|
Post by DC Dystopia Council on Aug 16, 2010 21:47:50 GMT -5
Here is a recounting of the events which ended the world that was, and those that forged the world as it now is. They have been cobbled together from recovered records in the ruins of Oa, including the last chronicled words of the vanquished Spectre and testimony of the survivors.
|
|
|
Post by DC Dystopia Council on Aug 16, 2010 21:57:48 GMT -5
Journal of John Constantine: 12-15-2021
Starting a new journal today, my last one was lost when those bloody vampire bastards raided New Orleans and I barely escaped with my oh-so-handsome face still attached to me head. Ah well, thing will turn up some day, cursed magical things always seem to find their way back to me. Been a while since I’ve had the luxury to sit and think instead of just run or fight. Been a while since I’ve had paper too, come to think on it.
Meeting up with Z soon, back out east in Wayne’s backyard. Wonder if I should be jealous, she always seems to end up back around the brooding bat bastard. I hope she’s ok, I hate when we split up for a spell on different missions. Its not safe, her out alone, not with killer legs like she's got.
I’m hiding out in the ruins of an old fake-english pub, somewhere in Tennessee. Makes me think of London…which always makes me think of Tim.
Fookin four-eyed skinny lil punk. I still see him as he was that first day, when me and the lads convinced ourselves it was time to have a word with the boy. Lil Tim Hunter, just a kid, but destined to be the most powerful mage of the age. Everyone could feel it, everyone but him. Kid didn’t even believe magic was real. Well, me and the lads convinced him of that, we did. Took him on a first rate tour of the cosmos, from start to finish to send his lil kiddie head spinnin’.
We thought we had done it, good job done nice and proper. And Tim seemed to get it, seemed to be enthused for magic, to understand light over dark, good over evil. We walked away right proud from that job we did. Cocksure of ourselves “Eh, Phantom Stranger, nice job. You too Mister E, not a bad bloke once you get past how fooking weird you are, lets go have a pint and celebrate securing a win for the good guys when Timmy grows up.”
Yeah, damn good job. So good the lil bastard still managed to slip through our fingers. I still don’t know how it happened. We were so SURE he had got it. I guess I'll never know why or how he went to the dark.
All I know is I wish I’d strangled the skinny lil cunt when I first met him on that London street. Hell…I’d stab his ol’ mum in the belly with a broken whiskey bottle if I could go back in time.
Fook I’m tired. Few days till Winter Solstice, if that has any meaning anymore. No bloody snow anymore so it doesn’t feel like it. Winter Solstice…I wonder if theres any of that ol' pagan magic still bottled up in Jolly ol’ England to be had?
I doubt it. Winter Solstice is fooked. Whole damn planet and its magic is just fooked. Maybe me and Z can find a way to fix it.
Prolly not.
Bloody hell I’m tired and grumpy. I'd kill for a proper cigarette, an ol' Camel, maybe a fancy Dunhill like they made before The Breaking.
Night journal, see ya in the morning if the piskies or reavers don’t gobble me up while I sleep.
|
|
|
Post by DC Dystopia Council on Aug 17, 2010 22:47:44 GMT -5
Magical Recording of the Spectre's Warning: Witnessed and stored in the seer tablet by the Muse Clio Stored in the secured vaults of the grand library at Themyscira August the 5th 2009 A.D. A ripple in space appears, filling the place with a billowing warm green light. This light shifts into emerald fabric, twisting and twining as if were a creature alive. This fabric wraps about the form of a man, receding to reveal his face. A face white as the purest ivory and hard as the purest marble. The eyes appear blank and empty, until one gazes deeper and sees the far-off visions of ominous skulls. The white lips part, and the booming voice which speaks for the Creator Himself issues forth:Hear me Hippolyta, Queen of Amazon, Mistress of Themyscira, I bring tidings of dire importance. This age of man draws to its close, as all ages before it have, and all ages to come one day must.
There has been a disturbance in the continuum, the threads of the fates have been plucked without the knowledge or consent of the Kindly Ones. Plans once so carefully orchestrated have fallen away to uncertainty and disaster.
The boy has been turned. The darkness has overtaken the light of his soul. Etrigan and the agents of Hell, the dark Lords of Tartarus, have had a hand in this. My righteous fire has wrought confessions from the screaming tongues of some of their number.
A simple gambit to claim Hell from Lucifer perhaps, though Etrigan is a small-minded fool. The boy will soon overtake him, overtake them all as their new King Eternal.
