Project Atom

Amanda Waller stood near the helipad, watching the chopper lower itself. Before the landing skids could even touch down, the rear door opened and a moustachioed man with silver hair and wearing the uniform and markings of a four-star general hopped out. He straightened his uniform and approached his host.

“Director Waller,” he said.

“General Eiling,” said Waller, a coldness in her voice. “As I did earlier, I have to once more state my objections.”

“And once more, I’m going to ignore your objections,” said Eiling. “POTUS put me in charge of this operation. We’ve got the means to both eliminate the Bialyan threat and those unpredictable metas in one fell swoop.”

“And in the process, potentially unleashing something even worse,” said Waller. “You don’t fully understand his capabilities.”

Eiling placed his hand on Waller’s shoulder and stared hard into her eyes. When she met his gaze, she uncharacteristically spaced out for just a few moments. Eiling removed his hand and continued walking towards the facility’s entrance. Once he reached the door, he turned back to Waller.

“You coming, Amanda?”

Waller took a beat to answer and shook her head. She joined Eiling at the door and granted him access to the facility.

Project Atom was created to experiment on the remains of an alien spacecraft recovered almost twenty years ago. But the experiment resulted in the test subject being apparently vaporized and the project was shut down. Until a year ago when—in the exact spot where he seemed to meet his demise—the subject reappeared. For him, it had been the blink of an eye. For everyone else, eighteen years had gone by. Project Atom had been resurrected, this time under the auspices of ARGUS.

Waller took Eiling into the central testing containment area. There was one man present at a computer terminal, reviewing test results and confined to a wheelchair. He turned and approached the two of them.

“Director Waller? What’s this all about? I thought you promised you’d inform me in advance of any visits.”

“General Eiling, this is Dr. Megala. He’s the lead scientist on Project Atom,” said Waller.

“Then that means he now works for me,” said Eiling.

Megala balked at Eiling’s attitude. “I beg your pardon?”

“Open up the chamber,” said Eiling.

Megala’s eyes bulged. “Are you insane? We still have more tests to do. Captain Adam isn’t prepared for—”

“Captain Atom? You already gave him one of those stupid little superhero names?” asked Eiling.

“Adam,” said Megala. “A-D-A-M. It’s his name, Captain Nathaniel Adam.”

“Whatever he calls himself, he’s officially dead and covered in the property of the United States government. And the President has just declared him my property,” said Eiling. “Now open up the damn chamber, I want to talk to him.”

Megala returned to the terminal and overrode the safety measures. In the machinery up against the wall, a pod of sorts rose up, with windows over the front that gave a glimpse of the being within. The pod doors opened, and a man rested inside, his body covered from head to toe in some kind of unearthly metal.

“Okay, Adam. You’ve just been given another chance to serve your country. And this time, you’d better not blow it,” said Eiling. “Now listen carefully…”

THE CONQUEROR

Part V

By Dino Pollard

Once upon a time, Mars was not the barren, dead world it is now. My people called it Ma’aleca’andra. And when the Earth was young, Mars was teeming with life.

The Ma’aleca’andrans—or Martians, in your tongue—were split into two races. The white Martians were more physically aggressive and warlike, while the green Martians concerned themselves more with matters of the mind. And for centuries, the two races were locked in conflict.

Until finally, those differences were resolved. And from that time forth, Mars enjoyed almost a century of uninterrupted peace and became a paradise. It was during this period when I lived, with my family. Our race had even broken our planetary boundaries and begun to make contact with other civilizations across the known universe.

But then came the Conqueror. I know not what its origins are nor how old it is. All I do know is that it feeds off energy and negative emotions. Through the use of its spores, the Conqueror amplified the old prejudices between the white and green Martians.

And then, the war began anew.

It lasted decades. The green Martians had the edge in numbers, but the white Martians had spent generations engineering their people for war.

