Post by redsycorax on May 24, 2022 1:06:24 GMT
In September 1972, the heroic sentient android Red Tornado apparently sacrificed his existence to save his native Earth-Two from destruction, but the resultant detonation of an explosive device led to his interuniversal displacement to Earth-One, where he joined the Justice League of America instead. But elsewhere in an infinite multiverse, that was not so...
++
EARTH-774:
"On this alternate Earth, history diverged from the datum in the sixties. Dwight Eisenhower decided to serve for another presidential term, and as a consequence, Richard Nixon was the one assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald in 1963 instead, substituting for the president due to the latter's preoccupation with negotiating an arms limitation deal with Nikolai Krushchev. Without Nixon's presence, history evolved differently here. The United States did not enter the Vietnam War, and the civil rights cause evolved further. Russia and China did not provide assistance to North Vietnam, which forced it to stay within its existing territorial boundaries. When Eisenhower did retire in 1964, JFK served two presidential terms, ending in 1972. The United States never went through the disillusionment and malaise that characterised the seventies in other alternate universes in the aftermath of Nixon's Watergate scandal.
Metahumans: This universe's Krypton did not explode and while it is aware of the existence of Earth, it regards it as an underdeveloped backwater away from the mainstream of galactic affairs. Thomas and Martha Wayne only had one son, Thomas, and due to an unfortunate accident, the pair were unable to attend the theatre which was adjacent to Crime Alley. Joe Chill shot and killed someone else instead that night. Barry Allen suffered hideous chemical burns instead of being gifted with superspeed when lightning struck chemicals in Central City. The Guardians assigned Abin Sur elsewhere than Earth, so Hal Jordan never became Green Lantern of that sector. Similarly, Katar and Shayera Hol managed to apprehend and thwart the interstellar flight of a Thanagarian villain, meaning that the police officers in question never ended up there. The Amazons left Earth centuries ago...
However. Earth-774 does have a coalition of metahuman law enforcers. The Enhanced Justice Initiative consists of five key operatives- Magno, whose mutant control over magnetism, invulnerability and flight makes him this world's strongest human being; Invisibility, Scarlet O'Neill, a crimefighter whose accidentally acquired ability to disappear from sight or surveillance equipment makes her an asset to her colleagues; Vampire, Carmilla Karnstein, descendant of the legendary Translyvanian female vampire but fully committed to the pursuit of truth and justice; 7/11, a two fisted crimefighter whose secret identity is socialite, Daniel Dyce; and Nemesis, a virtuous undead embodied soul known on Earth as Detective Steven Flint, with skills and abilities far beyond those of mortal men and women..."
Heisenberg Alternate Probability Index Identifiers: Earth-744.
++
RICHARD M. NIXON MEMORIAL AIRPORT, NEW YORK:
Magno was the first to witness the falling scarlet clad caped form and soared aloft to intercept it. Alongside him, Vampire frowned:
"Pete? I'm not picking up any heartbeat or breathing from that falling person."
Peter Charlton (Magno) nodded as his sanguinolagnist colleague joined him aloft:
"Yes, I detected that with my magnetic sense, Carrie. Fortunately, if that is an android, it makes it easier for me to get up to it..."
"But why would an inert android just suddenly appear in our atmosphere?" Vampire said, as their telepathic plugs suddenly became active:
"I don't think it's alien," Nemesis interjected from the EJI's mountain headquarters, "I would have detected any disturbance in the life/death continuum if there'd been any major space battle near Earth. Do you two want me down there to help out?"
"No, thanks, Steve. Say, have Dan and Scarlet gotten back from their last mission yet?"
"No to that, Pete. They've been in touch, but they're still tending to paperwork."
"I think we'll all be grateful when Alaska and Hawaii finally become proper US states. Having to do this every time we enter a US territory is wearing on us. Honestly, they've let in Guam, Puerto Rico and the former District of Columbia, why not those two as well?"
At length, the two metahumans reached the falling scarlet android:
"Steve, can you get the teleporter locked in on us? This fellow looks in a bad way."
"Affirmative on that, Pete. Hang on..."
MOUNT JUSTICE, ROCKIES:
As the trio materialised, the android blinked and swayed, becoming fully aware for the first time of its surroundings. It looked around it:
"W-Where am I? Who are you?"
"We're called the Enhanced Justice Initiative. We defend truth, justice, law and order in the United States of America."
