Post by Deleted on Mar 27, 2015 8:32:02 GMT -5
Titans West Chapter 9 “The Far Reaches of Loss & Dispair”
Written By: Power Guy, Kid Comet, Christophe, & Darthennis
Co-conspirator: Green Lantern
Featured Artist: The Stranger
Edited By: Power Guy
A small, lonely house in the middle of nowhere…
The lonely figure hovered a couple of feet from the floor encased in a warm glow.
This meditation thing really helped to ease the permanent pressure of mental traffic from the outside world. Kid Comet made a mental note to remember to thank Madame Martian for the hints and tips, it definitely made it easier to deal with the telepathic chaff from everyone else on earth.
For the first time since finding out about his powers and his parentage Kid Comet finally felt that he was coming to terms with his life and the consequences of having these powers.
“Hey Dave”
“What now!” He thought, “Just as I get settled I get disturbed”.
“Ye……arrrgggghhhh!” Kid screamed in reply. Dropping to the floor and grabbing his pounding head.
He’d never heard a mental voice like it.
The ground shook, all over the house things flew from their shelves, doors banged and drawers flew open the contents of which went flying in every direction.
Kid Comet sat up in shock. He couldn’t remember ever feeling anguish, horror and mental pain like that. He stood up and looked into the now broken and distorted mirror.
A voice in the background shouted out “I’m Fine, what happened?”
“I don’t know” he cried back “but it can’t be good, I need to get to the team urgently, I have never felt anything like it before, sorry I have to go”.
The roof of the now damaged house exploded outwards as Kid Comet took to the skies, hastily making his way towards the Titans and the horrors that awaited him……
The Metrotower, Los Angeles…
In the gym, Starman, Arachnid, Supergirl, and Jemstone were all playing a game of volley-ball to pass the time.
The volley-ball game was decidedly one sided. Despite Arachnid's assurances that they were only "letting" the girls win, Jemstone and Supergirl had a 47-0 lead over Arachnid and Starman.
Starman himself absolutely hated sports of any kind, and he was only taking part in this slaughter because Supergirl had asked him to play. He has faced down the likes of Mordru and Brainiac without blinking, and even managed to overcome an evil counterpart of himself. But, for some reason he just can's seem to be able to tell Supergirl "no". She knows this as well, and it drives him nuts.
As Starman was blocking what would have assuredly been another sound defeat by the girls, Frost came charging out the back door making a beeline for the volley ball court, looking rather disheveled.
" Guys...come quick! You've gotta see this" he said with sorrow-filled eyes " There's been an accident...S.T.A.R. Labs has been destroyed"
" What?!" The foursome said in unison
" Aw..that's nothing, S.T.A.R. Labs got destroyed at least once a month back in the mid 90's" Arachnid chimed in "They always manage to fix it."
" Yeah, but the news says that some of the Titans East were in it at the time." Frost said somberly.
They all raced to the monitor room.
On the screen flashed a banner that read "Special News Bulletin". Lois Kent was still standing in front of a police line. Off in the distance behind her was a pile of smoking rubble that was once a building. “This is Lois Kent reporting live from the scene of a major tragedy that occurred earlier today. It seems that six members of the young team of heroes known as the Titans of Justice East were killed in an explosion here at Star Labs. While we don’t have all of the details just yet, it is known that Power Guy, Green Lantern, Sonic Boom, Nucleus, the Huntress, and Junjie Quick are among those believe to be dead. While in most murder cases, getting someone to admit to the crime can be difficult, several super-villains have been noted as taking credit for today’s massacre. Those villains include the Weather Wizard, Brainstorm, I.Q., Dr. Polaris, the Sting Ray, the Fearsome Five, the Angle Man, Live Wire, and the Joker! Sources close to the investigation suggest that out of all of those listed, the Sting Ray is the only one to have a major grudge against these young heroes and is most likely the guilty party,” explained the top-notch reporter.
