Dr Dread
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Issue 8
Mar 9, 2006 22:05:51 GMT -5
Post by Dr Dread on Mar 9, 2006 22:05:51 GMT -5
Secret Society of Super Villains Chapter 1: Issue 8 "WAR FOR EARTH-DEATH" Written by David Peattie Edited by Dr Dread
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Dr Dread
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Issue 8
Mar 9, 2006 22:08:36 GMT -5
Post by Dr Dread on Mar 9, 2006 22:08:36 GMT -5
As Sam Scudder and George Harkness approached the Loman Building, the mood turned pensive, at least for the incognito Mirror Master.
"What d'ya think about the so-called Secret Society," Scudder asked, "the whole bit?"
"Depends on what's in it for me, mate," was the reply.
The two men halted their conversation as they entered, not wanting any of the non-Society personnel working in the building to overhear them. As they boarded the private, glass elevator and headed for the top floor, they relaxed a bit more.
"So far, so good," Harkness continued, in response to Scudder's question. "but I've got a sneaking suspicion there's more to it than we've been told!"
"I know what ya mean, Digger," Scudder agreed. "I ain't really so crazy about the Society, myself…"
By this time, the elevator had reached its destination, and the two men walked out into the Secret Society headquarters, heading for the indoor pool area where the other members of the team (except for those who had left with Manhunter) were congregating.
"…but this sure is a swell joint for hangin' out!", Scudder finished.
"Heads up, villains!", Harkness called out cheerily. "We're back!"
"Big deal!", said a clearly worried Hi-Jack, seated in a lounge chair. "The others are still gone!"
Seated across a small table from Hi-Jack, in another lounge chair, was the Wizard. He seemed more at ease, with his folded hands resting on his knee, but this was simply his ability to master his emotions.
"Hi-Jack and Sinestro grow apprehensive," the Wizard explained, "as do I!"
"And with good reason," Sinestro put in, interrupting the pacing he'd been doing. "No mere crime could possibly delay five super-villains for this long! Something is wrong…so speaks Sinestro!"
Harkness pulled up a chair near the table, setting his bag of fast food down before him. "Must you be so dramatic, red-skin?", he asked with a note of irritation. "After all, maybe they just went out to a movie or something."
The Wizard bristled at the Australian's insolent tone. "In a word, Captain Boomerang, I find your humor trite…like yourself."
"I was only being sociable, mates," Harkness replied, sounding a bit hurt. "no need to get bloody abusive!" He picked up his cheeseburger, unwrapped it and prepared to take a bite. "You two take yourselves much too seriously!"
"They're a real pair of jokers," Hi-Jack chimed in.
Stung by the jibes, Sinestro turned on the Royal Flusher and pointed at him menacingly. "Have a care, card king," he growled, "or you'll soon learn the error of antagonizing your betters!"
Hi-Jack stood up, defiantly. "Is that a threat, rabbit ears?", he asked, clenching his fist.
"It's more than a threat, Hi-Jack," Sinestro shot back, "it's a promise!"
"Oh, yeah?", Hi-Jack responded, eyes narrowing with fury.
At this point, the butler, Carstairs, walked in, carrying a tray with a roast turkey, and bowls of mashed potatoes and gravy. He set this down on the table.
"Ah…gentlemen..", he murmured fearfully, "lunch is…ah…served."
Sinestro and Hi-Jack ignored the servant, as they squared off with one another.
"I'm calling your bluff, freak!", Hi-Jack announced.
"I'm not bluffing, fool!", Sinestro blustered, shaking his fist.
Just then, Manhunter burst into the room, saw what was going on, and headed off to break it up.
"Stop!", he cried out, stepping in between the two would-be combatants.
"Save your anger for a mutual foe!", he told them as he held each one back. "Grodd and the others need help…and they need it now!"
"Let them help themselves!", the hot-tempered Hi-Jack fired back.
"Indeed," the Wizard agreed. "What have they ever done for us, Manhunter?"
"Naught!", spat Sinestro, for once agreeing with his companions.
