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Post by DocQuantum on Apr 28, 2018 19:27:28 GMT
Chicago:
The Gang had been recaptured after each had been knocked unconscious. The only one who had remained conscious throughout was their leader, the beautiful blonde woman known only as Brains. Presently, they were all being taken off to jail in an armored vehicle.
The ambitious super-villainess who was more computer than woman frowned in thought as she breathed through her mouth instead of her bloody nose. That punch had really hurt, and it had certainly stunned her, but she had not truly blacked out as everyone had assumed. Instead, she had played coy as she listened with curiosity as her pawns battled the hapless red-skinned alien hero who, despite all his apparent power, seemed ill-suited for crime-fighting.
The recapture of the Gang didn't really matter, anyway, as she had already made contingency plans for that eventuality. She had originally hoped to make a few more appearances before their capture, in order to make it clear that the super-villain team from the mid-'80s had really returned, but the appearance of the alien had worked in her favor, as the media had filmed the entire battle and was sure to take an interest in the appearance of a new super-hero for Chicago, especially one that was still wet behind the ears.
Her rivals in Chicago's underworld would continue to underestimate her, assuming her to be nothing more than a colorfully clad super-villainess with a silly name and a mad-on for Supergirl, who was interested only in robbing banks and the like. The truth, that she was the new Director of the rebuilt Council and was poised to take over the underworld entirely with the aid of her computerized brain, would never have occurred to them.
She had no further use for Ms. Mesmer, or Spellbinder as she'd become known, but would keep her on a short leash in case she needed her for some reason. As far as Kong and Bulldozer went, she had planned to wipe their memories altogether anyway. The custom-built androids patterned after her old friends, who'd been murdered by Gorilla Grodd last year, really didn't need to retain those artificial personas any longer. From this point on they would serve her as muscle, and nothing more. Eventually she would also have to repay Grodd himself for his actions, as human custom in the criminal community dictated that her lack of vengeance would make her seem weak. (*)
[(*) Editor's note: See DC Universe: Invasion Homecomings, Chapter 1: A Place to Belong.]
Brains regretted that the new Supergirl had apparently disappeared two or three months ago, as she had enjoyed sparring with her through her pawns, but it was just as well. (*) Nasthalia Luthor had already lost interest in their old plans and had left for Europe to pursue other goals. (*) She didn't think this new alien hero would be much of a threat to her current plans, but she also didn't want to take any chances. She had heard the word or name that he had uttered, and she vowed to find out what or who "Will" really was before their next encounter.
[(*) Editor's note: See Superman: Gotcha! and Supergirl: Spellbound.]
As the paddy-wagon turned a corner, the driver screeched to a halt as four flying robots hovered in its path. The robots then quickly incapacitated the two guards within before cutting through the reinforced steel walls and freeing the four members of the Gang. Before police backup could even be notified, Brain's Matrix-Prime drones had already flown off toward a rebuilt underwater complex beneath Lake Michigan with the Gang.
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Post by DocQuantum on Apr 29, 2018 6:11:05 GMT
Woodside Military Base, New Jersey:
When the Captain Comet who had founded the Rehab Squad, a division of Task Force X, was revealed to be a Martian agent nearly three months ago, Colonel Rick Flag's judgment was called into question, as was Task Force X itself.
There had been a major reshuffling of Task Force X since then. The Meta-Human Rehabilitation Agency was renamed the Institute of Meta-Human Studies, while its mission changed drastically from super-villain rehabilitation to research and development. In short, the Institute sought to weaponize meta-human powers for the U.S. government.
As for Colonel Rick Flag, he lost his previous status as director of the Meta-Human Rehabilitation Agency, which he had founded, as well as his co-leadership of Task Force X, which he'd run almost single-handedly since 1959. The Extreme Justice Initiative had been scrapped and replaced by the Suicide Squad. And Flag was once more the leader of the Suicide Squad, or more precisely, the team's field commander, replacing the absent Paul Kirk, clone of the original Manhunter. Worst of all, Amanda Waller was no longer Flag's equal in rank; she was now his boss.
The more things change, Flag thought to himself as he infiltrated a missile silo with his team: the Bronze Tiger, Captain Boomerang, Deadshot, Killer Croc, Silver Deer, and Bonny Hoffman and Carmen Leno, the hired killers known as the Body Doubles. It was an eclectic and volatile mix, and all of them except for himself and Ben Turner were villains, but desperate times called for desperate measures.
Despite having been a soldier since World War II with over forty years of experience, Rick Flag appeared to be a man little more than thirty years of age, thanks to a quirk of fate a couple of years ago. He supposed that was why he was put back on the field rather than retired or given another desk job. It was just as well.
