"Welcome to Mount Justice," Aquaman said, as he and Element arrived through the portal that was used to enter the base.  Aquaman showed Element from the portal reception chamber and into the base at large.  Around them was an open living space complete with all the necessary home furnishings.  "I'm sure you recognize Robin."

Sitting on a comfortable, fashionable couch sat the famous side-kick to Bat-Man.  He waved.

Lemuel's eyes were wide as he was escorted in.  He still wasn't used to his powers or his new name.  "Of course I do," was all Lem could manage to say, when Aquaman introduced him to Robin.  He waved back, wondering if he would actually get to talk to him now, or if the tour was to immediately continue.

Across the room a group of shadows coalesced together and rose from the floor, forming into the hero known as Raven.  Element remembered that besides himself, she was the only other non-sidekick on the team.  He also remembered that they had both been candidates for the Justice League prior to the formation of Young Justice; she was still pretty bitter about it last he checked.

"I think you've met Raven," Aquaman said.  Raven didn't say anything, she only stared.  Element also remembered that Raven was a moody, mystic.

"Uh, yes, yes of course." Lem replied.  "Good to see you again Raven." Lem said, trying to keep it low key.  "It's been a little while.  Glad to see  you're still in the game.  I look forward to working with you."

Raven smiled slightly at Element, which, for Raven, was actually probably a big deal.  Before she could respond verbally, however, a figure swooped down from up in the incredibly high ceiling (Element just now noticed that the cave-ceiling did, in fact, reach very high and was filled with stalactites).

"What's with all of the gloomy greetings?" said Hawkgirl and she landed in front of Element and heartily shook his hand.  Element remembered that Hawkgirl was from the warrior race of aliens known as Thanagarian.  There was little contact with their distant race so not much was known about them.

Her older, Justice League counter-part, Hawkman, wasn't a real Thanagarian he'd just absorbed the memories of a past Thanagarian who'd landed on Earth during the Egyptian era and used the Thanagarian wing harness to fly.

Hawkgirl also had a Thanagarian wing harness which allowed her flight, and carried a mace made of Nth Metal (a mysterious substance with various mystical properties).

The outgoing greeting perked Lemuel up a bit.  He smiled back at Hawkgirl and shook her hand back.  "Nice to meet a Thanagarian," he added.

"Hey the new kid!" said another voice.  From the back of the room a red suited figure strutted forward.  Element recognized him as Green Arrow's sidekick (not that he'd appreciate that term) Speedy.    "How are you?"

Speedy extended his hand.

"A little overwhelmed at the moment," Lemuel answered as he took the proffered hand.  "But I still prefer not to be called kid."

"I know what you mean," Speedy said, winking.  Aquaman put his arm around Element and led him past the others.

"This is the common room," Aquaman said motioning to indicate the room.  "Each of you has a room further back.  If you go through this way," Aquaman led Element through an opening in the rock wall, "you enter the dock."

The submarine dock was a quite spacious chamber with a high, cave ceiling.  It also housed a control room for dock.  There were no subs docked, at the moment, however.  Aquaman seemed hesitant to leave for the next room.

"This is the training room," Aquaman explained.  "Solid light holograms allow for real-life simulation.  However, blocks have been put into place to prevent injury."

Lemuel was amazed at the resources available to the team.  He looked forward to using the training room to see if his abilities were up to snuff.

Once Aquaman had left Speedy and Hawkgirl were there at Element's side.

"Wanna try out the training room?" Speedy asked, raising his eyebrow.  "I can see it in your eyes."
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:20, Fri 09 Dec 2011.

"Alright, let's do it!" Lemuel replied, maybe a little too eagerly.

Not too soon later Element was standing in a city street with Hawkgirl and Speedy by his side.  Before them was a regular squad (5) of street thugs.

"You two take the two on the left," Hawkgirl said, hefting her mace.

"And you're going to take on the other three by yourself?" Element asked a little incredulously.  (He liked to think of himself as Lemuel unless in combat situations, and then he was definitely Element.)

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
Hawkgirl goes first.  She shifts 8 stones from her energy reserve into her Close Combat.  She gets a +3 bonus from her Nth Metal Mace, for a total of 11.  She shifts her remaining energy stone to her defense and gets a +2 from her armour bonus for a total of 3.  She splits her attack between the 3 thugs (thanks to her 3 Agility, so 3, 3 & 4).