"At least hear me out, villains!", Manhunter cajoled. "You're all being used in a coldly calculated game of strategy…a secret war for the utter domination of Earth by outside forces! You'll be no more than slaves if that happens. It's in your own self interest to aid me and the others in opposing Darkseid!"
This seemed to calm matters down, as Manhunter knew it would when he chose his words. The Secret Society members were all selfish individuals, and none of them liked the idea of being slaves to anyone. Still, they eyed the cloned assassin with suspicion.
"Tell us more, Manhunter…quickly!", Hi-Jack demanded.
"Just how do you know all this?", Sinestro asked pointedly.
"Aye, mate," Capt. Boomerang put in. "How?"
"The enemy is our malevolent benefactor," Manhunter began, "who took me into his confidence as regent of the Secret Society!"
As he continued filling in the blanks for his evil cohorts, they could all tell that there was a sheer charisma about this clone of a man…an intangible aura of authority that supported the urgency of his impassioned plea for help. Yet his dire words failed to move two fellow Society members.
"I, for one, am not native to this Earth," Sinestro whispered to the Wizard. "And with your arcane knowledge of other dimensions, I suspect you agree with me that the fate of this world matters not! Still, let us play along…for now!"
"Agreed, Sinestro," the Wizard breathed back, "for now!"
"Well, group," Manhunter concluded, "are you with me?"
"We're with you," Sinestro said, perhaps a bit too eagerly. "All the way!"
"Then let's go!", Manhunter cried, defiantly shaking his fist in the air. Then he turned to leave, and the other members of the group prepared to follow him, Scudder and Harkness doffing their civilian clothes and revealing their costumes as Mirror Master and Captain Boomerang.
"From here on," Manhunter continued, "we've got to stop thinking like loners! We're a team, now…the Secret Society of Super-Villains! And let Darkseid beware!"
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Dr Dread
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The Odious-1
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Issue 8
Mar 9, 2006 22:10:23 GMT -5
Post by Dr Dread on Mar 9, 2006 22:10:23 GMT -5
As the villains charged forth towards the shuttle bay, they failed to notice that their butler Carstairs had not left the area after setting down the uneaten turkey luncheon. He had, instead, retreated to a nearby alcove where he could observe and listen to the villains and their conversation…and what he heard clearly did not set well with him.
It is well known on Apokolips that Darkseid does not tolerate open defiance…especially among the ranks of his own forces…and that he has spies everywhere to advise him of any traitorous actions, before they even happen. Carstairs was one of those spies, and he was good at his job. With Darkseid, you had to be; failure to do your job well was an offense punishable by death.
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Dr Dread
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The Odious-1
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Issue 8
Mar 9, 2006 22:11:18 GMT -5
Post by Dr Dread on Mar 9, 2006 22:11:18 GMT -5
As Carstairs prepared to contact his lord and master from the Sinister Citadel, high above the city, in the warm but windy San Francisco sky was flying Star Sapphire. As she looped around for another pass over the eye-catching city art museum and its environs, she began to become more and more dismayed.
"Mon dieu!", she worried. "This may be more difficult than I had imagined! Just how does one find a super-hero, anyway?"
Had someone been listening to her thoughts, they might have replied: you don't, Star Sapphire…they find you! For at just that moment, another figure flew into view, investigating reports of a costumed woman flying around the city. The figure was that of Earth's Green Lantern, Hal Jordan…who was quite surprised to see her.
"It can't be…not here!", he thought. "But it is…the new Star Sapphire! What luck!"
Although Jordan had not encountered the new Sapphire before now, he did know of her, having learned of her existence from Wonder Woman. Princess Diana, for her part, had found out from her mother, in the wake of the Amazons' clash with Sapphire and Manhunter a few days before. The Emerald Gladiator had been very much alarmed to learn that, no sooner did he appear to have his longtime friend Carol Ferris freed of the Star Sapphire curse, someone else had arisen to take her place. He promised himself that this upstart would not be using the identity for long.
Closing in behind her, Green Lantern commanded his power ring to ensnare his quarry within a hoop of green energy. As he'd hoped, it caught her off guard, and he intended to use that to his advantage.
"Easy, lady!", he admonished her. "I was looking for Grodd and his two pals, but you'll do! If you're in this town, you're probably involved with them!"
