The Joker. The psychological and physiological strain of fusion and divergence must have been too much. He's gone catatonic."
"This has gone beyond Arkham, guys."
"I agree, Dick. He needs something more suitable to his current vegetative state." Bruce commented.
"Except that he won't recover from this. His neural injuries are consistent with a permanent vegetative state."
"Dear god. I never wanted it to end like this."
And days later, the Joker was in a Wayne Relief Foundation neurology ward, on a life support machine, where he would remain for the rest of his life. Some might have argued the justice or merit in allocating such scarce medical resources to a cankered moral outcast like the Joker, but then, heroes are made of the gold within us, not baser matter.
EPILOGUE:
Her heart aching, the newly widowed President Lana Luthor gave her state of the nation address. Clark Kent was sitting in the audience and suddenly, he could hear a faint sound from Lana's vicinity. His eyes widened as he surreptitiously scanned the President's body, and then, as he realised where the sound was coming from, he smiled sadly. President Luthor was the first female President of the United States, true.
She was also the first pregnant woman to hold that role.
[THE END: 5.30 PM, APRIL 30, 2024]
Ten years later...
++
GOTHAM:
"Batwoman..."
"What is it, Batman? And if this is about the incident on Ravello Drive last week, save your criticism. I did what I had to do."
"You've been using excessive force lately, Kathy. I'm worried about you."
"Don't patronise me, Bruce!" Batwoman snapped back at him.
"Against women?"
Batwoman sighed and shook her head: "Look, Bruce, this whole world has no time or place for misguided chivalry. Given the gender imbalance that the war created, yes, there are more female criminals out there now, and while we're all willing to cut some leeway when it's just a widow turning to petty crime trying to feed her orphaned children, the same cannot and must not apply to female drug runners and distributors, mob bosses and gang hitwomen. If they carry on like their male counterparts, they get treated the same way as their male counterparts. Look at the GCPD records if you aren't willing to take my word."
There was some distant applause from a black clad figure who carried a bow and wore a hood to conceal his mask:
"Green Arrow?"
"Obsidian Arrow, now, Batman. Good to see you. I finally managed to get Star City under enough control to lend a hand here, if you need me."
Batwoman raised an eyebrow: "Was that applause for me?"
"I like your approach to law enforcement, Batwoman. I used to have a female counterpart called Queen Arrow for a while, although she died when Coast City went up. A pity."
Batwoman nodded: "I've always had some interest in archery myself. Given that countermeasures call for developing some expertise, perhaps you and I can go on joint patrol at some point."
Batman frowned at this: "A word of caution. We do not use firearms ourselves, nor do we kill. And although the GCPD is lenient on the use of reasonable force, they're becoming worryingly tolerant when it comes to excessive force."
Obsidian Arrow responded: "Perhaps it's not as bad here as it was out in Star City. I've had to use lethal force a handful of times. And we have had to restore the death penalty out there."
"We have been relatively fortunate here. Most of my 'rogues gallery' reformed, with the exception of the Joker. My former companion Robin is now Nightwing and out on his own in Metropolis. Commissioner Dent runs a fairly tight ship here, although I do miss Jim Gordon sometimes. Although there is the Joker..."
Batwoman cleared her throat: "Ahem. He's getting worse, Batman. Have you read the forensic reports from Director Quinzel at Arkham? He's becoming increasingly psychotic. And resistant to chemical restraints, given the production shortage. Anyway, nice meeting you, Obsidian Arrow. Please, take up my joint patrol offer. And perhaps we can also talk shop."
As she sped off on her Batcycle, Obsidian Arrow whistled: "Is that Kathy Kane? She's gotten harder-edged over the years."
"She's excellent in the field, Oliver, but she's got me worried. She changed after losing Bat-Girl and overcoming her drinking problem. And given what we've all had to face, she's definitely lost innocence and a degree of compassion over the years."
"Do you talk much to Clark lately?"
"Not since he shifted to Cheyenne as the Daily Planet National Affairs reporter. I'm afraid the "World's Finest" team doesn't get as much time together as we used to."
"Is it my imagination, or has he changed since he lost Lois to radiation cancer?"
