Post by Deleted on Mar 28, 2015 19:27:02 GMT -5
Titans East Chapter 56 - “Sports Minded”
Writer: Green Lantern
Editors: Power Guy & Marcus Mebes
The Hall of Justice Meeting Room
The Sportsmaster listened patiently as the other members of the Titans East whined and cried about different worldwide situations and issues that were none of their business. Most were complaining about the fact the team was receiving extreme media backlash for Venus being exposed as Black Orchid. No one had been respectful enough to brief him as to how the team ran. As far as he could tell, Wonder Man was supposedly in charge now. Chris really disagreed with this decision. Wonder Man’s arrogance was a very poor substitute for Green Lantern’s gentle and caring disposition. How the Sportsmaster missed his best friend! He wished there were someone to talk with about this who could sympathize with him.
Simultaneously - The Hall of Justice: Green Lantern’s Room
Christopher Martin—an offshoot copy of himself—had a good cry as he remembered the treasured visits of his kind friend. He searched through closets and drawers looking for something, anything that could help him bear the pain of his loss. He picked up a tattered Bible and leafed through it. Daniel Jordan’s Bible was exactly what he was looking for. The Sportsmaster couldn’t believe the heartlessness of poor Daniel’s teammates. “How could they have yet another of their boring meetings knowing that Green Lantern is dead… and why do they insist on my attendance?” he questioned as he kneeled to the ground in order to scope under Green Lantern’s bed. “Well, at least it gives me a chance to explore the rest of the Hall of Justice with my multiple forms.”
The Hall of Justice Meeting Room
The Sportsmaster clutched his bat firmly as Nightvision ranted on. “Sting Ray this” and “Black Orchid that”, and the new Legion of Doom, and the new Justice League, and “blah, blah, blah.” Chris didn’t know how much more he could stand. “The Huntress would have had all of these cases solved by now if she were still here,” he thought as he rolled his eyes.
Simultaneously - The Hall of Justice: The Huntress’ Room
Another of the Sportsmaster duplicates embraced Helena Wayne’s soft pillow as he rocked back and forth. Why did she have to go on the S.T.A.R. Labs mission? Chris was angry with himself for treating the Huntress so poorly. He couldn’t believe how fickle he had been. In retrospect, he had not given his true love enough time to awaken to her true feelings for him. If only he had been more patient! And now that she was gone, all he had left was her silky pillow. He continued to sob before taking the Huntress’ pillow and a box of her stationery to his quarters.
The Hall of Justice Meeting Room
Chris choked back tears as his teammates continued to drone on about how to improve team spirit in light of what had happened with Venus. It was a good thing that they had taken him back as the replacement of both Green Lantern and the Huntress. They would need his calm and firm counsel. He was surprised that they allowed Power Lad to take the place of Power Guy. No one seemed to like the jerk. The Sportsmaster was at a complete loss as to why the team allowed that loose cannon to stay in the Hall of Justice. His continued presence on the team was a danger to every member! “Did I hear right?” he pondered, “Did that wimp call himself ‘Hardcore Power Guy’?”
Simultaneously - The Hall of Justice: Power Lad’s Room (formerly Power Guy’s)
“What an irresponsible brat!” said another multiple of the Sportsmaster, sharing the emotions and perceptions of his counterpart. “I can’t believe the smut that this guy watches!” He turned off the video in disgust. Chris divided himself into three more Sportsmasters in order to make up the time he had lost by watching a couple of Power Lad’s videos. The three masked men browsed through Ali’s personal belongings, looked through his closet and drawers, and under his bed. “Hey, guys,” said one of them, “you’ve got to see this!” He lifted up a pair of French cut underwear with red hearts.
“Ew,” commented another.
“Hey, look at this!” said another as he placed a small device on his wrist.
“What does it do?” asked another as the first pushed a button. Suddenly, the Sportsmaster wearing the holographic image device changed into the image of Power Lad himself. Activating the device again his image changed into that of the Huntress, and then to the Green Lantern.
“This can definitely be used,” said the Sportsmaster as the three men drew back together to become one before walking out the doorway.
The Hall of Justice Meeting Room
The Sportsmaster looked intently at the two new girls sitting at the meeting table. He had figured out that the one was called Isis. She seemed calm and wise, like the Green Lantern. He kind of liked her.
