Titans of Justice Chapter 3 - “Deja Vu Times Two Part 3”
Written by: Power Guy,
Edited by: Power Guy


Gotham City...

“Boy, how does the Huntress rate?” Dark Arrow asked his sister. “She’s the only Titan that gets three of us sent after her.”





“She’s Batman’s daughter,” Knightvision reminded firmly. “If something was able to take her out or take control of her, the three of us may be nowhere near enough to fix the situation. And when did you rejoin the team? Last I checked, you had thrown a tantrum and stormed out.”





“Last I checked, you were still an %*#@)!$,” spat Dark Arrow as he gave the son of Nightwing and Oracle a dirty look.

Sonic Boom quickly got in the middle of her two companions, “Look you two, I know you’ve never cared for each other much but Helena is most likely in trouble as for as much as you two hate each other, I know you both care for her now get it together and stay focused!”





The two male heroes remained quiet as the trio of heroes continued their search for the Dark Knight’s daughter. As they neared the location of her signal device, a slight chill filled the air as the wind picked up significantly.

The new Black Canary was the first to notice a strange sound, “Arrow....Knightvision, do either of you hear that?”

“Hear what?” questioned Dark Arrow.

“She’s talking about that flapping noise,” confirmed Knightvision. “It sounds like a bird.....a really big bird....”

Suddenly, the “bird” swooped down through the night sky, headed right towards the heroes. Sonic Boom looked up in horror to see that it wasn’t a bird approaching them but instead, the Huntress who had grown giant golden wings and sharp claws. As she descended, she raked Knightvision’s shoulder with her claws, cutting him deeply.





“ARRRRRRGHHHH!!!” cried out the male defender of Gotham City.

“Good Lord! What’s happened to you Huntress?” demanded Sonic Boom as she barely avoided the Huntress’ second attack.

Instead of answering her, the Huntress let out a loud scree which sounded completely inhuman.

“That meteor must have did this to her,” concluded Dark Arrow as he took aim and released three arrows in the Huntress’ direction, all of which she dodged.

She then swooped down again and grabbed Dark Arrow with her claws lifting him skyward with her.

“Oh no! She’s got Arrow!” cried out Sonic Boom.

“She may look like an animal but she hasn’t lost her intelligence,” pointed out Knightvision. “She’s using him as a human shield so we won’t attack!”

***

The northern shore of Themyscira...

“The air is so fresh and clean smelling,” pointed out Black Vulcan as she and Sargona approached the enchanted island.





“Well, they don’t call it Paradise Island because it’s a dump, genius,” Sargona said sarcastically.





“Girl, who poured battery acid in your Cheerios today?” spat Black Vulcan.

“Do you come with a silent mode?” countered Sargona as she and Black Vulcan landed on the sandy beach.

Within seconds, a small group of Amazons approached the two members of the Titans of Justice.

“I know you - you’re Artemis,” recalled Sargona. “You helped us defeat Villany Inc. when they tried to take over your island a while back.”

“That’s correct but we have a more pressing matter at hand,” revealed the red-headed warrior.





“Does is involve Olympia?” deduced Black Vulcan.

“Yes, it seems she’s gone mad!” reported the former Wonder Woman. “This couldn’t have happened at a worse time. Her sister, Diana is at a United Nations summit and your former teammates Scott and Jerrica are in America at a pediatrician appointment for their newborn twins.”

“What about Fury? Isn’t she here?” wondered Sargona.

“Donna has already dispatched her I’m afraid,” sighed Artemis.

“Dispatched?” questioned Black Vulcan curiously as she awaited an answer but before Artemis could speak again. Olympia dive-bombed into the group of women, scattering them across the beach.





A few seconds later as Sargona began to regain her composure, “Did anyone get the licensce plate of that truck? Dammit! She tore my new dress!” huffed the daughter of Sargon and Zatanna as she noticed the tear extending from the slit in her gown.

“Uhh.....we’ve got more important things to worry about,” cried out Black Vulcan as she pointed towards Olympia who was racing towards them again.

“I’ve got her,” vowed Sargona as her hands lit up with energy from the Ruby of Life. She quickly bent down and touched the sand causing it to erupt into the air, forming a sandstorm.

The storm struck Olympia head on, placing her into a whirlwind of sand. The combination of the wind and sand blinded the Amazon superheroine and left her temporarily dazed.

“Hey! Look at her skin!” shouted Black Vulan. “It looks like it’s made of stone! That’s why it hurt so much when she hit us.”

“Stone? I didn’t know she had the power to turn her skin into rock. I thought she was just like Wonder Man,” commented Sargona.

“She is from what I last read,’ confirmed Black Vulcan. “The change to her skin isn’t her doing. It’s got to be that meteor she went after.”

