Post by Deleted on Mar 29, 2015 6:00:50 GMT -5
Titans East Chapter 62 – “Tough Decisions”
Written by: Power Guy
Edited by: Marcus Mebes
Black Orchid’s secret lair….
Black Orchid entered her lair, still irritated by her battle and narrow escape from the original Justice League. “d**n that JLA. Ganging up on me like a bunch of high-school bullies! And that cursed Atom, buzzing around in my head like a hornet. He came so close to discovering the truth. I should have killed that little bug… but I couldn’t risk being captured by Superman and Wonder Woman. Ah well, I’m sure torturing my two guests will put me in a better mood.” She grinned ear to ear as she made her way to the chamber where she was keeping Power Lad and Stellar.
As she entered the room, she became quickly enraged at the sight of Power Lad and Stellar, both free from their chains, and standing alongside Nightvision, Wonder Man, Isis, and Lilith. “CURSE YOU, FOOLS!!! How did you find this place???” she demanded as she ripped the door to the room off of its hinges and threw it at the heroes.
“Looks like we got caught with our fingers in the cookie-jar,” Wonder Man said as he smashed the flying door. “Thanks again for helping us find this place, Aunt Lil.”
“Don’t thank me unless we all get out of here alive!” advised the fire-haired precognitive as she pulled the injured Power Lad and Stellar close to her. She then pulled the two of them with her under a table, in hopes of keeping them safe. A battle was brewing, and though there was a pause after the thrown door, the worst was yet to come.
Nightvision fired his Bat-grapple at the roof and swung through the air. Once he got close enough to Black Orchid, he threw several smoke-bombs at the murderess, rendering her temporarily unable to see. “Now! While she’s blinded!” he directed.
Isis wasted no time in following the plan the heroes had worked out prior to finding Black Orchid’s lair. “EARTH!” she shouted. From below Black Orchid’s feet, the ground erupted and wrapped itself around her body from the stomach down, thereby immobilizing her lower half.
Wonder Man and Isis rushed into the cloud of smoke wearing special contacts that Nightvision had provided them with that allowed them to see within the haze. The two heroes each grabbed an arm of the purple-clad villainess, trying to hold her as still as possible.
“This is your funeral, idiots!” she threatened, struggling to get free. “Your precious Venus will not be coming out to save you this time!”
Nightvision swung down by his teammates and stood in front of Black Orchid. “Hold her as still as possible!” he said as he pressed a special device against her chest.
“AAAIIEEEEEEEEE!” Black Orchid shrieked in pain, right before she collapsed.
“I’m sorry Venus,” whispered Wonder Man, frowning as a single tear fell from his eye.
“This is for the best,” Isis reminded Wonder Man.
“After reading through Nucleus’ notes, I discovered that Black Orchid feeds on sunlight much like Kryptonians do. This device I used on her neutralized all of the solar-radiation in her body. Right now she’s probably feeling like a crack-addict who hasn’t had a fix in a week,” explained Nightvision. “Wonder Man, please restrain her for transport.”
Wonder Man felt horrible about having to bind Black Orchid in his magic-lasso. He and Venus had developed a special friendship since the two came to know each other. Many fond memories flooded his thoughts. Venus had become like a sister to him over the last year and it disturbed him greatly to see his friend going through so much trouble. “I hope you’re still in there, somewhere,” he whispered, almost inaudibly.
“She’s finally subdued,” noted Lilith, approaching the other heroes. “She has killed so many of my friends. I truly hope you can help her.”
“Thanks again for your help Aunt Lilith,” said a grateful Wonder Man.
“It was the least I could do,” Lilith smiled humbly. “Having Stellar’s belt helped my E.S.P. to home in on him with complete accuracy. I should tell you that I sense there is another force at work within this woman.”
“What are you talking about?” Nightvision asked inquisitively.
“I wish I could elaborate on it but I’m just not sure,” replied Lilith. “Needless to say, proceed cautiously with her… with THEM.”
