WATCHTOWER
Floating above Earth. Watching over the world below. Heroes walked to and fro from their stations. Hawkman and Hawkgirl entered the cafeteria. Pro heroes from all corners of the world were here. Eating at tables. Working out. Doing research. Making an impact.
[Seed 11203. Identity: Green Lantern, Black Canary, Martian Manhunter]
Black Canary, Green Lantern, and Martian Manhunter arrived via the entry port. Reverse engineering the boom tube, fixed-coordinate warp gates around the world now led to the space headquarters.
[New arrival. Seed 11204. Identity: Wildcat]
The retired hero warped into the Watchtower after a long time. He'd been summoned by Batman alongside several others for a quick briefing on their experiences with Crosscut. A few others walked beside him.
There were other issues to discuss as well. Crosscut wasn't their only problem. The Justice League had many things on their plate. It didn't take long for Green Lantern to notice the old man. His blasé expression lit up.
"Whoa. Isn't that the guy who taught Batman?" He called out. Loud enough for Ted to hear it.
"I'm only one of many teachers." Ted grunted.
"You grunt just like him." Hal Jordan joked.
"....."
The group left the port together, moving past the side halls and engineering rooms. Past the storage hanger and the Room of Achievements. It was exactly how it sounded. A room that carried every medallion, trophy, and award given by figures of authority. Rewards for their good deeds.
Eventually, they made it into the cafeteria. It was a room everyone had to pass by in order to get to the living quarters, Hall of Justice, War Room, and the gymnasium.
"Look who it is." Hal called out.
A middle aged man could be seen shoveling down food in a quiet corner. Wearing a leather jacket and pants, it only added to the black paint on his face. Shaped in the letter 'T'. Mr. Terrific.
"Ah…Christ." The black man groaned upon hearing Green Lantern's voice.
Both Flash and Green Lantern were good at being annoying. The problem was that the eating hero would fall for the bait most times. He took everything at face value, which bit him in the ass. Mr. Terrific and Hal's personalities didn't mix well.
"I know you're happy to see me! No need to be shy."
"...What do you want?"
"I just wanna see my buddy!"
Hal tried to hug the man, but Terrific kept him at arms length. It was obvious that this wasn't the first time they'd been through this. Eventually, Black Canary and Martian Manhunter went to grab a tray of food.
"There's a briefing I think you should be here to see. Your expertise would be greatly appreciated." Hal finally said.
"I don't give out my technology for free."
"It's for a villain. He can teleport…Anywhere. We've developed some cuffs that prevent large-scale teleportation…but it's not enough."
"He's giving you all the slip."
"More than that. If the Flash isn't there, catching the man is nearly impossible. Batman says the guy is powerful, but I've only seen him run away with his tail between his legs. Heh! Lame."
"You're doing it again." Terrific said. Hal raised an eyebrow.
"Doing what?"
"Underestimating people."
"Psh…"
The two left the cafeteria. Their destination was the War Room. As soon as the cafeteria doors closed, Martian Manhunter felt something wrong in the pit of his stomach. His expression grew pale. He turned transparent immediately.
One moment everything was normal. Everything was fine…then it happened. The world turned white. So bright that only silhouettes were visible. One moment the cafeteria was there and the next moment, it was gone.
As if an invisible projectile had just cleaved through the room. That wasn't all. The projectile had first made contact with the R&D lab, drilling through the tech wing, the phase shifter, containment facility…and finally…the cafeteria.
More than 15 amateur heroes had quietly lost their lives. More than four professional heroes as well. Hawkman and Hawkgirl died silently. Black Canary hadn't finished putting the fork in her mouth before dying. Aquaman. Dead. Genius scientists striving to improve the world, influential figures, and more. Gone.
[Warning. Warning. Hull breach detected. Destruction Imminent.]
"AAAAAAAGH!" Several screams were heard all around the base. People were missing limbs.
The Watchtower was suddenly on the verge of imploding. Surviving heroes were sucked out of the facility into space, and those that weren't in the danger zone were sprinting toward the warp gate. All to escape. Hell had broken loose.
Superman, Mr Terrific, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, and anyone else able to survive space…they did what they were born and trained to do. Save people. The massive structure was about to fall onto earth. Now that the phase shifter was destroyed, nothing was keeping it from crash landing.
The surviving heroes were in shock but they didn't let it stop them from reacting. They couldn't understand what happened. What went wrong. There were no words, only actions. Everyone had to act fast. Save those who hadn't yet perished. Stop the Watchtower from killing millions on the surface. Get the stranded heroes to safety.
