LJ presents: Rescue on the Reverse World
When last we left our epic canon, Batman had strengthened the bond with his allies by revealing the secret fate of the Justice League. Unfortunately, Owlman - the Caped Crusader's evil Reverse Earth counterpart - managed to slip away.
As our latest story begins, Batman has formed a heroic task force to hunt down and capture the Feathered Fiend. What the Dark Knight does not realise is he and his friends are about to have an adventure beyond the looking glass, in a crazed world where right is wrong, vice is virtue and evil always wins. Or does it?
Join us, gentle reader, and find out as...
LJ presents:
RESCUE ON THE REVERSE WORLD
Written and directed by LJ
Novelisation by SF
----------
Owlman and the Blue Bowman weren't running for their lives - they were running for their liberty.
The mirror-verse duo had teamed with the Joker, Titanium Man and Starscream to attack Stark Industries, eager as always to acquire new technology for their villainous schemes. They hadn't planned on running into a fighting-mad Batman and his hand-picked team: Optimus Prime, Jazz, the Atom, War Machine, Wolverine, Princess Leia and Michaelangelo. Heavily outnumbered, they quickly lost the battle. Imprisonment in Arkham Asylum loomed.
Desperate to escape, Blue Bowman activated his dimensional portal and leaped through, heading back to Reverse Earth. Owlman and his crew followed... and, before Batman could object, so did Wolverine, Michaelangelo and Jazz. The rest of the heroes plunged into the shimmering abyss, and emerged in a place that was totally alien and, yet, strangely familiar.
They were in the Owl Tower - a reverse version of the Batcave. Through the enormous windows they could see Reverse Earth's red sun rising in the sky. The Caped Crusader had been to that desolate place once before, when he first fought Owlman. He'd had help, back then. Speaking aloud, he hoped his friend Red Hood (the Joker's heroic counterpart) would show up once again.
"Wishing won't make it so," Owlman crowed from above. He was standing atop the Tower's control platform, flanked by the Bowman and the villains. "Especially when it comes to so-called 'heroes'. That's a dirty word here in my city." At the snap of his fingers, a panel opened in the wall next to the good guys. From out it emerged a living nightmare - the assault of the Reverse World army!
Optimus Prime found himself locked in combat with his hot-headed counterpart who burned, from within, with fire like the Fallen. The evil Bulkhead - a morose and tortured emo "artist" - took down War Machine. Stretcher and the Blitz Lord, foul parodies of Plastic Man and Thor, made short work of Michaelangelo and Leia. But the end truly came for the heroes when the dastardly Bumblebee and cruel torturer, Ratchet combined their powers. Instead of an EMP blast, their joint weapon was a hyper-acceleration ray. It overwhelmed poor Jazz's circuits and sent him into a berserker frenzy. When the dust settled, the cyber-ninja had knocked all of his friends unconscious. He then himself fell victim to the evil Optimus' pummeling fists.
Starscream immediately grasped the situation. "Good is bad and bad is good," he grinned. "That means the strongest rules, so... I'm the leader now!" His triumphant declaration was cut short by the evil Autobots, who took exception to anyone trying to depose Owlman. In our world, the heroes defer to Batman's greater experience. On Reverse Earth, the villains obey Owlman like slaves.
The bad guys cackled as Blitz Lord secured the heroes and Starscream in a lightning field. None of them realised they'd failed to capture one member of the team - the size-changing scientist known as the Atom. Throughout the fight he'd been trying to get Batman's attention because he'd detected "some odd radiation" nearby. The Dark Knight had gruffly told him to wait, and was now a prisoner. Shrinking down, the Atom crept out of the Tower and into the city.
It was a grim, depressing place. People fought over scraps of food and clothing, kicked dogs and were mean to one another. Parks and monuments had been vandalised, and the police were more likely to rob you than help you. The Atom quickly ascertained the scientific implications of it all. He lived in the Super Hero City of his world. That meant Owlman and his cronies ruled over Super Villain City. The super-scientist wondered what other curiousities he'd find while tracking the mysterious radiation.
He did not have to wait long to find out. A barrage of laser fire tore up the ground around him. Even in his miniature size, he'd been found! The Atom reverted to full size to face down his attacker... and found himself staring into the optics of Megatron! The Decepticon leader launched a vicious assault, his copter-blades whirling like enormous swords. He thought he had discovered the Neutron, the evil scientist responsible for capturing many of his friends.