“I say we off her right here and now,” suggested Power Lad. He was groggy from the pain and loss of blood, but despite the dislocated shoulder and shock, he tried valiantly to stand on his own.
“Power Lad!” shouted Isis, looking at the young hero sternly.
“That lady is sick. She told me how she first killed Cyborg, Raven, Starfire, and the others and let me tell you, she loved every minute of it,” commented Stellar while putting on his Cosmic Converter Belt that Nightvision had retrieved from the place where he and Black Orchid had fought. “So are you guys bringing her to Belle Reve or the Slab?”
“Neither!” answered Wonder Man without haste. “We need to figure out what’s wrong with her before some government scientist gets a chance to start dissecting her or cloning her for his own personal super-army.”
“After everything she’s done, you’re willing to look the other way because she’s your friend? Do you have any idea what she put Power Lad and me through?” argued Stellar, giving Wonder Man a dirty look. “Dark Arrow was so right about you guys.”
Nightvision just ignored Stellar’s comment, continuing with what he thought should be done. “Let’s get Black Orchid into your jet and take her back to the Hall. Power Lad and Stellar need medical attention. We’ll drop them off at a hospital on the way,” he said to Wonder Man.
As the heroes and their subdued prisoner exited, Isis commented, “Your Invisible Jet certainly came in handy today. To think we parked it right outside and Black Orchid didn’t notice it when she came in.”
“Yeah…” mumbled Wonder Man, still in despair over having to take down his close friend.
***
The Hall of Justice…
Sargona stepped out of the teleporter-tube casually, glancing around the room. She saw the Silencer monitoring the Trouble Alert while Zan and Jayna were busy tidying up the place.
The Wonder Twins turned to greet the daughter of Sargon. “Hey Sargona, you’re back!” Jayna shouted.
Black Vulcan entered the room and noticed her friend had returned after her mission pursuing the Sting Ray. “Hey, girl! How did it go?”
“Hey everyone,” greeted Sargona. The glow on her face was radiant and she was smiling like never before due to her victory over the Sting Ray.
“Wait, I haven’t seen you this happy in months,” observed Black Vulcan. “Not since the last time you called me Thunderdog. You did it, didn’t you? You nabbed her!”
“You bet I did!” exclaimed Sargona. “That twisted witch is now behind bars.”
“All right!” shouted Black Vulcan, giving Sargona a high-five.
The Silencer turned his head in shock. “Nice one, Sar! I didn’t think you had it in you any more; but, I guess I was wrong about you.”
“Don’t sweat it Silencer. I didn’t think I had it in me any more either,” agreed the sorceress.
“So what happened?” requested Black Vulcan in anticipation. “Spill it girl!”
“Well, first off, I got a little bit of help from Strato Hawk and Whirlpool,” started Sargona. “Hawk confronted the villains head-on while Whirlpool used his water-control powers to put their boat out of commission. After that, I snuck into the ship’s cabin and the first thing I did was rip that Bermuda Corals necklace off of that filthy witch’s neck. I wasn’t about to let her slip out the back door this time. From there, the two of us got into a huge cat-fight and I just about lost it on her. Let’s just say that I took her down pretty hard.”
“She deserved it,” Black Vulcan commented, bluntly.
“Better believe it,” agreed Sargona. “That’s not all that happened. Strato Hawk found out that she gave birth to another one of his kids and never told him about the baby.”
“No way!” shouted Jayna in disbelief. “That is so horrible!”
“Poor Hawk,” Black Vulcan said, shaking her head. “Was he able to find out where she was keeping the baby?”
“He did after I had a few words with the Sting Ray,” smirked Sargona.
“What did you say to her?” asked Black Vulcan, anxiously.
“I told her I would give her back the Bermuda Corals necklace if she told us where she was keeping Hawk’s daughter,” informed Sargona.
“Wait a minute… you gave her the necklace back?” Black Vulcan asked in disbelief.
“No, but she sure thought I was going to,” Sargona said with a mischievous grin.