"Green Lantern!", Sapphire cried in surprise.
"None other," he confirmed. "I defeated your predecessor many times…why not learn from that and give up?"
In spite of her having been looking for a hero just moments before, Sapphire found the Green Lantern's smug self-confidence infuriating. Her look of surprise turned to one of defiance.
"I will never willingly surrender to any man…not even you, Emerald Crusader!", she told him. "For as you can see, my royal star sapphire is equal to your vaunted power ring!"
She emphasized this with a blast from her tiara's gem. It reacted violently with the Oan energy in Jordan's power ring, as it always had. Although Jordan had braced himself for the assault, and was not hurt by it, it did allow his adversary to free herself from the ring-created hoop. Feeling that she had made her point, she then moved swiftly to forge a truce with the hero.
"But I will lead you to those you seek," she said quickly. "They need help…against a far greater villain than you have ever known!" She paused to let that sink in. "Will you follow me, Green Lantern?"
"Into a trap?", he replied. "Hardly."
"It is no trap, Lantern," she assured him. "You have my word on it."
Jordan thought for a few seconds, and surreptitiously commanded his power ring to perform a quick brain scan on the woman to gauge her veracity. If she noticed, she didn't say anything.
"The last Sapphire wasn't a liar," he said finally. "I'm going to have to bet that you aren't, either!"
With that, the two flew off, their uneasy alliance weighing heavily on them both.
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Dr Dread
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The Odious-1
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Issue 8
Mar 9, 2006 22:14:30 GMT -5
Post by Dr Dread on Mar 9, 2006 22:14:30 GMT -5
While this was going on, at the deserted lot that disguised Darkseid's secret subterranean sanctum, the flier piloted by Manhunter came to rest, and the other Secret Society members emerged one by one, with Manhunter himself leading the way at first. He noted that the rock that had originally hidden the entrance had not been replaced; rather, someone had merely covered the entrance with a blue tarpaulin. It made the cloned assassin smell a trap. Then again, he had suspected as much even before he and his comrades had arrived; Mantis had let him and Star Sapphire escape far too easily.
Manhunter paused a few feet from the tarp, and turned to the others.
"All right, team," he said, "remember our battle plan. The Mirror Master goes first."
The Reflecting Rogue moved into the forefront. All was silent as they filed, one by one, down the stairwell into the secret headquarters. As they headed into the corridor, Hi-Jack couldn't resist a whispered comment.
"Guess that makes you teacher's pet," the card king joked.
"An' with good reason", Scudder replied. "Cause only my mirror prism can mesmerize the guards…"
As he spoke, he withdrew a small mirror from a pocket, let it catch some light from the fluorescent tubes in the ceiling, and then directed its beam past the eyes of the two green-uniformed sentries who were visible just around the next bend. Their eyes widened as the beam passed before them, then glazed over. The two would not move or speak until such time as the spell was broken.
"Just like that," Mirror Master continued softly, "allowin' us to pass by unchallenged…without soundin' any advance alarms."
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Dr Dread
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The Odious-1
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Issue 8
Mar 9, 2006 22:16:47 GMT -5
Post by Dr Dread on Mar 9, 2006 22:16:47 GMT -5
As Manhunter and the others walked quietly past the guards, each of them eyes the two sentinels warily, on guard lest Mirror Master's trick be less effective than he'd promised.
Manhunter also took note of the fact that there had been no guards in the hallways when he and the now-captive members of the team had first visited. That had clearly been a trap as well…that much was now obvious. But for that to be true, someone had to have tipped Mantis off…about not only the visit itself, but of Manhunter's plan to turn the Secret Society against Darkseid. Manhunter began to run a mental checklist of possible suspects, promising himself that a reckoning would come once this rescue mission was complete.
In the main portion of the lab complex, Mantis sat in an odd-looking device shaped like a bathtub, from which gouts of crackling energy issued forth periodically. As he did so, he smiled smugly towards a platform to his left, where the captive Capt. Cold, Capt. Comet and Grodd were shackled to the floor, handcuffed and gagged. The gags were actually gas masks of a sort, feeding the three prisoners an anesthetic vapor that kept them too well tranquilized to make any attempt at escape.
