Countdown. Part 18

"B-Barry?" Iris Allen let out a heartrending scream. "BARRY!"

Oh my G.o.d! Ray thought. The Flash had just been murdered in the blink of an eye. He didn't even see it coming!

"Stop it, Solomon!" Donna sounded equally horrified by the slaughter. She tackled the Monitor from behind, locking him in a bear hug. "Have you gone insane?"

"Do not deter me, Donna Troy!" There was a blinding flash as his personal force field expanded to break the heroine's hold, flinging her backward into the Christmas tree. The plus-sized Douglas fir crashed down onto the couch. Gla.s.s and crystal ornaments shattered noisily. Jason Todd scrambled to check on Donna, while Ralph and Sue hustled Iris away from the fight. Meanwhile, the Monitor calmly ignored the tumult. "If Ray Palmer refuses to abandon his counterfeit existence on this planet, then perhaps we must strip away its trappings!"

His volcanic red eyes zeroed in on Jean.

No! Ray thought. He leapt between the deadly alien and his wife. Not her!

Rebounding from Solomon's counterattack, Donna charged at the Monitor. Broken gla.s.s and pine branches crunched beneath her silver boots. Solomon turned to face her. His right gauntlet glowed in warning. "I would have thought you would be more reasonable, Donna," he said in a disappointed tone. "Surely you appreciate what is at stake here!"

"Reason with this!" Donna snarled. Her super-strong fist collided with the Monitor's jaw. He stumbled backward, b.u.mping into the coffee table. The pitcher of eggnog toppled over, spilling its foaming contents over the table. Donna pressed her attack against the murderous alien. A second blow slammed into Solomon's gut, denting his armor. "You didn't have to kill anyone! We could have talked to him!"

Ray saw an opportunity to get Jean to safety. "Ralph! Sue!" he yelled at his friends, who still looked sh.e.l.l-shocked by Barry's fiery death. "Take care of Iris! Get the h.e.l.l away from here!" He grabbed Jean by the arm and tugged her away from the demolished living room. "Hurry, Jean! Please!"

"What?" Traumatized blue eyes stared back over her shoulder at the furious conflict destroying their home. Solomon hurled Donna through a plate gla.s.s window. A freezing gust of wind invaded the house. Snow blew onto the carpet. Jason Todd s.n.a.t.c.hed a broken plate from the floor and hurled it like a Batarang at the Monitor's face. Unable to process it all, Jean hesitated in the hallway beyond the living room. "Where are you taking me?"

"Away!" He pulled harder on Jean's arm as he hurried her toward the steps leading down to the bas.e.m.e.nt. Part of him hated abandoning the others, but saving Jean had to be his first priority. I'm the reason she's in danger, he thought guiltily. I can't fail her now. Not again!

They reached the bottom of the stairs. Fluorescent lights lit up the cluttered cellar where this world's own Ray Palmer had died. Lab equipment occupied wooden shelves and workbenches. Insulated pipes and cables snaked across the ceiling. An oil furnace rumbled in the background. The hot water boiler gurgled in the corner. Fresh tile concealed the scorch marks left behind by the explosion two years ago. Ray prayed that history was not about to repeat itself.

He fiddled with the controls on his belt buckle. He had to calibrate this carefully to avoid trapping them between worlds. "Trust me," he begged Jean. "We have to escape this reality!"

"Escape? This reality?!" Her voice skirted the edge of hysteria; this was obviously too much for her to take in all at once. She tore herself away from his grasp, her tearful blue eyes staring at him like she didn't know who he was anymore, not that she ever really had. "Ray, listen to yourself! Don't you realize how crazy this sounds?"

No crazier than a fanatical alien crashing our Christmas party and killing Barry, he thought. He stepped forward and gently took her in his arms. If only I had more time to prepare for this . . . ! "It won't happen again, Jean. I promise."

She still didn't understand. "What won't happen? What do you mea-"

"Palmer!" An entire section of the ceiling disintegrated and the Monitor descended through the gap. He hovered above the floor of the bas.e.m.e.nt, glowering down at the cornered humans like the Angel of Death. "This is journey's end, Ray Palmer. You have nowhere left to run!"

