2013.04.01 - Fell From the Sky

Night-time in Times Square is just about as bright as daytime, except the lights are coming from billboards and screens and buildings instead of from the sky. That is, until tonight. Far overhead, there's a bright flash of light, bright enough to even make Times Square brighter for a moment, that fades to just a streak of something very hot speeding towards the ground. Towards the city.

Superman's only recently finished helping with a fire on 7th avenue, and is still airborne moving to his next sight, when he catches wind of something strange in the sky. The sheer amount of things falling from the sky recently is surely beginning to concern him. He uses his telescopic vision to gauge how fast it's moving, what the object is, and if it is going to land on New York proper.

With an outstretched arm, he breaks the sound barrier as he approaches the point he thinks it will collide and does his best to put himself between the falling flash and the city full of bystanders.

See, Carol isn't one to fly around every night on patrol. She enjoys living her life outside the costume too much. That, and she loves scootin' about on her triumph daytona. So it is that she's out on her bike. It's a fortunate thing that she's stopped at a red light with the seventh sense basically kicks her in the head and says, "Look up you idiot!" But more like giving her a mental flash of an image of New York with a giant mushroom cloud at its center.

So.. she looks up and blinks once or twice. It's like her brain refuses to see what is right there in front of her. "... crap." is her entire (and might I say eloquent) response to what she sees. But she steps off the motorcycle and hauls it out of traffic with one hand before a flicker of yellow energy ripples over her form and transforms her clothing into her costume, complete with the crimson helmet/mask combo as she surges skyward.

John Jones was, in fact, in Times Square. When the streak of light appears, the private detective disappears...ensuring nobody in the area notices anything until the Manhunter is already aloft, in full green, moving to assist...oh, hello, Superman. Between the two of them they should be able to deal with this.

The object, though still glowing hot from the atmosphere, appears to be some kind of craft, little bigger than a Volkswagen Beetle. A cobbled-together craft at that, with no real design asthetic besides getting a bunch of spare parts to function, though Superman might notice those spare parts look Kryptonian. It looks to have taken a bit of damage already, and falls out of control straight towards where the heroes are gathering to try to stop it.

Superman gives Martian Manhunter a nod as the object burrows it's way towards them. Judging it's size, he thinks he might be able to catch it, or at least slow it down to stop it from doing a great deal of damage. His first thought is to have he and Manhunter catch the device, but thinks better of it knowing the other Alien's weakness to fire. He'll have to go this one alone.

There's a pit in his stomach as he reads the markings. It's been two days since Dru Zod from Krypton 56a was defeated by a group of heroes. Perhaps Zod has come back for more?

Well, Carol is not strong enough to catch an entire large ship. Maybe a small one, but she's a pilot and can fly just about any spacecraft. Plus if need be, she can blast stuff.. so she's streaking upwards with.. well a red and blue blur much like the man of steel, but hers isn't quite as blurry. It takes her time to build up to supersonic speeds after all.

Calling this in on SHIELD frequencies, she reports on the events as she draws closer. It's a good thing that Supes and Manhunter -are- here, so she knows that she's not alone in all this. "Good to see you two!" she calls out as she rises up to their level. "I can help slow it down and maybe pull some of the heat and flames off the hull!" she calls out, "If you two want to work on stopping the mass of the thing, I'm not that strong myself."

Indeed, as the heat impinges on his awareness, J'onn backs off. Then Carol comes in. << That would be much appreciated. >> If she can do that, he'll be in a far better place to help Superman. And yes, he does use telepathy. It's much easier to be heard clearly that way in a tough situation.

Another small piece of the ship breaks away, veering off towards the ocean, but the main craft itself is still heading on course. It'll be on top of them any second.

"Thanks for the strategy, Captain Marvel." Superman knows that it's risky business for J'onn to get involved in this part of it, and it'll be up to him. Good thing is, he's pretty sure he can catch it. He readies himself, and focuses on catching and slowing rather than just trying to stop all its force in one push.

"Teamwork is a good thing, yes?" asks Carol as she streaks up and into the edge of that plasma/corona at the bottom of the ship. She focuses on absorbing the energy of it, trying to dissipate as much of it as she can, and channeling that energy into her muscles so that she can actually be more help with the lifting part of it. It's like watching water soak into a sponge, the way that heat and flame energy ripple -towards- her as she impacts the hull and braces her back and shoulderblades against it.

