Post by Deleted on Mar 26, 2015 20:24:47 GMT -5
The Titans of Justice Chapter 25 “Mordru – Challenged”
Written by: Power Guy
Co-conspirator: Scotty2Hotty
Editor: Marcus Mebes
Just outside Castle Amethyst, Gemworld…
A portal of light opens. The soul-self of Palomé emerged, containing the Titans West team plus Nightvision, Sargona, and the Stranger. As Palomé released his passengers, he gazed around at their new surroundings. “Well, I’ll be hog-tied. We made it!” he exulted, pleased.
“You sound like you weren’t sure we would make it here,” Nightvision accused his new associate.
“Honestly, I wasn’t dude,” admitted Palomé. “I’ve never been to Gemworld before so I was kinda uncertain. But thanks to your pal the Stranger here, the map was real easy to follow.”
“You followed my guidance well Palomé,” complimented the Stranger.
“I think I’m going to throw up…” revealed the Arachnid, clenching his stomach.
“Oh, grow a pair,” snapped Bee Sting. “We don’t have time for that.”
Before the Arachnid could respond to Bee Sting, he abruptly vomited, “BLECH….”
Bee Sting turned her head in disgust, “What a wuss…” she sighed.
Wonder Warrior approached the Arachnid. “Arach, are you okay?” he asked, putting his hand on his teammate’s shoulder.
“Yeah, just needed to get that out of my system,” answered the younger hero. “You guys know I have a queasy stomach. That’s why I never use my power of flight. Just bear with me.”
Wonder Warrior then turned to Bee Sting. “You know Latavia, you really could give this guy a break once in a while…”
“I would if I knew when he was being serious,” countered Bee Sting.
Nightvision then interrupted. “If you guys are done playing house, we have a world to liberate here.”
“Nightvision is right, my friends,” agreed the Stranger, looking ahead of them at Castle Amethyst.
“The magic here; it’s intense and wild,” stated Sargona. “I can feel it swirling around us like a maelstrom.”
“You are correct, Sargona. There is a great flow of eldritch magicks here, fueled by the Lords of Chaos and Order.” He paused, and looked pensively ahead of them, staring. “Now, let us make our way to the castle before Mordru figures out we’re here.”
***
Inside the Castle...
Mordru entered the throne-room. Within the chamber, Amethyst and Jemstone were trapped inside the enlarged Ruby of Life.
“Did you miss me ladies?” taunted Mordru to his captives.
“I swear you’ll pay for this Mordru…” threatened an angry Amethyst. “Though I am trapped in human form now, when I get out of here and regain my true form…”
“But you WON’T get out of there my dear,” interrupted the gloating magician. “You’re allies and servants are battered, broken, and defeated. The heroes of earth are locked in your dungeons. There is no cavalry to come to your rescue.” He finished his taunt with a derisive laugh.
“Dude’s right,” the Child said with a snicker, his arms folded across his chest.
Jemstone turned to Amethyst and asked, “With Mordru using Sargona’s ruby to drain our powers and focus them into him, we could be trapped here forever.”
“Don’t give up,” replied Amethyst. “I have a feeling that help is on the way.”
Overhearing, Mordru was irritated with the goddess’s undying hope. He rushed up to the ruby and pounded his fists on it. “You just don’t get it! I reign supreme here! There is no-one to come to your rescue!”
“I’ll beg to differ, old man!” countered Celsius. He and the rest of the Titans of Justice had made their way to the throne-room after Venus’ defeat of Flaw.
Mordru turned to find the Titans facing him. “How did you fools escape???” he demanded. “Don’t bother answering that. It doesn’t matter, as you’ll all soon be reduced to smoldering ash!”
“Bring it…” challenged Power Guy.
Mordru was furious. He had thought the battle was over and he ultimately victorious. His eyes and hands began to glow. Before he could attack however, a giant green sledge-hammer created by Green Lantern’s ring slammed into his body, knocking him off of his feet.
“No more hocus pocus from you!” barked the emerald gladiator.
The Child was quick to defend his employer. He rushed towards the Titans of Justice in a fury. “You don’t get to attack US! Are you nuts? I’ll make you pay!”
“That’s the kid with the hot touch right?” Icemanling asked Celsius.
“Yup, that’s the little bugger,” answered Celsius.
“I’ve got him,” the frozen hero said with a grin. Using his ice-production powers, he quickly sealed the Child within a block of ice, immobilizing him. “Cool off kid!!!”