" Witnesses also claim that they were evacuated from the premises prior to the blast that has apparently killed the members of the super hero group known as the Titans of Justice. Whereas no one can confirm weather or not the heroes escaped before the blast, rescue crews are working diligently to clear the debris and rescue any survivors who may still be trapped inside. We will be keeping you posted as more information becomes available. While we wait, here is some footage of some of the events immediately after the tragedy occurred."
A horrific tone set over the room. Jemstone and Supergirl began to cry while several others felt an uneasy feeling in their stomachs.
Wonder Warrior stared at the screen intently. “By Ares…They should have told us sooner...”
Bee Sting retorted, “I’m thinking they’re a little tied up right now.”
As Lois went on Wonder Warrior felt his stomach and chest contort. Wonder Warrior couldn’t hear any of it. He could not believe what was happening. He had just been there a few days ago talking to these people. “This wasn’t supposed to happen.”
Bee Sting held his hand. “We can’t expect things to unfold the way they did in our time.”
Wonder Warrior gasped for air and tried talking “Is this our fault?”
“It surely isn’t yours.”
He wished he could be as certain as the tone of her voice was. Then he steadied himself. “Frost…” he was about to give an order when he remembered he had stepped down from leadership of his own will.
“Y…yes?” Frost nervously answered.
“I think it may be a good idea… I mean, whatever the East team is doing now…” he put his arm on Frost’s shoulder to ease the awkward situation he’d created “You might wanna be there too.”
Frost nodded “Alright, Starman, Jemstone, Supergirl…” he spoke onto the communications tap of the Metrotower. Head for the Silverstreak.
Starman didn’t even notice Frost was speaking to him. The scene on the monitor hit him like a baseball bat to the stomach. He saw Sargona sobbing violently onto Wonder Man’s shoulder. Then the realization hit him that Green Lantern and Power Guy were not with them. The realization that they must have been inside. He stood there shocked as tears began to well up in his eyes.
" Oh my God, w...wh..what are we going to do?" Arachnid muttered as everyone else gathered stood speechless.
" They were our friends and teammates" Wonder Warrior said determinedly " We'll do whatever we can to help them.”
Starman's tear streaked eyes turned stark white. His emotions we're in complete turmoil, and he had a strange feeling in his gut.
" No time" he mumbled
Unbeknownst to him he began to levitate. As if he no longer had control of his body, he grabbed Arachnid by the belt and they both began to rise"
" Hey, hey , hey ...Star, whatareyadoin??? I do NOT swing that way!"
" NO time! We gotta go now!" He muttered again. And with a flash of light he took off, crashing through a window. With Arachnid in tow, screaming his lungs out due to his fear of heights.”
"Starman, wait!" shouted Wonder Warrior.
" Too late, he's gone" assured Bee Sting. " He could have at least "Opened" the window first."
" Well Frost, you’ll just have to pick them up on the way. that staff wont get them very far" Wonder warrior said shaking his head, and grabbing his temples as if to stave off an oncoming headache.
" But his staff is right here" said Supergirl, who had only just realized that she had been holding onto it for comfort during the newscast.
Everyone assembled stared at each other in wide-eyed disbelief.
" I didn't know he could do that." stated Bee-Sting confusedly.
" Neither did I." added Frost.
" Chaps, I don't think HE knew that either" added Kid Comet staring at the window in stunned awe.
A few minutes later, Supergirl spoke, “Guys, I hate to put a damper on things but I need to go to the Fortress of Solitude and see how my Aunt Karen is doing,” Supergirl said as she wiped a tear from her eye. “She has to be really torn up over Vince’s death. We all considered him family even though he was only blood-related to Power Woman,” replied Supergirl.
“We understand,” offered Frost.
“The Silverstreak is all fueled-up and ready to go,” informed Bee Sting. “Fly safe guys.”
Wonder Warrior watched as Frost nodded to him once more and left.
***
About A Half-hour Later Over The Skies of New York City…
Arachnid finally stopped screaming and cursing. And proceeded to clutch on to Starman's wrist for dear life. His belt still clutched in Starman's iron like grip.
" Will you at least tell me "HOW" you're doing this?" Arachnid yelled exasperated over the howling wind.
