West Point.
The colossal Frost Giant stomped its way along the Hudson riverside, heading toward the military training academy. It was under orders to destroy the base. Those orders were given by a god!
Loki, the Asgardian God of Evil watched from hiding. He was reluctant to take action on Earth himself because he feared the wrath of the Living Tribunal. So he tended to use others for his amusement. He manipulated Adolf Hitler, in the guise of the Black Llama. And now, he unleashed the massive Frost Giant on the world.
But the Earth had its own defenders . . . The Justice Society had arrived to combat the beast. Captain America, the Star-Spangled Kid, Toro, Starman, Hawkgirl, Dr. Mid-Nite, and the newly returned Flash. The scarlet speedster had taken some personal time off, after the Blue Diamond incident, but he was back and angry.
Cap led the team into battle and utilized them as best he could but he lamented the absence of his most powerful members. The Sentinel had taken some time off after the death of his beloved Harlequin. Wonder Woman had gone off on a quest with Hercules. Doctor Fate, the Sub-Mariner and the Fury had gone searching for her. This left Cap dangerously short handed. Still, he did the best he could with the members he had.
"Okay, here's the plan," Cap said, gathering his team. "We need to work in unison!"
The Frost Giant had nearly reached the Point. Starman swooped past him, carrying Doctor Mid-Nite, who lobbed a blackout bomb at the frozen giant. The black mist shrouded the monster's head, blinding him. Cap gave a signal that informed Toro and the Flash to spring into action. They circled quickly around the Frost Giant. Toro created rings of fire around it. The Flash created intense friction and also helped to increase Toro's heat updrafts. By the time the black mist had faded, the Frost Giant's outer layer was starting to melt. The creature swatted at his two attackers but they were too swift.
Starman used his gravity-increasing powers to increase the monster's weight, causing its body to begin crumbling under its own weight. Captain America's shield hit the giant in the center of its chest, while Hawkgirl simultaneously hit the beast from the back. This created a fissure along the best, increasing the rate that the beast crumbled.
With every step, more and more of the Frost Giant broke off. Finally, the monster shattered into a thousand pieces. Toro melted the remaining pieces. Cap nodded, satisfied at his team's efficiency.
Nearby, Loki watched, initially angry but quickly becoming casual about the whole event. "Tis but a mere trifling. The smallest of setbacks. Soon, twill be Loki who does eliminate these pathetic mortals."
Loki vanished back into the heavens. Cap and his team cleaned up their mess, as the commanders of the Point come out to get a report from Cap.
The Future . . . America in the 25th Century:
In the skies above the technological magnificence of Washington DC (circa 2440), gods were battling gladiators. A team of mighty champions who were more than human were a war with an enslaved group of female gladiators.
Thor, God of Thunder led the charge. He was accompanied by Hercules, the Sub-Mariner, the Fury, Balder the Brave, the Valkyrie, and Doctor Fate. Their opponents were formidable females kidnapped from across time and space. Among them were the Invisible Woman, Red Sonja, Shanna the She-Devil, western peace officer Cinnamon, and a host of others. They were being controlled by the slave collars of Zarrko the Tomorrow Man, and backed up by the remains of Zarrko's robot army. Thor and his team tried to restrain them without hurting them.
While, not far away, possibly the most powerful of all the time-traveling heroes was charging into a different battle. Diana, Princess of Themescira and Champion of the Amazons, had gotten a clue as to where her mother might be kept and was speeding to the rescue!
She arrived at the headquarters of Elite Forward, where Nathaniel Richards worked and was possibly hiding Diana's missing mother Hippolyta. If the Amazon queen was in there, Diana would find her and may the Gods take pity on anyone who tried to stop her!
Large mechanical sentry's tried to deter her but they only ended up as scrap metal. She used the remainder of their bulk as a battering ram to burst down the re-enforced doors. She expected much more in terms of deterrent power. But she ran into no further resistance. She was mildly surprised.
Two men stood sat the end of the hall, as if they had been expecting her. One was the armor-clad Nathaniel Richards and the other was the bearded immortal known only as Vandal Savage.
"Greetings, Wonder Woman," Savage said.
"No, no, she hasn't become Wonder Woman yet," Nathaniel Richards corrected.
"Of yes, of course," Vandal Savage replied. "I forgot. This Diana comes from 1944."
