Cry for Justice - The Conclusion

[dr-black-light.livejournal.com]

As the Canary rounds a corner into a larger hallway, leading to the main monitor room, she feels a sharp, hard knee right into her abdomen, followed by a textbook ipponzei throw that sends her onto her back.

As the heroes whip around, they can see a shape materializing roughly 20 feet down the hallway.

The man that started all this mess.

However, he looks different.   He's clean - shaven.  He's wearing a different version of his long-standing costume.  No fin helmet.  The material of the costume is tougher looking, more combat ready.  

But it's the eyes.  The eyes that show no surprise over their arrival.  In fact, there's a sense of familiarity in them.

This was what he wanted.  This is what they wanted.

Be careful what you wish for.

"Long day?" Light says, smiling.

Comments

[itsastretch.livejournal.com]

Ralph has been waiting for this, ever since he saved Light's life, only to have it thrown in his face... and now this.
He rolls into a ball, bouncing off the far wall and trying to come back at Light's back. Sure, he can't hurt him, Light is way out of the Elongated Man's league... but if he can keep him off balance, slow him down...

[fleet-feet.livejournal.com]

He knows it's a trap.

But that's his job as the Fastest Man Alive - set off the traps and be fast enough to outrun them anyway.

He outpaces Ralph, but he knows what he's going for, so he charges at Light to try and drive him into Ralph's flight path.

[lanternslight.livejournal.com]

"You have one chance to stand down now, Light. You won't get another one."

Hal's voice rings loud and strong, without a hint of doubt.

[mrs-dibny.livejournal.com]

For her part, Sue ducks down an alternate corner. She's out-gunned, but it's time to tweak a system or two while everyone's busy.

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

The Canary's on her feet in seconds again, closing her eyes in anticipation of a light attack.

[laughing-mage.livejournal.com]

He's not chasing after any false phantoms or giving warnings.

Sue's blood is still on his hands, he's watching and waiting for now, let the heroes run around and throw themselves after Light.

[dr-black-light.livejournal.com]

See, Light's smarter than that, though. He's done intel. He knows who John Constantine is. He also know's he's Zatanna's boyfriend.

So as Light(?) materializes behind the heroes, he fires a plain old energy blast roughly five feet from Constantine directly at his back.

Stand down. Heh. That's funny.

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

Eyes still closed, the Canary listens to what's going on around her and thinks about the move Dr. Light used on her. When did he decide to get his hands dirty with judo?

[itsastretch.livejournal.com]

Ralph reacted initially without thinking - and its only when Sue disappears that he realizes it, and realizes how much it could cost them all. So as much as he's tempted to race after Sue, do anything to get to her, he realizes that could doom them all.

So against every encounter he's previously had with Light, he doesn't race off, stretching up to grab the celing and get a look from above for traps, letting the detective's eye scan for what other pitfalls might be laid out.

[lanternslight.livejournal.com]

Time to use the ring a little more creatively than he usually does. Last time he used the ring against Light directly, he found the ring used against him.

Travis has been using the ring in ways that would be far more effective against Light. What would Travis do?

Indirect uses. No visible uses.

And speaking of visibility...

Hal shuts his eyes. He links the ring to the minds of his allies here... and programs the ring to find Light's bio-signature. With the ring working like this, everyone should soon be able to see the real Light and sense exactly where in the sattelite he's hiding.

"You should have surrendered, Light."

[dr-black-light.livejournal.com]

"And deprive you of your justice?"

Hal turns around to find Light...the REAL light...right in front of his face.

More specifically, the palm of Light's hand, as in a shotay thrust right up the bridge of his nose. Given the ring energy that no doubt surrounded his body, that probably didn't hurt that much.

The energy bolt that follows it a nanosecond later, point blank at his face...this probably hurt more.

"Don't worry, Ms. Loring is quite safe - in fact, I made sure she had an old friend keeping her company. Believe me when I say that when I kill all of you - Ms. Dibny will most certainly be the last to go."

"Now are we done talking? I was under the impression you came here for justice."

[mrs-dibny.livejournal.com]

She's been dumped on her ass into a holding cell.

"God, cell number 4? Light is a sentimental bastard." That's when she turns and sees she isn't alone.

"Jean?!" Her mind shuts down for a second. What do you say to one of your oldest friends? One of the few, the proud, the wives of the guys who run to death's door wearing PJs.

The one who murdered you, sold you out and but your daughter at death's door twice.

She storms over and backhands the bitch.

[jean-loring.livejournal.com]

Jean stares up at Sue and rocks back and forth, her eyes vapid and confused. She's drooling and twitching.

Gone.

[reducing-ray.livejournal.com]

This is pointless. They can slug this out for hours, and that brings them no closer to an antidote. Or to Sue. Or to Jean.

That's when it hits them. Where they are. They've remodeled, certainly, but this is still the satellite. And there's not an inch of this place Ray hasn worked on, not a circuit board he hasn't repaired.

"JLA passcode Alpha-Theata-Omega," he says. "Sensor override, Give me location of JLA member, Dibny, Susan and JLA associate Loring, Jean."

A map appears on his ID card screen. Schematics. Yes.

He looks to Hal, to Ralph, trying to catch there eyes as he goes.

They'll understand where he's gone to. They're JLA after all.

