Post by Deleted on Mar 27, 2015 8:08:40 GMT -5
Titans East Chapter 40 – “Say Good-bye”
Written by: Power Guy and Green Lantern
Featured Artist: Stranger (Huntress Card by Christophe)
Editor: Marcus Mebes
***
The Hall of Justice, Metropolis, U.S.A….
Wonder Man was sitting in the lounge in front of the Hall’s 100 inch television watching a parade broadcast. Palomé entered the room looking for something to do.
“Hey dude, whatcha watchin’?” he inquired.
“Oh hey Lukas!” greeted Wonder Man. “I’m just watching the San Francisco Summer Parade. Madame Martian(the former Miss Martian)—you know, from the Titans—is going to be there. I met her a few times when my Aunt Donna took me to Titans Tower.”
“I remember her. She was always kind of quirky…” commented the young healer, raising an eyebrow like a Vulcan.
***
At The San Francisco Summer Parade…
“Ladies and gentlemen, as mayor of San Francisco, I am proud to present today’s special guest: Madame Martian, of the Titans!!!”
The crowd turned puzzled gazes toward the mayor as Madame Martian was nowhere to be seen. Before anyone could ask where she was, Madame Martian turned off her invisibility and made herself visible to the crowd, standing mere feet in front of the mayor.
As the crowd cheered, Madame Martian showed her gratitude for such a large attendance. “Oh golly, you all are so wonderful! So many happy faces out there! I wish I could share my Oreos will all of you!” she said gleefully. But before she could utter another word, a second Madame Martian appeared out of nowhere only inches away from the other Madame Martian.
Madame Martian turned to her dopple-danger with a look of confusion, “Hey, you look just like me,” she said with a cocked eye-brow. “Are you here for tea?”
“No, you look just like ME… but we’re going to fix that,” smirked the second Madame Martian as she pulled a flamethrower from a pouch in her cape. She quickly ignited the weapon and aimed it at her prey, immolating her skin.
“Aieeeeee!!!” screamed the first Madame Martian as she staggered back and took to the air.
The second Madame Martian followed in pursuit as the crowd screamed in horror. “Ah, ah, ah. You’re not getting away that easy!” she taunted, firing another stream of flames at her target.
The first Madame Martian found herself on fire and dropped to the ground like a lead balloon.
The second Madame Martian landed beside her burning victim and started to beat her relentlessly with the tank of the flamethrower, ramming it into her head and her shoulders.
“W...w...why are you doing this to me?” the first Madame Martian asked as she struggled for her life. Her body continued to burn, and she could not fend off the relentless blows of her assailant.
“Because you were stupid enough to make yourself an easy target,” replied the imposter as her form started to shift into that of… the Black Orchid. She then ripped Madame Martian’s head from her neck, ending the life of the alien heroine.
She stared around her in triumph, noting the attention of the crowd. As she drank in their stares and heard their cries, her smile began to fade, and a glassy, vacant look in her eyes began to clear up, revealing her dark pupils. In a shocking turn of events, Black Orchid knelt down beside her victim and began to cry. “I… I’m so sorry…” she mumbled. She dropped the disembodied head in shock, and glared in horror at the martian blood covering her hands.
Security guards surrounded the Black Orchid and fired several rounds of bullets at her. They merely bounced off of her rock-hard skin, causing a ticklish-sensation; though she was in no mood to be tickled.
Black Orchid’s sorrow quickly turned to rage as she got up. “Get away from me!!!” she screamed at the police officers as she streaked into the air, disappearing from sight within seconds.
***
Back at the Hall of Justice…
“Great wings of Mercury! She’s back!” Wonder Man cried with a horrified look on his face.
“Black #&$*_%@( Orchid!!!” yelled Palomé. “That witch killed my mother. We’ve got to get to San Fransisco and take her down fast… and hard!”
Wonder Man was not familiar with the Titan from the future, but he had grown to realize that Palomé was always calm, if not cheerful most of the time. His sudden outburst of rage was startling. “Lukas, calm down. She’s already gone,” he replied as he placed his hands on his teammate’s shoulders. “We’ll let the others know and start a manhunt for her. Maybe Nightvision or the Huntress can figure out where she’s been hiding.”
