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Post by johnreiter902 on Sept 30, 2018 13:32:12 GMT
So, I suspect Looker also made a deal with the Devil. She would be just the sort of person Neron would be interested in.
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Post by DocQuantum on Oct 10, 2018 23:47:43 GMT
The Citadel, Los Angeles:
"What the--?!" cried Lia Briggs.
"Where are we?" said Gaby Doe, Wendy Doe clinging to her from behind and looking worried.
Tatsu Yamashiro had already drawn her sword and was about to attack when she saw the strange-looking alien before her. But when she saw Jeff Pierce standing in his Black Lightning outfit next to the alien, she quickly put two and two together.
"Sorry 'bout the abrupt 'port," rumbled the huge alien Green Lantern called Kilowog as he held up his glowing green ring. "You Earth poozers aren't used ta instantaneous transport, are ya?"
"Jeff, darling, I'm happy to see you," said Lia, frowning. "But a little warning would have been nice."
"Good to see you, too, Lia," said Black Lightning. "We don't have time for small talk just now, but we could really use your help -- if you're up for it!"
"Always, darling," Lia replied with a quick smile, her eyes suddenly flashing blue.
"Then suit up, everyone," said Black Lightning. "'Cause there's a mad bomber loose in this city, and there's no one better qualified than the Outsiders to bring 'im down!"
***
Minutes later, the Outsiders stood upon a rooftop as they watched a group of costumed men and women deliver the mad bomber, a super-terrorist called the Annihilator, into police custody. The Annihilator had already been cuffed with special power-dampening gauntlets purchased a while back from the Metropolis Special Crimes Unit.
Below, the group of new super-heroes who had stopped the Annihilator were signing autographs for an eager, adoring crowd. No one below bothered to look up to see the Outsiders as they watched another super-team
"Well, I wasn't expecting that," muttered Black Lightning with a frown.
"Who are those people?" asked Halo.
"And who designed those gaudy costumes?" sniffed Looker.
You're one to talk, thought Katana, remaining silent.
"Looks like nobody needed you poozers after all," observed Kilowog.
"Yep," Black Lightning said with a slight grin. "Whoever they are, they've managed to outshine the Outsiders without even knowing it." With a shrug, he added, "Well, it's not as if we expected to be the only game in town, right? Something like this was bound to happen eventually, and besides, the world could always use more heroes, right?"
But try as he might, Jefferson Pierce couldn't even convince himself with those words, let alone the others. And he certainly wasn't prepared for what they'd learn about this new team next.
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Post by johnreiter902 on Oct 11, 2018 17:09:54 GMT
I'm in terrible suspense. I still don't know who those heroes are.
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Post by DocQuantum on Oct 11, 2018 23:49:18 GMT
Doctor Mist was proud of everything he had accomplished over the last two years. He and his team had tightened up of the core Global Guardians team, had shifted from using makeshift groups on an as-needed basis to working with local teams dedicated to specific nations or areas. But his greatest accomplishment so far had been the establishment of the communications nexus known as the Dome. (*) There Doctor Mist could oversee and coordinate teams to hot spots all over the globe, upon receiving legal permission from the United Nations Security Council. Of course, there were situations that called for immediate action, and the Global Guardians were authorized to take such action under these circumstances.
Mist couldn't have accomplished all of this had it not been for the vision and dedication of his partner in this venture, Catherine Cobert. The French woman had originally envisioned the Justice League of America as a Justice League International, an internationally based team of the world's greatest super-heroes that would protect the entire world in a more official capacity, complete with embassies in each UN member nation and local chapters founded as needed. (*) While the JLA had not exactly been receptive to her offer -- saying they could protect the world just as well from the JLA Satellite under their current UN charter -- Doctor Mist had been very receptive, having foreseen a time when the old way he'd worked with the Global Guardians would become too unwieldy. As a team, the Global Guardians would be far more adaptable to her ideas than the JLA could have been.
Decades ago Doctor Mist had foreseen a time when the number of meta-humans and super-heroes would grow large enough in various places around the world that each region would require a more hands-on approach via local teams. He'd been proven correct since the Crisis on Infinite Earths as such teams began to form organically on their own, some even including longtime members of the Global Guardians. The Paladins in the United Kingdom, the Defenseurs in France, the Bush Rangers in Australia, and the newest team, Northwatch in Canada, were but a few. There were other local gatherings of heroes who used no name of their own but flew under the all-inclusive banner of the Global Guardians, including teams in Asia, South America, Europe, and Africa.
The international Global Guardians embassies had been the most difficult to set up, but already such embassies were established and active wherever any of these teams had been formed.
The embassies essentially acted as local field offices and resource coordinators in a given country or region. They were also available to be used as local headquarters for each team or Global Guardians member, but few had taken up the offer thus far, as many of the already established teams had headquarters of their own.