I sought to end the conflict. I left my wife and daughter in the care of my father and brother, then departed for the stars. My mission was to plead with the Guardians of Oa for assistance. But they had just quelled the rebellion of their vaunted Manhunter androids and were in the midst of internal disputes over what role they should play in the universe going forward. And so, I was not even granted an audience.

While I was gone, I had no way of knowing that the white Martians were pushed to the extreme by the Conqueror. For years, they had been developing a doomsday weapon capable of definitively ending the war and eradicating all green Martians.

Unfortunately, they were not aware of how much the Conqueror was influencing their thoughts. When they used the weapon, they not only eradicated the greens, but their own race.

I had returned to a dead world. The psychic impressions that lingered found refuge in my mind. I was exposed to the horrified final moments of my entire race, and it nearly drove me insane.

And then, there was a light.

I was no longer on Mars, but in a laboratory and staring into the eyes of a funny-looking creature. The shock of seeing a green alien caused him to suffer a fatal heart attack. In his last moments, I absorbed his memories. His name was Saul Erdel and he was a scientist, who had succeeded in the first test of a prototype teleportation device.

Fearing what the device might be capable of, I took it with me and fled. I came to this cave in Happy Harbor and stayed here for some time.

In time, I discovered that Erdel’s device had not only teleported me through space but even time, bringing me thousands of years into the future. I was the sole survivor of my race. As the years went on, I used my shapeshifting abilities to assume different personalities and identities, traveling the world to learn everything possible of Earth.

Happy Harbor

J’onn J’onzz paused and looked down, closing his eyes. A few moments later, he opened them and continued.

“I have dedicated myself to watching over this world. And when each of you made your public debuts, I began monitoring your activities. And now, I need your help to prevent the thing that had destroyed my world from doing the same to yours,” he said.

Six individuals stood in the confines of the cave—Superman, first of the superheroes to appear. Wonder Woman, an ambassador from a lost island with the powers of a goddess. The Flash, a college student who was transformed into the fastest man alive. The Green Lantern, a young man chosen to be the guardian of the galaxy. Aquaman, descendent of Atlantean nobility. And the Batman, an urban legend come to life.

“You said the Conqueror feeds off negative emotions, and that it amplified underlying feelings of hatred and prejudice,” said Superman. “That tracks with the escalating tensions between the US and Bialya. I found one of those spores on a ship illegally smuggling nuclear material to Bialya.”

“What if one of those spores has gotten to the president or his advisors?” asked Aquaman. “Not like the US has been against pre-emptive strikes in the past and they weren’t being influenced by psychic alien starfish.”

“We have to defuse tensions,” said the Batman. “Though after Metropolis, I’m not so certain some of you would be welcome at the White House.”

“I could shapeshift. Ambush the president, assume his form. A nuclear strike can’t be launched unless the president personally gives the order,” said J’onn.

“I like that plan, but there’s one problem—you need to impersonate the Bialyan leader and not the American one,” said Batman.

“But if the US might launch a nuke…” began Green Lantern.

“You heard what Superman said,” Batman continued. “What do you want to bet that ship wasn’t the only avenue Harjavti was pursuing?”

“Batman’s right. Harjavti’s a lunatic on his best day and if he has nuclear weapons, the Conqueror’s influence might push him to actually use them,” said Superman.

“I’d say it’s a certainty,” said J’onn. “The Conqueror fed off the energy released from the white Martian doomsday weapon.”

“Someone should still speak with the president, and I’ll take on that task,” said Diana. “I was sent to man’s world to be an ambassador, after all. And I helped defeat you all in Metropolis. Unless you think they’d be more likely to trust the word of a man no one is sure even exists.”

“I’ve never been a fan of politicians anyway,” said Batman.

“Okay, so Wonder Woman’s going on the White House tour, and Martian Manhunter here is impersonating Harjavti,” said the Flash.

“‘Martian Manhunter’?” asked J’onn.