"I'm getting very tired of you two!" Diana said. "Savage, we've met once too often and your friend here is rapidly moving up my list of people I wish to kill! Now, if you both want to walk out of here with your arms and legs still attached, I strongly suggest you tell me where my mother is!"
"Feisty as ever," Savage said. "Still, I know enough about you to know you're not bluffing. I like my arms and legs where they are. Therefore, I freely tell you where your mother is. She's been taken by Zarrko."
"I was just at the White House!" Diana snapped back. "Zarrko wasn't there and neither was my mother! I was told that they might be here! If you're hiding him . . . "
"Hiding him?" Savage repeated, amused. "HA! Are you mad, woman? I wouldn't help that over-stuffed piece of slime. We've been working against him for years!"
"And we're finally ready to move against him," Nathaniel Richards said. "Unless you ruin things!"
Diana wasn't sure what to make of all this. Were they telling the truth? Should she tear the place apart to see if her mother was there? But if Hippolyta was there, wouldn't they use her as a hostage?
"Someone had better tell me what's going on around here before I start hitting people!" Diana yelled.
"Come. Let's talk," Savage said.
Thousands of miles above, in a satellite . . .
Zarrko transported to the safety of his secure satellite while the situation on Earth was dealt with by his security forces. The invasion by Diana, Thor and the others was a serious threat and so, as President, Zarrko was transported to a secure location.
The satellite was nearly indestructible and was cloaked from human eyes or sensors. It was armed with powerful weapons, capable of fighting off entire armadas. This was considered the safest place for the President when then Capital was under attack.
Along with Zarrko was his unwilling companion - Hippolyta. Restrained by Zarrko's slave collar, she had been forced to accompany him on his escape. Zarrko had become obsessed with the beautiful Amazon Queen, and was determined to keep her with him.
Hippolyta reluctantly allowed herself to be led along by the hand. She hated Zarrko and wished she could kill him but as long as she wore the slave collar, she couldn't resist. She trembled with rage she couldn't release. "When I get this collar off . . . " she began.
"Silence!" Zarrko ordered.
The words died in Hippolyta's throat. She seethed with loathing. Zarrko, however, didn't notice or care about her mood. He was thinking about the enemies who had attacked his capital city and driven him into hiding. "Monitors, activate!"
On a series of monitors, Zarrko watched the battle on Earth. The invaders from the past were too powerful and seemed to be easily defeating his warrior women and his remaining Dreadnaut robots. Zarrko wasn't sure if he had any weapons strong enough to defeat these awesome intruders.
There was only one thing to do. He went to a special console and hit the button. It was the most important button in the complex because it would summon his most important and deadly ally.
He summoned Solaris!
Diana sat in a chair, across from two other chairs containing Richards and Savage. A minor operative of Elite Forward served some sort of beverage, which Diana refused to drink. "I want to know what's happening, and I want the truth!" she demanded. "If I have to, I'll use the golden lasso which the Fury carries to compel you to tell me. Must I resort to that?"
"Completely unnecessary," Vandal Savage said. "I have no motivation to lie to you. You can, in fact, be of inestimable value to us."
"Go on," Diana said.
"I'll start at the beginning," Richards said, taking up the tale. "Over the centuries, the United States has become, by far, the ultimate power in the world. Every other country or province is but a puppy on a leash, dominated by the sovereign power of America. And I should add that they have not handled their power well. You've heard of Absolute Power corrupting absolutely? Well, that's what's happened. Under a series of increasingly vile leaders, America has run rampant, exerting its will over the whole planet."
"All right, so you don't like America. What has this got to do with my mother?" Diana asked.
"Patience, my dear," Savage said. "The history - or in your case, the future - of America is crucial."
Richards resumed his tale. "Zarrko is the worst of the American Presidents yet. He's ruthless. His disdain for human right, for the environment, for everything that doesn't entertain him or increase his power, is palpable. He spits upon it all. He has to be stopped! America has to be destroyed!"
"Why not just assassinate Zarrko?" Diana asked.
"Useless," Savage said. "Zarrko has already done the damage. There's a lot to repair. And worse, Zarrko has a powerful weapon. Or perhaps ally is a better word. This creature is thought to be unstoppable. We need to handle the problem retroactively."
"By going into the past," Diana said, starting to piece the puzzle together. "Why not go into the past and kill Zarrko before he starts?"
