The Titans of Justice Chapter 17 – “Past Mistakes”

Written by: Power Guy
Co-conspirator: Scotty2Hotty
Editor: Marcus Mebes


3 Years Ago In Paris, France

Monique Le Claire stood backstage trembling. "Pull it together Monique. Tonight is yours, don't blow it."

The crowd at the Miss France pageant was clamoring for the announcement of the winner. This was Monique's third time at the pageant--and the third time she had placed in the top five. Both of her previous attempts at the crown had resulted in First Runner Up placement. As the top five came back on stage she made sure she smiled and posed just so. Her mind raced back to the previous years’ pageants. "First runner up just means you weren't good enough to be the winner--but tonight all that will change--YOU will win tonight and go to the Miss Universe pageant." It did not help that she was getting older, and beauty pageants were won by younger contestants. Five years was an eternity in the pageant circuit.

Scott Trevor, international model and a former Mr. Universe winner, was the emcee.
"I have here in my hand tonight's results... One of these beautiful women will become Miss France and will represent her country at the Miss Universe pageant. Good luck ladies!"
Monique took a deep breath as the five finalists clasped hands in traditional pageant fashion.

Scott began, "The Fourth runner up is... Miss Picardie!” After applause died down: “The third runner up is... Miss Reunion! The second runner up is… Miss Aquitaine!"

Monique could barely breathe. She was one of the last two girls for the crown. She had been in this spot before. "Mon Dieu,” she said aloud, “please let me win just this once... the other girl isn't even from France..." But she’s much younger, she added silently, grimly.

As Scott began speak again, Monique thought, "Fool! Everyone knows how important the first runner up, blah blah blah, just get on with it!"

Scott read from the card. "The first runner up is... Miss Paris—MONIQUE LE CLAIRE! Miss France is Miss Limousine!!”

Even though the arena was filled with cheering fans and a crying winner, Monique didn't hear a thing. Everything was moving in slow motion. Monique wanted to die.



The Hall of Justice, Metropolis, U.S.A.

“Well guys, I just heard back from my friend Nerites. He wasn’t able to find the bodies of Fausta or the Cheetah in the waters surrounding Paradise Island,” Celsius informed his teammates. “He also couldn’t find any trace of Giganta.”

“Fausta and Cheetah were probably blown to bits,” stated Wonder Man.

“That’s possible,” agreed Green Lantern, “but you know what they say: if there’s no body to be found, don’t assume anything.”

Sargona then interrupted. “And in our line of business, even if a body IS found, don’t assume anything. How many heroes and villains have come back from the dead over the years?”

“Sargona is right,” advised Junjie Quick. “Superman, Hal Jordan, Hawkman, Deathstroke and Green Arrow have all taken a visit to the after-life and come back.”

“Speaking of Green Arrow, I really need to go check on Dark Arrow and see how he’s doing,” Green Lantern commented.

“You two are pretty close aren’t you?” asked Sargona.

“He’s my best friend,” admitted Green Lantern. “I still can’t believe he turned down membership on our team. I think he’s taking after Ollie a little too much. And I’m worried about him.”

Starman then entered the room. He had the new Rag Doll encased in an energy field. “Hi everyone!” said the stellar avenger.



Celsius was a bit astonished to see that Starman had captured the Rag Doll with only a few weeks of being a hero under his belt. “You took down the Rag Doll?”

“He had a little help,” came a voice from the shadows. Nightvision soon emerged and made himself visible. “Go lock him in one of the detention cells until the officers from the Slab get here,” he directed Starman.

“Happy to oblige,” Starman commented hauling the still struggling Rag Doll away.

As Starman walked away, Nightvision approached his teammates and said “This Rag Doll is even worse than the last two. He killed his father and took on his name.”

“What a freak,” commented Sargona.

A few seconds later, Venus came walking into the room. “Hey guys! How’s it going?” she asked.

“Hey Venus. I thought you were taking the day off,” inquired Sargona.

“I am. I’m just here to pick up my date,” she said, walking up to Wonder Man and putting her arm around him.

Wonder Man pulled the beautiful brunette close to him. “I was hoping you wouldn’t keep me waiting long,” he said.

“Not a chance tiger,” affirmed the other.

They stared into each other’s eyes for a moment.

Sargona then approached Wonder Man and tugged on his arm, “Excuse us a minute Venus,” she requested pulling Wonder Man several feet away.

“What’s the big deal?” asked Wonder Man.

“Umm… aren’t you already dating Jessica?” Sargona asked. “Remember? The one I had to find and bring home after the disaster at the movie theater?”