While the Child seemed to be neutralized, Mordru was not too easily defeated. He picked himself off the ground and rose into the air. “You’ll die for that, fool!” He scowled as he launched a powerful eldritch blast towards Green Lantern.
Lucky for Green Lantern, he was able to fly out of the way in time. “Phew… that would have been a doozy,” he commented as the blast shattered the wall behind him.
Strato Hawk joined Green Lantern in the air. “This should get through to him,” he said swinging his nth metal mace in the air and then hurling it at Mordru.
CRACK!!! The mace scored a direct hit on Mordru’s forehead. “Argh!!!” Mordru screamed as he fell backwards. Blood splattered like the rays of a sun, joined with pieces of scalp and fragments of skull. With a loud smack Mordru hit the ground beneath him.
“Nice job Strato Hawk,” commented Nucleus. “Your mace was able to pass right through his mystic shielding.”
“Look, mates!” cried Celsius, pointing a trembling finger at the fallen wizard. The blood had flowed back into his smashed head, and the bone fragments and flesh were reassembling magically.
“That’s our cue, Wonder Man,” Power Guy advised the blond powerhouse. The two super-strong Titans dog-piled on Mordru, barraging him with a seemingly endless attack of fists.
Mordru quickly became irritated with the latest attack on him. He used his magic to hurl the two heroes off of him. “I am not so easily subdued!”
As the wizard picked himself up, the Child was using his powers to thaw the ice-prison that surrounded him.
Celsius realized that the villains were about to turn the tables on them so he rushed over to the enlarged Ruby of Life that contained both Amethyst and Jemstone. “Amethyst, we’ve got to get you out of there. You may be the only one capable of stopping Mordru.”
“I will gladly do so,” she replied with an angry look on her face.
“Stand back ladies!” advised Celsius as he engulfed the front of the ruby with flames. He poured on the heat as high as he could but unfortunately the ruby remained in tact.
Mordru turned to see Celsius’ plight. “Get away from them!” he ordered as he used his magic to swat Celsius to the other side of the room.
Black Vulcan and Green Lantern then approached Mordru. Black Vulcan turned to Green Lantern, “Ready GL?”
“Let’s do it!” responded the Green Guardian.
Before Mordru could act, Green Lantern created a giant lightning-rod and strapped it to Mordru’s back. Black Vulcan then followed suit by grabbing onto the lightning-rod and focused her electrical powers through it. “Fry, you old b@stard!” she whispered.
Ten thousand volts of electricity shot through Mordru’s body, causing his long, brown hair to stand straight up and his body to jerk violently.
The Child (who had finally freed himself) rushed over to help him. “What are you idiots doing? You’re spoiling our fun! This isn’t fair!” he cried out, pouting.
Icemanling noticed the Child rushing to join in the fray. “You know kid, I’ve had enough out of your whining. You may have been able to melt your way out of your ice-prison but let’s if you’re just as good at fending off other kinds of attacks!” He fired dozens of tiny ice pellets at the Child. The attack was almost like that of a machine-gun, though the pellets were not able to pierce the Child’s skin. They were however tough enough to knock him senseless and give him a painful concussion.
Meanwhile, Starman and Sonic Boom joined in the attack on Mordru. Starman struck the wizard several times with white-hot beams from his Cosmic Rod while Sonic Boom unleashed her Canary Cry on the wicked sorcerer.
“You’re finished, you dastardly villain!” shouted Starman.
“Starman, shut the hell up with the corny battle-cries and focus on the task at hand,” scolded Black Vulcan.
In the split second of distraction, Mordru managed to overturn the multiple attacks on him and emit a shockwave that hurtled the heroes away from him. “I grow tired of these pitiful attempts from you,” he growled. He hurled a single blast at the four heroes who had previously attacked him. The blast was raw and untamed, it quickly injured all four heroes, sending them crashing to the ground.
Celsius called out to the rest of his team. Only Icemanling, Strato Hawk, Venus, Nucleus, and Junjie Quick still stood. The six of them all tried to rush Mordru with their various methods of attack but this time Mordru was ready for them. He put his hands together as a small orb of light grew in between them. He wasted no time in hurling the orb at the remaining Titans. Once the orb was within ten feet of them, it exploded and battered the small group with enough force to knock them out. Venus, who was closest to orb, took the brunt of the blast and was seriously injured.
On the other side of throne-room, the small group of the Titans West, Nightvision, Sargona, and the Stranger walked in and gazed upon the horror of their fallen comrades. Quietly shushing the others, Palomé raised his soul self and used it to cloak their presence. No one would be aware that they had entered.
