Post by Deleted on Mar 27, 2015 18:46:10 GMT -5
Titans West Chapter 11 – "The Other Side of Everything"
Written by: Christophe
Co-conspirator/Editor: Power Guy
Frost’s alabaster skin gleamed in the mirror. It was 4am in the morning. He wondered if there would be a day from now when his heart would stop palpitating. He had taken the helm of leadership, but he was not at all at ease in the new position.
Just a week ago, six members of the Titans of Justice East were caught in an explosion at the Star Labs complex in New York City. He felt guilty wondering if it had been a lapse in judgment in Green Lantern’s part that caused him and his teammates their lives. He shuddered to think that he, a novice in the leadership chair, could easily make a command decision that would put his teammates in great jeopardy.
Everyday since he assumed leadership, this was how his day started. And everyday he had to put on a brave face for the team. If only they knew him better. If only they had been together for a long time. He wondered this team, composed mostly of time-lost friends could’ve let him, practically a stranger into the team. He knew better than to ask Wonder Warrior for advice. The Amazon prince would probably rethink his view of the new chief right away and if he loses confidence in Frost then it wouldn’t be long before the other members followed suit.
He then decided to call the one person he could confide in now…
“Hello” Hermes didn’t take long to answer.
“It’s me… just wanted to talk.”
“Sure. Is everything okay?”
Frost sighed, “uhm..”
“It’s getting to you isn’t it.” Yes, Hermes had guessed what he was thinking.
Frost decided it was time to tell someone exactly how he felt. He’d explode if he didn’t let it out…
- - - -
It was a relief to have the bulk of the Lansinar back from Themyscira. It was needed by the Amazon sisters in a moment of great crisis. But now it’s back. Wonder Warrior is free to travel distances by reconfiguring it into his personal stealth fighter jet.
“Done”. It took a while to modify the jet into an updated design that had been donated by his teammate the Arachnid. And now it’s time to test it out. Having been freed of leadership duties “…allows for some free time to handle more pressing issues.”
He started to climb up to the cockpit of the ‘new’ jet when he realized he had forgotten something. “Cape.” Out of the corner of the hangar flew a large blue cloak, to his hand. He latched his cloak onto his Themysciran chestpiece just under the W. The gold shined ethereally in the dawn-lit hangar. He now wore his costume stripped of all Lansinar, choosing to honor the amazon color of red, blue and gold, which had been hiding under his Lansinar armor the whole time. It was time he honored family tradition.
“Time to ride.” Arachnid’s turbo engine design allowed for the jet to leave the hangar quietly.
- - - -
“This just in. The Belle Reve L.A. Annex has just been broken into by unknown persons moments ago. You can see in the video feed that the annex is also surrounded by a large wall of light of sorts…”
“I’m thinking this warrants a look-see. Looks like Apokoliptyan tech.” QueenBee stood in the newly installed monitor combs and cross-referenced available data. Her black techsuit was connected to the monitor’s computer and her information was fed to and from the monitor. She had just recently installed ‘monitor bees’ near the Belle Reve facility.
“What’s all this tech supposed to do?” Jemstone inquired.
“I can only connect to info feeds of a certain area. I’m establishing connections with the ones installed near the prison. Luckily Jemstone reminded me to do that just days ago, can you imagine the luck? And almost nothing happens in that place! Anyway, I’ll deploy them to monitor while we try to get there.” QueenBee replied.
Frost gathered Kid Comet, Supergirl, Arachnid, and the new Green Lantern near the monitor hive. “I couldn’t contact Wonder Warrior. We have to deploy now.”
“I suggest you don’t wait. He’ll get there if he will.” Jemstone answered with a tone of annoyance.
“Then we’d better hurry. Silverstreak. Now.” Frost said with all the command his tone could muster. Little did his teammates know that he had just gotten off the most crushing phone conversation in his life.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
The Silverstreak flew just a kilometer from the Belle Reve site. Smoke came out of the building from every window. There was panic in the streets. The wall of light that had previously caged the perimeter was gone and the prisoners had been escaping!
A plethora of villains paraded in the streets. One petite woman was throwing around police cars like they were large empty cardboard boxes, while a man nearby pummeled police officers while getting away. Another man threw fireballs at the panicked passersby. A scaly creature with cat-like reflexes jumped from building wall to building wall defacing stores.
“This is mad, man! I’m telling you. We’re gonna need backup on this one.” Arachnid said it, but somehow he maintained the usual confidence in his voice.