“Why does everyone seem to like Black Vulcan all of a sudden?” wondered the Sportsmaster. “They used to treat her like dirt, but now even Sargona seems to be all ‘buddy-buddy’ with her.” Chris had vowed that someday he would get his revenge on that witch, Black Vulcan, for steeling his invisibility powers, but maybe she had repented of her sins. “I wonder if Pastor Daniel counseled her too?” He knew it was wise to release the feelings of revenge, and that forgiveness was his path to peace.
Simultaneously - The Hall of Justice: Black Vulcan’s Room
Five Sportsmasters swarmed Celeste’s private files searching for the codes that Amanda Waller had insisted that he find if he wanted to stay out of prison. Chris didn’t like Belle Reve. There were a lot of weird people there. Some of those criminals were dangerous!
“Guys!” called one of the Sportsmasters, “do you think that these are the codes Ms. Waller was looking for?”
All five of them smiled.
The Hall of Justice Meeting Room
“Who is the new guy who dresses so sharp?” thought Chris as he stared at the man seated beside him. “Hey, dude,” he whispered, “what’s your name again?”
“Shhhhhh!” rebuked the Silencer.
“What kind of rude people are these so-called heroes? All I asked for was his name!” thought Christopher Martin indignantly.
The Sportsmaster listened in horror as Nightvision suggested mandatory combat practices for the whole team. “Well,” thought Christopher, “at least I will know better how they operate in case I ever need to take them down.”
The Sportsmaster scanned the meeting room as he searched for the best candidate for his upcoming ‘mission.’ “Not Wonder Man. Not Isis, at least not yet. Certainly not Power Lad or Nightvision. Hmmm…” thought the young ‘hero’ as he reached beneath his ball cap to scratch his head. “I just can’t disturb Sargona at this point. Out of respect for Green Lantern.” The Sportsmaster knew that Sargona was very close with Green Lantern… of course, not as close as the Sportsmaster was with him. Yet still, Chris Martin considered himself a kind and caring soul. He would give Sargona at least a month before disrupting her life.
“Good thing that wuss Palomé’s not here,” he considered. He knew that the hero was the one member of the team who could truly see through him. “His nervous breakdown couldn’t have come at a better time!”
Simultaneously - The Hall of Justice: Sargona’s Room
Another Sportsmaster duplicate lay on Sargona’s lacy bedspread as he browsed through letters that Pastor Daniel had written to her. Tears came to his eyes as he thought about that friend that he had lost. He wished that he could take these letters with him, but a promise is a promise, and Christopher Martin was a man of principle. “I will wait at least a month… maybe even six weeks, before I come back to take these letters and those lovely photographs of Green Lantern and Sargona.”
The Hall of Justice Meeting Room
They were debating strategies on how to find and capture the Sting Ray again. The discussion waxed on as they focused on what to do with her once she was caught. Several of the members became irritated with Power Lad’s suggestions to just let him handle it.
“Why don’t they just kill that murderess and be done with it?” thought the Sportsmaster. “After what she did to Green Lantern and the Huntress she deserves it!”
The Sportsmaster finalized his choices for ‘the mission’ as the meeting adjourned. “Well, this has been fun, but I gotta run!” he said in mock cheer as he knocked over his chair in his haste to leave the room.
“Where are you going so fast?” asked the Silencer as he dusted off the fallen seat and set it back up.
“To the john, ‘Captain Shhhhh’!’” replied Chris sarcastically.
Rushing to his quarters he summoned all of his duplicates from the various rooms of the Titans. Fortunately, no one discovered what he had been doing. “The Huntress would have caught on right away,” he thought as he wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead. He tucked the codes in Green Lantern’s Bible and placed both it and the Huntress’ pillow in his suitcase. He hid Power Lad’s hologram device under his sleeve. He hid Wonder Man’s imported cologne in his closet. He smelled Nightvision’s soap. He was really going to enjoy this brand. Then he began working out his plans on how to force Black Vulcan and the Silencer to join his upcoming mission.
Two Days Later
The Sportsmaster was very pleased at how well his plans had come together. He had found a little time here and there to check out past files on the computer during emergencies. Each time the team was called out on a mission he would secretly leave at least two duplicates of himself at the Hall. It was no easy feat to get time on the computer to look through files, but during his teammates’ bathroom breaks, phone calls and the like he managed to find enough time to use his codes. He found one particularly interesting selection from the Justice League case files in which two JLAers barely escaped an under water accident in a building. This inspired him with the perfect idea.
