Titans of Justice Unlimited #93 - “A Union of Green & Black Part 4”
Written by: Scotty2Hotty
Editing & Maxi-micros by: Power Guy


“Over here!” the young boy cried. “She’s over here!”



Paramedics swarmed over Didi Jordan’s body. Her eyes half opened as she heard muffled voices. Hazy images of uniformed men and women were all around her. She tried to speak, but not a sound came from her.



“Am I dying? Who are these people?” She thought. “How long have I been here? Days? Please just let it end…..” she thought as she felt herself being lifted. She thought she saw flashing lights. Urgent conversations. She felt someone take her hand.





The paramedics quickly moved her to an ambulance and rushed to the nearest hospital.



Back at the meat plant, Dark Arrow’s body was wracked with pain. He tried to open his eyes. Even they hurt. He noticed he felt wet and looked down. His costume was covered in blood. With each breath he took, he felt blood seep from the wound across his chest. He had been handcuffed, arms above his head, suspended from a meat hook. His feet didn’t touch the floor and his arms felt as if they would pop from their sockets at any moment. He glanced to his left and saw the Huntress. Her face was bruised and bloodied as well. She too was cuffed and hanging from a meat hook. He noticed both his bow and the Huntress’s crossbow shattered on the floor. The Huntress wasn’t moving and Dark Arrow couldn’t tell if she was alive or dead.



He strained to focus his eyes and noticed Green Lantern walk in.



“Ah, you’re awake Rob. Good.” Green Lantern smiled. He then walked over to the freezer where Dark Arrow had heard noise earlier. “Guess I better give you some air. Don’t want you dying just yet.” Green Lantern said, throwing open the lid to the freezer. Dark Arrow strained to get a look at who was trapped in the freezer, but couldn’t see.





“Dan….what’s wrong with you….?” Dark Arrow tried to speak.





“What’s wrong with me?” Green Lantern said, walking over to Dark Arrow looking him up and down. “Nothing’s wrong with me, Rob.” He replied nonchalantly.



At first Dark Arrow thought this Green Lantern might be an imposter, but he called him Rob. What was going on??

Green Lantern walked over to the Huntress and backhanded her. Dark Arrow saw blood splatter from her mouth. The Huntress coughed and stirred. She saw Green Lantern and instinctively kicked at her attacker. Green Lantern grabbed her legs.



“Uh uh, Helena. Don’t make me shatter your legs.” He said releasing her. “You know with my ring, I can make sure you end in up in wheelchair. Permanently.”



“Who are you? You aren’t the real Green Lantern.” She growled, straining at the handcuffs.




“Is that so, Helena?”



Dark Arrow was trying to decide if Dan was being controlled or impersonated. “He knows who we are. What the hell is going on?” he thought.



“It’s me, I assure you. Look here, Rob.” Green Lantern said removing his boot and rolling up his pants leg. “See this scar. I’m sure you remember the day I got it. We were 8 or 9 at your parents’ house. You, me, Didi all playing around at the green house. I slipped and fell, tore my leg up pretty badly on some shears the gardener left lying around. Aw, come on! Surely you remember!”



“I remember. Where’s my sister?”



“Probably singing with the angels. But not before I had a little fun with her. Made sure she died slowly too. All alone.”



“You sick son of a b@tch! She loved you! We all did! What’s gotten into you? When I get free Dan, I swear to you I will rip you apart with my bare hands!”



Green Lantern walked over to Dark Arrow and gently slapped him. “Oh Rob, always so full of yourself. Full of rage. Too bad your sister, my dearly departed wife, didn’t inherit your spunk. Hmmmm, now that I’m a widower, maybe I rekindle my romance with Sargona. Of course, I’ll have to get rid of Vince. Should be easy. I think I can get my hands on some kryptonite. Jerrica was always hot too. Oh hell, I’ll just kill them all. Gotta go suckers.” He walked over to the freezer and slammed the lid. “Don’t panic in there. You’ll use up what air I just gave you.” He laughed as the person in the freezer tried to beat on the lid. Green Lantern picked up his lantern and walked to the window. “Gotta recharge and be on my way. I’ll be back to finish you off. May bring some friends back with me. You can all die together. Think I may stop off in Star City and visit my in-laws. I’ll tell them you said hi, Rob.”



Rob screamed in frustration. “We’ve got to get out of here.”



“I know. I think I may have a way.” The Huntress maneuvered her fingers around and pulled a lock pick from the seam of her glove. “He took my belt and cross bow, but he didn’t think to check my seams.” She smiled. Dark Arrow felt a bit of relief at the Huntress’s determination. She started working on the handcuffs, but her blood soaked gloves were slippery and the pick dropped to the floor. d**n” She said quietly.

***

At the Hall of Justice, Corporal Marvel sat on monitor duty. It had been a quiet night and he had used his time checking in with other members of the team who were searching for Green Lantern and Sonic Boom.



“Flash checking in. No sign of Green Lantern or Sonic Boom anywhere.” The scarlet speedster said, his face appearing on the monitor screen.





“You and everyone else, Flash. Thanks for checking in.” Corporal Marvel replied.





Green Lantern streaked through the sky, his hatred of his friends seething. Jo Jo Gardner was on patrol as Daniel Jordan blew passed him.

“Hey!” Jo Jo shouted. He turned mid-air and took off after Dan. He caught up and grabbed his foot.





“You. What do you want?” Green Lantern huffed.

“Dude! Half the world is looking for you and your wife.”

“Maybe we don’t want to be found. Or bothered by bottom feeders like you.”

Jo Jo was used to the other Titans’ caustic comments, but Dan had always been cordial to the son of Guy Gardner and Ice.

“You ok?” Jo jo asked, suspiciously.