Mordru was so caught up in his victory that he did not notice them enter. He looked down at the defeated heroes and gloated. “You never stood a chance. I had hoped to keep you and alive and use you as an insurance policy to make sure Jemstone didn’t try to escape but you kept antagonizing me. Now I am going to kill you all one by one. Slowly and painfully…”
“You’ll have to deal with us first dark lord,” called out a voice. Out of the shadows stepped the Stranger, followed by the others. They stood in a battle-stance, ready to bring their vengeance upon the dark sorcerer. Arachnid had swallowed his fear, and even pacifist Palomé gritted his teeth, ready to join the fray.
Mordru spun to face his latest opponents. The sight of the Stranger and the Titans was completely unexpected. “The Stranger, eh? Why aren’t you locked in the Rock of Eternity like the other mages?” he demanded.
“You should know the answer to that,” countered the Stranger. “As you were trapping my mentor, the Phantom Stranger, he sent me a mystic omen warning me of your trap. You were too confident in your abilities like you always have been.”
“Too confident?” Mordru repeated as he laughed. “Do you not realize that I house the entire power of Amethyst, Jemstone, and the Ruby of Life? These abilities added to my own make me a god!” Specks of foam fell from the corners of his mouth.
“I see you as nothing more than a common thief,” taunted the Stranger. “Let’s seal you up in a spell of confinement,” he said as he waved his hand. Instantly a mystical block of mystical rock surrounded Mordru. “We don’t have long. Sargona, you’ve got to get to your ruby!” he said, concentrating on his spell.
Sargona took the Stranger’s advice and started running towards her ruby on the other side of the room behind the entrapped Mordru.
Before she could reach her ruby however, Mordru burst free of his prison. “Did you really expect that parlor trick to stop me, you amateur?” he demanded. He noticed Sargona about to approach her ruby. “Oh no you don’t!” he yelled as he encircled the ruby with a ring of flames.
“Titans, we’ve got to delay Mordru long enough for Sargona to reach her ruby,” Wonder Warrior cried out. “Nightvision, Bee Sting and Palomé – go see if you can help some of the injured,” requested Wonder Warrior. “Lukas, use your powers,” he added to the dark-robed Titan.
“What powers?” demanded Nightvision, noting that Palomé’s first name was Lukas. His analytic mind was already conjecturing who his parents might be.
“I heal people,” responded the younger Titan, “just like my mom did.”
Kid Comet was the first to approach Mordru, “I can’t get inside of his head, Wonder Warrior,” he informed his leader.
“Of course you can’t, fool,” commented Mordru. “I’m protected on all fronts!”
“Really?” questioned the Arachnid as he jumped on Mordru’s back. “Let’s see how you handle my Beetle-bite!” he said as two large fangs grew out of his mask. He viciously sunk them into Mordru’s back. A violent sting of mystical energy sank into Mordru’s body.
“Ahhh!!!” Mordru shrieked. Apparently the Arachnid’s mystic powers had an effect. As he collapsed, the Arachnid hopped off of him.
Kid Comet used his telekinesis to lift Mordru’s limb body into the air.
“d**n that boy,” Mordru mumbled. “That sting was of an ancient magic that hasn’t been seen on this plane of existence in centuries. I’m going to have to kill him first.”
“You won’t be killing anyone ever again!” Wonder Warrior said as he clocked Mordru several times. “Hold him still, Comet, while I send him off to dreamland!”
While the Titans West continued to attack Mordru, Sargona was trying to figure out how to get through the flames in front of her. “d**n! Those flames are like a furnace! Maybe if I wrap myself in my cape, I can rush through it without getting burned too badly…”
“Do not risk your life,” called out the Stranger. With a quick wave of his hand, a storm cloud appeared above the fire. Pouring rain came falling from the clouds extinguishing the flames.
Sargona made her way up to the ruby.
“Sargona!” Jemstone rejoiced. “Am I happy to see you!”
“I’m glad you okay, Jem…” replied Sargona as she reached out.
Mordru was horrified to see that Sargona had made her way to her ruby. He let out another shockwave which hurled Wonder Warrior and Kid Comet into a stairway behind them. “Get away from that jewel woman! I’ll burn your flesh off your bones if you touch it!!!” he threatened.
“You mean like this?” Sargona said with a smirk as she grabbed on to her ruby. An array of lights shot out from the gem, blinding all within sight except for Sargona and the captives of the gem.