"Attend me, loyal ones," Mantis said to two more green-garbed sentries standing behind him. "Again, my energies ebb; again, I seek renewal from my power pod."
Swiftly, the two guards moved to adjust dials and knobs on the sides of the bathtub device, which was clearly the power-pod he spoke of.
"But ere I succumb fully to its embrace," he gloated, "know this: the Secret Society is doomed!"
He let that sink in before continuing, hoping that his three captives were still conscious enough to hear and appreciate his words.
"Soon, the remaining villains will try to free their captive fellows. When they attack… Mantis shall be ready and waiting, with powers at maximum charge!", he cried triumphantly, standing up in the power-pod and exulting in his own personal glory. It proved to be premature.
"Oh, yeah?", came the taunting voice of Capt. Boomerang. "Mate, you've made a serious miscalculation! Savvy?"
As he said this, Digger Harkness hurled one of his non-gimmicky boomerangs at the energy vampire. Mantis dodged it deftly, but was then struck in the face by a barrage of playing cards fired by Hi-Jack's card gun.
"Demons of Darkseid!", Mantis exploded. He then flew upward towards the ceiling, to escape any further attacks.
"The mortal is right!", Mantis fumed. "I'm at low charge…thus, my lackeys must face them first!"
Already, the room's two guards had moved to block the villains' path, but didn't do anything else. They apparently had not noticed that Mantis had taken to the air.
"Attack, slaves, attack!", he commanded them. That finally got them moving.
The first of the two sentries lowered his spear and started to lunge towards the one who had dared assault his master with playing cards.
"Maim for Mantis!", he cried as he charged. "Destroy for Darkseid!"
"You've got that all wrong, horn-head," the card king assured him as he swiftly moved aside. "It's hurray for Hi-Jack…cause here's where I deck you with one punch!"
Matching word with deed, the Royal Flusher jumped up, grabbed the spear with one hand and forced it down, then used its momentum in a back-flip that put him in position to slam his other fist into the guard's face. The Mantis-man hit the floor, and moved no more.
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Dr Dread
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Issue 8
Mar 9, 2006 22:18:24 GMT -5
Post by Dr Dread on Mar 9, 2006 22:18:24 GMT -5
The other sentry was aiming his own harpoon at the Australian adversary's mid-section.
"Easy with the spear, sport!", Harkness advised him.
"Die for Darkseid!", was the guard's only reply.
"How crass!", the down-under desperado replied. "How bloody belligerent! Don't you know violence often has a boomerang effect? Especially when it's directed at Captain Boomerang!"
As he said this, Boomerang stole a move from Hi-Jack by grabbing the spear and forcing it downwards towards the floor. But unlike Hi-Jack, Boomerang then used the spear as a makeshift vaulting pole, twisting his body and landing with both feet in the guard's face.
While this was going on, across the chamber, Manhunter had busied himself freeing Capt. Cold and the others from their shackles and detaching the gas hoses that had kept them docile.
"Listen carefully," he told them. "We've all got to work together to defeat Mantis! Are you ready?"
"Still…groggy…from gas," Capt. Comet said thickly.
"Me, too…" Capt. Cold added.
"Give me a second to gather my wits," Grodd put in.
"Hurry, Grodd…hurry!", a worried Hi-Jack urged him. "Mantis is diving toward us!"
Off to one side, the Wizard and Sinestro had not taken part in the battle as yet.
"So the time has come to choose sides, eh, Sinestro?", the Wizard asked furtively.
"Not yet, Wizard," the renegade Green Lantern replied. "We shall wait, and side with the winners!"
Mantis, meanwhile, was lining up his moment and was now ready to strike.
"Puny fools!", he seethed. "Even at low charge…Mantis can retaliate!"
A fiery arc of energy left the power parasite's hand, enveloping both Hi-Jack and Capt. Boomerang and laying them low.
"Your diversionary tactics served a purpose," Mantis acknowledged. "three super-villains are free again! Yet, as I conquered them before, so shall I conquer them anew!"
