7786/JL and Age of Despair: Epilogue

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JL and Age of Despair: Epilogue
Date of Scene: 08 June 2019
Location: Medical Centre, Watchtower
Synopsis: The ending of the Age of Despair TP, with the heroes of the Justice League, banding together to bring Superman back from the abyss!
Cast of Characters: Superman, Danger, Wonder Woman, Willow Rosenberg, Constantine, Green Arrow, Blue Marvel, Batman, Question, Mon-El
Tinyplot: JL and Age of Despair
Tinyplot2: Age of Despair: Epilogue


Superman has posed:
    The Justice League Watchtower was quiet. Almost...too quiet. Then, the visitors start to arrive. The hum of the teleporter makes its trademark noise as everyone begins to materialize, one at a time. The mood was sombre, as the battle had been won...but at what cost? Superman was still lying comotose in the Medical Centre, and no one knew if he was going to come out of it our not. Apokolips had not been kind to him...or the team!

    Some, who had been there since the beginning, had left, heading towards the Fortress of Solitude, or other locales, in an attempt to discover something...anything...that could help. Others had remained behind, like the Nightmare Nurse, trying to help as best they could. The woman in the white "uniform" was in the meidical centre now, quiet, and close by, watching over her patient. Strange that she was this dedicated.

    Zatanna had sealed up the time/space bridge that had been used by the bad guys, and hopefully, they would not be able to sue again to transport onto the Watchtower, unnannounced. Everything was settling once more, into a lull. A quiet before the storm.

Danger has posed:
The being known as Danger was not privvy to the trip but knew enough about Superman's condition that she was invited back again. He was altered in ways that she, based on a look into her own database and what she was allowed to know, should not have been done easily. She now returns now that he is back. She teleports in and then approaches the area where his body is at rest as she continues to run through scenarios in her mind, literaly running through various scenarios in a mental danger room as she considered all possibilities. Even as she approached though, she'd start scanning Superman again and the room almost out of habit.

Wonder Woman has posed:
Diana Prince had not been on the mission to recover Superman, her place was on Earth and she rarely left it. She had been on high alert though and was ready to be there for their homeworld should a problem arise while so many of the Justice League were off to recover their Kryptonian ally.

As such, the Princess of Themyscira was spending more time up on the Watchtower--even if she wasn't a terribly big fan of space in general--and she's here now, walking through the corridors in her armor with a black robe over her shoulders covering her mostly entirely. Her armored boots poke out from the cloth wrapped around her shoulders as she moves, her dark hair bounces loose and free against her shoulders as she's making her way toward the medical center to check on Superman's condition.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Between arranging for makeup classes, preparing for the return of a certain young man she once dated.., and trying to find a part time job (again), it had been several days since Willow had been able to make her way back to the Watchtower. She was more than a little concerned Superman hadn't woken yet, and that Asa was the one looking after him.

As she'd said to John, "You know, we didn't really check that she wasn't still open to being possessed. Remember how you made sure I wasn't and wanted me to have protections and stuff? We didn't do that.. and why is she so worried about him anyway? What if she's still part of it?"

Willow might be just a little hyped on conspiracy right now. Perhaps with good reason.

Constantine has posed:
"What? Asa?" John asks Willow taking a long drag of his cigarette. He gives that thought some serious consideration, eyes narrowing.

"Caring about people's her job," he explained. "But at this point I'm out of ideas, so, maybe it's worth looking into," he says giving the Nightmare Nurse, a long lingering look (and not for his usual) reasons, letting his mystical senses get a full look at her and any signs all wasn't right with the shapely mystical nurse.

Okay maybe it was a little bit for his usual reasons....

Green Arrow has posed:
Green Arrow wasn't there for the rescue operation. Starling City was very, very active lately, and he's been dealing with that for a while now. Still, now that things are a bit under control, he's teleported up into the Watchtower for the meeting.

He wants to get involved with contributing to any understand he can, and as the Zetaport brought him into existence within the station, Green Arrow gave nods to the various people around him.

"I thought the idea was to get him back in one piece?" Green Arrow quips, his voice modulator in full force here. "what can we do?"

Blue Marvel has posed:
Blue Marvel lands at the Hall of Justice and lets himself in with the code the Green Lantern gave him. With no idea what to expect, he goes inside. With some guidance, he finds himself teleported into space. He follows the sounds of voices until he arrives in medical. He does an admirable job of not looking like his head is on a swivel as he takes in the engineering that must have gone into the station.