“Girl, you are sooooo bad!” laughed Black Vulcan.
Just then, Nightvision, Wonder Man, and Isis entered the room with Black Orchid still out cold. Wonder Man had taken the liberty of dropping off Lilith at her home on the way to the Hall, having also dropped off Power Lad and Stellar at the Metropolis Medical Center.
Black Vulcan, Sargona, and the others were speechless at the sight of the subdued villainess.
“Silencer, open the detention cell!” ordered Nightvision as he carried Black Orchid over to the containment cell and placed her inside. “Not even Superman could break out of here. She won’t be going anywhere even after her powers return.”
“We have to find a way to help her,” insisted Wonder Man.
“I’m going to give it my best shot but we have to be prepared to face the fact that she may just have an incurable split personality disorder or that she’s too far gone from this other presence that Lilith suggested,” advised Nightvision.
“I’m going to call Palomé. He needs to be here for this,” Wonder Man said, walking over to the Hall’s communication system. He knew that the empathic son of Raven and Risk would want to be involved… if not for revenge, then for the chance to heal.
***
About ten minutes later….
Palomé and the Stranger materialized in the Hall’s meeting room.
“Where is she?” demaned Palomé, looking around.
“She’s in the detention cell until we can figure out what’s wrong with her,” informed Nightvision.
“It’s good to see you all, my friends,” greeted the Stranger. “Why Sargona, something is different about you. You seem so vibrant and… happy?”
“I nabbed the Sting Ray,” smiled the daughter of Sargon triumphantly.
“Congratulations,” offered the Stranger. “It’s about time that woman pays for what she did to our comrades.”
Palomé approached the cell containing Black Orchid. The front of the cell was a three-inch-thick wall of Kryptonian glass. He looked down at her inert form, noting how peaceful she looked. A part of him felt she didn’t deserve to be at peace for killing his parents. He had come to know her, share many intimate moments with her, and trust her above all others. Sadly, that trust was obviously placed in vain. Palomé could do nothing but stare, and hope.
***
Metropolis Medical Center…
Dark Arrow, Atmosphere, and Lady Light entered Stellar’s room in a haste.
Stellar, who had been treated from his wounds and was still under the effects of anesthesia, just looked up, wearily. “Hey guys,” he mumbled.
“Good to see you still breathing,” offered Dark Arrow. “How did you escape?”
“The Titans rescued me,” answered Stellar. “It turns out Black Orchid kidnapped Power Lad too. Wonder Man had that hippie-chick Lilith use her E.S.P. to find us.”
“The Stranger, Isis, Lilith… how do those idiots bribe all of these top-notch heroes into working with them?” Dark Arrow wondered aloud, irritated.
“So what happened to Black Orchid?” Atmosphere inquired. “Did she escape as usual?”
“No, believe it not, the Titans took her down with some gadget that Nightvision had,” Stellar informed his teammates. “Then they took her back to the Hall of Justice instead of bringing her in.”
“That doesn’t surprise me one bit,” commented Dark Arrow as he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed a phone number. About ten seconds later…
“Waller here”
“It’s Dark Arrow. I’ve finally got something that will shut the Titans down for good.”
“This better be good. I don’t like false hopes,” advised the leader of the Suicide Squad.
“What would you say if I told you that the Titans were harboring a fugitive?” Dark Arrow asked with a smirk on his face.
“A fugitive? Do tell…”
“The Titans nabbed Black Orchid earlier today and took her back to the Hall of Justice rather than turning her over to the authorities.”
“This is just what we need,” smiled the heavy-set woman. “I’ll meet you at the Hall of Justice. Mobilize your team and prepare them to take in the Titans and Black Orchid… by whatever means necessary.”
“Consider it done,” vowed the brother of Sonic Boom.
As the Wall hung up the phone, she turned to her left to see another Amanda Waller bound and gagged, lying on the floor, struggling to make a sound and get free from her bonds. The faux Waller looked down. “Don’t fret sister. This is what you’ve wanted all along. We’re just going to do better at it,” she said, exiting Waller’s office.
