We're Not In Kansas Anymore

[crusaderinacape]

Welcome to Shiruta. Drive safe.Not exactly the sort of sign you'd see marking Kahndaq's capital city, as the smouldering corpse of the Batwing some miles back will attest to. With the majority of the Feitherian guard airborne and engaged with the Justice Society, Batman's journey to the palace is relatively easy. When you've just survived a dog

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[nation_extras]

And it's about to get longer.

Time seems to slow, then stop around the Batman, as a familiar figure seemingly walks out of thin air to face him.

"Batman."

[crusaderinacape]

Familiar, but a figure he hasn't seen in some time.

"Stranger," thankfully he's learnt to listen when this particular man speaks, "What's going on?"

[nation_extras]

"One of my old nemeses' reach is exceeding her grasp." the Stranger says. "Her name is Tala, and she rules a segment of the netherrealms some generalize as 'Hell'. She is the paramour of the sorceror Tannarak, whom some of your number recently defeated and humiliated." A pause. "Those that were termed 'The Circle'."

"I generally cannot interfere in struggles such as this, but Tala is my responsibility. Before I can say anymore, we need others."

The Stranger gestures, and another appears.

[zee_zatara]

An errant fireball shoots out of Zatanna's fingertips the moment she appears.

Clearly, she's still in battle mode.

Immediately noticing that she's changed where she is, she yells, "ezeerF! etapissiD!

The fireball freezes before it can do much damage and then fizzles out of existence as she looks at the Phantom Stranger.

"Oh. Hi."

[nation_extras]

The Stranger nods, then continues. "We need to act quickly. As we speak, Tala has brought to use some artifacts that have allowed her to usurp the power of Marvel, who you knew as Billy Batson, now the guardian to the Rock of Eternity and the magic lightning. Her focus at this moment is to bringing the Rock of Eternity to this plane and bring the inhabitants of earth under her will.

"To stop this, we need to free Marvel."

[crusaderinacape]

"What do you need from me?" Whatever it is, he guesses it's going to hurt.

[nation_extras]

"When we begin the process to extract Marvel from the Rock of Eternity, that's going to garner Tala's attention, I would imagine. Your job is to...keep her busy. Those currently in her thrall were designed to keep the more powerful among you at bay. Her mistake was focusing on physical power. Otherwise she would have never let you get this close."

He turns to Zatanna. "We and one other must go to the Rock directly and cast the spell."

[zee_zatara]

"Good luck," she says to Batman. She turns to the Phantom Stranger. "Who's this other person?"

[nation_extras]

The Batman disspates from view as he leaves the temporal bubble that the Stranger created...and the other two arrive on the Rock of Eternity.

He walks towards the vizier where Shazam once sat. "I do not know how it has happened, but the helm of Nabu is once more in this reality. However, Hector Hall is not. But whoever this is, the power of Doctor Fate should suffice for what we need to do."

The stranger then concentrates again, and a new form comes into view.

[pokerfate]

... Plummeting from dozens of feet above them. The figure is dressed entirely in threads that the thrift store had turned their noses up to earlier that day. Still, the remarkable gleam of the golden helm is mistakenly where it should be- on his head.

The man, and it is undoubtedly a man, hits the floor in front of them at high speed. Strictly speaking he shouldn't survive the fall, but somehow he does.

"OoOoOooh," is all he can manage for the time being. He was beaten up by Vegas' most ruthless security guards only hours ago.

[zee_zatara]

Zatanna blinked. And then she looked at the Phantom Stranger.

"New Fate. Huh." That would explain the odd rippling she'd felt through the mystic ethernet earlier.

"Okay. Let's get started."

[nation_extras]

The Stranger regarded the newcomer oddly. The helm of Nabu historically chose its wearer. Still...

"He may require healing first, Zatanna. He has suffered some severe, if non-fatal, injuries."

[pokerfate]

"Ungh," Kent looks up at the man in the fedora/cape ensemble and the woman in the top hat, "I really have gone insane."

[zee_zatara]

"No no, trust me. The insane part comes after a couple of years." She looks up at the Stranger. "What? The helmet can't be protective of the whole body?" And then, to Kent, she says, "This won't hurt. It may tickle a little, and you may feel a little warm, but really, that's it. leaH!" A glimmer of golden lights floated out from Zatanna's hand and swirled around the new Dr. Fate.

[nation_extras]

The Stranger nods. "I have no time to verbally teach the incantation we need. You will have the information within your thoughts in a few seconds. I apologize if the experience is unpleasant."

[pokerfate]

"Listen pal, the last thing I'm going to do is take orders from imaginary constructs. I--" Subliminal tendrils creep into his subconscious, unlocking the doors he needs to recite the Stranger's summons, "Whoah."

As if responding to the Stranger's call, the iconic Fate uniform of blue and gold knits itself around his rags.