And as the fire disappears, J'onn arcs upwards, letting out a sigh of relief as he moves to help Superman. << Thank you, Carol. >> Although, he's keeping as far away from *her* as possible right now. She's got flames around her. Eep.

The front of the ship crumples just a tiny bit as Superman and J'onn apply force, but it holds for the most part. It may be made of spare parts, but the materials are quite strong. With both of their efforts, it slows. Working together, there should be no problem bringing it to a stop before it hits Times Square.

"Let's set it down in Central Park," Superman says. The back of his neck is a bit tingly with worry about what might be inside this thing. Is it a remnant from that madman from another dimension? A second assault? Fate's heroics had seemingly banished Zod56a and his men to the Phantom Zone. Surely he could not have escaped. Superman, if the others work with him, brings the craft over to Central Park. The closest, least populated area.

"Park, got it." says Carol as she applies a bit more force to help direct the craft. The more energy she absorbs, the longer she can keep up the boost to her strength. At least this isn't some particle stream that is going to overload her in seconds. It would really suck to turn into a human tac-nuke right over the park after all. The thought of that makes her snort and smirk a bit before she turns around to use more her arms and hands than the broad of her back...

Martian Manhunter nods to Superman, changing course. He's well aware of the Man of Steel's worries, but says nothing...out loud or silent...for right now. Focusing on helping get the craft down somewhere it's not going to land on anything, or anyone, important.

As they set the craft down, there's suddenly the sound of banging from inside, especially audible to Superman of course. The craft has a hatch, on the top of its structure. It's been fused shut from the damage it took either during the re-entry or before. Someone, inside, is trying to get it open.

Superman tries to use his x-ray vision to look inside the craft, but once he hears the banging, he throws caution to the wind a bit. He digs his fingers underneath the hull and rips the top part away, exposing the inside. He flings the trash portion way from the ship and the heroes.

Once the craft is down, Carol places her hands up to the metal and continues trying to suck the heat out of it. After all, she kid might come by and try to touch it. She thinks very loudly as Superman starts tearing into the metal. . o o O O (I can get this, unless you guys need backup over there.)

<< Let's stay cautious. We don't know who or what is inside. >> He doesn't say Superman is worried, which would violate the man's privacy. Instead, he moves back slightly so he can observe what's through the hole...from a slight distance.

Inside the craft is a boy in a black Kryptonian suit. The chest of the suit is definitely the symbol of the house of Zod, but this is also definitely not Dru-Zod. The boy smiles as the hatch comes off and starts to climb out, but freezes as he comes face-to-face with the symbol of the House of El. Then he looks up to Superman's face and says in an almost shy voice, " "--Hello.--" " (--Spoken in Kryptonian.)

Superman's head snaps back just a tad when he sees the crest. "Hello..." he says in English. Flumoxed, to be sure, he's not sure how to respond. "The boy comes from the House of Zod, though he doesn't seem to be an immediate threat."

"House of whom? Wait, Zod, wasn't he involved in that big hullabaloo the other day?" asks Carol as she cools the hull quickly and then drifts back, her helmet fading out as she lands by Martian Manhunter. "Doin' okay big guy?" she asks him, worried about the flames and all too.

"I'm fine." He lets out a breath. There's no fire now, and he kept far enough away from it, although he's still tense. "And I sense no hostility from the boy. Only...nervousness."

Lor-Zod's eyes finally leave Superman and go to first Carol and then J'onn as they speak. He doesn't seem to comprehend anything they're saying, however, except for the word 'Zod'. Unsure if they understand his language either, he just points to himself, "Lor-Zod."

Superman "--Lor-Zod, tell us where it is you've come from. My name is Kal-El. This is Martian Manhunter and Captain Marvel. They are heroes of this world.--" Superman looks to the others, "I've researched General Zod and his house. I do not know of a Lor-Zod." (--Spoken in Kryptonian.)

