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Disclaimer: Batman created by Bob Kane, Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Wonder Woman created by William Moulton Marston. All three are owned by DC Comics. Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water created by Hayo Miyazaki, based upon characters created by Jules Verne, and owned by Gainax. I own the story and any original characters/species. No copyright infringement is intended.
Justice League/ Nadia - The Secret of Blue Water: Yesterdays and Tomorrows
Synopsis: A Justice League/Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water crossover; During a battle with Morgaine Le Fay, Batman and Wonder Woman are, through the witch's magic, thrown back through time and space to an alternate 1889, just as Jean and Nadia's adventures are beginning. What effect will the two Leaguers have in the fight against Gargoyle and the Neo-Atlantean movement?
Enjoy!
***
Chapter IV -- The Great Atlantean Caper, Part 2
***
Built utilizing the remnants of the Grandis family fortune and the designs of mechanic Sanson, the Grandis Tank or Gratan -- or even Catherine as Grandis affectionately called it -- had been the vehicle of choice for the Granva Gang for the better part of the 1880’s. With medium armor plating and the ability to travel on land, in water, and through air, it was truly a state-of-art automaton for late nineteenth century technology.
It also happened to be in the number one slot of things that the Neo-Atlantean armed forces and their robotic sentries wanted to, like the recently-retired Shayera Hol AKA Hawkgirl, smash until it was destroyed. Or so the Batman noted as the Gratan sped down the platform leading from the castle to the island’s center and the Tower of Babel.
While Sanson’s driving was erratic and frankly dangerous, Batman knew that the man was doing the best he could given the circumstances. In addition, the cross that held Jean’s friend, Nadia, was providing extra weight that was slowing them down. He was therefore on top of the Gratan trying to cut Nadia loose from the cross and then dump it off the ramp so that they could increase their rate of acceleration.
The plan had called for the Gratan to switch to nautical mode once they reached the lake and then run -- or in this case paddle -- like hell to the drainage ducts that connected the island’s interior to the ocean. Normally, that would not have been an option, but thanks to Hanson‘s sabotage were now clear. Out there, they would have to hope they could outrun the Garfish and make for the mainland.
The drainage pipes have proven to be a necessary avenue due to his discovery while scouting the island. Curious to test his own theories about the extent of the Neo-Atlantean technology, he had taken a Batarang -- unique in that this variant was one of the first of the next generation of his arsenal, a type sharpened by laser on the microscopic level to allow virtual ease in cutting. In theory, it should have cut through any known alloys like a hot knife through butter
In practice, it had barely been able to lodge itself into the piece of discarded armor plating that he had tested it on. In short, this level of molecular density manipulation should not have been possible at this point in time. Curiouser and curiouser, as the Mad Hatter -- both Lewis Caroll’s creation and the Gotham criminal Jervis Tetch -- would say. This was just another oddity of this time-period and something that, as a detective, he wanted very much to investigate further.
But that would only happen if they actually made it to the lake before being intercepted, something that was not possible with the cross currently slowing them down .
With his portable laser-cutter -- borrowed from Wayne Tech, as was the case with so many of his technological tools -- Batman began slicing through Nadia’s bonds. Getting the bonds off of the little girl and the lion cub had been easier; Nadia’s was far more complicated -- at least to a layman, something the Dark Knight certainly was not. The difficulty lay both in Sanson’s driving and the alloy used in these bonds. It appeared to be steel, but once again, more reinforced than should have been possible in the nineteenth century.
Nadia was, contrary to what he would have thought, was not screaming but silent and amazed as the Batman went to work.
“Who are you?”
He didn’t bother to look up as he manipulated the cutting tool.
“A friend. Hold still.”
With a grunt, he tore the remaining bond from the cross and threw them off to the side of the ramp.
“I’ve got you.”
Despite the fact that she had barely cast her eyes upon Gotham’s Dark Knight for no more that a handful of minutes, Nadia allowed herself to be lowered into his spiked gauntlets --
-- and they were nearly thrown off as the Gratan’s launched itself off of the ramp and over the expanse of the lake, the cross flying off into the distance as Hanson released the Gratan‘s grappling arms. Under normal circumstances, his instincts would had directed the launching of his own grappling line towards the closest building or tower.
However, he had to resist that impulse since of course the object that adhered to Newton’s principles of gravity was their, as the street phrase went, their ticket off the island. So, his left hand wrapped around Nadia’s waist, he threw himself and the child down onto the Gratan’s hull. Nadia’s eyes widened in amazement as his right hand went rigid, the fingers on the glove extending and becoming claw-like, digging into the hull.