---

Her superior mace and Thanagarian combat skills easily takes down the street thugs, letting her body armour do the protecting for her.

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
Speedy goes second.  With only one target he only puts 4 stones from his energy reserves into his Ranged Combat.  He gets a +2 bonus from his Bow (with standard arrow) for a total of 6.  He shifts 3 stones into his Acrobatics and from there into his Defense and gets a +2 from his body armour.

---

Speedy deftly dodges out of the way of a thrown knife and easily nocked an arrow, pulled it back and let it loose.  The dull-tipped arrow took down the thug.

Element put 5 stones from his energy reserves into his Mastery of the Four for a total of +5.  He used a Force Blast to turn the air around his opponent into fire. He shifts his 4 remaining stones to defense and gets +2 from his armor, for a total of 6.
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:05, Sat 21 Jan 2012.

The thug screamed as he caught on fire.  Then the hologram faded into nothing as the scenario ended.

"That was disappointing," Hawk-Girl commented, hefting her mace over her shoulder.

"Team, assemble in the war room," Robin's voice said over the intercom.

"Is that normal post training session protocol?" Element asked, suspecting that it was not.  He was a little bit nervous that they would already be heading out on a real mission.

"I don't think so," Speedy said, looking concerned.  "Let's go find out."

The trio headed to the War Room, which was located behind the lounge/common room.  The others were already there as was the person Element recognized as Dr. Fate .

"It's good you're here," Dr. Fate said in his ethereal voice.  "The Justice League and I apologize to be calling you on a mission so soon after your formation, but the situation is dire."
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:49, Tue 19 May 2015.

"What do you mean?  What's going on Dr. Fate?" Element asked.

"We've received word from Aquaman shortly after he returned to Atlantis of strange creatures invading the bottom of the ocean," Dr. Fate explained.  "Tracing them back to their origin we found a portal leading into another dimension.  Using my magic I was able to identify it as the prison dimension of an Old One known as Icthultu.  "

"Icthultu?!" Hawk-Girl stated in shock.

"Yes, Shayera, I thought you might recognize that name," Dr. Fate said.  "Explain to your squadmate's his importance to your people."

"Icthultu was a being my people used to worship as a god," Hawk-Girl explained.  "He gave us mathematics, agriculture.  But his endless demands for human sacrifices grew too much and we drove him out."

"How?" Speedy asked.  Hawk-Girl lifted up her mace.

"Nth metal," she explained.  "It's anti-magic properties were key to expelling him."

"And that's one of the reasons we've come to you," explained Dr. Fate.  "Your mace makes you, and your team our only hope of killing Icthultu."

"Woah, what?" Speedy said.  "You want us to take on an Old One?  "

"I'm afraid there's little choice," Dr Fate replied.  "The rest of the heroes will be keeping the demons that are pouring from the portal from attacking the rest of the world.  A small strike team will work best.

"Don't worry, we won't be sending you alone."  Dr. Fate held out his hand and a glowing Ankh symbol (his trademark) appeared on the wall.  Through the portal he created walked Solomon Grundy

Element was shocked.  He immediately moved into a defensive posture.  He wasn't sure that Dr. Fate had meant to bring Solomon Grundy to Mt. Justice.  "What's he doing here Dr. Fate, isn't he one of the bad guys?" Element asked, still ready to fight.

"Solomon Grundy has agreed to aid us in exchange for help finding his soul," Dr. Fate explained.  "His mystical origins made him resilient to magical attacks.  And that's why he'll be going with you."

"Are you sure you should be doing that?" Raven asked.

"Don't worry, we wouldn't be sending him with you if we weren't absolutely certain you'll be safe," replied Dr. Fate.

"Very well," Element conceded, though he still had his doubts.  "So how do the rest of us fit in?  If Icthultu is resistant to magic, what are we supposed to do while Hawkgirl beats on him with her mace?"

In reply to Element (msg #24):

"You'll be keeping his legions of minions off her back," Dr. Fate explained.  "Icthultu will surely be keeping back various guards against this very kind of attack."

"A happy thought," Speedy replied.

"Nothing about what is about to happen is very happy," replied Dr. Fate. "If this fails, it's likely we'll all die."

