Vandar Adg knew there was work to be done.
He would help rebuild and repopulate the village of Atlantis.
All the while contemplating
what use he might make of the Witch Boy Klarion,
now that Vandar's eyes had been opened
to the Lords of Chaos and Order,
elemental forces of the cosmos.
A century passed.
A century of reconstruction, fortification and growth.
Thus, after witnessing the birth
of his latest grandson,
Vandar again began his travels.
Some 200 years later,
Vandar, now going by the name Varl'jat,
returned to an Atlantis
that had grown into a prosperous,
if not miraculous, city-state,
one that controlled nearly all surrounding territories.
Leading that city was Varl's own grandson,
still alive 200 years later,
an immortal, like his grandfather.
The first immortal Varl's line had spawned...
Arion, Lord of Atlantis.
Sync & corrections by emeline-whovian www.addic7ed.com
_
Khalid!
- You got her? - Yeah.
- Khalid! - Is he okay?
Hsalps sih ecaf htiw retaw.
Uh, what happened?
Klarion happened.
He had us on the ropes, then he just took off.
Tried to strangle us all, didn't he?
I think I can help with that.
Shee-fah-a!
Better?
- Much. - Very crash.
Yes, thank you.
So, why didn't Klarion finish us off?
I'm not sure.
I thought I heard something,
but was too busy being strangled to focus.
What you heard was a summons.
A summons of pure chaos.
_
I know why you're here, and it's so not necessary.
I'm here because you have made my presence necessary.
Please.
You think the opposition's new arrangement's
gonna shift the balance of power down here.
But we go through these ups and downs all the time.
I don't need backup.
I don't need you or Sparkly over there.
You're confused.
I'm not here to help you.
- I'm here to replace you. - What?
- Right after I decorporealize you. - What?
Ending your existence on the mortal plane forever.
What?
It's not just this latest thing, of course.
That's simply the last straw.
It's the way you've spent the past dozen millennia or so,
acting as lapdog to the Savage.
I'm not anyone's lapdog.
We're partners.
Are you though?
Are you really?
It seems to us you do his bidding,
despite the fact that his clearly stated long-term goal
is to bring the entire galaxy under his sole rule.
He's all but a Lord of Order himself.
But look at what we've done together.
I made a whole world without grown-ups.
I made a Project Rutabaga flesh monster
that was pretty gross.
Oh! And then there was that whole Earth-17 fiasco.
Success, success!
She knew I meant success.
No, I think "fiasco" is the appropriate term.
In fact, your entire tenure on Earth
has been quite the fiasco.
That ends now.
_
Are we there yet?
No, Em'ree.
We have approximately one more week of travel...
I was kidding.
It's something Earth children say on long voyages.
Right, M'gann?
Uncle J'onn, would you help me prepare dinner.
M'gann? M'gann?
You don't mind if we leave you up here alone for a bit?
Hmm?
No. Uh, I'll be fine.
I need not be telepathic
to know you wish to speak to me without M'gann present.
I'm worried about her.
It's been three weeks aboard ship.
Almost two months since Conner died.
She has completely closed her mind to us!
It's not natural. It's not healthy.
She needs her family.
What are we?
She needs the family she created for herself on Earth.
Garfield and Artemis, Richard, Kaldur'ahm, Zatanna and Raquel.
I honestly don't think she can wait until we get to Earth.
What would they say?
How would they help her?
The crown Arion wore
was a gift from the Lords of Order themselves,
who'd come to see the potential
for chaos in Earth's predominant lifeform.
So, as a precaution,
they made Arion their agent of Order on Earth.
Their Crown's potent magic soon infused his very being...
...creating a new bloodline
of magical meta-children, the Homo Magi,
who lived in Atlantis in harmony
with Varl's Homo Meta and with common Homo sapiens.
Arion also became quite proficient with the Crown's magic,
using it to advance Atlantis' techno-sorcery.
Soon, Vandar Adg's simple village
had grown into a gleaming city.
And with Varl'jat's martial help,
that city expanded to become capital of a kingdom
spanning the entire Atlantean Continent.