"We've thought of that," Savage said. "The original tyrant of our age was named Magnus Greel. We went back in time and killed him, only to find that we'd changed history and put a worse scum in the White House. We killed him too, and returned to our time, to find that Zarrko was now the President."
"We realized that killing him would be futile," Richards said. "Because we would only be opening the door for another, possibly worse, tyrant! And each one had Solaris at his disposal."
"I see," Diana said. "So you needed to destroy his power base."
"Exactly," Richards said. "We needed to travel back in time and ruin the United States. I once tried to change the course of the Second World War, with the help of a warrior from far in the future known as Kang, but he was defeated by a monster called the Hulk. I returned here to try a new strategy."
"I convinced him that we needed to change our focus," Vandal Savage said. "Solaris was the problem. If we could eliminate Solaris, we could deal with the Tomorrow Man."
"I was reluctant," Richards said. "Toying with Solaris is not wise. But Savage convinced me otherwise."
"I had a theory for a device that could eliminate Solaris," Savage said. "I only needed funding."
Richards nodded. "Just so. We needed to trick Zarrko into giving us a grant for a project that would ultimately destroy him."
"Zarrko has a fetish for watching woman fight," Vandal Savage said. "He gets a thrill watching the combat and then he takes the winner to his bed. But he had gotten bored with his stable of fighters. So we offered to use our time device to find the greatest and loveliest gladiator girls to entertain him. We would have liked to have taken you, but you were too dangerous a quarry."
Richards proceeded with the explanation. "In exchange for the women, Zarrko agreed to continue funding Elite Forward. He thought we were building a new weapon to increase his power and the glory of the United States. In reality, we were working on the one weapon that would be his undoing. The weapon that would destroy his ally and greatest asset, Solaris."
"I created the Star Imploder," Savage said. "Only this can rid us of Solaris. And when Solaris was gone, we would use another device of my creation to take over control of the slave collars, which Zarrko uses to control with woman. We would then have control of the female warriors and we would command them to kill Zarrko and the members of his staff and cabinet. With the government and Solaris gone, Elite Forward would move in and take over."
"But we'd rule benignly," Richards said. "We wouldn't be like Zarrko."
Diana didn't believe that. She imagined Savage and Richards being even worse than Zarrko himself. "Are there no super-beings in this age?"
"No, Solaris killed them all," Savage said. "He is . . . impressive in his anger!"
Solaris again, Diana thought. He seemed to be the key to all this. "So, tell me about this ally of Zarrko. This Solaris!"
The Story of Solaris
In the 22nd century, the alien/mutant demi-god known as Thanos, aided by technology stolen from the futuristic genius known as Kang the Conqueror, built the ultimate weapon. It was called Solaris. On the outside, it appeared to be a flaming planetoid, with a giant eye gazing outward contemptuously at the universe. On the inside, however, Solaris was a super-intelligent, stellar computer powered by proton-fusion processors and by the Starheart-- a fragment of which once gave the Sentinel his amazing powers--and was an incalculably powerful cosmic entity, with a mind of its own. Its advanced Artificial Intelligence allowed it independent thought and action.
Thanos created Solaris to be a surrogate sun, a sort of anti-sun. It was programmed to be jealous of the sun and want to destroy it. And it knew nothing of mercy or kindness. Every biomechanical synapse is focused on destruction - the destruction of the sun! Solaris wants to extinguish the true sun and take its place in the stars. This would, naturally, lead to the destruction of the galaxy. Thanos, who was in love with Mistress Death, wanted to offer the Galaxy to her as a sacrifice. When Solaris destroyed the sun, Thanos would prove his love of death by delivering to her the lives of an entire galaxy!
Solaris' first attempt to destroy the sun by stopping its fusion was thwarted by the 22nd century Sentinel, inheritor of the magic ring, and by reformed members of the once evil Green Lantern Corps. They managed to trap Solaris in a worm hole. Eventually Solaris escaped and tried to avenge himself on the future Sentinel by initialing a Scorched-Earth policy on our world. The Super-beings of the day united and drove Solaris into the sea, which boiled with Biblical fury. Solaris tried again to take the Sun's place by using an incredible gravity pull to draw planets from their natural orbit and into its own dread orbit. The New Gods of New Genesis prevented this by creating a gigantic Boom-Tube and exiling Solaris to the far reaches of the Universe.
