Titans of Justice Unlimited Chapter 3 – “The Second Coming Part 3”
Written by: Power Guy
Logo by: Christophe
Theme-song video by: Stew
Edited by: Marcus Mebes


The Hall of Justice…

Aura approached her brother, stricken with concern over their sister. “Albert, I’m worried about Courtney.”

“Why? She’s a big girl and very capable of handling herself. You know that,” reminded Atmosphere to his younger sister.

“I know but usually we Rangers fight together,” sighed Aura.

“Well we aren’t just the Rangers any more. We’re part of something bigger and better,” smiled the son of Damage and Cyclone, as he hugged his younger sibling. “Now, relax. Courtney will be coming home to us. You’ll see…”

***

Salem, MA…

A few moments ago, Kent Nelson, the original Dr. Fate, had risen from the ashes to confront his old foe, Vulcan, Son of Fire.





“How can this be???” Vulcan demanded. “I was told you had died decades ago at the hands of Extant!”

“I would stop worrying about my death and start worrying about your life, Vulcan,” suggested Dr. Fate. “I will show you no mercy in light of the destruction you have caused today.” Fate quickly attacked with a blast of arcane energy which slammed into Vulcan like a semi-truck. The force of the blast was so great that it slammed the fiery villain through the wall of a building behind him.

Dr. Fate then turned his attention to the injured Hawkgirl. “A simple spell of healing should do the trick,” he said as his eyes glowed briefly.

A few seconds later, Hawkgirl came to. She looked up at Dr. Fate, confused. “Umm… wasn’t Vulcan just holding your decapitated head in his hands about an hour ago?” she asked, assuming she was looking at a revived Lord Fate.

“Sadly, my successor is not coming back, therefore the Doctor’s vacation is over,” answered the mage.

“Fate!” roared Vulcan as he stepped out of the hole in the wall created by his impact with it. “I’m not done with you yet!” he threatened as flames shot out of his axe.

Dr. Fate quickly conjured up a mystical shield to protect himself and Hawkgirl from the deadly flames. Fate then counter-attacked with some mystical energy-bolts which collided with Vulcan’s flames.

Becoming irritated, Vulcan jumped forward, ready to slam his axe into Dr. Fate’s skull.

Hawkgirl quickly swung her mace to intercept the sharp blade. “HAAA!”

The two warriors again started exchanging blows between their weapons.

“Foolish girl, you cannot hold out forever!” assumed Vulcan.

“She won’t have to,” came a voice. “Feel the sting of the Scorpion, jackass!”

Vulcan soon found himself flying through the air after being struck by the young Ranger’s powerful blow.

Hawkgirl and Dr. Fate turned to see the Scorpion and the other Titans returning to the battle.

“Hawkgirl, are you okay?” asked Power Guy.

“I’m fine, thanks to our magician friend here,” informed the Thanagarian fury.

“You’re not Lord Fate,” Wonder Warrior said, suspiciously.

“No I am not,” revealed Dr. Fate.

“That voice! I’d recognize it anywhere,” Ronnie Raymond said to his son telepathically.

“Who is it, Dad?” Power Storm asked his father aloud.

“That’s Kent Nelson, the first Dr. Fate,” replied Ronnie excitedly.

“Guys, my dad says he recognizes this guy as the original Dr. Fate,” Power Storm explained to his teammates.

“That I am,” Dr. Fate confirmed.

“But weren’t you killed years ago during that whole Zero Hour mess?” asked Kid Comet.

“Fate only allows what is necessary. After years in the good fight, Nabu knew that I longed to rest with my wife Inza so he allowed us to pass on to the next realm. After going through several successors that all met their end in less that desirable means, it’s time for the Doctor to come back to work.”

“Your second tenure won’t last long, Fate!” Vulcan said, making his way back towards the heroes, his axe blazing with flames. He abruptly slammed his axe into the side of a house, causing it to topple down on the heroes.

“He just keeps coming,” groaned Kid Comet.

“Uh oh,” whispered Wonder Warrior as the structure started to come down on his team.

“I’ve got it!” assured Kid Comet, using his telekinetic abilities to catch the house and hold it steady.

“Let me give you some help!” Power Guy suggested as he flew upward and pushed the house back upright.