The Flash shrugged. “You mentioned Manhunters in your story and I liked the sound of it. Plus you’re hunting down a man to impersonate him and you’re a Martian.”

“Point taken,” said J’onn.

“I like Wonder Woman myself,” said Diana.

“Right, so what are the rest of us gonna do? These Starros are still flying around out there.”

“You like comin’ up with stupid names, don’t you, Speedy?” asked Green Lantern.

“Says the guy named after a night light,” said the Flash.

“Enough.” The Batman’s voice was firm and his command so strong, it caused the Flash and Green Lantern to stop their good-natured bickering. “The Flash brings up an important point. Even if we avert this crisis, as long as the Conqueror is still out there, we’ll just be putting out fires. We have to find a way to get rid of it permanently.”

“The Flash called them Starros, but Starro would be more accurate,” said J’onn. “Those spores are just aspects of itself, but it isn’t the Conqueror.”

“So what’s the difference between the little guys and the real Starro?” asked the Flash.

“For one, it’s bigger…” said J’onn.

The Batcave

The Manhunter’s teleporter enabled Batman to easily return to his own lair and monitor progress for the rest of the team. As the only human amongst a group of metas, he was the best choice to try and track down the Conqueror or monitor potential nuclear launches with technology.

Though one thing left him concerned. In the midst of the battle of Metropolis, Superman had called him Bruce Wayne with surprise in his voice. The Batman wasn’t sure how the Man of Steel had uncovered his secret identity, but it was something he would have to follow up on. It was bad enough that the Martian had learned who he really was, Batman wasn’t certain he could trust these metas with his secrets.

The Martian Manhunter had set up a psychic link between all seven of them, and that also left Batman feeling nervous. For five years, he’d managed to keep his very existence as a myth. Now, all of it was tumbling out into the open and he feared where it could lead.

“Batman to all points. Update me on your progress.”

“Aquaman here. I’m somewhere in the south Atlantic, sending out search parties to see if they can tell me anything about Starro.”

“So you really can talk to fish?” asked the Flash over the telepathic link. “How’s that work, anyway? ‘Hey, Mr. Dolphin, you seen any giant alien starfish around here?’”

“What, you think I’m some sort of SeaWorld trainer? I don’t ask them shit, kid. I command.”

“Well excuse me all to hell…didn’t realize you were so sensitive about it…”

“Hate to interrupt this scintillating debate, but you think you could table it until after we’ve saved the world?” said Superman. “To answer Batman’s question, I’ve been flying all over the world and haven’t managed to locate any sign of the Conqueror. Flash?”

“Same here. Feel like I’m running in circles.”

“Lantern, you’re the one with the magic ring,” said Batman. “Has it told you anything?”

“Alien ring, actually. But no, nada. Its scanning range isn’t unlimited so I’ve gotta keep moving.”

“Manhunter?” asked Batman.

“I’ve just arrived in Bialya and am heading towards the presidential palace. I’ll keep you posted, Batman.”

The White House
Washington, DC

Inside the Oval Office, the President of the United States had to stop his jaw from hitting the desk. His Secret Service detail had their guns drawn, all pointed at the woman who had just strolled past security without a second thought, and now stood with her hands resting on her hips and a bored look in her eyes.

“Mr. President,” began Wonder Woman, “please instruct your men to put away their little toys. They don’t want to hurt themselves.”

“Lady, I don’t know who you think you are, but—”

“My name is Diana, Princess of Themyscira. Or Wonder Woman if you’d like to use the name the press has bestowed upon me. But it’s not ‘lady.’”

“Whatever you call yourself, you can’t just barge into the White House and issue demands!”

“I’m demanding nothing, simply offering you some advice. The Bialyan crisis is on the precipice. If you do not seek a diplomatic solution, the consequences could be devastating.”