It was the mightiest civilization known to mankind,
either before or since.
Arion looked upon it with satisfaction.
But for Varl'jat,
it only made him hunger for something more.
Is he for real? Who is this guy?
No one.
A stranger.
You seriously want us to save the Witch Boy?
Klarion nearly killed all four of us.
And, frankly, the idea of two Chaos Lords destroying each other
sounds mighty appealing right now.
Hmm. Your viewpoint is short-sighted.
You require perspective.
Stranger! Dammit, where'd you send me?
Die, you pathetic knockoff!
* I am rubber and you're glue *
Oh, great. A front row seat.
What did you do to her?
I sent her to where your teacher might learn.
I assume you might want to help her?
- Of course we would. - Hello, Megan!
Then let us find someone to suit that purpose.
How are you this powerful?
Brother, isn't it obvious?
I'm powerful because
I'm not fighting with my power alone.
You're not facing one Chaos Lord,
I have all the Chaos Lords in my corner.
And together, we'll banish you
to usher in a new age of chaos in this world!
Holy carp!
Dleihs!
Ha-ha! Gotcha!
Was my scream convincing?
I tried to put a little
of what the humans call "Oomph" into it.
No, I wasn't fooled for a second.
Was I, Teekl?
Who asked you?
Not fair.
Varl'jat's plan was simple perfection.
Use the power of the Crown to sink the Atlantean capital.
Unfortunately, Arion did not agree.
Thousands upon thousands would die!
That was true, Varl countered, but...
Hundreds of your Homo Magi would survive.
The Crisis will activate their potential!
Varl'jat had traveled
the length and breadth of his world
and knew he could not claim supremacy over the Earth,
when three-fourths of its surface was covered in ocean,
beyond his reach, beyond his rule.
But Arion's descendants, those that survived,
would surely conquer the vasty deep.
This chaos would bring order to it all.
The Atlanteans simply required the proper incentive.
Unfortunately, Arion categorically refused
to help his grandfather sink any of Atlantis.
Varl was disappointed in his grandson's shortsightedness.
But the immortal didn't require
Arion's permission or even his help.
Only his bloodline.
And so Varl'jat waited
until on the thousandth anniversary
of Vandar Adg's pact with the Witch Boy...
the Chaos Lord, Klarion, returned.
I thought you were taking us to Zatanna.
Where are we?
London, England.
- More importantly, - _
- _ - we are in the Sanctum Sanctorum of one Jason Blood.
Indeed, you are, stranger.
Might "one Jason Blood" ask why,
and hope for a minimally enigmatic answer?
Yeah, good luck with that.
I hold few answers. Only questions.
Told ya.
What do you know, Blood? What have you sensed?
The coming of Chaos. A stirring of the Demon.
This one isn't much better.
Uh, please do not touch that. It's very powerful.
Would you not agree that the balance must be maintained?
Such, to my eternal displeasure, is my lot...
and my curse.
Don't touch that either.
It's different, but also very powerful.
Then can you not see
that the Witch Boy requires your... friend?
You speak as if my "friend" is an instrument of precision.
But at best, he is a cannon I may attempt to aim.
There's a reason I haven't set him free in years.
Basically, don't touch anything, girl!
Sorry, sorry.
Look, Zatanna's still out there.
So if you have a cannon, aim it already.
If it must be done.
Change, change O' form of man.
Release the might from fleshy mire!
Boil the blood in heart of fire!
Gone, gone, the form of man!
Rise the Demon, Etrigan!
O.M.C.!
This ma'al trip is ma'al endless!
At the moment, I can't remember why I ever wanted to go
to that boring, banal third rock from the sun.
No one forced you to come.
I came because you needed me.
I never asked you for that.
You didn't have to ask!
I wanted to be here for you!
Of course! This is all about you...
Only now,
you won't open your mind to me at all!
And what in our history makes you think I would ever...
Because you are
the most unforgiving excuse for a sister...
Wait a minute! Wait a minute!
Nothing I do will ever be enough, will it?
Em'ree, I'm a professional guidance counselor!