About thirty seconds later as all of the inhabitants in the throne-room regained their sight, they all noticed that Amethyst and Jemstone were free from their jewel-prison and the Ruby of Life was back where it belongs, resting in Sargona’s head-dress. The three female furies were standing together, seething with rage.
“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!” screamed Mordru. “Curse you witch! Give me that d**nable ruby or I’ll rip your head off to get it!”
“Now I’ve got my ruby back, the power you stole from Amethyst and Jemstone have returned to them,” remarked Sargona. “It’s payback time, you old troll!” A beam of mystic energy shot out from her ruby and scalded Mordru’s skin.
“Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!” he yelled as his skin started to burn. “That hurt… but it’s not enough to stop me, you petty trickstress!”
The Stranger then approached Mordru as did Amethyst and Jemstone. “Sargona may not be able to stop you alone but with the four of us working together, your time is up dark lord.”
Mordru’s four attackers surrounded him. Each of them focused their mystic energies on the prone sorcerer.
“My energy blasts will prevent him from focusing while the three of you work your spell,” advised Jemstone.
“You play your part well,” complimented Amethyst as she concentrated along with Sargona and the Stranger.
“Mordru – you have caused many a troubles in your short life-span,” accused the Stranger. “We now condemn you to a thousand year sleep in a spell of entombment!!!”
“No!! No!!! No!!!” Mordru screamed as she struggled to resist the spell.
“Lights out, old man!” Sargona said as she poured on the intensity of her portion of the spell.
“Curse you all! I will find a way out and dance over your broken bodies!” cried the defeated magician as he passed out and was encased in a mystical cocoon.
Sargona was shocked to see that the spell had worked. “He’s down for the count?” she inquired to the Stranger.
“Yes, Sargona,” revealed the Stranger. “The spell we cast will keep him asleep for at least a thousand years. By the time he wakes up, the Earth will probably be a dead, empty husk.”
“And Gemworld will have more than enough time to build up our strength so that his powers will seem like that of a candle compared to the sun,” stated Amethyst.
On the other side of the room, Palomé and the others were helping get the injured Titans back on their feet.
“How are they doing?” asked Wonder Warrior.
“All of them are coming around except this one,” Palomé said holding Venus. Try as he might, his empathic abilities were unable to rouse the unconscious woman.
“She took the brunt of Mordru’s attack,” Starman informed the group of strangers surrounding him. “Palomé’s been trying to heal her, but…”
“I gotta use my healing powers on her if she is to have any chance of making it,” Palomé said as he held Venus tightly. His soul-self emerged and enveloped them.
“Poor Venus,” Wonder Man said, praying to Zeus and Hippocrates that his fallen friend would make it. “She never even found out who she really was. She’s got to survive.”
“She’d better survive or I’m going to kill Mordru myself,” Strato Hawk said in anger.
“Let’s think good thoughts right now, mates,” requested Celsius. “Venus needs us to send all of our positive vibes her way.”
The Stranger walked up to the others. “While we are waiting for Palomé to work his craft, I thought I would let you know that all of Earth’s mystics—including Captain Marvel and Black Marvel families are safe. Once Mordru was defeated, his spell on the Rock of Eternity was diminished.”
A few moments later, Palomé’s soul-self finally dissipated. The anxious group looked towards him, awaiting an answer on Venus’ condition. Palomé looked up and spoke. “She’s just waking up now. She’s going to be fine.”
As Venus started to wake up, she looked up at her savior. “Are you an angel?” she whispered.
Palomé snickered. “Quite the opposite, ma’am, but I’m still here to help you,” he answered as he smiled softly.
“I feel so warm and safe,” Venus mumbled. Her eyes fluttered as she lost consciousness a second time.
“Don’t worry, y’all,” spoke the healer. “She’s just sleeping.”
“Okay guys, let’s pack up and go home,” advised Celsius.
***
The Hall of Justice…
The Huntress was sitting in front of the Trouble Alert scanning through the Hall’s crime files when it started beeping. She quickly turned on the video phone and waited to see who was calling.
As the screen lit up, on the other end was the warden of the Slab (the prison house in Metropolis). The warden asked, “Titans of Justice, where have you been? We tried contacting you a few hours ago! Sinestro, Giganta, and Kid Zoom attacked the Slab and broke out both Bizarro and Black Manta. Our troops were no match for them.”
“I’m sorry, sir. We experienced an attack ourselves and our computers were down for quite a while,” replied the Huntress. “I’m here by myself right now but as soon as the others get back, we’ll look into this jail-break.”
“Sounds good,” replied the warden. “It makes me nervous to think about Sinestro and Bizarro joining forces again.”