“I appreciate your concern, but this is probably a bit too big for you to understand,” said the president. “The American people elected me to defend them against all threats, foreign and domestic. And right now, that includes Bialya. Maybe you don’t have the balls to stop a rogue state, but—”

Diana took a few steps forward. One of the Secret Service agents reacted and accidentally fired, his aim thrown off by his shaking. The bullet cut through the air and flew towards the president’s face.

Until it was stopped in mid-air. By Diana’s thumb and forefinger. She dropped the bullet—now harmless when robbed of its momentum—on his desk.

“You see that?” shouted another agent. “She tried to attack the president!”

Wonder Woman could feel something tickling at the stem of her brain. “The Conqueror…” she whispered.

The Secret Service agents opened fire, but their target wasn’t Wonder Woman—it was the president himself.

Diana wasted not a second of hesitation. She jumped on the Resolute Desk, her arms moving as fast as possible to deflect the bullets with her bracelets.

Once the guns were empty, Wonder Woman unfurled her lasso and wrangled one of the agents, hurling him into another. She jumped from the desk, sweeping another off his feet. Another came at her from behind, and she got to her feet, slamming her back into his torso and flipping him over her.

Within moments, the Secret Service agents all lay prone on the floor. She didn’t see the president, but went behind the desk and saw him cowering beneath it.

“What the hell just happened?” he asked.

“We have a lot to discuss, Mr. President.”

“Umm, guys? I think I’ve found Starro,” said Aquaman.

Deep in the south Atlantic, embedded into the ocean floor, was a giant starfish with a large eye. The eye’s pupil alone was larger than Aquaman himself.

“J’onn wasn’t kidding about the size. At the risk of typecasting myself, ‘we’re gonna need a bigger boat.’”

Aquaman reached out with his abilities. If he could control marine life, he wondered if it could also affect the Conqueror. But as he attempted to make contact, the eye turned in his direction and distortion waves appeared in the water around the eye.

Imagine the worst migraine you can, then multiply it by a thousand, and that came close to defining what Aquaman felt from the psychic feedback.

“Aquaman?” asked the Manhunter. “What happened? I’m having trouble reading your thoughts.”

“I…I don’t know…but this thing isn’t going to stand down easily.”

“We have other problems right now,” said Batman. “I’m detecting a massive discharge of energy. It’s moving rapidly across the Atlantic, directly towards Bialya. Superman—”

“—I think this might be a job for you.”

Before Batman had even finished his sentence, Superman was already pushing his speed to its limit, flying as fast as he could across Asia towards the Middle East.

He focused his telescopic vision, seeing as far as possible. As he came closer towards Bialya’s borders, he could see the silver streak of energy coming through the air. Superman flew harder, his arms held out in front of him, fists clenched tightly.

Superman intercepted the streak and there was an explosion of power that sent him flying back. He was stopped by powerful, green hands and saw the Martian Manhunter hovering behind him.

“Thanks,” said Superman.

“Of course,” said the Manhunter, then they both turned their attention towards the other figure.

He was a man covered in some kind of metal, shaking his head and hovering in the air.

“Who’s this guy?” asked Superman.

“Captain Atom,” said the man. “That’s what he called me.”

“‘He’?” asked Superman.

“Stand down, whoever you are,” said Captain Atom. “I don’t want to have to hurt you.”

Superman gave a smirk. “You’re welcome to try, friend.”

Captain Atom raised his arm and a surge of energy exploded from his palm, directly striking Superman in the chest. To the Martian Manhunter’s shock, it managed to stagger the Man of Steel.

Before the Manhunter could recover from the surprise, Captain Atom turned the blasts on him as well. The Manhunter recoiled in pain, the heat from the energy triggering his natural aversion to fire.

A semi-translucent green shield interrupted the blast, sparing J’onn from further harm. He looked up at Green Lantern, who gave him a wave.

“Sorry I’m late,” said Green Lantern. “How about we take this guy down?”

“I’m comin’ in hot. GL, think you can give me a ramp?” asked Flash.

