JLA #3
Know Fear - Part Three
The Doorways of The Mind
By
In every man, woman, and child, there is a pre-written tendency toward their outlook on life and the world. For some, it is the desire to see the best in everything, to witness the wages of humanity utilizing their potentials for the betterment of the world-at-large. These are men and women who strive forward with a benevolent purpose, intent upon the portrayal of Justice, even on the smallest of scales. Society calls these men and women heroes, and their deeds are the inspiration of the people.
And then, there are those for whom the world is a vast platform of opportunity, an orchard of rich fruit, ripe for the picking. These people exploit the potential of mankind for their own personal gain, banking their worth on levels of power, monetary wealth, and often fear. Society has labeled these men and women as villains, and their deeds often make the heroes necessary.
But in his eyes, he is neither of these things, beyond either label. Although his intentions are less than beneficial to the masses, there are a far cry from detrimental to society as a whole. Of course, that says nothing for small sects of the populace. No, a sacrifice must be made. A new door must be opened.
"You must see the beauty in all this. Please tell me that you do," he says, pacing back in forth in front of J'onn, rubbing the pale white skin of his cheek with a distended finger. "A man of depth, such as you and I, should be able to appreciate how beautifully orchestrated this plan was. But don't let the introduction fool you. The grand finale is still to come."
J'onn stares listlessly forward, trying to center his thoughts, fighting to concentrate but finding no firm ground upon which to gain footing. His form shifts erratically, refusing to linger on any given appearance for any longer than a few seconds at a time.
The pale man circles J'onn, tracing a gangly finger along the martian's mesomorphic structure. "Yes, yes, yes, you would certainly appreciate it, if not for the trap I've placed your mind into. But fair is fair, and you only brought this upon yourself, you know? But don't worry, my revenge goes beyond just you and me. No, soon, your entire League will tremble before me."
Struggling to piece together coherent sounds, J'onn manages to whisper, "Why?"
"Because it's my time. For revenge. For triumph. To throw open every locked door in this pitiful world. Nothing is safe from me, and soon, the whole world will know fear."
Everything has grown increasingly frustrating, and she finds herself wishing for a break. Something, anything, that will expedite the process. But every route, that she has taken, has met with a dead-end, stopped before she could garner any further information.
The obvious progression would have been to track the Scarecrow's path through the prison systems of Gotham, an archaic pursuit at best even when everything "normal" in Gotham. Normally, this would have been a mildly difficult feat, since the Scarecrow was a mainstay of Arkham Asylum. But with the closing of Gotham's borders following the earthquake, and the subsequent release of Arkham's patients into the streets, this was becoming an exercise in futility. Next came his run-in with the Huntress, in the Faith sector of No Man's Land, after which he was pulled into Blackgate, under the care of Lockdown and K.G. Beast. That is, until the prison was liberated by Nightwing while Batman was re-establishing his presence in Gotham. Since then, there has been no sign of Crane, and that is what infuriates Barbara the most. There should be some sort of trail.
Sighing softly, she pushes her glasses to the top of her head, pushing back the scarlet bangs away from her eyes. A quick rush of wind prickles the short hairs on her arms, and she says, "Evening, Bruce. I hope that you were more successful than I was."
He is not surprised that she recognized his approach, or he's just good at hiding that surprise. It's something that he'll have to work on. His deep voice echoes throughout her loft as he replies, "Nothing that amounts to anything. Ivt still occupies Robinson Park, and that means that her actions are contained. However, I think we can eliminate both Crane and Isley from our list of suspects. Someone else is involved, and I believe I know who."
"Humor me." She responds, trying to be amusing, despite knowing that Batman can not be joked with.
"J'onn and I were provided with a single clue when we were searching the home of the first victim, but neither of us saw it as such. Instead, it had seemed to be more of a taunt." Batman says, the shadows gathering around him in the way that Barbara has always hated.
"Seems consistent with a number of your rogues' gallery. Riddler. Cluemaster. Joker. Even Two-Face, to an extent."
"But not Crane. His meticulous methods and penchant for terrorizing his victims had always been his undoing. No, this one was different. This one has inside knowledge into the invisible connections between Bruce Wayne and Batman. So, I took the snow globe to the Batcave and dissected it, upon which time, I learned it was equipped to play music. But the mechanism wasn't complete. One piece was missing."
Oracle furrows her brow fighting to follow the logic. "And this is the part where I ask what was missing, right?"
"We were left with nothing to wind the music box. There was no key." Batman responds, a slight smile creeping into his lips. "And that, in itself, is enough to to spell trouble for the Justice League. But at least the 'who' isn't much of a concern, but we still need to find out how."
"You must've known that it was only a matter of time. After all, there isn't a cage that can hold me. And while I appreciated the mental stimulation, I must say that your fractal maze was an easy escape once I learned two things. First, fractal iterations will reach a plateau, thus leaving a bore. Second, you got me in somehow, so I just had to work my way backwards." The pale man says.
The Martian Manhunter continues to stare forward, a lazy strand of drool descending from the changing shape of his mouth. He struggles with his thoughts, but finds nothing to grasp onto, his mind awash with disorder.
