Post by Deleted on Mar 27, 2015 8:15:48 GMT -5
Titans West Chapter 8—“I’m getting killed by me!”
Written By: Archkid
Edited By: Power Guy
“Kill that moron first.” Avatar commanded.
The Arachnid smiled under his mask, and waited as the doppelgangers of his teammates charged at him. He knew his powers were better than Starman’s, and Kid Comet was always stronger than him. So, he knew who to attack. He grabbed the man Avatar called Cosmos and threw him around like a rag doll.
However, the Arachnid was hit from behind, and thrown in the air, Comet King smiled, “You always need some help, don’t you Cos?”
“Shut up!” Cosmos sharply answered.
“Um…Starman? What are we going to do now?” Bee-Sting asked, she assumed one of the Titans’ heavy-hitters might have an answer, she didn’t have her weapons, they were in her lab, broken from her encounter with Lady Light.
“Uh…I think we fight back…?” Starman managed to answer, although it was really answering a question with another question.
“D**n right we do. Bee-Sting, their Icemanling has to have my powers, you and Hermes should be able to over power him if you don’t give him a chance. Supergirl, go get Arachnid, we’ll need him, Starman, radio HQ, we need back-up!” Icemanling commanded, he instantly took charge, after all, in every sense he was deputy leader, and he’d be d**ned if his team was going to fall down and take a beating.
“You got it Frosty!” Starman smiled, instantly following orders. He radioed HQ, only to get a weak Jemstone on the line. “Jem, listen we need help, badly, so, where’s the rest of the group?” Starman listened to Jemstone’s weak reply, and smiled, she would do everything in her power to help.
***
The Metrotower, L.A…
Jemstone had managed to wake up Wonder Warrior from his nasty concussion, and managed to also get him back in shape. She’d also called Kid Comet, who had told her he would help his team no matter what.
“So, the team’s under attack by doppelgangers…I hate this team, if it’s not a 70 year old master manipulator arranging our deaths, or an immortal playing around, or—or Prime Ministers freezing L.A., it’s doppelgangers from freakin’ Earth-3!” Wonder Warrior moaned. Really, it wasn’t the threats that annoyed him, more or less the antics of the team. Yesterday Wonder Warrior was called by the Arachnid’s agent. The day before, a bunch of toys were delivered for Starman.
“WW? Pal, I think we need to help out the team.” Jemstone responded, a coy smirk on her face. She wanted to get back at the evil versions of the Titans.
***
Downtown L.A., Roughly fifteen minutes later…
Icemanling easily directed the fight, although not fighting himself. His doppelganger was out cold, Bee-Sting herself managed to drop kick that sicko after Hermes softened him up a little. Icemanling admired her for fighting despite the fact her safety net was gone.
Supergirl was above the city, fighting her doppelganger. Starman had been knocked down by his. The Arachnid was managing to hold off Comet King, thanks to his “Beetle’s Bite” power. However, it was not enough. The Titans were falling like flies.
Icemanling looked on as Supergirl was beaten into the ground. The Arachnid was thrown around, and smashed into everything around him. He looked as Bee-Sting fell, and he saw Hermes, Admes, fall to the ground in agony.
“Enough!” Icemanling called, an instant blizzard caught L.A., the temperature dropped below zero, and snow and ice appeared out of thin air. The doppelganger known as Frostbite ran to Icemanling, only to receive a spinning kick to the jaw.
A good portion of L.A. was now covered in snow, Icemanling looked at himself, searching his hands, he wasn’t making this ice, this blizzard from his hands, he wondered how he was doing it. He knew, instantly, that he was no longer Fire’s little sidekick boy.
He knew he had grown. None of the Titans had more experience than he did. He had come out of the closet. He wasn’t afraid anymore. He…he knew it was time to grow up. He remembered what Starman had called him before ‘Frosty’.
He wasn’t that immature, but, it was a step up. ‘Frost’, he decided. He looked to the sky and saw the Silverstreak pierce the blizzard he made. He smiled warmly. Wonder Warrior and Jemstone appeared. Ice--Frost had to wonder where Kid Comet was, though, truthfully, he didn’t want to know. Kid Comet wasn’t exactly Frost’s best friend. That honor went to Bee-Sting.
The heroes joined him, and his fallen teammates tried to get up to help.
Wonder Warrior didn’t take the reins. Frost smiled pleasantly at that, “Listen up Titans, we’ve maybe got one chance—”
The Syndicate instantly attacked, Wonder Warrior was tackled by Avatar. Ultra Girl attacked Jemstone, who erupted in pure energy, searing Ultra Girl, and hurting her quite badly. Jemstone could tell that Ultra Girl was more powerful than Supergirl, she didn’t know why, but it didn’t matter.