"No pressure then," Element said sarcastically.  "Well, what are we waiting for?" Element asked.  "Let's get going."

"Then go," Dr. Fate said.  He held out his hand and the classic glowing Ankh symbol appeared against a wall.  "When you are finished, use this to return."

He handed Raven an Ankh implement.  With that the team leapt through the portal.  The other side was truly mind-boggling to behold.  A labyrinth of stone arches and paths weaved in and out of each other in the empty expanse before them.  Scraggly trees floated in the air.  Pools of water collected in stone basins that emptied like an hourglass into a continuous line of other basins down into who knew where.

"There," Robin said, pointing down the stone path they stood on.  In the extreme distance they would see a stream of what looked like demonic creatures pouring through a glittering portal.  At the head of the line floated the creature Icthultu.  "If we follow this path we should be able to reach him in a few hours."

"A few hours?" Element exclaimed.  "There must be some shortcut--some way of getting there faster.  Do you see all the demons?  In a few hours thousands could enter our world!"  Element looked around for some answer, though he didn't think he would find one.

"I could get there faster," Hawk-girl said, taking to the sky.  "Straight line for me."

"If you plan on taking Icthultu on by yourself, be our guest," Raven said, stepping forward.  "I, however, might have another option."

Ravens shadow spread out and encompassed all of them.  When it cleared they were notably closer to the Old One.  Raven, however, looked seriously exhausted by the effort.

"Raven, are you all right?" Robin asked, putting his arm around her, propping her up.

"We have bigger problems," Raven said, pointing to the 'sky'.  "We've been spotted."

Smaller, winged demons swooped their way.

"Let's see if they swim as well as they fly," Element said.  He put 4 stones from his energy reserves into his Mastery of the Four for a total of +4.  He used a Force Blast to turn the air around one of the demons into water. He shifts 2 of his remaining stones to defense and gets +2 from his armor, for a total of +4.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:59, Thu 12 Apr 2012.

The demon clawed at his face as it tried to breathe then slumped, still floating in the bubble of water.  Its companion lashed at Element, but his armour and dexterity protected him...barely.

Hawk-girl flew up and hit down two demons, but one flew behind her and made to slash her back.

"Demon-bat leave Bird-nose alone!" Grundy called.  He grabbed the creature and tore it in two.  Hawk-girl turned in surprise, then bashed another that swooped down on Grundy.

"Grundy save Bird-nose, Bird-nose save Grundy," she said smiling at the former villain.  She hefted her mace up.  "Bird-nose go smash now."

Speedy sent two explosive-tipped arrows at two of the demons, taking them out.  Robin put all his skills into defending the recovering Raven.

Element was thankful he came out on the right end of a close call.  Then he focused back on his offense.  "Well if they can't breathe underwater, they certainly can't breathe underground," Element commented as he put 3 stones from his energy reserves into his Mastery of the Four for a total of +3.  He used a Force Blast to turn the air around another demon into solid rock.  He shifted 1 of his remaining stones to defense for a total of +3.

The stone encased demon broke free of the stone, but looked highly injured.

Hawk-girl and Grundy continued to have each others backs while Speedy and Robin continued to defend Raven.  Taking down all but the remaining injured demon.

Realizing that he was starting to leave things unbalanced, having used too much air, Element decided on a different tactic, since his foe was already weak.  He let the demon get close, then shifted 3 stones into Close Combat (plus Str bonus?) to punch the demon in the nose (or face, whatever), and again used 1 for defense for a total of +3.

The punch to the 'face' was enough to down the demon.  The team regrouped after the fight to discuss their next move.

"There's a path this way, but it's more exposed," Robin said, pointing to the fork in the 'road' up ahead.  "Raven, Speedy and I will take that way.  Hawk-girl.  You, and Grundy go the back route and come up from behind.  Element will act as bodyguard."

Element knew better than to argue.  Though Robin may have been 15 (younger than any of the teammates) he'd received high praise from other heroes.  Out of the three boys who'd been Robin, he was said to be the most like Batman in skill.

"Element, don't forget that you're in another dimension," Raven said.  She looked like she'd recovered from her earlier exertion.  "Don't hold back.  Balance won't be an issue."

