SSOSV: Issue 12

While Funky Flashman continued his sales pitch to the Wizard, some thirty minutes had elapsed since DeSaad (in the guise of Darkseid) and Manhunter disappeared in their blast of glory. Now, from within the rubble, a figure stirred: that of Captain Comet.

"No sign of my comrades," he thought, even as he mentally scanned the area. "Wait! I'm picking up the thought patterns of someone trapped!"

Quickly freeing himself from the debris, Captain Comet put his enormous strength to use, and finally unearthed the only other person at the site who could truly be called a hero.

"Green Lantern!", Comet cried, as the Emerald Crusader groaned and returned to consciousness.

"That's the name, fella," Green Lantern replied wearily, "and if you're planning to pummel me like you did the last time we met, don't waste your strength! Just put me back in that hole!"

As he helped the green-clad hero back to his feet, Comet spoke to re-assure him.

"I have no intention of continuing that battle, Lantern!", he promised. "We are on the same side!" And to emphasize this, he clasped the ring slinger's hand and shook it.

"You sure coulda fooled me!", the Lantern said dubiously.

"Even a man with my powers is capable of making a mistake," Comet said, as he took Green Lantern by the arm and flew off, "but let's discuss that after we get you medical aid! Merely direct me to the nearest hospital…"

"Don't need a hospital," the emerald warrior said as he caught his breath. "There's a much better place…Justice League headquarters!"

Later, when only Hawkman and Green Lantern remained with Captain Comet in the satellite and the tour was finished, Comet was just wrapping up his explanation to Hawkman about his current plans.

"…And I know from working with them," Comet proclaimed, "that the super-villains enjoy operating together! Perhaps it's foolish of me…but I feel somewhat responsible for that!"

Hearing this, Green Lantern turned from the League's monitor board, where the satellite's video cameras kept track of the entire planet and looked for trouble spots.

"So you're determined to track down all of your former allies?", the Lantern asked. "It looks good on paper, but in practice...good luck! That bunch is probably spread all over the country…the world…by now!"

In this, the Emerald Gladiator was not far wrong. Of the eleven villains that had been members of the Secret Society thus far, one…Manhunter…was presumed to be dead, having blown himself up in the Boom Tube in an effort to destroy Darkseid. Another, Hi-Jack, had been sent to a limbo dimension by the Wizard. A third one, the Shadow Thief, had surreptitiously left before the clash with Mantis had begun, leaving eight; two of these, Sinestro and the Wizard, had also opted out of the fight with Darkseid, leaving six. Copperhead was still at large, having been freed from prison by an unknown third party. Of the five that were left, one…the Mirror Master…had left town and was now working his way back east towards his normal stomping grounds of Central City, Ohio.

However, the other four…Grodd, Star Sapphire, Captain Cold and Captain Boomerang…were all still in the San Francisco area, though at present they were keeping out of sight.

"Nonetheless…", Comet began, intending to re-assure Green Lantern that he would track down the Secret Society members and bring them in or die trying. Then he noticed a scarlet signal coming in over one of the monitor board video screens.

"That red light!", he cried, pointing. "What does it mean?"

Turning swiftly and activating the screen underneath the flashing light, Green Lantern's face paled as he saw what the trouble was.

"Earthquake," he breathed, "in San Francisco…and it's a biggie!" Then, his eyes narrowing to a squint, he pointed at a humanoid figure on the screen, hovering over the scene of tumbling skyscrapers and shrieking citizens. "Do you see that?", he asked the others.

A quick manipulation of nearby dials brought zoom lenses into play, enlarging the figure on the screen into a form everyone in the room recognized.

"It's my old foe, Sinestro," Green Lantern gritted. "He's causing the quake!"

Turning on his heel, the Emerald Gladiator called over his shoulder, "Mind the store, Hawkman…I'll take care of that renegade!"

The Winged Wonder, however, was having none of that. Although Green Lantern seemed all right at first glance, Hawkman had not forgotten how his power had been drained by Mantis…and he feared that his ring slinging ally had not yet fully recovered. Far better, he thought, that the Lantern sit this one out.

"Need I remind that you are on monitor duty, Green Lantern?", Hawkman asked, feeling that being a stickler for protocol was both in keeping with the personality he'd cultivated with the League and more diplomatic than telling GL he wasn't fit for action yet. "Captain Comet and I will handle this matter!"

"But I've fought Sinestro before…", the Lantern protested.