In a shocking turn of events, Comet King proudly shattered Frost’s jaw, in front of everyone. Frost fell to the ground and winced in pain. He was mad. But there was nothing he could do. He could really only let the darkness surround him.
The Syndicate laughed wickedly, only Comet King seemed to be in control. It was chilling to see the Titans fall. Comet King had reached out, his mind closing down every hero’s there.
Only one Titan was left standing, the Arachnid.
“What’s wrong with you bug? Why can’t I shut you down like your friends?” Comet King asked, coldly, sneering at the hero.
“Maybe because I ain’t human. Maybe because I haven’t been for a long time.” The Arachnid smirked back. He rushed the telepath, knocking him over, and then tackling him as he costume sprouted large fangs, letting the Beetle’s Bite knock him out.
“Heh. See, not even the Titans know the whole truth, they think I’m just like the last Blue Beetle. Common mistake, at least Booster knew what’s what. Now, ladies, lady, who wants to go first?” The Arachnid laughed, daring the villains who had just taken down every friend he’d ever had.
There was something in his eyes, confidence and daring that even the lenses of his mask couldn’t hide. He wanted to fight them all. Avatar, Ultra Girl, Cosmos, none of them seemed important to him.
Blue energy escaped his fingers, rage held him up, he had suffered injuries, but not as severe as he would’ve. The Arachnid watched for the first move, but saw, instead, a red and blue blur knocking down Avatar, and grabbing the Star Rod from Cosmos.
“Kid Comet!” Came the Arachnid’s yell, he took his chance, and hit Ultra Girl with a Beetle’s Bite blast. The…whatever she was couldn’t stand the magic in the blast. And was knocked out before anyone knew what happened.
***
STAR Labs, Three hours later…
Frost, Wonder Warrior and Kid Comet had gone back to headquarters, to discuss an important change in the Titans West. Starman had apparently gone with Bee-Sting to the hospital, to check out the concussion she got, and to see if he could get a few stitches.
Supergirl had gone to the Fortress of Solitude, to get her father’s help on sending the Syndicate home. That left Jemstone and the Arachnid to seek out other forms of help. Jemstone went searching for a scientific means of sending the doppelgangers home.
“Gentlemen, please, explain again why you can’t send them home?” Jemstone said coldly, she’d been sitting at Star Labs L.A. branch for an hour, having scientific jargon stuffed down her throat.
“Well, frankly, if we could break the multiverse, we’d never be sure if we actually got them to the right world, you’d…need a Flash for that, old stories say they always traveled to other dimensions.” A short, balding scientist said.
“What, you mean borrow Junjie? Just to have him break some dimensional barrier? Seems too much like using him, if you ask me.” Jemstone stated, a little angrily, but she hid it well.
“Junjie? Is he the Asian Flash kid on the real Titans team?” the scientist asked.
***
Somewhere…
The Arachnid’s spine crawled, he knew how to contact the Stranger, though he never told his team this. He didn’t tell them a lot of things, who he was, and what he is were chief among them. He kept his secrets, because the truth would cause great chaos.
“Greeting Scarab.” Came the voice of the Stranger, cool, and calm, though he also seemed tremendously worried. “I believe you wanted to speak to me.”
“Yeah, I did. Doppelgangers from across the multiverse need to be sent home. You can manage that right?” The Arachnid sharply said, a strong hint of resentment in his voice.
“You haven’t told the Titans just how different you are from the Blue Beetles, have you?” The Stranger asked, he looked almost coldly at the Arachnid.
“It’s none of their business, just like it isn’t yours.” The Arachnid retorted.
“Are you going to answer my question?” asked the Stranger.
“I see, but, Scarab, don’t you feel that the time will come?” The Stranger said, stalking around the room of nothingness the two occupied.
“Listen, it’s Arachnid okay? The Scarab doesn’t have anymore legs. Well, two, I suppose. It isn’t important!”
“Yes, it is. Or do you think it’s a coincidence that the day you arrived was exactly four years before your origin?”
“Why not? You didn’t plan for any interruption…”
“Fine, Arachnid, your enemies are gone.”
“Why were they so easy to beat?”
“Good cannot triumph on Earth-3, Evil can not triumph here. I thought you would know.”
The Arachnid was about to scream for an answer, when he found himself in an alley. He hated this, all the magic types did it. However, he knew the Stranger, only a little, but he never struck him as the one to so easily dismiss someone. Something was wrong. The Stranger was looking, peering into another world, or the other side, or…the East Coast.