“Same here warden,” agreed the Huntress, “Same here.”
The End.
Written by: Power Guy
Co-conspirator: Scotty2Hotty
Editor: Marcus Mebes
Just outside Castle Amethyst, Gemworld…
A portal of light opens. The soul-self of Palomé emerged, containing the Titans West team plus Nightvision, Sargona, and the Stranger. As Palomé released his passengers, he gazed around at their new surroundings. “Well, I’ll be hog-tied. We made it!” he exulted, pleased.
“You sound like you weren’t sure we would make it here,” Nightvision accused his new associate.
“Honestly, I wasn’t dude,” admitted Palomé. “I’ve never been to Gemworld before so I was kinda uncertain. But thanks to your pal the Stranger here, the map was real easy to follow.”
“You followed my guidance well Palomé,” complimented the Stranger.
“I think I’m going to throw up…” revealed the Arachnid, clenching his stomach.
“Oh, grow a pair,” snapped Bee Sting. “We don’t have time for that.”
Before the Arachnid could respond to Bee Sting, he abruptly vomited, “BLECH….”
Bee Sting turned her head in disgust, “What a wuss…” she sighed.
Wonder Warrior approached the Arachnid. “Arach, are you okay?” he asked, putting his hand on his teammate’s shoulder.
“Yeah, just needed to get that out of my system,” answered the younger hero. “You guys know I have a queasy stomach. That’s why I never use my power of flight. Just bear with me.”
Wonder Warrior then turned to Bee Sting. “You know Latavia, you really could give this guy a break once in a while…”
“I would if I knew when he was being serious,” countered Bee Sting.
Nightvision then interrupted. “If you guys are done playing house, we have a world to liberate here.”
“Nightvision is right, my friends,” agreed the Stranger, looking ahead of them at Castle Amethyst.
“The magic here; it’s intense and wild,” stated Sargona. “I can feel it swirling around us like a maelstrom.”
“You are correct, Sargona. There is a great flow of eldritch magicks here, fueled by the Lords of Chaos and Order.” He paused, and looked pensively ahead of them, staring. “Now, let us make our way to the castle before Mordru figures out we’re here.”
***
Inside the Castle...
Mordru entered the throne-room. Within the chamber, Amethyst and Jemstone were trapped inside the enlarged Ruby of Life.
“Did you miss me ladies?” taunted Mordru to his captives.
“I swear you’ll pay for this Mordru…” threatened an angry Amethyst. “Though I am trapped in human form now, when I get out of here and regain my true form…”
“But you WON’T get out of there my dear,” interrupted the gloating magician. “You’re allies and servants are battered, broken, and defeated. The heroes of earth are locked in your dungeons. There is no cavalry to come to your rescue.” He finished his taunt with a derisive laugh.
“Dude’s right,” the Child said with a snicker, his arms folded across his chest.
Jemstone turned to Amethyst and asked, “With Mordru using Sargona’s ruby to drain our powers and focus them into him, we could be trapped here forever.”
“Don’t give up,” replied Amethyst. “I have a feeling that help is on the way.”
Overhearing, Mordru was irritated with the goddess’s undying hope. He rushed up to the ruby and pounded his fists on it. “You just don’t get it! I reign supreme here! There is no-one to come to your rescue!”
“I’ll beg to differ, old man!” countered Celsius. He and the rest of the Titans of Justice had made their way to the throne-room after Venus’ defeat of Flaw.
Mordru turned to find the Titans facing him. “How did you fools escape???” he demanded. “Don’t bother answering that. It doesn’t matter, as you’ll all soon be reduced to smoldering ash!”
“Bring it…” challenged Power Guy.
Mordru was furious. He had thought the battle was over and he ultimately victorious. His eyes and hands began to glow. Before he could attack however, a giant green sledge-hammer created by Green Lantern’s ring slammed into his body, knocking him off of his feet.
“No more hocus pocus from you!” barked the emerald gladiator.
The Child was quick to defend his employer. He rushed towards the Titans of Justice in a fury. “You don’t get to attack US! Are you nuts? I’ll make you pay!”
“That’s the kid with the hot touch right?” Icemanling asked Celsius.
“Yup, that’s the little bugger,” answered Celsius.
“I’ve got him,” the frozen hero said with a grin. Using his ice-production powers, he quickly sealed the Child within a block of ice, immobilizing him. “Cool off kid!!!”
While the Child seemed to be neutralized, Mordru was not too easily defeated. He picked himself off the ground and rose into the air. “You’ll die for that, fool!” He scowled as he launched a powerful eldritch blast towards Green Lantern.