When he walks into medical though, his attention fixes on the last thing he thought he was going to see.

Superman in a medical bed.

Batman has posed:
     Batman had been attending to an emergency in Gotham during the events on Apokolips, as he tended to do, space was not out of his realm, but being without superpowers had him at a disadvantage.

  The Zeta beam let him appear and the computer called out "Batman, zero two." The black and grey Dark Knight steps forward, his eyes were deceiving his reserved nature. He was concerned for Superman.

  He had brought a guest with him as well, only waiting for them to arrive before he would march to the infirmary.

Question has posed:
Question has been involved mostly in his own affairs. His dealings with the Justice League have been mostly with its individual members in the past. An an encounter here or there. Never has be been involved enough to be brought in at this level... Not before now.

His business with Batman place on hold he had followed in his wake. Never did he expect to witness, this. He thinks to himself. .oO(The mighty have fallen. Even the gods among them are not infallible. I don't know whether to be afraid... or overjoyed at this sight. The power at their disposal is frightening. Yet, there he is, a symbol of hope. Laid prone and vulnerable to... fate.) He takes a deep breath but keeps his silence as he follows the Gotham Knight into the room. Standing out of the way and watching. Taking in every detail. Wondering just what it is that he has come to witness.

Superman has posed:
    The Nightmare Nurse hovers over Superman's body, waving her hands in a healing trance, her words those of an ancient dialect that only ancient beings, Amazons, or sorcerers could understand. Her eyes are closed, as she seems to be trying something deep and even a bit dark. Danger can see from her scans that Superman should be fine, but the waves coming from Asa were...strange.

    Superman's body was healing from the trauma he received at the hands of DeSaad. Granny Goodness and her Furies. Grayven. The attempts to replace his soul with Yuga Khan's, all at the hands of the Enchantress and the Incubus...and something else had failed.

    The battle had been won! The heroes, even through sacrifice, blood, sweat and tears, and brought Superman back from the brink of death and defeated darkness. Then why would he not return to his body?

    Constantine looks at Asa because of Willow's words and something looks back. What was that? A darkness? A barrier that held...nothingness. A scream, like out of a dream Was it the Raven Queen's consciousness? Or a serpent...an Asgardian serpent...why does this hit John like a brick wall? It fought back against his look at her...and hungered...everyone could feel it. Then, a whisper. "You are too late John. Willow. Even the robot..." Its eyes stray towards Danger." All of you. You may have won this time...this time..." Asa, the Nightmare Nurse's eyes flash, and she laughs.

    "I'll leave him to you then...broken and gone...only the most pure in power amongst you have a chance to bring him back...despair, for that is impossible now." Asa's eyes look at Diana first with hate...then at the Blue Marvel, and at Batman. "You won't figure it out..." Then, he eyes stray towards Arrow and the Question. Each one in turn. Then, with a screech, she is gone. And Asa collapses...

Danger has posed:
A blink at all of this, Danger, unlike the others, doesn't quite understand, well, her own name sake. Emotions aren't common to her. She looks from the fallen Asa and then to the others before looking back at Asa. She turns her gaze to the others once more, seeming to be about to ask something before she looks back to Superman and then Asa. She seems to walk forward nodding and immediately she begins to scan both of them, her arms seeming to turn into some kind of odd device each, aimed at each and scanning for life signs, various energy wave lengths, and the like, "Is this normal among living beings?"

Wonder Woman has posed:
Diana eventually strides into the room after everyone else had arrived. She stands tall in her armored boots and the black cloak that covers her form, at least a handful of inches past six feet in height. Her blue eyes scan over everyone whilst she listens to them each individually speak. She looks to their faces, knowing some of them better than others.

She makes her way around the perimeter of the room at a slow and casual pace as her attention falls onto that of Kal upon his bed. She doesn't approach him, she lets the others continue to speak on the subject of it all.

When the entity looks to Diana, with those hate-filled eyes... Diana stares back, without emotion on her own face. Instead? She pauses near to the bulkhead in the room and she reaches out to tap on a touch screen monitor.

The wall of the medical room begins to change, shifting from dark metal hues as it fades away and in its place, the entire room is flooded with the golden rays of the Sol System's star.