According to intel, a criminal named Max Scarr, known as General Scarr, had taken over this American nuclear missile silo and was planning to launch a ballistic missile with a nuclear warhead at Moscow. Conventional military forces had failed to retake the base, which was guarded by a group of mercenaries posing as soldiers. The Suicide Squad's mission was to infiltrate the base, eliminate the mercenaries, and kill Scarr before he could launch the missile.
Everything went according to plan, or so it seemed at first.
Silver Deer was the first to enter, having transformed herself into a white fox to slip through the fence. Once inside, she used her mystical powers to place the mercenaries in a hypnotic trance, allowing Deadshot and Captain Boomerang to take out the snipers from a distance, and the Body Doubles to take out the cameras. Then Killer Croc acted as point man, plowing through a group of mercenaries before they could mount a defense. Finally, Rick Flag and the Bronze Tiger led the way to the control room, where they planned to take out General Scarr.
But their intel was wrong -- completely wrong. As it turned out, the missile silo had not been taken over by criminals at all. In fact, there had been no change of status in the silo personnel at all. That, of course, meant the supposed mercenaries that they had disabled and killed were American soldiers, and not hired thugs as they'd been told.
As for General Scarr, he was nowhere to be found. Instead, Flag found in the control room only the assigned base commander, Major General Whitehead, along with a rail-thin boy with a strange haircut who was dressed like a Pilgrim, except for the two-star general's cap he wore, and who held an orange cat in his arms. Most of the staff were dead, their throats ripped open by the looks of it, while the Major General himself was wearing a folded paper hat and softly reciting a nursery rhyme, London Bridge Is Falling Down, repeatedly. It was evident from one glance at him that he had completely lost his mind.
"O-kayyy," muttered the Bronze Tiger. "So that wasn't quite what we were expecting."
"What the bloody hell is goin' on here?" said Captain Boomerang, raising one eyebrow at the strange sight.
"It looks like we have visitors, Teekl," the boy said in a cheery tone of voice. "Won't you make them feel welcome?"
The tabby cat, which was in truth Klarion the Witch Boy's familiar, leaped from the boy's hands to the floor, transforming as it went into a sultry-looking and obviously dangerous were-cat who prepared to pounce upon the intruders.
"Croc, Chanka -- now!" ordered Flag, and Killer Croc lunged forward, while Silver Deer transformed into a white-furred panther and leaped toward the were-cat.
"Oh, what fun!" squealed Klarion, clapping his hands and jumping up and down with excitement. "They've come to play! Ah, but we must be good hosts, Teekl! Everyone should have a playmate!"
With the merest concentration, the witch boy gestured, and eldritch power animated the corpses of the dead soldiers littering the floor. As one, they lurched forward toward the Suicide Squad.
"Magic," muttered Colonel Rick Flag. "If there's one thing I hate most of all, it's magic."
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Post by johnreiter902 on Apr 30, 2018 1:07:00 GMT
Wonderful to see Klarion again. He was a villain I really wanted to see come back, because of how unique his motives are (he just wanted a comfortable, safe place to live). I'm pretty sure he would be in his earlier teens by now. I'm thinking of having him encounter the Teen Titans at some point (the ones Bumblebee is mentoring).
I have a question on the Suicide Squad's membership. I assume that Dynamo, Firefirst, Karma, Moonbow and Psi have served their time and been released. Is Manhunter permanently absent (as in, released) or is he just temporarily absent for this mission? Also, the last time we saw SIlver Deer (in the Zandia Solution) she and the Force of July all disappeared to parts unknown when her magic accidentally interacted with the Time Commander's hourglass weapon. Where did they go, and how did they get back?
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Post by DocQuantum on Apr 30, 2018 6:29:53 GMT
Thanks for keeping me on my toes, John! You're better than I am at keeping up with the current statuses of our super-villains.
I did see that reference to Silver Deer and the Force of July disappearing, and I assumed that they must have been sent back in time, possibly to Colonial days. I'm sure Libby had plans to follow up on that story, but I think it's a dangling plot thread.
I've also used Mayflower, so I assume the rest of the Force of July made it back in an untold tale, and probably brought Silver Deer with them.
As far as Manhunter goes, he's no longer with Task Force X and may instead become involved with the Forgotten Heroes at some point, since that team has more or less dissolved for similar reasons as Extreme Justice. But the others you mention very well could still be part of the program. The Suicide Squad lineup changes all the time, based on the mission parameters. I just went with this lineup for the current mission, but I'd love to see Karma and Moonbow again in particular. I think Captain Boomerang will be a permanent member of the Suicide Squad.
I'm hoping this story will serve as a launching point for many new stories featuring the various heroes and teams of Earth-1. That said, I've got plans for the Outsiders as well. Of all teams they may need the biggest shot in the arm. I'd like to feature Titans West for at least one chapter as well, but I don't have any ideas for them yet. Martin Maenza is a hard act to follow!
