2013-01-31 JLA: The Game is afoot!

Gotham City is its usual dark, brooding self tonight. Add to this that the air is frigid cold and a clear night sky there is little warmth in the city tonight. The wind whistles and howls between the buildings and loose trash blows hither and yon. The feral cats stay tucked away in the alleyways. Their eyes reflect what little light the street lamps are able to shed into Gotham City. A few brave souls are out and about but not many.

The Justice League were able to capture a couple of the aliens during their stakeout. Everyone is gathered in a large warehouse to escape the cold wind. It is still cold inside the warehouse, but at least there is some shelter. The two aliens are tied back to back with a support pole between them. They have ruddish red skin with blue tattoos swirling over their bald heads. They are stronger than normal humans, but they have been secured well for the time being. Both of them look sullen and uncooperative to say the least. Just a bit away from the aliens is the duffle bag also collected at the scene before. It is full of bricks of powder, but this powder glows with a residual faint blue energy.

Stargirl did not like the mean streets of Gotham. Sure, her mom was all pushing Gotham University at her like it was going out of style, but the place was just dark, in more ways than aesthetics. There is no midriff being bared tonight. No, far too cold for that. Courtney is wearing the thermal version of her costume, which covers most of the skin typically exposed by the usual summer version.

So, in the warehouse, the blonde-haired junior member of the League is crouching down by the duffel bag, with her staff across her lap, frowning at its contents. She isn't dumb enough to just up and start touching the stuff, at least, and spreading whatever contaminants it might have in it. Interrogation. Not really her strong suit.

Unless these aliens happened to find blonde hair or blue eyes particularly terrifying or something. "Annnnyone know what this stuff is?" She pokes a finger, fist closed, index finger extended downward, in the direction of the bag. "Not, like, radiation, right?"

The setting isn't exactly what Black Canary considers to be homey but it's familiar, the old warehouse not exactly far from the neighborhood she calls home when off duty. Dressed in costume with a few temporary changes to help ward off the cold - the fishnets replaced with a pair of warm, near-thermal leggings for now - and looking faintly displeased, Dinah looks from their 'guests' over to Stargirl, the latter getting her to frown. "I don't know what it is," she confesses. "Stay away from the bag for now, please. Just until we can be sure it's safe."

That said, she approaches the aliens, her eyes holding to one of the interesting figures.

Superman stands with arms folded looking at the aliens. He is not cold; he hasn't felt 'cold' in quite some time. The initial requests at conversation have not proved fruitful. Instead he scans them using his x-ray vision and does the same to the mysterious powder bricks. "I can have them analyzed, to prevent danger," he says, but the statement comes out more strong than he intends it. Hopes. He hopes he can analyze it. Hopes it can prevent danger.

[Information] Velocity has joined this channel.

Taz has a nice thick coat of fur to keep him warm so the cold doesn't bother him. He was eager to help out when he heard there were aliens involved, wondering if it was the same ones that caused his transformation. Of course now that he's there he can see that it isn't. He sniffs at the air, careful not to get too close to those bricks just in case it's something dangerous to his enhanced senses. Standing off to the side, he's watching the aliens for now and wondering if there should be a 'good cop, bad cop' approach to dealing with them.

Out in the open in the warehouse, not too far from the aliens is a lone woman. One who is no stranger to Gotham and the 'heroes' there in. But also one who is possibly a bit too recognizable for the members of their crowd.

That woman is of course Zatanna, The Mistress of Magic. And as she offers her friends and team mates a slight glance, she finishes a small, faint incantation. One meant to /slightly/ strengthen the aliens bonds, but more importantly to protect the bonds from magic just on the off chance they are knowledgable in the mystic arts (hey, don't mock it. Aliens use magic too).

"There are many things it could be. But the tests that need to be done to be certain probably can't be done here."

Studying the aliens, J'onn has returned to his normal Martian form. His red eyes fix on them. Carefully, he extends his mind outwards. If he can just read their minds, then he might be able to get the information. If he can't? Well...it's worth a try. And the risk of getting the Martian equivalent of a headache. For right now, he says nothing to his teammates. Concentrating. He's used to human minds by this point, they're open books to him. These aliens might be a little more difficult.

Under the X-Ray vision, the aliens tend to have the same basic set up as humans or humanoids. Some organs are little rearranged, but otherwise they seem in the same basic shape. Their bones are denser which could account for their increased strength. As the X-Rays pass over the tattoos on the head, they glow an electric blue and makes piercing the glow difficult for the Man of Tomorrow, but they still look like brains.

The bag, under Superman's gaze, or rather its contents also glow blue when struck by Superman's sight. Last time, Firestorm could detect energy from the bag, and this time Zatanna may pick up the magical energy signature from the tattoos and the bag.

As J'onn tries to enter their minds, the aliens begin to chant very quietly under their breaths. They close their eyes and folks can see their bodies tense up. J'onn can feel a wall trying to be built in front of his probe, but these two are young and there are holes within the walls. Images of a bizzare land comes into J'onn's head. A purple sky with tall trees with brightly colored tufts on top almost like massive cotton plants. Holes can also be seen of a marshalling army. Not as much energy weapons and tanks but rather swords, axes, and spears made from a strange metal and enbued with that same blue glow.