Written by: Power Guy
Edited by: Marcus Mebes
Black Orchid’s secret lair….
Black Orchid entered her lair, still irritated by her battle and narrow escape from the original Justice League. “d**n that JLA. Ganging up on me like a bunch of high-school bullies! And that cursed Atom, buzzing around in my head like a hornet. He came so close to discovering the truth. I should have killed that little bug… but I couldn’t risk being captured by Superman and Wonder Woman. Ah well, I’m sure torturing my two guests will put me in a better mood.” She grinned ear to ear as she made her way to the chamber where she was keeping Power Lad and Stellar.
As she entered the room, she became quickly enraged at the sight of Power Lad and Stellar, both free from their chains, and standing alongside Nightvision, Wonder Man, Isis, and Lilith. “CURSE YOU, FOOLS!!! How did you find this place???” she demanded as she ripped the door to the room off of its hinges and threw it at the heroes.
“Looks like we got caught with our fingers in the cookie-jar,” Wonder Man said as he smashed the flying door. “Thanks again for helping us find this place, Aunt Lil.”
“Don’t thank me unless we all get out of here alive!” advised the fire-haired precognitive as she pulled the injured Power Lad and Stellar close to her. She then pulled the two of them with her under a table, in hopes of keeping them safe. A battle was brewing, and though there was a pause after the thrown door, the worst was yet to come.
Nightvision fired his Bat-grapple at the roof and swung through the air. Once he got close enough to Black Orchid, he threw several smoke-bombs at the murderess, rendering her temporarily unable to see. “Now! While she’s blinded!” he directed.
Isis wasted no time in following the plan the heroes had worked out prior to finding Black Orchid’s lair. “EARTH!” she shouted. From below Black Orchid’s feet, the ground erupted and wrapped itself around her body from the stomach down, thereby immobilizing her lower half.
Wonder Man and Isis rushed into the cloud of smoke wearing special contacts that Nightvision had provided them with that allowed them to see within the haze. The two heroes each grabbed an arm of the purple-clad villainess, trying to hold her as still as possible.
“This is your funeral, idiots!” she threatened, struggling to get free. “Your precious Venus will not be coming out to save you this time!”
Nightvision swung down by his teammates and stood in front of Black Orchid. “Hold her as still as possible!” he said as he pressed a special device against her chest.
“AAAIIEEEEEEEEE!” Black Orchid shrieked in pain, right before she collapsed.
“I’m sorry Venus,” whispered Wonder Man, frowning as a single tear fell from his eye.
“This is for the best,” Isis reminded Wonder Man.
“After reading through Nucleus’ notes, I discovered that Black Orchid feeds on sunlight much like Kryptonians do. This device I used on her neutralized all of the solar-radiation in her body. Right now she’s probably feeling like a crack-addict who hasn’t had a fix in a week,” explained Nightvision. “Wonder Man, please restrain her for transport.”
Wonder Man felt horrible about having to bind Black Orchid in his magic-lasso. He and Venus had developed a special friendship since the two came to know each other. Many fond memories flooded his thoughts. Venus had become like a sister to him over the last year and it disturbed him greatly to see his friend going through so much trouble. “I hope you’re still in there, somewhere,” he whispered, almost inaudibly.
“She’s finally subdued,” noted Lilith, approaching the other heroes. “She has killed so many of my friends. I truly hope you can help her.”
“Thanks again for your help Aunt Lilith,” said a grateful Wonder Man.
“It was the least I could do,” Lilith smiled humbly. “Having Stellar’s belt helped my E.S.P. to home in on him with complete accuracy. I should tell you that I sense there is another force at work within this woman.”
“What are you talking about?” Nightvision asked inquisitively.
“I wish I could elaborate on it but I’m just not sure,” replied Lilith. “Needless to say, proceed cautiously with her… with THEM.”