“And more” QueenBee adjusted some controls in her new golden goggles. “I’ve got bees reporting sightings at a 4 km radius. I’m thinking the entire facility has been cleared of its population”
Frost shuddered inside. The Titans East battled one villain. This time they were taking on more than one. He opened a commlink “Titans East, we’ll need backup.” “Help’s on the way…” Frost wasn’t sure who the voice was. He was too overwhelmed. Still he used the last bits of remaining courage to pull up a map of the radius. “We’ll be dividing the area into north, south, east, and west.” He made it a point to sound certain of what he was doing. “Green Lantern, go with Jemstone, take North, Arachnid take South, I’ll take East and Supergirl and Kid Comet west.”
“What about me?!” QueenBee exclaimed.
“We need you up in the jet monitoring.” Frost wanted that statement to be it, but QueenBee wasn’t done.
“I didn’t get myself all wired up to be immobile. I’ve got my monitor devices right here.” She pointed to her modified suit. “I’m going with you.”
“Fine.” He said hoping he didn’t sound too arrogant.
“I’m setting it on auto-pilot mode. How come we’re not paired? We work great together?” Arachnid motioned to Green Lantern.
“No, you talk too much when you're together. I don’t want any distractions.”
“Harsh. But he’s got a point.” Green Lantern said.
Within moments everyone was deployed.
- - - - - -
Jemstone and Green Lantern floated down from the sky and faced the way that led to the entrance of the prison annex. “I can make a straight go from here. Can you handle the outer skirts of the perimeter?” Jemstone asked.
“Sure.” It’d be a good idea to seal this up from both ends. Green Lantern was getting used to flying with only his ring’s support, so he wanted to be sure he had enough to make a soft landing.
Jemstone made her way to the prison and found she easily slipped through a light wall that blocked the main entrance, being somewhat of a creature of light herself. Somehow though, after she had entered, she felt that a part of her had been removed. A sudden wave of loneliness washed over her. She set it aside and rushed her flight up the interior. It seemed empty enough, she couldn’t sense that anyone else was in the building as she made her way through corridors and up. All until she reached the roof. She felt it- the familiar presence. She just didn’t understand what.
“Seems like you dropped something.”
Jemstone’s jaw dropped as she realized what had happened. Standing there was the Magpie, a cybernetically-enhanced burglar and she had a crystal knife to a woman’s throat. It was then that it struck her…
“I’ve always wondered what your second single sounds like. Care to sing for me?
She had been split in two. She was no longer the merged being, Jemstone, but as ‘Synergy’ a being of light she stared out at her helpless other self, Jessica Benton.
To Be Continued..
Written by: Christophe
Co-conspirator/Editor: Power Guy
Frost’s alabaster skin gleamed in the mirror. It was 4am in the morning. He wondered if there would be a day from now when his heart would stop palpitating. He had taken the helm of leadership, but he was not at all at ease in the new position.
Just a week ago, six members of the Titans of Justice East were caught in an explosion at the Star Labs complex in New York City. He felt guilty wondering if it had been a lapse in judgment in Green Lantern’s part that caused him and his teammates their lives. He shuddered to think that he, a novice in the leadership chair, could easily make a command decision that would put his teammates in great jeopardy.
Everyday since he assumed leadership, this was how his day started. And everyday he had to put on a brave face for the team. If only they knew him better. If only they had been together for a long time. He wondered this team, composed mostly of time-lost friends could’ve let him, practically a stranger into the team. He knew better than to ask Wonder Warrior for advice. The Amazon prince would probably rethink his view of the new chief right away and if he loses confidence in Frost then it wouldn’t be long before the other members followed suit.
He then decided to call the one person he could confide in now…
“Hello” Hermes didn’t take long to answer.
“It’s me… just wanted to talk.”
“Sure. Is everything okay?”
Frost sighed, “uhm..”
“It’s getting to you isn’t it.” Yes, Hermes had guessed what he was thinking.
Frost decided it was time to tell someone exactly how he felt. He’d explode if he didn’t let it out…
- - - -
It was a relief to have the bulk of the Lansinar back from Themyscira. It was needed by the Amazon sisters in a moment of great crisis. But now it’s back. Wonder Warrior is free to travel distances by reconfiguring it into his personal stealth fighter jet.
“Done”. It took a while to modify the jet into an updated design that had been donated by his teammate the Arachnid. And now it’s time to test it out. Having been freed of leadership duties “…allows for some free time to handle more pressing issues.”
He started to climb up to the cockpit of the ‘new’ jet when he realized he had forgotten something. “Cape.” Out of the corner of the hangar flew a large blue cloak, to his hand. He latched his cloak onto his Themysciran chestpiece just under the W. The gold shined ethereally in the dawn-lit hangar. He now wore his costume stripped of all Lansinar, choosing to honor the amazon color of red, blue and gold, which had been hiding under his Lansinar armor the whole time. It was time he honored family tradition.
