"Forgotten" -- The Conclusion! *Part Two"

[jla-villains.livejournal.com]

Degaton's command ship -- a warship appropriated from the Warlords of Okaara -- hovers, like the rest of Vanishing Point, in a temporal "pocket." To do so otherwise would risk sliding into the future ... into the last remaining moments of the universe.

Consequently, the battle outside of his window is happening entirely at one precise instant ... a moment literally frozen in time. Degaton throws back his head. Sometimes temporal mechanics leave even his head hurting.

The soldiers and engineers around him are impassive, but the man himself is pensive, concerned at the raging war.

"How did Hunter raise an army so quickly?" he muses, but no one dares answer, nor does he expect them to. "No matter. Our forces are inside Vanishing Point, and when it is mine, we can execute the last chronal alterations ... stabilize the altered timelines into one coherent series of events. Rewrite history in my image."

HAIL DEGATON! the soldiers shout on cue. And at that, Degaton smiles.

"Yes," he says. "Hail Degaton. ... And if Hunter and his allies win."

He shrugs.

"There's always the backup plan."

There is no cheering at that. Indeed, the soldiers seem chilled to the bone.

Comments

Elsewhere On Degaton's Command Ship

[jsaboss.livejournal.com]

With Occult's magic in place, Terrific takes the point -- his immunity to electronic surveillance proving a useful boon. The monitor room on the other side is sparsely populated, unfortunately, the soldiers do catch a glimpse of him. He doesn't make a move on them, though. He leaps into combat to take some guards down fast, but his real target is the alarm system itself ... His own computer system is in action before he is, scanning and detecting the alarms, disabling them.

"Take them," is his only message back to the team. Four targets, this should take seconds. At most.

Re: Elsewhere On Degaton's Command Ship

[jla-goldenage.livejournal.com]

Richard Occult is not a physical man, although he's been in more than one war zone. Still, needs must, and his fist collides with the jaw of a soldier, one shocked to discover the heroes in their mist.

Re: Elsewhere On Degaton's Command Ship

[midnite-md.livejournal.com]

Dr. Mid-Nite is more of a physical man than he would prefer to be, but he's trained for things like this.

Moonerangs fly from his hands at the troopers, to ricochet off of their heads and return to him.

Re: Elsewhere On Degaton's Command Ship

[jsaboss.livejournal.com]

His colleagues making short work of the guards, Terrific begins work on the computer, his T-Spheres accessing the system and searching for some hint at Degaton's plans. The system is mind-boggling huge ... technology pulled form Kadabra's time. But he can beat it. He's confident.



"People," he says. "I'm not liking this."

Outside Vanishing Point

[allstargal.livejournal.com]

It's been a long time since Firebrand's been able to cut loose with her powers, but here, in this strange pocket on the edge of the universe, she burns like a sun, flares engulfing the encroaching ships.

It's not enough. For all their victories, the JSA and their allies are vastly outnumbered. The ships are coming closer, and she doesn't know what happens if Vanishing Point falls.

Then, the unthinkable. One ship managed to gain entry to the station already, and as she and others turn to address the situation from the outside, another battle ship emerges ... larger than the others, more guarded. It fires on Vanishing Point, rocking the station's defenses.

She swears, turns, and unleashes her full fury on the ship. It's not even singed.

"People," she says across the coms. "I think we have a problem."

Re: Outside Vanishing Point

[jla-goldenage.livejournal.com]

"Indeed," says Shining Knight with resolve, bringing Winged Victory around to bear on the new ship. For a moment, he glances wistfully at Firebrand -- the woman he loved, that he thought he had lost.

"It has been good to fight by your side, Danette," he says calmly, and then raises his sword high.

"Justice Society! Forgotten Heroes! If this be our last stand, then let it be one that resounds across the heavens! If we die, we die not as mere warriors, but as legends!"

And with that, he leads the charge on the command ship.

Re: Outside Vanishing Point

[mari-grayson.livejournal.com]

Close behind him is Nightstar, her age and injuries forgotten. She fires fewer starbolts than she did at the start of the battle, but still they find their mark.

Selya, Dadro ... I love you. Make ready a place for me. X'hal, hear me and mark me well....

[jla-forgotten.livejournal.com]

The shockwave from the newest attack rocks the station, causing both Rip Hunter and his allies and Degton's invading soldiers to falter. Hunter regains his footing first, reactivating the force field to protect those in his charge.

"We've got minutes now, at most," he says sternly. "We only need Terrific and the others in position. ... and those outside to buy us some time."

His face looks haggard, tired. His eyes, desperate.

"Gemma, Maxine," he says. "Stay close. Pariah?"

[jla-extras.livejournal.com]

"I can sense them," he says, as though in a trance. "Terrific and the others. They're in grave danger. We all our."