"Mm. Okay." Courtney stands up and backs away from the bag a step or two, twirling the staff around her waist so she can lean on it as it floats horizontally in the air behind her. What she wouldn't give to have some killer detective skills right about now. Unfortunately, everything she knew about interrogation came from Law & Order reruns and watching The Other Guys.

Blonde eyebrows rise at the weird chanting, and Stargirl sits back onto her staff, allowing it to slowly gilde to the side, taking her with it. It brings her to the side of, and a little behind (so that she doesn't get hip-checked by a cosmic rod), the Mistress of Magic herself. She puts the back of a hand to her mouth as she leans over and mutters.

"Don't suppose you know some little incantation that can shaddup whatever they're doing? Concentratus destructus?"

Sigh. Dinah pinches the bridge of her nose for a second and then she looks at the aliens as they start to chant. "Hmmm. This isn't good, I bet. Should I knock them out?" She's referring to her ability to put others to sleep via the use of her Cry, of course. "It won't hurt them. Just put them under for awhile, keep them quiet."

Superman looks to Martian Manhunter--like the Kryptonian, an alien. Under different circumstances, would it have been they who were bound. "Anything?" the Man of Steel asks his green counter part. His eyes flash to Courtney at her question and then Zatanna, but he says nothing in response.

Cracking his knuckles, Taz steps up next to Dinah. "How 'bout you two keep quiet before we make ya," he growls down at the bound aliens. Now that he's closer to the aliens, Taz takes a quick sniff at the both of them to see if there's anything interesting or out of the ordinary about their scents.

There's a pause, maybe for a moment or two as the female sorcerer hears that chanting start. But instead of responding to the verbal questions, or the glances from her team mates, she just does what she can. That is why Zatanna lets out a chant of her own, that /hopefully/ stops their chant. That is if they are doing magic, and it is anything like what she's use to.

"Eb deggag sa llew sa dnuob." is said as The Mistress of Magic motions at the tattooed aliens.

As for the 'bag' though, as her gaze finally locks onto it, she does pick up a 'feeling' from it, and frowns, before starting to move over closer to it, if only so she can see it better.

"Interesting..."

"They're partially shielded, but I'm getting something. An army gathering. Glowing blade weapons. And what I think is an image of their homeworld. Purple sky. Tall trees." A purple sky isn't at all beyond the pale, but it does reveal that their sun is most likely NOT yellow. "That's all I can get without going deeper."

As Zatanna mutters her chant, the spell flows around the two aliens bound back to back against a pole as the heroes are in a large warehouse to keep out of the cold that is Gotham City right now. Suddenly, the lips on the aliens turn inward slightly as if something was being shoved into their mouths. The chanting becomes muffled. The tattoos on their head fade. Zatanna can feel some magical resistance, but these two again are young and inexperienced. Their resistance wavers and then breaks allowing the gagging spell to take effect. Their heads turns and their eyes flare towards Zatanna and there is some struggling against the bonds as they do.

As they struggle, there is a scent of a sharp spice coming off of them that Taz can detect. They are trying to break the bonds, but they are holding. As their chanting is interupted, the mental wall breaks down and suddenly J'onn is flooded with an image of a large armada out in space. From the look, they are just entering the solar system and passing Pluto.

Courtney offers a tiny little, tight-lipped 'Who, me?' smile and shrug as Superman's gaze lands in their direction. Damn his Vulcan hearing. Well, at least she wasn't suggesting they take them way up high and drop them one at a time (and catch them before the Big Splat, of course) until they start babbling every little secret of Planet X they know. ...Yet.

As the 'crooks', or whatever extraterrestrial term applied to them (probably 'invaders' given Martian Manhunter's recent revelation), are gagged and begin to struggle, Stargirl's smile grows a bit as her eyes narrow with teen malice at them. "Niiiiice. You should get paid for this kind of work." She asides to Zatanna.

And then she does a rather rare thing, for her anyway. The blonde shuts her mouth for a minute to let the Big Guys talk, since she can't assist in mind-probery. She simply makes a mental note to ask J'onn if he's ever probed HER mind.

Black Canary glances at Taz a moment, her hand returning to her face but instead of pinching the bridge of her nose she actually presses her palm to it, her shoulders shaking for a second. "Oh boy... this is going to snowball. I can just tell!" The chuckling subsides after she notices the sudden silence from the aliens, her own silence broken only by a quiet 'huh' after a moment.

Superman grimaces and strides towards the bag of blue bricks. "If you don't mind, everyone, I think I'm going to take these for safe keeping. I've got a place I can store them. An out of the way place." He strides towards the bag. He means the Fortress of Solitude, of course, but none of his teammates yet know of its existence.

Taz just gives Black Canary a 'what?' look. The guy's a big teddy bear, really. He's just trying to help get info out of the aliens. When Zatanna's spell kicks in, Taz blinks a few times and then smiles. "Well, that works too," he remarks. "Shouldn't we take 'em to the Hall, Superman? We've got some kinda labs there for testin' stuff, don't we?"

Yes, as that spell is muttered, and maybe for a moment or two afterward, Zatanna looks a little off. not exactly in a bad way. More like she's focused. As if that spell is somehow taking a little extra than just speaking backwards. Something that is harder to describe and place. Like possibly the magic itself is being resisted, or fought against, but in a way that Zatanna can overcome.

Then though, after that instant, The Mistress of Magic blinks, and offers Courtney a slight smile.