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Post by lawrenceliberty on Apr 30, 2018 17:04:30 GMT
Right. The Force was going to end up briefly in Colonial times before getting back to our time. This use doesn't interfere with that idea though. It just leaves their time trip as an untold tale for now. I had considered using Silver Deer as a reformed love interest for Chief Man of Bats at one time.
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Post by DocQuantum on May 8, 2018 8:52:09 GMT
Los Angeles:
"You understand what it is that I am asking you to do," said the man standing behind his large oaken desk, looking out the window at the endless horizon. The tall, broadly built man's accent was typically that of a Midwesterner, but a slight accent could be perceived by those who had an ear for it, at least when his guard was down.
"Of course I understand," replied the old scientist with a stronger but similar accent, knowing it was not a true question, but a directive. "And if I do this for you, you will not harm my Peter?"
"You are lucky I let you or that mutt live at all," scoffed the tall man. "Your lives are mere mockeries -- pale shadows of my own. It amused me to make you my pawn, which is the only reason I did not kill you both for being such worthless heirs to my legacy."
"I -- I am afraid I do not understand, Herr--"
"Ah-ah-ah," the tall man interrupted, holding up one finger; all traces of a foreign accent vanished as he continued. "Speak only as an American when you are in my presence. If you used half the brains you apparently do have, you should have figured out the value in always keeping hidden your true story, your true origins. Now away with you. I have a meeting with that blowhard Verner in ten minutes, and I must ready myself to ‘schmooze’ when he gets here.”
The old scientist nodded his head and shuffled off, worry lines creasing his forehead.
Ten minutes later, the tall man was sitting behind his desk as he welcomed his next guest. "Jock, baby!" he said, a wide grin on his face. "How's the soon-to-be-number-one Hollywood mogul today?"
Jock Verner, a squat, rotund man in a loud green blazer grinned behind his Foster Grant's and said, "Couldn't be better!" Shaking the man's hand, he said, "How is our new project shaping up, Rich? Do we have an ETA on the launch date?"
Rich raised one eyebrow and said, "You know the old saying, Jock. Rome wasn't built in a day!" Chuckling, he said, "I kid, I kid. It's coming along swimmingly, Jock. The whole team is in the training room right now, in fact! L.A.'s newest super-hero team is ready to be unleashed any moment now. I'm thinking we start with a press conference -- the JLA and the original Conglomerate did that already, of course -- and then really show the city how much they need us!"
Jock Verner sighed. "I'm still not sure about the name, though, Rich. I'm still smarting from all that money I sunk into the Conglomerate before it finally bit the big one. Why, the branding alone could have been worth the cost, if it wasn't for that insufferable Gardner screwing things up so badly!"
"Water under the bridge, buddy, water under the bridge," laughed Rich. "I'm telling you, the Conglomerate's days are long gone."
"Hmm. You're probably right about that. So how about something like 'the Captains of Industry'?" suggested Verner.
"I keep tellin' ya, Jock -- people just don't trust anything that smacks of corporations or big business these days," replied Rich. "In order to really sell the public on this, we'll have to tie the team to an already proven brand, like Verner Brothers."
"I don't know..." Verner replied uncertainly.
"Verner's Vanguard!" said Rich, waving his hands across the air as if moving the words on a marquee. "It rolls off the tongue!"
"You think so?" said Verner, rubbing his double chin.
"That I do, Jock," Rich said, putting one arm around Jock Verner's shoulders and ushering him toward the door. "And hey, buddy, by the time that press conference is over, the sponsors will be practically knocking down the door just to have a little piece of the pie."
Jock Verner sighed again. "I just wish Vanucci hadn't tarnished the name of Vanquisher with his shenanigans, because he could've been a great team leader with a bit of work. I'd had such high hopes for that boy."
"Van Vanucci is old news, Jock," said Rich, opening the door for Verner. "Nobody even remembers what he did or why he did it, let alone what stopped him in his tracks."
"Y'know, that's been puzzling me, too, Rich," Verner said with a frown. "Every time I review the only footage I have of the Vanquisher, I can't for the life of me remember what I saw just seconds later. It's almost like it never happened."
"It's just as well that everyone's forgotten about that glorified limo driver," replied Rich. "He couldn't even live up to his own brand. Verner's Vanguard, on the other hand, is really going to blow up this city -- mark my words."
***
The former Green Lantern Citadel, Los Angeles:
"An' this is the livin' quarters. Sorry 'bout all those walnut shells on the floor. We was always pickin' up after that little poozer Ch'p, an' all the furry critters he let in. Gimme a minute." The Green Lantern named Kilowog fashioned a high-powered, industrial-sized vacuum cleaner with his power ring and set it to automatically clean the floors before continuing with the tour.