Red Tornado sounded disorientated: "The Justice Society would have told me about any such organisation."
"Whoa. What's this 'Justice Society?' Suppose we start with names and background details. I'm Magno, this is Vampire. We rescued you near Richard M. Nixon Memorial Airport."
"'Memorial?' When did the former US president die?"
"Former 'president?' No, pal, Nixon only ever got to be Ike Eisenhower's Vice President. A loose cannon assassin, one Lee Harvey Oswald, shot him in Dallas on November 22, 1963. Sam Rayburn was the Republican presidential candidate in '64, but JFK got the vote instead and served two terms in the Oval Office. Hubert Humphrey's the current incumbent." Magno offered.
"Are you from a parallel world?" Vampire offered. Red Tornado realised what must have happened:
"I am the Red Tornado, from what must therefore be an alternate Earth to this one, Earth-Two. I...sacrificed myself to save my world from a post-human villain called Nebula Man, who threatened to crush my world with a solidified dark matter electromagnetic and gravitational 'hand' simulacra. At least...I thought I had. I seem to have been dimensionally displaced."
Magno whistled: "Phew, good thing we don't have enemies of that magnitude here, usually. My rogues, the Clown and Black Puma are bad enough. Steve here has the most baroque costumed villains."
Nemesis knelt by the sprawled Red Tornado: "Look, I'm sorry, Tornado, but you've sustained damage. From what I can make out, if you enter the dimensional void that is supposed to surround the multiverse's alternate universes, you won't make it out alive. I'm sorry."
Vampire looked across at the others: "I have a suggestion to make. Red Tornado, you appear to have crime fighting and law enforcement experience. You may find things rather dull on our Earth given what you're used to, but we're usually run ragged at the best of times. And as for the worst of times..."
"It...would be an honour. I am grateful that your world regards me as an asset."
Magno shrugged: "Well, we may be a backwater in the outer limits of the multiverse I imagine, but our world has some quirks. For example, during the Kennedy years, the United States made a breakthrough in artificial intelligence tech, which led to the Doe v Gorton SCOTUS decision. Androids and AIs have full sentients rights here. Hell, I'm a mutant, Carrie here's a descendant of the notorious Transylvanian vampire Carmilla Karnstein but on the side of the angels-"
"Making up for my monstrous ancestor's transgressions is how I'd put it, Pete." Vampire replied.
"Steve here- Nemesis- is one of the virtuous undead. He got a free bus pass out of the afterlife due to a Grim Reaper backlog and takes care of our more supernatural dastards. You haven't met Danny- 7/11 - yet, but he's our brains trust. He got unjustly imprisoned a while back and when the justice system eventually realised its mistake, it had to pay Danny compensation. Due to some canny investments, and his own innate scientific skills, 7/11 takes care of our crime fighting hardware. Such as it is."
"Ah, there he is now. Hello, Danny. How was Hawaii?"
Wearily, 7/11 sat down in a chair opposite that of the Red Tornado:
"That was exhausting. Next time, one of you gets to chase down and apprehend Brickbat."
Red Tornado then detected an invisible presence. His sensors told him that the newcomer was female:
"Oh, and as you've probably realised, given your android sensory array, this is Scarlet, aka Invisibility. She gets to use her abilities to sneak past our enemies and kayo them from behind." The invisible form was replaced by the outline of a young, dark haired woman in an elegant leather catsuit.
"Uh...Brickbat?" Red Tornado sounded bemused.
7/11 rolled his eyes: "Oh, the Cowled Criminal and I go back a long way. He wears this pretentious pointy eared cowl which is supposed to resemble a bat of some kind and this lime green suit. His initial gimmick used to be exploding poison gas brickettes, but then he branched out into booby-trapped buildings. He also has this inferiority complex compared to the rest of our regular cast of no-goodniks. With that outfit of his, it's no surprise. Why can't I have a proper rogues gallery like Steve here?"
Vampire squeezed his hand: "As for me, the green bodysuit protects me from the sunlight, garlic, pointed stakes, religious symbols and other hazards of the sanguinolagnist... sorry, blood drinker...life. Or unlife, depending how you'd class it. I know we're probably not what you're used to, Tornado, and we're probably a lot more mundane. But what Peter said goes- we'd be glad to sign you up."
Red Tornado reflected on this. These were good, earnest people who protected the weak and vulnerable from harm and who fought those who preyed on them. He belonged here now. Unsteadily, given his recent ordeal on Earth-Two, he got to his feet and replied:
"My friends, it would be an honour."
