Vina flares her wings to land and slaps a mind-cuff on Zipperneck.
Quinn positions himself behind Zipperneck (not directly behind, but a couple steps back and where he can't be seen by Zip) and prepares to grab him if he makes a move to fly away or run. He'll use the spear as a choke if he can.
Ian hears Roy's call out, and positions himself between Roy and Vina in case the Kryptonite Ray does strike out. He even remembers to phase back in so that he can absorb the blast.
Zipperneck's eyes flutter open, after that massive whack he took.
During the eye-fluttering, however, Vina has put a mind-cuff on his head and JimBob has snatched the Joker face off his shirt. There's a scar there, too.
Roy shuts down the eager, evil green Kryptonite glow from his ring.
Now, Zipperneck wakes up, his recovery from even the mightiest blow truly superhuman.
His mind, however, is not apparently the hyper-organized supercomputer that Superman's is. No, not so much at all, really. He looks around, groggy and confused, and stays groggy and confused.
Vina knows the mind-cuffs will make him passive unless slapped or shouted at really hard. He can be led to wherever his destination is, but cannot follow verbal instructions.
Across the White House lawn, flanked by two Checkmate agents, comes a confident bald man in a very nice black suit.
"Lex Luthor, Mister J'Onzz," he says, nodding to Ian. "Your people don't shake hands, I'm told. I don't know your friends here, but I'm seeing an obvious theme: Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, and ... a karate maiden from anime, I believe. No, wait, fighting games. Chun ... Chin-Su. They made a movie out of it with Jean-Claude van Damme. He's surprisingly shy in person."
"So, many congratulations on apprehending this kryptonian clown show so quickly. Let me ask: is he Superman transformed somehow, or someone else who got Superman's powers? His clothing marks him as an Earthman; at least, I certainly hope no other planet has a Joker besides ours!"
In this world, Lex Luthor is a brash, confident businessman who got elected President by promising to make America safe from supervillains. He is well known to distrust and dislike Superman.
ReplyDeleteVina gives a measured smile to the Leader of the Free World. I don't think she's standing close enough to him to easily extend a hand.
ReplyDelete"Mr. President, they seem to be calling me Lady Hawk. But I am new at this. I must say your Checkmate agents are very brave."
"Put tin and electricity up against superpowers? You bet they are, Lady Hawk," says Luthor. "I inherited Checkmate from Jimmy Carter -- I've upped their tech, but the guts are ALL THEIRS!"
"They haven't told me about you people, though. You've got an S symbol on ... you're not by any chance from Krypton yourself?"
Chin-Su extends his hand - from where he's standing - in a simultaneous show of manners and a demonstration of his power.
ReplyDeleteIan is gobsmacked that the actual President of the United States is approaching and addressing him and does a poor job of hiding that fact.
ReplyDelete"D-Doesn't appear to be the real deal. I believe the Joker might have an explanation as to why one of his minions has kryptonian powers."
Quinn is mostly apolitical, and he doesn't trust politicians. He's pretty uncomfortable right now, so he just kind of hangs back and makes sure no other baddies show up.
ReplyDelete