"Sorry, force of habit," Element apologized.  "I'll keep that in mind though."  And he ran off down the back pathway with Hawk-girl and Grundy.

It was about a half an hour before they reached the back of Icthultu.

"Alright," Hawk-girl said, spinning her mace around.  "Let's do-"

The ground underneath them erupted as tentacles leapt and spun around them.  Element was thrown into the empty space that was most of this reality.  Grundy was tossed onto another floating chunk of land.  Meanwhile Hawk-girl took to the air and attempted to dodge the tentacles that arched after her, but to no avail.  Once she was caught they could hear a deep rumble as Icthultu laughed.

"A Thanagarian?!"  Icthultu laughed again as it brought Hawk-girl around to look at her.  "Did you think to kill me with your silly weapon."

Hawk-girl's mace charged with electricity and she punched through her bindings.  More tentacles lashed out, knocking the mace from her hands, then strapped her spread-eagle.

"Ah, Nth metal," Icthultu rumbled.  "You're people were quite successful with that last time, but they possessed significantly more than one mace."

Element used his powers to turn the air around him into solid ground so he could get back on the path.

Icthultu seemed to be completely focused on Hawk-girl

Element attempted to use his powers to turn the air around Icthultu into fire.

"The air around Icthultu burst into flames, distracting him from his chosen target.  Hawkgirl fell free but when she landed her mace was no where in sight.

Knowing that Hawkgirl's mace was the key to attacking Icthultu, Element looked around desperately for the weapon.

The flash of flames made Icthultu flinch giving Element some time to look but the mace was no where to be found.

While looking Raven and Robin flew up (via Raven's telekinesis).

"Hawk-girl, take this."  Robin threw her a staff and pulled out another of his collapsible staff's.  Raven hovered up behind Element and placed her hands on either side of his head.

<Solomon Grundy has the mace,> Raven's voice said in Elements mind.  <He's made it into Icthultu's head.  We need to act as a distraction; I'll use my magic to boost your powers and Hawk-girl and Robin will act as our defense.>

Element pointed his hand above Icthultu, deciding to change the air there into giant stones (earth) to drop on his head.

Large sharp stones appeared in the air and crashed down upon Icthultu who roared in anger but before his tentacles could lash out at them his roaring renewed.  His tentacles wrapped around his head and he flailed in agony and helplessness.  Finally his roars diminished and Grundy burst forth from Icthultu's head.

"Grundy!" Hawk-girl called, swooping away to save their companion.

Element stood agape.  He knew that had been the plan, but actually seeing it was a little gruesome.  He recovered his composure quickly however, and looked to see if Hawk-girl was having any trouble keeping Grundy aloft. (OOC: If she is, he's going to make some earth for them to land on.)

Hawk-girl was falling fast under the considerable weight of Solomon Grundy.

Element turned some air underneath them into a long patch of earth, like a runway, so they would have room to land.

Hawkgirl pulled up hard enough to decrease the impact of their landing but the two still skidded and rolled on the nearly formed ground.  Raven used her powers to grab Element, Speedy, and Robin and flew you all to them.

"Wow, that was amazing!" Element said in awe.  "Hawkgirl was it your plan the whole time to get Grundy the mace in that way?"

"Grundy," Hawkgirl said hazily, shaking her head.  "Go check on him."

Grundy looked the worse for wear, exceedingly beat up with cuts and abrasions all over his body and breathing heavily.

"Get Hawkgirl," Raven ordered Speedy, Robin and Element.  "The dimension is collapsing, we must leave."

She then used her magic to levitate Grundy into the air.

Element ran to Hawkgirl and picked her up, and then ran back to Raven.  "Quick, get out the ankh and get us out of here!"

Element felt the air begin to suck towards the imploding figure of Icthultu as Raven raised the Ankh and the whole group vanished.

* * * *

Reappearing back in Mount Justice, the team landed where they'd left.   Dr. Fate was no longer there, likely gone off to help the Justice League.

Raven lowered Grundy down and by his laboured breathing you could tell he likely wasn't going to make it.

"Grundy!" Hawkgirl said, moving over to him.  "How can he be dying?"

"He used your mace," Raven explained.  "The ant-magic properties likely disrupted the magic keeping him alive."

"It alright, Birdnose," Grundy said, lightly touching Hawkgirl's face.