Four Days Later
Chris Martin was pleasantly surprised that the right combination of members out on missions and those present at the Hall had come so soon. He knew that if he did not execute his mission now, that the perfect opportunity may not come again at all. The Sportsmaster divided into four beings. Two of them went to set the trap on the bay while the other two remained behind. One of the two remaining Sportsmasters braced himself as the other one hit him several times and tore his clothing. It was painful, but he knew he had to do this. The ‘beaten’ Sportsmaster ran into the monitor room as his ‘well’ duplicate hid in the shadows.
“Silencer!” screamed the Sportsmaster with all of the dramatic effort he could muster. “I need help! She’s killing me!”
The Silencer whirled around as he saw the Sportsmaster in tattered clothing pleading for his help. “C’mon! We’ve gotta GO!” insisted the former villain.
“Hold on a minute, just what are we talking about here?” asked the Silencer skeptically.
“Get as many Titans as possible! A woman in black attacked me on the bay,” explained the Sportsmaster. “She is still there fighting my duplicates, but I don’t know how long I can hold on!”
The Silencer doubted the Sportsmaster’s story, but activated his Hall of Justice communicator. Only Black Vulcan replied. After a few moments of discussion both the Black Vulcan and the Silencer went with the Sportsmaster. Taking each teammate in either of her hands, Black Vulcan provided transportation in her energy form.
“Look creep,” warned Black Vulcan as the three Titans began their descent to a lone building along a nearby bay area, “If this is some kind of trap, I will personally fry your –”
“I learned my lesson last time,” interrupted the Sportsmaster, “and the last thing I want is to experience another of your lightning bolts! But make no mistake, this is definitely a trap! The woman in black has my other self trapped in there. I will die if you don’t help me!”
The three entered the building and sped to the place where the Sting Ray had a Sportsmaster duplicate trapped in a corner. Her laser gun was pointed at his face.
“Hold it right there!” shouted Black Vulcan, happy that she was on the team that would have the honor of closing the Sting Ray case.
“Drop your weapon!” added the Silencer as he pointed two guns toward the villainess.
Suddenly, the building began to quake. The Silencer and Black Vulcan both could hear blasts going off, but they couldn’t figure out where they were coming from. Black Vulcan cursed herself for falling into the EXACT same trap that Green Lantern and the others had fallen into. She felt as if she were being tackled and at the same time as if the entire building were falling.
The Silencer couldn’t believe what was happening. He did his best to remain calm, so as to increase his chances for survival. He knew that the building had fallen completely over and it felt as if it had turned upside down, which meant that it must have fallen into the bay and that they were now under water.
The ‘Sting Ray’ deactivated Power Lad’s holographic image device and ‘her’ form turned into that of Sportsmaster. The Sportsmaster’s mask veiled his smile perfectly. Everything was going according to plan. One of his duplicates was outside of the building as an anchor for the Sportsmaster’s escape. Another of his duplicates was ‘trapped’ with the Black Vulcan, and a third was ‘trapped’ with the Silencer. He had absorbed all other duplicates at this time.
In a dark part of the building
The Sportsmaster began to beat the walls around him. He cried out in panic, “What’s happening!?! What’s going on?!?”
“The building collapsed,” reported Black Vulcan, “I think it fell into the bay.”
“Can you use your powers to get us out of here?” asked the Sportsmaster with a shaky voice.
“No, we would both most certainly be electrocuted,” answered Black Vulcan calmly, “We are going to have to dig our way out of here.”
In an adjacent part of the building
The Silencer knew it was some type of a trap, but he was prepared. Stew was still trying to figure out the Sportsmaster’s role in all of this. He could see the jerk laying unconscious beside him. He didn’t know where Black Vulcan and the Sting Ray were. He didn’t want to let the Sportsmaster on to his escape plan before waking him.
The Sportsmaster sensed that the Silencer was about to use his communicator to ask for help, so he pretended to wake up. “Hey! Is anyone there?” shouted the Sportsmaster. “Hello? Where am I? What happened?”
“We are trapped in a building under water. A trap most likely set by you,” accused the Silencer.
“How long have we been here?” asked Chris Martin, ignoring the stab at his honesty.
“Just a couple of minutes,” said Stew.
“What are we going to do? How do we get out of here? I don’t want to die!” said the Sportsmaster in a calculated panic.
“Don’t worry, well get out,” said the Silencer patiently as he tied his fishing line to his hand and anchored it to the wall.
