"Splash" Part One
The hooded man stood over the swamp holding a small pouch in his hands. He reached in and pulled out a handful of dust, tossing it into the swamp. He started chanting in Latin, summoning the monster within the swamp. After a few moments of silence, a bubbling was heard as large pale creature in a tattered business suit stood towering over the man. "Who interrupts Solomon Grundy's sleep!" the monstrous man shouted as he yawned and stretched after months of sleep. "I do," the man said as he lowered his hood. Felix Faust looked up at the zombie standing over him. "I have called for you, Solomon Grundy, because I require your assistance." "And what in it for Solomon Grundy?" the hulking creature asked in a southern accent. "What do you require?" Felix asked. "Name your price, my friend." "Solomon Grundy not know what to ask for yet," he simply replied. "Then help me now and I'll give you whatever it is your cold, unbeating heart desires when you do think of it," Felix replied. "Do we have a deal?" "Deal," Solomon Grundy replied. Cam was standing in front of the bathroom mirror, brushing his teeth while Grant was working out on the living room floor, while the radio was turned on playing The Thompson Twins 'Hold Me Now'. Grant was doing sit ups to the music, as Cam spit into the sink and walked into the living room. "Bathroom's all yours," Cam said as Grant looked up at him. "Tell me you cleaned out the sink after you brushed," Grant told him. "Dried toothpaste gunk disgusts me." "It's clean, dude," Cam told him. "Don't call me dude." "Sorry, Cap'n Winky." Janet Jackson's 'Escapade' came on as Grant turned it up. "I love this song." "Me, too," Cam said as the two started singing along with the song. Come on baby, let's get away. Save our troubles for another day. Come on, baby, just you and me. "Let me take you to the Ice Capades," Cameron sang. Grant stopped singing and looked at Cam with a horrified look on his face. "... It's 'Escapade', Cam." "Really?" Cam asked. "It makes more sense with Ice Capades, though. I mean, why would she be singing about a car?" Grant smacked his forehead and just simply walked away to take some aspirin. He found himself going through a lot of them since he moved in with Cameron. Bart was sitting on Tim's bed in a red t-shirt, red and white shorts, and flip-flops, waiting for Tim to get out of the shower. He put a Mandy Moore CD into the CD player and played her latest song, an innocent melody. After a few lyrics, he hit reverse. "Your mother sucks cocks in hell! The Dark Lord will rise and consume your immortal souls!" "What are you doing with my CDs?" Tim asked, just having got out of the shower. Bart was playing with the CD player, waiting for Tim to get ready to go to beach bonfire. "I'm playing them backwards," Bart said as he pulled out a B Hyphen CD. "I heard there's satanic messages if you play certain CDs backward, I was just curious." Tim sighed as he headed to his closet. "That's just a rumor, Bart, there's no truth to it." Bart put the CD into the player and played Kelen Conley's #1 hit 'I'm Gonna Piss On You'. Then he hit reverse and the 'My Little Pony' theme song began to play. "That- that was weird," Tim said as he pulled a black tank top on. He grabbed a pair of green shorts and headed into the bathroom. "So, is Connor coming to this party?" "Dude, it's Connor," Bart said with a laugh. "Breasts are like a magnet for him. He'll be where ever there are girls in bikinis." "Did someone say bikinis?" Connor asked as his head appeared outside of the window. He flew in, dressed in blue shorts, sneakers and an 'Eat Salmon, The Other Pink Meat' t-shirt. "You do know this is a college party, right?" Cassie asked as she came in wearing a midriff baring pink t-shirt, Daisy Duke shorts and sandals. "Hey, I'd be in college right now if I'd, you know, gone to school with the rest of you," Connor told them. "No one ever said I'd need a high school diploma to party at college." "Let's get going," Tim said as put on his sunglasses. "Party should be started by the time we get there." Bart put a CD from the 80's band the Human League in and played it backwards. "Please buy our album!" "We have to swing by my dorm room and get Cody," Bart told them as he stood up and put Tim's CD's away. He exchanged glances with Tim, who knew that Bart was bringing him along as a date. Sonova Beach "Be sure to get plenty of pictures," Terry Berg said as he took a drink from the beer bottle in his hands. He was in a green tank top and black shorts as he looked around the party. His #1 reporter for the college paper, Andy Morgan, wearing an open red button down shirt and blue jean shorts, was snapping pictures. "So, do you think the Teen Titans are here?" Andy asked as he looked around. "Over the last few weeks, Robin, Wonder