“I say we off her right here and now,” suggested Power Lad. He was groggy from the pain and loss of blood, but despite the dislocated shoulder and shock, he tried valiantly to stand on his own.
“Power Lad!” shouted Isis, looking at the young hero sternly.
“That lady is sick. She told me how she first killed Cyborg, Raven, Starfire, and the others and let me tell you, she loved every minute of it,” commented Stellar while putting on his Cosmic Converter Belt that Nightvision had retrieved from the place where he and Black Orchid had fought. “So are you guys bringing her to Belle Reve or the Slab?”
“Neither!” answered Wonder Man without haste. “We need to figure out what’s wrong with her before some government scientist gets a chance to start dissecting her or cloning her for his own personal super-army.”
“After everything she’s done, you’re willing to look the other way because she’s your friend? Do you have any idea what she put Power Lad and me through?” argued Stellar, giving Wonder Man a dirty look. “Dark Arrow was so right about you guys.”
Nightvision just ignored Stellar’s comment, continuing with what he thought should be done. “Let’s get Black Orchid into your jet and take her back to the Hall. Power Lad and Stellar need medical attention. We’ll drop them off at a hospital on the way,” he said to Wonder Man.
As the heroes and their subdued prisoner exited, Isis commented, “Your Invisible Jet certainly came in handy today. To think we parked it right outside and Black Orchid didn’t notice it when she came in.”
“Yeah…” mumbled Wonder Man, still in despair over having to take down his close friend.
***
The Hall of Justice…
Sargona stepped out of the teleporter-tube casually, glancing around the room. She saw the Silencer monitoring the Trouble Alert while Zan and Jayna were busy tidying up the place.
The Wonder Twins turned to greet the daughter of Sargon. “Hey Sargona, you’re back!” Jayna shouted.
Black Vulcan entered the room and noticed her friend had returned after her mission pursuing the Sting Ray. “Hey, girl! How did it go?”
“Hey everyone,” greeted Sargona. The glow on her face was radiant and she was smiling like never before due to her victory over the Sting Ray.
“Wait, I haven’t seen you this happy in months,” observed Black Vulcan. “Not since the last time you called me Thunderdog. You did it, didn’t you? You nabbed her!”
“You bet I did!” exclaimed Sargona. “That twisted witch is now behind bars.”
“All right!” shouted Black Vulcan, giving Sargona a high-five.
The Silencer turned his head in shock. “Nice one, Sar! I didn’t think you had it in you any more; but, I guess I was wrong about you.”
“Don’t sweat it Silencer. I didn’t think I had it in me any more either,” agreed the sorceress.
“So what happened?” requested Black Vulcan in anticipation. “Spill it girl!”
“Well, first off, I got a little bit of help from Strato Hawk and Whirlpool,” started Sargona. “Hawk confronted the villains head-on while Whirlpool used his water-control powers to put their boat out of commission. After that, I snuck into the ship’s cabin and the first thing I did was rip that Bermuda Corals necklace off of that filthy witch’s neck. I wasn’t about to let her slip out the back door this time. From there, the two of us got into a huge cat-fight and I just about lost it on her. Let’s just say that I took her down pretty hard.”
“She deserved it,” Black Vulcan commented, bluntly.
“Better believe it,” agreed Sargona. “That’s not all that happened. Strato Hawk found out that she gave birth to another one of his kids and never told him about the baby.”
“No way!” shouted Jayna in disbelief. “That is so horrible!”
“Poor Hawk,” Black Vulcan said, shaking her head. “Was he able to find out where she was keeping the baby?”
“He did after I had a few words with the Sting Ray,” smirked Sargona.
“What did you say to her?” asked Black Vulcan, anxiously.
“I told her I would give her back the Bermuda Corals necklace if she told us where she was keeping Hawk’s daughter,” informed Sargona.
“Wait a minute… you gave her the necklace back?” Black Vulcan asked in disbelief.
“No, but she sure thought I was going to,” Sargona said with a mischievous grin.
“Girl, you are sooooo bad!” laughed Black Vulcan.
