Justice Issue Guide #1

Issue 1:
Brave New World

In an Alphabet City slum, Slits, Pink, and Home had just caved in the head of Eudora Simpson after she cashed her Social Security check, and were planning what to do with the ill-gotten gains in their abandoned flophouse. They never got that far, though, for they were surprised by a tall stranger with a bone-white mullet, one wearing a heavy leather trench coat despite New York City's particularly brutal July heat.

Menaced by the man's glowing red eyes, Slits perceived that he's been sized up, and pulled a switchblade on the stranger. When Slits asked his name, he simply stated "I am JUSTICE," before raising his hand and using it to annihilate all three of them with a beam of irresistable force! Claiming Slits' visor as his own, he then wandered off into the harsh daylight, his eyes now protected from the brutal sun.

Elsewhere, in Baja California, Daedalus Darquill ranted about someone he thought dead being very much alive. As the apparent mastermind of Justice's plight, he called his ostensible son, Damon Conquest, who convinced Darquill to leave the matter to him. He'd just gotten his own house in order after all, even if it involved mutilating one of his corporate underlings, so he definitely had the time to resolve the issue.

Oblivious to the forces aligning against him, the apparent Justice wandered aimlessly through Tompkins Square Park, blending into the eccentric East Side crowd despite his bizarre attire. After a kerfuffle with a pretzel cart proprietor, Justice bumbled into a drug deal, and his special vision could see that the soul of Snap, the dealer involved here, was black as night. Of course, Snap didn't like how Justice looked at him.

Siccing his bodyguard Regis on the man, Snap freaked when Justice dropped him with martial arts. He then took his ersatz customer hostage, prompting Justice to raise his off hand, projecting shield-like force rectangles from them to protect her. Preparing to vaporize Snap, Justice stopped when the man told him he's just a con man, and that the real action is at someplace called the Factory.

Recalling that Slits mentioned the joint before he was ashed, Justice walked off to find it, only to look back and see Snap collecting the 'fake' drugs he had dropped. Blasting him with his destructive hand as well, Justice was prompted by that pretzel salesman to leave the scene before the cops arrived - and he was so grateful that Snap was gone that he gave the vigilante the pretzel they quibbled over earlier!

That night, on a special mission for the Justice Department, Rebecca Chambers pulled up to the Factory in a limousine. Investigating the drug dealers running the club, she was posing as a high-dollar customer, and stepped right in. Lurking outside, Justice was stunned by what he saw within her with his special vision, and tried to follow. Inexplicably sweet-talking the Dragon Lady bouncer, he actually managed it.

In the Factory's offices, members of the Villalobos Family were arguing with its manager, Marty, about the game he was playing. Making him explain his current plot, Marty revealed that he'd turned the fed working with Rebecca, Jean-Paul, and was setting her up to ruin her investigation. Not liking how complex his game was, Chango Villalobos promised to end Marty's pathetic life if his plot fell apart.

Below the office, while stalking Rebecca on the dance floor, Justice had a flashback to a life he cannot recall before he woke up in a random New York slum. The dancing triggering his memory of doing so with Shandra, the woman he loved, Justice learned his real name was Tensen. As he kissed her, the two were suddenly ambushed by strange assassins, hooded monstrosities with glowing red eyes!

His memories interrupted by the Dragon Lady, Tensen discovered that Rebecca was being led up to the VIP room. Continuing to amuse her with his talk of auras and all that, Tensen convinced her to lead him there as well. Up there, Rebecca was talking to her fellow undercover agent, Jean-Paul, who assured her that they could speak about the case unmonitored. Naturally, he was lying through his teeth.

Not understanding this was part of Marty's plot, Nestor Villalobos burst into the VIP lounge, opening fire on the federal agents. Failing to shield everyone in time, Tensen brutally lashed out with his offensive arm, turning Nestor to ash. When Jean-Paul seized Nestor's firearm, Tensen looked deeply at him with his aura sight, and struck him down as well after seeing his soul was blotted with corruption.

