Peace of the Jedi [Sequel to Sword of the Lanterns]

Chapter Twenty-One- Return of the Jedi

"J-Jaina? Karen? Billy? Zatanna?" M'gann called for them. Jaina found herself unable to reply, or even think of one, no matter how much she wanted to.

"It feels like there are...blindfolds on your brains. You have to help me take them off. Now!"

Jaina gasped as she felt the warm, bacta-like light ripped away like an old bandage. Her head thumped back against the floor as air filled her lungs, staring up at the ceiling of the Hall of Justice's basement.

She jumped to her feet as Karen floated up off M'gann's cupped hands. Through the window into the interrogation room, Jaina saw Desperaux, holding Superboy and what looked like Mal wearing some sort of armor.

"What the kriff just happened?" Jaina asked.

"Mal distracted Desperaux while I figured out a way to wake all of you up, now that you and Zatanna are awake, maybe we can still-"

"Esta iest!" Mal shouted in Zatanna's voice. Just as Desperaux was about to pull the same trick on Mal as he'd pulled four times earlier, he went limp, and dropped him and Connor.

"Guys, I've used M'gann's link to possess Mal and turn the alien's power back on himself. But I don't know how long it'll last." Zatanna explained, speaking from Mal's mouth.

"Long enough!" Connor stood up, punching the alien through the wall with barely enough time for Jaina and the girls to dive out of the way.

Desperaux was down, and stayed down now.

"Cheaters! Sneaks! Frauds!"

Jaina and the others whirled around, now faced with L-Ron, who looked as livid as an expressionless droid could.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about this guy," She growled.

L-Ron's eyes lit up, unfolding an impressive array of alien weaponry aimed right at the four team members.

"You will all suffer for your crimes!" The insufferable robot declared.

Jaina made to shield the others with her ring, but then the fifteen-year-old host of Captain Marvel dropped through the hole in the ceiling.

"Let's try this again; Shazam!" He cried. The lightning struck in a flash of white, and Captain Marvel's impressive form stood over the remains of L-Ron.

"Poor sportism!" L-Ron still insisted. "Poor sportism! Poor sport-" His voice warbled and died down, replaced by a series of rapidly accelerating beeps and lights.

"Uh oh," Marvel winced.

"Cap, get over here!" Jaina yanked the World's Mightest Mortal towards her team, shielding all of them, and herself, from L-Ron's sudden self-destruct defense mechanism.

After the Earth stopped shaking and the Hall stopped crumbling around them, Jaina let down the glowing green shield and Superboy and Captain Marvel began to clear away the rubble surrounding them.

Zatanna appeared in front of them, sighing relief to see that everyone survived the cave-in.

Karen wobbly flew upwards as Zee helped everyone out of the little pit. "I can't believe that guy Medusa'd me!" She landed on Jaina's shoulder, and finally got a good look at Mal.

"Uh, why're you dressed like that?" She asked her boyfriend.

Mal sighed, and Jaina sympathetically patted him on the back.

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"Did you hear that, folks? The Justice League has their own eye in the sky. Spying on the very people they perport to protect!" Godfrey shrieked on his nightly rant hour.