***
The Eiffel Tower, Paris
Sargona breathed in deeply and enjoyed the scenic view from Paris’ beautiful Eiffel Tower. “Dan, there is something that I wanted to discuss with you,” she began.
Green Lantern turned his attention from the birds flying by to his beautiful date.
She continued. “I…I have been doing some thinking. I want to apologize for the way that I have been acting lately.”
Green Lantern cocked his eyebrow, but said nothing.
“I’ve been jealous, controlling, spiteful, mean… no, make that nasty…”
“Sargona, I don’t think you’ve...” retorted Green Lantern.
She held up her hand to his lips and shushed him. “No, I have been nasty to most everyone… and I guess I’ve been insecure.”
“Sargona, I… I’m sorry that I made you feel insecure. I didn’t mean…” replied Green Lantern.
“Dan, I want to tell you something. I know we’ve only been dating for a short time, but I think I am falling in love with you.”
Green Lantern’s eyes widened and his body chemistry changed. He opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off.
“Dan, a special friend of mine… well actually it was Scott…” began Sargona, “…well, anyway Scott gave me some advice. He said that if you love something set it free. If it returns, it’s yours forever. But if it doesn’t… it never was.”
Daniel swallowed hard. “Are you breaking up with me?”
“Everyone can see it but you, Dan,” said Sargona softly. “Please don’t ask me out again until you are sure that you aren’t in love with DiDi. I will be waiting. But I won’t wait forever.”
The two stood silently for a few moments. Green Lantern rubbed his temples. Then he spoke, unsuccessfully trying to disguise his surprise and hurt. “Sargona, really I…”
[glow=yellow,2,300]Beep Beep Beep! [/glow]
Both heroes’ communicators rang. Green Lantern ignored his.
“This is Sargona, what’s up?” asked Sargona as she raised her wrist to her lips, still looking at her beau.
“Nucleus here. Do you know where Green Lantern is?”
Green Lantern finally answered his communicator. “Is it important?” he demanded.
“GL, five of us are investigating that bomb threat at S.T.A.R. Labs. I think you should get here as quickly as possible. Both of you,” responded Nucleus.
Sighing, Sargona shrugged her shoulders and looked imploringly at Green Lantern. “Dan, let’s just go,” she said.
“Nucleus,” spoke Green Lantern into his communicator, “what seems to be the problem? If there are five of you, why can’t you handle it?”
“There are three bombs, GL,” said Nucleus in exasperation. “Each one has a name on it: Starman, Sargona, and Green Lantern. Are you coming or not?”
Green Lantern and Sargona looked at one another. “Do you think this has anything to do with our battle in Hawaii?” asked the sorceress as she prepared to roll out her magic flying carpet.
“Forget that!” yelled Green Lantern as a sleek, green rocket-jet appeared. “Let’s go!”
***
New York City, S.T.A.R. Labs Tower
The New York branch of S.T.A.R. Labs was the largest in the world. Situated upon fifteen acres of beautifully landscaped property, it represented both the great accomplishments and the hope of future advancements through science. While other branches needed only a handful of employees, the Big Apple’s lab provided jobs for more than five hundred scientists, not including the many young hopeful students who served as apprentices there.
“There they are! Huntress and Sonic Boom are leading the evacuation,” said Sargona as Green Lantern’s rocket-jet neared their destination.
“GL! Sargona!” Its good that you’re here!” called out Sonic Boom.
“Nucleus and the others are inside,” said the Huntress. “Follow us!”
As the four heroes rushed into the tall and stately tower Junjie Quick rushed past them carrying two scientists.
Sonic Boom led Green Lantern and Sargona to the department where Nucleus was.
“I don’t like this, GL,” said Nucleus as he pointed to the plaque attached to a bomb. The plaque had the name STARMAN emblazoned upon it. “I have never seen this kind of bomb or technology before.”
“I think this is some kind of technology from the water world. A few of the wires attached to it look like some of the same ones that were part of the Sting Ray’s gun,’” said Sargona. “How on earth did they get in here? How is that possible?”