…
…
…
The world watched as flaming comets fell down from space. News channels all across the planet were in high gear. Evacuation orders were already being sent out. Alarms were blaring across impacted cities.
Nobody knew what had caused such a crisis. What the hell was going on? Panic had turned widespread. Sweeping across the globe. Meanwhile…
SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS
The residents of this colorful city were staring at the sky. In one direction was the falling Watchtower. In the other, was a shooting star. A kaleidoscope of colors glowing gently, falling on a direct path toward Fate Tower.
Tobi was falling. With his hands in his pockets, his sight locked onto the base of Dr. Fate. The wind rustled his clothing, and his overcoat flapped from his shoulders. This esper's suit and tie was impeccably clean.
His body was glowing with the entire spectrum of the rainbow. Constantly shifting between colors. Iridescent lights flickering and combusting. As if the building knew danger was on its way, a golden barrier lit up around the structure. An array of protection.
'Stop!' A deep and ancient voice resounded in his mind.
The young esper's expression didn't so much as flicker. He could sense several life signatures in the tower. No matter. A burst of mental energy exploded from his feet, accelerating him even faster. He quickly turned into a ray of iridescent light.
In an instant, he was upon the barrier. His body shifted in preparation for a power landing. A millisecond passed…then he landed on top of the golden array. He landed hard. Extremely hard.
BOOOOOM
A shockwave burst through the city. Buildings crumpled. Lives were snuffed out in an instant. Streets were uprooted. Blown into the sky.
Cracks appeared all over the golden array. Tobi was still recovering from landing, his body still in a crouching position. Crushing energy flared from his feet through the barrier's cracks. The array was like shattered glass, falling away to something bigger. Something more overbearing.
For those within the tower, things were much worse. The sheer pressure and force behind Tobi's landing blasted them onto the floor and walls. Like ragdolls. Blood spurt from the ears and noses of heroes with weaker constitutions.
"Come out. Or don't. I'll kill you all from here." The esper's calm voice reached their ears. It was eerie.
Only two heroes were unaffected by the force. Doctor Fate and Supergirl. They flew out of the tower with extreme speed. There was no point in waiting to ambush him from within. It was clear that Crosscut would just demolish the whole building instead. They had to create a new plan on the spot.
The first to exit the building was the magic hero himself. He'd barely left the confines of the front door when Tobi appeared in front of him, reaching out toward the hero's face. Doctor Fate only saw the shadow of a massive palm covering his vision.
Before Tobi could grab the man's helmeted face, he spotted a flicker of red and gold. Time froze. The Flash appeared. The anti-space cuffs were nanoseconds away from snapping around the esper's wrist before he vanished.
ZMMM
He appeared on the side of the wall. Standing on it as if gravity didn't exist. Supergirl had exited the building at this point. Finally, there was a moment of calm.
"Not even a word of greeting? Wow. You know, villains usually like to argue about ideals first." The Flash quipped.
"....." Tobi was silent.
His senses were alert for any movement Barry made. He was the most dangerous one here. Him and Fate. Supergirl was dangerous as well but as long he paid attention, he believed he could make it through this ordeal. Tobi believed in himself.
"Look at the city…" Supergirl muttered.
Upon seeing the destruction and death with her supervision, her eyes glowed red with fury. Her gaze snapped to Tobi like a predator. Tobi raised his arms in gladiatorial fashion. His expression was dim.
"...The consequences of one's actions. It really does sting…doesn't it?"
His gaze swept across each hero present. That was when two more heroes stepped out of the tower. Wonder Woman and Batgirl. Tobi frowned slightly. What could Barbara possibly do here?
"Tobi, you bastard. What have you done?!" She scolded.
"What I should've done from the start...I won't be holding back this time. Enough is enough." He declared in a calm tone. "Not even for you, Barbara. You may just die here today."
"You've reached the point of no return…" She closed her eyes in sadness.
CRACKLE
The air suddenly crackled with the sound of lightning. A pillar of blue lightning struck the ground, and a new figure floated out of the light. It was Black Adam.
"Tobi, I won't let you face the world by yourself."
Tobi couldn't help but smile. Even in this situation. His smile was genuine. True friends were far and few between. He was glad to consider Teth Adam a friend.
"You didn't have to bring attention to yourself. I can handle this."
"I made my decision. Respect it, as I respect yours."
"...." Tobi could only nod in response.
It was time to make history. One kill at a time. Tobi would make it happen. He had to.
ZMMM