“Give me a break. And why you’re at it, get a decent haircut. You look like Moe Howard.”

“Dan, what is up with you?”

“That seems to be the question of the day, doesn’t it? Look, I am THE best Green Lantern and it’s time you all accepted it. They might as well disband the corps with a lowlife like you and some of the others. Look at that poser, John Stewart. Couldn’t even defend himself against an overgrown chihuaua.”

“What…?” Jo jo was taken aback at his comments.

“Why am I wasting my time with you? You know what you are? A big fat zero! You should call yourself Zero Gardner. What a waste of space you are. And a big nerd on top of that with the stupidest hair cut I’ve ever seen. “

“I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but I’m not taking it! A true Green Lantern would never speak to me this way.”

“Oh shut up Zero Gardner.” Green Lantern rolled his eyes. He sent a giant green fist at Jo Jo before he could react. The fist popped him in the mouth, knocking several teeth out. Green Lantern then kneed him under his chin, pulling his hair and snapping his head into his other knee. He punched him in the jaw so hard it broke. Jo Jo Gardner plummeted from the sky and crashed through a thicket of trees. He lay unconscious and bleeding. Green Lantern laughed and continued on his way to the Hall of Justice, whistling “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms” as he flew.


Soon he arrived outside the hall and Green Lantern walked up to the verification checkpoint. An electronic female voice said, “Retina scan complete. Welcome to the Hall of Justice, Green Lantern.”



Green Lantern smiled and made his way through the hall. He saw Corporal Marvel.



“Corporal………help me…….” he faked as he stumbled about.



“Green Lantern! Thank God!” Corporal Marvel said, rushing to his side. “Where have you been? Where’s Sonic Boom?”



“Not….much time……please….” Green Lantern said weakly.



“Don’t worry. I’ll alert the others. You rest right here!” Corporal Marvel said, rushing over to send an alert. Once the alert went out, a smiled crossed Green Lantern’s face. He pointed his power ring at Corporal Marvel, capturing him in a green tube.



“Green Lantern? What are you doing? Let me out of here!” Corporal Marvel demanded as he tried to punch his way out.



“Idiot.” Green Lantern laughed. Just then, Blue Dolphin came running into the monitor room.



“What is all thisdamnracket? I’m trying to take a nap, not that I need beauty rest as I am already beautiful---gasp----Green Lantern!” she said as Green Lantern captured her with his ring. He bound her in green shackles and gagged her.





“I never did like your smart mouth.” He said, pulling her hair. After moving them out of sight, he laid down on the floor, faking unconsciousness.



Minutes later, Power Guy, Sargona, and Flash arrived.



“Look!” Sargona said. It’s Dan!”





The trio rushed over to him. Power Guy lifted his head. “Dan! Dan, can you hear me!?”





“I….I thank God…..you’ve got to help her….help Didi…he’s killing her….”



“Who?” Flash said.



“Dan, calm down. You’re among friends now. Calm down and tell us where Didi is. We’ll save her.” Power Guy said calmly.



Green Lantern smiled. “Oh thank you.” He said in a sing song voice.



“What?” Sargona gasped as his power ring fanned over them.



Before Sargona could react, a green gag wrapped around her mouth as green chains covered her body. Power Guy was bombarded with kryptonite fragments that adhered to his costume. A green plasma covered the Flash.



“Can’t get….traction….” the Flash gasped as the plasma covered him head to toe.

Green Lantern smiled at his handwork.


***


“Dark Arrow, stop straining. That slash is across your chest is bleeding through.” Huntress said, as Dark Arrow twisted and strained.



“I’m not going to just hang here! Not while my sister might be alive somewhere. I can’t give up hope. And if he hurts my parents……”



“We’ll find a way out of this. We’ve been in tighter spots than this. Try to send Lilith a mental message or something. People will notice we’re missing. They’ll come looking for us.” Huntress tried to sound reassuring.



“Already found you.” Red Robin smiled as he crawled through a busted window.





“Red Robin!” Huntress said, relieved at the sight of the young hero.



Red Robin worked quickly, freeing the two of them. “ Whoa, Arrow. We need to get you to a hospital.” He was shocked at the gaping wound on his chest.



“Just patch me up kid, and get us out of here.” Dark Arrow said gruffly. “How’d you find us?”



“I tracked the signal from the Huntress’s communicator. This area was the last place the signal came from before she went offline.”



“Good work.” The Huntress said, hugging her protégé.



“Someone’s in that freezer!” Dark Arrow remembered. Red Robin helped him over to the freezer. Huntress lifted the lid. All three heroes gasped at who had been trapped in the freezer.



Back at the Hall of Justice, Green Lantern lined Power Guy, Sargona, Flash, Corporal Marvel, and Blue Dolphin up. Each of them was held captive by the power ring.



Sargona noticed Green Lantern was working on assembling something. “What is he doing?” she thought.



“Green Lantern….why are you doing this…?” Power Guy said.



“Someone’s controlling him.” Flash replied.



“Why, oh why do people keep saying that? For the first time I’m doing what I want! No one shoving orders down my throat! Oh Dan, you’re so good, so kind! Man, I could puke!” Green Lantern snapped.



Corporal Marvel whispered to Sargona, “He’s not speaking like Green Lantern….his choice of words….”



Sargona knodded her head.



“I demand you tell me what’s going on chrome dome!” Blue Dolphin said, venom in her voice.



“I always hated you. You can die first.” Green Lantern said, wrapping his hands around Blue Dolphin’s neck.



At the meat plant, Dark Arrow could not believe his eyes. The Huntress’s jaw dropped. Lying deep in the freezer was the bound, gagged, and beaten body of Daniel Jordan.


TO BE CONTINUED!