That's what you think, Ray thought. He frantically adjusted the controls on his belt, but the minute he let go of Jean, she bolted in panic away from the Monitor. "Wait, Jean! Come back!" His mouth went dry with fear. His heart pounded against his rib cage. "You won't shrink with me if I'm not holding you!"

The Monitor turned his attention to Jean. "Is this insignificant female the reason you refuse to accompany us?" he asked Ray. Without waiting for an answer, he aimed his gauntlet at Jean, who was now cowering behind the bulky iron furnace. "Very well. In a moment, nothing more will bind you to this world."

"Leave her alone, you monster!" He launched himself at Solomon, but the powerful being effortlessly knocked Ray aside. He crashed into boxes of unpacked lab equipment, piled high against a wall. An avalanche of heavy cardboard boxes tumbled onto him. Dazed, his head ringing, he shouted for help. "Donna! Jason! Somebody!"

As though in answer to his desperate cries, a shimmering column of light materialized between Solomon and his helpless target. Ray's eyes widened in surprise as another Monitor emerged from the flickering transporter beam. Unlike Solomon, this alien was clean-shaven and wore his long black hair tied up in the back. He looked mad as h.e.l.l.

"Hold, brother!" the newcomer commanded. "This woman is under my protection. You have inflicted enough damage on my world."

Solomon reacted angrily to the other Monitor's interference. "Stay out of this, Nix Uotan! You cannot hide Ray Palmer from me any longer!"

"What transpires on this Earth is none of your concern," Uotan replied. "I was under no obligation to divulge the Atom's whereabouts to you." He glanced at the bruised figure beneath the boxes. His inhuman red eyes held a hint of sympathy. "If I chose to grant him refuge on my world, that was my prerogative."

Solomon clenched his fists. "But I have found him nonetheless!" Throwing out one arm, he blasted a hole in one wall. Plaster and masonry flew apart, exposing a charred patch of frozen earth beyond the walls of the bas.e.m.e.nt. The explosion alarmed Jean, who let out a frightened shriek. The Monitor let the impact of his demonstration sink in before speaking again. "Surrender Ray Palmer to me now or I will reduce this placid Earth of yours to a wasteland!"

"Not so fast, pal!" A Bowie knife bounced off the back of Solomon's skull. Jason Todd dropped down through the gap in the ceiling, followed immediately by Donna Troy. A split lip and bruised forehead testified to the severity of her clash with the berserk Monitor, but she looked ready for more. Jason drew an automatic pistol and took aim at Solomon's head. "I'm supposed to be the trigger-happy one around here, remember?"

"Do not try my patience further!" Solomon barked at his traveling companions. "This is now between my onetime brother and me." He advanced aggressively toward the other Monitor. "Well, Nix Uotan? Shall we resume our duel?"

"Gladly!" the other Monitor said. He extended a glowing palm before him. "You must pay for transgressing upon my domain!"

Crawling out from beneath the heap of boxes, Ray hastily a.s.sessed the situation. The Monitors faced off against each other, each powerful enough to reduce the entire neighborhood to rubble, if not all of Ivy Town, while Donna and Jason stood poised to join the conflict as well. Ray could only imagine the devastation in store, with Jean trapped at ground zero. This is all my fault, he realized. Barry's gruesome death tore at his conscience. There's only one thing left to do....

"Wait!" he shouted at Solomon. "I'll go with you-if you'll leave this world alone!"

His offer caught the ruthless Monitor's attention. He c.o.c.ked his head in Ray's direction. "You consent to join our crusade? You will fulfill your destiny?"

"Yes, you murderous b.a.s.t.a.r.d! Yes!" Ray clambered to his feet. He pleaded hoa.r.s.ely with the looming alien. "Take me back to my own Earth. Throw me into another cosmic Crisis. Just leave Jean and the rest of this world alone!"

Solomon nodded gravely. "These terms are acceptable to me." He turned back toward the other Monitor. "So, Nix Uotan, are you still prepared to fight me for this mortal's sake?"