" Don't know" mumbled Starman.
" Can you tell me WHY we couldn't wait for the others?" He questioned " You know I hate flying."
" Because our friends were in that building, and they could all be dead if we don't get tem out."
" Oh" Arachnid said sheepishly.
The rest of the trip was spent in silence. As they arrived at what remained at S.T.A.R. Labs, Starman dropped Arch-Kid unceremoniously on his rump at the bottom of the pile of rubble, and dove straight in. The rescue team workers scattered as Starman began throwing huge chunks of rubble many, many times his size like they were marbles.
Starman was overwhelmed with panic. He was sweating bullets and his hair had fallen loose from his tightly kept ponytail. .
" Day-am Star!" Arachnid said. " You could have let me down a little easier. I landed on my a..."
" DIG!" Starman interrupted.
" Star? Man, are you okay?" Arachnid asked. " Your eyes are..."
" Just dig!" commanded Starman
Arachnid stepped back shocked and started to clear away what he could.
" Who did this?" he asked one of the rescue workers.
" Uh...word has it that it was some villain named the Sting Ray,” the worker replied.
" Who is unaccounted for?"
" Sonic Boom, Power Guy, Huntress, Nucleus, Junjie Quick and Green Lantern"
With a roar he began to toss debris even more quickly.
***
Meanwhile, Back At The Metrotower…
Bee Sting said “now we can only wonder how things will play out…”
“Yeah. I guess I know what you mean. The six Titans certainly didn’t die in our future,” replied Wonder Warrior. “Though some people wish that some of them did…”
***
The Dome, In-Between The Two Hemispheres...
After finishing watching Lois Kent’s news report of the tragedy at Star Labs, Maxwell Lord V announced to his team, “Well Global Guardians, this certainly is a dark day for the superhero community. We need to learn from this disaster to always watch our backs. Now with the Titans East crippled, this will give us an opportunity to bring the Global Guardians to the forefront of the superhero world…”
Lady Light walked up to Max in a haste and slapped him across the face, “PIG! How dare you use this tragedy as a means to serve your selfish will! I considered those people my friends, especially Junjie Quick. They were all strong, selfless men and women. Even the weakest one had more of a backbone than you’ll ever have Mr. Lord!”
“Hmm…you’re just as hot-headed as your mother,” observed Max.
“And how would you know what my mother is like?” asked Lady Light.
“I er…, um, read my dad’s file on her,” answered Max.
“Would those be the O.M.A.C. files?” Lady Light asked as she stared down Max.
“I’m not sure actually. I found them on one of his old laptops,” replied Max.
“Well Max, I have some news for you. You’d better play this game straight and narrow or I’ll walk. Just like that,” declared Lady Light as she snapped her fingers and stormed out of the meeting room.
“You would do well to listen to her Mr. Lord,” advised Rocket Red. “I can tell that she plays for keeps.”
“Yes, I can tell,” replied Max. “And we need her too much to let her slip out of our fingers. If she leaves, Japan will put their technological support from our operation.”
***
Later at the Hall of Justice…
The four West Coast Titans entered the meeting room(Frost having picked up Starman and Arachnid along the way). Nightvision, Wonder Man, Sargona, Palome’, Venus, Black Vulcan, Strato Hawk, Whirlpool, and the Stranger were all sitting around the meeting table looking depressed.
“I can’t believe we couldn’t find any bodies,” commented a distraught Starman.
“Star, I hate to say it but I think they were blown to bits,” suggested the Arachnid.
“Hello everyone,” greeted Frost to the East Coast team.
“Hey Ice, congratulations on your promotion to the leader spot. So you heard the news, huh?” asked Wonder Man.
“I’m just sick over it all,” responded Frost, “And it’s Frost now.”
Jemstone rushed over to Sargona and wrapped her arms around the sobbing sorceress, “Honey, Starman told me about your battle with the Sting Ray. I’m so sorry….I hope you’re not blaming yourself for all of this.”
