JUSTICE #18: 'Orphans of the Storm'

April, 1988
(22 Pages)

Cover Artist: Lee Weeks
Writer: Peter David
Penciler: Lee Weeks
Inker: Tony DeZuniga
Letterer: Agustin Mas
Colorist: Janet Jackson
Editor: Howard Mackie
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

Summary:

Justice strolls through a park, past a mother reading to her two children, and a young couple laying in the grass, kissing and fondling. He scares a dog that escapes from its master and stands there growling at him. He continues past several children playing, until reaching his destination: a park bench where another white haired man sits.

The man's name is Glen Baker, a paranormal who can see into the future 48 hours, who has used it for personal gain. Justice tells him he doesn't warrant death, but justice must be extracted. Glen tells Justice to grab some bench next to a breathing dead man. Justice retorts about Glen dying his hair. Glen explains that something he saw with his beloved power made his hair white. He talks of Armageddon, to which Justice offers to make sure Glen isn't here when it comes.

A brillant white flash, like that of an atomic bomb at ground zero, streaks across the sky. Next comes the sound of the explosion. Justice realizes the dog has dropped dead, thinking maybe he was the smart one, and then the aftershock hits. He reaches for a child so that he may save her, only for the poor child's coat to rip, sending her flying. Justice prays that Glen's death is a quick one. Raising his shields, the baby Justice passed by earlier is hurling towards him. He jumps up into the maelstrom, snatching the baby and its infant chair out of the air before re-establishing his shields. At this point, he questions his belief in God, his shields drop, and right before he hits the ground they come back up, causing him to crash through an advertisement for the Pittsburgh Steelers, hit the ground again and skid almost thirty feet, leaving a small ditch in the ground behind him. Before passing out, he manages to say; "Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore."

Waking from a dream, Justice vaporizes the throw rug and draws a design in it, wondering where he is. Stumbling downstairs, he runs into an elderly woman holding the baby he rescued, trying to feed it. She screams for her husband, Willy, to come in (Tensen scared the heck out of her). They discuss the disaster, and Willy turns on the television, catching a news report. Justice gets up at the end of it, vowing to investigate what happened. Making his way to Pittsburgh, he's stopped by a military road block, three miles away. Charm doesn't work, so Justice uses brute force until Mr. Terrence Updike of the National Security Council tells them to stop firing and allows him to investigate.

Using his shields he steps up into the sky. After half an hour, with his legs exhausted, he sees that Pittsburgh has been reduced to a smoldering crater. He returns to Willy and Edna's home, inquiring about the child. He asks them to eventually adopt the child, they argue about their age and the fact that anyone would want a healthy child. Justice then points out that the child has been deafened by the explosion, and so will need special care.

Summary written by Rod Myers Jr.