Lucky for Green Lantern, he was able to fly out of the way in time. “Phew… that would have been a doozy,” he commented as the blast shattered the wall behind him.
Strato Hawk joined Green Lantern in the air. “This should get through to him,” he said swinging his nth metal mace in the air and then hurling it at Mordru.
CRACK!!! The mace scored a direct hit on Mordru’s forehead. “Argh!!!” Mordru screamed as he fell backwards. Blood splattered like the rays of a sun, joined with pieces of scalp and fragments of skull. With a loud smack Mordru hit the ground beneath him.
“Nice job Strato Hawk,” commented Nucleus. “Your mace was able to pass right through his mystic shielding.”
“Look, mates!” cried Celsius, pointing a trembling finger at the fallen wizard. The blood had flowed back into his smashed head, and the bone fragments and flesh were reassembling magically.
“That’s our cue, Wonder Man,” Power Guy advised the blond powerhouse. The two super-strong Titans dog-piled on Mordru, barraging him with a seemingly endless attack of fists.
Mordru quickly became irritated with the latest attack on him. He used his magic to hurl the two heroes off of him. “I am not so easily subdued!”
As the wizard picked himself up, the Child was using his powers to thaw the ice-prison that surrounded him.
Celsius realized that the villains were about to turn the tables on them so he rushed over to the enlarged Ruby of Life that contained both Amethyst and Jemstone. “Amethyst, we’ve got to get you out of there. You may be the only one capable of stopping Mordru.”
“I will gladly do so,” she replied with an angry look on her face.
“Stand back ladies!” advised Celsius as he engulfed the front of the ruby with flames. He poured on the heat as high as he could but unfortunately the ruby remained in tact.
Mordru turned to see Celsius’ plight. “Get away from them!” he ordered as he used his magic to swat Celsius to the other side of the room.
Black Vulcan and Green Lantern then approached Mordru. Black Vulcan turned to Green Lantern, “Ready GL?”
“Let’s do it!” responded the Green Guardian.
Before Mordru could act, Green Lantern created a giant lightning-rod and strapped it to Mordru’s back. Black Vulcan then followed suit by grabbing onto the lightning-rod and focused her electrical powers through it. “Fry, you old b@stard!” she whispered.
Ten thousand volts of electricity shot through Mordru’s body, causing his long, brown hair to stand straight up and his body to jerk violently.
The Child (who had finally freed himself) rushed over to help him. “What are you idiots doing? You’re spoiling our fun! This isn’t fair!” he cried out, pouting.
Icemanling noticed the Child rushing to join in the fray. “You know kid, I’ve had enough out of your whining. You may have been able to melt your way out of your ice-prison but let’s if you’re just as good at fending off other kinds of attacks!” He fired dozens of tiny ice pellets at the Child. The attack was almost like that of a machine-gun, though the pellets were not able to pierce the Child’s skin. They were however tough enough to knock him senseless and give him a painful concussion.
Meanwhile, Starman and Sonic Boom joined in the attack on Mordru. Starman struck the wizard several times with white-hot beams from his Cosmic Rod while Sonic Boom unleashed her Canary Cry on the wicked sorcerer.
“You’re finished, you dastardly villain!” shouted Starman.
“Starman, shut the hell up with the corny battle-cries and focus on the task at hand,” scolded Black Vulcan.
In the split second of distraction, Mordru managed to overturn the multiple attacks on him and emit a shockwave that hurtled the heroes away from him. “I grow tired of these pitiful attempts from you,” he growled. He hurled a single blast at the four heroes who had previously attacked him. The blast was raw and untamed, it quickly injured all four heroes, sending them crashing to the ground.
Celsius called out to the rest of his team. Only Icemanling, Strato Hawk, Venus, Nucleus, and Junjie Quick still stood. The six of them all tried to rush Mordru with their various methods of attack but this time Mordru was ready for them. He put his hands together as a small orb of light grew in between them. He wasted no time in hurling the orb at the remaining Titans. Once the orb was within ten feet of them, it exploded and battered the small group with enough force to knock them out. Venus, who was closest to orb, took the brunt of the blast and was seriously injured.
On the other side of throne-room, the small group of the Titans West, Nightvision, Sargona, and the Stranger walked in and gazed upon the horror of their fallen comrades. Quietly shushing the others, Palomé raised his soul self and used it to cloak their presence. No one would be aware that they had entered.
