Dr Dread
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The Odious-1
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Issue 9
Mar 21, 2006 21:33:56 GMT -5
Post by Dr Dread on Mar 21, 2006 21:33:56 GMT -5
Secret Society of Super Villains Chapter 1: Issue 9 "WHEN THIEVES FALL OUT" Written by David Peattie Edited by DrDread
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Dr Dread
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Issue 9
Mar 21, 2006 21:36:45 GMT -5
Post by Dr Dread on Mar 21, 2006 21:36:45 GMT -5
Back on Earth, inside the subterranean lab complex that Mantis had just been forced to vacate, two of the Secret Society members were finding themselves on the receiving end of their teammates' ire.
"Wizard! Sinestro!" Manhunter barked. "You claim to be our allies…yet, you stood idle while the rest of the Secret Society fought Mantis, the power parasite! Why?"
Hi-Jack, perched on a jagged outcropping of wrecked machinery, was quick to echo the cloned assassin's sentiments. "Lay your cards on the table now," he insisted, "or get ready to cash in your chips!"
The Wizard took instant umbrage at being called on the carpet like that, and wasn't shy about letting the villains know this. "Why, you…!" he sputtered, only subsiding when Sinestro stopped him.
"Calm yourself, Wizard," the renegade Green Lantern admonished. "We are above such juvenile baiting."
"But you are not above Grodd, alien," the gorilla mastermind growled. "And I demand an explanation for your inaction!"
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Dr Dread
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The Odious-1
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Issue 9
Mar 21, 2006 21:38:28 GMT -5
Post by Dr Dread on Mar 21, 2006 21:38:28 GMT -5
As this exchange was going on, Capt. Comet and the other Society members…Mirror Master, Capt. Cold and Capt. Boomerang…looked on silently but sullenly.
Now, though, it was Sinestro's turn to bristle at his accusers.
"Have a care, Grodd," he warned. "I returned to Earth because I was intrigued by a power that could span a galaxy to locate an elusive ex-Green Lantern such as myself. I did not come to trade insults with unwitting pawns, be they men…or blustering ape!"
"WHAT?" Grodd bellowed. "You dare compare me to those inadequate creatures?"
With that, the super-gorilla lunged forward in fury…only to be stopped in his tracks, as Sinestro's yellow power ring formed a humiliating set of bars around the simian's body.
"I do more than merely mock your common heritage, Grodd!" Sinestro sneered. "Your unsocial behavior also makes it necessary for me to cage your brutish form!"
The Wizard grinned and saluted his red-skinned comrade with his walking cane.
"Magnificent, my friend!" he crowed. "Together, we shall reveal these misfits for the petty crooks they truly are!"
"Now you've done it, mate!" Capt. Boomerang gritted. "Y'see, I personally don't give a hobbled kangaroo whether you and scarlet skin stay or go…but no one calls Captain Boomerang a bloody second-stringer!"
With that, the Australian rogue tossed one of his boomerangs at the Wizard. The gesture was met with utter contempt from the sorcerous scoundrel as, with a wave of his hands, he stopped the 'rang in mid-air.
"Does the truth offend you to such a degree," he began, "that you dare pit one of your ineffectual boomerangs against the power of my mystic wand?"
As he said this, the Wizard made another pass with his cane, causing the boomerang to glow red and burst into flame. He then directed it back at the man who'd hurled it.
"Alas! In that case," Wizard continued, "I shall return your puny weapon to you…albeit in a slightly altered state!"
Unerringly, the flaming boomerang flew back to its master's hand. Harkness had to pull his gloved hand back hurriedly, to avoid a nasty burn; the fiery weapon then fluttered to the ground, quietly sizzling.
While this was happening, the clone of Paul Kirk was leaping into the air to stage his own attack, which he hoped would catch his own opponent off guard.
"All right, Manhunter," he told himself, "here's your chance to prove yourself as leader man! Don't blow it! After all, to abort any future rebellions…I've got to nip this one in the bud!"
By this time, Manhunter had flipped himself over in mid-air, and was coming back down at Sinestro fists first. Unfortunately, his target had spotted him.
"You're fast, Manhunter," Sinestro told him. "But not fast enough!"
So saying, the rogue from Korugar created a giant hand with his power ring and propelled it against Manhunter, swatting him from the air as one might a bothersome fly. The cloned assassin fell back into a pile of junked machinery with a jarring KRUNCH!