In a nearby room
“Well, I am pretty much stuck here and out of ideas,” said Celeste. “My arm is trapped and I cannot use my communicator to call for help.”
“Are you sure?” asked the Sportsmaster, barely hiding his glee.
“Positive,” affirmed Black Vulcan. “Do you think you could use your communicator?”
“I do know a sure way out of here,” said the Sportsmaster, “but you would have to ‘cooperate’ with me.”
Dread and hopelessness filled Celeste’s entire being. She didn’t want to ask, but she had no other choice. “What do you mean by cooperate?’”
“Let me kiss you,” said Christopher Martin softly as he pulled back his mask.
Minutes Later in the Adjoining Room
Beads of sweat trickled down the Silencer’s face as he realized with mounting horror that his plan wasn’t going to work. He wasn’t completely sure which way was up, or how far down the building had sunk. “So, before we die, would you like to at least admit that you are behind all of this? What were you thinking anyway?”
“Silencer, I can understand why you wouldn’t trust me, but why would I kill myself just to kill you?” asked the Sportsmaster in a groaning pain. “What? Do you think I paid the Sting Ray to beat me up? Look at these bruises, man!”
Stewart Carr did not believe his villainous companion, but he also did not have any idea of what was going on or how he was going to escape alive. By this time he had tried to use his Hall of Justice communicator three times, but it was clearly broken. “So, where is the Sting Ray, anyway?”
“Hopefully, she is impaled somewhere and suffering a slow, agonizing death,” answered the Sportsmaster. “Maybe its better this way. You know, I never meant to hurt anyone. I just wanted to meet the Huntress… and now she’s gone,” said Chris in tears. “Don’t you understand?” he added. “If just one of me dies, ALL of me dies.”
“You are one sick dude,” said the Silencer under his breath. “I don’t know about you, but I DO NOT plan on dying today.” He thought of suggesting that his companion pull his personalities together, but realized that the Sportsmaster—if he HAD indeed been honest—would have done that and gone for help.
“Well, if you have any ideas on how to get out of here, speak now or forever hold your peace!” shouted the Sportsmaster. After a brief silence, the Sportsmaster offered, “if you don’t have any ideas, I know a way out of this, but you would have to ‘cooperate’…”
To Be Continued
Writer: Green Lantern
Editors: Power Guy & Marcus Mebes
The Hall of Justice Meeting Room
The Sportsmaster listened patiently as the other members of the Titans East whined and cried about different worldwide situations and issues that were none of their business. Most were complaining about the fact the team was receiving extreme media backlash for Venus being exposed as Black Orchid. No one had been respectful enough to brief him as to how the team ran. As far as he could tell, Wonder Man was supposedly in charge now. Chris really disagreed with this decision. Wonder Man’s arrogance was a very poor substitute for Green Lantern’s gentle and caring disposition. How the Sportsmaster missed his best friend! He wished there were someone to talk with about this who could sympathize with him.
Simultaneously - The Hall of Justice: Green Lantern’s Room
Christopher Martin—an offshoot copy of himself—had a good cry as he remembered the treasured visits of his kind friend. He searched through closets and drawers looking for something, anything that could help him bear the pain of his loss. He picked up a tattered Bible and leafed through it. Daniel Jordan’s Bible was exactly what he was looking for. The Sportsmaster couldn’t believe the heartlessness of poor Daniel’s teammates. “How could they have yet another of their boring meetings knowing that Green Lantern is dead… and why do they insist on my attendance?” he questioned as he kneeled to the ground in order to scope under Green Lantern’s bed. “Well, at least it gives me a chance to explore the rest of the Hall of Justice with my multiple forms.”
The Hall of Justice Meeting Room
The Sportsmaster clutched his bat firmly as Nightvision ranted on. “Sting Ray this” and “Black Orchid that”, and the new Legion of Doom, and the new Justice League, and “blah, blah, blah.” Chris didn’t know how much more he could stand. “The Huntress would have had all of these cases solved by now if she were still here,” he thought as he rolled his eyes.
Simultaneously - The Hall of Justice: The Huntress’ Room
Another of the Sportsmaster duplicates embraced Helena Wayne’s soft pillow as he rocked back and forth. Why did she have to go on the S.T.A.R. Labs mission? Chris was angry with himself for treating the Huntress so poorly. He couldn’t believe how fickle he had been. In retrospect, he had not given his true love enough time to awaken to her true feelings for him. If only he had been more patient! And now that she was gone, all he had left was her silky pillow. He continued to sob before taking the Huntress’ pillow and a box of her stationery to his quarters.