And with that, the Enhanced Justice Initiative acquired its sixth member...
THE END
++
EARTH-774:
"On this alternate Earth, history diverged from the datum in the sixties. Dwight Eisenhower decided to serve for another presidential term, and as a consequence, Richard Nixon was the one assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald in 1963 instead, substituting for the president due to the latter's preoccupation with negotiating an arms limitation deal with Nikolai Krushchev. Without Nixon's presence, history evolved differently here. The United States did not enter the Vietnam War, and the civil rights cause evolved further. Russia and China did not provide assistance to North Vietnam, which forced it to stay within its existing territorial boundaries. When Eisenhower did retire in 1964, JFK served two presidential terms, ending in 1972. The United States never went through the disillusionment and malaise that characterised the seventies in other alternate universes in the aftermath of Nixon's Watergate scandal.
Metahumans: This universe's Krypton did not explode and while it is aware of the existence of Earth, it regards it as an underdeveloped backwater away from the mainstream of galactic affairs. Thomas and Martha Wayne only had one son, Thomas, and due to an unfortunate accident, the pair were unable to attend the theatre which was adjacent to Crime Alley. Joe Chill shot and killed someone else instead that night. Barry Allen suffered hideous chemical burns instead of being gifted with superspeed when lightning struck chemicals in Central City. The Guardians assigned Abin Sur elsewhere than Earth, so Hal Jordan never became Green Lantern of that sector. Similarly, Katar and Shayera Hol managed to apprehend and thwart the interstellar flight of a Thanagarian villain, meaning that the police officers in question never ended up there. The Amazons left Earth centuries ago...
However. Earth-774 does have a coalition of metahuman law enforcers. The Enhanced Justice Initiative consists of five key operatives- Magno, whose mutant control over magnetism, invulnerability and flight makes him this world's strongest human being; Invisibility, Scarlet O'Neill, a crimefighter whose accidentally acquired ability to disappear from sight or surveillance equipment makes her an asset to her colleagues; Vampire, Carmilla Karnstein, descendant of the legendary Translyvanian female vampire but fully committed to the pursuit of truth and justice; 7/11, a two fisted crimefighter whose secret identity is socialite, Daniel Dyce; and Nemesis, a virtuous undead embodied soul known on Earth as Detective Steven Flint, with skills and abilities far beyond those of mortal men and women..."
Heisenberg Alternate Probability Index Identifiers: Earth-744.
++
RICHARD M. NIXON MEMORIAL AIRPORT, NEW YORK:
Magno was the first to witness the falling scarlet clad caped form and soared aloft to intercept it. Alongside him, Vampire frowned:
"Pete? I'm not picking up any heartbeat or breathing from that falling person."
Peter Charlton (Magno) nodded as his sanguinolagnist colleague joined him aloft:
"Yes, I detected that with my magnetic sense, Carrie. Fortunately, if that is an android, it makes it easier for me to get up to it..."
"But why would an inert android just suddenly appear in our atmosphere?" Vampire said, as their telepathic plugs suddenly became active:
"I don't think it's alien," Nemesis interjected from the EJI's mountain headquarters, "I would have detected any disturbance in the life/death continuum if there'd been any major space battle near Earth. Do you two want me down there to help out?"
"No, thanks, Steve. Say, have Dan and Scarlet gotten back from their last mission yet?"
"No to that, Pete. They've been in touch, but they're still tending to paperwork."
"I think we'll all be grateful when Alaska and Hawaii finally become proper US states. Having to do this every time we enter a US territory is wearing on us. Honestly, they've let in Guam, Puerto Rico and the former District of Columbia, why not those two as well?"
At length, the two metahumans reached the falling scarlet android:
"Steve, can you get the teleporter locked in on us? This fellow looks in a bad way."
"Affirmative on that, Pete. Hang on..."
MOUNT JUSTICE, ROCKIES:
As the trio materialised, the android blinked and swayed, becoming fully aware for the first time of its surroundings. It looked around it:
"W-Where am I? Who are you?"
"We're called the Enhanced Justice Initiative. We defend truth, justice, law and order in the United States of America."
Red Tornado sounded disorientated: "The Justice Society would have told me about any such organisation."
"Whoa. What's this 'Justice Society?' Suppose we start with names and background details. I'm Magno, this is Vampire. We rescued you near Richard M. Nixon Memorial Airport."