Girl and Impulse have all been spotted around the campus," Terry replied as he pulled a notepad out of his back pocket to take a few notes. "I'm guessing that they're all attending UCLA as students, or something big’s going down and they're undercover. Either way, there's a story here or my name isn't Terrence Phillip Berg." Andy snickered as Terry looked over at him. "I was named before that show became popular, thank you." The group arrived and looked around. Connor noticed the group of bikini clad beauties playing volleyball and dropped to his knees. "I've died and gone to heaven," Connor said as he wiped a tear away. "Who wants a beer?" Bart asked as Tim grabbed him by his shirt. "What? It is a party, we're expected to drink." "Yeah, Tim, don't be such a pussy," Connor said as he stood up and Tim grabbed his shirt as well. "You're still in high school," Tim told Connor. "And I'm afraid of what a speedster would do under the influence." "Relax," Bart told him as he pulled away. "Even if I did manage to get drunk, my body would burn through the buzz almost immediately. High speed metabolism rocks." Bart zipped off as Cassie headed after to keep an eye on him. Tim looked over and Connor had slipped out of his shirt and was headed toward the girls playing volleyball. "Alright, ladies, who's up for topless volleyball?" Tim sighed as he went to mingle with the partygoers. "So, what do you want to do?" Cam asked as he arrived with Grant. Cam was wearing a yellow tank top and blue and gold shorts. "Want to eat? Drink? Swim? Play? Run? Walk? Build sandcastles?" Grant covered Cam's mouth as he stepped out of the car, in a maroon t-shirt and blue jean shorts. "I think I'll just hang in the background and--stop licking my hand you jackass!" Grant pulled his hand away and wiped it on his pants. Far down the beach, Solomon Grundy began to wade into the water to complete his first task. He was to gather fish scales for Felix Faust's spell. He went beneath the water and started grabbing fish as they swam by, shoving them into his burlap sack. A blonde teenage merman was not far away and sensed a disturbance. He saw the large pale zombie shoving his friends into a sack and pulled out his makeshift trident, swimming toward Grundy quickly. "Who do you think you are?" Seren said as he pointed his trident at Grundy. "Release those fish or pay the price." Grundy grabbed the trident and twirled Seren around, sending him flying through the current before returning to his task. Bart was taking a drink from the beer can in his hand as someone tapped his shoulder. Bart turned and saw Cody standing there in an orange t-shirt and green trunks. "I was starting to think you weren't coming," Bart told him. "We came by to pick you up." "I-I had to visit my brother," Cody told him. "He's in town." Bart took Cody's hand and smiled. "I want you to meet my friends. I think it's time I introduced you." "You're serious?" Cody asked with shock. "You're ready?" "Past ready," Bart replied as Cody lightly kissed his cheek. Connor was watching the girls play volleyball, and was ignoring the rest of the world. "Hey, it's a party!" the blonde girl serving said, noticing Connor and thinking about his request. "What do you say, girls?" The girls giggled as they started undoing their bikinis, dropping them to the sand. Connor was passed out before he could even glimpse the first topless girl. Connor would later kick himself, when he learned that virtually every girl at the party followed suit, with the exception of one Cassie Sandsmark. "That's-that's a nice sandcastle," Grant said as he saw the five foot model of the Superfriend's Hall of Justice that Cameron was constructing. "Thanks," Cameron said as he finished the water fountain in front. "Wait until you see the Batcave I'm working on." "Come on, baby," the drunken frat boy said to Cassie. "All the other girls are doing it." Virtually every girl along the beach had shed her top. Cassie sighed and seductively fingered the guy's chest. "So you want some naked action huh?" Cassie asked as the guy smiled. Cassie grabbed his shirt and shorts and gave them a good tug, ripping them off of his body. The guy dropped his beer and tried to cover himself as he started to run to find cover. Andy was taking some pictures of the sunset as Bart and Cody were walking by. "Hey, Cody," Andy said as he noticed them. "Haven't seen you in forever." "Bart, this is Andy," Cody told him. "My brother's best friend. Andy, this is Bart. My boyfriend." "Nice to meet you," Andy told him as he looked at Cody. "Have you been to see him?" "Right before I came to the party," Cody replied. "He's-still the same." Bart stood back and let two friends talk. He knew Cody's brother was a sensitive subject, especially since he had been there when the accident occurred that had injured