"But we'd agreed to help find your soul," she pleaded.

"Grundy has already found it."  Grundy sighed then was gone.

Element turned his head to the side as he shed a tear for the fallen comrade.  "At least he died a hero," he offered.

The next day all of the members of Young Justice were gathered around the grave of Solomon Grundy which Hawkgirl had made herself.

"I wasn't sure what to put on the stone," she admitted as she stood up from laying down some flowers.  "But I did the best I could."

"You did just fine," Element said comfortingly, patting Hawkgirl gently on the shoulder.

"Thanks," Hawkgirl said, embracing Lem.

Lem was shocked at the sudden display, but decided Hawkgirl needed the comfort and so hugged her back.

The whole team was given a week off after their heavy first mission and Black Canary offered counselling sessions for any who need it.

Lem, though sad, did not feel the need for any counseling, but made sure to be available for support for those that did.  In his spare time he worked on honing his fighting skills, including learning his powers.

"Need a sparring partner."  Element turned to see Hawkgirl leaning against the door frame.  She wasn't wearing her wing harness which made her look odd and small.

"Uh, sure," Lemuel replied, his hesitation due more to his surprise to see Hawkgirl than to his desire to spar with her.  As she got into position, he asked "How have you been feeling?"

Hawkgirl punched Element square in the face.

"Crappy," she replied, dropping into a fighting stance.  "Black Canary wants me to talk but it's not that simple."

"Awww," Lemeul gave an audible cry, as he rubbed his nearly broken nose.  He made sure not to stay that way too long, because he could tell Hawkgirl would just punch him again if he did.  As he reentered his fighting stance, he decided to take advantage of her willingness to talk in this environment.  "What's complicating it?" Lemuel asked as he tried for a body shot on Hawkgirl.

"I'm mad.  Talking doesn't fix that."

Hawkgirl threw another punch but Lem blocked it.

"Talking can help some people deal with anger," Lem countered.  "But not everybody," he added, before Hawkgirl could punch him in the face again.  "Truthfully I know what you're saying," he continued.  "So what would you like to do to 'fix it'?"  Lemuel tried for a leg sweep.

Lem knocked Hawkgirl flat on her back but as he stood over her she sent him flying with a kick from both legs.

As the air whooshed out of his lungs from hitting the ground on his back, Lem found his excuse to give Hawkgirl more time to answer his question.

"I'm already doing it," Hawk-girl said, standing up.

Lem did a kip up to return to his feet.  "Well if this is all you need to cope, I'm glad to oblige."  Lem round house kicked at Hawkgirl's head.

Hawk-girl caught his foot and used it throw him to the ground.

"Glad to hear it."

Lemuel had truly meant what he said, he was glad to help a fellow teammate. Also this session had helped him realize, not for the first time, how much he needed to work on his martial skills. He silently wondered when Hawkgirl would tire of the sparring, but didn't dare interrupt her opportunity to vent. He just got up and got back in ready position.

The sparring match continued with Hawkgirl dominating most of the time.  Lem knew Hawkgirl was a good fighter and was strong but her knowledge of tactics surprised him.

As the sparring wound down, Lem commented "With as powerful and smart as you are, I'm surprised you're not our leader."

"I know!" Hawkgirl said, getting Lem into a headlock.

Lem tried an elbow to the ribs to get her to release the hold, especially since he couldn't say anything while in the headlock.

Lem's shot landed and Hawkgirl let him go and she fell back onto the mat.  Sweaty and smiling she looked over at Lem.

"Thanks."

"No problem," Lemuel said, rubbing his neck with his right hand.  "Always glad to lend a neck to crush on.  I'm glad it helped."

Hawkgirl laughed and stood up, offering a hand to Lem.

"I'm going to go cool off in the shower, then see what everyone else is up to," Lemuel said.

Hawkgirl winked at Lem.

"Me too.  Hopefully everyone else is done with their psych sessions.  Maybe we can all get something to eat."

"Sounds good," Lemuel replied.  He made his shower quick, his stomach rumbling the whole while, thinking of what they were going to eat.

The whole team was in the common room with Speedy looking restless as he rummaged through the kitchen for food.

"Find anything good?" Lemuel asked briefly.  "I'm starving!"