“I…I…don’t know what to think right now,” Sargona said as she cried relentlessly “Starman, Green Lantern, and I…we fought the Sting Ray a few weeks back and she had our names written on the bombs….” Continued the sobbing sorceress.
Jemstone held Sargona in her arms in hopes of comforting her dear friend. After all, Sargona was there for Jemstone during the time she was incarcerated at Belle Reeve for the accidental murder of the Toyman. “Don’t worry Sar. We’re going to find this Sting Ray and put her away…” vowed Jemstone.
“D_mn right we are!” yelled Starman. “Man, I just can’t believe they’re gone…I remember when I first joined the team, Green Lantern, Power Guy, and Junjie were so cool towards me. Nucleus and I were both rookies at the time so we bonded pretty quickly. Sonic Boom…she always brought a certain amount of happiness with her whenever she entered the room. And the Huntress, I didn’t really get to know her that well before I moved over to the West Coast but she seemed very dedicated and selfless.”
“Guys, about the Sting Ray, I think I may know who she is…” revealed Strato Hawk.
“We already know who she is,” stated Black Vulcan. “She’s Black Manta’s daughter and Devil Ray’s sister.”
“And…she’s my ex-wife,” explained Strato Hawk.
“What???” exclaimed Nightvision. “How long have you been keeping this from us?”
“I wasn’t sure until just recently when I put all of the clues together and stopped ignoring the obvious,” replied Strato Hawk.
“Well where the h_ll is she???” demanded Starman.
“That’s just it, I don’t know,” responded Strato Hawk. “She and I split up months ago. When she left, she took my son with her. When Green Lantern and I fought the water-world villains a while back, she and I crossed paths and I got my son back but she disappeared again.”
“That must have been right before Starman, Sargona, Green Lantern, and I had a run in with her and her brother,” concluded Whirlpool. “You know, the water-world villains are a lot more dangerous than most of you give them credit for.”
“We’ve got to start a manhunt for that witch,” insisted Starman, clenching his right fist.
“We will Star but first we all need time to grieve,” suggested Frost.
As the hours past, the large group of heroes shared stories and memories of their fallen friends. Not a single of one them went home that night and most fell asleep at the meeting table during the exchange.
Written By: Power Guy, Kid Comet, Christophe, & Darthennis
Co-conspirator: Green Lantern
Featured Artist: The Stranger
Edited By: Power Guy
A small, lonely house in the middle of nowhere…
The lonely figure hovered a couple of feet from the floor encased in a warm glow.
This meditation thing really helped to ease the permanent pressure of mental traffic from the outside world. Kid Comet made a mental note to remember to thank Madame Martian for the hints and tips, it definitely made it easier to deal with the telepathic chaff from everyone else on earth.
For the first time since finding out about his powers and his parentage Kid Comet finally felt that he was coming to terms with his life and the consequences of having these powers.
“Hey Dave”
“What now!” He thought, “Just as I get settled I get disturbed”.
“Ye……arrrgggghhhh!” Kid screamed in reply. Dropping to the floor and grabbing his pounding head.
He’d never heard a mental voice like it.
The ground shook, all over the house things flew from their shelves, doors banged and drawers flew open the contents of which went flying in every direction.
Kid Comet sat up in shock. He couldn’t remember ever feeling anguish, horror and mental pain like that. He stood up and looked into the now broken and distorted mirror.
A voice in the background shouted out “I’m Fine, what happened?”
“I don’t know” he cried back “but it can’t be good, I need to get to the team urgently, I have never felt anything like it before, sorry I have to go”.
The roof of the now damaged house exploded outwards as Kid Comet took to the skies, hastily making his way towards the Titans and the horrors that awaited him……
The Metrotower, Los Angeles…
In the gym, Starman, Arachnid, Supergirl, and Jemstone were all playing a game of volley-ball to pass the time.
The volley-ball game was decidedly one sided. Despite Arachnid's assurances that they were only "letting" the girls win, Jemstone and Supergirl had a 47-0 lead over Arachnid and Starman.