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Dr Dread
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The Odious-1
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Issue 9
Mar 21, 2006 21:40:32 GMT -5
Post by Dr Dread on Mar 21, 2006 21:40:32 GMT -5
While, above this battle…
"Okay, Wiz," the king of cards gritted, "this is Hi-Jack talking…put away the magic wand!"
The Wizard spun to look above him, to the ledge where Hi-Jack had crawled to as the magical menace took care of Capt. Boomerang. Hi-Jack had pulled his card-gun and had aimed it in the Wizard's direction.
"Sleight of hand is my bag, too, remember?" the Royal Flusher smirked. "So let's just call a spade a spade, and dispense with the gimmicks!"
"GIMMICKS?” the Wizard cried in astonishment. "You think my magic is but illusion? Tell me, fool, could mere sleight of hand give such new dimension to the disappearing card trick…as to make the performer of that mundane amusement vanish?"
He raised his arms again and made some ritualistic gestures, causing Hi-Jack to squeeze the trigger of his card-gun in alarm. But it was too late: the card-king had already begun to fade away into nothingness.
"Enjoy the land of limbo, scoffer!", the Wizard exulted as Hi-Jack disappeared from view. Of course, he knew that the spell would not last all that long, given his already waning powers…within a few days, Hi-Jack would return from the nether realm he'd been sent to, probably none the worse for his experience. But by then, he'd have a much deeper appreciation of the power of magic, and of its practitioners. That would have to do.
Now, though, Sinestro was at the Wizard's side.
"Enough, my cantankerous comrade," the Korugarian said, placing his hand on the Wizard's shoulder.
"Eh? What new attack..." the Wizard asked, confused.
"No attack, Wizard," Sinestro replied. "Our ill-mannered opponents have not yet recovered. It avails us naught to engage in fruitless conflict; thus, I say we tarry no longer…for we have far more cosmic matters to contemplate!"
As he said this, Sinestro formed a comfortable chair with his power ring and motioned to the Wizard to seat himself in it. The supernatural scalawag did so, and Sinestro then took to the air, towing the Wizard with him as he made his way to the exit.
"Farewell, my would-be friends!" he exclaimed in parting. "My association with the Secret Society has been most…enlightening!"
"They're escaping!" Grodd cried, unnecessarily.
"We've got to stop them!" Capt. Comet joined in.
They were both held back, though, by Manhunter.
"No! Let them go!" he declared. "We have worse to worry about than a couple of deserters. By choosing to oppose Darkseid rather than serve him, the Secret Society is now an enemy force in his war for Earth-death…and Darkseid does not tolerate defiance from his own troops!"
Turning to face them all, he continued, "When he learns we now occupy this secret sanctuary, he will hasten to recapture it. And he has all the war machinery and warriors of an entire world at his command! We must prepare for that assault, for I fear it will not be long in coming!"
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Dr Dread
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The Odious-1
Posts: 1,547
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Issue 9
Mar 21, 2006 21:42:11 GMT -5
Post by Dr Dread on Mar 21, 2006 21:42:11 GMT -5
Meanwhile, high in the sunny skies over San Francisco, the Society's sole distaff member continued to lead ring-slinger Hal Jordan towards the rendezvous. As they flew over the city, Jordan was pensive and worried.
"Face it, Lantern," he mused, "you're a sucker for a mysterious woman! Why else would you team up with Star Sapphire?"
As if she were privy to his thoughts, the woman in pink flying ahead of him spoke soothingly to re-assure him.
"You must not mistrust me, mon ami," she purred. "not when we face the ultimate threat to the universe: the demonic Darkseid!"
"Or when we're on our way to rescue your pals, right?" the Green Lantern replied sarcastically.
"It is not just we super-villains who will suffer Darkseid's wrath, Green Lantern!", she reminded him. "He seeks to conquer all men!"
By now, the underground complex where she had earlier escaped from Mantis was in view. She flew down to land, with Jordan in tow.
"You didn't have to lay it on quite so thick, Star!" Green Lantern told her. "Lead on…if this is a trap, it'll close in on the trapper!"
"How like a hero," she scoffed. "Very well, I shall go first!"
So saying, she moved inside the complex, with the Emerald Gladiator cautiously bringing up the rear.
Before he entered, though, he heard a soft K-SNIKK noise from behind him.