It took Solaris three hundred years to return. Once back at its native solar system, within range of the Sun it so wanted to destroy, Solaris tried to destroy the sun again, but it was weakened by its long journey. Solaris needed time to build up its power again. It would take a few years, possibly a few decades, but the ultimate computer was patient. It would wait as long as it needed.
That was when Zarrko entered the picture. He was a mere scientist at the time. Having detected Solaris' arrival in our solar system, he sent out probes and made contact. He eventually made a deal with Solaris. Zarrko would make the Earth - a place Solaris hated - suffer by being a vindictive tyrant. In return, Solaris helped him in his plans for conquest. Solaris challenged the Earth heroes to a life-and-death battle. Using deadly radiation and intense heat, Solaris killed all the heroes of Earth. Zarrko took advantage of the world's fear of his ally and stepped into the Presidency of the United States, which is, essentially, the governing power of the world in his time.
Meanwhile, Solaris waited, his power steadily growing. Soon, he would destroy the sun!
Diana listened to his tale with amazement. If it was all true, this Solaris was a threat beyond anything she had ever known. "And you say you have a weapon that will stop him?" she asked.
"The Star Imploder," Savage said. "It will reduce Solaris to a singularity. It's finally ready! Very soon now, I expect Zarrko to call Solaris back to Earth to help him against you and your allies. As soon as he arrives, my Star Imploder will destroy him forever!"
Across the city . . .
Thor, Hercules and the rest of their team had managed to destroy the remaining Dreadnauts and captured the female warriors without harming them. Dr. Fate had immobilized the defeated women. Down in the streets, the population looked up at the strange newcomers in awe and wonder. They hadn't seen anything like this since Solaris killed all the superheroes.
Thor stood before Sue Richards, who seemed to be the de facto leader of the women. "I doth crave thy pardon for our rough treatment of thee, madam. Twas all but necessary."
"I understand, Thor," she said, not mentioning to Thor that she had met him in the 21st century. "But if you could get these collars off of us, we'll be no further threat to you."
"I shall attend to this," the Valkyrie said, and used her sword to slice off the collars of each girl. Balder joined her. The woman stretched their arms and smiled gleeful smiles at their rescue. "Free!" Many of the girls yelled in turn.
Fury held Hippolyta's magic lasso. "Well, I guess everything is under control here. But that still doesn't help us find Wonder Woman."
Back on the Presidential Satellite.
Zarrko looked out the window of the satellite, waiting for his ally Solaris to come into view. Wonder Woman, still under the influence of the slave collar, waited with him, not knowing what to expect.
She saw the glowing dot in the distance. As it got larger, the space station got hotter and hotter. The arriving being got close enough for Hippolyta to get a good look at it. It was an awesome sight, huge and flaming, with jagged stalactites extending out like satanic horns. Its giant eye seemed to see everything and hate everything. Solaris was a fearsome creation!
The temperature of the station was getting too hot. Zarrko contacted Solaris via a special communication system he had developed to speak to his ally. "I'd appreciate it if you'd stop now, Solaris my friend. Any closer and you'll boil me and my lovely companion here."
Wonder Woman didn't like being called his "companion", and dearly wanted to beat him mercilessly. She heard the frightening voice of Solaris over the communicator. Even the Amazon Queen felt of tinge of fear.
WHY DO YOU SUMMON ME, Zarrko?
"I apologize for disturbing your rest, my good friend," Zarrko said. "But I need your assistance. It seems that Super-Heroes have appeared again on the planet Earth. They challenge you and defy you to defeat them. They want to avenge those you killed previously. They ridicule you. Will you allow this?"
"But that's not . . . " Wonder Woman began.
"Silence!" Zarrko yelled.
Wonder Woman's words got caught in her throat and she couldn't finish her sentence. She sneered at the Tomorrow Man.
THIS WILL NOT BE TOLERATED! NO ONE DEFYS SOLARIS! MY FULL POWERS HAVE ALMOST RETURNED. DESTOYING THESE PATHETIC FOOLS WILL BE AN EXCELLENT TRIAL RUN FOR MY ULTIMATE TASK. I SHALL TEST MY POWERS NOW.
The dreaded Solaris floated toward the Earth, confidant that nothing there could challenge him. Zarrko smiled, also completely confident. Solaris would handle those interlopers. Eventually he would have to find a way to dissuade Solaris from destroying the Sun, but in the meantime, he was a useful tool.