This casts a sharp contrast of long shadows over anything that the rays of the warm sun collide with, including Superman's body.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
That John isn't looking at Asa purely in a professional manner isn't lost upon Willow. "Ugh. Have you slept with everyone? This is not good for my reputation, you know." Her words are a sighing lament, especially since John is what she has as options at this moment in time. At least he doesn't seem inclined to go that route with her? Small mercies?

"I don't care if that's her job, she was fishy last time tooooo.." Well, there go the words right out of her mouth as she's proven right to have been suspicious, Asa not being all she seemed to be, leaving the petite redhead scrunching up her features and looking more than a little disconcerted. "How do they keep doing that??" Because the other side had been ahead of them by one thought and action every step of the way of this journey. "And what does she mean the most pure in power amongst us... we won't figure it out?"

On a purely functional level, pure in power probably leaves John right out based on his baser instincts, but then again, pure wasn't just the state of a soul - a thing Willow had come to learn as well over her time with the Scoobies. The puzzle has her furrowing her brow in deep thought even as Diana arranges for sunshine to flood the place. An interesting solution to the problem.. and given who they were trying to help, perhaps the most logical and simple answer.

Constantine has posed:
John's head jerks back when he hits that darkness peers back at him.

"Bugger, I hate it when you're right," he mutters to Willow as he draws up his hands up ready to cast magic against the thing inside the Nigthmare Nurse, and then she's gone and Asa collapses to the floor.

John is there a moment later, "Hey, Asa you a'right in there, luv?" he asks her.

Whatever the thing had been saying about pure power, John didn't think it meant him few would acuse him of being pure or powerful, that was someone elses game, though his mind continued to turn over the question of who while he attended to Asa.

Green Arrow has posed:
"Good chance she was just screwing with us. I wouldn't trust her if she said water was wet." Green Arrow replies to Willow as Green Arrow steps forward over to Supermans body.

As the sunlight floods in, Green Arrow looks up to the wall, "Hmmm..." Green Arrow nods slightly, before he reaches out to touch Supermans elbow, getting an idea for temperature and the like.

Blue Marvel has posed:
Adam crosses his arms as he watches the others. His brow knits and his head moves back slightly when the... Something... goes Evil Dead.. He looks sideways at Superman, then glances around the room to see if anyone seems to have an idea what is going on. When the sunlight pours in, he cannot quite suppress a momentary smile at the view of Sol in space, incongruous as its beauty is with whatever was happening in front of him.

He stands quietly and lets the experts work.

Batman has posed:
     An Amazonian arm reaches for the shutter controls and Batman's cape is raised in anticipation, the fabric flaring outward as it shades Batman's face.

  A moment later, the eyelets adjust and filter the light, allowing Bruce to see easier.

  By all means Batman can see, Superman has mended, yet not returning to consciousness. "Yellow sun radiation, a novel idea, Diana. Though if the problem is mystic, he may not return so easily." He comments, walking over to her, his boots clapping on the floor of the Watchtower's infirmary. "Have we any information to that end?" He asks those present, especially Mr. Constantine.

Question has posed:
Question thinks to himself for a long moment, then says softly in a voice that demands attention lest you miss what he is saying, "Purity is nonsense. Nothing is pure. But she did say the 'most pure'. So we're not looking for perfection here. The real question is what she meant by 'Power'. There are many kinds of power. There is political power, the power to rule, the power of flying, the power of inner peace. It's all too vague. I know that type. She said it in order to confuse us. The answer is likely something very simple. Perhaps someone here who has no power, and therefore purity." his head tilts looking around the room. "Or it could lie with the man himself. You see what I mean don't you? Words meant to sew confusion and hesitation. A manipulation, with just enough truth to it to vex."

He asks, "Batman, you know this man better than almost anyone here. What would call to his spirit the most?"

Superman has posed:

    Asa, the Nightmare Nurse, falls beside Superman's bed with a "thunk". Danger's readings show her lifesigns were dropping, as though all life was draining from her body. John can feel her fading, right in his arms. Now the archaic magic she was using earlier made sense. It was "dark healing" and Atlantean, ancient and strange. Perhaps not healing as they were led to believe. Translations from those times were tough for John and Diana to get right.

    The monitors in the medical centre were making their trademark "Star Trek" like sounds above Superman's bed. Bomp, bomp, bomp...the rate the same as Superman's heart - those with superior hearing could match the two together. The monitor show a man in a coma...a deep one. The sound was getting slower...and slower...the sounds of a man dying.