Catherine Cobert's latest coup had been to establish a partnership with an individual who was arguably the greatest single source of information on the Earth's meta-humans: Oracle. Working remotely, the mysterious Oracle offered her time not only acting as an information broker and super-hero coordinator, but also as a computer systems analyst, and the Global Guardians ensured that she was well-compensated for it. Doctor Mist knew that Lyla would be busy with a newborn baby soon, so he had trained a team to support Oracle in her work.
That work was sorely needed now, when virtually all of the super-villains in the world, from the least to the greatest, had collectively declared war upon humanity. Doctor Mist already knew who was behind it all, having kept an eye on Neron for centuries now, and was aware that the threat was dire indeed. That was why all hands were on deck this day at the Dome.
Doctor Mist grew concerned as he saw the rapid departure of Morgaine le Fey from Grim Island. Having helped found the Grimoire Academy, Mist always kept an eye on it, and was aware of Morgaine's appearance there as soon as the headmaster knew. After her defeat, she was apparently cast into Hell itself. But Doctor Mist knew that this was not the case, and that she had certainly escaped once more.
Thanks to a combination of intel gathering and precognition, he knew that a number of super-villain teams had been hired to each travel to a location around the globe for some unknown purpose. All his agents had been able to figure out so far was that they had each been hired by a mysterious figure calling herself Fay Avalon. Could this be Morgaine le Fey using an alias? It seemed incredible, but it was a distinct possibility he could not ignore, especially since he was convinced that she still lived and had plans of her own.
That was why he had used his supernatural abilities to send messages to teams and groupings in various nations who were already affiliated with the Global Guardians. Whatever she was up to, he would ensure that his agents would stop her.
For many centuries the man once named Nommo had remained in his ancient stronghold in the darkest African jungle for fear of what he was capable of. The immortal mystic knew through firsthand experience the truth of Lord Acton's often-quoted statement: "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." It was thanks to the sheer power he wielded at his fingertips, as well as his sheer hubris, that the ancient empire of Kor had been destroyed many thousands of years ago. From that day forward, Nommo had been a man of deep regret, one who vowed never to let himself or anyone else cause such destruction in the world ever again. Ever since then he had cloistered himself away in the dusty, overgrown remains of his empire, using simple illusions to scare away anyone who dared to approach the haunted ruins. Over the centuries, people traveling upriver toward his mountain fortress were scared off by an armor-clad warrior in his image who threw a huge spear toward them. (*) For those brave enough to still venture on after that, he had prepared other surprises to scare them off. It was in this way that he had made himself one of the loneliest men in the world. (*)
Yet he had not remained idle. For many years now, acting under the pseudonym of Doctor Mist, he had been active in the world through his various agents. In decades past they had included such figures as Mister Delta, who had worked with the international team of Blackhawks, and wealthy financier John Mayhew. It was Mayhew through whom he had taken his next steps to secure the safety of the world after having seen how close the world was taken to the brink of annihilation, first when Nazi Germany came close to winning World War II, and then twenty years later when that war's victors, the United States and the Soviet Union, nearly destroyed the world through a nuclear war. Mayhew had been a kindred spirit who had also foreseen that such menaces and more would be multiplied in the years to come, growing in number and intensity, and that the safety of the world would need to be secured against them. John Mayhew was thus instrumental in forming not only the Club of Heroes, but its predecessor, the Batmen of All Nations, as well as the Green Arrows of the World. A few years earlier he had even been the masked figure called Mister Cipher who was behind the ill-fated attempt to turn the high-flying team of international adventurers called the Blackhawks into the world's first international super-hero team.
But none of those projects had been as successful as the Global Guardians, which Mayhew had been instrumental in forming shortly before his death in 1982. (*)
[(*) Editor's note: See Secret Origins: The Global Guardians: Times Past, 1982: Heroes of the World, Unite!]
There had been times when a more hands-on approach was needed, of course, since acting through agents only worked so far. In those rare occasions, Doctor Mist had employed a mystically created simulacrum of himself to act in his place. (*) The simulacrum of Doctor Mist was far less powerful than he and was often used for mundane activities, such as meetings with the United Nations Security Council and other governmental bodies, who regarded him merely as an international dignitary rather than the ancient sorcerer he was. But he disliked having to use such a simulacrum, since it required his full attention and concentration to support, while leaving his stronghold open and nearly defenseless. He longed to rejoin the human race once more, but knew it was impossible.
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Post by dave on Oct 12, 2018 0:04:21 GMT
Interesting beginning Doc. I lied the Blackhawks reference. Feel free to use any of the origin story I wrote for the Earth 1 Blackhawk. Dave
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Post by johnreiter902 on Oct 12, 2018 10:27:37 GMT
This was a great way to tie together the threads of all the attempts at international super-teams
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Post by DocQuantum on Oct 13, 2018 17:44:03 GMT
With a regretful sigh, Doctor Mist turned away from the monitors and his reveries as he called to his assistant, who was the official director of the Dome. "Catherine?"
"Oui, Docteur?" said the brunette Catherine Cobert, smiling as she looked up from her notebook.
"I'm afraid it's that time again," replied Mist, who was dressed in a black business suit, having met with members of the United Nations Security Council earlier that day. "Take care of the world for me."