Green Lantern followed the psychic “voice” and looked to the ground where he saw a streak of red and yellow. He aimed his ring and created a rollercoaster track.

The Flash ran up the track, racing towards the peak where it ended. He ran off the edge and flew through the air, throwing his hands forward to hurl the Speed Force lightning at Captain Atom.

The bolts staggered the Captain, and then the Flash followed it up as he flew through the air, striking the silver man with the force of a punch that had been moving faster than the speed of sound.

Green Lantern followed up next, generating a harness around his body that had a giant sci-fi Gatling gun on his chest. Burts of energy fired, striking Captain Atom one after the other. The Martian Manhunter joined in, circling around behind him and unleashing bursts of psionic energy from his eyes.

“I’m back in the game, let me at him,” said Superman.

“One moment, Superman. I think I’ve managed to work my way into his thoughts. Allow me to connect you,” said the Manhunter.

The link was established and Superman could see the life of Captain Nathaniel Adam. Being framed for war crimes, sentenced to death. Then offered the chance for a pardon if he participated in an experiment.

An explosion of nuclear energy. The feeling of alien metal merging with his body. And then waking up in a laboratory. A man in a general’s uniform. Offering him a chance to serve his country once more, to save what was left of his life. All he had to do was destroy Bialya.

“Good god…” muttered Superman.

He flew at Captain Atom, slamming into him with all the strength the Man of Steel could muster. The two grappled as they flew through the air. Superman managed to grab both of Captain Atom’s fists in his hands and pulled his arms down to his sides.

“Nathan, listen to me, please,” said Superman. “We’re not your enemies.”

“You lie!” shouted Captain Atom. “Eiling, he—”

“I know. I know everything he told you. All those lies,” said Superman. “J’onn, help me out.”

“As you wish.”

The Martian Manhunter made contact with Superman and Captain Atom once more, allowing Nathaniel Adam the opportunity to see everything Superman had experienced this day.

“My god…what am I doing?” asked Captain Atom.

“You still have a chance, Captain,” said Superman. “To protect not only your country, but the entire planet. If you’re willing to rise to the challenge.”

“Hey guys…I don’t know how much longer I can hold this thing back…” said Aquaman. “Its power is overwhelming me…having trouble remembering my name…”

Captain Atom looked at Superman, “hearing” Aquaman’s words in his mind. He nodded at the Man of Steel, then said, “Leave it to me.”

With those parting words, Captain Atom left the field of battle. He flew as fast as his quantum powers would allow him, towards Aquaman’s location and the source of the power.

He dove into the water and he saw the Conqueror’s massive form on the ocean floor. Captain Atom fired his quantum blasts into Starro’s giant eye, and the Conqueror’s attempts to take control of his mind only gave Captain Atom psychic energy he was able to absorb.

As he made contact with Starro, there was a massive explosion of energy. On the surface, a column of water shot into the sky reaching several miles high.

Beneath the water, Aquaman’s vision was temporarily obscured by the incredible burst of light. As he blinked away the spots, he looked where Starro and Captain Atom had been, but there was no trace of either.

“Aquaman here,” he said. “We won…I think.”

Happy Harbor

Wonder Woman admired the collection of artifacts the Martian Manhunter had accumulated in his travels. Her eyes lingered particularly on a sword sheathed in a beautiful golden scabbard.

“What do you think?” asked J’onn.

She was startled by the Martian’s silent arrival, but showed no sign of it.

“It’s beautiful,” she said.

J’onn stepped towards the display and removed the sword. He held it in both hands and offered it to her, bowing his head.

“I apologize for spiriting you away without warning,” he said. “Perhaps this gift could heal any potential ill feelings that linger?”

She smiled. “There are none, J’onn. But if you insist, I’d be happy to accept such a generous present.”

“I do insist.”

Diana said nothing more, just took the sword from his hands and affixed the scabbard to her waist. “Thank you.”