The Hall of Justice Meeting Room
Chris choked back tears as his teammates continued to drone on about how to improve team spirit in light of what had happened with Venus. It was a good thing that they had taken him back as the replacement of both Green Lantern and the Huntress. They would need his calm and firm counsel. He was surprised that they allowed Power Lad to take the place of Power Guy. No one seemed to like the jerk. The Sportsmaster was at a complete loss as to why the team allowed that loose cannon to stay in the Hall of Justice. His continued presence on the team was a danger to every member! “Did I hear right?” he pondered, “Did that wimp call himself ‘Hardcore Power Guy’?”
Simultaneously - The Hall of Justice: Power Lad’s Room (formerly Power Guy’s)
“What an irresponsible brat!” said another multiple of the Sportsmaster, sharing the emotions and perceptions of his counterpart. “I can’t believe the smut that this guy watches!” He turned off the video in disgust. Chris divided himself into three more Sportsmasters in order to make up the time he had lost by watching a couple of Power Lad’s videos. The three masked men browsed through Ali’s personal belongings, looked through his closet and drawers, and under his bed. “Hey, guys,” said one of them, “you’ve got to see this!” He lifted up a pair of French cut underwear with red hearts.
“Ew,” commented another.
“Hey, look at this!” said another as he placed a small device on his wrist.
“What does it do?” asked another as the first pushed a button. Suddenly, the Sportsmaster wearing the holographic image device changed into the image of Power Lad himself. Activating the device again his image changed into that of the Huntress, and then to the Green Lantern.
“This can definitely be used,” said the Sportsmaster as the three men drew back together to become one before walking out the doorway.
The Hall of Justice Meeting Room
The Sportsmaster looked intently at the two new girls sitting at the meeting table. He had figured out that the one was called Isis. She seemed calm and wise, like the Green Lantern. He kind of liked her.
“Why does everyone seem to like Black Vulcan all of a sudden?” wondered the Sportsmaster. “They used to treat her like dirt, but now even Sargona seems to be all ‘buddy-buddy’ with her.” Chris had vowed that someday he would get his revenge on that witch, Black Vulcan, for steeling his invisibility powers, but maybe she had repented of her sins. “I wonder if Pastor Daniel counseled her too?” He knew it was wise to release the feelings of revenge, and that forgiveness was his path to peace.
Simultaneously - The Hall of Justice: Black Vulcan’s Room
Five Sportsmasters swarmed Celeste’s private files searching for the codes that Amanda Waller had insisted that he find if he wanted to stay out of prison. Chris didn’t like Belle Reve. There were a lot of weird people there. Some of those criminals were dangerous!
“Guys!” called one of the Sportsmasters, “do you think that these are the codes Ms. Waller was looking for?”
All five of them smiled.
The Hall of Justice Meeting Room
“Who is the new guy who dresses so sharp?” thought Chris as he stared at the man seated beside him. “Hey, dude,” he whispered, “what’s your name again?”
“Shhhhhh!” rebuked the Silencer.
“What kind of rude people are these so-called heroes? All I asked for was his name!” thought Christopher Martin indignantly.
The Sportsmaster listened in horror as Nightvision suggested mandatory combat practices for the whole team. “Well,” thought Christopher, “at least I will know better how they operate in case I ever need to take them down.”
The Sportsmaster scanned the meeting room as he searched for the best candidate for his upcoming ‘mission.’ “Not Wonder Man. Not Isis, at least not yet. Certainly not Power Lad or Nightvision. Hmmm…” thought the young ‘hero’ as he reached beneath his ball cap to scratch his head. “I just can’t disturb Sargona at this point. Out of respect for Green Lantern.” The Sportsmaster knew that Sargona was very close with Green Lantern… of course, not as close as the Sportsmaster was with him. Yet still, Chris Martin considered himself a kind and caring soul. He would give Sargona at least a month before disrupting her life.
“Good thing that wuss Palomé’s not here,” he considered. He knew that the hero was the one member of the team who could truly see through him. “His nervous breakdown couldn’t have come at a better time!”