Suddenly, Olympia broke free from Sargona’s sandstorm with a fury of rage in her eyes.

“Oh boy, she’s loose!” pointed out the daughter of Black Lightning as she took to the air. “Well, I’m not about to be her punching bag again,” she said as she bombarded the former Wonder Girl with several hundred volts of electricity. “Her magic bracelets won’t protect her from my powers. Any form of metal conducts electricity!”

As the lightning surged through Olympia’s body, it hurt like crazy but in the state she was in. virtually any amount of pain, barring near-death, was not going to stop her.

“She’s still pressing forward!” cried out Sargona as she touched some large rocks on the beach and sent them hurling towards the founder of the Teen Titans.

Troia promptly smashed the rocks as if they were eggshells. With the speed of Hermes on her side, she grabbed both Black Vulcan and Sargona by the throat before they could blink.

“C...c........c..c...can’t b..b..b...breath...” coughed Sargona as she and Black Vulcan were lifted into the air by the seemingly possessed Olympia.

“”Sh........Sh...She’s going to smash our heads together!” predicted Black Vulcan as she struggled to get free.

***

A small island a ways off the coast of Hawaii...

“It must be tearing you apart to see your husband in chains, Isis,” offered Aqualass as she swam across the unseasonably warm waters.





“I can’t tell you how disappointed I am in him,” frowned heroine of hope and healing. “Adam had made so much progress and now, he’s a villain in the eyes of the world again.”





“That’s because you weren’t by his side,” concluded Aqualass. “Don’t take that the wrong way. It’s just that you seem to calm him and make him act more rationally. Your presence seems to do so much for him.”

“I know but I want him to behave regardless of if I’m around or not,” revealed the queen of Khandaq.

As the two heroines continued to converse, the waters began to become quite choppy. Aqualass soon found herself being tossed around like a rag doll. “isis, are you controlling the water subconsciously by chance?”

“No, not at all,” Isis said as she flew down to help her teammate until a giant hand of water swatted her away.

“Isis!” shouted Aqualass, fearing the worst.

Then, right in front of the daughter of Tempest’s eyes, Whirlpool came shooting out of the water, ablaze with flames.





“Great Neptune! Arin - what’s happened to you?!?!?!?”

Without saying a word, the undersea hunk shot a stream of flames at his sister, bent on roasting her alive.

“AIIIIEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!” shrieked Aqualass as her skin began to burn.

“Arin! Stop!” ordered Isis as she caused the water to rise up and extinguish the flames that were burning Aqualass. She tried to do the same to Whirlpool but the flames were only diminished slightly.

“It’s almost like he has Ceridian’s powers,” presumed Isis.

“That’s not it,” countered Aqualass. “My mystical abilities tell me that someone or something has taken control of him and endowed him with these new powers.”

“Maybe a spell of slumber will stop him,” hoped the Atlantean sorceress as she began to conjure up her enchantment. As she continued, she and Isis suddenly felt warm and lightheaded.

“Tula....are you feeling weak all of a sudden?” asked Isis.

“Yeah, I thought it was from the exertion of my spell but if you’re feeling it too, it must be Arin’s doing,”.

The heroines soon became groggy and eventually passed out not knowing that Whirlpool had used his water and newly found fire powers to create a cloud of steam around them which had brought them to their downfall. As the two ladies remained inert, Whirlpool moved in for the kill with a sick grin of delight on his face.

***

The frigid tundra known as the North Pole...

“This area is part of your planet’s arctic region. You must be freezing,” assumed Argos as he, Sturmer, and Hawk Warrior flew along.





“I wouldn’t say I was comfortable but I’ve been in worse climates during battle,” explained the son of Hawkman and Hawkwoman.





“Sturmer thrives in this type of weather,” explained Argos as he surveyed the terrain looking for Power Guy.





Just then, Sturmer picked up scent he found familiar. The war hound from New Genesis landed on the snow-covered ground and began sniffing around frantically. Argos and Hawk Warrior quickly followed but Sturmer soon raced ahead, dead-set on finding the person or beast that had made the scent his nose had picked up.

“Sturmer! Wait!” commanded Argos, rushing forward. Sturmer soon disappeared behind a wall of blowing snow.

As Argos and Hawk Warrior chased after the giant dog, Argos noticed a large wall of ice ahead of them with what appeared to be a keyhole within the wall. “What in the name of Highfather is that?”

“Don’t quote me but I believe that’s the Superman Family’s Fortress of Solitude,” presumed the man otherwise known as Hector Hall.

Then, without warning, Sturmer came flying backwards and then crashed into the ground.