"Huh?" he thought. "Someone’s hiding over there. Waiting for me to go below! I was right, then…this is a trap!"
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Dr Dread
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The Odious-1
Posts: 1,547
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Issue 9
Mar 21, 2006 21:44:32 GMT -5
Post by Dr Dread on Mar 21, 2006 21:44:32 GMT -5
Now thoroughly on guard, he turned around, to face a man dressed in a bizarre insect-like costume. Though he had no way of knowing it then, Green Lantern was now confronting Mantis, the energy vampire!
"Demons of Darkseid!” the power parasite cursed to himself. "I did not wish to attract attention while my power is at an ebb! However, perhaps I can turn this misfortune to my advantage! The approaching stranger is one of the fabled Green Lanterns…and their power is known throughout the galaxy! And that power must belong to Mantis!"
Before Green Lantern could finish turning around, Mantis lunged forward, his fists pummeling the hero in the back and knocking him down. The Lantern fell with a forceful “UNNF”!
Mantis stood looking down at his foe, grinning, his arms akimbo. The hero scowled as he got back to his feet.
"Sneak attacks tend to irritate me, fella," Jordan demanded, "so talk fast…while you still can!"
"I am Mantis, Earthman," the insectoid villain replied, "the power parasite…and the agent of your destruction!"
"Power parasite, huh?", Green Lantern echoed. "Well, let's see how you handle an energy blast from my power ring!" So saying, the Emerald Crusader enveloped his new foe in a sheath of blistering force that would have stopped an army in its tracks. Mantis, however, just stood there, grinning from ear to ear.
"Witless fool," he mocked, "that's exactly what I hoped you'd do! Your emerald energy is feeding me…strengthening me…even as it drains your very life!"
In this last remark, Mantis was of course quite wrong. The life force of the Green Lantern Corps members was not tied in to their power rings…draining the rings of energy only left a Corps member powerless, not lifeless. But to Mantis, that made little difference just now.
"Feel so…wasted," Green Lantern gasped as he struggled to regain control of his ring and its escaping energy. "Can't…concentrate…"
"Don't stop now, fool," Mantis urged him. "Fire your bursts! Mantis must have more power! Do you hear me?"
Helplessly, Jordan continued to pour forth more energy from his ring into the seemingly bottomless pit that was Mantis. The Oan energy flared around the insectoid, his body seeming to pump up and become more and more invigorated.
"More power!" Mantis egged him on again. But as he watched, Jordan slumped once more to his knees, his consciousness faltering.
"Bah!" the energy vampire snorted. "You're too weak to resist…and since my will is now the strongest…I shall absorb all the energy remaining in your power ring!"
Matching word to deed, Mantis took mental control of the power ring himself, and commanded it to empty its energies into his body. The flow increased in intensity, causing Mantis himself to glow green as he grew stronger and stronger yet.
"Never have I felt so mighty!" he exulted. "I am bursting with power…enough to rival great Darkseid himself! And soon I shall surpass even him!"
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Dr Dread
Staff
The Odious-1
Posts: 1,547
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Issue 9
Mar 21, 2006 21:45:25 GMT -5
Post by Dr Dread on Mar 21, 2006 21:45:25 GMT -5
Now drunk with the rush of power, Mantis began laughing heartily. Finally, the flow of energy stopped, and Jordan slumped to the ground unconscious. Just then, Mantis found his gaiety interrupted by a chillingly coarse voice from behind him.
"Surpass me, loyal Mantis?" the voice mocked warningly. "You are crazed with power, insect…power which you vastly overestimate!"
"Darkseid?", Mantis said timidly as he turned to face his accuser.
To his eyes, it was indeed the ruler of Apokolips who stood before him. Although the power of the Green Lantern still surged within him, making him feel more powerful than ever before, he still did not dare challenge his overlord. He looked quite crestfallen as the tongue-lashing continued.
"You failed me, Mantis, by allowing the secret sanctuary to fall into enemy hands," the being who appeared to be Darkseid went on. It was, of course, really DeSaad, still wearing his Darkseid disguise…but Mantis didn't know that, and if DeSaad had his way, the power parasite never would. "And you have spoken treason. The time for reckoning has come!"
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Dr Dread
Staff
The Odious-1
Posts: 1,547
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Issue 9
Mar 21, 2006 21:46:24 GMT -5
Post by Dr Dread on Mar 21, 2006 21:46:24 GMT -5
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