Suddenly Somerwhere Else

[planetaryguide]

And then, the world turns, and they are somewhere else. Someplace impossibly old. It's a dizzying spin, even for the mightiest among them, but in an instant, Elijah Snow, Jakita Wagner, Abdullah El-Amin, Black Adam, Freddy Freeman and Jay Garrick find themselves in the market of an ancient city, its towers reaching high toward the sky, it's buildings opulent and clean ... but empty.

At first, there appears to be no life in the city at all. But then, a cat appears, perched in a window. It is black and sleek, and it regards the visitors curiously, but makes no move to either run nor greet them.

Elijah takes a moment to take stock of the situation. The timely intervention of Shazam (note to self: Not the one he thought it was at first) seems to have quelled the fight between Jakita and Adam. Jakita looks a little banged up, but none the worse for wear. And then there's Abdullah ...

"Mr. Garrick," says Elijah. "It's an honor to meet you in person. I've followed your exploits since the '40s. In fact, I was in Keystone in '43, tracking down the Shade, and saw you two go at it. Quite inspiring."

He had actually interviewed the Shade, afterward, for that year's Planetary Guide. Both encounters caused him to believe that the number of superhumans would only escalate in the years to come. Still ... He shakes off the nostalgia, and turns to Adam.

"Lord Adam," says Elijah, cordially. "I apologize that this whole situation has gotten out of hand. We meant no offense. We were simply trying to make contact with this young man here."

He nods toward Abdullah, who is still wound tense, but seemingly not preparing to attack immediately. 

"Abdullah El-Amin," he says, not making any sudden movement toward the boy. "My name is Elijah Snow. I've been looking for you for a long time now. We have some things in common."

Abdullah regards the man, but it's difficult to read his reactions beneath the mask.

"They call me the Ghost of the Desert, now" he says, levelly. Elijah chuckles, and nods.

"Heh. They call me the Ghost of the Twentieth Century,"  he says. "Maybe they're running out of cute nicknames."

Comments

[planetaryguide]

Elijah isn't immediately aware of how everyone else has reacted ... he's a little too distracted by the talking cat. Which is a new one, even for him.

Abdullah, on the other hand, seems entranced, as though he's put something together, but can't quite admit what he's realized.

Quickly, he falls to one knee.

"Lady ... Lady Bastet."

[first_lightning]

Jay turns to the cat, raising an eyebrow in slight bemusement.

"Well, that's a little strange, even for me. You're the Egyptian cat goddess?"

[nabuhelm]

Abdullah looks almost scandalized at Jay's directness -- really, it's the first time anything seems to have penetrated his stoicism -- but the cat herself seems amused.

"I have been many things, Jay Garrick," she says. In Egypt and Kahndaq, they called me Bastet, and that name will serve again."

The cat is sleek and black -- no bigger than a normal feline, but she holds herself regally, a fierce intelligence burning in her eyes.

"Each of you six has a role to play in this unfolding drama. The God Anubis has begun to marshal his forces, to bring the world of the living under his control. To this affect, he has recruited and influenced agents in this world."

The cat glances into the darkness out the side of her eyes, as though she'd spotted a mouse, and then returns to her audience.

"I used what little power I have left in your world to bring you six together, to oppose the rising darkness. The Children of the Century, the new Dr. Fate and the captains of the Thunder and the Lightning are destined to protect the world, but they have been scattered and hidden."

The cat's muscles tense, and then it pounces to the top of a broken pillar, as though to get a better look at the assembled heroes. She seems to scan them all, one by one, until her eyes lock with The Flash's.

"Yours is the most important task, Jay Garrick," she says. "You must reforge the circle. Only the Justice Society can train the next generation of heroes to defeat the darkness."

[first_shazam]

Adam doesn't question that the cat is who she claims she is. He does not kneel, however. "We have recently undergone great upheaval at the hands of our recent Adversary. The Justice Society is scattered across the globe. Can you direct us?"

[nabuhelm]

The cat turns its attention to Adam, and for a moment, it's easy to believe that she's really a god ... there's a power and regal quality about its stare that's preternatural, even by cat standards.

"Anubis has taken advantage of the Adversary's work to obscure the players on the board. I can only see a few ... The Sentinel of the Emerald Fire is near someone who MAY be princess Chay-Ara ... The Mid-Nite Surgeon is closer to the danger than he realizes ... a dark shadow is watching his actions. The Spirit of the 21st Century is in China, where man and Superman will soon face the evil to protect her. The Helm of Nabu is being guarded by a laughing magician, whose face is obscured to me, and the next of the Children of the Century ... the one who stands between the worlds of the living and dead ... is being hunted by a madman."

The cat lowers its head.

"Much is still hidden. The darkness is growing strong in the chaos that the adversary has sown."

[first_lightning]

The allusion to Dr. Mid-Nite sets Jay to thinking, but he's not so distracted that he misses an opportunity for additional inquiry.

"That's the second time I've heard reference to the 'Laughing Magician' - I don't suppose any of you happen to know who that might be?"

[sixgodstories]

"Anybody else hoping its not the Joker? Just me?" King Marvel adds with a shrug.

"Psycho-Pirate, Felix Faust...the Shazam family has our own problem children, but not many magicians." A pause. "No offense Adam."

[nabuhelm]

The cat sits up straight, and closes its eyes.

"The Magician is guarded from me. Both his own wards and Anubis'. But I see him ... he is holding the Helm of Nabu ..."

The assembled group sees a vision of a handsome blonde man in a rumpled suit, holding Dr. Fate's helmet. A knife wielded by a shadowy man falls down on it, and then there's a blinding light ... and then the vision's gone.

"The magician lives, but more I cannot say. But his attacker ... his attacker is one that should not be in this world."