“Time to ride.” Arachnid’s turbo engine design allowed for the jet to leave the hangar quietly.
- - - -
“This just in. The Belle Reve L.A. Annex has just been broken into by unknown persons moments ago. You can see in the video feed that the annex is also surrounded by a large wall of light of sorts…”
“I’m thinking this warrants a look-see. Looks like Apokoliptyan tech.” QueenBee stood in the newly installed monitor combs and cross-referenced available data. Her black techsuit was connected to the monitor’s computer and her information was fed to and from the monitor. She had just recently installed ‘monitor bees’ near the Belle Reve facility.
“What’s all this tech supposed to do?” Jemstone inquired.
“I can only connect to info feeds of a certain area. I’m establishing connections with the ones installed near the prison. Luckily Jemstone reminded me to do that just days ago, can you imagine the luck? And almost nothing happens in that place! Anyway, I’ll deploy them to monitor while we try to get there.” QueenBee replied.
Frost gathered Kid Comet, Supergirl, Arachnid, and the new Green Lantern near the monitor hive. “I couldn’t contact Wonder Warrior. We have to deploy now.”
“I suggest you don’t wait. He’ll get there if he will.” Jemstone answered with a tone of annoyance.
“Then we’d better hurry. Silverstreak. Now.” Frost said with all the command his tone could muster. Little did his teammates know that he had just gotten off the most crushing phone conversation in his life.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
The Silverstreak flew just a kilometer from the Belle Reve site. Smoke came out of the building from every window. There was panic in the streets. The wall of light that had previously caged the perimeter was gone and the prisoners had been escaping!
A plethora of villains paraded in the streets. One petite woman was throwing around police cars like they were large empty cardboard boxes, while a man nearby pummeled police officers while getting away. Another man threw fireballs at the panicked passersby. A scaly creature with cat-like reflexes jumped from building wall to building wall defacing stores.
“This is mad, man! I’m telling you. We’re gonna need backup on this one.” Arachnid said it, but somehow he maintained the usual confidence in his voice.
“And more” QueenBee adjusted some controls in her new golden goggles. “I’ve got bees reporting sightings at a 4 km radius. I’m thinking the entire facility has been cleared of its population”
Frost shuddered inside. The Titans East battled one villain. This time they were taking on more than one. He opened a commlink “Titans East, we’ll need backup.” “Help’s on the way…” Frost wasn’t sure who the voice was. He was too overwhelmed. Still he used the last bits of remaining courage to pull up a map of the radius. “We’ll be dividing the area into north, south, east, and west.” He made it a point to sound certain of what he was doing. “Green Lantern, go with Jemstone, take North, Arachnid take South, I’ll take East and Supergirl and Kid Comet west.”
“What about me?!” QueenBee exclaimed.
“We need you up in the jet monitoring.” Frost wanted that statement to be it, but QueenBee wasn’t done.
“I didn’t get myself all wired up to be immobile. I’ve got my monitor devices right here.” She pointed to her modified suit. “I’m going with you.”
“Fine.” He said hoping he didn’t sound too arrogant.
“I’m setting it on auto-pilot mode. How come we’re not paired? We work great together?” Arachnid motioned to Green Lantern.
“No, you talk too much when you're together. I don’t want any distractions.”
“Harsh. But he’s got a point.” Green Lantern said.
Within moments everyone was deployed.
- - - - - -
Jemstone and Green Lantern floated down from the sky and faced the way that led to the entrance of the prison annex. “I can make a straight go from here. Can you handle the outer skirts of the perimeter?” Jemstone asked.
“Sure.” It’d be a good idea to seal this up from both ends. Green Lantern was getting used to flying with only his ring’s support, so he wanted to be sure he had enough to make a soft landing.
Jemstone made her way to the prison and found she easily slipped through a light wall that blocked the main entrance, being somewhat of a creature of light herself. Somehow though, after she had entered, she felt that a part of her had been removed. A sudden wave of loneliness washed over her. She set it aside and rushed her flight up the interior. It seemed empty enough, she couldn’t sense that anyone else was in the building as she made her way through corridors and up. All until she reached the roof. She felt it- the familiar presence. She just didn’t understand what.
“Seems like you dropped something.”
Jemstone’s jaw dropped as she realized what had happened. Standing there was the Magpie, a cybernetically-enhanced burglar and she had a crystal knife to a woman’s throat. It was then that it struck her…
“I’ve always wondered what your second single sounds like. Care to sing for me?
She had been split in two. She was no longer the merged being, Jemstone, but as ‘Synergy’ a being of light she stared out at her helpless other self, Jessica Benton.
To Be Continued..