While evading slashes and cuts, the Atom quickly explained the truth - and, fortunately, Megatron believed him. "My friend, the Red Hood, told me about your Batman," he said. The Atom's hypothesis had been correct - the Megatron of this world was a defender of liberty, firmly on the side of good. The Decepticon was, fortunately, also a super-detective. He had detected the same radiation that had caught the Atom's attention and, together, they traced it to its source.
As they flew above Super Villain City, Megatron explained the sad downfall of his adopted home. He and his valorous Decepticons had crash-landed nearby, years before, and befriended the Red Hood and his heroic friends. For a time, they'd been able to resist the onslaught of Owlman and his team. When the Feathered Fiend disappeared, victory seemed imminent. "Unfortunately, the villains became even more powerful," Megatron said sadly. "They blasted our base, on the other side of the wall, with a mysterious beam from space and turned it into a Hero Hovel. We've no idea how they powered it, or any of their other wicked devices... we thought the planet's resources had been totally exhausted. Because of that weapon, we were buried alive in our own base and failed to stop them conquering the world. We've only just dug ourselves out."
Soon, they came upon the source of the strange energy: Reverse Earth had an Arkham Asylum all of its own. "This radiation just shouldn't exist," Megatron said. "Our world doesn't have nuclear fusion, or yellow solar energy - not even the rapidly-fading kind. There's a third wavelength, too, one I can't identify. My best guess is that it's some kind of, well, speed force."
The Atom's heart leaped with joy. Shrinking down, he slipped through Arkham's defences and found his long-missing friends! Firestorm had been strapped into a device that pulled energy from his fiery form. The Flash was trapped inside a large wheel, endlessly running to generate electricity. And, beneath them both, the mighty Superman was imprisoned in a cell that focused the light of the red sun, sapping his powers. With Megatron's help, the Atom disabled each of the devices and helped his disoriented friends out of the asylum.
"I knew you'd come for us one day," the Flash grinned. Luthor and Brainiac's beam hadn't destroyed him, but instead teleported him to Reverse Earth. Superman and Firestorm had arrived seconds later. All three were weakened by their ordeal, and the red sun had rendered Superman mortal. In that state, they were no match for the local villains who gleefully scooped them up and put them to work at Arkham, powering their world-conquering technology. "Pretty safe to say we're itching to get back at them," the Flash said.
The Atom explained that, because they'd all been feared dead, this was not a rescue mission - instead, he needed the missing heroes to rescue their friends! "Sounds like a perfect way to spend the afternoon," Superman said weakly, struggling to stand upright. Firestorm did what he could to ease the Kryptonian's pain with yellow solar energy "injections", but it was clear Superman would be de-powered for this adventure. "That won't stop me," the Man of Steel declared. "Let's go show Owlman the meaning of justice!"
Back at Owl Tower, the villains were debating the best - and most entertaining - way to kill the captured heroes. Bored with watching the "amateur hour", the Joker excused himself and went wandering through the tower "to find something fun to play with". Eventually, the villains settled on using Owlman's giant stereo speakers to vibrate the prisoners into pulp. With a triumphant smile, the boss of the baddies activated his terible device...
... and watched it fall apart, in a blur of red-and-yellow motion, thanks to a pair of super-fast hands!
Whooping with delight, the Flash tore through the villains at his fastest pace, favouring each with a punch in the head. Firestorm attacked next, turning razor-rangs into flowers and once-stable floorboards into glue and putty. When Bumblebee and Ratchet fired their accelerator ray at him, the Nuclear Man simply absorbed the blast and channelled it back, turning the pair into twitching messes. Megatron crash-tackled the evil Optimus while the Atom leaped from console to console, using the Tower's own technology against its owners. Superman, meanwhile, went to free the prisoners - but was cut off by Bulkhead and Blitz Lord. They laughed humourlessly, dubbing themselves the villains who "finally took down the Man of Steel".
That's when the Joker rushed in. "Stand back, boys," he cried. "Ol' Supey there is from another world, and I've got just the thing to deal with aliens!" From behind his back he produced a large, glowing chunk of Kryptonite he'd stolen from Owlman's trophy case. With a shriek of "bombs away", he hurled the meteorite at Superman. Turning around just a moment too late, Owlman howled for him to stop. But the rock sailed through the air and shattered across Superman's chest... instantly re-powering him to full strength!