    Then, something happened. With Diana's help, the sun hit Superman like a person shoving their fingers into an electric socket. The last vestiages of darkness flee the room with a scream felt within each person's soul. Willow feels a gentle touch as it leaves, almost a caress of power...for another time. The Serpent was truly gone.

    The light was cleansing. It was miraculous what was then shown on the monitor...it was slow at first, and didn't seem to work until a touch. A certain Archer's touch. When Green Arrow touches Superman's elbow, it begins. Adam notices it first. After a few moments, the sound on the monitor seems to be changing. Faster...faster...and then, Superman's eyes opens and he gasps!

    However, Batman was exactly right. As was the Question. Two brilliant minds on the same page. Something was...wrong. Their instincts told them that -and at that moment Superman's eyes flash open!

    With super speed and incredible strength, he leaps up, grabs the medical bed, and wrenches it from its mourings! His eyes are brilliant crimson, as the Man of Steel summons his heat vision to strike! His cry of rage almost defeane everyone there, as Asa's body quakes in John's arms...and was that fear? - his voice shatters glass in the room as Kal-El readies himself to battle anyone there to stop him!

Danger has posed:
A blink as she notes all the changes happening around her before hse blinks at what is happening with Superman. She is already altering her form in a quick manner and can do so. She shakes her haed slowly, "I just regrew this head." She states to on one in particular as she grows two extra sets of arms, becoming a six armed woman. She takes one step back with her right leg and braces as the noise rocks through her form and she considers her actions.

With the absolute spoeed of a computer each hands transforms into what appears to be some kind of large loud speaker. Each widening and forming as she aims them all at Superman and then unleashes a combined blast of sound that is nothing but people. Tons of people. A conglomerate of all the voices she can come up with all aimed at Superman, all at once. The people she has heard speaking her, random people on the streets of Metropolis and New York City. All aimed in a single voice at Superman.

"Come back to us, Superman! We need you!" An apology to all the ear drums in the room will have to be tendered later.

Wonder Woman has posed:
Diana looks to Batman and offers him a soft singular dip of her chin in a nod before she lightly exhales and looks back to the Kryptonian on the medical bed. Her senses continue to take in the other's words, up to the point that the situation gets a new direction to it...

A less than savory one for the team hoping for their friend to come back as they knew him.

When Superman returns, in less than a superlative mindset, Diana reacts in two quick ways. First she spins back to deactivate the sunlight shining in through the wall causing it to fall solid again and cut off the golden rays from outside.

Secondly, her cloak is dropped off of her shoulders, leaving them bare and her armor fully in view now as her hand snaps to her right hip and pulls forth the Lasso of Truth. With a snapping golden glow the lasso lashes out at Superman to try to ensnare him and bind him to submission within the divinely unbreakable rope!

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Willow shakes her head at Ollie. "I don't know. Megalomaniacs rarely truly lie. They want you to find out their plans - it isn't fun for them otherwise. They might twist the truth, or give you riddles, but outright lies never show how clever they are."

She's still back on puzzling out this pure power thing, especially in light of different types of power. How very many different types there are..

"Us," she answers the Question, both literally and figuratively, "He's snapped out of it before to save me. She was trying to seduce me and he grabbed her. It was just a few moments..." But it had been enough.

Only now Superman was awake, eyes ablaze with rage, and turning about, looking who to vent that rage upon.

As for Willow, instinct says 'No'. You don't. You don't rush against that anger and pain with power that is like, only forcing him to react in kind. While she might be wrong, she posits that deep down, somewhere in there, *he's* still there, and ultimately unable to harm her (or the others) if they do not force the issue by making him fight them.

"No!" she tries to say, too late, the others already reacting to the threat before them. "Oh crudbuckets. This is going to be ugly."

But true to her thoughts, she stands there without raising any resistance against him. Hoping.

Constantine has posed:
John for his part hunches over Asa as the bed flies by. "Would do a better job of this luv, but for now, time to go," then he tugs on the sutble strand connecting him to the House of Mystery, pulling it's door to him and throwin Asa through it. Into the House and hopefully to safety.

As for what might save John? He hadn't thought that far ahead.

Green Arrow has posed:
He was close. Far too close for this to be anything but VERY BAD for him... and it is.

As the bed is literally torn away from it's moorings, debris flies like kinetic projectiles from the sheer force. More than enough of it impacts against Green Arrow for him to give an cry of agony and pain as he flies across the room and hits a wall. /Hard/.