"I'm liking what I see so far," replied Jefferson Pierce, alias Black Lightning, as he looked around. "It's close to the city, well-equipped and defensible, yet remote enough to keep any battles from causing damage to city property. When Stewart told me this place was being mothballed, I practically leaped at the chance to take it over. I always knew, in the back of my mind, that the Outsiders was being wasted in Cincinnati."
"That a planet or somethin'?" asked Kilowog.
"No, it's a medium-sized city in the Midwest."
"Never heard of it," Kilowog said with a shrug.
Jeff laughed. "That's not surprising. I barely knew much about it myself before we moved there from Gotham. It's strange, but we hardly even had any discussion about the move at all. Brion offered us Markov House, and we just took him up on it without considering any other options. I guess we justified it by saying we were going to be the super-heroes of the Midwest, but that really only worked if we ignored the Flash in Central City, Hawkman and Hawkgirl in Midway City, and even the JLA and the Conglomerate in Detroit for a time."
"I heard o' those places," said Kilowog.
"We all should've known it wasn't a good fit," continued Jeff. "The only super-villains we ever fought there were transplants from bigger cities, and except for the Monarch and his gang, they only ever came to Cincinnati to challenge us! After the Masters of Disaster nearly totaled the mansion a couple months back, the government of Markovia couldn't get rid of us fast enough! Of course, it didn't help when the Dr. Helga Jace that we'd known was revealed to be a Martian impostor shortly before, or that Brion was called home not long after to begin his official duties as his nation's super-hero after a few years of 'sowing his oats' in America. Rumor has it the Global Guardians are trying to recruit him to lead a team of heroes from other small countries in the same region as Markovia, including the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg."
"I even heard o' those places, too," said Kilowog.
"Anyway, Looker was the first to leave, when her husband Greg went missing -- kidnapped by the Dominators, we soon learned -- and then she suddenly lost her powers during the invasion of the Alien Alliance last summer. Of course, she'd been complaining for months that she hadn't liked the move from glamorous Gotham City to the third largest city in Ohio so I have a feeling she would have left eventually. Metamorpho didn't last too much longer, since Rex's wife Sapphire had also been a Dominator abductee, and besides, she really liked her jet-setting, big city life even more than Lia. Luckily, Rex still drops by from time to time, though we haven't seen him for two or three months now. After the Invasion, we gained Celsius and Negative Woman for a while, mostly because they just needed a home, but Arani left a while back to search for a lost relative of hers, and Valentina decided to go with her until she figures out what she wants to do with herself, what with Gorbachev and his Glasnost policy opening up the Soviet Union to the West. And now, with Geo-Force also gone, that leaves the team down to me, Katana, Halo, and Windfall."
Kilowog turned to Black Lightning and said, "Ya twisted my arm, Pierce. I'll join yer team."
Jeff's eyebrows rose involuntarily. "Oh? I didn't know you were even staying here on Earth."
"Yeah, I got a soft spot fer this little hunk o' dirt," Kilowog replied. "Ain't got a home left ta get back to like the others, anyways, so I thought I'd stay here, even if I have ta give up my ring. I'm really hopin' the Guardians don't ask me ta do that, ta tell ya the truth. Anyway, I'm willin' ta spiff up this whole place fer ya, an' get rid o' all the GLC stuff, though I think yer gonna have ta recruit a few more ta make it worth yer while."
Jeff nodded. "Agreed. I'll talk it over with the others, but I'm glad to have you on this little team of Outsiders."
"That mean you'll take the Citadel?" asked Kilowog.
Black Lightning looked around at the spacious former headquarters of the Earthbound Green Lantern Corps. "Yeah, we will. This place would be perfect for us."
"Then put 'er there, poozer," Kilowog said, reaching out his hand with an expression on his alien face that resembled a smile.
Jeff took his hand and shook it, even as a distant explosion caused the ground to shake.
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Post by lawrenceliberty on May 8, 2018 16:43:33 GMT
I like this idea a lot. I admit I would have had John Stewart join instead but I still am enjoying the concept. Great to see some momentum with the GLs.
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Post by DocQuantum on May 8, 2018 17:16:13 GMT
Thanks, Libby. I thought of Kilowog based on his personality as well as the idea that he can replace Dr. Jace as the team’s resident scientist/inventor.
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Post by starskyhutch76 on May 8, 2018 18:45:17 GMT
Wow. THe Outsiders have really been through a lot! I really like the idea of Kilowog on the team. Maybe now that they're in LA. Sapphire will want Metamorpho to join up with them again.