"'Memorial?' When did the former US president die?"
"Former 'president?' No, pal, Nixon only ever got to be Ike Eisenhower's Vice President. A loose cannon assassin, one Lee Harvey Oswald, shot him in Dallas on November 22, 1963. Sam Rayburn was the Republican presidential candidate in '64, but JFK got the vote instead and served two terms in the Oval Office. Hubert Humphrey's the current incumbent." Magno offered.
"Are you from a parallel world?" Vampire offered. Red Tornado realised what must have happened:
"I am the Red Tornado, from what must therefore be an alternate Earth to this one, Earth-Two. I...sacrificed myself to save my world from a post-human villain called Nebula Man, who threatened to crush my world with a solidified dark matter electromagnetic and gravitational 'hand' simulacra. At least...I thought I had. I seem to have been dimensionally displaced."
Magno whistled: "Phew, good thing we don't have enemies of that magnitude here, usually. My rogues, the Clown and Black Puma are bad enough. Steve here has the most baroque costumed villains."
Nemesis knelt by the sprawled Red Tornado: "Look, I'm sorry, Tornado, but you've sustained damage. From what I can make out, if you enter the dimensional void that is supposed to surround the multiverse's alternate universes, you won't make it out alive. I'm sorry."
Vampire looked across at the others: "I have a suggestion to make. Red Tornado, you appear to have crime fighting and law enforcement experience. You may find things rather dull on our Earth given what you're used to, but we're usually run ragged at the best of times. And as for the worst of times..."
"It...would be an honour. I am grateful that your world regards me as an asset."
Magno shrugged: "Well, we may be a backwater in the outer limits of the multiverse I imagine, but our world has some quirks. For example, during the Kennedy years, the United States made a breakthrough in artificial intelligence tech, which led to the Doe v Gorton SCOTUS decision. Androids and AIs have full sentients rights here. Hell, I'm a mutant, Carrie here's a descendant of the notorious Transylvanian vampire Carmilla Karnstein but on the side of the angels-"
"Making up for my monstrous ancestor's transgressions is how I'd put it, Pete." Vampire replied.
"Steve here- Nemesis- is one of the virtuous undead. He got a free bus pass out of the afterlife due to a Grim Reaper backlog and takes care of our more supernatural dastards. You haven't met Danny- 7/11 - yet, but he's our brains trust. He got unjustly imprisoned a while back and when the justice system eventually realised its mistake, it had to pay Danny compensation. Due to some canny investments, and his own innate scientific skills, 7/11 takes care of our crime fighting hardware. Such as it is."
"Ah, there he is now. Hello, Danny. How was Hawaii?"
Wearily, 7/11 sat down in a chair opposite that of the Red Tornado:
"That was exhausting. Next time, one of you gets to chase down and apprehend Brickbat."
Red Tornado then detected an invisible presence. His sensors told him that the newcomer was female:
"Oh, and as you've probably realised, given your android sensory array, this is Scarlet, aka Invisibility. She gets to use her abilities to sneak past our enemies and kayo them from behind." The invisible form was replaced by the outline of a young, dark haired woman in an elegant leather catsuit.
"Uh...Brickbat?" Red Tornado sounded bemused.
7/11 rolled his eyes: "Oh, the Cowled Criminal and I go back a long way. He wears this pretentious pointy eared cowl which is supposed to resemble a bat of some kind and this lime green suit. His initial gimmick used to be exploding poison gas brickettes, but then he branched out into booby-trapped buildings. He also has this inferiority complex compared to the rest of our regular cast of no-goodniks. With that outfit of his, it's no surprise. Why can't I have a proper rogues gallery like Steve here?"
Vampire squeezed his hand: "As for me, the green bodysuit protects me from the sunlight, garlic, pointed stakes, religious symbols and other hazards of the sanguinolagnist... sorry, blood drinker...life. Or unlife, depending how you'd class it. I know we're probably not what you're used to, Tornado, and we're probably a lot more mundane. But what Peter said goes- we'd be glad to sign you up."
Red Tornado reflected on this. These were good, earnest people who protected the weak and vulnerable from harm and who fought those who preyed on them. He belonged here now. Unsteadily, given his recent ordeal on Earth-Two, he got to his feet and replied:
"My friends, it would be an honour."
And with that, the Enhanced Justice Initiative acquired its sixth member...
THE END