"As always, Docteur," replied Catherine.
With a nod of his head, Doctor Mist walked out of the monitor room and down a darkened corridor. As he walked, he -- or, rather, his simulacrum -- began to become transparent with each step, as if he were turning into mist.
Catherine sighed as she watched him vanish, knowing he would be alone once again, as he always was in truth. But at least, she thought to herself, he was still able to reach the outside world through his mystical powers. His loneliness could have been much worse.
"Cathy!" came a New Zealand accent from an adjoining room. Whatever it was, the tone in Tuatara's voice was rather urgent. And, given his power to see through time with his third eye, he was possibly the most useful member of the Global Guardians. Since he had begun developing his precognitive powers, he had become even more useful.
"Oui, Jeremy, what ees it?" she asked, entering a darkened room where Jeremy Wakefield sat on a reclining chair.
The New Zealand hero who called himself Tuatara after the lizard with the supposed third eye took off the noise-cancelling earmuffs he wore and looked at her in alarm.
"Evacuate the Dome!" cried Tuatara in a wild tone of voice. "We need to get everyone out of here now!"
Catherine's eyes narrowed as she tried to gauge how serious the situation really was. "Was eet one of your visions, Jeremy? Did you see ze future?"
"Indeed," he said, rising quickly from his chair. "And I've been able to confirm it with my time-vision. The Dome is about to be attacked!"
"But how--?"
"No time, Catherine!" replied Tuatara. "You know as well as I do that we don't have any other Global Guardians on site for this kind of emergency. The world's gone crazy, and everyone is out fighting criminals in their own countries!"
"What about Les Defenseurs?" asked Catherine, but she already knew the answer to her question. "Ah, but zey are also occupied with ze super-villain crisis, and have -- how you say -- zere hands full."
"Yeah, so it's up to you and I to evacuate the Dome before it's attacked!" said Tuatara. "My visions tell me the Dome is about to be attacked by someone very large and very powerful -- someone I didn't recognize, but who holds an old grudge against the Global Guardians."
Pointing, Tuatara added, "You take the east wing, and I'll take the west. We need to get everyone outside and well away from the building in the next ten minutes!"
With a curt nod, Catherine Cobert turned toward the east wing. Perhaps, she thought, it was time for the return of an old identity she had abandoned a few years earlier, after she had split from Doctor Mist and the Global Guardians, and she had sought to create a Justice League International. Then, it had seemed prudent to use her real name as she met with government officials and super-heroes alike; the name of Catherine Cobert gave her efforts the legitimacy that her former code name never could have.
But in a crisis like this one, perhaps it was time to once more become Belphegor.
And come back here for the final fate of the Dome!
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Post by lawrenceliberty on Oct 15, 2018 14:29:17 GMT
I really like your connection of Catherine with Belphegar! Good ida.
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Post by DocQuantum on Oct 15, 2018 18:05:01 GMT
Thanks! I think it’s possible that the two are the same character in the Post-Crisis DCU, too, since Belphegor’s last appearance is just before Catherine’s first. I’ll have some more background to her history soon.
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Post by starskyhutch76 on Oct 17, 2018 21:14:26 GMT
I really like the way you're fleshing out the Global Guardians organization.
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Post by johnreiter902 on Oct 18, 2018 0:08:30 GMT
One thing I've always wondered about the Global Guardians, of all the American superheroes, why did they choose Owlwoman as a member? In most countries they either recruited the only local hero, or the most acclaimed hero (which, in the US, would be Superman). Why choose a virtual unknown hero? Personally, I think there may be a great untold story about how Dr. Mist ended up choosing to recruit Owlwoman into the GG.
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Post by starskyhutch76 on Oct 18, 2018 16:07:09 GMT
Being a mystic, perhaps Dr, Mist placed the Dome at the intersection of ley lines so he could cast a spell of protection over it. As part of that spell, the heroes need to be indigenous people of their region, allowing them to be transported to and enter the Dome. If Tasmanian Devil had aborigine blood in him, then the Dome would still accept him.
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Post by lawrenceliberty on Oct 18, 2018 17:11:34 GMT
I established that Tuatara's grandfather had worked with Dr. Mist years ago so perhaps Owlwoman is also not the first member of her family to be a heroine. Could there have been an Old West or Colonial era Owlwoman who was the ancestor of the current one? She worked with Dr. Mist so it has become a family tradition.
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Post by johnreiter902 on Oct 19, 2018 12:21:48 GMT
I like both theories, and they could both be true, if we assumed that both Tasmanian Devil and Bushmaster were related to native people in their region. I favor the legacy theory myself though. It makes sense that when Dr. Mist first recruited in the USA, most superpowered heroes would be native american.
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Post by DocQuantum on Oct 19, 2018 16:59:41 GMT
That’s a really intriguing idea. Having no European background at all, Doctor Mist would certainly have agents from all kinds of backgrounds, especially those who would be overlooked in the age of European Imperialism and Colonization.
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