Just then, he was interrupted by the Intruder Alert siren. One of his underlings came running in. "Sir, the satellite has been boarded! Security is breached!"
"By who?" Zarrko asked, nervously.
"Some wild woman!" the henchman replied. "She looks very much like your companion here. We can't stop her!"
Hippolyta smiled knowingly. "Diana, at last! Zarrko, you're in trouble!"
Elsewhere on the satellite . . .
Nathaniel Richards and Diana had transported onto the space station. Richards, having assisted Zarrko in creating the satellite and the teleporter, was able to tap into the system and transport himself to the station, along with the fighting-mad Diana. Richards just stood back and allowed the Amazon Princess to do all the fighting. She clearly needed no help.
Diana fought her way past all resistance, both technological and human. No one and nothing was going to keep her from her mother. She was like an unstoppable force of nature, moving steadily forward.
Zarrko watched from a monitor, sweating in nervous anxiety. Wonder Woman couldn't resist gloating.
"I warned you, Zarrko," she said. "You can't stop her. The only smart thing to do now is to release me. Take this collar off me and perhaps I'll persuade her not to rip your limbs off. Assuming I don't do it myself. You have very little choice left, cowardly one."
Zarrko took a moment to think and then made a decision. "I do have one other option. Come with me."
He dragged the compliant Amazon down the hall. She still couldn't fight back. "Where are you taking me now?"
Zarrko didn't respond, but she got her answer when she saw the sign saying 'Shuttle Bay'. She realized that Zarrko was going to escape and he was going to take her with him. "Merciful Minerva!"
Zarrko brought Hippolyta into the Shuttle Bay and open the hatchway to a pod called 'Pres-1'. It was the President's private escape shuttle. Zarrko climbed inside and looked out at Hippolyta. "Come in."
"No, I . . . I won't!" she said, trying to resist, but the control collar overrode her will and she felt her legs moving against her will. She walked into the shuttle.
"Sit down," Zarrko said, as he activated the engines. He opened the airlock by remote control.
Wonder Woman saw the vastness of space open up before her and she shivered with the knowledge that she was going to be traveling this frontier as a prisoner and slave to a madman.
Nearby, Diana heard the shuttle engines firing up. She was drawn instinctively to the sound. She arrived at the shuttle bay and looked inside just in time to see the shuttle launching. It blasted off and shot out into space. Diana ran to a porthole and saw the shuttle growing smaller in the distance. "Mother!" he whispered, despondently.
Meanwhile, in the shuttle, Hippolyta was equally despondent. Her chance at a rescue had vanished before her eyes. It seemed she was destined for a life as Zarrko's plaything. "Where are we going?" she asked, with grim resignation.
"I know a few places to hide," Zarrko said. "Eventually, Solaris will deal with your daughter and the other swine who dared challenge the Tomorrow Man. Then we'll go back to Earth together."
Wonder Woman bit her lip and closed her eyes in helpless rage. How could things get worse?
Solaris descended toward the Earth. Its glow filled the sky and the city felt the heat of its arrival. People ran screaming in a panic. Their worst nightmare had come true. The horrible Solaris was back!
"That's Solaris!" the Invisible Woman said. "Be careful! I've heard how powerful he is."
"Powerful or naught," Thor said. "The God of Thunder fears no being, not even a tyrant Sun!"
Thor spun his hammer Mjolnir and launched himself into the sky. He rocketed into Solaris like a missile. Thor rebounded off, stunned by the power of Solaris. The flaming creature blasted Thor with a burst of heat and radiation. If Thor had been any less powerful a God, he would have died, as had the previous defenders of this era. As it was, he crashed to Earth, like a meteor.
"If the monster can do that to Thor, what chance have the rest of us?" Balder asked.
"I say thee, we shall not be cowed," Hercules shouted. "The Prince of Power will battle unto death!"
Hercules hurtled a mass of debris at Solaris but the creature incinerated it. Namor flew upward to face the creature but the heat was too much for him and he had to back off. Doctor Fate cast a spell, but being so unfamiliar with the nature of this strange and powerful entity, his spell had little effect.
Diana returned to Earth, and looked up at Solaris. "So this is the fierce Sun-destroyer, is it? It certainly looks intimidating. But we can't abandon the people of this era to this strange creature. We are responsible for this attack and we must find a way to stop it!"