"Of course," the Atom cheered. "If Kryptonite is deadly to Superman, then Reverse-Kryptonite is the very best thing you could give him!"
"Aw, nuts," the Joker grimaced.
Flexing his muscles, Superman shattered the lightning cage that held his friends. Then, for the first time in many months, he took to the air. His incredible strength, invulnerability, x-ray vision and freezing breath made him much, much more than a match for his foes. Bulkhead was dispatched in a matter of seconds, crashing to the streets below as a mangled lump of metal ("I've become modern sculpture," he droned darkly). Blitz Lord tried to fly away but Superman followed, striking faster than even the bolts of lightning summoned by the Norse god. The ultimate battle of caped powerhouses ended with the Blitz Lord unconscious and Superman triumphant.
At the same time, Wolverine struggled to defeat his slacker copy. They were too evenly matched, however, for either to get the upper hand. Starscream, eager for revenge, stepped in between them and took care of Reverse Wolverine. "I hate that guy," he sneered. Wolverine offered him a handshake of thanks and, when the Decepticon took it, the mutant popped his claws and stabbed him. "You jerk," Logan laughed. As Starscream wailed in pain, the team of Jazz and Michaelangelo defeated Titanium Man, Leia stopped Stretcher and Batman - as always - brought the Joker to heel.
Megatron, meanwhile, was succumbing to the onslaught of his ancient enemy. Help came from a very unexpected quarter - the original Optimus Prime! Fighting together despite the weirdness of the situation, the unlikely partners almost matched the evil Prime's attack. Inspiration struck the heroic Prime. "If we're both in charge of heroes, then we both have a Matrix of Leadership," he realised. "Megatron, it's time for a double Matrix attack!" The Decepticon agreed and, as one, their chest panels opened. Two Matrix holders poured forth streams of blinding force - one Energon, the other Dark Energon - that overwhelmed and defeated their enemy. As Megatron gave "thanks to Unicron" for quenching "the unholy fires of Primus", Optimus understood just how different their worlds truly were.
Owlman would not accept defeat. "I won't let you and your friends ruin things, Megatron," he shrieked from the control platform. "I'd sooner wipe my own Tower off the face of the earth - so that's just what I'll do!" Clearly crazed, he activated his space gun - mounted on the Injustice League's "Panopticon" satellite 22,300 miles above them - and aimed it directly at them. Owlman moved to escape but was cut off, at super-speed, by the Flash. He was then fused into a nearby wall by Firestorm. "If we're going down," the teen hero said, "then you're going down with us."
"That's not going to happen," Superman said. Once again he soared into the air, flying out of the Tower and up into space. He moved so quickly that he intercepted the beam before it even pierced the atmosphere, bouncing it off his chest and back at the Panopticon. The wicked satellite exploded, forever ending the threat it posed to Reverse Earth. The good guys of this weird world finally had a fighting chance.
The heroes of our world, meanwhile, were busy having joyous reunions with their long-missing friends. Batman did his best not to smile, but lost his composure when Superman wrapped him up in a big hug.
War Machine secured Owlman, Blue Bowman, the Joker, Starscream and Titanium Man in Stark-brand shackles ("you finally got your hands on our tech, boys!") for the journey back to normal Earth. Megatron imprisoned the others in the Tower's cells for later transfer to Arkham. "Once you've gone through the portal, I'll destroy the controls on this side," he said. "Our worlds will never trouble each other again." He looked at Optimus. "I hope my counterpart will someday repay the kindness you've shown me," he said.
Optimus, reflecting on the one time he'd teamed with his old foe, shook his head. "It's a nice thought, but I doubt it," he said. "Wishing doesn't make it so, especially when it comes to villains."
The heroes and their captured foes bid a final farewell to Reverse Earth and stepped through the portal. It closed explosively behind them, sealing the passage between the worlds once and for all. No sooner had they touched down than Starscream broke free of his bonds, grabbed Titanium Man and Joker and transformed to jet mode. He flew away and they escaped, leaving Owlman and Blue Bowman to face another stint in Arkham.
With the core of the Justice League rediscovered, the Dark Knight's guilt could finally ease. "I'm glad you're back, too," he told Superman with a wink. "I was getting kind of sick of protecting the world all by myself."