"And there, I found a glorious doorway, one unlike any I had ever seen before, a doorway into a mind without limits. Your mind." The Key says, smiling toothily and his rubbing his hands together as he enjoys the torture of the martian. "From there, I was able to open doorways into other minds, but only for short amounts of time in weak minds. So I pushed a few buttons, and worked on the doorways into the minds of your colleagues. And now, let's see what kind of fun we can have. One never knows the depths of panic."
Somedays, he wonders how he ended up with this gig, how he ended up swinging with the big guns in the Justice League. Sure, Bats had asked him to pitch in while they had that 'Wannabe a Superhero' contest and the Watchtower was perceptively vulnerable, of which Batman's paranoia had been correct. And that had landed him a seat next to the chief wazoos of the superhero world.
This isn't what he had in mind.
His body stretched to the limit, he wraps himself around Aquaman's arms and chest, anchoring himself to a far wall and holding on for dear life. "Waitress! Waitress! Check please, table one!"
For his part, Orin struggles against Plastic Man's bindings, the veins on his arms stressing beneath the skin. It is by evert effort that Plastic Man is managing to contain the strength of a man who can withstand the underwater pressures of oceanic caverns. Bellowing loudly, Orin says, "Unhand me, or I swear on my kingdom that I will ravage you after I'm done with this child!"
"You know what? I'm so tired of your moral high horse. I've proven myself a valuable member of this team, time and again, and I'm definitely not going to take flack from some Grizzly Adams who has a fetish for arousing conversation with kelp. Get over yourself." Lantern responds, cycling the energies of his ring to life.
On either side of Kyle, the two titans of the League pin his arms back, trying to calm the man who is wearing the most powerful weapon in the universe. Under normal circumstances, Plastic Man would find this situation somewhat humorous, but right now, as he fights to restrain the other party, nothing seems that funny. Utilizing the plasticity of his upper body even further, he morphs his face into the shape of a triangle and says, "Warning: The Surgeon General notes that Green Lanterns don't need their arms to use..."
His words are cut-off as an emerald punching glove slams into him and Aquaman, sending the two tumbling through a wall into the neighboring chamber. And as Plastic Man rubs his head animatedly, Aquaman tugs himself loose, a seething anger apparent on his face, "How dare you strike me!"
"Wally, help Plastic Man calm Arthur," Superman says, no sooner finishing his sentence before the scarlet speedster is rushing off into the next room. Watching Wally jet away, Superman unleashes a blast of ice breath, sealing the hole that Lantern produced in the wall. Turning toward Kyle, Superman asks, "And you, what were you thinking?"
Kyle twists erratically in Diana's grip, struggling to no avail against the Amazon's strong grasp. Huffing and puffing, he retorts, "I don't care if he is a king. He has no right to challenge my place on this team. Yeah, so I'm not Hal Jordan, and I'm not so experienced as the rest of you, but I think that I've more than proven myself."
"You are indeed an asset to this team, Kyle, but you do not plead your case well by resorting to quick actions or violence," Wonder Woman says, trying to keep a calm tone of voice in order to best assuage Kyle's anger.
"But he started it..."
Superman stands still in front of Kyle, motioning for Diana to release him. "Kyle, it doesn't matter who began the argument. It's up to you to be better than that and just roll with the punches. You know your value on this team, and we know your value. That should be enough. So just shake it off and start acting like the hero you are."
For a second, there is the briefest spot of recognition in Kyle's eyes, and Superman believes that he has solved this half of the conflict. But then, Kyle's features melt into an expression of wide-eyed wonder and disbelief, "You're on his side..."
And then comes the explosion.
"Hmm, such brilliant agony in that one, unsure of his place in things. Push a few buttons and it's enough to bring that fear to light. Watch the chaos unfold and it's soon brought out the temper of the fish king." The Key says, once more circling J'onn teasingly. "Oh yes, life couldn't get much better than this, and I have you to thank for it."
He had never considered that the doorways of the mind could be so easily opened, but now that he has obtained the right key, there were boundless gateways that could open before him. And the Key smiles, saying, "Your friends trust you explicitely to allow you complete access to their minds. All except for Batman, that is, but he's given you enough leeway that I could get around on my own. And there's one secret of his that I'm just dying to try."
"Watchtower criminal records indicate that the Key was defeated at the hands of Connor Hawke, the second Green Arrow, while he had the remainder of the League subdued in an attempt to gain greater power utilizing dream energies." Oracle says, her voice patched into the communications relay to Batman's cowl. "After his defeat, he was placed into the custody of a Cadmus funded mental facility, with a mentally induced fractal mazed to occupy his mind."
"A feat completed by J'onn and a Cadmus scientist by the name of Dubilex. A bit non-traditional, but it seemed efficient at the time. Unfortunately, it obviously was not good enough." Batman replies, engaging several switches on the Batmobile as he crosses the outskirts of Gotham.
"And I have confirmation from Cadmus medical files on the Key. Brainwave activity spiked recently, and then the entire facility went offline. My guess is that their patient regained consciousness. But if he managed to escape, why choose Gotham as his staging ground?"
