Opening his closet door he dug through the clothes and weapons until he found what he was looking for. Kid Karnevil pulled out a large, homemade bomb that was powerful enough to bring down the whole building, if not the entire island.
“It's not my birthday, but what the hell?!” Kid Karnevil smiled as he set the timer.
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#4
NOV 12 |
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“Darkness Rising” Part Four
“Are you sure you can do this?” asked Superboy as he got ready to kick the door down. He was itching to beat somebody up by this point.
“Honestly...no,” replied Wonder Girl as she held her magic lasso after having been instructed by Ravager on how to stop Harm. “But we have to try, or the whole world's going to be screwed.”
“Then let's do this,” Superboy told her as he held his foot out and kicked the door to the roof out, sending it flying all the way across the ocean.
The two Titans flew out just in time to see Jay Young using his powers to try to separate Greta Hayes from the Spectre. Greta was screaming in fear as her soul was being torn apart from the Spectre's form. Harm was standing nearby with an evil smirk on his face. It didn't matter if the separation killed Greta, he just wanted the Spectre's powers for himself.
“Yes! YES! Just a few more –” Harm shouted as he was cut off by Wonder Girl's lasso wrapping around him, yanking the villain backward. He looked up to see the heroine floating over him, letting out a harsh laugh. “You think a lasso's going to contain me?”
Wonder Girl smiled as she pulled the lasso tight. “I don't have to contain you, I just to hold you long enough to do this.”
A large burst of lightning flew through the lasso, shocking Harm as he tried to focus. He got through the pain enough to put a hand on the lasso and pulled Wonder Girl down from the air, grabbing her in his hands.
“For that, you die, you bitch!” Harm shouted as someone tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around to see Superboy cracking his knuckles before punching Harm across the roof.
“No one calls my friend a bitch,” Superboy smiled, getting satisfaction from finally punching Harm.
“Connor, what's he doing to Greta?!” Wonder Girl asked as she saw Greta nearly pulled away from her new form.
“Don't know, but it ends now!” Superboy shouted as he flew toward Jay but was tackled by Harm, who started relentlessly punching the teen of steel. His demonic magic was enough to draw blood from Superboy's nose.
Meanwhile, Ravager and Red X arrived on the roof. Ravager rushed toward the Spectre with her sword drawn, cutting the markings on the roof that were holding her in. Red X took out his baton and tossed it at Jay, beaning in the forehead to knock him out. As he fell to the ground, his unconscious body messed up the markings holding him in his circle.
“NO!” shouted Harm as he looked up to see what was happening. Jay had been knocked out before he could finish pulling Greta away from his rightful power. “Jay, you fool! Wake up!”
But it was too late. Greta had re-merged with the Spectre and stepped out of the containment circle looking angry. The sky got even darker as she looked at her brother while her eyes started to glow brighter. “I offered you a chance for redemption, Billy,” the Spectre told him angrily as the darkness closed in until it was confined solely to the roof. “I offered you forgiveness and you spat in my face and tried to take what wasn't yours.”
“You want to fight?” asked Harm as he looked at her. She was still his adopted sister, no matter what kind of style she was wearing. She was still the same little weak girl he had murdered all those years ago to gain his original demonic powers. “Let's go, sister. Even with your powers I can take you.”
“There will be no more fighting,” the Spectre said as she raised her cloak. The sheer force of her will alone was enough to freeze Harm in place where he stood. “There will be no more violence from you.”
“What are you going to—NO!” Harm shouted, but before he could run away or attempt to fight back he was enveloped in the Spectre's cloak. “NOOO!!” Before he could fight his way out, the Spectre disappeared from everyone's sight. The sky cleared back up, leaving only a dark and starry night above of as the five people on the roof started to wonder exactly what had just happened.
“Well, that was weird,” Superboy said as he looked at Wonder Girl, helping her up. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” Wonder Girl replied as she wound her lasso up, placing back at her side. “I take it the plan worked.”
“Your lasso should have shaken Harm's control over us,” Ravager replied as she held out her sword. She walked over to Jay and held the sword above his neck. “Now there's only one loose end to deal with, to make sure Harm never uses him again.”
Before she could strike, Superboy grabbed her arm. “No one else dies on my watch.”
“Well, how about mine?” Kid Karnevil asked he rushed up the roof, carrying the heavy bomb in his arms. He plopped it down right in front of them and giggled insanely. “There's enough explosives packed into this baby to explode the entire island!”
“You idiot, you'll die too!” Red X shouted.
“Oh, like I haven't been to Hell before,” Karnevil replied with a yawn. “Nice place, but I scared the locals so much that I got booted out. It'll be nice to visit the old stomping grounds again, though, and this time, I'll be bringing company!”
Wonder Girl pulled out her lasso as Superboy stopped her.
“No, I'll do this,” Superboy said as he rushed forward, grabbing the bomb and flying into the air with only a few seconds left. He started spinning around, hoping to launch the bomb and then take it apart with his tactile telekinisis.
“Connor!” Wonder Girl shouted as she saw the sky light up in a large display of red, yellow and orange flames. “CONNOR!”
“Oh, darn,” Karnevil said as he kicked the air. “Superbrat hogged all the fun. Now I'll have to build another bomb. A larger, more powerful one!”
As he looked up, Ravager's fist struck his mouth, sending Karnevil to the ground with a broken jaw. Wonder Girl was wiping away the tears when she saw something falling from the sky. Taking to the air while grabbing her lasso, she saw Superboy falling toward the ocean. Using the lasso, she grabbed him before he could hit the water, flying him back to the roof.
As they returned to the roof of Titans Tower, Superboy started coughing as he opened his eyes. He was singed from head to toe from the bomb's explosion, but otherwise fine as he looked around.