At the HQ of Elite forward, Vandal Savage activated his Star Imploder. The roof slid open and the muzzle of the weapon zeroed in on the Tyrant Sun. Savage began his countdown.
"Destiny had arrived! 10 . . . 9 . . . 8 . . . 7 . . . 6 . . . Oh, to blazes with the count down! It's time!"
Savage hit a button and the awesome weapon glowed and vibrated for a moment. Then it unleashed an energy beam of staggering power. The reddish ray shot skyward and found its mark. Solaris felt the effects of the Star Imploder. The Starheart within Solaris throbbed as its molecular motion was reversed. The Starheart started to implode!
As Vandal Savage predicted, the Starheart became a singularity. Its massive gravity pull sucked everything around it inside. Everything, including the outer shell of Solaris. The monstrous flaming planetoid that people knew as Solaris was crushed and compact by the power of the singularity and its terrible gravity. Soon, nothing was left of Solaris except the singularity.
Vandal Savage threw his arms up. "I've done it! I'm a genius! Solaris is gone!"
But Savage underestimated the power of the Starheart and the pull of the singularity. Within moments, objects began to get pulled into the air. The city started to shake. As the Singularity grew larger, the pull increased. Diana and her allies saved people from being pulled into the breech.
In his HQ, Vandal Savage's jaw dropped. He was speechless. "How could I have been so wrong?"
Outside . . .
"The Singularity is getting bigger!" Sue said. "Soon, the whole planet will be in danger!"
"I must stop it," Doctor Fate said. "Perhaps my spells can subside the chaos. But I must do so from inside the singularity itself. It seems I have come to the future to sacrifice myself to save the future. Farewell."
Doctor Fate took off for the singularity. The Fury tried to stop him with her lasso but she missed. "Fate, don't! Come back!"
"He is a brave warrior," Thor said. "And he will not face this risk alone. The son of Odin will join him!"
Thor took to the air. He caught up with Dr. Fate and together they vanished into the singularity, hoping to close it from within.
"Fare-thee-well, brave friends," Hercules said. "I salute thee for thy courage."
Prince Namor got a mental SOS from Doctor Fate. The mystic sent him a message.
"So! It seems that more than two must be sacrificed. Even the combine will and power of Fate and the Asgardian are not enough. Fate tells me that they need more life energy, more indefatigable warrior spirit, if Fate's spell is to succeed. If there is an Atlantis in this age, it too will be destroyed. Let no man say that the Sub-Mariner let his people down. Even in the Future. Onward to glory I go!"
Namor flew up into the Singularity, but still it didn't close. "It may take all of us!" Diana said. "Although I hate to abandon my mother, I cannot leave this situation unresolved. Will you all join me in this endeavor?"
Her remaining companions - Balder, the Valkyrie, Hercules and the Fury - all agreed. They had to save the Earth. Even if it was the Earth of their future. "Susan, we need transportation," Diana said.
Sue reluctantly agreed. "Godspeed, my friends," she said, trying to remember what her husband Reed said about time being changeable. Could this change the past, and all these noble warriors die?
Creating a platform out of her invisible fields, she raised the five heroes up to, and into, the singularity. They vanished from sight. Soon after, the singularity began to shrink and fade. After a few minutes, it faded from sight. The gravity pull was gone. The world was safe.
Nathaniel Richards watched all this, calculating how he could work all this to his advantage. He suddenly found himself surrounded by the women he had kidnapped and turned over to Zarrko. They weren't happy.
"You!" Sue said, pointing at Richards. "You're going to help us get home! Now!"
Nathaniel Richards realized that there was no point in arguing. Red Sonja had to be restrained from lopping his head off with her sword. "Certainly, ladies. The need for you is over. I am sorry for the inconvenience. I did what I did to save my world. You will now be returned to your own time."
Nathaniel Richards gave Sue a strange look. Since this began, he had given her special treatment. She hoped that in time she would figure it out. But for now, it was time to go home!
Moments earlier, before the singularity closed, the awesome power of its gravity dragged Zarrko's shuttle down toward Earth. He panicked, unable to regain control. The ship went into a dive and Zarrko screamed like a baby. Wonder Woman accepted her fate, preferring it to life as a slave of Zarrko. But the ship was sucked into the singularity.
Inside the singularity, in a void of nothingness . . .
The heroes, as well as Zarrko and Wonder Woman, were trapped inside the singularity. They are unaware of their surroundings, lost in time and in non-existence. They are no where and no time.