"After a fashion I am." is offered before she actually tries to reach for, and hopefully touch that bag so she can examine it herself before Superman can take off with it.

"You might want to hold up a moment. These guys are mages. Not Doctor Strange level, but they have some talent. And their bag is giving off a little bit of magic as well."

"And...got it." The Martian does not yet withdraw from their now undefended minds, but he does turn some more attention to the others. "Their fleet is crossing the orbit of Pluto. It is of considerable size." He doesn't sound alarmed. To be hoonest? He's rather hoping for a diplomatic solution.

The aliens sit on the floor bound and just staring daggers at those around them. The scent of the spice fades as they stop struggling. They seem quite adamant in their sullen disposition right now. Their mouths are still slightly turned in as if gagged so they can say nothing at the moment either, but look like they almost dare the heroes to ask them a question.

The slight glow of the bag fades also as the chanting stops, but there is still some residue to it. The bags are packed like bricks of cocaine into the bag. It is much heavier than it looks albeit still nothing to the Man of Steel.

The blonde-haired teenager watches as Superman stalks towards the bag like he's about to lock away fifty kilos of smack in some kind of... Super Evidence Room. "What, like... the moon? Wouldn't that be the first place alie- er, extra-terrestrials would look?" But Zatanna and Superman can deal with the big bag of powered alien narcotics. Courtney steps down off of her staff at the Martian's proclaimation that a fleet is passing by the second-most outer planet of the solar system.

"Wait, just how 'considerable' are we talking about? Space Invaders big or 'end of mankind' big?" Hoo-boy, Court! This is what you get for wanting to run with the Big Dogs. Mom was right, cheerleading was much safer. "Should we tell the Green Lanterns or- or..."

She's gripping the cosmic staff like she expects aliens to begin breaking down the walls any minute. Earth really needed to get one of those nifty deep-space early-warning invasion detection systems. Maybe from Stark Industries.

You paged Batman with 'Fairly standard EM/radio waves. It was coded of course. Only bits and pieces had been decyphered. Scout. Fleet. Invasion.'

"We should interdict that armada long before it nears Earth." The voice is a new one in the discussion, but commanding. Projected from above, as the speaker descends from a zipline, all but invisible for a moment in the shadows of the warehouse rooftop.

"We'll have to work fast. I can try to get an open channel for parley." Maybe J'onn isn't the only mind reader in the room. The Batman lands, all but disappearing into the billowing black cape that surrounds him, hanging about and obscuring his form. Yes, Virgina, he does exist. "

If that fails... we'll need a contingency strike in place." Maybe two-- the bits of decyphered communique don't suggest peaceful coexistance. Then again, they're just bits. Batman's stance is tall, even and alert, yet somehow relaxed and difficult to read. Blank eyeslits narrow as the Dark Knight surveys the gathered heroes, one by one.

The arrival of Batman is taken in stride by Dinah who merely turns slightly to regard the vigilante, her mouth held in a slight smile. "I'm not exactly familiar with the ins and outs of alien warfare so not sure what good I'd be in planning. But if you need me for anything..."

The bag is left to Superman to do with as he wishes, that too being something Dinah has zero knowledge about. "Have at, Kal. I'm sure you'll be able to do more with it than I ever could hope to do."

Superman nods to Taz, "I thought about it. But Metropolis and Gotham would both be in the immediate vicinity if these were something more than just blue bricks. New York and DC aren't much farther." His large hands curl around the straps, but he stops as Zatanna mentions magic and looks back at her. Not much can get through his exterior, but there's something inside now. Not fear. . .hesitation.

That hesitation is broken when Batman makes his entrance. A wide smile comes across his face when the Dark Knight goes through the action plan. Superman lets the straps of the case fall back down. The plan sounds good to him. "Batman. It's been a while."

Taz pauses when he notices the change in the scent. Frowning, Taz looks at the aliens a moment. "Huh. Their scents just changed," he remarks. "Does magic tend to do that?" he asks Zatanna. He doesn't have as much exposure to magic as he does alien and tech based bad guys. "Doesn't out base have protection against that kinda thing?" he asks. His ears flick towards Batman when he speaks and Taz tenses up. When it turns out to be Batman and not an enemy, the Aussie hero relaxes.

Zatanna isn't even startled as Batman appears. After all, this is his city. She knows how he operates. It could even be said that she knows him. Not that she advertises that fact. After all, she knows the only information you share about Batman is the information he wants you to share.

And yet, as he ends up on the ground, he is given a silent nod in greeting, and even a fleeting smile. That is before the female magician tries to 'get back to work'.

"There's not much here, and it's fading." is said to Superman as he takes the bag. "But it's enough that you should be careful. It's... It's like their tattoos... Almost. It's almost refined. And I... I /think/ it's somehow been worked into the drugs themselves..."

As for the talk about stopping that fleet is not something she chimes in about. Not yet anyways.

Martian Manhunter does not jump either. Instead, he projects a sort of mental hologram, *showing* the fleet to the others. "Sorry, but this is easier than giving a description. This is, of course, from their perceptions, with the possibility of exaggeration." People do lie to themselves all the time, after all. "I agree that we should attempt to interdict them in the outer system. Does anyone know where Green Lanternis?"

It is faint at first, but the sharp spice smell is back for those without enhanced senses. It is not coming from the two aliens. It is just a slight smell on the air, but getting a bit stronger but hard to locate exactly where it is coming from. Those with enhanced hearing can begin to hear foot steps outside the building.