This particular item of technology he had first tested five years previously when the Joker had commandeered Lex Luthor’s Lex-Wing and had, alongside laying waste to half of Metropolis, shot down the Bat-Wing. He had been forced to ditch the aircraft and use these claws to latch onto the Lex-Wing
“Switching to nautical mode!”
Now that he knew that Sanson could hear him through the hatch, Batman chose to respond to the rather wild ride.
“Warn me if you‘re going to do that! Keep it steady”
“You keep steady! I’m driving here!”
If he hadn’t been in danger of falling off and if Sanson could have seen him, then he would have gotten a full blast of the glare that Batman had given the Flash after his twiddling with a Thanagarian interceptor had not only caused further damage to Wayne Manor, but had almost killed his loyal and trusted manservant, Alfred Pennyworth.
“Forget it! We’ll make our getaway through the intake pipe, ” Grandis yelled as the Gratan‘s propellers came online, thrusting the craft towards their exit --.
-- and they came to a stop at the sight that awaited them, the Neo-Atlantean submarine of the Garfish-class. Now it was Sanson’s turn to act upon impulse. The Gratan’s own cannon thundered in front of them as one of Hanson’s custom Techno-bombs was launched at the Garfish-class submarine --
-- and it simply bounced off of the enemy hull.
As the explosive splashed into the water, an exploding Batarang sailed from Batman’s hand and through the air towards its intended target. No that actually thought it would help, but the scientific portion of his brain he wanted to further test his thoughts on whether or not this Neo-Atlantean technology could stand up to good old twenty-first century explosives.
And, just like the molecularly-sharpened Batarang earlier, little effect, though there was some slight scratches and denting..
Les than two standard seconds later, the submarine’s own arsenal fired off a persuasive rebuttal at the Gratan, causing the waters around the custom-built all-purpose vehicle to rock back and forth through the waves and the Dark Knight to tighten his grip on Nadia and the hull.
“You have one minute to stand down and surrender,” an amplified voice boomed from the submarine, though it was not Gargoyle’s.
Batman grimaced, wishing now that he had the Batboat or that le Fay had not shot down the Batwing over Stonehenge; its missiles would probably have been able to pierce that submarine’s hull. But given the results of his Batarang test, even he was reluctant to put much faith in the Batwing’s own arsenal, even with its own payload.
As with so many aspects of his life, things did not turn out exactly as plan. That annoyed him more than anything else. He prided himself on being a master strategist, on having backup plans for backup plans. When on that rare occasion it didn’t work, such as AMAZO’s unexpected adaptation to his Kryptonite a year earlier, he got, as the punks on Gotham’s streets would say, very pissed off.
***
From his chair of command, Captain Nemo was a nexus of concentration and battle prowess, his eyes fixated on his senior staff and the bridge’s monitors.
“Time to surfacing?”
“Our ballast tanks will be completely emptied in five, four, three, two… we have surfaced, sir.”
The bridge’s monitors recorded their transition from the waves towards the surface, the Garfish and half a kilometer distant, a strange, red-shaped water craft. But he paid the latter no attention.
“They’re firing on us, Captain!”
The Garfish had indeed opened fire. But what occurred was an exact opposite of the Gratan’s volley minutes earlier. The shots from the Garfish’s turrets simply bounced off the Nautilius’ hull. He couldn’t help but smile as he pictured the reaction of the submarine‘s commander and of Gargoyle. The Neo Atlantean had likely not been aware of the extent of the Nautilius’ hull plating.
Now it was time for his second surprise of the day.
“Ramming speed!”
***
“The Nautilius!”
As the cry came from both Jean and Nadia, a small, but not entirely insignificant piece of the puzzle clicked into place for Gotham City’s champion.
When he had first spoken with Jean earlier that day, he had been under the impression that the young French boy had left out a key part in his narrative of what had occurred to him since he had encountered Nadia and the Granva Gang in Paris, specifically in relation to the attack on the American warship and their arrival on this island.
Now, he was -- with reasonable confidence -- certain that the second submarine, this Nautilus, which had sliced through the Garfish as easily as his modified Batarang should have sliced through Neo-Atlantean armor, sending the enemy craft to the bottom of the lake. As fascinating as this, he knew that they were out his league.
“Head for the intake pipe,” he yelled, his order obeyed as the Gratan accelerated forward towards their original exit point, his last sight of battle being the Nautilus’ launching of what appeared to be missiles at the Tower.
***
Now it was Nemo’s turn to be shocked as the Nautilius’ aerial depth charges were deflected from the key firing aperture of the Tower, the unmistakable glint of a textite barrier revealing itself in the explosive light.
