Titans of Justice Unlimited Chapter 67 - “The Pact Part 1”
Written by Scotty2Hotty
Edited by: Power Guy


Happy Harbor, Rhode Island…

Dr. Light staggered down a dark alley. His bony frame seemed to shift from side to side as he lumbered along, stopping every few steps to steady himself against the grimy brick walls. He looked down at the bundle in his arms as it cried incessantly.

“Oh shut up, you brat. As soon as your hoity-toity parents pay your ransom, I’ll let you go home. But….I might have a little fun with you first, heh heh.” The elderly villain snickered as he glared down at the baby girl he had kidnapped. The baby continued screaming at the top of her lungs as if aware of the danger she was in. Dr. Light was so old that his powers didn’t work quite right anymore, nor was his mind fully functioning after what Zatanna did to him so many years ago. Not even she knew the lasting effects of her magic.

Dr. Light reached his hideout, an old rundown farmhouse. Here he could do what he pleased to his victims and no one would hear them scream. Despite his frailness, from time to time his powers worked well enough to abduct women that he inflicted unspeakable horrors upon. He entered the house of horrors and sat down to catch his breath.

“Not as spry as I used to be.” He gasped. “Here, she’ll keep an eye on you.” He said as he placed the screaming child in the arms of a headless corpse. “Now, to send a message to your parents.”

Dr. Light walked over to a contraption consisting of old televisions, wires, telephone parts, and cable.

“Everyone thinks I’m just an old man, kid. But this device….my perfect creation lets me invade televisions, computers—whatever I want! Shhhhh, don’t cry, I’m calling your mommy and daddy! Hope they won’t be mad when I interrupt their television viewing, hahaha.”

Dr. Light fiddled with some of the controls but nothing happened. Before long the old man grew frustrated and kicked the contraption, sending it to the floor.

“WILL YOU STOP THAT SCREAMING!!!!!!!!! I’ll cut your tongue out, you miserable waste of flesh!” he screamed as he buried his face in his hands. “If only I could go back before the Justice League…before they…..before they VIOLATED ME!!!!!!!!!”

He stood up and looked around the squalor of his home. Several bodies of dead women were lying about. Flies were buzzing about, attracted by the rotting corpses and the half eaten and left open cans of potted meat. Wall paper was peeling off the walls and the remnants of where Dr. Light had relieved himself added to the stench.

By now the baby had grown quiet. Dr. Light walked over to one of the dead women, her eyes still opened in a death gaze.

“Heh, this one’s still kind of pretty….don’t you think, kid?” he muttered as he kissed the dead woman’s mouth. “Could use some Listerine though, heh heh.” He cackled as he started to take off his belt.

“Reduced to necrophilia?” came a cryptic voice.

“Who…?” Arthur Light gasped. “Neron…”

Dr. Light knew this could not be good if someone who claimed to be the devil himself was in his midst.

“Well, they don’t take senior citizens on match.com so I have to make do.” The perverse man spat.

“I’ve been watching you, Light. You are one of the most vile, most heinous creatures I have ever encountered. I am here with an offer for you.”

“An offer? I think we all know where my soul is going.” Light said, his eyes narrowing.

“It’s a given, old man. But I think you have potential. Despite your body betraying you to old age, you continue on….spreading your filth like a disease. I am impressed.”

“I see. So, what exactly do want. Why are you here?”

“No reason in particular. Bored, perhaps? What if I could make you young again….even more powerful….what if I could restore your mind? Wouldn’t you like revenge on that witch that did this to you?”

“Of course I would, but I’ve been down that road before and it didn’t work out.”

“Not this time….this time will be different. I promise you.”

“Ok, I have nothing to lose. Do your magic.” Dr. Light said grinning ear to ear, saliva dripping out of his mouth.

“First I need something from you….a token.” Neron grinned, his eyes glowing red. Dr. Light could smell burning flesh and thought he could hear the screams of the damned. For a moment he hesitated.
“I have nothing. Look at this place. I can’t quite go out and just bring you anything you please.” Dr. Light said as he sat on an old vinyl chair.

