Joseph evacuated every child from the surrounding buildings, erected a forcefield to blunt the heat, and allowed the fire to keep burning. Even as he worked, he layered a Chaos spell into the pillar, enhancing it so it could absorb magic at an accelerated rate.
It was currently 110 feet in diameter and was expected to grow to 300 feet, the size of a football pitch.
With a flash of black light, the Team appeared via Raven's teleportation magic—minus Kori, who was operating with the adult League; M'gann, who was exhausted and likely unconscious after Joseph absorbed her psychic energy; and Kaldur, who couldn't approach the pillars without becoming dangerously dehydrated.
Match immediately flew toward the pillar of fire, spotting Joseph nearby. He unleashed his super-breath, blasting hurricane-force winds of freezing air in an attempt to disperse the flames. The pillar flickered briefly, then roared back at full strength. Match shrugged, as if to say he'd done the best he could.
Robin ran up with the others close behind.
"Your hologram explained most of it," he said, eyes scanning the devastation. "What's going on? Why can't you stop this one?"
"I can," Joseph replied calmly. "But I won't."
"Why?" Robin pressed.
"This city is cursed," Raven said quietly.
"Yeah," Zatanna added. "The air feels heavy. There's a sour taste to it—worse than New York."
"I always knew this city was cursed," Artemis muttered.
"Maybe that's just the chemicals in the air," Kid Flash said, ever the skeptic.
"It definitely smells," Superboy added, wrinkling his nose as his enhanced senses processed far more than most of them could.
Joseph finally spoke again. "The curse isn't a spell layered on top of the city. It's woven into the foundation, the architecture—probably even the bloodlines of the founding families."
He continued, voice steady. "Removing it would require rewriting the city's history itself. That level of magic would cause catastrophic backlash. The only alternatives are that… or total destruction."
He gestured to the pillar. "This fire, cast by a Lord of Chaos, can devour Gotham's curse and use it as fuel. So I'm leaving it active for as long as possible."
Joseph finished preparing his spell. "ALE FLAMMAS CHAI."
A golden pentagram formed around the pillar, which surged higher as its power intensified.
It was about time Captain Marvel reached Roanoke with the others. Joseph would need to do the same.
"Evacuate any remaining civilians and secure the perimeter. Raven, Zatanna—make sure nothing unexpected happens. I'm ending this." He resummoned his sword and vanished in a blur of speed.
**
| Roanoke Island - October 16
Captain Marvel and Starfire stepped out of a boom tube in front of the red barrier encasing Roanoke. The Justice League was stretched thin, handling disasters across the globe—this was all the backup they could spare.
"Nanode," Starfire said, "open a boom tube inside the barrier."
The green gem on her armored suit glowed, then dimmed. "Operation: failed."
Seeing that fail, they immediately attacked. Marvel unleashed magical lightning while Starfire fired Starbolts, but the barrier held, flickering only faintly.
Marvel noticed his lightning was doing more damage. That made sense—his power was magical, drawn from Zeus, while Starfire's Starbolts were pure solar energy absorbed by her Tamaranian physiology.
Kori seemed to notice the same thing. With a few taps on the holographic interface projected from the gem on her chest, her arms reshaped into cannons and began firing concentrated yellow beams of energy.
Catching Captain Marvel's curious look, she explained. "Raw Source energy from a repurposed Fatherbox, courtesy of Nova. It's far less refined and destructive, and the output is much lower than my Starbolts—but it's partially magical in nature, so it should damage the barrier more effectively."
They continued their combined onslaught until a sudden yellow glow flared behind them, forcing them to pause. This was the second time that day Billy had been startled by golden light appearing at his back.
An ankh-shaped portal opened, and a figure stepped through.
Marvel recognized him instantly. "You're—"
"Hmph. No barrier will prevent Doctor Fate from restoring Order." Doctor Fate raised his hands as magic manifested in the form of a glowing yellow ankh. The symbol elongated, its upper arm extending forward as it struck the barrier with immense force.
Seeing an ally join the fight, Marvel and Starfire resumed their attacks. Blue lightning and yellow energy slammed into the barrier, cracks spreading wider with each impact.
As success seemed close, Marvel noticed a figure standing within the barrier itself—a pale, burly man with white hair, clad in dark, tattered rags.
The figure stepped forward and placed both hands against the barrier. Marvel watched in alarm as the cracks sealed, the red surface healing as their energy streams bent toward the man's hands. It was as if he were absorbing their power.
"Who is that?" Marvel asked.
"Solomon Grundy," Doctor Fate replied grimly, cutting off his beam. "Whom I put to rest decades ago. Worse still, he is animated and empowered by vile Chaos magicks. Cease your attacks—they only serve to strengthen him."
Marvel and Starfire stopped at once. Grundy remained motionless, watching them with a vacant, patient stare.
"Then what do we do?" Starfire asked.
"You," Fate said, turning to her as if noticing her fully for the first time. "Your battle armor—where did you acquire it?"
"My boyfriend gave it to me as a gift. Why?"
"You are unaware of its value. It is composed of a rare metal only found on Thanagar. Its anti-magical properties will destroy the barrier far more effectively than our spells."
"I suppose I'll give it a try," Kori said. She opened a boom tube with her Nanode, emerging over Bodie Island five miles away. In the same instant, she accelerated to Mach 5, Starbolt-coated fists extended, and slammed into the barrier with overwhelming force.
The sound echoed like a massive pane of glass shattering as the red barrier vanished.
"Nice!" Captain Marvel shouted as Starfire decelerated and returned to him and Doctor Fate.
"That was easier than I expected," Starfire said. "So what's next?"
Doctor Fate didn't get the chance to answer.
Solomon Grundy let out a roar thick with rage and, in a single massive leap, closed the distance between them.
Captain Marvel barely reacted in time as Doctor Fate was struck with crushing force and sent hurtling into Roanoke.
**
| Roanoke Island - October 16
Joseph crossed the distance from Gotham to Roanoke in under a second, moving at six percent the speed of light. Alien Excalibur was held forward as he cleaved effortlessly through the barrier which shattered like glass.
Then he waited.
As expected, Child appeared once more in a fiery red flash—Flaw at her side.
Her voice dripped with arrogance. "You again. I may as well dissect you now and discover your connection to Kla—"
Joseph didn't let her finish. Channeling immense Speed Force and Strength Force, he drove his sword forward into a small boom tube. The blade emerged directly in front of a slight indentation on Flaw's torso, striking faster than the construct could react.
Flaw staggered back a few steps—then disintegrated.
"How?" Child demanded, shocked. "I made Flaw indestructible. This makes no sens—" She stopped mid-sentence as she reverted to her true form: an eight-faced red gem, glowing with crimson fire.
Joseph attempted to absorb the lingering Chaos magic, but she faded from the mortal plane before he could.
It was almost anti-climactic how he'd won. It goes to show how busted Nth metal truly was.
"How long will she be out of commission, Klarion?" Joseph asked.
[Based on my own experience, months. Perhaps a month if she expends more Chaos energy—but she's already burned through a great deal, so that's unlikely.]
"Good."
[So… can I get a reward for coopera—]
"Don't push your luck. Nova?"
//The pillars of fire and natural disasters across the world persist.//
"Shame," Joseph muttered. "At least I can keep the fire in Gotham going. And it doesn't matter since Child isn't here to keep creating new ones. Now it's time to restore order."
To do that, Roanoke would need to be destroyed in both dimensions.
Light work for him.
Joseph flew high above the island and generated a colossal hand construct of pure Nova Force—large enough to engulf Roanoke entirely. With a single decisive motion, he brought it down, slamming the island with overwhelming force.