“No, thank you,” he said. “Now, shall we join the others?”

Diana nodded and J’onn led her back into the main area of the cave. The rest of the team was waiting for them.

“Hey, how come she gets a sword?” asked Green Lantern. “I want a sword.”

”You can make a hundred swords with your ring,” said the Flash.

“Not the point. It’s the principle,” said Green Lantern.

“Still can’t believe we did it,” said Aquaman. “Or rather, that Captain Atom did it.”

“I just wish he could be here with us right now, instead of sacrificing himself,” said Superman.

“I don’t think he did,” said J’onn. “I’ve been analyzing some samples of the seabed Aquaman brought back with him, to truly understand what had happened. And it seems that there are traces of tachyon particles.”

“What are those?” asked Green Lantern.

“I’ve heard about tachyons before. You saying he’s gone through time?” asked Flash.

“Possibly. Unfortunately, we just can’t be sure,” said J’onn. “But I believe we haven’t seen the last of Captain Atom.”

“Possibly not even the last of Starro. And that brings me to something I wanted to discuss with all of you,” said Superman. “I think it might be a good idea for us to stay in touch. In case something like Starro ever pops up again.”

“I would be happy to continue monitoring potential threats from here. And of course, this cave is available to all of you,” said J’onn.

“Wouldn’t suck to have some back-up every now and then,” said Aquaman.

“You’ve all proven yourselves in battle, and I’d be honored to fight by your side in the future,” said Wonder Woman.

“What are we gonna call ourselves?” asked Green Lantern. “How about the Super Friends?”

“And you said I suck at names?” asked Flash.

“Okay, well how about Extreme Justice?” asked Green Lantern.

The Flash rolled his eyes. “That’s extremely lame.”

“Just stop, kid,” said Aquaman.

“I do like the sound of justice, though,” said Superman, then looked to the seventh figure, who remained silent throughout the discussion. “Batman? I know you’re not exactly a public figure…”

“I’m not, and I’d prefer it to stay that way. Also, if I were to agree to anything like this, then I’d have to insist that my responsibilities to Gotham take priority,” said Batman.

“I think we could all accept that,” said J’onn.

“That’s settled, then,” said the Flash. “We’re Justice. In a league all our own.”

“The Justice League,” said Superman with a smile. “That could work.”

PARTING WORDS

Time for a history lesson.

Back when I started DC Omega, I had planned to write this title. But because of reasons I can’t even remember now, I decided I couldn’t do it. Gavin McMahon had decided to do the title himself, and I was happy to hand over the reins to him.

Unfortunately, Gavin ended up taking a bit of a sabbatical from fanfic and rather than keep another writer saddled with what he’d written, he decided to take down the issues of Justice League that had already been released (fortunately, Gavin’s since returned to fanfic and if you’re not reading Outsiders, that’s your homework assignment for the weekend).

But that did leave a bit of a continuity gaff. See, some titles had already referenced that the Justice League existed. So it seemed like at the very least, there should be a story illustrating their gathering.

I decided to take the responsibility upon myself to do a story featuring the team forming. When I started, though, I hadn’t realized that I was creating continuity issues myself. Issues of Wonder Woman referenced her being pulled from battle and afterwards referenced a battle with the demon Nebiros. Oops, sorry about that.

I did try to squeeze this in as best as possible, by having Diana plucked from the battle in Wonder Woman #5. This also takes place after the events of Superman #3. So this has been a tale from the past.

My understanding at the time I’m writing this is that there is another writer waiting in the wings, and I’m glad for that. I hope they’re happy with the way I’ve left the team in this issue and I’m looking forward to seeing what they come up with.

Until then, you can keep reading my work in the pages of Superman and I’ve got some other things rattling around in my mind that will hopefully be coming out soon.

Thanks for reading and I’ll see you in the funny pages.

-Dino Pollard