"And the Captain has more recently been his partner!", Hawkman finished, waving away the Emerald Crusader's insistence. "Stay here and keep an eye out in case we need back-up!"

So saying, Hawkman and Comet left the room, settling the matter. Then, thanks to the JLA transporter, moments later above the city by the bay, the two heroes materialized almost on top of the villain from Korugar. Hawkman had stopped in the League's weapons room to grab a mean-looking mace on the way.

Back in San Francisco, Hawkman had fallen so far that only a height of ten stories remained between him and a fatal landing on the streets below. Finally, Captain Comet caught up with him, clutching him by the wings attached to his costume and slowing his fall.

"Got you!", Comet cried triumphantly.

As he lowered the Thanagarian gently to the sidewalk, he admonished, "Rest here, Hawkman, while I go after Sinestro!"

But, before he could do so, Captain Comet suddenly noticed that he had another priority.

"The Sinister Citadel," he realized, "toppling! If it comes down, it'll crush everything in a ten-block radius!"

Instantly, Comet flew towards the top of the building and pressed his hands against it, first slowing and then stopping its fall. Then, he began to push it back into its former upright position.

The man of the future had great strength, and he could fly, but he was not Superman. And so, what for the Man of Steel would require merely lifting a pinkie, required all the strength Captain Comet could muster. But in spite of the great strain it put on him…in defiance of all odds…he succeeded. The building stood tall and proud once more, and would hold until construction workers could arrive and do a better job of shoring it up permanently.

Feeling somewhat drained by the experience, Comet flew back down to the street, where an incredulous Hawkman was waiting.

"I'm beginning to think I should have let Green Lantern take this one," Hawkman said dryly. "Without my anti-gravity belt, I'm powerless!"

In this, of course, Hawkman meant only that he was powerless to give chase to the evil Sinestro. Had the villain not fled into space, Hawkman would have been more than glad to continue the fight. But Comet was having none of such self-pity.

"Nonsense!", he declared as he picked Hawkman up and tucked him under an arm. "I don't mind a passenger…if you don't mind somebody else driving!" And with that, Comet took off once more, heading towards space with the Winged Wonder in tow.

And, moments later, somewhere between Earth and Mars, the two heroes once more set out on Sinestro's trail.

"Amazing," Hawkman marveled. "you've created an air bubble around us so we can survive in airless space!"

"It's nothing, really," Comet replied nonchalantly. "Just a little trick I picked up during twenty years of planet hopping!"

Just then, they both spotted the Korugarian rogue.

"There's our quarry!", Hawkman cried, pointing.

Before setting out, the two heroes had determined that they would use Captain Comet's telepathy to speak to their foe in the vacuum of space, offering him a chance to give himself up before engaging in battle. Both men doubted it would work, but it had to be tried. Now that Sinestro was in sight, Comet linked his mind to Hawkman's and began broadcasting.

"Surrender, Sinestro," the heroes told him, "you've no chance of escaping now!"

Sinestro turned and scowled at them. "Then I won't try to escape…until I've beaten you!"

He flew headlong toward them, and with his power ring, created a shield around himself. As it struck the air bubble surrounding Comet and Hawkman, he gritted, "I should have done this earlier!"

At the moment of impact, though, Comet slipped away from the air bubble, and instead allowed it to only surround Hawkman. Holding his breath, he grappled silently with the renegade Green Lantern.

"You can stop my fists," Sinestro conceded, "but not my mental control over my ring! My power-spawned vise will crush your skull like an egg!"

As he said this, he commanded his ring to create an evil-looking set of tri-pronged pincers, and as they encircled Captain Comet's head, he caused them to close and tighten.
Comet's face soon was contorted, apparently with pain.

"What?", Sinestro mocked, "no dying words from the doomed man?"

Were he more confident of victory, Captain Comet might have explained his own mental powers to his foe. But at that moment, he needed every ounce of concentration, for he was telekinetically forcing the vise away from his own head and back behind Sinestro's.

As Sinestro watched this happen, and realized with growing panic that his own will was insufficient to best Captain Comet's, his face grew pale with shock. Then, Comet gave him a further surprise: not only did he continue to force the vise away from himself, he also geared up for a rock-hard punch!

"That's impossib…unngh!", Sinestro squawked, only to be cut off as Comet's double-fisted uppercut slammed into his jaw. Sinestro was knocked backwards into his own vise, which faded into nothingness as the Korugarian fell unconscious.