The two inside give a quick sideways glance to each other as the heroes begin to discuss options. They do not seem the least bit concerned as the heroes have not even asked them any questions yet. The windows are high in the warehouse and near the roof. Quick dark shapes whisk by them for a moment, and then everything is silent for a couple of beats. Suddenly, the sliding door at the front of the warehouse begins to bulge inward and suddenly explode in towards the heroes. Windows shatter as several aliens are crashing in on zip lines coming down to the floor.

The youngest of the present heroes shrinks a little under Batman's intimidating glare. Others might know that it's just normal-Dark Knight scrutiny, but to Courtney, it almost seemed like the chiroptera-themed vigilante was mad at her. Her shoulders duck, her head lowers slightly, she averts her eyes, and just baaaaarely manages to not take a step back as she uncomfortably rubs the back of her neck.

"Um, well, I can take others with me when I fly. But breathing out in the Great Beyond is not on my resume. And getting out to trans-Neptunian space is another problem entirely."

Stargirl is JUST about to ask who cut the cheese as she reaches up to rub at her nose when the growing smell begins to invade her unenhanced senses. But the star-spangled blonde doesn't have the earing or keen observational powers to notice the darting figures or footsteps. It's until the door begins to blow inwards (or someone shouts a warning) that she's aware that they're even under attack.

Courtney turns towards the door, whipping her staff into a ready position, the glowing hooked end forward, as a wall of bright orange cosmic energy appears to shield her from any debris. "Whate the Hell! Was that chanting some kind of call for help!?"

"How much of that substance have they distributed?" Imminent invasion is momentarily sidelined for the Bat to wax ominous as his attention is grabbed by the fading blue bricks. One connected to the other is alarming enough. Did they stop it in time? "Get word to your own contacts to make sure similar compounds haven't hit the streets anywhere else." Always thinking positive, the Caped Crusader.

Batman barely acknowledges that he's nominally friends with several of the gathered operatives-- they've got a job to do. An important one, and as ever Batman hits the groud running. Though in mixed company he does not address her directly often, the Oracle begins to track and disperse just that information that the Dark Knight seeks. "We've got company." ... and some that he does not.

In that same instant, the Dark Knight fades back into the shadows, stepping out of the light and into cover-- not everyone is fully shrapnel resistant, after all. He sticks to the outskirts of the room, silent as the shadows he embraces, seeking to flank around the aliens as they attack and pick one off, rather abruptly striking not directly from the darkness-- but with whirling, expertly aimed bolas. Some days, the old ways are the best ways.

Oh damnit. Why can't anything ever be simple? Black Canary steps towards the newly-entered figures, her hands curled into fists, her expression grim. No, she is not pleased at all and the feisty blonde is yeah shy of doing something about it. It is only the desire to wait for orders that keeps her in check, Dinah's ire tempered by the self-given, mentally-spoken reminder that they are a team and they work as such. 'No 'I' in 'team'', after all.

"Look out!" Superman exclaims as the footsteps approach. When the door bursts open, Superman sprint into superspeed and, eventually, flight. He careens toward one of them, looking to shoulder tackle it in the chest and carry it far away from the group.

Taz stays quiet for a few moments, trying to figure out why Batman smells so odd. He's tempted to ask but he'll save it for when they're not around the aliens like how he plans to ask why someone he's pretty sure is a Titan is with them. He listens to the options discussed, not sure what he could provide since he doesn't exactly have a space ship in his non-existant pockets.

The sudden change in scent and the sound of footsteps get Taz perking again. He narrows his eyes at the captives but quickly looks up when it registers they're not the source of the scent. "We got incommin'!" he warns right before the doors start to blow. He grows larger and more muscular, defending himself against the glass and shrapnel. Targeting one of the zip line aliens, Taz moves to try to snatch him right off the rope and toss him at another.

The smell is what tips Zatanna off that something is up. While she may not have enhanced senses, the fact that something is happening, something to cause a sudden change in the smell of the air itself in the warehouse the people without enhanced senses can smell? That fact puts her on guard.

Then, between Batman vanishing, the doors exploding. not to mention Superman flying off, and the actions of her other team mates, she tries to fire off a spell in an instant, so that the debris from that explosion hopefully can't harm anyone.

"Srood emoceb suoesag negyxo!"

Martian Manhunter avoids the explosion by going upwards...and that puts him in the middle of the aliens. He trusts, however, that they aren't powerful enough to do immediate damage to a Martian...in fact, he's twisting to block one of them, intending to let the guy collide with rather solid green flesh. Batman's disappearance isn't remarked upon. HE knows the guy's still there...using stealth to get into a better position, no doubt, rather than fleeing. And Zatanna's spell? MUCH appreciated.

The shrapnel from the door quickly becomes gas and just flows over the heroes. THe main attacking force is coming in through the doors. THe lead man is caught by Superman and the alien is suddenly not in the front of the attack any more. They move quickly and are carrying swords that glow with the same blue energy that was seen before. Apparently, this is an energy from their homeworld they have learned to manipulate in several manners in what this world could call magic. Two aliens charge at Stargirl attempting to bring their swords down to knock her staff from her hands.

Two more go after Canary attacking from either side so they may have a shot at taking her even if one is struck.