“Oh, that wasn’t anything serious. Just a fun night on the town,” advised Wonder Man.

Sargona laughed. “I’m sure Jessica didn’t think it was so fun.” She recalled the panic of everyone at the movie theater. “So what’s the deal with Venus then?” she inquired, glossing over the event. “You know she’s new to the team. We don’t need her bailing on us due to a broken heart.”

“Don’t worry Sar, I’m not going to break her heart,” Wonder Man said, trying to reassure his teammate. “We both know this is a no-strings-attached night out. This was actually her idea.”

“It was?” Sargona said confused.

“Yup. Now I need to be going,” Wonder Man informed his teammate as he walked towards Venus. “Ready Venus?”

“You bet!” Venus said looking forward to her night out with Wonder Man. “I’m your Venus, I’m your fire, what’s your desire?”

“What song was that?” asked Sargona, recognizing the tune.

Venus shook her head and blinked her eyes. “You know, I… I don’t think I know… I just remember those few lines.”

The couple then exited the Hall of Justice destined for The Cheesecake Factory on the river front.

“Well, they make an interesting pair,” commented Green Lantern as they departed. He, too, had noticed the few lyrics Venus had sung, and found her behavior curious.

Sargona then asked, “So who’s your other half GL?”

“Actually, I’m single,” admitted Green Lantern.

“Great! Then you can take me out for dinner tomorrow night!” Sargona said in a whimsical tone.

Green Lantern just stood silent for a few seconds wondering if Sargona was being real or just playing with him. “Are you serious?” he asked.

“Six o’clock. My place. Be there,” instructed Sargona.

“Oh… okay…” Green Lantern answered in astonishment. He had found Sargona quite attractive in spite of her sarcastic manner. He was hoping to summon up the courage to ask her out one day but this turn of events was quite refreshing.

“Well, I’ve got to run. I’m going to go and visit Jemstone and see how she’s doing. See you later!” said the spellcaster as she left the building.

“Wow, mate! You got yourself a hot date for tomorrow night!” stated Celsius as he patted Green Lantern’s shoulder.

“Yeah… I guess I do,” Green Lantern admitted, still in shock.

“I think you two will make a great couple,” surmised Celsius. “You already work great together so I think this will carry over in to your personal time together.”

“I hope so,” said the nervous Green Lantern. “Anyway, I’m off to Star City to try and find Dark Arrow. Take care!”

“Bye GL!” yelled Celsius to his departing teammate.

Junjie Quick approached his comrade, “Those guys can use some time off after their battle with Fausta. I heard she gave them quite a work out.”

“Yes, from what they told me, they thought Fausta was going to take more lives than the Black Orchid Massacre,” responded Celsius.

“What is this Black Orchid Massacre you guys keep referring to?” asked Junjie. He had noticed them speaking of it before, and chose not to ask when he saw how unnerved they were about it.

“I’m surprised you never heard of it before,” commented Celsius. “It happened about ten years ago. It was one of the greatest tragedies that the hero community has ever experienced. Remember that old heroine Black Orchid? The one that was in Task Force X?”

“Yes,” answered Junjie.

Starman then entered the room fresh from a workout in the Hall of Justice’s gym. “Hey guys, what’s going on?”

“Not much,” answered Celsius. “I was just going to tell Junjie here about the Black Orchid Massacre.”

“By all means, proceed,” requested Starman.

“Well, Black Orchid went missing for several years. One day, she returned out of the blue. She hosted a huge party to supposedly celebrate her return. Almost all of the hero community showed up. Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, even Gangbuster. Well, after the festivities started, a shocking turn of events took place. Black Orchid went berserk and started attacking the other heroes. Now, remember, she was a powerhouse back in the day so there were very few in a position to stop her. In the end, she ended up killing Guy Gardner, Faith, Raven, Blue Jay, Vigilante—the female one, Jericho, Firestorm—the second one, Ambush Bug, Cyborg, Thunder—she was Black Vulcan’s sister, and Grace plus a few others that I can’t remember right now. Gypsy, maybe…”

“She also killed the second Huntress,” commented Nightvision.

“Really? Was she put in prison?” inquired Junjie.

“Sadly, no. With her shape changing abilities, she slipped through the crowd and escaped and hasn’t been seen since,” revealed Celsius. “It was strange. Before this incident, Black Orchid was one of the most helpful and respected heroes. The Justice League thought highly of her and had offered her membership several times but she declined due to her activities as an infiltrator of spy-rings and terrorist groups.”