I know you're trying to generate a catharsis for me!
- Is it working? - A little bit!
Oh, I haven't seen you laugh since...
Since he was taken from me.
Oh, M'gann...
He's gone.
I... I don't know what I'm gonna do without him.
You don't have to know. Not yet.
You need time.
Thank you.
You're a terrible counselor,
but you're kind of a great sister.
Who knew?
What was that?
Uh, a false alarm, I guess?
Like
Jason Blood,
this child doth hide an 'other
of her own inside.
What? I'm nothing like you and Blood.
Time to go, Etrigan.
Etrigan cares little
for your commands or Blood's desires.
Had my half-brother, Merlin,
not cursed me into servitude, I'd let you all burn.
If it were up to this demon, I'd burn you myself.
Then it is fortunate the choice is out of your claws.
Flaming serpents? Really?
I stopped doing that old schtick years ago!
Etrigan? What are you...
Hello, maggot!
That's the ticket!
Attack the Witch Girl's anchor!
My blasts are supposed to destroy you,
you stupid zirconia!
Huh?
"Rock Tsunami?" That doesn't even make...
Oh, carp.
Exactly one millennia after their initial bargain,
Varl'jat and Klarion made a new accord.
Finding common ground... in a common cause.
The sinking of the city of Atlantis.
No matter the opposition,
no matter the cost.
Nor did it end there.
The Chaos Lords enjoyed the show...
but called for an encore.
Klarion could not be sated by one Atlantean city.
His appetite grew and grew,
until the entire continent and all its treasures
sank beneath the waves.
Varl's heart was heavy.
He regretted the passing of his grandson.
And he never intended for all of Atlantis to fall,
nor for so many Atlanteans to die.
Though nearly all of them did.
Still, as Varl had predicted,
the meta-genes of a few Homo Magi were indeed activated.
and the Water-Breathers of Atlantis were born.
Eventually, Homo Mermanus would scatter across the seven seas,
until the new Kingdom of Atlantis
controlled three-fourths of the globe.
So, ultimately, Varl'jat was satisfied.
As was Klarion.
- What a grand old time! - "What a grand old time."
He insisted on continuing their alliance...
whether Varl liked it or not.
Yikes!
Fire always does the trick, melts them down to candle wick.
Huh?
Uh, that can't be good.
Carp, carp, carp, carp, carp, carp, carp!
Etativel!
No fair! No fair! No fair!
I could kick your butt, too, if the Chaos Lords backed me!
Ah, fine.
We shall both limit ourselves to our own power.
Liar, liar, pants for hire!
No, no, no, no!
Oh, that is very disappointing.
Come, Flaw.
Shee-fah-a!
How do you feel?
Like Nightwing's workout bag.
And have you acquired perspective?
Enough to know we need more help.
Thus order can serve chaos...
and chaos can serve order.
As long as the balance is maintained.
Father.
Why do you tell us what we already know?
To remind you, my son, of what you must not forget.
- _ - The sinking of Atlantis
demonstrates the need for chaos.
Without it, the undersea kingdoms you now help defend
would never have existed.
Nor would they exist if Arion's bloodline,
the Homo Magi of Atlantis,
had not restored order below the waves.
Agreed.
But who will restore order
in the wake of the greater chaos
that the Child brings?
You? With your aging host body?
Nabu, you may not like Klarion, or me.
but the Witch Boy is a weapon
I have learned to aim, to control.
And, at the very least,
you know I seek the advancement of the Earth.
But this new Child is beyond my control
or your ability to counter.
Think on that.
Commence Project Lifeboat.
Send boom tubes to every member of the Light
and anyone they designate.
Offer the same courtesy to Ra's and his family.
I doubt he'll accept, but make the offer.
Secure our operations in Markovia and United Rhelasia.
Transport the entire contents of my History Cave
from beneath Khuiten Peak.
And bring all Psy-Backs aboard.
Anything and everything of value
must be transferred off Earth to the Warworld,
until we see how this chaotic little drama ends.
Sync & corrections by emeline-whovian www.addic7ed.com