I have failed in my vigil, in foreseeing and preventing this from occurring. The universe resonates with discord; I believe Etrigan must have been aided by some unseen force or benefactor in order to achieve this turning of the boy to Darkness. We have allowed distractions to keep us from this most important task. Our day of Vengence, Our Infinite Crisis, our Blackest Night, all distractions. And now it is too late, the boy is set upon the path of Evil and I cannot save him. All that is left now is to prepare and save what we can.
Great war is coming, the war that will consume this world, this age, the stars themselves. It is ordained that darkness will rule if the boy stands with them. We must once more usurp Destiny, risk the wrath of the Furies to untangle their disturbed threads of fate.
Fortify your kingdom and safeguard what magic you can, for magic will become most precious currency in the years to come. I believe there is a chance to mitigate the damage from outright destruction of all light, though it demands my sacrifice.
The years to come shall be dark, they shall be hard and they shall be cruel. But they will not be the end of Man if I am able to stop the boy.
I must warn other realms. May the strength and wisdom of your heroes never wane. Farewell... The booming voice rescinds to a quiet whisper, then silence as the white lips close. The distant skulls disappear in the white fog of the pale, blank eyes. The white face disappears beneath the green fabric of the cape. The fabric unwraps, the form of the man vanished. The fabric twists and twines shifting into a warm green light. The warm green light billows softly, disappearing into a ripple in space.
|
|
|
Post by DC Dystopia Council on Aug 26, 2010 22:26:45 GMT -5
Oa Planetary Citadel, Headquarters of the Green Lantern Corps Voice Logs of the Guardians of the Universe (Circa Earth Years 2010-2012 A.D.)
Starlog 20323.8978.11 Entry: Anomalous readings occurring with greater frequency across a wider area of space. The readings were first detected in Sector 2814 as unclassifiable energy sources. One popular theorem is that these anomalies are sources of magical power, which would explain why the computer cannot classify, but does not explain why so many are appearing. The anomalies are sprawling out from Sector 2814, proceeding systematically in all directions. Requesting sector Lanterns Stewart and Jordan investigate and report in.
Starlog 20324.4499.13 Entry: Further anomalous energy sources spreading throughout space, but this curiosity has become a secondary priority. News today that Apocalypse has emptied. The warlord Darkseid has disappeared with his armies and war machines to parts unknown. Sector Lanterns have been missing for 2 cycles. This is classified major priority for all Lanterns: Locate and report in on whereabouts of Darkseid of any of his known agents. 4 other Lanterns from different sectors have gone missing in the past cycle.
Starlog 20324.6613.79 Entry: Darkseid and his armies have been confirmed in sector 2814. Warnings issued to the planet Earth, additional Lanterns dispatched to augment regular sector Lanterns. Multiple other threats have been detected moving toward sector 2814 and the planet Earth. Anomolous readings of growing energy signatures have grown to unacceptable levels. Emergency council of the Guardians to take place and preliminary mobilization procedures initiated in expectation that the Lantern Corps may be dispatched to war.
Starlog 20324.9973.56 Entry: War rages across the Universe. So sudden, so completely consuming that it has stunned us all. Every sector burning with upheaval. The anomolies have spread everywhere with magic rising up to confound and confront our technological, scientific might. Earth suffers most of all. Many deaths. Reports that the Justice League has broken, fires consume the innocent as the center of this Universal War pulses from the planet. By order of the Guardians, a contingent of Green Lanterns is being sent to Earth to aid the remains of the Justice League, salvage the planet, and hopefully end this mad war. New reports of Black Lantern sightings, however nothing has been confirmed.
Starlog 20324.0023.67 Entry: The Citadel is under attack. Planet-wide defense systems have been initiated. Black Lanterns once again move among us. The traitor Sinestro has returned, leading the armies of Apocalypse, and a host of magical terrors from Earth. There is a man among their number, identified as “Hunter”, whose energy signature matches the anomalies we have been tracking these past months. His power levels are astounding. Emergency beacons have been activated; all Green Lanterns and any allies who hear our plea are to come to Oa immediately to aid.
Starlog 20324.0024.22 Entry: Most of the Corps lies dead. Planetary defense grid destroyed. I may be the last of the Guardians. Hunter was too strong, incomprehensibly powerful. Attempting to disable the power source as Hunter appears to be attempting to capture it. Disabling the source will rob any remaining Lanterns of their power, but there is no choice.
Starlog 20324.0024.32 Entry: AAaaagllr………guh…guh…nnagr…no. No you cant let him consume the source! You don’t understand NOO! …..110010100100###*{[{]}{]{|||\|\||10010010001
No further entries recoverable, terminal system corruption[/b]
|
|
|
Post by DC Dystopia Council on Aug 26, 2010 23:18:01 GMT -5
Batcomputer Mainframe Logs: Personal Record: Batman[/b]
October 31, 2009:
I feel like I’m missing something. That irritating itch just behind my head, some obvious clue that is staring me in the face, demanding I put it in its proper place. Strange activity in the underworld of late, peculiar thefts of magical curios. Investigating further.