He's already bleeding in multiple places, and probably has some internal injuries.

Green Arrow is out.

Mon-El has posed:
    Miles away, that incredible explosion of noise created by Superman's rage-filled shout and Danger's sudden vocal assault was heard by the Daxamite prince Lar Gand, ironically shortly after he'd been talking to Kal's cousin Kara about his condition. She'd said it wasn't good, so he'd had the intention of coming to check up on the Kryptonian later...but when he heard -that-....well, it bumped that appointment up the calendar considerably. To right now!

    Off he goes, shedding his street clothing and soaring toward the stratosphere so that he can properly exceed the speed of sound without breaking any buildings. Thus, in a matter of minutes, he bursts through the already broken windows to first immediately get in front of Superman, attempting to absorb whatever blows might be coming so that no one else in the room gets crushed to a pulp, and then proceeding to try grabbing him and pinning him down. "Kal...calm down you're among friends." he tries to soothe. "Don't worry, I've been where you are, I know you don't want -really- want to hurt us."

Blue Marvel has posed:
The Blue Marvel blurs when Superman attacks. His speed does not match Superman's, but it is not far off. He slides under the bed after it flies past John and comes up to a crouch. There is a shimmer at the edge of perception and then a dome of non-light encases Willow, John and Asa. Massive amounts of negative energy are contained in the dome, ready to unleash on Superman or anyone else who touches it.

"Do either of you know what's going on?" he asks Willow and John.

Batman has posed:
     "By that logic, either myself, Green Arrow, or yourself would be 'pure' in that sense." But then he thinks about it more.

  Batman steps forward, looking to the symbol of the house of El on Clark's chest. With a sudden burst of energy, Clark stands and opens his eyes, heat beams shooting and Superman ready to do battle.

  Batman jumps back and lowers himself to a ready stance. The cowl doubled as hearing protection against gunfire in confined spaces, the amplification also had a noise gate for that purpose. His hand hovers over one compartment in his utility belt. He always had it on him, but never wanted to use it. The other members present had already attempted to call to Clark, this was not Clark.

  Diana's lasso ensnared Superman, and even some of his own allies hurt. Batman presses the lead lines compartment, inserting his finger in the chamber, removing the glowing green kryptonite ring from its prison, holding it up in front of Superman. Bruce knew what it would do to Clark, and he did not want to use it to the full potential it could do to his friend. "You're on the Watchtower, stand down, Kal." The addition of Mon-El into the fray has the Watchtower adjusting automatically and sealing the broken into window as soon as the pressure started to drop. "Listen to us." He adds in, hoping that Clark can come to his senses before Bruce must do something else to ensure the safety of the group.

Question has posed:
Question puts his gloved hands up to his ears covering them, first at Superman's bellow of rage, then held even more tightly to his head at Danger's concussive blast. At this stage there is little else that he can do other than step back and be ready to take as much cover as possible if he needs to. Keenly observing the actions of everyone else as his mind spins seeking a solution. It is too late perhaps. But if this is the end, if this is why fate intended that he be brought up here just now. When this would happen. Then so be it. That is what you get when you stand in the towering shadows of danger this tall. Sooner or later it steps on you. ((Stay centered. Look. LOOK! What is it that you see?))Oo. he thinks furiously to himself. He then watches as Batman acts. Always prepared that one. Yes. There is still a chance this might not be the end after all. At the very least it will buy time. He'll either come to his senses on his own, or we'll have to hold him somehow until we can bring him to his senses.

Superman has posed:
    The shout of rage was obvious to anyone who could hear it (which was just about everyone) that rage and anger had taken over. If there had been a "Red Lantern ring close by" it probably would have found its way to Superman. As the sun continues to fuel Superman, and Danger's voices hit him, he shakes his head, trying to shake the madness that has a hold of him. The light of the sun had banished whatever had a hold of him...but Danger's attack almost gets through to him, as he hesitates! However, something still remains. Clawing at him, like a sea of ants chewing on a helpless body.

    Through this, Kal El does not notice what happens to Arrow, something that was sure to bother him for many long days.

    Diana's brilliant tactical acumen was spot on in this case. The sun healed Superman, that was not in doubt. It was also fueling his power and rage! Danger's distraction allow something to happen...when the folds of the lasso circle his chest, Superman gasps, as though caught in a trap! His eyes glow as they aim towards Willow, ready to strike, as she moves to stand in front of Diana. Superman doesn't notice Marvel's defense come up to protect the others, as his attention was grabbed by another.