“You heroes keep getting in my way. You have sealed your fate today, whelps!” decreed Vulcan, advancing even closer to the group.

“No Vulcan. No one’s fate is sealed today except yours,” Dr. Fate retorted as he started to levitate and his eyes began to glow. An ankh-shaped symbol appeared behind Vulcan.

“You will not kill me Fate, you do not have it in you!” assumed Vulcan, raising his axe in the air.

Dr. Fate then mentioned to the Titans, “I am going to need the help of you young heroes in a few seconds…”

“What do you need?” asked Wonder Warrior, curiously.

“You’ll know when you see it,” answered the mage.

Then without warning, the ankh-symbol fired a powerful blast at Vulcan, slamming him forward.

“NOW!” shouted Dr. Fate.

As Vulcan came flying forward towards the Titans, Power Guy and Wonder Warrior cocked back their arms and as soon as Vulcan was in striking distance, they both punched him in the face. Between the ravaging power of Fate’s blast and the powerful punches of both Power Guy and Wonder Warrior, the walking inferno known as Vulcan was finally unconscious and defeated.

Power Guy wiped the sweat off of his brow. “Whew… that was no walk in the park.”

“Don’t be so hard on yourselves,” suggested Dr. Fate. “My Justice Society struggled to take Vulcan down the first time we fought him, too. In fact, as several of you may know, he almost killed me the first time we fought.”

“Well now that Vulcan is down and out, care to tell us what the deal is with your return?” Wonder Warrior asked.

“Sadly, Vulcan killed Lord Fate in battle,” started the man known as Kent Nelson. “Rather than choosing another fill-in, Nabu decided that my rest was over and brought me back to the land of the living. Out of all of those that have worn the mantle of Fate over the years, none have had the tenure that I had and Nabu apparently thought it was best to revive the original. While my wife Inza and I would have preferred eternal rest, we knew since our battle with Extant that the reprieve was only temporary. Thus, the Doctor is back to work.”

“Well Fate, let me be the first to say that your reputation precedes you. The Titans of Justice would be happy to count you among our numbers,” offered Power Guy.

“From what I can tell, you are the prominent team of heroes in the current age much like the Justice Society was back in World War II,” replied Dr. Fate. “I would be happy to join you. Besides comrade, my wife and I will need your help adjusting to this new era.”

“We’ll be happy to do whatever we can,” smiled Power Guy. “Oh, and you may be interested in knowing that Sandra Knight and Danette Reilly are on the team, too.”

“Firebrand and Phantom Lady?” asked Dr. Fate with a laughing smile. “That’s marvelous!”

***

The Hall of Justice…

The crowd of heroes was conversing with each other after their first formal meeting.

Power Lad slowly approached Wonder Girl. “Hey Wonder-chick, looks like you got lucky.”

“How’s that?” Wonder Girl asked, confused.

“You get to work with me,” answered Power Lad, confidently.

Wonder Girl rolled her eyes and mumbled, “Ugh…you make me sick,” as she walked away.

Stellar had seen the interaction between Power Lad and Wonder Girl and offered his acquaintance some advice. “You know dude—girls usually like to be treated with a little more respect and courtesy.”

“Bah… she wants me,” countered the sidekick of Power Guy. “You’ll see… and who are you to give relationship advice? Do you even have a girlfriend?”

“Actually, I do,” Stellar responded, surprising Power Lad. “Her name is Rachel and she’s about as sweet as a girl can be. Not only is she a high-honors student, president of the student counsel, leader of her girl scout troupe, but she also bakes a mean batch of cookies. Speaking of which, I need to call her and see how she’s doing.”

A few minutes later, Stellar found a quiet hallway in order to use his cell-phone. After two rings: “Rach! How’s it going, hon? Yeah, I’m having a good day, how about you? No, I didn’t forget about Saturday night. Are you gonna wear your hair down? Aww… come on, you never wear your down. Okay, okay… I’ll back off. I love you too. Talk to you soon.”

Back in the main meeting room, Power Lad flew up to Wonder Man. “Since you’re in charge here until Pee Gee gets back, I got one question for you.”

Dreading Power Lad’s question, Wonder Man asked hesitantly, “What’s up Power Lad?”