Belle Reve Prison, Louisiana

Sargona sat in the visitor’s area waiting for Jemstone to arrive. After ten minutes’ wait, Sargona finally saw Jemstone walking down the hall. She stopped in front of the glass window that separated prisoners from visitors.

“Hey Jem!” Sargona said gleefully, trying to cheer up her friend. “How are you doing?”

“I’m here… how well can I possibly be doing?” Jemstone asked her former teammate in a dull tone.

“Listen,” requested Sargona. “You’re going to be proven innocent and get out of here.”

“Oh really? How’s that going to happen now that Giganta’s escaped?” inquired Jemstone.

“She’ll slip up and get caught again,” Sargona assured, trying to ease her friend. She changed the subject, and inquired about the other members of the team. She and Sargona chatted about this and that, though nothing consequential. It was comforting enough for Jemstone to hear a friendly voice. But after several minutes, the conversation turned back to Jemstone getting out of jail.

“Well, it won’t be soon enough,” commented Jemstone with a surly tone. “I’m probably going to rot in here… unless someone kills me first.”

“Jem, don’t talk like that. You have to try and remain positive!” Sargona smiled confidently.

“Positive? Do you know what it’s like in here?” demanded Jemstone angrily. “Every day someone in here calls me a murderer or a hypocrite. Last week, the Prankster kept harassing me—asking me what Toyman’s last words were and told me thanks for killing his best friend.”

A guard then approached Jemstone. “Time’s up lady.”

“But we’ve only had fifteen minutes together,” Sargona pleaded.

“This woman is in here on charges of first degree murder. Fifteen minutes is more that she deserves,” chastised the guard. The guard put his hand under Jemstone’s right shoulder and helped her onto her feet.

Tears flowed from Jemstone’s eyes. “Bye Sargona. Tell the others that I miss them.”

Sargona just stood silent in horror of seeing her friend being hauled away like a criminal.


3 Months Ago In Paris, France

Monique had climbed to the top of the Eiffel Tower and looked down. The people below were like ants at this vantage point. She looked out over the lights of Paris and reflected on the events that brought her there. "Men... men have judged me my entire life. Change this, change that Monique. You just aren't what we are looking for Monique. You’re getting older Monique. Maybe you should try another line of work Monique." she could hear all the rejections over and over in her head. She had recently been dumped by her boyfriend and had been replaced by a younger model in a major publicity campaign for a new fragrance.

"Just jump. It will all be over before you know it." she said softly. The dark haired woman with intense violet eyes stepped off and started her descent to the hard ground.

"Great Guardians!”

Monique felt herself stop suddenly and heard a man's voice. "Did it happen that quickly? Am I dead?" she thought aloud.

"Miss, thank Heavens I was here! Did someone push you? Are you okay?" said the man. It was the American hero Green Lantern.

"You... you stupid MAN!" Monique shouted and she and Green Lantern touched the ground. He had used his power ring to stop her fall and guide her safely to the ground.

"Miss, were you trying to kill yourself? Things can't be that bad," he said with concern.

"What would you know about that?" she said annoyed.

"No matter how bad things are you have to have faith that you are where you're supposed to be," Green Lantern said as he placed his hand on her arm.

Despondent and enraged, Monique recoiled from his touch. Her despair had turned to mania. "BAH! Do not touch me American! Men have kept me from my destiny my entire life and now a man has stopped me from doing the ONE thing I truly wanted!" Monique screamed.

Green Lantern turned a pained look upon her. "Miss, please... I will do anything I can to help you. I won't try to tell you what to do or how to live your life. If you want, you can yell at me... even throw a punch if it would make you feel better. I can offer you someone who will listen without passing judgment."

Monique stared at Green Lantern in amazement. No man had ever gotten past her looks and actually cared what she had to say. She broke down into tears and fell to the ground.

Green Lantern helped her up and put a strong arm around her. "Miss, look over there at the cathedral--all are welcome in His house. Why don't we go in there and we can talk about whatever you would like."

Monique didn't know what to say as Green Lantern led her to a pew in the cathedral.

Many hours later Green Lantern and Monique exited the cathedral.

Monique felt better about her life and had decided to make some changes about who she was. She had never really read scripture before and drawn so much inspiration from it, and believed Green Lantern was sincere in his efforts to help her.

As Green Lantern flew off, Monique whispered to herself, “Thank you Green Lantern for helping me realize that my life is worth something.”

Unknown to Monique a pair of eyes was watching her. An evil pair of eyes whose crimes would span centuries.