[planetaryguide]

"The Fictional Man," says Elijah, coldly. "Jakita, that's the thing that got out of the Four's fictional universe. That's the bastard that killed Doc Brass."

[nabuhelm]

The cat lowers its head, mournfully.

"You and he were the last children of the 20th Century. Now, Elijah Snow, you are all that remains. Jakita Wagner, your father was a Child of the 20th Century. He died to protect the world. Now there are children of this young century, beginning to come into their adulthood."

The cat glances at Abdullah, who averts his eyes.

"They will save the world. They will change the world. But they need to be guided and protected."

Elijah takes a deep breath. There's a lot at stake, and the path is quickly becoming clear.

"I know where two of them are," says Elijah. "Whitney Winters is in California. Planetary checks in on her still periodically. And Jenny Quantum ... she's been spotted intermittently in Shanghai."

[first_shazam]

"It appears that we will need to work in tandem to get to the bottom of this." Adam sighs. He's not know for his teamwork, but he knows when he can't solve a problem with direct violence. "We have three places to go - California, Shanghai and wherever this Laughing Mage is. My going to Shanghai would...not be advised due to political reasons. I have no issues returning to the US covertly, however."

He looks towards Snow. "Your people seem to have a better idea of the why these things are happening. It may be prudent, if we split up, for one of yours to accompany Jay, Freeman and I, however we choose to split it up."

[first_lightning]

Jay conceals a grin at Adam's words - reminding him as they do of some of the Justice Society's earliest cases, pairing off to go gallivanting around the globe..

"If we can find this Laughing Mage.. maybe John Zatara's relatives would know? Zatanna, and that nephew, Zachary. They're tuned into the magical world, might recognize the name."

[planetaryguide]

Elijah's wary of this plan. He's not a superhero, and this isn't what Planetary does. But then he looks at the cat, and sees there are still mysteries to solve.

He looks at his eclectic company, and decides the stakes are too high not to act.

"All right, How about Shazam and I head to Shanghai, Adam and Jakita go to California and Mr. Garrick and Abdullah seek out the magicians. Our third man, The Drummer, is back in the desert. He can arrange us transportation for any who need it."

Abdullah looks angry.

"I'm a child of the century," he says, like these women you've named. I should go look for them with you."

Elijah shakes his head.

"No," he says, if someone's hunting you, I don't want to give him multiple targets just yet. Not until we know what's going on."

And really, he thinks to himself, exposure to Jay's temperament could only be a good example.

[jakita_wagner]

"And it can be helpful to have someone that can move that fast to get you out of trouble."

She's giving Elijah a look, a look that might just burn his head from his shoulders given the chance.

But, she reasons, she can behave, and will have to assume that this Adam character would do the same.

[first_shazam]

Is that a...smirk on Adam's face?

"Then lets get to work.

[planetaryguide]

Jakita will forgive him, eventually, thinks Elijah, and frankly, he wants his own people's eyes on the "Children of the Century" at all times. He trusts Garrick implicitly, but they all have their own agendas. And of course, he has his own, too.

"All right. What we're looking at is two incredibly powerful teenagers. Jenny Quantum is the Spirit of the 21st Century, and that's literal. She can manipulate energy on a quantum level, thus the name. This means she can do practically anything, if she sets her mind to it. Whitney Winters ... there's no real easy way to describe it. She's the Gateway Between the Living and the Dead."

[first_lightning]

"Since I doubt Abdullah will want to be carried along at several times the speed of sound, we will take you up on that offer of transportation - as soon as we know where we need to go. "

He pauses, looking to Abdullah.

"If that's alright with you, young man."

[sixgodstories]

"Following your lead Mister Snow. Just point me at what needs hit." A side glance to Adam, and back an overly heroic pose.

[planetaryguide]

Abdullah gives Garrick a steely, almost-petulant look, but nods affirmative.

Elijah takes a deep breath before speaking, glancing at Bastet, who watches them with interest.

"Assuming we're returned where we started, our third man, The Drummer. will have our plane handy, and the Planetary Foundation has suitable vehicles at its Dubai location, if needed. We can get everybody transported."

Three super-powered teenagers, two honest-to-goodness superheroes, and a monarch who's usually more villain than hero. With him and Jakita in the middle. Yep, this is going to go well.

"Lady Bastet," he says, addressing the cat. "Is there anything else we need to know before we're returned home?"

[nabuhelm]

"Only this," says the cat. "There are monsters, villains governments and gods between you and the safety of the Earth's future, and I cannot tell you which of them is worst. All is in your hands. Do not fail."

And with that, the world begins to spin again, and the city begins to disappear, and within a few moments, everyone is back in the desert.

The Drummer stands outside the Planetary plane, which he's landed. The terrorists are unconscious, and he seems to have secured them.

"Wow," he says. "Looks like you guys had a great time!"

[jakita_wagner]

"It was fantastic, Drums. There's an empty city, I almost got my ass handed to me, and we got to talk to a goddess."

She gives him a quick side hug, glad to see him (even though it might take a miracle... most common than most folks would think... for her to say it out loud).

"Basically business as usual."

[first_shazam]

"We should begin as soon as we are able. If we require rest, I invite you to be my guests at my home for a few hours before we begin our various journeys. I personally require no rest, but I understand if some of you may."

He looks at Jakita. "Kahndaqian transport in LA would be too conspicuous. I imagine you have more covert ways into the city?"

[planetaryguide]

"Whoah," says the Drummer. "I'm both glad and sorry I missed that."

He looks around at the restrained terrorists.

"Uhm," I landed when you guys disappeared. They were already out. I didn't know what else to do, so I tied 'em up."

Elijah rubs his temples and aches for a cigarette.

"Jakita, you can use the car at the Planetary LA branch, but you're actually heading a about 30 minutes north. Coastal town called Sunnyville."