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Post by DocQuantum on May 13, 2018 9:18:44 GMT
Titans Tower, New York City:
Jay Hart was no Dick Grayson. It was true that he had ostensibly joined the New Titans as Nightwing's replacement, but he had always known he could never live up to the legendary original Robin the Boy Wonder, who had not only been trained by the Batman himself, but had also been trained by his circus acrobat parents since he was a toddler.
As the Protector, Jay had a big heart for keeping others safe, but other than his Titans training he had no special advantages over his opponents. Shortly after joining the team last year as a regular member, the Protector soon found himself in trouble on a regular basis whenever the team needed to fight the bad guys. In fact, Jay came close to being killed outright on one of those occasions, and had several other close calls besides. It wasn't long before Jay began developing an inferiority complex that nearly led to him quitting the team for good. He would have done so as early as last fall had it not been for Nightwing, who had talked him into sticking it out with the team and continuing his training until they figured out a solution.
And then, after a case at the beginning of this year that brought not only the New Titans but also Titans West to Zandia, a solution to Jay's problem presented itself. The team gained access to an arsenal of weapons and equipment confiscated by the Zandian government from numerous visiting super-villains, and one of those villains' weapons ended up giving the Protector the edge he needed. A few years ago, a criminal named Leroy Merkyn had been equipped with a special armored uniform by the Hewitt Corporation, and with it he had become known as the original Enforcer. Later, a woman named Mica was given the suit to become the second Enforcer. Both Enforcers ended up battling Firestorm the Nuclear Man. After the second Enforcer fled to Zandia with the uniform, it was confiscated and left there as down-payment during her stay in the nation.
Given the Enforcer suit, Jay made a few modifications of his own by repainting it with his own colors of purple and red. And Mal Duncan even offered him the use of the helmet and shield he'd worn as the second Guardian during his early days with the Teen Titans. Thus the Protector took on the legacy of the Guardian in spirit, if not in name, and began to feel like he could really pull his weight with the Titans, now that the lightweight steel-hard fiber-plastic armor granted him limited super-strength and invulnerability, and his boot-jets allowed him to fly.
Still, Jay Hart couldn't help but panic slightly as he watched a gigantic marshmallow man approach Titans Tower, obviously intent on destroying it.
"Hart?" shouted Danny Chase, already changing into his Dynamind outfit and using his telekinesis to hover toward an open window. "Jay! Snap out of it, dude!"
"Huh?" Jay said, turning to the youngest Titan. As if snapped out of a trance, he muttered, "Oh, right," and ran for the armory, cursing his dependence on the outfit. He knew that without it, the Protector stood no chance at all against such a foe. But it frustrated him that it took so long to get himself ready for a fight. The Changeling and Dynamind would have to go it alone for the next couple of minutes until Jay was ready.
"Logan, are you coming," shouted Danny, "or do I have to defeat this refugee from the big screen myself?"
"I'll be there in a sec, Danny," replied Garfield Logan. "Just need to let Vic know that Donna's sending help."
"Whatever." Danny Chase rolled his eyes and flew out the window, hovering over the water. Ever since joining the team, he'd tried to make friends with his teammates, but nearly everything he did just annoyed them. Team leader Donna Troy, the former Wonder Girl now calling herself Artemis, had even taken Danny aside to give him a few pointers, but the teenager had been a bit too defensive and stormed out before she could finish explaining.
Jay was the only Titan who'd made any effort to befriend him, but Danny couldn't help but wonder if Jay just felt sorry for him. After everything the Titans had done for him over the last few months, not the least of which was clearing him of a 1986 murder charge and freeing him from juvenile detention, Danny knew he should feel nothing but gratitude, but his failure to make friends with the older Titans had left him feeling far too vulnerable and exposed. That was why he affected an uncaring attitude much of the time, instead of opening up to the others and just being himself. Of course, given that he was still a hormone-driven teenager with a still-developing brain, he remained largely unaware of the reasons he did what he did, and didn't know how to change things for the better even if he was fully aware of himself.
As the masked Dynamind, Danny liked to affect a different persona altogether, that of an avenging, wisecracking super-hero like the comic-book characters he loved. Using his telekinesis to fly, he circled the giant even as he tried to figure out what it really was. All he knew was that it couldn't really be the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man from Ghostbusters, but what was it -- an illusion made only of light?
Flying at the giant, Dynamind suddenly reeled back as a giant hand tried to swat him away, but only ended up causing a gust of wind in its wake that thrust him back. Although it had not struck him, Danny's heart was racing a mile a minute as he realized how close he had come to being struck with something that had the consistency of concrete; it may have looked like a marshmallow, but of course if it had really been made of the stuff it wouldn't have been able to stand up under its own weight, but would have immediately collapsed into a semi-liquid heap of mush.
"Danny! Get back!" cried Changeling, flying toward him in the shape of a hawk. "Are you all right?"
"I'm okay," said Dynamind. "It almost got me, though. Holy crap!"