He cursed at his inability to see that even with the island’s obscure location, with the security systems that had been put into place, that Gargoyle would --
“Captain, we’re reading a massive energy build-up coming from the tower!”
If there had been any doubt that Gargoyle was insane, there wasn’t any now.
He was going to fire the Tower of Babel at point-blank range.
Images of the incineration of Old Tartressos flashed through the Captain’s mind as he shouted out his orders.
“Fill all ballast tanks. Dive, dive!”
But he knew it would not be enough, that there was not enough time as he watched as the energy circuits become energized, the weapon of mass destruction power up, as the the Tower of Babel fired --
***
The energy output of Tower of Babel required a specialized brand of crystal that had been lost when Old Tartessos had been destroyed thirteen years prior, forcing the Neo-Atlantean scientists under Gargoyle’s command to take what they could and mix and match to produce an artificial crystal for the project.
But of course, there were differences between the level of energy that natural crystals and artificial crystals were capable of focusing and how long it could be repeated without the molecular density breaking down.
In short, the resulting explosion of the tower and the conflagration that swept across the Neo-Atlantean fortress could, like the destruction of the neighboring island earlier, probably have been seen from orbit, one that rivaled the kamikaze run of the Watchtower towards the Thanagarian hyperspace bypass generator.
***
Lord Gargoyle watched with an almost detached interest as his Commander plummeted from the airship Calcharodon, shrieking for forgiveness. His failure to capture a handful of children, criminals, and a man playing costumed hero had led to the destruction of the Garfish prototype and the island fortress, a fortress through which a good percentage of the movement’s funds had gone into. And of course, Nemo was, as he had done for so long, continue to harass their movement.
For now, at least, their attempts at constructing an artificial Tower of Babel had proven successful, though costly. He would step up efforts to locate Red Noah and with it, the last remaining Tower. And the Garfish’s design have proven successful enough that their secret shipyards had been in production for some time. Best now to concentrate on the prototype aerial warship, the Kuuchuu Senkan.
He gave the burning inferno of the island once last look as he reached into his coat pocket and withdrew the item thrown by the costumed individual, the bat-shaped Shuriken. Fingering it, he wondered if its’ owner had survived the destruction of the island.
Possibly. Likely too, if the audacity he had shown in his attack on the castle was any indication. But not matter. He, like all other forms of resistance, would fall before the might of Neo-Atlantis.
***
Mere moments after he had returned her sole possession, the Blue Water, Nadia hugged Jean, startling the young boy.
“Thank you Jean, for coming back and saving us.”
He just grinned and laughed.
“Don’t thank me. Without Batman, we would never have gotten to you.”
She let go of him and turned to face Gotham’s knight. He was standing near the hatch, cloaked in his cape and in what limited shadows the light from the explosion afforded him. King and Marie also glanced at him, fascination by this individual.
“Thank you, Batman.”
The Dark Knight simply nodded and proceeded to turn his attention back towards the burning island. The interior had been destroyed, but the outer settlements and the inhabitants had spared and he could discern them standing upon the beach, mesmerized by the conflagration.
In his line of work, the Dark Knight had obviously seen many explosions, the most recent having been the incident in the Sahara desert. But the use of orbital-based weapons platforms worried him once again. He had, as Bruce Wayne, opposed any such forms of “Star Wars” based defense initiatives like the Hyperion-class satellites currently in development, knowing full well that in the wrong hands…
His thoughts trailed off as he caught Jean and Nadia starring at the vessel that had saved them.
“The Nautilus, Nemo, Gargoyle, and the Neo-Atlanteans…What in the world could they really be?
Batman starred out once more at the island, then the Nautilius, and the departing airship.
With everything that had happened to him in the last day, every impossible aspect of this era, he, in his role as a Detective, intended very much to find out the answers to Jean‘s question, for both of their sakes.
***
To be continued…
***
* Well, at last we’re finally moving out of the Dark Island arc of Nadia and into the Nautilus arc of the series. Things are going to become quite interesting and fun to write in the coming chapters.
* Batman’s new type of Batarang is my own little foreshadowing into the katana utilized by Curae, a member of the League of Assassins from the Batman Beyond era.
* The reference to the Hyperion satellite is another piece of foreshadowing to the reincarnated Joker’s seizure of the technology in the DTV film “Return of the Joker”.
* The incident with the Lex-Wing can be found in the STAS three-parter “World’s Finest”.
* The Thanagarian incident can be found in the Justice League three-parter “Starcrossed”.
 In brightest day, in blackest night, no evil shall escape my sight.
Let those who worship evil's might, beware my power... Green Lantern's light!
Last edited by JME2 on 2005-04-17 03:51am, edited 1 time in total.
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