Nodding to Manhunter, Carol relaxes visibly. "Don't worry big guy. If I'm around, you won't burn, trust me..." She's glowing a bit from the stored energy she absorbed, but she's dissipating it slowly as visible light, hence the glow. She looks towards the kid and Superman and doesn't really want to intrude, but then blinks and reaches up to her SHIELD earpiece, "Oh, right, command. Threat is ended, repeat threat is ended. Please do -not- send heavy support. I repeat do -not- send heavy support."

Martian Manhunter does not speak Kryptonian either. He turns back towards Carol. "I appreciate that." He still doesn't seem quite comfortable. "And...perhaps he is from an alternate reality. There are precedents."

Lor-Zod smiles, still a little shyly, and bows a little bit to Martian Manhunter and Carol, and repeats what he guesses was the greeting Superman initially gave him, "Hello." He looks back to Superman and answers, "--I came from the Phantom Zone. I've never been anywhere else, until now.--" (--Spoken in Kryptonian.)

Superman Superman speaks in the odd language of his forefathers, apparently garnering information from the boy and relays it to his allies. "He says he is Lor-Zod from the Phantom Zone. This has been his first stop." "--Lor-Zod. Tell me, where is General Dru-Zod now? Where has he been for the past few weeks?--" Superman's hunch is that this particular boy is not related to the Zod they encounted, since the latter was pretty open about traveling across dimensions for his prey. (--Spoken in Kryptonian.)

"Awesome, phantom zone." says Carol before she asides in a half whisper to Manhunter, ".. the heck is a Phantom Zone?" But then she realizes something, "Hey, he spoke English." And she grins a bit, "The question I have is, where was the -ship- from?"

When a gust of wind moves some nearby trees, Lor-Zod's eyes move to them with obvious fascination and curiosity. He looks quickly back to the three around him, though, as he moves to try to climb out of the craft. His movements show no sign, yet, of Kryptonian power, but then, he hasn't yet been exposed to sunlight. "--Father's in the Phantom Zone. He can't leave, only I could, since I was born there, I think.--" Once on the ground, assuming the others let him get down, he looks to Carol and then back to Superman for his translation. Figuring out a greeting is easy, but the rest is going to take some time. "--Father built it, out of parts of Fort Rozz. It's the only solid building in the Zone.--" (--Spoken in Kryptonian.)

Superman Superman nods at the boy. This is most peculiar, but a relief in some ways. At least this Zod does not seem to be a relative of the one who recently attacked New York. "He says that his father built the ship in the Phantom Zone. It's an interdimensional prison for criminals on my homeworld. Zod, at least if this is the same Zod, attempted to overthrow the council and take over the planet through force. Or so I've been informed." Superman turns his attention back to Lor, "--Lor-Zod, I think it's best if I take you to the Hall of Justice with me. There's a bed there, and I can get you some food while we figure out how you got here and where you're going from here. How did you get all the way here? Why did you come here?--" (--Spoken in Kryptonian.)

"I think I may have to leave you to this one, given I lack the language...but if you need any help?" Martian Manhunter makes that offer to his friend. The kid is going to need a firm hand on him...especially as he starts to develop Kryptonian capabilities.

Lor-Zod nods to Superman and says, "--Alright. Am I in trouble for leaving the Phantom Zone?--" Hall of Justice, after all, could be the name of a court. To the last questions he shrugs and says, "--I don't know. It seemed to happen all at once. The ship broke out of the Phantom Zone, then I was falling.--" (--Spoken in Kryptonian.)

Superman Superman shakes his head no at the boy. "--The sentence was your father's, not yours. On the contrary, the Hall of Justice will be a good spot for you to learn the languages and culture of our planet. The longer you stay here the more powerful you'll become. You'll find that you have a great memory and are able to do some pretty amazing feats. The Hall of Justice will be a good place for you to stay, at least at the beginning, while you figure out what you're doing here, if you plan on staying, and what you'd like to do in the future--". (--Spoken in Kryptonian.)

Lor-Zod nods to Superman and smiles, relieved now and genuine,  He steps forward then, ready to follow Superman.

Superman holds Lor by the hand and lifts off into the air and heads south eastward, towards the Hall of Justice, wondering the whole while what sort of situation brought this child here and what plans he had to help him out.