"Just stay where you are!" Changeling shouted, his fear for his teammate's close call turning to anger for his recklessness. "How many times have we told you to wait for the rest of the team instead of just barreling forward? You're gonna get yourself killed one of these days!"
Now a safe distance from the giant, Dynamind just shrugged and muttered, "Sorry, bub."
Shaking his feathered head, Changeling flew around the giant himself, wondering how best to take on such a foe. It would have been so much easier if the rest of the team were around, and he could parcel out his own powers and act in concert with his fellow Titans, with their formidable abilities. But he was alone with two rookies, and although Donna had assured him that help was on its way, Garfield Logan knew that it was up to him to protect Titans Tower. He couldn't count on either Dynamind or the Protector to give him much assistance, either, since Danny wasn't able to follow orders, and Jay was still learning how to work the modified Enforcer suit.
"I always knew it would come down to me someday," he muttered to himself as he altered his form once more, this time from a flying green eagle to that of a giant green tyrannosaurus rex. "Just hope I can hold on to this form long enough to do my job!"
In the form of a T-rex, Changeling lunged toward the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, trying to knock the giant onto its back. Unfortunately, the giant proved to be a lot tougher than it looked, and Changeling wasn't going to be able to keep this up for much longer. As he'd found out years ago as a kid with the Doom Patrol, the larger the shape of animal he became, the more energy he expended in that form. Thus, whenever he became something as big as a dinosaur, he had to take full advantage of his size, strength, and mass as quickly as possible before he was forced to change back. But it looked like the battle was going to take a bit longer than he'd hoped.
Back at Titans Tower, Jay Hart had finally finished donning his armored uniform and was about to leap into the fray until he noticed several things. First, Changeling appeared to be handling the giant really well. Second, Dynamind was back in the fight himself and appeared to be using his telekinesis against the giant to keep it from fighting back. Third, he noticed that the Blackrock-hijacked computers were back online. And fourth, he was sure that help was on its way. The Protector didn't seem to be needed at all, at least in that kind of battle, and would be better served elsewhere.
Biting his lips, Jay finally turned and ran from the window rather than join the fight. "I really hope I won't regret doing this!" he said to himself as he made his way toward the nearest computer console and began typing.
"I don't freaking believe it!" Danny said, looking back at Titans Tower. "Hart just turned tail and ran instead of helping us! Can you believe that guy? What a sissy! I mean, the guy's nice and all, but how can you count on a guy like that to have your back?"
"Danny -- eyes on the fight!" shouted Changeling the T-rex. "Hit him behind the knees and I'll knock him down!"
"Okay, 'boss,'" replied Dynamind, flying behind the giant. "Only, I don't think this thing's got knees!"
"Just do it!" cried Changeling, obviously in pain.
"All right, all right, already!" said Dynamind, blasting the back of the giant's round legs with telekinetic blasts. "Sheesh!"
Almost before he'd finished, Changeling pushed his entire tyrannosaurus rex body weight into the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, and succeeded in knocking over the giant -- and himself as well, until Garfield Logan passed out and reverted back to his human form.
"Logan?" cried Dynamind, seeing his teammate fall into the river. "Aw, crap!" Concentrating with all his might, Danny managed to create an invisible hand-like structure that reached into the water and gently grasped the prone form of Changeling, pulling him up above the waves before flying him back toward Titans Tower. "You better not die on me, green genes!"
After being placed on the shore of the island, Gar Logan began to come to his senses. "Danny? Did I...? Did we...?"
"We did it, boss," Danny said, without sarcasm this time. "You did the heavy lifting, of course. Though I still can't believe Hart just bailed on us like that!"
"He must've... had his reasons," Changeling muttered, shaking his head as he began to sit up. "Yikes. I feel like Michael Spinks when he fought Mike Tyson!"
"Are those boxers or something?" asked Danny, grinning.
"You need to get out more, kid," replied Gar.
"Hey, I was just joking," Danny said. "Can't you tell when someone's being sarcastic, Logan?"
"Just roll with the joke, Danny," said Gar, standing to his feet. "Your persecution complex is getting a little old."
"So is your face," Danny muttered, trying to look completely innocent when Changeling glared at him, then broke into a chuckle a moment later.
"That's actually not bad, kid," laughed Gar. "You might have a future as a Titan if you can grow a thicker skin."
"I might have to," Dynamind said, frowning as he pointed toward the water. "Look!"
Changeling sighed as he saw the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man rising from the East River, looking angrier than before. "I should've known it wouldn't be that easy. Okay, kid, guess it's time for round two."