I find myself consumed with restless energy. This time of the year always does it to me. The cold, the dark, the costumes. Almost like I belong, like my life is normal. But then they will all put away the costumes, the light will return, and I will still be here. In the shadows. Confronting the darkness that stalks them, so they can continue playing innocent make-believe next year. They don’t ever need to know the darkness of evil that lays in some mens hearts, the terror of chaos always but a moment away. I know it, I consume it within me so that they can remain innocent, accepting I can never be in the light with them. December 20, 2009:
Winter Solstice, a druidic tradition, a natural climax point in the flow of magic through our world. Bad one this year. I thought it was just Scarecrow up to his tricks, but I uncovered much, much more. A coven of demons working the Gotham Underground, whispers of a new player “Tim Hunter”. Looking for more info, so far just random junk pulled off the grid: A electric worker in San Antonio, a mayor in Saskatchewan, Canada, a boy that went missing in London a few years ago. Could be anything.
Demons managed to scratch me up pretty bad, stupid of me. I should have been more prepared, I should have been faster. Hundreds could have died because I wasn’t good enough. Alfred says I need sleep, to enjoy Chritmas for once. I can't. My dreams always of the gunshot, Mother's pearls in the snow, her fine Christmas dress stained with the spreading blood. The Mark of Zorro turned to a night of nightmare. I can stand a few more hours training, then I need to work up a few surprises in the lab to make demons scream.
I think I saw Etrigan sneaking around the shadows during the fight. I'd really like to end that cancerous piece of shit if given the opportunity.
July 14, 2010:
It seems every stone overturned uncovers more demons and ghosts. Magic seems to be going wild, like some ultimate chapter is about to be written. Trying to get in contact with Zatanna. I need an expert; this is a bit outside my comfort zone. I even tried to talk to Talia and Ghul, but it seems they have gone to ground. It seems everyone has gone to ground. Besides the magical demon forces I keep bumping into, it's like every other villain is on vacation, holed up at some Club Med for psychopaths and murderers perhaps.
The others seem to be content for some downtime, they wont listen to me. I know something is going on, my intel giving me the impression that the scum is being organized. By who, I don’t know. Hunter, if I were to guess, although I still haven’t cracked that riddle, who he is, why he is so important. But I would stake my fortune on it: they are organizing, and if I can't wake the League up in time we may be in for a world of hurt when the attack finally comes.
Maybe a good shake-up of Clark is in order to get his attention. I haven’t punched him in a while. April 02, 2011:I told them this was coming, God damn it I told them. War is breaking out. Not just a few terrorists attacks, but war. The forces of magic seem to be going at it like rabid wolverines. Both sides, good and bad, just unleashing all they have in the streets like it's some kind of pay-per-view gladiator match. A bunch of blabbering about the “End of this Age” as if that makes it ok to just throw lightning bolts around killing civilians as you try to kill some demons.
I can feel the darkness growing, pulsing all around me. It threatens to seep out from the depths. I won't let it. I'm going to stop this. I'm going to take out both sides if I have to, put an end to this before the darkness can infect the innocent. This has an air of being something new, something none of us have ever faced, but I won't let it win. Not while I'm standing. September 29, 2011:
We were doing ok, holding our own. Then the damn heavens opened up and shit all over us. Darkseid is here on Earth now, and he seems to have brought his whole entourage with him. We have so many Green Lanterns flying around it looks like a St. Patrick's Day parade. The League is breaking, too many threats at once, the whole world burning, sounds like the whole Galaxy even.
If they had only listened to me. A year ago I told them they were organizing, building. That hell was coming for us, literally. Hunter moves among us, killing heroes at his whim. His forces powerful, seemingly endless. You can look in any direction and see fighting, burning, death. It's not over yet, I haven’t even begun. My surprises for the demons are almost finished, and I have something for Darkseid too. That’s going to be my personal project.
Darkseid should have been dealt with years ago, but everyone was scared, everyone thought he was too powerful. No, no problem is too difficult to solve. Anything can be accomplished with reasoning, logic, and billions of dollars of R&D weapons.
I'm going to kill a new god. And then we are going to end this war. ***** **, ****: ***1010101010###**}]{}\||\]{{}[{{][[[[]\\|||||10101010101
(Entry unrecoverable, terminal system corruption)
May 11, 2017:
Finally, back online. Five years and a thousand epithets later. The energy wave knocked it all out, the whole world gone dark. From what I hear, more than just our world, …everywhere. Technology snuffed out like God blowing an EMP wind on the candle of our civilization.