“Oh but you do have a tribute. A young fresh soul! Right there screaming her head off just a moment ago. Wasn’t she getting on your nerves? Don’t you want her to shut up for good? Do it, Arthur. Give me the soul of an innocent—they are the best you know—and I will make sure none of the do-gooders hurt you again.”

“That’s it? All I have do is permanently shut this kid up and I get all that has been denied me? You got a deal, Mr. Pointy Tail.”

Neron smiled and watched as Dr. Light walked over to the baby and wrapped his twisted , liver spotted hands around the baby’s neck.

***

Later at the Wonder-condo…

Jerrica Benton hated waking up before the alarm clock sounded. With her hectic schedule plus her duties as Jemstone, she found that sleeping was a luxury and that she didn’t have as much energy as she used to. She looked over at Scott Trevor who was still sound asleep. The sun filtering through the window kissed his olive skin.

“Not a care in the world.” She mused staring at her boyfriend’s muscular form. The two of them were having a breakfast meeting with her agent Murray Spaulding to discuss plans for a world tour.

“It will take me away from the team, but I am dying to tour again.” She thought as she made her way to the shower.

A couple of hours later, Jerrica and Scott were on a patio having a lovely breakfast with Murray. The enthusiastic Australian had lined up several dates and venues.

“Jer, you won’t believe it! Josie and the Pussycats AND the Archies have come out of the woodwork and want to open for you! Plus that new club queen Lady Gaga wants in on your tour too! I think you two should do a duet!” Murray said, his brown eyes sparkling.

“Wow. I never thought I would attract this much attention.” Jerrica smiled, sipping her champagne.

Scott Trevor enjoyed watching Murray and Jerrica go back and forth on the details of the upcoming tour. Suddenly his Titans communicator went off. He didn’t leave the table as Murray knew all about the couple’s other identities. Jerrica trusted Murray with her life and since Scott was such a big part of it, he did the same.

“What’s up?” he said into the communicator.

“Big trouble close to you and Jerrica.” Came Power Guy’s voice. “Can you and Jemstone head downtown near the Memorial Bridge?”

“Aw, we just got all decked out and we were starting on our second bottle of champagne.” The Amazon super model chuckled.

“Scott!” Jerrica giggled as she pushed her elbow into his side.

“Of course, we’ll be right there.” Scott Trevor said smiling.

“Good. I’m not sure what’s going on, but there is some sort of disturbance and a blaring light. Airplanes are out of control from the glare, ships are running into each other and there’s going to be lots of damage. Green Lantern, Huntress, and the others are already on the scene. “

“Say no more PG. We’re leaving right now.” Scott Trevor replied.

Power Guy then signed off and took to the air to join the others.

“Murray, I’m sorry----“Jerrica started.

“No worries, doll. We can work out all the details later. I’ll get started.”

Jerrica kissed her agent on the cheek as she and Scott hurried off. She watched as he Wonder-spinned into Wonder Man.

“Hey, those are some snazzy new threads!” she said, noticing Wonder Man was wearing a new costume.



“Yeah, I wanted something new, something more in line with my mother and grandmother….and the United States. You like?”

“I do.” she smiled, noticing how the costume accentuated his muscles.

“Check this out.“ she smiled as she said, “Showtime Synergy.“ She didn’t really need to call on Synergy anymore to become Jem, but with her world tour in the works, it felt appropriate.

“Hey! You got a new costume too! It reminds me of Aunt Donna’s from back in the day.” Wonder Man said as Jemstone struck a pose.



“I wanted something that said ‘Jem’ but also showed how much I love my man’s family.” she winked.

The duo joined their teammates within seconds.

Wonder Man and Jemstone arrived on the scene and witnessed what could be called complete havoc. There was a huge blinding light emanating from….somewhere, and it was causing cars to crash and boats to collide among other catastrophes. The duo saw that Power Guy, Green Lantern, Whirlpool, Huntress, and Trick Shot, were all on hand.

“Jemstone, light manipulation is up your alley! See if you can figure out what is going on!” Power Guy shouted as he pushed a ship to dock. Even he was having trouble seeing through the blinding light.



“On it, PG!” the pretty pop star shouted.