"That, and the developments with Lex Luthor. Now that's something I wish would happen here with the Joker, although Kathy's right, damn it. He's too far gone. But Lex... hell, he's cleaned up his act. He saw the light and reformed after the end of the war and his humanitarian and technological prowess have saved thousands of lives. And then there's that other development..."
CHEYENNE:
"President Luthor will see you now, Mr Kent."
"Clark! How are you? I haven't seen you in months."
"I was following the western coastal reirrigation project over in California."
"It seems so long ago since Smallville, doesn't it? When you and I were young. Now, though, we lead such different lives. And to think I once suspected you of being Superman, and Lois and I fought interminably over him. Poor Lois. I may have been her rival in love, but when it came down to it, you were there for her right through her battle against radiation cancer. I suppose that decided me on my own course of action after Lex reformed."
"The better man won, Lana. And look at you now. The second US female president."
"Even if Eleanor Roosevelt's going to be a tough act to follow, I know I have what it takes. I have a good man alongside me."
"How's Lex taking the position of, er, "First Gentleman?"
"He's got everything he wanted. Corporate power, scientific reknown, forgiveness for his criminal period. In a way, I think the war was the making of him. It certainly made me love him."
Clark managed a smile, but inside, regret rained. He didn't realise the quality of Lana Lang until it was too late, and while he was mourning Lois' death, Lex reformed and in the process of reformation, won Lana's heart as she stopped hoping Superman would take her hand in marriage and found a new man in her life.
And now Lana Luthor was President Lana Luthor and as unreachable to him as the farthest star.
Still, at least he had...
METROPOLIS:
"Supergirl!"
"Hello, Nightwing. Good to see you again. I've just returned from a decontamination effort northwards. It reminds me so much of what Kal and I lost..."
"I'm just grateful someone competent and careful is here, Kara. It's not like it was ten years ago, I can tell you that. This 'new' generation of heroes, they're almost impossible to distinguish from the villains Bruce and I fought. Does Clark ever talk to you about pre-war life?"
"My parents Zor-El and Alura had some second thoughts about sending me here, but then they located Kal and talked it over. Even if this world is damaged, it hasn't been destroyed altogether. What is it?"
"Trouble, I'm afraid. Look over at Gotham."
"Rao. Is that...no, it can't be... Arkham Asylum?"
"I don't think we can waste time on this. Kara, what does your supersmell sense tell you?"
"It's consistent with a fuel air explosive. Oh, those poor people. Dick, it's the Joker. I can't sense him anywhere. I've got nothing on telescopic vision, x-ray vision, infra-red vision, supersmell or superhearing ranges. And I'd know his particular morphological register anywhere, we've fought enough times."
"Bruce, did you get that?"
GOTHAM:
"Check, Dick. Look, we have a visitor. Star City's ... Obsidian Arrow. He isn't the Oliver Queen you might remember."
"Blazes. You think he might kill the Joker if he gets there first?"
"Either him or Kathy, given how she's been behaving lately."
"I'll be right there. Kara? Can I trouble you for a lift?"
"Thought you'd never ask, handsome..."
And with that, the Woman of Tomorrow lifted the Darknight Dynamo aloft and wrapped him inside her cape as they travelled into the skies above Metropolis.
Little did they know what was waiting for them...
The garish figure of the Clown Prince of Crime was there, with his maniacal grin, cadaverous white skin, and his emerald green hair. He looked upward to witness the incoming assailants and grinned sadistically. He waved at Supergirl and Nightwing and triumphantly held aloft a detonator. Supergirl's x-ray vision scanned it, then she gasped and suddenly veered away from the embattled city. Nightwing asked: "Kara, what is it-"
"Dick, t-that madman has a nuclear detonator. I-if we'd engaged him, he would activate it and G-Gotham would be incinerated. Damn him!"
"Bruce?"
"I don't understand, Dick. He never had that standard of technology before." Then Supergirl's brow furrowed:
"Wait a minute. That isn't the Joker's DNA, not totally. In fact, there are alien polymorphic genome traces... Martian ones..." Kara said as her microscopic vision scanned the Joker.
"J'Onn J'Onnz? But he's been missing since '56."