But someone was watching . . .
In limbo, a nexus between all times and all places . . .
Immortus watched on one of his monitors. From his castle in Limbo, the master of time watched Diana and the others heroes floating in an endless nothingness. He brought the situation to the attention of an old acquaintance. The Grandmaster, one of the Elders of the Universe, was called to the castle beyond time. Not long ago (as we measure time), the Grandmaster and some of his allies on the Dark Council tried to bait Immortus into helping them kill the JSA, by promising to deliver Aphrodite to him as his consort. This plan failed and Immortus heard no more from the Elder. But he had thought about the situation since.
Now, he contacted the Grandmaster. The Elder of the Universe was accompanied by an Earthman known as the Gambler. He joined the Grandmaster on his travels during the affair of the Carbon Copy Man.
"So, some members of the JSA are trapped within a singularity," the Grandmaster said to Immortus. "How nice. But why have you called me here?"
"I thought you might like to have a bet," Immortus said. "I know how you love to gamble."
The Grandmaster was curious but cautious. "Why the sudden interest in wagers?"
"I have reasons, as you do, to want to torment the Justice Society. Also, Thor and Diana are among them, future members of the Avengers League. They vex me as well. For my own reasons, I would see them suffer."
"I see," the Grandmaster said, unsure. "And what is the bet?"
Immortus put a hand on his shoulder. "We send an endless series of attackers against them and we gamble on who finally finishes them off."
"And the stakes?" the Gambler asked.
Immortus grinned. "If one of your men win, I'll help you destroy the rest of the JSA. If I win, you will use your gambling expertise to help me win another bet. The details don't concern you now. You'll find out if I win. If not, it doesn't matter. You will help me win, that's all. Is this acceptable to you?"
The Grandmaster debated this. Immortus was keeping something from him. The Grandmaster was leery of this but the chance to get Immortus to destroy the JSA for him was too good to pass up. "Very well. I accept your offer."
"Excellent," Immortus said. "You choose your warriors and I'll choose mine. Then, I will bring them here from across time-and-space to battle these pathetic gods and fools and whomever else."
"I think we need a general for our side," the Grandmaster said. "Someone to organize them. And I have an idea who."
Soon . . . (As we know time, although it doesn't exist in Limbo.)
Zarrko and Wonder Woman appeared in Limbo. They were surprised. Wonder Woman recovered from her shock first. "Immortus!" she yelled. "What are you playing at now?"
"I didn't summon you, woman," Immortus said. "You were merely close at hand. I wanted Zarrko."
"W . . . What can I do for you, sir?" Zarrko stammered nervously.
"I wish you to lead an attack force against the very beings who took you from you Presidency."
Zarrko smiled. "It will be a pleasure."
Wonder Woman, although still bound by the Slave collar, couldn't remain silent any longer. "You vile madmen! I will not allow this! I call you all cowards!"
"Silence!" Zarrko ordered.
Wonder Woman went silent, trembling with rage she couldn't unleash. All she could do was wait for the right opportunity. Eventually, her chance would come.
"I apologize for my woman," Zarrko said. "She's a wild woman. But if I succeed in this endeavor, promise me that I can keep her. Give me that, and I'm your man."
"Done!" Immortus said. "We will choose villains who all need something to fight for. We will promise them their greatest desire if they follow you and destroy Diana and her teammates."
"What about Diana and her good guys?" the Gambler said. "They may not want to fight. They'll devote themselves to defense and trying to find a way to escape. They might not make for an entertaining battle."
"True," Immortus said. "We must give them something to fight for. Perhaps the same thing that they went into the future to find."
They all looked at Wonder Woman. She realized what they were planning and a gasp escaped her crimson lips. If only I could get this collar off!
The Grandmaster nodded. "You're right. She'll make a perfect prize for those fools to fight for."
"Then I'll summon our guests of honor," Immortus said. "Let's begin the games."
Immortus' machines drew the heroes out of the singularity and hurtled them into a landscape where they would fight for their lives against an army of unknown enemies, led by a tyrant from the future.
Next issue: Diana, Thor, and the rest fight a tournament on Mars in the distant past to save Hippolyta. And if they lose, the JSA will be destroyed. Have we really seen the last of Solaris? Plus, who is the mysterious Silverfall? Find out next time in Justice Society of America #41!