“I just wanna know, what’s SHE doing here?” the young here asked, pointing at Black Orchid.

Overhearing Power Lad’s question, the purple-clad heroine froze in her tracks and started to tremble.

“She’s here for the same reason we all are,” answered Wonder Man.

“No, she’s here to kill us like she did all of those other heroes when she threw herself that big welcome back party,” accused Power Lad. “How can you let her just roam around here, waiting to make her move???”

“Listen kid, you’re being really disrespectful to this lady and I’m not going to put up with it,” Wonder Man started to say.

“Disrespectful?” repeated Power Lad. “Are you forgetting about all of the people she killed??? Or how about the fact that she dismantled the Red Tornado? Or what about the fact that she put Aquaman, Stellar and me in the hospital???”

“Power Lad…” Wonder Man said, showing his teeth. “We’ve gone over this TOO many times now. You KNOW she was being controlled. You’re just refusing to believe it because you’re too immat—”

Queen Bee flew up between the two arguing heroes. “That’s enough from you Power Lad,” ordered the daughter of Bumblebee. “We all remember what happened in the Black Orchid massacre but I can vouch for her. She’s completely innocent. I heard the Floronic Man’s confession first-hand. Plus the courts cleared her name at the end of her trial, didn’t they?”

“I don’t care,” spat Power Lad. “I don’t trust her and there’s no way I’m going on the same mission as her.”

“Same here,” agreed Stellar, who had returned to the meeting room.

“Same goes for me,” Lt. Atom added, after remaining quiet for a bit to see how things would play out.

Queen Bee turned toward Lt. Atom. “I’m surprised to hear you say that Lt. especially after you worked for Grodd. Is the pot calling the kettle black?”

“I didn’t kill anyone when I was under Grodd’s control,” retorted Lt. Atom.

“You certainly tried if I remember correctly,” countered Queen Bee.

Black Orchid just stood silent as her worst fears were coming to pass. “They all hate me,” she thought to herself. She made sure she knew where the nearest exit was, and considered leaving right then and there. She would have, too, if Black Vulcan had not grasped her hand and held it comfortingly.

“Okay, everyone COOL OFF!” shouted Sargona. “Black Orchid was not responsible for her actions. I know several of you are still grieving or recovering from the actions that the Floronic Man made her take, but she was the puppet. She’s no more responsible than the car that the drunk driver uses to hit and run. And if Power Lad, Stellar, Lt. Atom, or anyone else has a problem with her, they can take it up with ME. Do I make myself clear?”

“And when you’re done going a few rounds with Sargona, you can come and see me next,” Black Vulcan said as she stood side by side with the daughter of Sargon. “And let me tell you all something,” she added, going off on a rant. “If Palomé can forgive her, SO CAN YOU!”

Black Orchid was floored, and was speechless. “He forgives me?” she thought in silence. She wondered how Black Vulcan could know that, and if it was really true.

The room remained silent after Sargona’s speech.

The sorceress walked up to Black Orchid. “Come on Venus. Let’s go get your room set up.”

“Are you sure about this?” whispered Black Orchid.

“Positive,” Sargona said, tugging on her friend’s arm.

“Yeah, let’s go, ladies,” chimed Black Vulcan. “I guess we got some girl-talk that needs doin’.”

Wonder Man stared down Power Lad. “Look, the entire leadership team voted to keep Black Orchid on the team. I know you went through quite an ordeal with her while she was under the Floronic Man’s control, but you need to forgive and forget, at least where she’s concerned... and that goes for anyone else that still has a problem with her,” announced the male Amazon as he grabbed Jemstone’s hand and they exited the room.

Over at the refreshment table, the Arachnid was first in line to get some of the snacks that the staff had just replenished.

“Hopefully Flash and Velocity are in the bathroom right now,” mumbled the bug-themed hero. “Otherwise, we’re all gonna starve.”

As the young hero continued to pile food on his plate, Phantom Lady noticed, “You sure are filling up your plate. Have you eaten in the last week?” she teased.

The Arachnid was a bit startled by the fact he was caught hogging a good portion of the snacks. “Oh… uh, some of this is for my main dude over there,” he said pointing at Starman in hopes of saving grace.