Simultaneously - The Hall of Justice: Sargona’s Room
Another Sportsmaster duplicate lay on Sargona’s lacy bedspread as he browsed through letters that Pastor Daniel had written to her. Tears came to his eyes as he thought about that friend that he had lost. He wished that he could take these letters with him, but a promise is a promise, and Christopher Martin was a man of principle. “I will wait at least a month… maybe even six weeks, before I come back to take these letters and those lovely photographs of Green Lantern and Sargona.”
The Hall of Justice Meeting Room
They were debating strategies on how to find and capture the Sting Ray again. The discussion waxed on as they focused on what to do with her once she was caught. Several of the members became irritated with Power Lad’s suggestions to just let him handle it.
“Why don’t they just kill that murderess and be done with it?” thought the Sportsmaster. “After what she did to Green Lantern and the Huntress she deserves it!”
The Sportsmaster finalized his choices for ‘the mission’ as the meeting adjourned. “Well, this has been fun, but I gotta run!” he said in mock cheer as he knocked over his chair in his haste to leave the room.
“Where are you going so fast?” asked the Silencer as he dusted off the fallen seat and set it back up.
“To the john, ‘Captain Shhhhh’!’” replied Chris sarcastically.
Rushing to his quarters he summoned all of his duplicates from the various rooms of the Titans. Fortunately, no one discovered what he had been doing. “The Huntress would have caught on right away,” he thought as he wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead. He tucked the codes in Green Lantern’s Bible and placed both it and the Huntress’ pillow in his suitcase. He hid Power Lad’s hologram device under his sleeve. He hid Wonder Man’s imported cologne in his closet. He smelled Nightvision’s soap. He was really going to enjoy this brand. Then he began working out his plans on how to force Black Vulcan and the Silencer to join his upcoming mission.
Two Days Later
The Sportsmaster was very pleased at how well his plans had come together. He had found a little time here and there to check out past files on the computer during emergencies. Each time the team was called out on a mission he would secretly leave at least two duplicates of himself at the Hall. It was no easy feat to get time on the computer to look through files, but during his teammates’ bathroom breaks, phone calls and the like he managed to find enough time to use his codes. He found one particularly interesting selection from the Justice League case files in which two JLAers barely escaped an under water accident in a building. This inspired him with the perfect idea.
Four Days Later
Chris Martin was pleasantly surprised that the right combination of members out on missions and those present at the Hall had come so soon. He knew that if he did not execute his mission now, that the perfect opportunity may not come again at all. The Sportsmaster divided into four beings. Two of them went to set the trap on the bay while the other two remained behind. One of the two remaining Sportsmasters braced himself as the other one hit him several times and tore his clothing. It was painful, but he knew he had to do this. The ‘beaten’ Sportsmaster ran into the monitor room as his ‘well’ duplicate hid in the shadows.
“Silencer!” screamed the Sportsmaster with all of the dramatic effort he could muster. “I need help! She’s killing me!”
The Silencer whirled around as he saw the Sportsmaster in tattered clothing pleading for his help. “C’mon! We’ve gotta GO!” insisted the former villain.
“Hold on a minute, just what are we talking about here?” asked the Silencer skeptically.
“Get as many Titans as possible! A woman in black attacked me on the bay,” explained the Sportsmaster. “She is still there fighting my duplicates, but I don’t know how long I can hold on!”
The Silencer doubted the Sportsmaster’s story, but activated his Hall of Justice communicator. Only Black Vulcan replied. After a few moments of discussion both the Black Vulcan and the Silencer went with the Sportsmaster. Taking each teammate in either of her hands, Black Vulcan provided transportation in her energy form.
“Look creep,” warned Black Vulcan as the three Titans began their descent to a lone building along a nearby bay area, “If this is some kind of trap, I will personally fry your –”
“I learned my lesson last time,” interrupted the Sportsmaster, “and the last thing I want is to experience another of your lightning bolts! But make no mistake, this is definitely a trap! The woman in black has my other self trapped in there. I will die if you don’t help me!”
The three entered the building and sped to the place where the Sting Ray had a Sportsmaster duplicate trapped in a corner. Her laser gun was pointed at his face.
“Hold it right there!” shouted Black Vulcan, happy that she was on the team that would have the honor of closing the Sting Ray case.
“Drop your weapon!” added the Silencer as he pointed two guns toward the villainess.
Suddenly, the building began to quake. The Silencer and Black Vulcan both could hear blasts going off, but they couldn’t figure out where they were coming from. Black Vulcan cursed herself for falling into the EXACT same trap that Green Lantern and the others had fallen into. She felt as if she were being tackled and at the same time as if the entire building were falling.