    Suddenly, there is another body in the way. Kal-El grunts as Mon El is there. Superman considers turning his eyes upon Mon El, and starts to look in his direction, away from the brave Witch. However...was that doubt in the crimson-shaded eyes?

    John's herculean effort to save Asa is in the background, noble and true, as the doorway to the House of Mystery somehow openes, even through Zatanna's wards to stop just this sort of thing from happening. As though something wanted this to happen...and then she was gone. The doorway opens, Asa goes through, and the doorway to the House of Mystery closes...with a pop!

    All of it was taking its toll on Kal El, the Last Son of Krypton. The last note of this symphony was Batman and what he pulled out of his belt. Superman's rage starts to fade. His eyes flicker from crimson rage and fade to celestial blue. It was obvious the ring causes him pain. Then, a ray of sunshine as bright as Diana's earlier attempt. "Bruce...?" Kal staggers, and almost falls, held up by Mon El's arms, and Diana's lasso. "...Diana...Mon...Ollie...what...?" His eyes look at each and every one of you, right into your eyes, and he smiles. Just like the sun's come out. "Thank you..."

Danger has posed:
The action seemed to pause him and then the others acted. Danger was preparing to switch tactics if that failed. She has shown already that Superman can rip her apart. Yet, she doesn't really have any other option in her mind but to act when necessary. Of course, then Superman seems to come out of it. Things start to calm down and slowly Danger's arms slide back into her form. She looks over at John Constantine a moment and then states, "You have a space that is not here. That is an impressive talent." She then looks back to Superman and then around at the others, "I suppose, if that is all, then I should leave." She nods her head, "I have completed my task and I am unfamiliar to most of you."

Wonder Woman has posed:
As the lasso wraps about Superman's upper body, Diana does her best to pull tightly on it. The rope glows as bright as a star itself, the length of it is hot to the touch, especially should the Man of Steel choose to lie to anyone in this moment.

Picking up the slack of the Lasso, Diana starts to wrap the length around both of her leather wrapped palms. She steps forward, one foot after another until she's just out of arm's reach of the Kryptonian captured before her and she remains entirely silent as she has since arriving, allowing the others to do their things to stop this from escalating any further.

The Lasso is kept tight though, she clearly shows no signs of unwinding it until Superman has clearly come back to his senses... the outcome she hopes most for, of course.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Willow was slightly oblivious of the efforts of folks around her to save one another - and particularly herself - from Superman's rage, hyperfocused on her own belief that he wouldn't harm one of them if they offered no resistance. Absolutely firm in the belief of the goodness of him - she'd seen it herself, hadn't she? Superman clawing his way back to save her before...

"I think he thinks we're them," Willow says quietly to Adam, who, while she hasn't met, she's chosen not to dwell on that right this particular moment. "I think he's been fighting them so long that he thinks we're them..."

And then all around her everyone is stepping in to save each other, and whatever combination of those actions it's taken, Superman returns to them, leaving the petite red-headed witch grinning near smugly. "See, I knew he wouldn't hurt us. Especially when he could see we weren't them. They wouldn't help each other like that. That's what we needed." And, indeed, on Apokolips, it had been every bad man for himself at the end. Beaming at Superman like they were old friends - which they weren't.

Constantine has posed:
With Asa safe, John summons up his magic in a vain attempt to wrap a protective sheild around Willow, only to let them go once Superman returned to his senses.

Willow's remark earns a wry smile from John as he digs into his pocket for his flask. "So, figured the Care Bear stare's what's done it then?" he asks before taking a swig and passing the flask to Willow.

"Better theory than I've got."

Mon-El has posed:
    Lar is visibly relieved when Kal finally returns to his senses, relaxing a bit although not fully quite yet. You know just in case this was some kind of ruse. He doesn't have magic senses or anything so he can't be sure if any sinister influence is still left within him.

    "Phew, I thought you were still gone or something there for a second. I mean, what were you thinking, that we were the bad guys? Grife, I hope we're not -that- ugly." he says, glancing at Willow momentarily, after Kal smiles thanks them. Although he sort of glances warily at Batman. "Um, I think you can put that away now?" he suggests, regarding the kryptonite ring. He had -just- been re-acquainted with how bad those could be for Kryptonians, thanks to Lex Luthor and wasn't looking to see it again.

