At a truck stop in Sydney, Australia, the Atom spied a calender that informed him he had returned to Earth just four short years after his original departure. Although he had now lost both the key and the warp-box, the Atom was relieved to find himself near enough to his own proper place and time to effect some kind of change. Speaking of change, with little coin to spare, Ray took to a payphone to call his lab back in Ivy Town.
Disconnected?
Next, his home phone. No answer.
An Ivy University extension would have to do. From there, a short trek to his old lab. It was now an abandoned room, empty of anything save dust and cobwebs.
Hitching a ride on a little bird, the Mighty Mite made his way home. His keys no longer worked, but a keyhole would serve. Inside, Jean had obviously done some redecorating, but the telephone was about where he'd left it.
A call to the J.L.A. satellite again yielded a disconnect notice. The Midway City Museum reported that Carter and Shiera Hall were on a leave of absence. One after another, Atom felt almost as isolated from his friends as he had over the past few weeks, unable to reach almost anyone. Almost...
"Hal Jordan... are you drunk?"
"No, of course not! I don't get drunk! I can hold my liquor!"
"Hal, maybe now isn't the best time, but could you ring on over here and give me a lift to the J.L.A. satellite? Neither my signal nor the old teleport tube seems to work."
"Can't. I gave up my ring for Carol Ferris, and now she's left me with nothing!"
"Good lord, Hal. You've got the worst luck with women. How could you do that to yourself?"
"You're one to talk!"
"What are you talking about?"
"That witch Jean, screwing around on you."
"What?!?!"
"When did you get back from the jungle, anyway?"
"No, wait, go back. What about Jean?"
"I heard you caught her steaming up the car windows with that lawyer friend of hers. That's why you divorced her."
"What? No! ...Ah, no. I was wondering what all these pictures of Paul Hoben were doing up on our walls. I guess I don't live here anymore."
"You're at your old house? S'creepy, Ray."
"Enough about that. If you can't help me, I'll need to reach someone who can. Do you know how to contact Green Arrow?"
"I dunno. Think he'sn Seattle somewhere with Dinah."
"How about the Hawks?"
"They went nuts. Attacked a buncha people. Real re-reculses now."
"Flash?"
"Dunno. He disappeared after the murder trial."
"What?!? Good lord! What about Elongated Man?"
"He'sn Detroit with Sue n' J'Onn ana bunch of ethnic kids pretendin' to be the Jaylay. I coulda flown you there, but I don' know a number."
"Manhunter?!? No thanks anyway. Aquaman?"
"He's lost underwater. Mystical stuff down there."
"Of course Superman is available?"
"Nah, he's been real gone since Supergirl died."
"That's terrible. Zatanna? Wonder Woman?"
"Hot!"
"But where are they?"
"Missin'."
"Red Tornado?"
"Blew up with the satellite. The whole world's gone t'hell. Red skies. Shadow demons. World's livin' and dyin'. S'amess."
Ray realized that the loss of the warp-box was surely the cause of this horrible state of affairs, and was more determined than ever to retrieve it. As delicately as possible, Ray dismissed the sorry shell of a man that was once a Green Lantern corpsman, and vowed to find some vestige of the super-hero community he once knew.
So, who is still active in 1986?
The Anti-DiDio League
The Continuity Blog
The Aquaman Shrine
The Atom: Tiny Titan
Being Carter Hall
Comics Make Me Happy
Crimson Lightning
Dispatches from the Arrow Cave
El Jacone's Comic Book Bunker
Firestorm Fan
Girls Gone Geek
I Am The Phantom Stranger
The Idol-Head of Diabolu
Justice League Detroit
...nurgh...
Once Upon a Geek
Pretty, Fizzy Paradise
random picture day
Reilly2040's Blog
Supergirl Comic Box Commentary
Toyriffic
when is evil cool?
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