Mordru was so caught up in his victory that he did not notice them enter. He looked down at the defeated heroes and gloated. “You never stood a chance. I had hoped to keep you and alive and use you as an insurance policy to make sure Jemstone didn’t try to escape but you kept antagonizing me. Now I am going to kill you all one by one. Slowly and painfully…”
“You’ll have to deal with us first dark lord,” called out a voice. Out of the shadows stepped the Stranger, followed by the others. They stood in a battle-stance, ready to bring their vengeance upon the dark sorcerer. Arachnid had swallowed his fear, and even pacifist Palomé gritted his teeth, ready to join the fray.
Mordru spun to face his latest opponents. The sight of the Stranger and the Titans was completely unexpected. “The Stranger, eh? Why aren’t you locked in the Rock of Eternity like the other mages?” he demanded.
“You should know the answer to that,” countered the Stranger. “As you were trapping my mentor, the Phantom Stranger, he sent me a mystic omen warning me of your trap. You were too confident in your abilities like you always have been.”
“Too confident?” Mordru repeated as he laughed. “Do you not realize that I house the entire power of Amethyst, Jemstone, and the Ruby of Life? These abilities added to my own make me a god!” Specks of foam fell from the corners of his mouth.
“I see you as nothing more than a common thief,” taunted the Stranger. “Let’s seal you up in a spell of confinement,” he said as he waved his hand. Instantly a mystical block of mystical rock surrounded Mordru. “We don’t have long. Sargona, you’ve got to get to your ruby!” he said, concentrating on his spell.
Sargona took the Stranger’s advice and started running towards her ruby on the other side of the room behind the entrapped Mordru.
Before she could reach her ruby however, Mordru burst free of his prison. “Did you really expect that parlor trick to stop me, you amateur?” he demanded. He noticed Sargona about to approach her ruby. “Oh no you don’t!” he yelled as he encircled the ruby with a ring of flames.
“Titans, we’ve got to delay Mordru long enough for Sargona to reach her ruby,” Wonder Warrior cried out. “Nightvision, Bee Sting and Palomé – go see if you can help some of the injured,” requested Wonder Warrior. “Lukas, use your powers,” he added to the dark-robed Titan.
“What powers?” demanded Nightvision, noting that Palomé’s first name was Lukas. His analytic mind was already conjecturing who his parents might be.
“I heal people,” responded the younger Titan, “just like my mom did.”
Kid Comet was the first to approach Mordru, “I can’t get inside of his head, Wonder Warrior,” he informed his leader.
“Of course you can’t, fool,” commented Mordru. “I’m protected on all fronts!”
“Really?” questioned the Arachnid as he jumped on Mordru’s back. “Let’s see how you handle my Beetle-bite!” he said as two large fangs grew out of his mask. He viciously sunk them into Mordru’s back. A violent sting of mystical energy sank into Mordru’s body.
“Ahhh!!!” Mordru shrieked. Apparently the Arachnid’s mystic powers had an effect. As he collapsed, the Arachnid hopped off of him.
Kid Comet used his telekinesis to lift Mordru’s limb body into the air.
“d**n that boy,” Mordru mumbled. “That sting was of an ancient magic that hasn’t been seen on this plane of existence in centuries. I’m going to have to kill him first.”
“You won’t be killing anyone ever again!” Wonder Warrior said as he clocked Mordru several times. “Hold him still, Comet, while I send him off to dreamland!”
While the Titans West continued to attack Mordru, Sargona was trying to figure out how to get through the flames in front of her. “d**n! Those flames are like a furnace! Maybe if I wrap myself in my cape, I can rush through it without getting burned too badly…”
“Do not risk your life,” called out the Stranger. With a quick wave of his hand, a storm cloud appeared above the fire. Pouring rain came falling from the clouds extinguishing the flames.
Sargona made her way up to the ruby.
“Sargona!” Jemstone rejoiced. “Am I happy to see you!”
“I’m glad you okay, Jem…” replied Sargona as she reached out.
Mordru was horrified to see that Sargona had made her way to her ruby. He let out another shockwave which hurled Wonder Warrior and Kid Comet into a stairway behind them. “Get away from that jewel woman! I’ll burn your flesh off your bones if you touch it!!!” he threatened.
“You mean like this?” Sargona said with a smirk as she grabbed on to her ruby. An array of lights shot out from the gem, blinding all within sight except for Sargona and the captives of the gem.
About thirty seconds later as all of the inhabitants in the throne-room regained their sight, they all noticed that Amethyst and Jemstone were free from their jewel-prison and the Ruby of Life was back where it belongs, resting in Sargona’s head-dress. The three female furies were standing together, seething with rage.