Superman looked approvingly at his new friends. "I doubt that," he smiled. "It looks to me like you've had the best help anyone could ask for."
----------
Greet the Fire as Your Friend,
SF
As our latest story begins, Batman has formed a heroic task force to hunt down and capture the Feathered Fiend. What the Dark Knight does not realise is he and his friends are about to have an adventure beyond the looking glass, in a crazed world where right is wrong, vice is virtue and evil always wins. Or does it?
Join us, gentle reader, and find out as...
LJ presents:
RESCUE ON THE REVERSE WORLD
Written and directed by LJ
Novelisation by SF
----------
Owlman and the Blue Bowman weren't running for their lives - they were running for their liberty.
The mirror-verse duo had teamed with the Joker, Titanium Man and Starscream to attack Stark Industries, eager as always to acquire new technology for their villainous schemes. They hadn't planned on running into a fighting-mad Batman and his hand-picked team: Optimus Prime, Jazz, the Atom, War Machine, Wolverine, Princess Leia and Michaelangelo. Heavily outnumbered, they quickly lost the battle. Imprisonment in Arkham Asylum loomed.
Desperate to escape, Blue Bowman activated his dimensional portal and leaped through, heading back to Reverse Earth. Owlman and his crew followed... and, before Batman could object, so did Wolverine, Michaelangelo and Jazz. The rest of the heroes plunged into the shimmering abyss, and emerged in a place that was totally alien and, yet, strangely familiar.
They were in the Owl Tower - a reverse version of the Batcave. Through the enormous windows they could see Reverse Earth's red sun rising in the sky. The Caped Crusader had been to that desolate place once before, when he first fought Owlman. He'd had help, back then. Speaking aloud, he hoped his friend Red Hood (the Joker's heroic counterpart) would show up once again.
"Wishing won't make it so," Owlman crowed from above. He was standing atop the Tower's control platform, flanked by the Bowman and the villains. "Especially when it comes to so-called 'heroes'. That's a dirty word here in my city." At the snap of his fingers, a panel opened in the wall next to the good guys. From out it emerged a living nightmare - the assault of the Reverse World army!
Optimus Prime found himself locked in combat with his hot-headed counterpart who burned, from within, with fire like the Fallen. The evil Bulkhead - a morose and tortured emo "artist" - took down War Machine. Stretcher and the Blitz Lord, foul parodies of Plastic Man and Thor, made short work of Michaelangelo and Leia. But the end truly came for the heroes when the dastardly Bumblebee and cruel torturer, Ratchet combined their powers. Instead of an EMP blast, their joint weapon was a hyper-acceleration ray. It overwhelmed poor Jazz's circuits and sent him into a berserker frenzy. When the dust settled, the cyber-ninja had knocked all of his friends unconscious. He then himself fell victim to the evil Optimus' pummeling fists.
Starscream immediately grasped the situation. "Good is bad and bad is good," he grinned. "That means the strongest rules, so... I'm the leader now!" His triumphant declaration was cut short by the evil Autobots, who took exception to anyone trying to depose Owlman. In our world, the heroes defer to Batman's greater experience. On Reverse Earth, the villains obey Owlman like slaves.
The bad guys cackled as Blitz Lord secured the heroes and Starscream in a lightning field. None of them realised they'd failed to capture one member of the team - the size-changing scientist known as the Atom. Throughout the fight he'd been trying to get Batman's attention because he'd detected "some odd radiation" nearby. The Dark Knight had gruffly told him to wait, and was now a prisoner. Shrinking down, the Atom crept out of the Tower and into the city.
It was a grim, depressing place. People fought over scraps of food and clothing, kicked dogs and were mean to one another. Parks and monuments had been vandalised, and the police were more likely to rob you than help you. The Atom quickly ascertained the scientific implications of it all. He lived in the Super Hero City of his world. That meant Owlman and his cronies ruled over Super Villain City. The super-scientist wondered what other curiousities he'd find while tracking the mysterious radiation.
He did not have to wait long to find out. A barrage of laser fire tore up the ground around him. Even in his miniature size, he'd been found! The Atom reverted to full size to face down his attacker... and found himself staring into the optics of Megatron! The Decepticon leader launched a vicious assault, his copter-blades whirling like enormous swords. He thought he had discovered the Neutron, the evil scientist responsible for capturing many of his friends.