“Oh, for him. Now I understand,” replied Phantom Lady. “You two are pretty close from what I’ve heard.”

The Arachnid started to reply with, “Yeah, we’re….”

“Adorable together from what I’ve heard,” smiled Phantom Lady.

“We are???” the Arachnid questioned, a bit confused.

“Why of course,” Phantom Lady said putting her arm around the wielder of the Blue Beetle Scarab. “Why I bet there’s nothing you wouldn’t do for him.”

“Yeah, well, we’ve known each other for quite a while now,” the Arachnid commented, hoping he had distracted the spectral heroine.

“You should feel quite lucky. Back in my day, people would have started a witch-hunt for your kind. But in this day and age, same sex couples seem to be widely accepted,” Phantom Lady continued.

“But… but… but we’re not,” the Arachnid began.

“Shh… it’s okay,” Phantom Lady said, putting her index finger on the Arachnid’s lips and stopping him from talking. “I love hanging out with gay guys. We’ll go shopping some time. P.S.: If he’s got a hairy chest, I’d love to see pictures some time,” she said as she winked and then walked off.

The Arachnid dropped his plate of food and stood frozen in his tracks, his jaw hanging nearly down to the floor. All of a sudden someone tapped him on the shoulder. He nearly jumped a half a mile high from the jolt to his body. He turned to see Starman in his face.

“Nice going you idiot. You just dropped our dinner all over the floor,” Starman said, looking a bit disgruntled.

The Arachnid started to back away frantically. “Get… get away from me…” he shouted, right before he ran off.

“What the heck got into him?” Starman asked while scratching his head.

As the crowd continued to converse, Power Guy and the others returned from their mission.

“Courtney!” screamed Aura as she ran up to the Scorpion and proceeded to hug her.

“Hey little rose, I’m glad to see you too,” smiled the older sister.

Firebrand and Phantom Lady were locked in conversation but both were speechless as they witnessed Dr. Fate walk in the room with the other heroes.

“Danette! That’s Kent!” gasped Phantom Lady.

“I think you’re right, Sandra,” agreed Firebrand leading the way over to the revived mage.

“Kent? Is that really you?” Phantom Lady asked with anticipation.

“It is, Sandra, but how did you know it was me under this helmet?” asked Dr. Fate.

“It’s your posture, Kent,” revealed Phantom Lady. “Every time we used to meet for an All-Star Squadron meeting, you always had a particular composure. Even after all of these years, I’d still recognize it.”

“I am glad to see that I have some friends here in this large group of heroes,” the master of the mystic arts replied.

Meanwhile, another heroine was making her entrance into the Hall for the first time, As she sifted through the crowd, she kept to herself until she found the duo she was looking for: Dark Arrow and Sonic Boom. “Robert? Di Di?”

The children of Green Arrow and Black Canary turned to see who was addressing them.





“Lian! I was wondering if you’d show up!” greeted Sonic Boom.

“What took you so long?” Dark Arrow asked, curiously.

“Oh nothing much…just Merlyn’s offspring trying to kill a senator,” replied Trickshot. “I was hoping I wouldn’t miss the first meeting. Besides you two, Danny, and Freddie over there, I really don’t know many folks here.”

“Let’s get you acquainted,” offered Sonic Boom as she led Lian Harper around the room to introduce her to her new teammates.

***

The castle of Darkseid, Apokolips…

“Lord Darkseid, it is as we suspected,” informed Desaad, turning away from the large monitor screen in the room. “This news broadcast from earth states that the Titans of Justice have reformed and almost tripled their numbers.”





“This is a most irritating development,” Darkseid said, his eyes blazing from the Omega Effect.





“Sire, their combined might could produce almost as much—if not more—trouble than the Justice League did,” griped Desaad, looking worried. “Even your grandson Argos is now a member and…”

“Stop your sniveling, coward!” roared Darkseid.

“Master, I am not afraid, just upset by this possible annoyance,” insisted Desaad, trying to show bravery.

Darkseid stood up from his throne and clenched his fists. “These bugs can multiply as many times as they like. I will crush each and every one of them under my boot! Summon my elite!” ordered the ruler of Apokolips. “We have much to accomplish!”