I got lucky. The mainframe in the manor is irrecoverable, but the backup of the backup of the backup, shielded by ten different kinds of alien tech, magic spells and physical barriers, wasn’t in too bad of shape.
Only five years of repairs and swearing worth of bad shape. And people said I was crazy to keep a backup at the bottom of the ocean encased in lead, kryptonite and a fortune of shielding.
With this I can start again. I can rebuild.
Need sleep. My parents no longer disturb my dreams. I've seen much worse now. May 13, 2017:Rebuilding will be hard. The Breaking did just that - broke the world. Our society is so dependent on energy and technology, that when we were suddenly robbed of this crutch, we fell. We fell hard.
People panicked, people rioted, people killed. People starved. Even the most disaster-prepared family only had enough supplies for a few weeks. What do you do when there is no electricity for lights, cooking, heating, cooling? What do you do when water become contaminated, when entire crops die, when there is no government left to bring you aid?
You die.
And, as if the wave that took out our technology wasn’t bad enough, there's the damn sun.
It was a spectacular thing to see. Our darkest hour, it all seemed lost. Hunter, engorged with the power he found somewhere off in space, moments away from gaining ultimate dominion. But the Spectre stopped him. The white angel unleashed his fury and drug Hunter into the sun. We haven’t seen either since. Which I guess is good in the case of Hunter, the demons are getting along just fine at the top of the food chain without him. But I'll be honest, I wouldn’t complain if Spectre popped back up to lend an almighty hand.
But whatever they did in there, the explosion amplified our sun. It's larger now, hotter. There is no winter on Earth, there's barely any polar caps left. The oceans shrank and flooded and shrank again, destroying the coasts. Gotham flooded, but at least it put out the fires from the war. The temperature is hot nearly all year round. I haven’t seen snow in 5 years, except for that expedition with Ghul to Antartica.
Desert sprawls across the country… across the world. A few crops survive, but its tough eeking out enough to feed people. Made tougher by the roving bandits, men driven wild to violence. And then there are always the demons, black magic ruling this world, even without Hunter to direct them.
But I've carved out a niche here in the ruins of Gotham. From here we will rebuild the East Coast. With the computer running again, the remnants of Wayne Industries can start powering back up. Maybe one day the whole city will glow in the night once more.
I have to try. I promised myself long ago that I would protect them. That they would not come to know the darkness in the hearts of men. That I would consume the darkness within me so they can remain innocent, though I could never live in the light with them.
I failed. They all live in the darkness with me now. My only hope is that I can work hard enough, so perhaps their grandkids won't.
A great deal of that is out of my hands I fear. But I'm too tired to talk about Clark tonight. May 25, 2017:
Clark. That may have been the worst part. Beyond magic going wild, beyond Hunter and the forces of dark winning. Beyond the pulse and the Breaking sending us back to the Stone Age…there was the Breaking of Clark.
I live with the guilt that it’s my fault. I wasn’t paying attention like I should have been. Demons, Darkseid, a thousand threats ravaging the planet. I didn’t think that my eternal curse would be out there, inflicting his madness on others.
The Joker. He got Lois, He got the Kents. He got many, many more while I was busy. I still don’t know why. Because he could, I guess. Was he just killing for fun? Or did he know it would cost me this much? That it would damn my soul so harshly?
After that, Clark was distracted. He still fought hard, he probably could have still done much to win the fight. Until they hit him with that magically-altered red kryptonite.
That was the day we were lost. Our champion, our symbol, our hope. The Justice League fell apart, or maybe more aptly, was torn apart by Clark's hands. The kryptonite drove him to wild rage, hatred, anger. Altering his mind. Causing him to simply rampage as a new weapon of the Dark.
It wasn’t so much the physical damage he did…it was the psychological blow of losing Superman. Everyone lost heart, the whole world cried out in despair.
He has calmed down some. The sun cleared his mind a bit, so I don’t think he is under their control anymore. But I don’t know what he is. I tried to talk to him about 3 years ago. I nearly died, I still have the scars.
The new, larger sun has made him a god, even more than he already was. I don’t know if there is a limit to his powers…which means I don’t know if I can ever stop him. But I think its going to come down to me.
Because he will need to be stopped. He has claimed the mid-west as his “New Krypton” empire. And empires always have a way of growing, consuming. We are right next door, so I know he's going to come calling soon.
First to get the tech back up, then to start planning. So many threats, so much pain. I am the one man to fix this. No more Leagues, no more teams.
I am the Bat, and I will teach even the darkness to fear me. [/tt]
|
|