“Less worrying about the bombs and more worrying about getting people out!” commented Sonic Boom as she overheard their conversation. She saw that they ignored her, and chose to remain with them, opting to diffuse the bombs while the others continued the evacuation.
“I’ll go,” volunteered Nucleus, and left them to investigate the bombs. “I’m at a brick wall with this technology anyway,” he added.
“We are concerned that this is connected with our recent fight with Devil Ray and Sting Ray,” added Green Lantern. “Can we see the other bombs?”
“Sure. This way,” answered Sonic Boom. She noticed an unusual tension between Sargona and Green Lantern as the three rode the elevator to the third floor. She was tempted to ask if she was missing something, but then decided that it was probably just the bomb situation that had them upset. They entered another room.
“Can you make heads or tails of this?” asked Power Guy, pointing to a plaque which read GREEN LANTERN.
“I think… I think it may be some type of message from the Devil Ray to stay out of their business,” surmised Green Lantern.
“All of the water-type villains seem to have lost their minds over a fictional coral necklace,” said Sargona. “Green Lantern, Starman, and I stopped a virtual war in Oahu a few days back.”
“Yeah, we got to see that new guy Whirlpool, too. He was great. He has agreed to be a reserve Titan,” added Green Lantern as he used his ring to x-ray scan the interior of the incendiary devices.
“I met him the other day when he stopped at the Hall to get his signal device. Maybe we should call him in on this case,” suggested Power Guy.
[glow=yellow,2,300]Beep Beep Beep! [/glow]
“Yes?” Green Lantern answered through his communicator.
“Huntress here. Meet me on the 13th floor. There is something strange that I think you’ll want to see.”
“Talk talk talk!” muttered Sonic Boom angrily. “All we do is talk like schoolgirls while these bombs could go off any minute. We need to find a way to diffuse them. Who knows how big the blast will be?” She glared at her teammates, who regarded her quizzically.
“I’m scanning them with my ring,” responded Green Lantern testily.
“Yeah,” she added, “while you talk about the new teen heart-throb from Atlantis. Can we please try to focus?” She followed them to an open window as they flew via power ring to the 13th floor. Green Lantern and Sargona were amazed to see a bomb five times the size of the other two bombs in the center of the room.
“See that?” asked the Huntress pointing to the plaque. The plaque read SARGONA. “There is another plaque on the other side.”
The four heroes went to the other side. Green Lantern, Sargona, and Sonic Boom all gasped at the caption of the second plaque. It read ‘Say Good-bye, Witch.’
[glow=yellow,2,300]Beep Beep Beep! [/glow]
“WHAT???” demanded Green Lantern through his communicator.
“GL!” said Junjie Quick. “I have found dozens of devices throughout the building. They are not any kind of technology that I have ever seen. Nucleus thinks they are some type of video equipment. I think someone is monitoring us.”
“Huntress, is the evacuation completed?” asked Green Lantern.
“Affirmative, but I’ll make one last check,” replied the Huntress as she ran out the door. She spoke into her communicator, broadcasting to the police force frequencies. “Continue clearing the area. We don’t know how big a blast will be if these bombs go off!”
“Wait!” said Green Lantern, but she was already gone.
Suddenly the Sting Ray appeared in the room and embraced Sargona from behind. Then as quickly as the villainess appeared, both she and the sorceress vanished.
“EVERYONE OUT OF THE …” shouted Green Lantern into his communicator.
***
The Soder Cola Building
Instantly appearing on the rooftop of the main branch of Soder Cola, Sting Ray had Sargona in a choke hold from behind. Sargona struggled and kicked to no avail. The Sting Ray slapped her victim and physically forced her to look at S.T.A.R. Labs Tower from the distant building. She could feel her blood trickling down the side of her face as the Sting Ray’s nails dug into her scalp. Before Sargona could assess the situation the villainess said bitterly, “You ever touch me again and I’ll kill the rest of your team. Say good-bye!”
[glow=red,2,300]BOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! [/glow]
S.T.A.R. Labs Tower exploded in a great fire. A giant mushroom-shaped cloud formed high in the sky above the pillar of smoke and ash that was once S.T.A.R. Labs’ finest branch.