[jla-forgotten.livejournal.com]

"I know," says Hunter. "I know. But we're almost there."

His fists tighten, and his back straightens.

"This is our time line's last stand."

[jla-extras.livejournal.com]

A signal breaks over the JSA's communication system -- Mr. Terrific is on the command ship ... and it's shields are down.

[allstargal.livejournal.com]

Firebrand hears the signal, and finally allows herself a sigh of relief.

"That's the signal, people! This is now a rescue mission!"

And with that, she burns bright, a burning star burning its way onto the alien ship.

[mari-grayson.livejournal.com]

She thinks her left shoulder is broken. The pain, the dead weight of her arm flopping uselessly against her side ... those are trivial things now. She can still fly. She can still fire. She can still fight.

And the signal has been given.

[jla-forgotten.livejournal.com]

Hex takes the moment of distraction to head shadow-wards. He knows he can't do a thing to Degaton, but if anyone can, the JSA will figure it out. He's in this for whatever Hunter has in mind, and, as usual, he even came in with a plan.

But right now, he needs to wait to see what Deagaton is going to do before he can do anything but wait for his moment.

[jla-villains.livejournal.com]

Degaton seems to be enjoying the skirmish, taking initial feints at Terrific and Mid-Nite before turning toward Hex, laser pistol extended.

"Did you really think it would be that easy, Jonah? That you and your so-called Forgotten Heroes could waltz in here and dismantle my plans?"

He smiles maliciously.

"You'll die here, never seeing your real time again."

[midnite-md.livejournal.com]

Dr. Mid-Nite actually smirks.

"The moment you fire that pistol, Degaton, you have to be in phase with this time... and do you really think you're faster on the draw than Jonah Hex?"

[jla-goldenage.livejournal.com]

Doctor Occult appears on the far side of the tesseract space, watching the battle in space. He takes a moment to look beyond the frozen moment, at the void beyond.

"I should have known you were here."

[jla-forgotten.livejournal.com]

The blind man stands on the edge of frozen space, his trenchcoat worn from his jacket, his cane extended before him.

"You ... you're not supposed to be here. You can't walk this far."

[jla-goldenage.livejournal.com]

"I didn't walk, Mister E, I came another way. So this is where you took the boy?"

[jla-forgotten.livejournal.com]

A clear, commanding voice cuts across all lines.

This is Hunter to all points says the transmission. "It is imperative that everyone get aboard either Vanishing Point or Degaton's command ship in T-minus three minutes and counting. After that time, you will no longer be safe in the vacuum.

There's a crackle ... punctuated by a strain in his voice.

"Terrific, I need you to hit Degaton's emergency evacuation protocols. The command ship's on another line. I don't care where they go, if they stay here, they'll die."

[jsaboss.livejournal.com]

"And we've ... had enough .. of that ... already," says Terrific, working the computer protocols while the others finish Degaton.

He doesn't like this plan. He sees where it's going, and no, he doesn't like it at all.

But he continues, working his way through Degaton's computer until he finds it ... the mechanism that's let Degaton's forces slip aways from them so often recently. And without another word, he activates it.

The ships in the sky are gone. The troops on the command ship are gone. It's just them, the command ship itself, and Degaton.

Them, and the end of everything, barrelling down on them.

[jla-forgotten.livejournal.com]

"Good ... good ..." says Hunter, as the ships vanish, he then sighs, watching the monitor as the heroes enter the ships.

"You all deserve to know what happens next," he says solemnly. "When everyone's in position, I've ordered Tyler to restart relative time here at Vanishing Point. At that moment, I'm sending all of you home, too."

He catches his breath.

Except you, Degaton, if you can still hear me. I know full-well I can't move you in time if you don't want to go. So you can face the JSA, or you cna die here. I don't care."

Another breath.

"I'll have time to get Waverider and Lady Quark to safety before the crash. But I have to stay. I'm not risking anymore of you."

Another moment of silence.

"Forgotten Heroes. Justice Society. It's been an honor."

[jla-forgotten.livejournal.com]

"Tyler," says Hunter. "Send our friends home, and restart time."

His hands curl into fists as he looks at his teammates, and then resolve falls on his face.

"Time to see what happens at the end of the universe."

But before the JSA fade out, he beams Terrific one last message:

Remember Us

[jla-forgotten.livejournal.com]

Tyler nods - using the temporal powers at his command to push one set of his friends through time, before beginning to channel his energies to start things up again.

"Brace yourselves."

[jla-villains.livejournal.com]

Degaton cackles madly as the Justice Society begins to disappear around him. He pulls himself up to a sitting position, hand clenching his torso as he intangibly bleeds to death.

He smiles at Hex.

"Hell of a sunset to ride into, isn't it?"