Starman himself absolutely hated sports of any kind, and he was only taking part in this slaughter because Supergirl had asked him to play. He has faced down the likes of Mordru and Brainiac without blinking, and even managed to overcome an evil counterpart of himself. But, for some reason he just can's seem to be able to tell Supergirl "no". She knows this as well, and it drives him nuts.
As Starman was blocking what would have assuredly been another sound defeat by the girls, Frost came charging out the back door making a beeline for the volley ball court, looking rather disheveled.
" Guys...come quick! You've gotta see this" he said with sorrow-filled eyes " There's been an accident...S.T.A.R. Labs has been destroyed"
" What?!" The foursome said in unison
" Aw..that's nothing, S.T.A.R. Labs got destroyed at least once a month back in the mid 90's" Arachnid chimed in "They always manage to fix it."
" Yeah, but the news says that some of the Titans East were in it at the time." Frost said somberly.
They all raced to the monitor room.
On the screen flashed a banner that read "Special News Bulletin". Lois Kent was still standing in front of a police line. Off in the distance behind her was a pile of smoking rubble that was once a building. “This is Lois Kent reporting live from the scene of a major tragedy that occurred earlier today. It seems that six members of the young team of heroes known as the Titans of Justice East were killed in an explosion here at Star Labs. While we don’t have all of the details just yet, it is known that Power Guy, Green Lantern, Sonic Boom, Nucleus, the Huntress, and Junjie Quick are among those believe to be dead. While in most murder cases, getting someone to admit to the crime can be difficult, several super-villains have been noted as taking credit for today’s massacre. Those villains include the Weather Wizard, Brainstorm, I.Q., Dr. Polaris, the Sting Ray, the Fearsome Five, the Angle Man, Live Wire, and the Joker! Sources close to the investigation suggest that out of all of those listed, the Sting Ray is the only one to have a major grudge against these young heroes and is most likely the guilty party,” explained the top-notch reporter.
" Witnesses also claim that they were evacuated from the premises prior to the blast that has apparently killed the members of the super hero group known as the Titans of Justice. Whereas no one can confirm weather or not the heroes escaped before the blast, rescue crews are working diligently to clear the debris and rescue any survivors who may still be trapped inside. We will be keeping you posted as more information becomes available. While we wait, here is some footage of some of the events immediately after the tragedy occurred."
A horrific tone set over the room. Jemstone and Supergirl began to cry while several others felt an uneasy feeling in their stomachs.
Wonder Warrior stared at the screen intently. “By Ares…They should have told us sooner...”
Bee Sting retorted, “I’m thinking they’re a little tied up right now.”
As Lois went on Wonder Warrior felt his stomach and chest contort. Wonder Warrior couldn’t hear any of it. He could not believe what was happening. He had just been there a few days ago talking to these people. “This wasn’t supposed to happen.”
Bee Sting held his hand. “We can’t expect things to unfold the way they did in our time.”
Wonder Warrior gasped for air and tried talking “Is this our fault?”
“It surely isn’t yours.”
He wished he could be as certain as the tone of her voice was. Then he steadied himself. “Frost…” he was about to give an order when he remembered he had stepped down from leadership of his own will.
“Y…yes?” Frost nervously answered.
“I think it may be a good idea… I mean, whatever the East team is doing now…” he put his arm on Frost’s shoulder to ease the awkward situation he’d created “You might wanna be there too.”
Frost nodded “Alright, Starman, Jemstone, Supergirl…” he spoke onto the communications tap of the Metrotower. Head for the Silverstreak.
Starman didn’t even notice Frost was speaking to him. The scene on the monitor hit him like a baseball bat to the stomach. He saw Sargona sobbing violently onto Wonder Man’s shoulder. Then the realization hit him that Green Lantern and Power Guy were not with them. The realization that they must have been inside. He stood there shocked as tears began to well up in his eyes.
" Oh my God, w...wh..what are we going to do?" Arachnid muttered as everyone else gathered stood speechless.
" They were our friends and teammates" Wonder Warrior said determinedly " We'll do whatever we can to help them.”
Starman's tear streaked eyes turned stark white. His emotions we're in complete turmoil, and he had a strange feeling in his gut.