Three come toward the furred Leaguer even as Taz is attacking one of the zip liners who goes flying. The three attack with swords pulled and swinging.

The aliens attacking J'onn find him even more sturdy than their own alien physiques. The crash backwards to their butts, but are quickly getting to their feet once more.

Five Zip Liners are making right for the prisoners. They have glowing blue daggers in their hands rather than swords. One that gets too close to the shadows of the wall suddenly is dropped with little warning.

Alien Invaders. Well, she's actually fought worse. Courtney keeps her shield up long enough to completely protect her from the door's remains, though when it turns to gas it becomes a moot point, as well as anything else that might follow in its wake, like lasers or phasers or whatever Star Trekkian crap these goombas might have brought with them.

The young blonde drops the shield as the aliens begin to close in on her, taking advantage of her heavily-increased agility awarded by the converter belt. The first sword swing is dodged as Stargirl goes feet-over-head in a handspring to manuever herself to one side, to keep one of the attackers between herself and his buddy. She brings the staff around to hook around an ankle, attempting to trip the being up as she rolls acrobaticly up and over.

She seeks to come down between them abruptly, to kick out with enhanced strength and catch the second one right in the middle of his/her torso, before twisting her upper body around before she's even done with that to fire off a blast of her staff's energy at the first one she'd tried to trip.

"Don't suppose anyone knows these guy's superweaknesses?" She calls out.

It's really not the team one wants to ambush. A roster that would give even Darkseid or Doomsday pause to consider. Batman is hardly the powerhouse of this assembly-- but he gets the job done. The first of the quintet targetting the bound aliens goes down in a pair of whirring bola with no immediately apparent source. Even as his nearest comrade looks for him, the Dark Knight moves on to press tight to the corner wall, coming around the inner office to go for the other trio still moving on.

Two black pellets go plinking out, bouncing ominously with a subtly metallic tone out towards the alien prisoners; they get perhaps three quarters of the way there, out between the tied aliens and their assaulting allies, before they erupt in a white-hot flash of light and sound. Enough to blind, daze, and deafen, with a crack of resounding impact from each device.

Then, the Batman strikes-- punching for the throat, kicking various points on the core, an elbow to the face. He'll get back to them on that weak point. Right now the Dark Knight is /busy/.

This is a bit like that song which states the second verse is the same as the first, the options presenting theirselves very much like the first time they encountered these goons. "If things haven't changed, they were able to be knocked out with my Cry." As she speaks she engages the two who are coming in to attack her, her own attack coming in a fluid manner that speaks well of all her training she endured as a child.

Thanks for the martial arts training, Mom!

"When I tell you guys to cover your ears, cover them..." Dinah's too aware of what her power can do and is very careful to make sure whatever damage occurs happens to the bad guys and not her comrads.

As the pair of aliens speed through the sky and out above the ocean, Superman reaches back to deliver a blow to the alien opponent's face. He takes several cracks, in succession, compressing his fist against the bald head, upping the ante of the pulled punch each time in an effort to find that approximate zone of "knock unconscious" before "severely injure."

Not watching where the alien he threw lands, Taz lets out a roar at the three rushing him in attmept to intimidate them before he charges in. He swings a big fist at one while trying to grab another. If he's able to grab the alien, he'll throw them at other aliens. He's not worried about the swords since he's a lot more durable when he gets that big than he is at his normal size. Dinah's words do have him concerned though. "Gotcha!" he calls, not looking forward to the idea of getting his eardrums blown out.

"Srenosirp eb deppart ni a ecrof dleif!" is said as Zatanna once again motions at the two captured aliens as she tries to not only make them more secure, but to try and slow down, if not stop any direct attempt to rescue them.

Of course if any aliens do try to go after the Mistress of Magic herself, she'll try to defend herself with some martial arts, while mixing in a few spells.

And odds are the guys should feel bad for some of those aliens, because she may very well use the infamous 'Genitals kick yourselves HARD!' spell if things get too difficult.

Martian Manhunter moves to do an equally classic move to the one Zatanna's seriously considering. Assuming he can do it, he grabs both aliens and...knocks their heads together. Oh, and thanks for the warning, Dinah. Why yes, he did just shapeshift his ears closed. Not that it will completely block it, especially not with Martian hearing, but it might be a bit less of an ow.

One alien coming at Stargirl is tripped and stuck causing him to crash into the ground and slide a bit away from her. He is then struck with the follow up blast of power and skids away like a rock on a pond. The other one side steps her kick and drops into a sweep trying to knock her off her feet while only balanced on one.

The three aliens still rushing towards the prisoners cry out as the world explodes in light and sound in front of them. They swing wildly, but it is caught easily by the attacking Caped Crusader. One drops while the other two attempt to move forward even as dots flash in front of their eyes and can hear nothing of the battle around them. The lead one attempts to dive towards the prisoners only to encounter Zatanna's force field. The knife hits the shield. Zatanna will probably feel the reverberation of the energy in the dagger against her own mystic energy in the shield.

The two at Canary cannot get a clean shot in on the fighter as she moves easily back and forth so neither of them can move in decisively and strike her. They have no idea what is in store for them as they do not know what she is talking about to her teammates.

The alien with Superman actually does take a few punches, attemptting to land a few of his own while being carried out to sea, but he eventually succumbs to the blows and passes into unconsciousness in Superman's arms.