him. Bart looked out into the water and saw something strange under the waves. It was then something broke through the water. Bart pushed Cody and Andy out of the water as a blonde merman fell to the sand, unmoving. "Dude, it's a merboy," Andy said as he started snapping pictures, which seemed to alert Seren. He tried to get up and crawl back to the ocean as Solomon Grundy emerged from the water. "Oh, shit," Cody said as he saw the giant zombie approaching. "Get out of here," Bart told the two. Cody took Andy's hand and rushed off. Bart held his Flash ring out and let his costume jump from the ring onto his body. "Stop being such a wallflower," Cassie told Tim, who was holding an unopened can of beer. "Have some fun for once in your life." "There's fun and then there's irresponsibility," Tim told her. "Besides, someone has to be the designated driver." "For who? The girl and boy who can fly, the kid who can mimic powers or the one with superspeed?" Cassie asked. "Relax, Tim. It's not like there's a crisis to worry about tonight." Tim sighed, knowing she was right. He popped open the beer and took a long drink, as the bonfire was starting to light up in the darkening sky. "Solomon Grundy crush puny boy!" the zombie shouted as he pounded his fists into the sand, just as Impulse moved out of the way. "Puny?" Impulse asked as he zipped around Grundy, tossing sand in his face. "I am 165 pounds of pure man. My boyfriend said so!" Grundy reached out and grabbed Impulse around the neck and started squeezing. Seren, who was right behind Grundy, reached out his trident and stuck it between Grundy's legs and tripped the monster, causing him to fall forward and drop Impulse. "Need... water," Seren said, gasping for air. Impulse grabbed him and started racing toward the water as Grundy jumped at them, but a blast of bluish energy knocked him away as Grant ran up to them. "What in the world is going on?" Grant asked as Grundy rushed back and hit Grant, knocking him into the air. Cameron was working on the Daily Planet sand sculpture while watching Grundy toss his friends around, when Grant came crashing down, destroying the full sized Metropolis that he'd built. Grundy grabbed Impulse and Seren and tossed them high into the air. Cassie saw and raced into the sky to catch them before they fell. "So much for having the night off," Cassie sighed as she flew back down toward the beach. "Bart, go get Tim and Connor." "Right," Impulse said as he rushed off. Cassie tossed Seren into the water and flew toward Grundy, who was stomping toward Grant and Cameron. She flew hard into his back and pushed him forward, sending him sliding through the sand. "And there goes the rest of my city," Cam said as Grundy slid through the rest of his sand domain, disappointment in his voice as his gold and blue uniform formed around his body. "Now I'm really pissed." Bart took his costume off and rushed back to the bonfire to find Tim and Connor, who woke up to see topless women everywhere... then immediately passed out again. Meanwhile, Tim was on his third beer and was starting to get pretty buzzed. "Hey baby," Tim slurred to what was actually a surfboard. "Can I hang around your batcave?" The surfboard tipped over on top of him, pinning Tim to the ground as Bart rushed up to him. "Bart, I don't need an audience," Tim laughed as Bart realized he was wasted. "Solomon Grundy crush puny humans!" Grundy shouted as Cassie and Grant tried to keep him at bay. The two Titans both punched Grundy at once, sending him flying back. Meanwhile, Terry and Andy were both on hand, getting the full scoop. "This is great," Terry said as he watched the battle unfold. "It looks like we have our front page story." "What about the story on who the real father of Anna Nicole's baby is?" Andy asked. "We'll push it back to page four," Terry replied. "Besides, like anyone's going to care that some guy named--" Terry looked at his notepad. "Kal E. Bak is really the father." "How do we stop something that can't die?" Grant asked, his shirt half torn. "You don't," Felix Faust said as he arrived in a burst of flame. "I was wondering what was taking my helper so long." "This night keeps getting better," Grant said as he cracked his knuckles. "Grundy, return!" Faust commanded. "I'll take care of these fools." "Hey, this guy doesn't look like much, we can take him," Grant said as Cassie and Cam agreed. Felix waved his hand as the sand under their feet started to rise up around them. They struggled, but the sand soon overcame them. "Three meta-humans will be perfect for what I have planned," Faust said as the three Titans became trapped in sand tombs. He snapped his fingers as they all disappeared in a burst of flame, just as Seren rose out of the water to see them leave. To Be Continued... Previous Issue | Next Issue |