Argos sped to his loyal pet’s side, his heart beating rapidly. He looked down as Sturmer lay in agony. His nose was broken and his left eye was blackened. He knelt down and caressed Sturmer softly in an attempt to comfort him. “Whoever did this shall pay dearly!” he growled, slightly frothing at the mouth. To his shock, Power Guy came flying out from the same direction as Sturmer, posed for battle.

“You must be mad,” assumed Argos, flying forward, ready to meet Power Guy in combat. “I have called you a friend but anyone who hurts my dog is branded an enemy!”

The two powerhouses met head-on in an onslaught of fists and fury. Every punch made the ground below them shake and tremble.

Hawk Warrior flew towards the battling duo, hoping to turn the odds in Argos’ favor. “None of my Nth Metal weapons will do much good against Vince and I didn’t have time to grab the Claw of Horus from home but I’ve still got to try to shut him down. Perhaps a dip in that icy pond ahead will clear Vince’s mind,” he thought as he grabbed Power Guy under his arms and pressed his hands on the back of the Kryptonian's neck and then dropped him into the water before the Kryptonian knew what was happening.

A second later, Hawk Warrior realized, “His skin looked like diamond or crystal and it cut my hands where I touched him. What’s happened to him?”

“I don’t know but there’d better be a good reason for him beating on Sturmer,” spat Argos, still angry.

As the two heroes flew towards the pond, Power Guy came flying outward ready to continue their battle. Using his super-speed, he swatted Hawk Warrior away, knocking him several miles away. He then punched Argos several times, knocking the wind out of the son of Orion. Argos staggered for a few seconds until Power Guy blasted him with his heat-vision, causing Argos to drop to the ground in immense pain. Power Guy then broke off a giant ice-sickle and pointed the jagged end towards Argos’ throat.....

***

Central City Zoo...

“You know, I don’t think we’ve ever worked together before,” Elongated Man noted as he bounced along, his legs warped into a spring-shape. “I’m Rick.”





“I’m Daniel,” responded Air Wave.





“Same name as your cousin,huh?” recalled the stretchable sleuth.

“Yeah, our fathers thought it was traditional or something goofy like that,” sighed Air Wave.

“Just be glad you have parents and you’re not a left-over from a universe that no longer exists,” pointed out Elongated Lad.

Air Wave flew along silently, not quite knowing what to say. He genuinely felt sorry for Elongated Lad and didn’t want to say the wrong thing.

Luckily and Unluckily for Air Wave, the awkward silence was interrupted by a strange attack. Air Wave found his left arm struck with a series of toothpick-looking things while Elongated Lad’s body was pierced in several spots by four wooden spikes.

“What the heck is going on???” Air Wave shouted with alarm. He then noticed his partner’s predicament. “Elongated Lad!!!”

“Calm down, buddy.....I’m ok. Just a bit ventilated.....”

“Where’s our attacker? I don’t see anyone around?” asked the cousin of Blue Lantern.

“I do.......it’s the Flash!” revealed the man otherwise known as Rick Dibny.

“What??? How can you see her?” questioned Air Wave as he plucked the slivers from his arm.

“She’s my best friend,” answered Elongated Lad. “A while ago, she trained me how to spot her when she’s using her superspeed. I think she gave my eyes a small portion of the Speed Force or something. Look out! Here she comes again!”

Air Wave reacted instantly and fired one of his signature bass blasts in the direction that Elongated Lad was looking. Luck was on his side as his attack nailed the oncoming Flash head-on, knocking her off of her feet.





Elongated Lad quickly followed suit and wrapped his limbs around the scarlet speedstress, securing her tightly. “Willma! What’s gotten into you???” he demanded. It was then that he noticed that his best friend’s skin had turned into wood. “Oh my....”

The Flash took full advantage of Elongated Lad’s shock and began vibrating at superspeed, passing right through the stretchable sleuth.

Air Wave noticed what was happening and fired a sonic burst at the Flash which battered her eardrums.

For a few seconds the daughter of Wally West covered her ears in pain but then raced away, just as fast as she came.

As Elongated Lad regained his senses, Air Wave helped steady him. “You alright? I think we’re safe. My sonic attack drove her off.”

“We’ve g.....got to find her...” worried the man otherwise known as Rick Dibny.

As if Fate had answered Elongated Lad’s request in an ironic way, the Flash came whizzing back towards the heroes and taking a cue from Air Wave, created a sonic boom, rendering both of the heroes immobile. She then used her new-found wood powers to manifest several sharp spikes on the end of her fingers. She dropped to the ground and knelt over Elongated Lad and was about to shove her hand right through his chest...

***

The Secret Sanctuary, Happy Harbor, Rhode Island...

“So this is where the Justice League first formed?” Phantom Lady noted as she looked around in amazement. “They certainly came a long way since this dusty, dark, old cave.