"Perhaps that will not be necessary." Lowering his guard, the second alien gazed sadly at Ray. Something about him made him seem more humane than his merciless kinsman. "My apologies, Ray Palmer. In light of your past sufferings, I was willing to overlook your presence here, even going so far as to conceal your location from my fellow Monitors, but my true duty is to this universe and its native inhabitants. I fear it is time you depart this realm . . . for all time."

Ray felt his heart die a second time. Yet he stood up straight, stoically facing his fate. "I understand," he said. "I don't belong here. I never really did."

"Ray! What are you saying?" Overcoming her fear, Jean stumbled out from behind the furnace. Her eyes were red from crying. Mascara streaked her cheeks. Soot smeared her purple sweater. "You can't go with these . . . creatures! You belong here . . . with me!"

"I'm sorry, Jean." He resisted the urge to go to her, knowing that if he held her in his arms again, he would never be able to let her go. "There's no other way." He smelled Barry's scorched bones smoking upstairs and prayed that Iris and the others had gotten away safely. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if anyone else got hurt because of his deception. "I'll never forget the time we had together." He started to choke up, but somehow managed to get the words out. "You gave me back something I thought I'd lost forever."

And now I've got to throw it all away again.

"Ray, no!" She started toward him, but the kinder, gentler Monitor grabbed on to her shoulders, restraining her. She struggled to get free, but could not break loose from the alien's powerful grip. "Let go of me!" she wailed. "I want to go with him!"

"That cannot be allowed," Uotan said sorrowfully. "The immutable laws of the Multiverse have already been violated enough. You must remain on this Earth, where you belong, while these others must return to their own universe at once."

"NO!" Jean shrieked. She writhed in the Monitor's iron grasp, like a madwoman caught in a straitjacket. Loose black hair fell across her face. Crazed blue eyes implored Ray. Saliva sprayed from her lips. "Don't do this to me, Ray! Don't leave me! RAY!"

Ray felt like he was trapped in a never-ending nightmare. He couldn't stand another minute of this. "All right," he told Solomon bitterly. "You win. Let's go." Why drag this torture out a second longer? He could only pray that he hadn't just condemned another Jean to madness, that she would somehow recover from this ordeal in time. "Take me back to Earth-One."

"About time," Jason muttered. He retrieved his knife from the floor. "The sooner I get back to Gotham-my Gotham-the better."

"You are mistaken," Solomon informed them. He pressed a stud upon his gauntlet and a shimmering golden sphere surrounded Ray, Donna, Jason, and himself. "We are returning to our own universe, but not to Earth. Ray Palmer's destiny awaits elsewhere."

"What?" Donna blurted. Fists raised, she eyed the Monitor warily. "Where are we going now?"

A cryptic smile appeared on Solomon's face as he revealed their true destination.

"Apokolips."

12 AND COUNTING.

PARADISE ISLAND.

The banquet hall in Athena's palace was the site of a lavish feast. Long wooden tables were piled high with savory sturgeon, bread, cheese, figs, pomegranates, and honeyed wine. After subsisting on little more than gruel for weeks, the Amazonian initiates eagerly dug into the generous spread. Silver goblets and cutlery clinked as the fit young women chattered brightly amongst themselves, often with their mouths full. An elevated dais, garlanded with fresh flowers, looked down upon the festivities. Moonlight poured into the chamber from a marble archway behind the raised platform. Flutes and lyres contributed to the merriment. A roaring fire kept the winter chill outside. Drooling warhounds prowled the floor, searching for sc.r.a.ps, or else gnawed on bones before the hearth. The delicious aroma of the feast wafted through the air.

Not that Mary was in any position to enjoy the repast. Disguised as a lowly scullery maid, wearing nothing but a coa.r.s.e burlap smock, she shuffled from table to table, refilling the other women's goblets from a heavy clay amphora. Her mouth watered, and her stomach grumbled, at the sight and smell of the tempting delicacies. Still, at least n.o.body seemed to be paying any attention to her....

"Watch what you're doing, Cinderella!" Harley Quinn exclaimed as Mary slopped some wine over the edge of Harley's goblet. The blonde was seated next to Holly Robinson at one of the benches facing the tables. Harley grabbed on to Mary's hair and yanked her head down onto the table. "Relax," Harley whispered under her breath. "I'm just reinforcing your cover, pretending to punish the clumsy slave girl."