“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!” screamed Sargona in horror as Sting Ray vanished.
To be continued...
Written by: Power Guy and Green Lantern
Featured Artist: Stranger (Huntress Card by Christophe)
Editor: Marcus Mebes
***
The Hall of Justice, Metropolis, U.S.A….
Wonder Man was sitting in the lounge in front of the Hall’s 100 inch television watching a parade broadcast. Palomé entered the room looking for something to do.
“Hey dude, whatcha watchin’?” he inquired.
“Oh hey Lukas!” greeted Wonder Man. “I’m just watching the San Francisco Summer Parade. Madame Martian(the former Miss Martian)—you know, from the Titans—is going to be there. I met her a few times when my Aunt Donna took me to Titans Tower.”
“I remember her. She was always kind of quirky…” commented the young healer, raising an eyebrow like a Vulcan.
***
At The San Francisco Summer Parade…
“Ladies and gentlemen, as mayor of San Francisco, I am proud to present today’s special guest: Madame Martian, of the Titans!!!”
The crowd turned puzzled gazes toward the mayor as Madame Martian was nowhere to be seen. Before anyone could ask where she was, Madame Martian turned off her invisibility and made herself visible to the crowd, standing mere feet in front of the mayor.
As the crowd cheered, Madame Martian showed her gratitude for such a large attendance. “Oh golly, you all are so wonderful! So many happy faces out there! I wish I could share my Oreos will all of you!” she said gleefully. But before she could utter another word, a second Madame Martian appeared out of nowhere only inches away from the other Madame Martian.
Madame Martian turned to her dopple-danger with a look of confusion, “Hey, you look just like me,” she said with a cocked eye-brow. “Are you here for tea?”
“No, you look just like ME… but we’re going to fix that,” smirked the second Madame Martian as she pulled a flamethrower from a pouch in her cape. She quickly ignited the weapon and aimed it at her prey, immolating her skin.
“Aieeeeee!!!” screamed the first Madame Martian as she staggered back and took to the air.
The second Madame Martian followed in pursuit as the crowd screamed in horror. “Ah, ah, ah. You’re not getting away that easy!” she taunted, firing another stream of flames at her target.
The first Madame Martian found herself on fire and dropped to the ground like a lead balloon.
The second Madame Martian landed beside her burning victim and started to beat her relentlessly with the tank of the flamethrower, ramming it into her head and her shoulders.
“W...w...why are you doing this to me?” the first Madame Martian asked as she struggled for her life. Her body continued to burn, and she could not fend off the relentless blows of her assailant.
“Because you were stupid enough to make yourself an easy target,” replied the imposter as her form started to shift into that of… the Black Orchid. She then ripped Madame Martian’s head from her neck, ending the life of the alien heroine.
She stared around her in triumph, noting the attention of the crowd. As she drank in their stares and heard their cries, her smile began to fade, and a glassy, vacant look in her eyes began to clear up, revealing her dark pupils. In a shocking turn of events, Black Orchid knelt down beside her victim and began to cry. “I… I’m so sorry…” she mumbled. She dropped the disembodied head in shock, and glared in horror at the martian blood covering her hands.
Security guards surrounded the Black Orchid and fired several rounds of bullets at her. They merely bounced off of her rock-hard skin, causing a ticklish-sensation; though she was in no mood to be tickled.
Black Orchid’s sorrow quickly turned to rage as she got up. “Get away from me!!!” she screamed at the police officers as she streaked into the air, disappearing from sight within seconds.
***
Back at the Hall of Justice…
“Great wings of Mercury! She’s back!” Wonder Man cried with a horrified look on his face.
“Black #&$*_%@( Orchid!!!” yelled Palomé. “That witch killed my mother. We’ve got to get to San Fransisco and take her down fast… and hard!”
Wonder Man was not familiar with the Titan from the future, but he had grown to realize that Palomé was always calm, if not cheerful most of the time. His sudden outburst of rage was startling. “Lukas, calm down. She’s already gone,” he replied as he placed his hands on his teammate’s shoulders. “We’ll let the others know and start a manhunt for her. Maybe Nightvision or the Huntress can figure out where she’s been hiding.”