One alien is caught square in the nose by Taz's punch and crumbles to his knees. He grips his face but bluish blood is coming down between his hands. Another is grabbed and thrown. It bounces off Zatanna's shield around the prisoners and actually bounces straight at Zatanna. The third strikes Taz with his sword, but it is like swinging a tree branch. There is no cut but there might be some impact as the alien can swing.

The Martian Manhunter Three Stooges his aliens. THere is a loud clack as the heads come together. They seem unsteady on their feet for a moment before they collapse at J'onn's feet.

Well, if whatever warning Dinah prepares the team for is forthcoming quickly enough, Stargirl will certainly heed it. She likes her eardrums intact, after all. Hopefully stuffing her fingers in her ears and squeezing her eyes shut would protect her enough from the force of whatever sonic blast she unleashes. Maybe a shield from her staff would even help blunt its effects. She'd find out soon enough, but for now...

She has enough problems on her hands! Because while she may have melee skills, it doesn't keep her from being immune to the same. The combination of sidestepping her kick and then sweeping the only leg she was balanced on does the trick and brings Stargirl down to the concrete floor of the warehouse. "WAAAH-uff!" She rolls with the landing, AWAY from her attacker, and comes up in a crouch, her hand held up and out.

A virtual light display of shooting stars comes firing out of her palm, towards the one attacking her, capable of short-circuiting electrical devices (including a HUMAN brain). Hopefully it would have the desired effect of unconsciousness on an alien physiology, as well. Her other hand, not wishing to be idle, aims her staff in an underhanded shot beneath her extended right hand, right for an alien trying to bypass her for one of the other heroes.

Hey, teamwork, right?

As the half-dazed aliens hammer at the obstructing field with their magitech blades, the Dark Knight obliges their distraction with another pair of bola for the first-- this one is the lucky one. The other gets a full-on shoulder tackle, meant to use Zatanna's forcefield to its fullest advantage on the already disoriented invader as the anvil to his armored hammer. "Do you speak English?"

It's asked even as the Dark Knight seeks to fulcrum one arm behind the hopefully off-balanced alien's back. It's a maneuver with force to break a man's arm several times over, executed with years of perfected instinct. The question is repeated in an assortment of other languages, one after another, almost patiently-- as the Dark Knight seeks to efficiently and methodically restrain the would-be rescuer with a reinforced set of black ziptie restraints.

In the same motion that brings those restraints from his utility belt, the Caped Crusader triggers a button corresponding to a subtle signal in Jim Gordon's office-- at his home. This is a crime scene Jim will want to respond to personally, and there's no way this assault goes under his radar.

Perhaps only the keenest of ears might hear the sound of police sirens on the distant horizon, but they are certainly coming. However, somewhere else in Gotham, Commissioner Jim Gordon is abruptly awakened by the chirping of an alarm that he not often hears.

It still awakens him from even the deepest of sleeps.

Startled from slumber, Jim reaches over and smacks his hand about on his nighstand, until aging fingers grapple the glasses that he wears day by day. He fixes them upon his nose with a tired fumble, then rolls over to stare at the blinking LED light upon his clock radio. For a moment or two, it fails to register what exactly he's looking at.

For just a moment or two.

When it hits him in full, he sweeps his pajama-clad legs from beneath the sheets, and snatches the police radio from his nighstand with a sudden lack of sluggish hesitation. It clicks to life, and a simple depression of the transmit button cuts off all the chatter coming over the GCPD bands. "This is Jim Gordon. Send a chopper to my house immediately."

"COVER YOUR EARS!"

Dinha's warning is shouted out hurriedly while she runs literal circles around the aliens, trying to disorient them at the same time she gets herself into position. One quick look is given to everyone else while a deep breath is drawn in and released in a high frequency attack. It is targeted at the two who have been trying to fight her but with the potency of the Canary Cry others might be knocked out as well. She just hopes everyone can cover their ears in time.

Part of the warehouse wall is kicked through and collapses with a gigantic crash. With a lifeless body of an alien in his grip, Superman steps through the opening and discards the being with disdain. The alien slides against the floor and comes to a rest in the corner, out cold.

Superman looks to Black Canary and raises an eyebrow in an aside, just as she's about to let loose. He covers his ears as advised.

Taz is trying to not use his claws but that doesn't mean he's adverse to causing damage to these aliens. He follows up the punch with a quick kick in hopes of knocking that alien down and out. The sudden impact of sword on furry body makes Taz grunt and stumble a step back from the force of the blow. Growling, he lashes out with a backhand. Dinah's sudden warning gets the Aussie's eyes going wide. Ears press flat against his skull as Taz claps his hands over them.

Each time the force field is struck, at shrinks slightly, for a moment, before expanding back to what it was before. And it /almost/ flickers. Not completely, but it's as if it's different.

Zatanna herself though has a bit of a look. Like she's trying to split some of her focus on that spell, possibly to help maintain it.

All though, she may also be trying to modify it...

"Ecrof dleif evah cirtcele kcabdeef!"

Maybe now when the aliens strike it, they'll have a reason to regret it.

All though as soon as that's done, the alien that bounces at her slams into her, sending the Mistress of Magic sprawling onto the floor, before she even has a chance to cover her ears. But considering what the 'Canary Cry' does, and feels like to her, hopefully it'll be just as bad for the thug that crashed into her.