Blue Marvel has posed:
Adam's eyes narrow at Willow, not following. He holds the negative energy shield around them until Superman speaks, then he re-absorbs the energy and stands up straight. Adam watches Superman while glancing quickly Wonder Woman and Batman for queues in case this goes sideways again.

Batman has posed:
     Once Kal starts returning to his senses, Batman puts the kryptonite ring away, locked securely in his belt. "Clark." He comments, draping the cape around his body. He turns and opens the curtain to the next bed by the crashed one, ready to receive Green Arrow.

  "I'm sure this one will really thank you when he comes to." He says, nodding to Ollie's unconscious body.

Question has posed:
Question notices what almost everyone else has forgotten. He turns and quietly goes to Arrow's side and begins tending to him, helping him come around. He checks for any serious injuries and then reaches into his pocket for a smelling salt capsule waving it under his nose. "Allright, Robin Hood? Wake up, you've gotta go make the blue man suck up to you and say sorry for the batting practice." He says as he does.

He mmns .oO((Clark)) now that he files away for later.

Superman has posed:
    Superman goes limp. Everything and everyone worked together, AS A TEAM, to get him to come out of his fugue, from Mon's presence, Willow's brave act, Diana's lasso, the Kryptonite from Batman's ring, Arrow's personal touch and taking the hit for the team, Questions cold logic, Danger's remarkable accurate senses, Constantine's quick thinking and magic, and Adam's stoic calm and fortitude. Must have been the Care Bear stare...

    Superman looks up at each and every person present, and with exhaustion evident on his face, says, "Thanks Mon. Not sure. So. Um. What happened?" As Batman comments and nods to Ollie towards where Question was dealing with him, Superman frowns, "Oh." His face gets an expression of sadness and regret. This was going to hurt. "I am so sorry..." and the regret in his voice could bring even the most emotionless to tears.

Danger has posed:
Seeing as no one really speaks up, Danger merely smiles to those here and turns to walk off. She was not a social butterfly and she had collected SO MUCH data from this. It was truly a fascinating little journey. Now she was going to head back and compile it all and then cross reference more. While the others are all relieved, sad, or otherwise, Danger was frankly quite pleased with this entire adventure.

Wonder Woman has posed:
Good thing people didn't start hammering out questions to Kal... because now the Lass of Truth is being unravelled from the man's upper form and drawn back to Diana's hands. She starts to recoil the rope as she listens to the others talk. Once its back to a fully wrapped form, she steps toward Superman and places her left hand down upon his left shoulder.

"Get some rest." She tells her friend in a soft tone of her smoky voice, before giving his shoulder a soft squeeze. Her hand leaves his arm then and she steps away once more to retrieve her cloak. With her lasso placed back into her harness upon her right hip she folds her cloak over her bracer-encased forearms and moves to check on Ollie's condition, though not wanting to step in the way of overs who're to tend to him.

Green Arrow has posed:
When he feels around, Question can easily feel at least one rib with a small fracture, and a broken leg. Beyond that there are no outward injuries.

Internal ones are another matter.

When the capsule is broken and goes under his nose, Green Arrow comes to... and immediately starts to cough up blood, and gives a groan of agony as he clenches his chest painfully.

Which just sets off another coughing fit from the sudden movement.

"Ow. Ow. Ow ow ow."

Very eloquent, Green Arrow is.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Willow is not a stoic (far from it, in fact), but she's infused with another emotion altogether.

Stepping forward in an impulsive movement, she wraps the Man of Steel up in a quick, tight, Care Bear-esque hug (well, tight for her), giving him all proudlike smiles when she releases him.

"I knew you wouldn't hurt us. Not really. I knew you were you in there. I'm so proud of you for remembering." And she truly is, as odd as it seems. Then, remembering quite belatedly that they've never met or been introduced, the little red-head offers, cheeks flushed, "Oh, I'm Willow by the way. We've never met before, but I kinda feel like I know you now."

She might just have earned a little bit of that knowing through not only her help, but the quality and actions of those who Superman called his friends, the actions of those people speaking volumes for the man they'd all helped to save.

Mon-El has posed:
    "Well huh, where should I begin?" Lar wonders at Kal's question. "You got mind controlled by some kind of magical monster from Apokolips, I think? They kidnapped you and some other powerful guys away to their home planet and...uh, well I don't know the whole story, maybe someone else can fill in the rest?" he asks, glancing around at the others. Probably especially at Willow since she just kind of came up and hugged Kal.