While evading slashes and cuts, the Atom quickly explained the truth - and, fortunately, Megatron believed him. "My friend, the Red Hood, told me about your Batman," he said. The Atom's hypothesis had been correct - the Megatron of this world was a defender of liberty, firmly on the side of good. The Decepticon was, fortunately, also a super-detective. He had detected the same radiation that had caught the Atom's attention and, together, they traced it to its source.
As they flew above Super Villain City, Megatron explained the sad downfall of his adopted home. He and his valorous Decepticons had crash-landed nearby, years before, and befriended the Red Hood and his heroic friends. For a time, they'd been able to resist the onslaught of Owlman and his team. When the Feathered Fiend disappeared, victory seemed imminent. "Unfortunately, the villains became even more powerful," Megatron said sadly. "They blasted our base, on the other side of the wall, with a mysterious beam from space and turned it into a Hero Hovel. We've no idea how they powered it, or any of their other wicked devices... we thought the planet's resources had been totally exhausted. Because of that weapon, we were buried alive in our own base and failed to stop them conquering the world. We've only just dug ourselves out."
Soon, they came upon the source of the strange energy: Reverse Earth had an Arkham Asylum all of its own. "This radiation just shouldn't exist," Megatron said. "Our world doesn't have nuclear fusion, or yellow solar energy - not even the rapidly-fading kind. There's a third wavelength, too, one I can't identify. My best guess is that it's some kind of, well, speed force."
The Atom's heart leaped with joy. Shrinking down, he slipped through Arkham's defences and found his long-missing friends! Firestorm had been strapped into a device that pulled energy from his fiery form. The Flash was trapped inside a large wheel, endlessly running to generate electricity. And, beneath them both, the mighty Superman was imprisoned in a cell that focused the light of the red sun, sapping his powers. With Megatron's help, the Atom disabled each of the devices and helped his disoriented friends out of the asylum.
"I knew you'd come for us one day," the Flash grinned. Luthor and Brainiac's beam hadn't destroyed him, but instead teleported him to Reverse Earth. Superman and Firestorm had arrived seconds later. All three were weakened by their ordeal, and the red sun had rendered Superman mortal. In that state, they were no match for the local villains who gleefully scooped them up and put them to work at Arkham, powering their world-conquering technology. "Pretty safe to say we're itching to get back at them," the Flash said.
The Atom explained that, because they'd all been feared dead, this was not a rescue mission - instead, he needed the missing heroes to rescue their friends! "Sounds like a perfect way to spend the afternoon," Superman said weakly, struggling to stand upright. Firestorm did what he could to ease the Kryptonian's pain with yellow solar energy "injections", but it was clear Superman would be de-powered for this adventure. "That won't stop me," the Man of Steel declared. "Let's go show Owlman the meaning of justice!"
Back at Owl Tower, the villains were debating the best - and most entertaining - way to kill the captured heroes. Bored with watching the "amateur hour", the Joker excused himself and went wandering through the tower "to find something fun to play with". Eventually, the villains settled on using Owlman's giant stereo speakers to vibrate the prisoners into pulp. With a triumphant smile, the boss of the baddies activated his terible device...
... and watched it fall apart, in a blur of red-and-yellow motion, thanks to a pair of super-fast hands!
Whooping with delight, the Flash tore through the villains at his fastest pace, favouring each with a punch in the head. Firestorm attacked next, turning razor-rangs into flowers and once-stable floorboards into glue and putty. When Bumblebee and Ratchet fired their accelerator ray at him, the Nuclear Man simply absorbed the blast and channelled it back, turning the pair into twitching messes. Megatron crash-tackled the evil Optimus while the Atom leaped from console to console, using the Tower's own technology against its owners. Superman, meanwhile, went to free the prisoners - but was cut off by Bulkhead and Blitz Lord. They laughed humourlessly, dubbing themselves the villains who "finally took down the Man of Steel".
That's when the Joker rushed in. "Stand back, boys," he cried. "Ol' Supey there is from another world, and I've got just the thing to deal with aliens!" From behind his back he produced a large, glowing chunk of Kryptonite he'd stolen from Owlman's trophy case. With a shriek of "bombs away", he hurled the meteorite at Superman. Turning around just a moment too late, Owlman howled for him to stop. But the rock sailed through the air and shattered across Superman's chest... instantly re-powering him to full strength!