Meanwhile, outside the warehouse...

A random TV host who has a hair cut that looks like it just walked off the set of Babylon 5 stops... And stares at the chaos. That is before point points at the scene of the fight, and shouts a single word.

"ALIENS!"

Martian Manhunter glances down at the dazed aliens, then whirls to see who might need the most assistance. Zatanna's...focusing on the spells. So, he's going to move to cover her so she can concentrate on whatever she's up to without being attacked again. It's almost without thought. All of his teammates, the Martian knows, can take care of themselves. He's absolutely trusting them. Canary looks overwhelmed, but he knows better. The aliens, likely, don't. One might almost feel sorry for them.

The alien charges Stargirl when she is down and ends up getting struck by the power discharge. His head cracks backwards as he screams out but then the rest of his breath is knocked out by the lower blast. He drops where he is.

"You cannot stop us now," hisses the alien at Batman even as the Dark Knight bends and batters the man into submission on the ground. He tries to give a little bit of fight but he is in position to offer any resistance as Batman has the leverage on him.

The last alien that is at the force field is about to give up with the striking. He steels himself and grips the hilt with both hands. The knife is raised above his head and then plunged downward. The electricty races up the dagger and through the alien. He isn't even able to make a noise as the body shudders and convulses with pain before falling to one side.

The alien that Superman tosses to one side lays there.

The Canary scream takes the two assailants and knocks them off their feet to go sailing backwards. They strike hard against the floor and down't seem to be moving much now. As it is a warehouse, there is little to absorb the sound. The Cry echoes back at the heroes and around the large empty space, shattering windows and blowing out another door on the far side of the warehouse.

Yes. Yes they are aliens among us, and some even like Oreos.

It looks like the fight is coming to an end. THe only aliens still left awake are the two within the force field. THey were protected from the Canary Cry and sit there fuming in anger. They were ready to die for the cause and failed to do it.

Stargirl plugs her ears when the warning is shouted, gritting her teeth as if she expected the world to come to an end. Even then, seriously, ow! It kind of makes her vision a little blurry, like trying to focus when Liberty Bell is going to town on her figurative gong. Eventually, ears still hearing a ringing that isn't there, vision clears after a few blinks, and Courtney can get back to the task at hand.

...Which basically consisted of standing up, wiggling a finger in her ear, and wondering if the damage was permanent as she frowns around for another opponent to clobber. "IS THAT ALL OF THEM?" Yeah, she's speaking in the really loud voice people tend to use when they've spent all night in the front row of a concert right next to the speakers.

"I DON'T SEE ANYMORE. I THINK WE GOT THEM ALL." She toes one of the unconscious alien mooks.

"We can and will stop you." The Batman informs his newest injured captive in the moments after the reverberations from that shockwave fade. The sound suppressors in the Dark Knight's cowl work wonders for the secondary effects, and that shattering glass, shuddering building thing? Wouldn't be the first time one started to fall down around his pointy ears. "The only question is how many people-- yours and ours-- get hurt along the way."

The alien is hauled up, pushed into Zatanna's forcefield for the moments it still exists, and jaw set, voice steel, the Bat insists, "Tell me what you've done, before it's too late for everyone on that fleet." Ominous, lofty words-- but too stalwart for any but the world's finest bluff. "... otherwise, I'll leave you all to the Martian Manhunter."

It's a slightly less foreboding fate than Batman makes it sound, all doom and torture-laden gloom-- but they don't have time to play games, and it's likely as not their quarry doesn't know J'onn's actual reputation. They might break them down through interrogation, but trained enemy agents are cagey foes-- it's a legitimate threat couched as an implied death sentence.

The sound waves coming back are thankfully a lot less stronger but it still hurts to be hit by them, the reverb buffeting her for as long as Canary's voice holds. By the time her voice cracks and breaks off she's tottering on her feet, clearly shaken. "Remind me not to do that again," the heroine croaks out before sinking to her knees, Dinah not quite losing consciousness but she's close to i.

Superman reaches up to brace Dinah as she looks to be ready to topple over. He does not appear to be outwardly affected by Canary's scream. Perhaps he was able to keep the sound out, perhaps he wasn't affected as much by it. In any event, he's looking around to assess the situation, and pays special attention to the conversation between Batman and the Alien.

"Bloody hell," Taz barks out, his ears ringing even after he's covered them. "Remind me not to make you mad," he comments to Dinah before moving over to check on Zatanna. The others look like they're handling interrogation better.

As the rest of the aliens are dealt with, Zatanna slowly tries to get up. In fact, as she stands, she even offers Taz an almost sheepish smile. The rest of her friends and team mates are then offered a glance, if only to make sure everyone is all right.

And while Dinah does get a worried look from her, before she can say or do anything, she notices Batman. Which prompts her to instead start over towards him and 'his' alien.

"I'd tell him what he wants to know if I were you." is said in a matter of fact manner. "He means it. And the longer you wait, the more likely he is to end up in a bad mood. And you do /NOT/ want to see what he's like when he's in a bad mood."

Yes, she tries to 'help' Batman. Why? As was said, she knows him. And how he works.

Martian Manhunter just folds his arms and looks intimidating, which might be rather funny to those who knows he is, at heart, a cookie-loving pussycat who seldom lives up to his name. Except when he has to play bad cop. Which he's quite capable of doing. now Dinah's not up to her tricks again, he opens his ears. Let's not forget that.