“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!” screamed Mordru. “Curse you witch! Give me that d**nable ruby or I’ll rip your head off to get it!”
“Now I’ve got my ruby back, the power you stole from Amethyst and Jemstone have returned to them,” remarked Sargona. “It’s payback time, you old troll!” A beam of mystic energy shot out from her ruby and scalded Mordru’s skin.
“Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!” he yelled as his skin started to burn. “That hurt… but it’s not enough to stop me, you petty trickstress!”
The Stranger then approached Mordru as did Amethyst and Jemstone. “Sargona may not be able to stop you alone but with the four of us working together, your time is up dark lord.”
Mordru’s four attackers surrounded him. Each of them focused their mystic energies on the prone sorcerer.
“My energy blasts will prevent him from focusing while the three of you work your spell,” advised Jemstone.
“You play your part well,” complimented Amethyst as she concentrated along with Sargona and the Stranger.
“Mordru – you have caused many a troubles in your short life-span,” accused the Stranger. “We now condemn you to a thousand year sleep in a spell of entombment!!!”
“No!! No!!! No!!!” Mordru screamed as she struggled to resist the spell.
“Lights out, old man!” Sargona said as she poured on the intensity of her portion of the spell.
“Curse you all! I will find a way out and dance over your broken bodies!” cried the defeated magician as he passed out and was encased in a mystical cocoon.
Sargona was shocked to see that the spell had worked. “He’s down for the count?” she inquired to the Stranger.
“Yes, Sargona,” revealed the Stranger. “The spell we cast will keep him asleep for at least a thousand years. By the time he wakes up, the Earth will probably be a dead, empty husk.”
“And Gemworld will have more than enough time to build up our strength so that his powers will seem like that of a candle compared to the sun,” stated Amethyst.
On the other side of the room, Palomé and the others were helping get the injured Titans back on their feet.
“How are they doing?” asked Wonder Warrior.
“All of them are coming around except this one,” Palomé said holding Venus. Try as he might, his empathic abilities were unable to rouse the unconscious woman.
“She took the brunt of Mordru’s attack,” Starman informed the group of strangers surrounding him. “Palomé’s been trying to heal her, but…”
“I gotta use my healing powers on her if she is to have any chance of making it,” Palomé said as he held Venus tightly. His soul-self emerged and enveloped them.
“Poor Venus,” Wonder Man said, praying to Zeus and Hippocrates that his fallen friend would make it. “She never even found out who she really was. She’s got to survive.”
“She’d better survive or I’m going to kill Mordru myself,” Strato Hawk said in anger.
“Let’s think good thoughts right now, mates,” requested Celsius. “Venus needs us to send all of our positive vibes her way.”
The Stranger walked up to the others. “While we are waiting for Palomé to work his craft, I thought I would let you know that all of Earth’s mystics—including Captain Marvel and Black Marvel families are safe. Once Mordru was defeated, his spell on the Rock of Eternity was diminished.”
A few moments later, Palomé’s soul-self finally dissipated. The anxious group looked towards him, awaiting an answer on Venus’ condition. Palomé looked up and spoke. “She’s just waking up now. She’s going to be fine.”
As Venus started to wake up, she looked up at her savior. “Are you an angel?” she whispered.
Palomé snickered. “Quite the opposite, ma’am, but I’m still here to help you,” he answered as he smiled softly.
“I feel so warm and safe,” Venus mumbled. Her eyes fluttered as she lost consciousness a second time.
“Don’t worry, y’all,” spoke the healer. “She’s just sleeping.”
“Okay guys, let’s pack up and go home,” advised Celsius.
***
The Hall of Justice…
The Huntress was sitting in front of the Trouble Alert scanning through the Hall’s crime files when it started beeping. She quickly turned on the video phone and waited to see who was calling.
As the screen lit up, on the other end was the warden of the Slab (the prison house in Metropolis). The warden asked, “Titans of Justice, where have you been? We tried contacting you a few hours ago! Sinestro, Giganta, and Kid Zoom attacked the Slab and broke out both Bizarro and Black Manta. Our troops were no match for them.”
“I’m sorry, sir. We experienced an attack ourselves and our computers were down for quite a while,” replied the Huntress. “I’m here by myself right now but as soon as the others get back, we’ll look into this jail-break.”
“Sounds good,” replied the warden. “It makes me nervous to think about Sinestro and Bizarro joining forces again.”
“Same here warden,” agreed the Huntress, “Same here.”
The End.