The Arachnid ran down the streets, he looked around, and noticed a newspaper, a day had passed, and it was all over the news, looking into a TV in a store window, he saw there was something happening in San Francisco. The Arachnid didn’t know what, but saw them, the legends of his time swoop down to help.
For a while it looked like everything was right with the world. He breathed a sigh of relief, he walked away.
A few minues later, two policemen managed to find him, they tapped him on the shoulder, and led a short man to him, he was handed some papers. He raised an eye-brow. “What?”
“Mister…Arachnid? You’ve just been served.”
***
A day back…
The Syndicate of Terror disappeared, and the Titans West were smiling, not because they had beaten an enemy. But because of the new announcement, Wonder Warrior was about to make.
“Titans, I’m stepping down as leader. It’s occurred to me that my life is taking me a little away from the team. I live with my cousin far away, I’m not always here. Kid Comet has the same problem, living outside of the tower means he’d not always here. I’d like to announce Frost—well, he used to be Icemanling—has been named the new leader. He’s proven himself. Kid Comet will be taking the deputy chair.
“Personally, I hope everything goes smoothly for them. Frost, the floor’s yours.”
“Thanks Chris. Uh, I’m thrilled to be named leader. It’s a great privilege, Kid Comet and Wonder Warrior, well, they’ve been great. Giving me this honor doesn’t mean I’m going to be a suck-up though. Oh, and Chris, whatever you did for my jaw, thanks. It feels much better now.”
“Ancient Amazon technique.” Wonder Warrior bragged. He was more at home now, having the pressure lifted from him.
“As I was saying, I’m honored by this, and…hey, where’s the Arachnid? Shouldn’t he be back by now? Jemstone returned just fine.” Frost pointed out. “First official act of leadership…leading a search-party for the bug-man.” Frost grumbled.
“Uh, Frost…Comet, I’ll stay here. You never know what might come up.” Starman smiled weakly.
“This is a huge waste of time…” Bee-Sting began, following the rest of the team outside. They all separated, searching the city for him.
***
Hours later…
The team returned, Starman was gone, apparently with GL, according to his note. The Titans lazed around, Frost thought only of Hermes and how his date had been ruined. It was selfish to do so, but so what? It was about time he let himself be selfish over little things, after all the pressure he was about to be under…
Written By: Archkid
Edited By: Power Guy
“Kill that moron first.” Avatar commanded.
The Arachnid smiled under his mask, and waited as the doppelgangers of his teammates charged at him. He knew his powers were better than Starman’s, and Kid Comet was always stronger than him. So, he knew who to attack. He grabbed the man Avatar called Cosmos and threw him around like a rag doll.
However, the Arachnid was hit from behind, and thrown in the air, Comet King smiled, “You always need some help, don’t you Cos?”
“Shut up!” Cosmos sharply answered.
“Um…Starman? What are we going to do now?” Bee-Sting asked, she assumed one of the Titans’ heavy-hitters might have an answer, she didn’t have her weapons, they were in her lab, broken from her encounter with Lady Light.
“Uh…I think we fight back…?” Starman managed to answer, although it was really answering a question with another question.
“D**n right we do. Bee-Sting, their Icemanling has to have my powers, you and Hermes should be able to over power him if you don’t give him a chance. Supergirl, go get Arachnid, we’ll need him, Starman, radio HQ, we need back-up!” Icemanling commanded, he instantly took charge, after all, in every sense he was deputy leader, and he’d be d**ned if his team was going to fall down and take a beating.
“You got it Frosty!” Starman smiled, instantly following orders. He radioed HQ, only to get a weak Jemstone on the line. “Jem, listen we need help, badly, so, where’s the rest of the group?” Starman listened to Jemstone’s weak reply, and smiled, she would do everything in her power to help.
***
The Metrotower, L.A…
Jemstone had managed to wake up Wonder Warrior from his nasty concussion, and managed to also get him back in shape. She’d also called Kid Comet, who had told her he would help his team no matter what.
“So, the team’s under attack by doppelgangers…I hate this team, if it’s not a 70 year old master manipulator arranging our deaths, or an immortal playing around, or—or Prime Ministers freezing L.A., it’s doppelgangers from freakin’ Earth-3!” Wonder Warrior moaned. Really, it wasn’t the threats that annoyed him, more or less the antics of the team. Yesterday Wonder Warrior was called by the Arachnid’s agent. The day before, a bunch of toys were delivered for Starman.