"You will get nothing from me, Earthling," spits the alien towards Batman but he cannot help but look towards the Martian Manhunter as Batman brings him up. He struggles in the grip but is just pressed harder into the forcefield before it pops and then he is hard against the floor with a cry of pain. "When our fleet gets here, they will find allies among you already. Ready to rise up and fight as the armada takes this planet. You know not what to do with it besides destroy it. We will take that choice out of your hands." His voice has a strange accent to it, but it clear and understandable.

Smack, smack, smack. Courtney's banging on the side of her head like she's trying to get water out of her ear, staff slung over her shoulder as she moves off to the side in several slow steps with the group of people NOT trying to intimidate the aliens into talking. Maybe if she were six feet of hulking hunky muscle she'd try that game, but five feet of blonde teenager doesn't really scare anyone into, well, anything.

Sure, she can't hear everything that's being said because it's got to go through that awful ringing sound first, but she gets the gist of it. "Bet if we dangled one of these guys from a few hundred yards up, they'd spill the beans on where their friends are." She THINKS she's whispering, but really she's just talking normally now.

Batman releases the alien harshly to the floor, "GCPD SWAT can handle containment until we figure out who's jurisdiction this even /is/." The Dark Knight has a couple ideas where to look for that answer, but it's a question for later. "Manhunter, can you find out what that substance is?" An armored gauntlet indicates the sometimes-glowing bricks of unknown origin. "And what they've been doing with it?"

Crisp, efficient, like he was military trained from age six, the Caped Crusader then turns to the Man of Steel. "Superman. I'll need a sample, then get the rest to quarantine. Somewhere they'll never look." Leaving that to Kal-El's judgement? A deceptively meaningful sign of trust.

"Spaceborne sensors will confirm if we have an armada on our hands. I'll get channels in place to contact them. We need a strikeforce assembled." And answers to the questions posed to J'onn, in the Bat's unnerved opinion.

Black Canary allows herself to be steadied, grateful to Kal for his help. "Thanks," she hoarsely whispers, her smile tired in nature. It really took a lot out of her even though she didn't go all out and her legs are jello. "Is everyone alright," she asks him then while she turns, trying to do so slowly so not to expend what little energy she has left. She listens like the others, what she hears causing her to frown.

Superman nods to Canary and makes sure she's alright before he continues on. He nods to Batman and leaves one of the bricks inside the bag behind before grabbing the rest and departing just as quickly with a large WHOOOOOOOOOOSH!

Shrinking back down to his normal size, Tasmanian Devil offers a hand to help Zatanna up. He follows her over to 'help' Batman, just standing there and trying to look intimidating to the alien in case he's needed to be scary. When the alien gets dropped, Taz looks at the others. "I'm fine," he replies. "Sounds like we'll need a space ship and a strikeforce."

That hand is accepted, before Zatanna winces slightly at what the alien says.

"Probably more than one space ship. I hate saying this... But this may be a bit bigger than just a 'League' problem if it's as big as it could be..."

Of course she also lets her gaze drift from Batman to Superman as she says that.

"Ideally, we'll find a diplomatic solution...unfortunately, they don't seem inclined to talk." J'onn frowns. "Telepathy does work on them, but they can also resist it using, it seems, magic." Magic and starships. Dangerous people...and yes, it might be... "Somebody call SHIELD," he says, finally. They have ships.

Batman's talking about interstellar strikeforces, Superman's disappearing in the blink of an eye, and Stargirl's just trying to wonder how anything they could throw into space could even take down an entire alien invasion fleet! Everyone was so focused on those ships, but what about what was apparently already HERE and ready to strike?

"H-Hey, hold on guys!" There's a slight stumble in her speech. It's not every day that a braces-wearing teenager with a special rod and belt girded herself to interrupt the Goshdarned Bat. "What about the ones already here on the ground? That one," She points at the alien spokesperson. "Said they have troops here ready to 'rise up', right? So doesn't that have to factor into their plan?"

She taps a finger into her palm, the cosmic staff nestled in the crook of her elbow. "If we take out their groundside forces before they take OUR groundside defenses out, then maybe that'll give their fleet enough pause that they'll take us seriously when we warn them off, right? ...Right?" She looks from one person to the next.

"Zatanna?" Batman inquires, momentarily eyeing the magician in the periphery of his vision. That armored glove indicates the prisoners. Then the Martian. "Anything you can do?" The Dark Knight cracks his neck, and flexes one hand into the other. "Or do we do this the old fashioned way, and start hanging them upside down from a building one by one, dropping them until they talk." He's technically not even lying, or exaggerating. Someone can always catch them-- the ones in queue won't know that.

"SHIELD, Reed Richards, and Tony Stark." The Dark Knight appends a few points of his own. He's done his homework. Stargirl's concern draws Batman's attention a moment after she begins, turning an ear to her before pacing a short distance away from the aliens, his voice lowered; perhaps mildly, subtly agitated.

"It's my suspicion they're using this energy in tandem with some compound to infect the populace, use the citizens against themselves." Beat. "If that is not the case... we'll know soon what they've done." First rule of interrogation: play one's hand close to one's chest. "We'll lock down the location and go from there."

The Batman fires a grapnel into the rafters, and swings to the rooftops, then out the window. He has calls to make, and fast.