"I can't fathom J'Onn being party to something like this, Kara, not given what he told us he went through, the civil war that almost destroyed Mars- of course." Batman gasped.
"You mean somehow, the Joker merged with a white Martian?" Nightwing queried
"Which means he has almost Kryptonian class abilities." Supergirl commented.
"Clark?"
In distant Cheyenne, Superman had been watching the unfolding drama and was busily scanning the terrain around the Joker, alerted by his cousin to the presence of residual white Martian genomic traces. Then he found what he was looking for- but as he soared to intercept the deadly payload, a familiar presence appeared alongside him:
"Diana?"
"Clark, the Amazon scientists on Themiscyra foresaw the event in our timesphere. If you do tackle the bomb on your own, or if Kara does, then a motion sensor will detonate and it'll go off. It's salted with green kryptonite. It will kill either of you."
"Diana, I have no choice. I've had a good life. If it has to come to this, I'll gladly sacrifice my life to save a city of millions."
"I know you will, old friend. But it's set to Kryptonian physiology, which means..."
"Diana, no! Would Steve had wanted you to do this? Would Hippolyta? And how can you stop me?" And then, from her invisible jet's locker, Wonder Woman produced:
"Red kryptonite? Diana, what have you done? Powers...ebbing... diminishing... I won't be able to make it there in time."
"No, Clark. But I will." And with that, the invisible plane accelerated away. It reached Gotham an instant later and Wonder Woman wrenched free the metallic canister that held the nuclear device and accelerated skyward, as the countdown sequence ticked down to...
To a moment where a green luminscent form materialised alongside her:
"Lex Luthor?!"
"Experimental teleport device, Princess."
"Please, get back to Cheyenne. The device will detonate within two minutes!"
"Well, now. This world needs icons of heroism. It needs a Superman, a Batman and a Wonder Woman. Too much for me to allow you to let you throw your life away."
"Lex, you don't have to prove yourself! You've redeemed yourself over and over again since you put aside your quarrel with Superman!"
"Goodbye, Princess. Tell Lana I love her. I love her so much. I'm only sorry that I was such a fool for so long until we realised it." And with that, Lex Luthor snapped a teleport bracelet on Wonder Woman's wrist and activated it. Lex Luthor looked out over the fragile, pockmarked planet below, smiling to himself.
Two minutes later, and one hundred thousand miles above the Earth, a five megaton nuclear device exploded. And in the midst of that inferno perished one of humanity's homeborn heroes, whose brilliance had improved and lifted so many human lives out of post-apocalyptic despair and hopelessness.
Miles below, Superman looked away from the momentary, blinding pinpoint of light. Sombrely, he commented:
"Oh, Lex. What have you done? Okay, you win. There's no way that I'll ever surmount this, even if I would have gladly done so. Goodbye... old friend..."
In Gotham, Supergirl had moved in and used her heat vision to construct a fire ring around the white Martian/Joker hybrid. As the two entities diverged, Batman and Nightwing looked down at the figure:
"Bruce? Dick? What is it?"
"The Joker. The psychological and physiological strain of fusion and divergence must have been too much. He's gone catatonic."
"This has gone beyond Arkham, guys."
"I agree, Dick. He needs something more suitable to his current vegetative state." Bruce commented.
"Except that he won't recover from this. His neural injuries are consistent with a permanent vegetative state."
"Dear god. I never wanted it to end like this."
And days later, the Joker was in a Wayne Relief Foundation neurology ward, on a life support machine, where he would remain for the rest of his life. Some might have argued the justice or merit in allocating such scarce medical resources to a cankered moral outcast like the Joker, but then, heroes are made of the gold within us, not baser matter.
EPILOGUE:
Her heart aching, the newly widowed President Lana Luthor gave her state of the nation address. Clark Kent was sitting in the audience and suddenly, he could hear a faint sound from Lana's vicinity. His eyes widened as he surreptitiously scanned the President's body, and then, as he realised where the sound was coming from, he smiled sadly. President Luthor was the first female President of the United States, true.
She was also the first pregnant woman to hold that role.
[THE END: 5.30 PM, APRIL 30, 2024]