Mary's cheek was flat against the grainy tabletop. "Hating you right now," she whispered back. She held on tightly to both the amphora and her temper. Her jaws clenched as she forced herself to count to ten. Mission or no mission, Harley's lucky I don't have my powers anymore.

"Bad slave!" Harley scolded, to the amus.e.m.e.nt of the other girls at the table. She let go of Mary's hair and roughly shoved her away from the table. "No more spilling the wine or I'll bop you on the nose with a rolled-up newspaper!"

The derisive laughter of the Amazon wannabes scalded Mary's ears as she stumbled over to the next table, laboring beneath the weight of the wine-filled vessel. That infiltrating the palace as an anonymous servant had all been part of Queen Hippolyta's plan did little to ease her humiliation. Talk about pride coming before the fall, she thought. Getting made fun of by the Joker's psycho ex was proof positive of just how far she'd sunk since accepting Black Adam's toxic gift. Although I suppose it's nothing more than I deserve....

She still wasn't sure how much of her recent misbehavior could be attributed to Eclipso's influence, Black Adam's darkness, or her own human failings. Probably some combination thereof, she guessed, but that doesn't really let me off the hook. I'm still accountable for my own actions . . . and for letting other people lead me astray.

The jeers and laughter died away, and an expectant hush fell over the banquet hall, as Athena herself, in full regalia, entered through the archway. The false G.o.ddess strode to the front of the dais. Her voice rang out over the a.s.sembly.

"After weeks of training, I know in my heart that the proud women in this room would rather drown in their own blood than yield an inch to their oppressors. Time and time again, each of you has proven her valor to me and to each other. Athena salutes you and embraces you all as sisters. Here you have been schooled in the n.o.ble art of combat. Here you have been given the skills to survive. And one day soon you will pick up your swords and thrust them into the hearts of our enemies." Her voice soared as she held out her arms in benediction. "You fight like warriors. You bear the scars of warriors. You eye the world around you as you would an adversary. Soon you shall be . . . Female Furies!"

Cheers erupted from the feasting women. They raised their goblets to toast the glorious future Athena had just laid out before them. But something about Athena's stirring oration didn't sit right with Mary.

Female Furies? Mary felt certain that she had heard that term before, but she couldn't immediately remember where. Times like this she wished she could still rely on the wisdom of the G.o.ds, as opposed to her own fallible mortal memory. Not that that vaunted wisdom stopped me from losing my way in the end . . .

Athena snapped her fingers, summoning four young women via the archway behind her. Each of the quartet sported handcrafted armor of unique design. A crested helmet concealed the features of one initiate, whose six-foot frame was encased in lacquered black plate metal. Fearsome tattoos marked the face of a dark-skinned woman whose satiny, two-piece outfit had an exotic South Asian look; jewel-studded blades jutted from her knees, elbows, and collar. A miniature skull, chiseled from a glittering emerald, was lodged in her navel. Bladed Indian weapons known as katars rested upon her hips. Beside her stood a pale, deceptively slight-looking woman boasting a shaved skull and skintight blue leather. Artificial wings, and silver chain mail, gave the fourth and final woman the intimidating aspect of an avenging angel or Thanagarian. The women spread out behind Athena, standing stiffly at attention. Their faces bore looks of grim determination and/or unquestioning obedience.

Mary heard Holly gasp in surprise. "Tricia?" the Gotham girl murmured. Holly stared wide-eyed at the black girl on Athena's right, the one with all the lethal ornamentation. Guess there's some history there.

"Today," Athena proclaimed, "these four of your sisters will show you the path . . . as our first full Amazonian Furies!"

Mary wondered why Holly and Harley hadn't rated such status yet. Could it be that Athena still had doubts regarding their loyalty? That doesn't bode well....

The other initiates greeted their comrades' elevation with enthusiasm. "FURIES!" they chanted, pounding their goblets upon the tabletop. Holly and Harley joined in the raucous chorus, the better to blend in with the rest. If anything, Harley whooped it up more than anybody else. She bounced up and down upon her bench. "FURIES! FURIES!"