Overhead on the memorial bridge, traffic had become a tangled mess of wrecks and the Huntress along with Trickshot were trying to evacuate injured drivers.



“What is this, Huntress? It’s like looking directly into the sun!” the archer shouted.





“I don’t know. It’s not only blinding, but there’s a searing heat coming off of it as well.” The Huntress replied.

Just then a commuter bus that had just entered the bridge turned too quickly to avoid the wrecked cars. The driver was blinded by the light and steered the bus through a guard rail and the bus teetered on the edge. Passengers screamed as the bus rocked to and fro.

Suddenly the bus fell!

“Oh God! Those poor people!” Trickshot cried. She and Huntress both gasped.
Suddenly the bus was bathed in green light and was lifted back to the bridge.

“Green Lantern!” The Huntress smiled.



Green Lantern smiled back at his teammates on the bridge. “Let’s see if I can’t help clean this mess up!” he said as he created a dome of green that blocked out the blinding light.

Overhead, two jets were on a collision course, neither able to see the other.

“Power Guy! Help me out!” Wonder Man shouted.

The two heroes streaked through the sky, determined to stop the collision. Power Guy grabbed one plane from underneath, while Wonder Man grabbed the other. The airport was nearby and both heroes managed to get the planes on the ground safely.

Below in the water, Whirlpool had summoned a legion of whales, dolphins, and other aquatic animals to assist him in guiding boats to the dock. He had just gotten most of the smaller vessels to dock when he spotted two cruise ships on a collision course.




“NO!” he shouted. “They can’t see each other!” He used his telepathy to summon the animals.

“Too big for us, swimmer. But we will help you.” the brave animals said via telepathy.

“I know, my friends. I will be in the midst of the danger with you and if one of us dies today, I die with you!” Whirlpool said aloud.

“Don’t be so serious pal! That plane was just a warm up. Let me give you and your finny friends a hand.” Wonder Man smiled, flashing his impossibly white teeth.

Whirlpool couldn’t help but smile at his teammate and noticed Green Lantern join as well.

“I’ll help too--wouldn’t want Mr. World to muss his hair, haha!” Green Lantern mused. He felt some levity would help keep his team remain cool, despite their circumstances. He pointed his ring at the two ships, creating a giant feather pillow between them.

Wonder Man laughed, struck a pose and pushed one ship to port while Whirlpool and his animal friends guided the other.

“Alright!” Whirlpool shouted and thrust his fist into the air.

Having managed to assist with all of the traffic problems and getting everyone to safety, the Titans flew to the heart of the city. Jemstone was in the sky trying to tap into the light and discern just what it was. She was joined by Lady Light and Sargona, who was floating on her magic carpet.

“Any clues Lady Light? I can’t seem to tap into this…it’s pure light, no sound waves at all.” Jemstone said.





“It’s like a mini sun!” Lady Light whispered, both fascinated and a bit afraid.

“NRUT FFO! MID EHT TGHIL!!” Sargona commanded, using one of her mother‘s backwards spells for the first time. The light dimmed a bit as the women squinted their eyes.



“Someone’s down there. Look, in the middle of the light on the ground.” Sargona added.


Sonic Boom was next to arrive on her motorcycle.



“Sorry! With all of the wrecks it took me awhile to get here. What is this?” she queried.

“Not sure.” Replied Power Guy.

“When we got the call, the report was of a blinding light in the city causing all kinds of disruptions. Look how far into the sky it goes.” Green Lantern added.

“At least a few miles and it covers several city blocks. Is it coming from the ground?” Wonder Man said, trying to adjust his vision. He looked up and saw Jemstone, Lady Light, and Sargona moving into the light.

“Ah, Jerrica must be onto something. Come on.” He said to his teammates.

“It seems to be decreasing in intensity.” Trickshot said as she drew her bow.

“Everyone be ready for whatever we find.” Power Guy said, walking cautiously.

“Someone is doing this. I can see someone about a block over.” Lady Light yelled to the ground. “Jemstone and I are tapping into it, weakening it along with Sargona’s spells.”