“I can’t imagine meeting in a dump like this....” added Powerstorm as his upper lip curled upward. “So where did the Freedom Fighters used to meet?” Powerstorm asked as he stared at Phantom Lady’s chest out of the corner of his eye.





“Well, during the war, we had a special room set aside for us right at the White House,” replied the woman otherwise known as Sandra Knight. “But as soon as F.D.R. was no longer our president, we were quickly given our walking papers.”

“That’s the government for you.....use you up and spit you out,” joked Powerstorm. “I think we were sent on a wild goose chase. I don’t see Ms. Mars or any weird meteors around.”

“I think you’re forgetting about her invisibility power,” reminded the former Freedom Fighter.

A tinge of fear shot through the man otherwise known as Scotty Raymond as he came to the realization that Ms. Mars could be anywhere in the room.

Just then, a hand covered Powerstorm’s mouth as the body connected to it rammed him head first into a wall.

Phantom Lady whipped around at the sound of Powerstorm’s body being slammed into the wall. “What on Earth???” she yelled upon viewing Powerstorm’s attacker to be none other than Ms. Mars whose skin was bright red and almost liquid-looking.





“Clearly something wrong here.....” Phantom Lady noticed as she fired her black-light ray at Ms. Mars, temporarily blinding her. Taking full opportunity of the moment, she coated herself in her black-light, rendering herself invisible to the naked eye.

Once Ms. Mars regained her sight, she turned invisible herself.

“Oh great.....she’s following suit,” Phantom Lady thought to herself.

After several minutes of neither of the invisible heroines revealing themselves, Phantom Lady sighed and thought, “This is like a game of who blinks first. I’ve got to figure something out. I may have more experience but she could snap me in half without breaking a sweat.

Suddenly, Powerstorm’s inert body was lifted into the air and swung into the wall like a baseball bat repeatedly.

“NO!!!!” screamed Phantom Lady as she turned herself visible knowing that’s exactly what Ms. Mars was trying to get her to do by attacking Powerstorm again.

Ms. Mars wasted no time in stretching out her right arm and punching the former Freedom Fighter in the face, knocking her out cold. The daughter of the Martian Manhunter and Scortch then allowed her body to fully become the red substance her skin was infused with: mercury. She then surrounded Phantom Lady and Powerstorm, ready to poison them to death.

***

An hour earlier in an abandoned amusement park on the outskirts of Coast City...

“We’re getting close now,” advised Nucleus. “This tracking device I whipped up is homing right in on Green....,er, um Blue Lantern’s signal device. I only wish I had time to whip these up for the rest of mini-teams that went out into the field.”





“They’ll make do.....well, most of them will,” reassured Illumina.





“You don’t sound too confident in our teammates,” commented the size changing hero.

“To be quite honest, some of them are not ready to be superheroes yet like Aqualass and others are simply imbeciles like Powerstorm and Elongated Lad.”

“Not everyone takes things as seriously as you and I do, Imako,” Nucleus said, trying to change his teammate’s perspective.

“True but maturity and professionalism should be mandatory on our team,” countered the heroine formerly known as Lady Light. “By the way, I never told you how sorry I am about what Latavia did to you. You’re a good man, Jason. You certain didn’t deserve...”

“Hold up......he’s right around he...” began Nuclues as he came around the corner of the park’s Haunted House only to see Blue Lantern hoisting a glowing green meteor out of the ground. “Lantern! What are you doing?”

Blue Lantern turned towards his friend but remained quiet.





Illumina landed on the ground beside him, “Why don’t you speak?” she asked, slightly annoyed, “And why does your skin look as though it is made of glass? Is it the new ring?


“I don’t think that’s it....” commented Nucleus as he began to become suspicious and advanced towards the man otherwise known as Daniel Jordan.

Remaining silent, Blue Lantern used his ring to create two blue boxing gloves, slamming them into Illumina and Nuclues’ heads.

“You’ve gone mad!” accused Illumina as she shook off the blow to her cranium. She quickly fired a blast of hardlight at Blue Lantern, striking him dead-on and knocking him off of his feet. Blue Lantern countered with a giant blue fly-swatter, smacking Illumina several yards away.

While the two Titans were battling, Nucleus began to examine the meteor in front of him.”I know I’ve seen a rock like this before.....” As he examined further, it hit him like a truck. He quickly grabbed his Titans of Justice communicator and called the Hall of Justice.

At the Hall, Starman answered Nuclues’ transmission, “Jason? What’s going on in the field?”

“Scott! We’ve got big trouble and I mean BIG trouble,” revealed the man otherwise known as Jason Hardwick. “These rocks that fell from the sky are from the Appelaxians! They’re using descendants or relatives of the JLA to take over the Earth!”

TO BE CONTINUED!