"Don't bet on it," said Capt. Comet from behind him. When Mantis spun to face his mocking voice, he saw a fully-recovered Grodd and Manhunter standing with Comet.
"Captain Comet may be concise, bug-eyes…", Grodd growled.
"…but he's right!", Manhunter finished.
Mantis was beside himself with rage.
"Darkseid shall reward and respect me for crushing you!", he roared.
"Save your breath, Mantis," Grodd advised him.
"You're going to need it!", Capt. Comet added.
"All right, gang…let's go!", Manhunter ordered, and the three moved to attack their insectoid foe.
Mantis braced himself, and drew on dwindling reserves of power…which he released in the form of fatal cosmic charges from his hands.
"HAH!", he cried triumphantly, sure that his force-blasts would decimate his enemies. But alas, to little effect!
Leaping up and arcing their bodies in mid-air, Manhunter and Capt. Comet dodged the two beams of energy and let them pass harmlessly by them.
"Your aim is way off, Mantis!", Manhunter taunted.
"But how?", the energy leech demanded. "It's as if you were reading my mind!"
Indeed, Capt. Comet was doing nothing less, and as he had divined Mantis' plan, he had mentally advised Manhunter of where and when to leap. And, acting on a cue from the good captain, Manhunter then struck! His feet met the power parasite's jaw with bone-rattling force, knocking him to the floor…but not yet out of the fight.
"No group of mere mortals may defeat a master warrior of Apokolips," he gritted. "I shall yet triumph!"
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Dr Dread
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Issue 8
Mar 9, 2006 22:21:51 GMT -5
Post by Dr Dread on Mar 9, 2006 22:21:51 GMT -5
As he shakily got to his feet, Capt. Cold aimed his own unique weapon at the flooring before the energy vampire and fired.
"You're an eternal optimist, Mantis," Cold advised him.
"Captain Cold and his accursed ice-gun!", Mantis squawked. "I'm slipping!"
"And we're going to put you to sleep!", Capt. Comet added. "Right, Grodd?"
"Right, Comet!", Grodd agreed. The ape and the mutant then punched Mantis in the face at the same time, a pair of blows that would have dropped a bull elephant in its tracks. Yet it still wasn't enough to bring Mantis down for good. It did, however, bring him to his knees momentarily.
"Wrong, fools!" he spat as he once more struggled to his feet. "Quickly, my loyal lancers: attack again for Mantis!"
The two sentries that had been dispatched by Hi-Jack and Capt. Boomerang earlier had by now recovered their wits, if not their weapons, and charged forth again.
"For Mantis!", they cried in unison.
Mindlessly, they obeyed…and almost at once, they fell. Capt. Comet socked one into unconsciousness, while the fist of Grodd dispatched the other.
Mantis took this time to escape, and did not pause to look back. But he did call out a warning:
"You've won this round, villains," he promised them, "but I warn you: the battle is far from over!" And with that, he flew down through the corridors and out through a concealed exit.
"Maybe," Manhunter acknowledged, "but today, by working as a team, we earned our first victory as the Secret Society of Super-Villains! And from now on…let Darkseid beware!"
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Dr Dread
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The Odious-1
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Issue 8
Mar 9, 2006 22:22:38 GMT -5
Post by Dr Dread on Mar 9, 2006 22:22:38 GMT -5
The others all nodded their agreement. As they did so, they were watched from the throne room of Darkseid's palace on Apokolips via subspace monitor. Attending this screening were Kalibak, and DeSaad, still in his disguise as Darkseid.
"They grow insolent!", the concealed DeSaad declared. "They dare to mock me!"
He rose and switched off the video monitor. "Therefore, they must be disciplined…"
"…or destroyed!", Kalibak added hopefully.
"Exactly," the disguised chief scientist agreed. "We shall go to Earth, Kalibak…and there, you shall redeem yourself!"
"Good!", Kalibak said with relish. This was a mission he could sink his powerful teeth into…and he expected to enjoy himself immensely.
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Dr Dread
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Issue 8
Mar 9, 2006 22:27:38 GMT -5
Post by Dr Dread on Mar 9, 2006 22:27:38 GMT -5
(On time, I swear!! -Ed)
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