“WW? Pal, I think we need to help out the team.” Jemstone responded, a coy smirk on her face. She wanted to get back at the evil versions of the Titans.
***
Downtown L.A., Roughly fifteen minutes later…
Icemanling easily directed the fight, although not fighting himself. His doppelganger was out cold, Bee-Sting herself managed to drop kick that sicko after Hermes softened him up a little. Icemanling admired her for fighting despite the fact her safety net was gone.
Supergirl was above the city, fighting her doppelganger. Starman had been knocked down by his. The Arachnid was managing to hold off Comet King, thanks to his “Beetle’s Bite” power. However, it was not enough. The Titans were falling like flies.
Icemanling looked on as Supergirl was beaten into the ground. The Arachnid was thrown around, and smashed into everything around him. He looked as Bee-Sting fell, and he saw Hermes, Admes, fall to the ground in agony.
“Enough!” Icemanling called, an instant blizzard caught L.A., the temperature dropped below zero, and snow and ice appeared out of thin air. The doppelganger known as Frostbite ran to Icemanling, only to receive a spinning kick to the jaw.
A good portion of L.A. was now covered in snow, Icemanling looked at himself, searching his hands, he wasn’t making this ice, this blizzard from his hands, he wondered how he was doing it. He knew, instantly, that he was no longer Fire’s little sidekick boy.
He knew he had grown. None of the Titans had more experience than he did. He had come out of the closet. He wasn’t afraid anymore. He…he knew it was time to grow up. He remembered what Starman had called him before ‘Frosty’.
He wasn’t that immature, but, it was a step up. ‘Frost’, he decided. He looked to the sky and saw the Silverstreak pierce the blizzard he made. He smiled warmly. Wonder Warrior and Jemstone appeared. Ice--Frost had to wonder where Kid Comet was, though, truthfully, he didn’t want to know. Kid Comet wasn’t exactly Frost’s best friend. That honor went to Bee-Sting.
The heroes joined him, and his fallen teammates tried to get up to help.
Wonder Warrior didn’t take the reins. Frost smiled pleasantly at that, “Listen up Titans, we’ve maybe got one chance—”
The Syndicate instantly attacked, Wonder Warrior was tackled by Avatar. Ultra Girl attacked Jemstone, who erupted in pure energy, searing Ultra Girl, and hurting her quite badly. Jemstone could tell that Ultra Girl was more powerful than Supergirl, she didn’t know why, but it didn’t matter.
In a shocking turn of events, Comet King proudly shattered Frost’s jaw, in front of everyone. Frost fell to the ground and winced in pain. He was mad. But there was nothing he could do. He could really only let the darkness surround him.
The Syndicate laughed wickedly, only Comet King seemed to be in control. It was chilling to see the Titans fall. Comet King had reached out, his mind closing down every hero’s there.
Only one Titan was left standing, the Arachnid.
“What’s wrong with you bug? Why can’t I shut you down like your friends?” Comet King asked, coldly, sneering at the hero.
“Maybe because I ain’t human. Maybe because I haven’t been for a long time.” The Arachnid smirked back. He rushed the telepath, knocking him over, and then tackling him as he costume sprouted large fangs, letting the Beetle’s Bite knock him out.
“Heh. See, not even the Titans know the whole truth, they think I’m just like the last Blue Beetle. Common mistake, at least Booster knew what’s what. Now, ladies, lady, who wants to go first?” The Arachnid laughed, daring the villains who had just taken down every friend he’d ever had.
There was something in his eyes, confidence and daring that even the lenses of his mask couldn’t hide. He wanted to fight them all. Avatar, Ultra Girl, Cosmos, none of them seemed important to him.
Blue energy escaped his fingers, rage held him up, he had suffered injuries, but not as severe as he would’ve. The Arachnid watched for the first move, but saw, instead, a red and blue blur knocking down Avatar, and grabbing the Star Rod from Cosmos.
“Kid Comet!” Came the Arachnid’s yell, he took his chance, and hit Ultra Girl with a Beetle’s Bite blast. The…whatever she was couldn’t stand the magic in the blast. And was knocked out before anyone knew what happened.
***
STAR Labs, Three hours later…
Frost, Wonder Warrior and Kid Comet had gone back to headquarters, to discuss an important change in the Titans West. Starman had apparently gone with Bee-Sting to the hospital, to check out the concussion she got, and to see if he could get a few stitches.
Supergirl had gone to the Fortress of Solitude, to get her father’s help on sending the Syndicate home. That left Jemstone and the Arachnid to seek out other forms of help. Jemstone went searching for a scientific means of sending the doppelgangers home.