" No time" he mumbled
Unbeknownst to him he began to levitate. As if he no longer had control of his body, he grabbed Arachnid by the belt and they both began to rise"
" Hey, hey , hey ...Star, whatareyadoin??? I do NOT swing that way!"
" NO time! We gotta go now!" He muttered again. And with a flash of light he took off, crashing through a window. With Arachnid in tow, screaming his lungs out due to his fear of heights.”
"Starman, wait!" shouted Wonder Warrior.
" Too late, he's gone" assured Bee Sting. " He could have at least "Opened" the window first."
" Well Frost, you’ll just have to pick them up on the way. that staff wont get them very far" Wonder warrior said shaking his head, and grabbing his temples as if to stave off an oncoming headache.
" But his staff is right here" said Supergirl, who had only just realized that she had been holding onto it for comfort during the newscast.
Everyone assembled stared at each other in wide-eyed disbelief.
" I didn't know he could do that." stated Bee-Sting confusedly.
" Neither did I." added Frost.
" Chaps, I don't think HE knew that either" added Kid Comet staring at the window in stunned awe.
A few minutes later, Supergirl spoke, “Guys, I hate to put a damper on things but I need to go to the Fortress of Solitude and see how my Aunt Karen is doing,” Supergirl said as she wiped a tear from her eye. “She has to be really torn up over Vince’s death. We all considered him family even though he was only blood-related to Power Woman,” replied Supergirl.
“We understand,” offered Frost.
“The Silverstreak is all fueled-up and ready to go,” informed Bee Sting. “Fly safe guys.”
Wonder Warrior watched as Frost nodded to him once more and left.
***
About A Half-hour Later Over The Skies of New York City…
Arachnid finally stopped screaming and cursing. And proceeded to clutch on to Starman's wrist for dear life. His belt still clutched in Starman's iron like grip.
" Will you at least tell me "HOW" you're doing this?" Arachnid yelled exasperated over the howling wind.
" Don't know" mumbled Starman.
" Can you tell me WHY we couldn't wait for the others?" He questioned " You know I hate flying."
" Because our friends were in that building, and they could all be dead if we don't get tem out."
" Oh" Arachnid said sheepishly.
The rest of the trip was spent in silence. As they arrived at what remained at S.T.A.R. Labs, Starman dropped Arch-Kid unceremoniously on his rump at the bottom of the pile of rubble, and dove straight in. The rescue team workers scattered as Starman began throwing huge chunks of rubble many, many times his size like they were marbles.
Starman was overwhelmed with panic. He was sweating bullets and his hair had fallen loose from his tightly kept ponytail. .
" Day-am Star!" Arachnid said. " You could have let me down a little easier. I landed on my a..."
" DIG!" Starman interrupted.
" Star? Man, are you okay?" Arachnid asked. " Your eyes are..."
" Just dig!" commanded Starman
Arachnid stepped back shocked and started to clear away what he could.
" Who did this?" he asked one of the rescue workers.
" Uh...word has it that it was some villain named the Sting Ray,” the worker replied.
" Who is unaccounted for?"
" Sonic Boom, Power Guy, Huntress, Nucleus, Junjie Quick and Green Lantern"
With a roar he began to toss debris even more quickly.
***
Meanwhile, Back At The Metrotower…
Bee Sting said “now we can only wonder how things will play out…”
“Yeah. I guess I know what you mean. The six Titans certainly didn’t die in our future,” replied Wonder Warrior. “Though some people wish that some of them did…”
***
The Dome, In-Between The Two Hemispheres...
After finishing watching Lois Kent’s news report of the tragedy at Star Labs, Maxwell Lord V announced to his team, “Well Global Guardians, this certainly is a dark day for the superhero community. We need to learn from this disaster to always watch our backs. Now with the Titans East crippled, this will give us an opportunity to bring the Global Guardians to the forefront of the superhero world…”
Lady Light walked up to Max in a haste and slapped him across the face, “PIG! How dare you use this tragedy as a means to serve your selfish will! I considered those people my friends, especially Junjie Quick. They were all strong, selfless men and women. Even the weakest one had more of a backbone than you’ll ever have Mr. Lord!”