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Post by DocQuantum on May 14, 2018 4:01:55 GMT
In a secret lair, one of many such lairs around the world, a bald man was reclining on a big leather chair, his bare feet on the cushion, wearing little more than a bathrobe. He sighed deeply as he watched a bank of television screens showing scenes of mayhem, death, and destruction caused by super-villains all around the world.
So Neron did what he promised he would do. Still, he couldn't care less, and he'd had no interest in even hearing that supposed Lord of Hell's proposal, let alone becoming one of his agents. There was only one thing bothering him.
Standing up from the chair, he brushed crumbs off the front of his robe and walked over to a trashcan. Rummaging through it, he found something at the bottom and pulled it out. It was an unlit green candle.
Frowning, he looked at the candle as he crouched on the ground, wondering what could be so special about it. Sighing again, he stood up and regarded it for a few more moments before walking to his laboratory.
For the next several moments, the criminal scientist whose name was known the world over subjected the green candle to all manner of tests. Slicing off bits of the wax and wick, he studied them under a microscope before placing them under a spectroscope, and then a dozen other instruments. He did everything possible to discover the secrets of the candle without actually lighting it, as he had no desire to visit Neron's realm.
Every single scientific test pointed to the same conclusion: the green candle was just a green candle made of paraffin wax. There was nothing special about it as far as science could detect.
Lex Luthor threw the now-destroyed candle back into the trash and poured himself another drink. He hated magic.
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Post by DocQuantum on May 17, 2018 6:56:01 GMT
Downtown Manhattan was overrun by a pack of Wildebeest. Despite their animal-like nature, these Wildebeest were not the bovine gnus native to Africa, but a gang of genetically modified humans who comprised the membership of the Wildebeest Society.
This group of mercenaries had given the New Titans a lot of trouble over the last half-year after their formation in January. Originally they had taken turns operating as the Wildebeest, a musclebound figure with red fur, golden armor, and a horned, beast-like head, giving the Titans the impression that there was only one Wildebeest. But the scheme had been figured out fairly quickly, since an old Titans foe called Trident had already used the exact same M.O. a few years earlier.
After that, the Wildebeest Society had given up the pretense of being one figure and had begun operating in concert with each other, even as they continued modifying their genetics, becoming less and less human, and more like the animals they emulated.
That was why a herd of Wildebeest now ran rampant across the Wall Street financial district in Manhattan, running nearly on all fours as they scattered through the crowds, howling like demons as they went. Their original purpose for being there, if any, seemed to have been abandoned after encountering not only the New Titans once again, but also a notorious team of super-villains.
"Remind me again why we're teaming up with the Fearsome Five?" Cyborg shouted to Raven, who was too busy subjecting three Wildebeest to her soul self to respond.
"For the last time, ya walkin' hood ornament -- we're the Fearsome Four!" shouted Gizmo, a red-bearded, goggle-wearing man in a green outfit, who was hovering above the ground through the use of a jet-pack, nearly back-to-back with Cyborg. "I mean, can't ya count? There's only four of us here -- me, Plasmus, Pantha, and Bug Man over there."
"The Bug, ya daft midget!" a thin figure shouted with a British accent. He wore a costume that covered every inch of skin, including his face. "It's not Bug Man, Bug-Eyed Bandit, or Ambush Bug -- it's just the Bug!"
"Well, ya completely swiped ol' Bug Man's shtick -- not that I have anythin' against an honest theft -- but can I help it if I get you mixed up? Yeesh!" replied the diminutive Mikron O'Geneus, known as Gizmo. "Anyway, 'Borg ol' pal, we ain't the Fearsome Five, because there already exists a group by that name, an' I haven't had anythin' ta do with 'em fer a few years now. All they seem interested in these days is gettin' revenge on you jerks, while all I'm interested in is profit -- hence the 'strange bedfellows' bit an' all that."
"Another day, another buck, huh?" said Cyborg, blasting a Wildebeest with white sound. "Well, I gotta say that's refreshing after everything the Crimelord's version of the team put us through."
"I had nothin' ta do with any o' that!" retorted Gizmo. "Dunno why Shimmer or Mammoth went along with it, either, since they was always in it for profit, too. Revenge schemes get you nothin' but death and destruction. Take it from me. I'm just in it for the money, an' so's the rest of my brand-new Fearsome Four."
"Just so you know, that's still not gonna stop me from haulin' your butts into jail when all this is over with," replied Cyborg.
"Sure, sure," laughed Gizmo. "You can always... try."
Nearby, the villain known as Plasmus had formed his fists into rock-hard sledgehammers and was knocking out as many Wildebeest as he could. "Filthy schwein!" he cried in a thick German accent as he continued to fight. "In ze old days I vould have burned all of you to the bone!"