“Gentlemen, please, explain again why you can’t send them home?” Jemstone said coldly, she’d been sitting at Star Labs L.A. branch for an hour, having scientific jargon stuffed down her throat.
“Well, frankly, if we could break the multiverse, we’d never be sure if we actually got them to the right world, you’d…need a Flash for that, old stories say they always traveled to other dimensions.” A short, balding scientist said.
“What, you mean borrow Junjie? Just to have him break some dimensional barrier? Seems too much like using him, if you ask me.” Jemstone stated, a little angrily, but she hid it well.
“Junjie? Is he the Asian Flash kid on the real Titans team?” the scientist asked.
***
Somewhere…
The Arachnid’s spine crawled, he knew how to contact the Stranger, though he never told his team this. He didn’t tell them a lot of things, who he was, and what he is were chief among them. He kept his secrets, because the truth would cause great chaos.
“Greeting Scarab.” Came the voice of the Stranger, cool, and calm, though he also seemed tremendously worried. “I believe you wanted to speak to me.”
“Yeah, I did. Doppelgangers from across the multiverse need to be sent home. You can manage that right?” The Arachnid sharply said, a strong hint of resentment in his voice.
“You haven’t told the Titans just how different you are from the Blue Beetles, have you?” The Stranger asked, he looked almost coldly at the Arachnid.
“It’s none of their business, just like it isn’t yours.” The Arachnid retorted.
“Are you going to answer my question?” asked the Stranger.
“I see, but, Scarab, don’t you feel that the time will come?” The Stranger said, stalking around the room of nothingness the two occupied.
“Listen, it’s Arachnid okay? The Scarab doesn’t have anymore legs. Well, two, I suppose. It isn’t important!”
“Yes, it is. Or do you think it’s a coincidence that the day you arrived was exactly four years before your origin?”
“Why not? You didn’t plan for any interruption…”
“Fine, Arachnid, your enemies are gone.”
“Why were they so easy to beat?”
“Good cannot triumph on Earth-3, Evil can not triumph here. I thought you would know.”
The Arachnid was about to scream for an answer, when he found himself in an alley. He hated this, all the magic types did it. However, he knew the Stranger, only a little, but he never struck him as the one to so easily dismiss someone. Something was wrong. The Stranger was looking, peering into another world, or the other side, or…the East Coast.
The Arachnid ran down the streets, he looked around, and noticed a newspaper, a day had passed, and it was all over the news, looking into a TV in a store window, he saw there was something happening in San Francisco. The Arachnid didn’t know what, but saw them, the legends of his time swoop down to help.
For a while it looked like everything was right with the world. He breathed a sigh of relief, he walked away.
A few minues later, two policemen managed to find him, they tapped him on the shoulder, and led a short man to him, he was handed some papers. He raised an eye-brow. “What?”
“Mister…Arachnid? You’ve just been served.”
***
A day back…
The Syndicate of Terror disappeared, and the Titans West were smiling, not because they had beaten an enemy. But because of the new announcement, Wonder Warrior was about to make.
“Titans, I’m stepping down as leader. It’s occurred to me that my life is taking me a little away from the team. I live with my cousin far away, I’m not always here. Kid Comet has the same problem, living outside of the tower means he’d not always here. I’d like to announce Frost—well, he used to be Icemanling—has been named the new leader. He’s proven himself. Kid Comet will be taking the deputy chair.
“Personally, I hope everything goes smoothly for them. Frost, the floor’s yours.”
“Thanks Chris. Uh, I’m thrilled to be named leader. It’s a great privilege, Kid Comet and Wonder Warrior, well, they’ve been great. Giving me this honor doesn’t mean I’m going to be a suck-up though. Oh, and Chris, whatever you did for my jaw, thanks. It feels much better now.”
“Ancient Amazon technique.” Wonder Warrior bragged. He was more at home now, having the pressure lifted from him.
“As I was saying, I’m honored by this, and…hey, where’s the Arachnid? Shouldn’t he be back by now? Jemstone returned just fine.” Frost pointed out. “First official act of leadership…leading a search-party for the bug-man.” Frost grumbled.
“Uh, Frost…Comet, I’ll stay here. You never know what might come up.” Starman smiled weakly.
“This is a huge waste of time…” Bee-Sting began, following the rest of the team outside. They all separated, searching the city for him.
***
Hours later…
The team returned, Starman was gone, apparently with GL, according to his note. The Titans lazed around, Frost thought only of Hermes and how his date had been ruined. It was selfish to do so, but so what? It was about time he let himself be selfish over little things, after all the pressure he was about to be under…