"Of course," the Atom cheered. "If Kryptonite is deadly to Superman, then Reverse-Kryptonite is the very best thing you could give him!"
"Aw, nuts," the Joker grimaced.
Flexing his muscles, Superman shattered the lightning cage that held his friends. Then, for the first time in many months, he took to the air. His incredible strength, invulnerability, x-ray vision and freezing breath made him much, much more than a match for his foes. Bulkhead was dispatched in a matter of seconds, crashing to the streets below as a mangled lump of metal ("I've become modern sculpture," he droned darkly). Blitz Lord tried to fly away but Superman followed, striking faster than even the bolts of lightning summoned by the Norse god. The ultimate battle of caped powerhouses ended with the Blitz Lord unconscious and Superman triumphant.
At the same time, Wolverine struggled to defeat his slacker copy. They were too evenly matched, however, for either to get the upper hand. Starscream, eager for revenge, stepped in between them and took care of Reverse Wolverine. "I hate that guy," he sneered. Wolverine offered him a handshake of thanks and, when the Decepticon took it, the mutant popped his claws and stabbed him. "You jerk," Logan laughed. As Starscream wailed in pain, the team of Jazz and Michaelangelo defeated Titanium Man, Leia stopped Stretcher and Batman - as always - brought the Joker to heel.
Megatron, meanwhile, was succumbing to the onslaught of his ancient enemy. Help came from a very unexpected quarter - the original Optimus Prime! Fighting together despite the weirdness of the situation, the unlikely partners almost matched the evil Prime's attack. Inspiration struck the heroic Prime. "If we're both in charge of heroes, then we both have a Matrix of Leadership," he realised. "Megatron, it's time for a double Matrix attack!" The Decepticon agreed and, as one, their chest panels opened. Two Matrix holders poured forth streams of blinding force - one Energon, the other Dark Energon - that overwhelmed and defeated their enemy. As Megatron gave "thanks to Unicron" for quenching "the unholy fires of Primus", Optimus understood just how different their worlds truly were.
Owlman would not accept defeat. "I won't let you and your friends ruin things, Megatron," he shrieked from the control platform. "I'd sooner wipe my own Tower off the face of the earth - so that's just what I'll do!" Clearly crazed, he activated his space gun - mounted on the Injustice League's "Panopticon" satellite 22,300 miles above them - and aimed it directly at them. Owlman moved to escape but was cut off, at super-speed, by the Flash. He was then fused into a nearby wall by Firestorm. "If we're going down," the teen hero said, "then you're going down with us."
"That's not going to happen," Superman said. Once again he soared into the air, flying out of the Tower and up into space. He moved so quickly that he intercepted the beam before it even pierced the atmosphere, bouncing it off his chest and back at the Panopticon. The wicked satellite exploded, forever ending the threat it posed to Reverse Earth. The good guys of this weird world finally had a fighting chance.
The heroes of our world, meanwhile, were busy having joyous reunions with their long-missing friends. Batman did his best not to smile, but lost his composure when Superman wrapped him up in a big hug.
War Machine secured Owlman, Blue Bowman, the Joker, Starscream and Titanium Man in Stark-brand shackles ("you finally got your hands on our tech, boys!") for the journey back to normal Earth. Megatron imprisoned the others in the Tower's cells for later transfer to Arkham. "Once you've gone through the portal, I'll destroy the controls on this side," he said. "Our worlds will never trouble each other again." He looked at Optimus. "I hope my counterpart will someday repay the kindness you've shown me," he said.
Optimus, reflecting on the one time he'd teamed with his old foe, shook his head. "It's a nice thought, but I doubt it," he said. "Wishing doesn't make it so, especially when it comes to villains."
The heroes and their captured foes bid a final farewell to Reverse Earth and stepped through the portal. It closed explosively behind them, sealing the passage between the worlds once and for all. No sooner had they touched down than Starscream broke free of his bonds, grabbed Titanium Man and Joker and transformed to jet mode. He flew away and they escaped, leaving Owlman and Blue Bowman to face another stint in Arkham.
With the core of the Justice League rediscovered, the Dark Knight's guilt could finally ease. "I'm glad you're back, too," he told Superman with a wink. "I was getting kind of sick of protecting the world all by myself."
Superman looked approvingly at his new friends. "I doubt that," he smiled. "It looks to me like you've had the best help anyone could ask for."
----------
Greet the Fire as Your Friend,
SF