"I've given that some thought, and I have two ideas. First, Gotham is, and always has been, a city of chaos, and with the influx of new residents and the waning desperation of those who stayed, I would think that Gotham is hard to sweep telepathically were one to search. Second, he is bringing the game to the League, and he's done his research. He knows that I am leery of being on the Watchtower, so he hoped to get things taken care of here, possibly by bating me with false clues."
"Seems logical. So what happened to J'onn?"
"I can only believe that he sprung the trap that was intended for me. I'm closing in on the port entries to Blackgate, now. I'll let you know what I find." Batman says, closing the communications frequency and gliding the Batmobile to a rest.
The shadows gather around his as he makes his way toward the island, across the veritable bridge of debris that still awaits cleaning. He is aware that this could be a second trap, but he knows that the stakes are much different now.
He feels the tug first, the strong pull against his skin and bones, and immediately he knows that something is wrong. Acting on impulse, Wally leaps into motion, yelling back over his shoulder, "Plastic Man, anchor Aquaman down, and work on calming him. We're going to need to preserve breathable air. I think we're about to go through decompression."
"Excuse me, when did my job duties get changed to minding the sea monkeys?" Plastic Man says, his mesomorphic structure shifting to resemble the Crocodile Hunter. "There he is...looks like a blimey bugger..."
"Eel, now is not the time," the Flash chastises, vibrating his body through the wall of ice to the other side. His steps grind to a halt as Wonder Woman collapses at his feet, and she begins to slide across the floor toward an empty void in the wall. Suddenly, he becomes acutely aware that he is at a greater risk of decompression sickness, due to his increased speed of respiration. "C'mon Princess, we're tearing out of here. Control systems, lock down sector 164-beta."
Racing down the corridor with Diana slung over his shoulder, Wally passes through the closing airlocks, then slides to a stop as the final compression door hisses shut. Tapping into his connection to the Speed Force, Wally lends some speed to Wonder Woman, with the hopes that it will quicken her return to consciousness. Then, as she begins to stir, he asks, "What happened after we left?"
Raven-colored hair hangs loosely to the sides as Diana rises to a sitting position. With a deep breath, she replies, Kal almost had him calmed down, almost had Kyle realizing that he was an asset to the League. And then something changed, his anger shifter toward Superman, and he blew a hole in the side of the Watchtower, trying to escape. I don't know what came over him."
"Think about it, Princess." Wally says, sparking his words with a sudden burst of enthusiasm, "Batman and J'onn are our strategists, but they're distracted. Aquaman is of little help because of his rage. Kyle's gone off the deep-end, and he's wearing weapon numero uno on his finger. I've heard it said that people can believe anything when they're in a panic. What happens next?"
"I trust that Superman has everything under control."
"Does he?"
He is no stranger to the ravages of space, especially in light of his recent encounter with the entity known as Mageddon. A weapon of universal destruction designed by the Old Gods of New Genesis and Apokolips, Mageddon had nearly initiated World War III, until the Justice League pulled a coup of global proportions, saving the world and ending the threat of Mageddon, losing two of their own in the process.
But now, as he is caught entirely by the surprising outburst of his young teammate, even Superman is shocked as the vacuum opens before him, dragging him out into the dark reaches. For a moment, he almost tries to draw breath that he doesn't need, but then he comes to his senses and says, "Do you have that our of your system now?"
Tightening the emerald energies around himself, Green Lantern remains silent, heaving his chest with breath as the ring photosynthesises the light from the sun. His left hand remains curled into a fist, ready to combat whatever threats are thrown his way.
"I won't pretend to know what came over you, but I do know that this isn't like you. You've never been this paranoid about your position with this team, or your skill with the ring. What we're going to do is go back to the Watchtower, and I want you to take the ring off and give it to someone you trust, maybe Wally or Diana, until you have a chance to sit down with J'onn."
"I'm not going with you," Kyle replies, his tone flat and steady.
"You need to trust me, Kyle..."
"What? You think that because you're Superman means that you can stand above all of us? That you're a god? Well, I'll tell you something. Last person who tried that crap was Hal Jordan, and I've helped put him in his monkey-ass down more times than I'd care to count. Same as I'll do to you if you try to force your little rules on me."
"We both know that your ring doesn't hang that much power left, and I'm not going to fight you to prove it, Kyle." Superman says, his voice ringing across the commlinks.
"Yeah, and we both know that it's not always about brute force and laser beams. Not when you really use your imagination and finesse it." Kyle responds, igniting the ring in the time it takes to think, as an idea suddenly appears in his mind.
Clark is caught unaware once again as he brace for an impact that doesn't come. Curious, he looks up just as Kyle's creation reaches its finishing stages, and he quivers in fear, just long enough to feel the strength waning from his body and wonder how it is that Green Lantern learned how to make Kryptonite.
Next Issue: It all comes to a head as the League battles itself and Batman struggles to stop the Key and save J'onn. But what is the Key's ultimate plan and just how much time is there to stop what could very well be the end of the League? See ya in 30.