Just then, Nightvision, Wonder Man, and Isis entered the room with Black Orchid still out cold. Wonder Man had taken the liberty of dropping off Lilith at her home on the way to the Hall, having also dropped off Power Lad and Stellar at the Metropolis Medical Center.
Black Vulcan, Sargona, and the others were speechless at the sight of the subdued villainess.
“Silencer, open the detention cell!” ordered Nightvision as he carried Black Orchid over to the containment cell and placed her inside. “Not even Superman could break out of here. She won’t be going anywhere even after her powers return.”
“We have to find a way to help her,” insisted Wonder Man.
“I’m going to give it my best shot but we have to be prepared to face the fact that she may just have an incurable split personality disorder or that she’s too far gone from this other presence that Lilith suggested,” advised Nightvision.
“I’m going to call Palomé. He needs to be here for this,” Wonder Man said, walking over to the Hall’s communication system. He knew that the empathic son of Raven and Risk would want to be involved… if not for revenge, then for the chance to heal.
***
About ten minutes later….
Palomé and the Stranger materialized in the Hall’s meeting room.
“Where is she?” demaned Palomé, looking around.
“She’s in the detention cell until we can figure out what’s wrong with her,” informed Nightvision.
“It’s good to see you all, my friends,” greeted the Stranger. “Why Sargona, something is different about you. You seem so vibrant and… happy?”
“I nabbed the Sting Ray,” smiled the daughter of Sargon triumphantly.
“Congratulations,” offered the Stranger. “It’s about time that woman pays for what she did to our comrades.”
Palomé approached the cell containing Black Orchid. The front of the cell was a three-inch-thick wall of Kryptonian glass. He looked down at her inert form, noting how peaceful she looked. A part of him felt she didn’t deserve to be at peace for killing his parents. He had come to know her, share many intimate moments with her, and trust her above all others. Sadly, that trust was obviously placed in vain. Palomé could do nothing but stare, and hope.
***
Metropolis Medical Center…
Dark Arrow, Atmosphere, and Lady Light entered Stellar’s room in a haste.
Stellar, who had been treated from his wounds and was still under the effects of anesthesia, just looked up, wearily. “Hey guys,” he mumbled.
“Good to see you still breathing,” offered Dark Arrow. “How did you escape?”
“The Titans rescued me,” answered Stellar. “It turns out Black Orchid kidnapped Power Lad too. Wonder Man had that hippie-chick Lilith use her E.S.P. to find us.”
“The Stranger, Isis, Lilith… how do those idiots bribe all of these top-notch heroes into working with them?” Dark Arrow wondered aloud, irritated.
“So what happened to Black Orchid?” Atmosphere inquired. “Did she escape as usual?”
“No, believe it not, the Titans took her down with some gadget that Nightvision had,” Stellar informed his teammates. “Then they took her back to the Hall of Justice instead of bringing her in.”
“That doesn’t surprise me one bit,” commented Dark Arrow as he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed a phone number. About ten seconds later…
“Waller here”
“It’s Dark Arrow. I’ve finally got something that will shut the Titans down for good.”
“This better be good. I don’t like false hopes,” advised the leader of the Suicide Squad.
“What would you say if I told you that the Titans were harboring a fugitive?” Dark Arrow asked with a smirk on his face.
“A fugitive? Do tell…”
“The Titans nabbed Black Orchid earlier today and took her back to the Hall of Justice rather than turning her over to the authorities.”
“This is just what we need,” smiled the heavy-set woman. “I’ll meet you at the Hall of Justice. Mobilize your team and prepare them to take in the Titans and Black Orchid… by whatever means necessary.”
“Consider it done,” vowed the brother of Sonic Boom.
As the Wall hung up the phone, she turned to her left to see another Amanda Waller bound and gagged, lying on the floor, struggling to make a sound and get free from her bonds. The faux Waller looked down. “Don’t fret sister. This is what you’ve wanted all along. We’re just going to do better at it,” she said, exiting Waller’s office.