It's about time.

[katavatar.livejournal.com]

Finally, Katar's healthy enough to start smoking again.

Strange how a psychological addiction works. Yeah, he had cravings, but he was far too concerned with recovering his higher brain functions - and lower brain functions - to really dwell on that. So effectively, he'd stopped smoking for two months. Before that, he was dead for five years. The dead don't smoke.

Now, here he is, on the balcony, indulging in his only real vice. Well, anymore. He lived the chemical life for quite some time.

There's a phantom tingle in the wings he doesn't have anymore as the wind hits his face. Disconcerting.

His eyes are on the horizon. His thoughts with his warrior sister Diana, knowing they are in no position to lend a hand right now.

Much as he doesn't want to, some part of him knows at this moment that he's going to have to eventually don the helmet again. Don the old harness his father, Paran Katar, developed.

A hawk, once airborne, doesn't take well to being grounded.

Over Themyscira

[jla-extras.livejournal.com]

The United States Air Force has been steadily upgrading its fleet for years - the Imperiex attack was an opportunity for Luthor to institute a massively cost-effective overhaul - but not before today has that new fleet been committed to battle.

Dozens of antigrav VTOL transport craft steadily approach on the horizon, bearing twelve Scylla-9 mantank battlesuits apiece, each manned by a trained marine; but before they arrive, the softening strikers will hit the scene first. Forty Screaming Eagle jetwings, powered by fusion engines, break the sound barrier effortlessly, headed for "Paradise Island" with a payload of high-yield explosives loaded into smart-missiles.

Spare no expense.

Success!

[jla-olympus.livejournal.com]

Luthor played his role well. As did his countrymen and the belligerent Themyscirans. Even Circe's ill-fated machinations served his purposes perfectly. The plans have now come to fruition.

The war has begun. Soon, the pathetic Amazons will be wiped from the map, and will no longer divide Aphrodite's attention.

Now, however, comes the moment of truth.

The small child Lyta has been stolen from Themyscira and delivered to him. His bastard offspring with Circe. She has already been used for the escalation of tensions in this conflict, and now she shall serve her final purpose.

The journey to the realm of the underworld, where Persephone now holds sway after succeeding the ousted Hades, is complete.

"Goddess of the Dead, I beseech thee show thyself," he calls out. "The God of War has new business with you."

Rooftop of Gotham City General Hosptial

[jla-extras.livejournal.com]

Seated on the ledge of the building Ted looks out onto the forbidding cityscape. He wonders if the bastards who killed Alan are out there. He looks up into the sky, wondering if he'll see the infamous signal of the Bat. This isn't his city and the desolation and loss makes him feel his age.

Pulling out his cell phone he makes a call.
Selina, I hope you're around...

I got yer GPS targeting system right here, Mr. President

[http://users.livejournal.com/_kip_/]

Been a long few days. Ignoring his personal needs other than some food and a quick shower, a scruffy Kip Blackwell - Orion to the Justice League and others - has been working nonstop to accomplish that which he is about to launch. Here is where Oracle's excellent skills have come into service so much: her advice and suggestions on how to sneak into the systems he is hacking have been invaluable. While the all-seeing Oracle has continued to oversee work by the Justice League and the Bat family, her aide-de-camp has been preparing for an assault of an altogether different sort than the one aimed at Themyscira.

It's not treason, he tells himself. It's fixing a treasonous act.

"Initiate package Orpheus," he tells his voice command software, and software starts doing its business. If he and Oracle did their homework right...

A carrier group heading toward Themyscira is going to have a lot of issues with their navigation and targeting systems very, very soon.

Titans Tower : Cleanup

[azure-avenger.livejournal.com]

He's having to pick his way through the debris more carefully now, as he turns his keen technological insights towards clues about what happened here.

"Ooh, a quarter!"

Yes, the millionaire Ted Kord is still down-to-Earth enough to be excited about spotting pocket change on the ground.

Not really a mall rat

[tefe-holland.livejournal.com]

Shopping had been an...interesting...experience for Tefe. She had memories of clothes from Mary that were more intricate than what she wore now but for the most part she didn't think of those times and as someone who wore clothes only to keep people from feeling uncomfortable she was pretty lost when it came to what to buy.

That was why Flamebird had gone along.

Tefe wasn't sure if she had amused the woman or made her quake with despair at her hopeless inability to choose clothing. Tefe would have been happy with jeans and a t-shirt, but she was going to dinner and was supposed to be taken seriously so those were taken out of her hands and they started with the skirts.

She was hoping that the quaking shoulders whenever Flamebird hid her face was laughter and not something worse. Although she had squeaked in surprise when something hadn't fit just right and Tefe had adjusted her body to fit it. After that she'd tried to not do that and just went to find a different size on the rack.

The sales lady had said she looked lovely, Tefe privately thought she looked weird They'd combed out her hair into some soft hairstyle and twisted half of it onto her head with a glittery pin and her legs were bare under the skirt, the sales lady had lost the argument over nylons.

This was as good as it was going to get. Now all she had to do was remember that she wasn't wearing jeans and people frowned on being flashed in normal circumstances and to keep her knees together when she sat down.

Oh yeah, this was going to be great.

(no subject)

[laughing-mage.livejournal.com]

Zee was trying to be more like him apparently, picking up and leaving without a word after they had gotten back to Shadowcrest. Well he probably deserved it about a million times over but the habit of being solitary wasn't an easy one to break.

So he went out to the pub. He was smart enough not to pick the same pub he'd been at with Selina, but it was one they had come to often since he'd been back. If Zee wanted to find him she would, and if she didn't...well he knew where she lived.

But he had a fresh round waiting for her, he had a feeling someone was coming and he hoped it was Zee, if not it might be a waste of a good pint.