***
The Eiffel Tower, Paris
Sargona breathed in deeply and enjoyed the scenic view from Paris’ beautiful Eiffel Tower. “Dan, there is something that I wanted to discuss with you,” she began.
Green Lantern turned his attention from the birds flying by to his beautiful date.
She continued. “I…I have been doing some thinking. I want to apologize for the way that I have been acting lately.”
Green Lantern cocked his eyebrow, but said nothing.
“I’ve been jealous, controlling, spiteful, mean… no, make that nasty…”
“Sargona, I don’t think you’ve...” retorted Green Lantern.
She held up her hand to his lips and shushed him. “No, I have been nasty to most everyone… and I guess I’ve been insecure.”
“Sargona, I… I’m sorry that I made you feel insecure. I didn’t mean…” replied Green Lantern.
“Dan, I want to tell you something. I know we’ve only been dating for a short time, but I think I am falling in love with you.”
Green Lantern’s eyes widened and his body chemistry changed. He opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off.
“Dan, a special friend of mine… well actually it was Scott…” began Sargona, “…well, anyway Scott gave me some advice. He said that if you love something set it free. If it returns, it’s yours forever. But if it doesn’t… it never was.”
Daniel swallowed hard. “Are you breaking up with me?”
“Everyone can see it but you, Dan,” said Sargona softly. “Please don’t ask me out again until you are sure that you aren’t in love with DiDi. I will be waiting. But I won’t wait forever.”
The two stood silently for a few moments. Green Lantern rubbed his temples. Then he spoke, unsuccessfully trying to disguise his surprise and hurt. “Sargona, really I…”
[glow=yellow,2,300]Beep Beep Beep! [/glow]
Both heroes’ communicators rang. Green Lantern ignored his.
“This is Sargona, what’s up?” asked Sargona as she raised her wrist to her lips, still looking at her beau.
“Nucleus here. Do you know where Green Lantern is?”
Green Lantern finally answered his communicator. “Is it important?” he demanded.
“GL, five of us are investigating that bomb threat at S.T.A.R. Labs. I think you should get here as quickly as possible. Both of you,” responded Nucleus.
Sighing, Sargona shrugged her shoulders and looked imploringly at Green Lantern. “Dan, let’s just go,” she said.
“Nucleus,” spoke Green Lantern into his communicator, “what seems to be the problem? If there are five of you, why can’t you handle it?”
“There are three bombs, GL,” said Nucleus in exasperation. “Each one has a name on it: Starman, Sargona, and Green Lantern. Are you coming or not?”
Green Lantern and Sargona looked at one another. “Do you think this has anything to do with our battle in Hawaii?” asked the sorceress as she prepared to roll out her magic flying carpet.
“Forget that!” yelled Green Lantern as a sleek, green rocket-jet appeared. “Let’s go!”
***
New York City, S.T.A.R. Labs Tower
The New York branch of S.T.A.R. Labs was the largest in the world. Situated upon fifteen acres of beautifully landscaped property, it represented both the great accomplishments and the hope of future advancements through science. While other branches needed only a handful of employees, the Big Apple’s lab provided jobs for more than five hundred scientists, not including the many young hopeful students who served as apprentices there.
“There they are! Huntress and Sonic Boom are leading the evacuation,” said Sargona as Green Lantern’s rocket-jet neared their destination.
“GL! Sargona!” Its good that you’re here!” called out Sonic Boom.
“Nucleus and the others are inside,” said the Huntress. “Follow us!”
As the four heroes rushed into the tall and stately tower Junjie Quick rushed past them carrying two scientists.
Sonic Boom led Green Lantern and Sargona to the department where Nucleus was.
“I don’t like this, GL,” said Nucleus as he pointed to the plaque attached to a bomb. The plaque had the name STARMAN emblazoned upon it. “I have never seen this kind of bomb or technology before.”
“I think this is some kind of technology from the water world. A few of the wires attached to it look like some of the same ones that were part of the Sting Ray’s gun,’” said Sargona. “How on earth did they get in here? How is that possible?”
“Less worrying about the bombs and more worrying about getting people out!” commented Sonic Boom as she overheard their conversation. She saw that they ignored her, and chose to remain with them, opting to diffuse the bombs while the others continued the evacuation.