When Neron had restored Otto von Furth's lost powers, he had amplified Plasmus' shape-changing abilities even as he removed his dissolving touch and radioactivity. Now he was able to alter his shape into almost any form, limited only by his unchanging mass and his imagination, enabling him either to appear human or to use his powers whenever he wanted to. Having been forcefully separated from the rest of humanity, Plasmus now hoped to take full advantage of his new shape-shifting ability to romance as many women as possible -- after he smoothed over a few rough edges.
The mysterious Pantha, whose cat-like hybrid physiology gave her the abilities of a humanoid panther, was as inhuman as any of the Wildebeest. But her predatory nature gave her a decided advantage over her furry foes, who instinctively tried to avoid her and her ripping claws. The Wildebeest Society's only real advantage over her feline form was in trampling her over in sheer numbers, but as long as she remained focused on hacking and slashing every Wildebeest that came her way, she was nearly unstoppable.
As for the Bug, he was doing his best to keep up with the others, but his lack of experience as a costumed criminal was working against him. Growing up, he'd been a straight-A student with a history of scientific accomplishments over his relatively young life. But despite having a certain adversarial tendency to pick fights with those he'd considered his intellectual inferiors, he'd never even thought of becoming a super-villain until quite recently. It had been nothing more than a lark, in fact. He had considered the idea only after stumbling across the lair of a super-villain called the Bug Man -- who had fought the original Doom Patrol years ago -- and realizing that it might be a thrill to see if he could outwit both the police and those insipid super-heroes by updating and modifying his equipment. Since he had no plan to throw away his academic career, he took great pains to disguise himself with a full-face mask and costume, throwing in a fake British accent to thwart any locals from recognizing his voice.
Jericho was watching the Bug closely, and noted how unprepared this supposed villain really was. He could tell with a glance that the Bug had been spooked by the onslaught of the Wildebeest rampage, and would have crumbled long ago if it hadn't been for everyone else pulling their weight in the fight. The Bug was slow to react, obviously from shock, and wasn't as familiar with his equipment as he'd claimed to be. The Bug didn't seem cut out for this kind of life at all, in fact. Joseph Wilson, the Titan known as Jericho, decided he needed to take action.
Catching the Bug's eye, Jericho made contact. Within seconds he had complete control over him.
"Hey, what's going on?" said the Bug, gasping as his body began to move, seemingly on its own, toward the fray. He began to panic from the loss of control over his motor functions. "No, no, no -- this isn't happening. This isn't happening!"
The Bug had deliberately kept himself away from the battle, since he didn't think of this as his fight. He was in this for the thrill he hoped to get from the heist itself, not to battle overly powered foes. The cash mattered less to him, since he only needed enough money for tuition and his books, and most of that was already covered by academic scholarships. Now, as some unknown force took over his body and began using his equipment almost expertly against the Wildebeest, he began to wonder why he'd ever answered that classified ad in the Underworld Star and joined Gizmo's Fearsome Four.
"Wait a sec, wait a sec, wait a sec," the Bug muttered quietly, all pretense of an accent gone as he shocked Wildebeest with electrified webbing and evaded their horns using expert acrobatic leaps. "That's y-you doing this to me, i-isn't it, Jericho? You're c-controlling my body! Well, I s-sure hope you know w-what the hell you're do-eee-eee-eee-eee-eee-ing!"
"You really know how to pick 'em, Gizmo!" said Cyborg, laughing as the Bug starting screaming uncontrollably.
"Ahh, I just thought I'd give a starry-eyed kid a chance at bein' a big villain fer once in his life," Gizmo said with a shrug. "Even helped tweak a few o' his gadgets in exchange for a one-percent commission on all future profits. Not my problem if he can't hack it in this biz."
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Post by starskyhutch76 on May 19, 2018 23:16:17 GMT
The Titans seem to be in a rough place these days. Since Martin is no longer doing Titans West, maybe we should have an event involving both teams and the end result would be one strong group of Titans.
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Post by DocQuantum on May 20, 2018 1:27:52 GMT
Is it possible to have a Titans team on opposite coasts? It’s hard to imagine how that would work without one team moving to the other coast.
I would love to see more Titans West, too. I just don’t have any immediate ideas yet. I’m working on getting the Titans and the Outsiders back to full strength in this story, but Titans West seems to be in good shape still. It’s just waiting for another writer to take up the reins.
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Post by jonclark on May 20, 2018 2:36:10 GMT
Is it possible to have a Titans team on opposite coasts? It’s hard to imagine how that would work without one team moving to the other coast. I would love to see more Titans West, too. I just don’t have any immediate ideas yet. I’m working on getting the Titans and the Outsiders back to full strength in this story, but Titans West seems to be in good shape still. It’s just waiting for another writer to take up the reins. Maybe they could take a page from the League and set up some teleporters. Even if it was just one in the East Coast base and one in the West Coast base it would enable the team to get quickly to either coast as needed.
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