[mrs-dibny.livejournal.com]

Sue doesn't stop at one slap. Again aand again...

"What. The. Hell. Did. You. DO?!"

She realizes what she's doing and stops, hands clutching and uncluching.

"You killed me, you bitch! I was pregnant. And WHY? to get Ray's attention?! What happened to opening your damn mouth and ASKING, Jean! What happened to the idea we take care of these guys! What happened to our friendship? And now, you just helped my baby girl halfway into her grave, you paskudnyak! What happened to helping to save the damn world instead of ruining it?!"

Atom can hear her all the way down the corridor, as well as her last comment.

"Ray deserves better."

[dr-black-light.livejournal.com]

Back upstairs, Light's attention is jarred by a full-on maceshot by Hawkwoman. Even with the field, that draws blood from a gash to the forehead. He quickly cauterizes the wound and does a leanback dodge on the second sweep that would make Keanu Reaves go "Whoah.", then envelops her in a wave of plasma energy converted from the ambient light in front of her. The pain is enough to cause her to fall to the ground for a moment, stunned but not nearly out.

He then turns to Canary. "What was it that assasin in your memories called you? Oh, yes - siu jerk jai. I take it you've figured out that your memories wasn't all I took from you last year."

He waves her forward. "You should have nailed me in the cell when you had the chance. But then, this entire operation is all about missed opportunities by the League and my capitalization of them."

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

Her thoughts continue to be in Cantonese, but the beckoning gesture she makes with her left hand needs no translation.

[fleet-feet.livejournal.com]

There's a small puddle of Flash puke on the floor, but he pushes himself past all of it.

He felt WAY too good about hearing that scream. Time to bring out another one.

No more melting Shay's things. Bounding off the walls again, he grabs him from behind, another shot at boxing his ears with the Speed Force, as well as two knees to the kidneys.

"WHY do you INSIST on proving the people who wronged you RIGHT, you sick little creep?!"

[dr-black-light.livejournal.com]

Light was ready that time.

The room *EXPLODES* with a brilliant, blinding light, which waves out into hard light emanating from Arthur Light. Flash slams into this hard light at his acceleration speed.

Light then wraps the hard light around Wally and converts it to plasma.

"Because I can."

After five seconds of Wally being enveloped in plasma, though...the light breaks.

Light attempts to generate it again, but...it's not coming easily. It's almost as if the fundamental properties of control were...altered.

He glares.

"Constantine."

[dr-black-light.livejournal.com]

As Dr. Mid-Nite slumps, Light surveys his damage.

They're down. He's winning. He hurts like hell and isn't sure he can take many more surprises, but he's down.

Constantine was somewhere in the satellite, but he needed to wait.

He takes another look around, trying to see if anyone's still awake, reaching out with his mind.

[itsastretch.livejournal.com]

Just one.

And Ralph realizes it at the same time. Its just him... and Light. Hal didn't save the day. Wally didn't find some trick of speed to save everyone. The sonics or a last trick arrow didn't somehow do it... its all him.

And he knows what he has to do. Lurching up on legs that look like swiss cheese, both arms stretch til his hands touch opposite walls, building up tension... then those hands snap together, hands growing and slamming together inches in front of Light with a thunderous *BOOM*

He saw Dinah's cry, and then the Flash's maneuver... and he finally figures out where Light's getting it... he has help. So first, Ralph has to stun the help... and Light...

[mrs-dibny.livejournal.com]

She's running towards the fray with Atom in tow. Something is weird. Something is wrong. There is no thought of self preservation. there is no feeling of dread at the thought of Light...trying anything.

There's no fear. None. Did she want me to die again or something? she shouldn't have smacked her, but damn if it didn't feel just a little cathardic.

Thanks to her newfound courage, fueled by the desire to get back to her husband and child (Allanah will be fine, by God. She'll see to it.), she runs faster than Atom - and finds the first man down.

"God, Hal..." She ducks down and turns him over.

[lanternslight.livejournal.com]

Hal's pupils are dilated. He has difficulty focusing on Sue.

"Sue..." he mutters.

Hal has always wanted to fix things. He's always been willing to accept help, but he's always felt it's his responsibility to make sure it's fixed.

But he's out of this fight. There's nothing more he can do. He can barely focus.

He has to trust in others. For once.

There's something about Sue which is different. The ring seems to resonate with her. As though it will accept her.

But at the same time, his ring warns him that the powers of the ring are the only thing keeping his heart beating and his lungs pumping oxygen.

But that doesn't matter.

He pulls the ring off his finger.

"Take it, Sue..." His hand trembles as he holds it out.

[dr-black-light.livejournal.com]

Light feels the force wave...in fact overly so. He had been working so hard to generate what he was generating, that when the resistance disappeared, it roared, and I mean ROARED through Light. The resistance given by Sue, as formidible as it was, just couldn't hold the raw power being generated by Dr. Light.

"I die...fulfilled...knowing you hypocritical bastards die with me."

And then he explodes with the white-hot intensity of a sun. Within ten seconds, the satellite will be engulfed with it, and will be gone - along with anyone still in it at the time.

[fleet-feet.livejournal.com]

The Flash is up, and he doesn't even need a full second to gather the scattered heroes together in one place, so Sue might be able to wrap them in the emerald energy bubble and get them the hell out of dodge...