“I’ll go,” volunteered Nucleus, and left them to investigate the bombs. “I’m at a brick wall with this technology anyway,” he added.
“We are concerned that this is connected with our recent fight with Devil Ray and Sting Ray,” added Green Lantern. “Can we see the other bombs?”
“Sure. This way,” answered Sonic Boom. She noticed an unusual tension between Sargona and Green Lantern as the three rode the elevator to the third floor. She was tempted to ask if she was missing something, but then decided that it was probably just the bomb situation that had them upset. They entered another room.
“Can you make heads or tails of this?” asked Power Guy, pointing to a plaque which read GREEN LANTERN.
“I think… I think it may be some type of message from the Devil Ray to stay out of their business,” surmised Green Lantern.
“All of the water-type villains seem to have lost their minds over a fictional coral necklace,” said Sargona. “Green Lantern, Starman, and I stopped a virtual war in Oahu a few days back.”
“Yeah, we got to see that new guy Whirlpool, too. He was great. He has agreed to be a reserve Titan,” added Green Lantern as he used his ring to x-ray scan the interior of the incendiary devices.
“I met him the other day when he stopped at the Hall to get his signal device. Maybe we should call him in on this case,” suggested Power Guy.
[glow=yellow,2,300]Beep Beep Beep! [/glow]
“Yes?” Green Lantern answered through his communicator.
“Huntress here. Meet me on the 13th floor. There is something strange that I think you’ll want to see.”
“Talk talk talk!” muttered Sonic Boom angrily. “All we do is talk like schoolgirls while these bombs could go off any minute. We need to find a way to diffuse them. Who knows how big the blast will be?” She glared at her teammates, who regarded her quizzically.
“I’m scanning them with my ring,” responded Green Lantern testily.
“Yeah,” she added, “while you talk about the new teen heart-throb from Atlantis. Can we please try to focus?” She followed them to an open window as they flew via power ring to the 13th floor. Green Lantern and Sargona were amazed to see a bomb five times the size of the other two bombs in the center of the room.
“See that?” asked the Huntress pointing to the plaque. The plaque read SARGONA. “There is another plaque on the other side.”
The four heroes went to the other side. Green Lantern, Sargona, and Sonic Boom all gasped at the caption of the second plaque. It read ‘Say Good-bye, Witch.’
[glow=yellow,2,300]Beep Beep Beep! [/glow]
“WHAT???” demanded Green Lantern through his communicator.
“GL!” said Junjie Quick. “I have found dozens of devices throughout the building. They are not any kind of technology that I have ever seen. Nucleus thinks they are some type of video equipment. I think someone is monitoring us.”
“Huntress, is the evacuation completed?” asked Green Lantern.
“Affirmative, but I’ll make one last check,” replied the Huntress as she ran out the door. She spoke into her communicator, broadcasting to the police force frequencies. “Continue clearing the area. We don’t know how big a blast will be if these bombs go off!”
“Wait!” said Green Lantern, but she was already gone.
Suddenly the Sting Ray appeared in the room and embraced Sargona from behind. Then as quickly as the villainess appeared, both she and the sorceress vanished.
“EVERYONE OUT OF THE …” shouted Green Lantern into his communicator.
***
The Soder Cola Building
Instantly appearing on the rooftop of the main branch of Soder Cola, Sting Ray had Sargona in a choke hold from behind. Sargona struggled and kicked to no avail. The Sting Ray slapped her victim and physically forced her to look at S.T.A.R. Labs Tower from the distant building. She could feel her blood trickling down the side of her face as the Sting Ray’s nails dug into her scalp. Before Sargona could assess the situation the villainess said bitterly, “You ever touch me again and I’ll kill the rest of your team. Say good-bye!”
[glow=red,2,300]BOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! [/glow]
S.T.A.R. Labs Tower exploded in a great fire. A giant mushroom-shaped cloud formed high in the sky above the pillar of smoke and ash that was once S.T.A.R. Labs’ finest branch.
“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!” screamed Sargona in horror as Sting Ray vanished.
To be continued...