Subsequently scuffling with Chango, an encounter that saw the criminal escaping with his life, Tensen was arrested by Rebecca for murdering a federal agent. Using a distressed Dragon Lady as a distraction, he escaped to follow Chango, only to find that Marty beat him to the man. Seeing how evil he was as well, Tensen interrogated Marty, only to find the next level in the corruption he sought was Damon Conquest.

Having learned all he needed to know, Tensen blasted him as well. Doing so in full view of Rebecca and her driver / backup, Hoyt Pittman, Tensen was arrested again.

Issue 2:
Land of Other Shadows

Languishing in a police lock-up, Tensen relived the only memory he had, that of being ostensibly slain by strange assassins while in the embrace of the woman he loved, only to inexplicably arise here, on earth. While distracted, two thugs in his cell approached him with knives drawn, and Tensen didn't hesitate to slay them both with his offensive sword arm, panicking everyone else locked up with him.

As the guards investigated, Tensen laugheds at the idea that he carries a sword, and stated he'd only talk to Rebecca Chambers. After her bosses roused her from her bath, she arrived at the police station as soon as she could, though she was thoroughly annoyed by the whole affair. Her disposition didnt't improve when Tensen babbled about being an alien warrior for Justice and her strange, golden aura, either.

When he stole a kiss from her, Rebecca pulled her sidearm on Tensen, only for the encounter to be cut short by the sudden appearance of numerous strange, bestial men! Confounded that they lacked auras entirely, just like the similarly monstrous assassins that struck him on his world, Tensen was momentarily frozen. Rebecca wasn't, however, and she dropped several of the beasts attacking them with her weapon.

Though his sword and shield seemed to have no effect on the self-identified Hounds, Tensen brandished his fighting skills against them, which their undisciplined minds could not counter. After they were defeated, Tensen broke the neck of one, and forced a confession about their master from another before killing him in turn. And as it turns out, the Hounds were sent by Marty's superior: Damon Conquest!

Though he knew not who Conquest was, Tensen knew he was Marty's master, and that his evil was apparently mixed with that besieging the home he could barely recall. Escaping jail in the chaos, Tensen learned he could hail a cab after observing another man do so, though the cabbie stated there's no way he'd drive Tensen all the way to Conquest's lair in Los Angeles - at least, not for anything less than ten grand!

Meanwhile, in another world, several Justice Warriors were escorting King Therion and his queen, Endolana, through the Woodland Glade. Endolana noted a sudden chil in the air, and though she was mocked for it by Webstral, the king's vizier, the entourage was suddenly assaulted by Hounds! Immune to the Justice Warriors' powers due to their lack of a soul, the Hounds made quick work of the valiant heroes.

As the royalty escaped, Webstral found it odd that only the queen felt the chill that heralded the arrival of the Hounds. As for Endolana, she recalled that she only felt that once before, as she was attacked alongside Tensen while they embraced. Yes, she was Tensen's lover, posing as Shandra the commoner to hide her illicit affair with the greatest of the Justice Warriors.

Back in New York, Tensen tracked down drug dealers he had learned about while in jail, and asked them for ten grand. A fight inevitably broke out afterwards, leaving all but one of the criminals dead. Getting the money from him, Tensen went to leave, but learned that his 'generous' friend intended to warn Conquest that he was coming. Tensen thus blasted the hapless goon as well, leaving him nothing but ash.

Speaking of Conquest, he was busy tormenting a Hound that fled to survive Tensen's rage in the police station. Exposing him to his corruption, Damon overwhelmed the soul-drinking powers of the Hound, doing so until interrupted by a call from dear old Dad, Daedalus Darquill. The two exchanged information about their Hounds' various activities, and both proceeded to make plans for Tensen's imminent future.

