A/N—No, I'm not dead. I've just been busy lately. Anyways, here's the next chapter in the story and read and review as you like. If this story is dead and receives very few reviews (completely my fault for not updating), then I will probably discontinue it permanently. If that's the case (and I hope it's not), apologies to loyal fans, and thanks to all of you for reading.
Chapter 5
At 5 a.m. EST, most of New York City was still soundly asleep in their snug beds. Twenty-two minutes later, a cantankerous boom echoed throughout the city when a bright, white portal opened up in the heart of the city. Many New Yorkers exasperatedly walked to their windows to find out who or what in their right mind would wake them up from their peaceful slumber. Some fainted at the sight.
Thousands of para-demons were streaming through white portals; they were led by a familiar man, someone who had come to haunt their children's nightmares and, though some would not admit it, their own—Steppenwolf. By 5:45 a.m. EST, the nation was in an uproar. Phone lines buzzed across the nation as anyone awake called their loved ones, who in turn called their loved ones, and so on. By 6 a.m. EST, Kim Possible, Ron Stoppable, and a great many other honorary Global Justice members were on a plane to New York. By 6:30 a.m. EST, the U.S. national army arrived on the scene, guns blazing and artillery tearing through the city.
The war had officially begun.
X.X"Kim, are you alright?" yelled Ron over the cacophony of fighting. He knocked out another para-demon with the Lotus Blade.
"Fine, Ron!" Kim yelled back as she kicked off the para-demon on top of her. She had to admit—these things were tough and giving them all they could handle. At least they weren't immune to artillery like their leader showed to be; speaking of Steppenwolf, he was staring at the battle with watchful eyes, calculating his next move. The planet was putting up a far tougher battle than expected. He stared down at a boy tearing the para-demons apart with dexterity that reminded him of the Dark Knight's fighting. Next to him was a girl putting up her own, though not so well.
He decided that was enough. Unhooking his whip from his side, he brandished the weapon as it started cackling with energy. In one swift moment, he attacked the girl. The boy looked up in horror as the whip came crashing down.
X.XRon looked around, figuring that he might live to fight another day. However, as his eyes scanned the horizon, he saw Steppenwolf approach Kim with inhuman speed. He watched as his world slowed down, and the whip slowly approached its target. Ron screamed at her but knew Steppenwolf was too fast for her to dodge. In one desperate motion, he dived at her, only to feel a hand on his shoulder stop him. Staring helplessly, he watched as the whip descended an inch from Kim's head; he couldn't even follow what happened next.
A blue blur approached from nowhere and in a moment was in front of the whip. Standing in front of him was someone who reminded him of Hego; blue spandex and a tall, imposing figure to back it all up. The whip cackled against the man's chest before being drawn back.
"Kal-el!" he heard Steppenwolf yell with…was that fear?
"Leave man's world," came a beautiful voice from behind him. He turned around and came face to face with a goddess. Long, dark hair cascaded down her back as she glared fiercely at Steppenwolf. Steppenwolf floated back into the air and looked around uncomfortably. He wasn't sure how many of the heroes had followed him, but judging by the quick destruction of his army, he guessed enough. His para-demons were now getting slaughtered by the enemy.
Red flashes and blue blurs zipped through his numbers.
Green arrows exploded into his crowded numbers.
The extraterrestrial being he only knew as the Martian Manhunter was single-handedly trashing part of his army, phasing through his troops or outright destroying them.
A giant green hammer was pounding his troops into submission—all of it willed by the determination of a single man with the Green Lantern ring.
The Amazon warrior was slicing through his numbers with her battle sword.
And the Dark Knight, still only human, was taking on multiple paratroopers.
Furthermore, the rest of the human race wasn't doing too badly either.
He knew he was defeated.
"Retreat!" he yelled, as a dozen boom portals opened and his army retreated into them. The last thing he heard was the loud cheering of the earthlings.
"Who are you?" Ron asked in awe. Now he truly did believe in miracles.
"We're the Justice League."
Two Weeks Later"So you miss the hero business yet?" asked Bonnie, keeping in stride with him while they jogged.
"Not at all. I haven't felt so free in a long time. It's great to know that there are…well…super heroes like Superman watching over us now."
"And who was right about their existence?" She giggled as he groaned.