“Hmm…you’re just as hot-headed as your mother,” observed Max.
“And how would you know what my mother is like?” asked Lady Light.
“I er…, um, read my dad’s file on her,” answered Max.
“Would those be the O.M.A.C. files?” Lady Light asked as she stared down Max.
“I’m not sure actually. I found them on one of his old laptops,” replied Max.
“Well Max, I have some news for you. You’d better play this game straight and narrow or I’ll walk. Just like that,” declared Lady Light as she snapped her fingers and stormed out of the meeting room.
“You would do well to listen to her Mr. Lord,” advised Rocket Red. “I can tell that she plays for keeps.”
“Yes, I can tell,” replied Max. “And we need her too much to let her slip out of our fingers. If she leaves, Japan will put their technological support from our operation.”
***
Later at the Hall of Justice…
The four West Coast Titans entered the meeting room(Frost having picked up Starman and Arachnid along the way). Nightvision, Wonder Man, Sargona, Palome’, Venus, Black Vulcan, Strato Hawk, Whirlpool, and the Stranger were all sitting around the meeting table looking depressed.
“I can’t believe we couldn’t find any bodies,” commented a distraught Starman.
“Star, I hate to say it but I think they were blown to bits,” suggested the Arachnid.
“Hello everyone,” greeted Frost to the East Coast team.
“Hey Ice, congratulations on your promotion to the leader spot. So you heard the news, huh?” asked Wonder Man.
“I’m just sick over it all,” responded Frost, “And it’s Frost now.”
Jemstone rushed over to Sargona and wrapped her arms around the sobbing sorceress, “Honey, Starman told me about your battle with the Sting Ray. I’m so sorry….I hope you’re not blaming yourself for all of this.”
“I…I…don’t know what to think right now,” Sargona said as she cried relentlessly “Starman, Green Lantern, and I…we fought the Sting Ray a few weeks back and she had our names written on the bombs….” Continued the sobbing sorceress.
Jemstone held Sargona in her arms in hopes of comforting her dear friend. After all, Sargona was there for Jemstone during the time she was incarcerated at Belle Reeve for the accidental murder of the Toyman. “Don’t worry Sar. We’re going to find this Sting Ray and put her away…” vowed Jemstone.
“D_mn right we are!” yelled Starman. “Man, I just can’t believe they’re gone…I remember when I first joined the team, Green Lantern, Power Guy, and Junjie were so cool towards me. Nucleus and I were both rookies at the time so we bonded pretty quickly. Sonic Boom…she always brought a certain amount of happiness with her whenever she entered the room. And the Huntress, I didn’t really get to know her that well before I moved over to the West Coast but she seemed very dedicated and selfless.”
“Guys, about the Sting Ray, I think I may know who she is…” revealed Strato Hawk.
“We already know who she is,” stated Black Vulcan. “She’s Black Manta’s daughter and Devil Ray’s sister.”
“And…she’s my ex-wife,” explained Strato Hawk.
“What???” exclaimed Nightvision. “How long have you been keeping this from us?”
“I wasn’t sure until just recently when I put all of the clues together and stopped ignoring the obvious,” replied Strato Hawk.
“Well where the h_ll is she???” demanded Starman.
“That’s just it, I don’t know,” responded Strato Hawk. “She and I split up months ago. When she left, she took my son with her. When Green Lantern and I fought the water-world villains a while back, she and I crossed paths and I got my son back but she disappeared again.”
“That must have been right before Starman, Sargona, Green Lantern, and I had a run in with her and her brother,” concluded Whirlpool. “You know, the water-world villains are a lot more dangerous than most of you give them credit for.”
“We’ve got to start a manhunt for that witch,” insisted Starman, clenching his right fist.
“We will Star but first we all need time to grieve,” suggested Frost.
As the hours past, the large group of heroes shared stories and memories of their fallen friends. Not a single of one them went home that night and most fell asleep at the meeting table during the exchange.