Athena silenced the cheers with a gesture. "Heed my words, my sisters. The days ahead will sorely test our resolve. Brutish warriors from Man's World will attempt to crush our spirit. Every nation will be arrayed against us. But take heart! They cannot conquer women such as we. Our strength and fury will drive them into the ground until rivers of blood flow-"

"That's enough!" Mary hurled the amphora to the floor, where it shattered loudly upon the marble tiles. She just couldn't take any more of this, watching all these gullible young women fall for Athena's lies. "Are you people crazy? She's trying to seduce you with flowery rhetoric about the glories of war and vengeance. I've heard this kind of talk from Eclipso-and this so-called G.o.ddess is manipulating you the same way!"

One table over, Holly buried her face in her hands. "Oh no, she is not doing this... !"

"She isn't?" Harley gulped down the last of her wine. "Sure sounds like it to me!"

Athena was unfazed by Mary's accusations. "Oh dear, it seems we have a disgruntled servant among our ranks." She turned to the newly anointed acolytes behind her. "Furies, kill her!"

"With pleasure!" The one named Tricia launched herself from the dais. She plucked her katars from her hips. Defenseless, Mary braced herself for the Fury's attack. Her back was up against a colossal stone caryatid. She realized she didn't stand a chance.

I don't regret a word, though.

"You're not killing anyone, Trish!" Holly sprang from her seat, intercepting Tricia in midleap. Her fist collided with the other woman's jaw.

Harley executed a backward flip off her bench, landing directly in front of Mary. "Keep behind me, big mouth!"

The tall Fury in the ebony armor charged at Harley and Mary. "We have traitors among us!" she snarled. "Kill all three of them!"

"Wait!" Mary pleaded, even as Harley defended her from the armored stranger. The blonde parried the Fury's blows with her Amazon bracelets. Mary shouted over the din of battle, "This is stupid! Athena is just using you!"

Landing atop one of the banquet tables, Tricia recovered from Holly's punch. She glared murderously at the impertinent redhead as she ma.s.saged her bruised jaw. "You dare attack me! One of Athena's Elect?" She slashed at Holly with her katars. The blades sliced the air as Holly dodged the strikes as nimbly as a cat. Cups and plates clattered to the floor as the two women dueled upon the cluttered tabletop. Food and drink spilled over into the other Amazons' laps. Tricia's tattooed face turned a livid shade of purple. "I'll gut you and feed the pieces to my dogs!"

Less than ten paces away, Harley flipped the black knight directly into the path of the pale, bald-headed Fury, who found herself knocked off her feet by her own comrade. Confusion reigned as the tangled Furies bowled over several of the jostling spectators as well. Harley laughed uproariously at the slapstick spectacle, and Mary had to admit that the irritating flake knew how to fight. "Come on, ladies!" Harley called out to the scattered initiates, who seemed torn between fleeing the violence and competing with each other for the best view. They crowded around the combatants, adding to the chaos. Harley wagged a finger at her audience. "What happened to the whole 'Sisterhood of Paradise Island' vibe we had going here?"

The same thing that happened with my best friend and soul mate, Eclipso, Mary thought bitterly. It was all just a scam to take advantage of vulnerable young women . . . and turn them into killers.

"Is that the best you've got, Tricia?" Holly ducked beneath the Fury's katars and delivered a solid uppercut to her chin. Tricia toppled backward onto the tabletop, landing flat on her back amidst squashed cheese and figs. "Don't you get special training points for brownnosing Athena?"

The winged Fury flapped angrily above them, looking for an opening. Holly grabbed a silver platter from the table and hurled it like a discus at the second-rate Hawkgirl impersonator. The spinning tray clipped the soaring Fury in the skull, throwing her off course, and she crashed headfirst into a nearby column. "Thank you for flying Air Paradise!" Holly quipped. "Happy landings!"

Up on the dais, the G.o.ddess finally lost her composure. "Why is this taking so long?" she screeched. "Kill them, my Furies! Kill them now!"

A new voice interrupted Athena's tirade. "If anyone dies today, pretender, it shall be you!"