“Did we win?” Superboy asked as Wonder Girl hugged him tightly.
A short while later Connor was drinking a cup of hot chocolate in the kitchen after having taken a long shower. Wonder Girl, Ravager and Red X were also there, after having locked Kid Karnevil in the downstairs prison. Jay was tied up by Wonder Girl's lasso, sitting on the floor with his back to the wall.
“So, what do we do with you two?” asked Wonder Girl as she looked at Ravager and Red X. “Mind controlled or not, both of you are still dangerous.”
“I'm not a killer,” Red X told her, still wearing his mask, “and I don't intend on staying. Now that Harm's gone and I'm not compelled to stay I plan on getting the hell out of this town.”
“And do what?” asked Superboy as he looked up from his cup.
“Don't know, maybe find my own town and do some good there,” Red X replied. “I just know that I'm free and I want to keep it that way.”
“And what about you?” Wonder Girl asked Ravager with distrustful look.
“It's obvious that me being here pisses you off majorly,” Ravager replied with a smile as she looked over at Connor, who was wearing nothing but a towel, “and there is a nice piece of eye candy to look at. Maybe I'll stick around and join your little group.”
“What little group?” asked Wonder Girl, taking the comment about Connor as fighting words. “No one ever said we were getting the Titans back together.”
“That's not a bad idea,” Superboy said, hoping for another catfight. “I mean, if the Titans hadn't split up in the first place, then maybe we could have stopped Harm a lot sooner. I say we try again.”
“With only three members?” asked Wonder Girl. “One of whom we can't even trust?”
“Well, four,” Superboy said, motioning toward Jay. “Harm was keeping the guy imprisoned this whole time. Doesn't seem like the thing he'd do to an ally, does it? Plus he does seem to be pretty powerful.”
“Jay's as harmless as a puppy when he's not being force fed blood,” Ravager told them. “Harm's mind control powers wouldn't work on him, so he had to keep him locked up. But he's a decent enough guy, and probably has nowhere else to go. Doesn't mean that Harm won't try to get him again…or us.”
“Well, we're not killing him,” Wonder Girl informed her, “so get that idea out of your head right now.”
Jay started moaning as he opened his eyes, just in time to see the others standing over him. “Why haven't you killed me?” asked Jay in a low tone as Superboy stood him up while Wonder Girl removed her lasso.
“We're not going to kill you,” Wonder Girl told him. “We're letting you go, unless you want to stay here with us.”
“You're giving me a choice?” asked Jay as he stepped away from them, looking scared as he backed up toward the door. “Is this–is this a trick?”
“Harm was using you, like he used everyone,” Superboy told him as he extended his hand. “We're willing to give you the benefit of the doubt, just this once. Are you in or are you out?”
Jay thought about it as he put his hand into Superboy's to shake. He'd never trusted anyone, not since his parents had left him at the orphanage. But he felt like the boy in front of him was being sincere. “I'm in.”
“Okay, that's four of us,” Wonder Girl said as she looked to the back of her. “Red X, are you sure that –”
Everyone looked around, realizing that Red X was nowhere to be found, having left just minutes earlier. He was already on the way to his new life. Superboy was about to comment on the situation when the lights started flickering. “What the hell is that?” asked Superboy as the Spectre appeared in front of them.
“Hello, friends,” the Spectre told them as she lowered her hood. “I wanted to thank you for rescuing me.”
In the basement, Karnevil pulled up his shirt and began cutting into his side. He reached under his skin and pulled out a skeleton key that he kept there for emergencies. He always had to be prepared for every possible situation, just like the boy scouts taught him. Well, before he skinned them alive with their own pocket knives. Minutes later, Karnevil was on his way to freedom as well...
“Harm wanted your power?” asked Wonder Girl. “I'm glad we showed up in time to stop him, but what did you do with him?”
“I couldn't take him to the afterlife, he'd only escape again,” the Spectre told them. “But don't fear, he's contained someplace where he can't cause any destruction for now.”
“That's reassuring,” Superboy told her as he motioned over toward Jay and Ravager. “Now the big question: can we trust those two?”
The Spectre looked at them then back at Superboy and Wonder Girl after forming her decision. “They are trustworthy. For now.”
“What about you?” asked Wonder Girl. “Can you stay and be a part of the team? Like you used to be?”
“I would but I have much to do in this world,” the Spectre told them. “Too much to be confined to one location, but that doesn't mean I won't be able to help when you need me. In fact, I brought you a new member for your team.”
“A new member?” asked Superboy as the Spectre raised her cloak as a tanned mist flowed out, taking the form of a teenage boy, whose upper torso was visible, while the rest of him was made of mist floating over the ground. “Secret?”
“My name's not Secret, it's Vince,” said the boy, his voice echoing, “and I never said I was joining, I just said I'd come and check things out.”
“Vince needs friends around to guide him in the use of his powers, like I did,” Spectre told them as she floated above the group. “Open your hearts to him as you did me, and you will find a loyal ally. Good luck, Teen Titans.”
“Greta, wait!” Wonder Girl said as she stepped forward. “Before you go, where are Robin and Impulse? We can't start a Titans group without them.”
“For now, you will have to,” Spectre told them as she looked around the room. “I see that both are struggling with their own problems, but they are problems they must face alone. When they are ready, you will find each other.”
Before anyone else could say anything, Spectre disappeared, leaving the five teenagers alone in their headquarters. Superboy and Wonder Girl stared across the room at Ravager, Jay and Vince.
“Soooo,” Superboy said as he scratched the back of his head, while realizing he was just standing there in a towel. “Anyone got a pair of pants I can borrow?”
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Next: In Teen Titans #5: Team Bonding!
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