Upon taking all the dead drug dealers' money, Tensen returned to Arnie, the cabbie he met earlier. Waving ten grand under his nose, Tensen indeed secured a ride to Los Angeles, and the two immediately set out for the west coast. Unbeknownst to Tensen, however, Arnie had called the cops about the strangely dressed weirdo, and was being followed on his journey by none other than Rebecca Chambers and Hoyt Pittman!

Issue 3:
Out By Exit 14

Stopping at Rosie's Diner in Oklahoma, near the Texas border, Tensen and Arnie entered to fetch a bite to eat. As they settled into a booth, Tensen was still amazed at the various things he'd encountered along the way, cultural oddities that he had no frame of reference for. Naturally, Arnie was distressed at having to explain things such as slogans to Tensen, as there was apparently no marketing in his home.

The two then ordered dinner, which was itself an adventure in confusion for Tensen, who ultimately settled on a lot of different foods. While the two worked on their meals, Arnie had Tensen spell out the story so far, about how Tensen is a Justice Warrior from another world, who was following the chain of corruption he'd found on earth thus far to Damon Conquest, who Tensen believed could be forced to send him back home.

As he got to the present, Tensen noticed Rebecca's aura in the distance, rapidly approaching Rosie's Diner. Leaping from his booth, and knocking down a diner patron while doing so, Tensen ran out to meet her. Slamming on the brakes to avoid running him over, Rebecca's driver and back-up, FBI agent Hoyt Pittman, then leapt out of the car and pulled his sidearm on the deranged, homicidal vigilante.

As he felt no ill intention from Hoyt, Tensen only defended himself as Hoyt repeately attempted to ventilate him with his sidearm. In fact, he could tell that Hoyt only acted out of love, having fallen for Rebecca as well, and only wanted to protect her. This battle ended when he had expended the rounds in both his and Rebecca's firearms, at which point he was finally convinced to stand down.

Resigned to the situation for the moment, Hoyt then joined the others as they returned to Rosie's, having to push through the crowd that had formed during the battle between Tensen and the FBI agent. Inside, Rebecca interrogated Tensen some more, grilling him in particular regarding what exactly happened when the crackpot kissed her back in New York, and wasn't at all pleased with his answer.

Essentially, Tensen told her that when they kissed, their very auras mingled, which was how Tensen was able to see her coming a literal mile away in the dark. He then touched her temple, revealing that he could directly share his memories with her, and showed her everything he could remember from his ostensible home - and has experienced since. Naturally, Hoyt took excception to this, and threatened Tensen anew.

After the four returned to Arnie's cab and set out for Amarillo, a dragon suddenly leapt out of Hoyt's body and clamped onto Tensen's hand with its fangs! The cab crashing in the resulting bedlam, Tensen was forced to switch hands, and fired his sword from his shield hand to dislodge the beast. Though he managed to do so, the damage was done, and Tensen's sword hand had been gnawed clean off by the creature.

In the crashed cab, Tensen pulled Rebecca and Arnie out of the vehicle, though Hoyt died as a result of his injuries. Or from the thing that leapt out of him. Pick one. The cab exploding soon after, Tensen set out on foot for Rosie's to hunt his attacker, whoever it was that tainted Hoyt in the diner's restroom. Upon his return, however, Tensen found everyone there who had overheard his tale had been slaughtered!

Hearing a car peeling out in the parking lot, Tensen leapt onto the murderer's vehicle to try and stop him, but he was a skilled enough driver that he could knock the vigilante off his hood. Splayed out on the highway, Tensen was helped up by Rebecca once she caught up to him, finding him babbling about wizards. Shrugging his silliness off, she vowed to get Arnie and Tensen to a hospital - and to claim vengeance!

Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, Damon Conquest received a call from Darquill, letting him know about the ninja assassin he'd sent against Tensen, and the murderer's report on his successes. Conquest's father then prevented him from ordering Rebecca's murder, since he seemed to know that Tensen was in love with her, and planned to use that against the Justice Warrior. But Damon didn't mind.

Knowing that Tensen was coming for him, he gloated into the phone, stating that he's at the height of his power in sinful Los Angeles!