Hippolyta marched through the archway onto the platform. An unsheathed sword occupied her right hand. A gleaming shield, embossed with the emblem of a magnificent eagle, rested upon her strong left arm. Her purple cape rustled behind her.

"You!" Athena blurted. Her startled face betrayed her shock. "You can't be here!"

"I've been away too long!" Hippolyta advanced on Athena. Her sword flashed in the moonlight. "This island is not your personal training ground! The G.o.ds bestowed it upon us as a place of peace and harmony!"

"Awesome! It's the queen!" Harley pumped her fist in the air. "Kick her phony-baloney a.s.s, your majesty!"

Hippolyta swung her sword at Athena, forcing the false G.o.ddess to retreat to the very edge of the dais. "Peace and harmony are for weaklings!" Athena sneered. Bright orange bolts of energy blasted from her fingertips. "You should have stayed away, Hippolyta! You no longer rule here!"

"That's where you're mistaken." Hippolyta jumped above the destructive blasts, which reduced a portion of the dais to splinters instead. Smoke rose from the charred timbers. "Show them who you really are! Reveal the true face of the deceiver!"

Her blade slashed past Athena's defenses. The sword's point sliced across the G.o.ddess's porcelain features, drawing a crimson line upon her cheek. Athena squealed in pain. "My face!" she cried out-as a carefully crafted illusion shattered.

Athena's regal facade blurred and wavered, like an out-of-focus television signal, before blinking out entirely. The elegant, silk-draped G.o.ddess vanished, replaced by a stocky figure very different in appearance. Where Athena had been, there now stood a craggy-faced harridan whose matronly frame was corseted into studded leather armor. A mane of thick white hair framed her scowling face. Cruelty and contempt were etched upon her deeply furrowed countenance. Icy blue eyes peered out from beneath bristling black eyebrows. Scaly green chain mail protected her stout legs. A dark red cloak with a raised collar was clasped to her shoulders. Glowing energy-gauntlets hummed upon her wrists. Mary recognized the hideous crone at once.

Holy Moley! It's Granny Goodness!

The name, bestowed upon the evil New G.o.d by Darkseid himself, was one of the Dark Lord's crueler jests. Granny Goodness was infamous for the h.e.l.lish orphanages she administered upon Apokolips, whose sole purpose was to mold the lost children of Armagetto into bloodthirsty minions of Darkseid. Mary's heart sank as she suddenly remembered why the term "Female Furies" had sounded so familiar. The Female Furies of Apokolips were Granny's prize students, the cream of her s.a.d.i.s.tic crop. Now, it seemed, she'd expanded her vile franchise to Paradise Island.

Did Eclipso know about this? Mary worried, disturbed to discover that she had not yet escaped Darkseid's malign ambitions. Were she and Granny working together, or were they competing for the Dark Lord's approval?

"Evil child!" Granny croaked hoa.r.s.ely. Reddened fingers came away from her injured cheek. "You actually hurt your Granny!"

"You're no kin of mine!" Hippolyta shot back. "And that wound is but a precursor to the punishment that awaits you!" Her shield deflected another blast from Granny's gauntlets. "Alone against you, I knew I might not prevail, but with good, strong women at my side, you falter like the coward you are!"

"No! d.a.m.n you!" Immortal blood dripped down Granny's face as she hastily depressed a b.u.t.ton upon her gauntlet. A thunderclap shook the palace as a swirling vortex opened up in the air above the dais. Fearing Hippolyta's wrath, Granny darted into the vortex with surprising speed. She disappeared into the shimmering Boom Tube.

"Witness!" Hippolyta commanded all present. She raised her sword in victory. "Defeated, she flees with her tail between her legs!"

Mary breathed a sigh of relief. Had the evil infesting Themyscira been routed so easily? Abandoned by their G.o.ddess, and stunned by the revelation of her true appearance, the Female Furies looked floored by Granny's retreat. Their arms drooped slackly at their sides. Tricia's katars slipped from her fingers as she stared numbly at the vortex that had swallowed her divine leader. Like the other Furies, she didn't seem to have any more fight in her.

It's over, Mary thought.