"You were," he admitted. "Though this does mean you aren't dating a real hero anymore."
"Life is full of sacrifices, isn't it?" she said sarcastically. He laughed in reply. "You'll always be my hero." 'You saved my life.'
"Let's not get too sappy here," he playfully replied.
"I just said that to make you feel better." He rolled his eyes.
"You know what would make me feel better?"
"What's that?"
"This." And with that, he lightly tackled Bonnie as the two tumbled into the snow laughing. As they kissed, Bonnie missed the subtle spasm that went through Ron's body.
X.XOn an inconspicuous island in the Bermuda triangle lay a fortress of impressive magnitude. Not only was the area surrounded by violent waters that gnashed against the island's high cliffs, but the fortress itself had enough failsafes to ward off Global Justice for an indefinite period of time; that, or at least enough time for its inhabitants to escape. After all, the meeting place of the world's most notorious villains needed to be fancy and elaborate, even, if for practical purposes, most of the functions (such as laser backscratchers) were superfluous. Then again, the villains had acquired quite an impressive amount of assets to add to the Senors' assets and, much to Fruger Luger's dismay, spent it freely.
Drakken, though, was busy in his own self-designed lab. He knew now, beyond a shadow of a doubt, exactly what was happening with his experimental rats. He just didn't know how to cure it.
"Darkken, it's pointless."
"Shego! It is NOT pointless." He stopped thoughtfully for a second before continuing. "Besides, even if it WERE pointless, what better things could I do right now?"
"Well, you know…trying to take over the world?" Drakken laughed.
"With the 'Justice League' here to protect us?" Drakken replied. Shego sighed. He had a point.
"Well, it's not like Superman doesn't have ANY weaknesses right?" Her only reply was a thrown newspaper. She picked it up and read the front page.
"Superman Halts Missile Test. Hmm…interesting." She continued reading as her eyes widened. "As part of his campaign dubbed "a world without weapons," Superman stopped the trajectory of the 10 megaton nuclear missile with blunt impact, ramming the missile off course four miles in the air before detonating it with his eyes. Speculation is that he was caught in the explosion because witnesses claim to have seen an object described as a "blue shooting star" crash into the earth. Within minutes of impact, Superman flew out of the crater, seemingly unharmed."
"We're not fighting against Kim Possible anymore. We're out of our league." Shego rolled her eyes at the pun. "And I'd rather have a world governed by Superman than no world at all."
"Yes well, tell that to Stoppable. Do you think he wants the 'world' he has when he finds out?" An uncomfortable silence passed between the two.
"He'll find out in due time."
"Oh yea? When's that? When he's writhing in pain as his body systematically tears itself apart?"
"Alright, Shego, how do I tell him?" She thoughtfully sat and wondered.
"Send him the results. Nothing else."
"And what if he doesn't understand them?"
"We both know what the formula did to his mind. He probably has a higher IQ than you by now."
"And still growing…" Drakken muttered.
"Yea, and it'll keep growing until…"
"…his brain can't handle it anymore," Drakken finished. He wondered if there really was no hope for Stoppable.
April 1st (Over a month later)
April Fool's Day was supposed to be like any other day except better because it allowed people to goof off and let go a little bit more. It's a day of innocence, going back to childish roots of whoopee cushions and gum tasting like vomit. It was on this day Bonnie got her acceptance letter to a very prestigious institution; she anxiously awaited the mailman to arrive and ripped open the packet immediately before yelling in glee. Ron Stoppable also received a life-changing packet on April Fool's Day as he lazily walked towards his mailbox and opened it. Inside, the smooth, brown envelope contrasted its contents. Ron saw his name on the cover and took it inside and opened it. His eyes widened in shock.
April Fool's Day would never be the same again. Neither would his life. 'Or what's left of it' he thought bitterly to himself.
On April Fool's Day, one person couldn't stop laughing. That number became two, then four, then hundreds. On April Fool's Day Batman saw someone he hoped he'd never have to see again. On April Fool's Day, the biggest prankster of all showed up in Middleton with maniacal laughter. The Joker had arrived.
A/N--No, the Joker is not some "random" cameo. Yes, Ron Stoppable is dying. Yes, the story will go back to its angsty roots. Yes, characters will start dying left and right. Yes, Darkseid is coming back.
If the story continues I mean. Please and review if you want it to.