    He sighs when the regret becomes evident on Superman's face. Oh, he knows that feeling all too well. "Don't beat yourself up over it." he says, putting out an encouraging hand on the shoulder. "At least not too much. I know, it's hard not to blame yourself when you were physically the one doing the punching. And especially when you can punch as hard as we do."

Constantine has posed:
John chuckles at his apprentice's reaction to Superman's return. John had only met the man once, but after all this time trying to save him, he felt like Willow did, that he knew the man at least a litte.

"Care for a drink?" he asks offering Superman his flask. "'Figured you earned it." The regret in the man's voice is noted but not commented on, not where others could hear, but John does whisper barely audiblly, "Wasn't you mate, remember that, it makes it easier."

Then he adds to Willow: "Plus I think you knicked some glasses off of him."

Blue Marvel has posed:
Adam hears the Green Arrow cough. He looks over when the man is spitting blood, and moves over quickly to crouch beside him.

"Blue Marvel," he introduces himself. "I'll fix you up, but this will hurt a bit."

Unless Green Arrow protests, Adam puts a hand on the man's chest. His brow knits together and a barely perceptible shimmer grows around him. Sweat breaks out on face. The Green Arrow can /feel/ things moving and joining together inside him and the pain is intense. But then it is gone, and the next breath comes with no discomfort at all.

Adam sits back on his haunches.

"You'll be fine."

Question has posed:
Question scowls and somehow from beneath his mask it shows. Then as Blue Marvel steps in and begins treating Arrow he looses some of his tension adn gets out of the way.

Question stands back up and stares for a moment, his blank face turned towards Superman. Out of everyone here he seems the least pleased at Superman's awakening. Except for maybe Arrow at the moment. "If you're done making s'mores and passing around the cider jug. I think it is time for some answers."

Superman has posed:
    "Thank you Diana." Superman says, as he smiles, weakly, at her, and expresses how he feels through his expression. Then, he receives a very big hug from Willow, while his eyes watch as Danger moves away. Looking down at the red head, Superman smiles, and says, "I think I know you...Willow. I think I would not be here without you. So thank you."

    Leaving that there, Superman smiles at Mon El, and leans against the medical bed next to the one he had ripped from the deck. "That is a lot my friend..." He looks over at Green Arrow, and his eyes almost tear up. "I...right."

    Looking down at Constantine's flask, Superman allows himself a quick chuckle. "Ouch. Heh. Thank you. John is it? I think I heard that...from somewhere. I owe you as well as the girl...Willow...no thank you. Another time perhaps. It will never be easier..."

    Watching as Blue Marvel does his thing helping Green Arrow, Superman doesn't say anything, simply nodding his thanks. "I agree. Quite a day..." That last was in response to the Question. Last, he looks at Batman and says, "Well now. How about that. The team came together." This time Superman's eyes close, as exhaustion takes him, and restful sleep helps him to a place of recovery troubled not by demons, devils, or dark gods...

Mon-El has posed:
    "Hey, give him some space." Lar says defensively when Question starts demanding...well, answers. He can relate to what Kal is going through, honestly. And it's not the easiest thing in the world. "I mean, have -you- been mind controlled before? I'm sure you'd want some of that too if you were in his shoes."

    He watches as Superman takes some much neeeded rest. "Well I guess I'll check in later." And with that, he takes his leave as well.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Now, and perhaps regretably, Willow takes a swig from John's flask, still caught up in the proud and the smug. Coughing and choking ensues, predicatbly. "Oh my gosh! Why would you.. that's horrible.." Yeah, Willow may be the death of her mentor yet.

Green Arrow has posed:
Pain... is an old friend. Green Arrow groans in the minor agony that Adam induces within him, but this is nothing new for him after the almost two decades of defending Starling.

"Ow." Green Arrow sighs as he feels the pain fade, "Could you have done that /before/ I woke up?" Green Arrow pokes at Blue Marvel, "I appreciate it and all... but wow."

Constantine has posed:
John can't help but grin at his apprentice's distress. "An' that was the good stuff," he says with a chuckle as he helps himself to another sip before he caps the flask and puts it away.

Then, he gives a jaunty salute to Superman, "Rest well, mate, you deserve it," he says. "Anyhow, Willow, you sticking around here or coming to go check on Asa? Better hope she's all better, or we're in for some real trouble letting her run around the House without someone to watch her."