Whirlpool was walking a bit slower behind the group. “Hold up….something about it is draining me. I can feel my body dehydrating. I need water.”

“No problem. Take a dip and stay back until we turn this off. Whatever it is!” Sonic Boom commanded.

The Huntress drew her crossbow and the group noticed the figure of a man come into view.

Suddenly the light stopped. The Titans all had a few moments of blurred vision from the intense light stopping so suddenly.

“Well, well, well! Not quite who I wanted but you upstarts will do!” came a deep echoing voice.

“Who…who is that?” Green Lantern said rubbing his eyes.

“WHO!? I’ll tell you who Green Lantern! You are looking at your death!” the voice said as a blast of light shot out at the emerald gladiator knocking him through a brick wall.

“GL!!!” Sonic Boom shouted as she took off towards him.

“Oh God!” Jemstone said. “It’s Dr. Light, but he’s younger…how?” she squinted.





“Jemstone! You remember me! And I remember you from our last encounter! We have some unfinished business you and I! And look at you in that sassy outfit. Why, you‘re practically pouring out of it! Nice!!”

“Hold it right there buster, she conducts her business with me exclusively!” Wonder Man shouted leading the group’s charge towards the rejuvenated villain.

“Stuff it you preening peacock!” Dr. Light screamed as he shot bolts of light at Wonder Man, which he deflected with his gauntlets.

“Wonder Man! Be careful!” Jemstone shouted sending pure sound waves at Dr. Light.

“No worries babe! This guy is a joke!” her boyfriend laughed.

“That’s it, dolt. Come closer.” Dr. Light thought. He stood a tall and straight and his muscular form filled out his uniform—even better than when he was in his twenties.

Power Guy studied the villain. “He’s younger, stronger.” He said to himself.

“Everyone, be careful!” he shouted flying towards the villain with the others coming up behind.

The group surrounded Dr. Light and were rejoined by Green Lantern and Sonic Boom.


“Why are you harassing me? All I did was put a little sunshine in these people’s boring humdrum lives!” He sneered. “See, you all have me surrounded and I’m not even lifting a pinky.”

“I’ve had enough! What do you want? I’m not impressed with your Hollywood makeover either. Goatees are so 90s.” Sargona said readying all of her best spells.

“Now, that’s my kind of lady….strong and spirited. A spirit that needs to be broken.” He smiled.

“I lured you all out here today for a reason.” He said licking his lips.

“Bring me Zatanna. Bring her to me and I won’t destroy the city. You saw how much trouble I just caused with the planes and boats. I assure I am more than capable of leveling some city blocks…all at midday too! Full of cube dwellers and paper pushers!”

“You sick son of a—“ Sargona hissed. “Zatanna should have ripped your brain out instead of trying to fix it!”

“So, you are turning down my deal? My generous offer?” Dr. Light frowned. “You all are fast, but not that fast. Some of these innocents are bound to die when I do my thing.”

“No they won’t. We’ll fight you till the last man standing.” Lady Light said, her hands glowing.

“Fine. We fight!” Dr. Light screamed throwing his arms back and thrusting his chest forward.

“Wh…..?” Huntress screamed as a ray of pure, powerful light hit the Titans like a ton of bricks, sending them crashing into each other and into buildings.

“Ha, that was easier than I thought. I have to give it to old Neron! My light powers being enhanced by Hell itself even took out the Superman wannabe.” Dr. Light said placing his boot on Power Guy’s chest. “d**n, this feels good!”

“I think I deserve a treat. All of these ladies are pretty, certainly better looking than my last few dates. Let’s party girls!” he said as he created a bolt of light lifting the unconscious Lady Light, Jemstone, Sargona, Trickshot, Huntress, and Sonic Boom. He then shot another bolt at the bodies of the male Titans lining them up along the sidewalk. Pedestrians who had witnessed the event all turned and ran.

“That’s right! Tell everyone Dr. Light is back and this time he means business! HAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!!!!” he laughed as he blasted a building under construction towards Green Lantern, Power Guy, and Wonder Man. The girders, concrete, and other debris hurtled at the comatose men as Dr. Light flew through the sky to his hideout.


TO BE CONTINUED