The Silencer couldn’t believe what was happening. He did his best to remain calm, so as to increase his chances for survival. He knew that the building had fallen completely over and it felt as if it had turned upside down, which meant that it must have fallen into the bay and that they were now under water.
The ‘Sting Ray’ deactivated Power Lad’s holographic image device and ‘her’ form turned into that of Sportsmaster. The Sportsmaster’s mask veiled his smile perfectly. Everything was going according to plan. One of his duplicates was outside of the building as an anchor for the Sportsmaster’s escape. Another of his duplicates was ‘trapped’ with the Black Vulcan, and a third was ‘trapped’ with the Silencer. He had absorbed all other duplicates at this time.
In a dark part of the building
The Sportsmaster began to beat the walls around him. He cried out in panic, “What’s happening!?! What’s going on?!?”
“The building collapsed,” reported Black Vulcan, “I think it fell into the bay.”
“Can you use your powers to get us out of here?” asked the Sportsmaster with a shaky voice.
“No, we would both most certainly be electrocuted,” answered Black Vulcan calmly, “We are going to have to dig our way out of here.”
In an adjacent part of the building
The Silencer knew it was some type of a trap, but he was prepared. Stew was still trying to figure out the Sportsmaster’s role in all of this. He could see the jerk laying unconscious beside him. He didn’t know where Black Vulcan and the Sting Ray were. He didn’t want to let the Sportsmaster on to his escape plan before waking him.
The Sportsmaster sensed that the Silencer was about to use his communicator to ask for help, so he pretended to wake up. “Hey! Is anyone there?” shouted the Sportsmaster. “Hello? Where am I? What happened?”
“We are trapped in a building under water. A trap most likely set by you,” accused the Silencer.
“How long have we been here?” asked Chris Martin, ignoring the stab at his honesty.
“Just a couple of minutes,” said Stew.
“What are we going to do? How do we get out of here? I don’t want to die!” said the Sportsmaster in a calculated panic.
“Don’t worry, well get out,” said the Silencer patiently as he tied his fishing line to his hand and anchored it to the wall.
In a nearby room
“Well, I am pretty much stuck here and out of ideas,” said Celeste. “My arm is trapped and I cannot use my communicator to call for help.”
“Are you sure?” asked the Sportsmaster, barely hiding his glee.
“Positive,” affirmed Black Vulcan. “Do you think you could use your communicator?”
“I do know a sure way out of here,” said the Sportsmaster, “but you would have to ‘cooperate’ with me.”
Dread and hopelessness filled Celeste’s entire being. She didn’t want to ask, but she had no other choice. “What do you mean by cooperate?’”
“Let me kiss you,” said Christopher Martin softly as he pulled back his mask.
Minutes Later in the Adjoining Room
Beads of sweat trickled down the Silencer’s face as he realized with mounting horror that his plan wasn’t going to work. He wasn’t completely sure which way was up, or how far down the building had sunk. “So, before we die, would you like to at least admit that you are behind all of this? What were you thinking anyway?”
“Silencer, I can understand why you wouldn’t trust me, but why would I kill myself just to kill you?” asked the Sportsmaster in a groaning pain. “What? Do you think I paid the Sting Ray to beat me up? Look at these bruises, man!”
Stewart Carr did not believe his villainous companion, but he also did not have any idea of what was going on or how he was going to escape alive. By this time he had tried to use his Hall of Justice communicator three times, but it was clearly broken. “So, where is the Sting Ray, anyway?”
“Hopefully, she is impaled somewhere and suffering a slow, agonizing death,” answered the Sportsmaster. “Maybe its better this way. You know, I never meant to hurt anyone. I just wanted to meet the Huntress… and now she’s gone,” said Chris in tears. “Don’t you understand?” he added. “If just one of me dies, ALL of me dies.”
“You are one sick dude,” said the Silencer under his breath. “I don’t know about you, but I DO NOT plan on dying today.” He thought of suggesting that his companion pull his personalities together, but realized that the Sportsmaster—if he HAD indeed been honest—would have done that and gone for help.
“Well, if you have any ideas on how to get out of here, speak now or forever hold your peace!” shouted the Sportsmaster. After a brief silence, the Sportsmaster offered, “if you don’t have any ideas, I know a way out of this, but you would have to ‘cooperate’…”
To Be Continued