Ma'alefa'ak's March Madness 2013: The Elite Eight

When J’onn J’onzz was first stranded on Earth, he chose to make his home in quaint, quirky Middletown U.S.A. Joining the local police department, “John Jones” served as a detective for many years alongside the proud patrols of the fair city. Today, the burg hosts a law enforcement convention that has attracted luminaries from across the nation… to their grisly demise...

It was surely career suicide, but Patrolwoman Diane Meade drew her service revolver and ordered Captain Harding to the ground. Looking past her superior officer, Meade saw Karen Smith and Patty Marie turn from an adversarial stance to lock their cold, dead eyes on her. Meade shuddered as they slowly approached her, and beyond the pair, spied another figure from the past thought long dead...

An apartment in Middletown was no place to keep a super-powered otherdimensional pet, so the Martian Manhunter moved with Zook to a secret mountain headquarters accessible only through a passage the size of a mail slot. That was no problem for the elastic form of Zook, but it was an issue for the host of unwanted visitors clambering about the area...

Zook tracked Scorch and attempted to encase her in a block of ice with his cold generation power. The other-dimensional pet underestimated the heat Scorch was putting out though, and was entirely too close when his ice turned to suffocating steam, causing the imp to pass out. Aubrey Sparks cooled down, and set Zook's tiny form in a safe patch of ground as she continued her search...

Ben Stoves faired no better than Zook, practically drowning in his own sweat while trapped in his Human Squirrel suit. Between Jupiter's snapping and the hazards of a blazing forest, Erdel was able to almost absentmindedly put the ex-convict down with some gadget or another. The inventor was preoccupied with a handheld device that allowed him to take remote control of the robot brain housed within the secret mountain lair and teleport himself inside. Once there, Erdel browsed the curiosities and trophies collected by the Manhunter from Mars, seeking out a specific item...

"For some time, J'onn J'onzz was active in the Mediterranean under the orders of a special secret department to demolish the world-wide criminal organization VULTURE and unmask its faceless leader, Mister V. J'onzz assumed the identity of international playboy Marco Xavier, taking up residence in the posh villa of the assumed dead accomplice to VULTURE..."

Perkins Preston cried, "You look like an angel, but you're the devil in disguise!" Gypsy added, "...and I'm playing for keeps" before laying the poor boy out with a roundhouse kick. She grabbed the Prince's little green rock, wondering if she was in danger of kryptonite poisoning or something. Whatever it was, J'Onn wanted her to keep it out of the hands of evil suits from government and industry, which was explanation enough for now...

Despite looking much more young and fit than Mister Steele, King Faraday had sixteen years and massively more field experience than the agent. King didn't need lead to dent Steele when his fist would do, and then Carré's device was his. It was a deceptively simple premise to create a tool not unlike a metal detector to uncover magical artifacts, but it took an unholy mingling of science and sorcery to accomplish the feat. Erdel certainly did think outside the box...

After Mars was rendered uninhabitable, J’onn J’onzz returned to his people to help lead the survivors on an inhospitable, barren new world dubbed Mars II. Hardly a Garden of Bhok to begin with, things could only get worse with the arrival of the serpent Ma’alefa’ak…

Miss Martian telekinetically ripped the "Anti-Martian Multi-Weapon" out of Roh Kar's hands and blasted him with it. Comically, the charge shorted out the navigation controls in his jet pack, causing him to circle around and around, Roh Kar's body dragged flaccidly along. Though an embarrassing scene, Roh Kar was lucky in that Futureman's weapon was non-lethal...

Through T'omm J'onzz, Ma'alefa'ak talked up the benefits of an unconscionable alliance while groping at the supple flesh of Bel Juz. Though undoubtedly perverse, the intent was not truly to molest, but simply to unnerve with his awkward fumbling. Bel Juz was no blushing virgin, and was not amused. In fact, the gesture left her uninhibited about throttling the adolescent marionette with all the strength Mars II allowed her, more than enough to put him off permanently. Bloodied but unbowed, Bel Juz glanced up at Roh Kar's sad orbit. The corrupted M'gann M'orzz would perhaps be her greatest challenge of the day, and certainly an unavoidable obstacle in escaping from Ma'alefa'ak's disturbing play. Bel flew up at Miss Martian, concealing a pistol that was most certainly lethal to her fellow survivors of the Red Planet...