“Holy War”
“Bozhe moi,” Leonid Kovar whispered as he sagged down into a chair in Sonya’s apartment. “Why did you not tell me?’” Sonya knelt down beside him. “I wanted to,” she said as she laid her sickle on the ground and took his hand. “But my orders would not allow me to.” “This,” Leonid said as he stood. He walked to the window. “This is unbelievable.” Sonya walked up behind him and laid her hand on his shoulder. “Leonid, I had no choice! This is the order from the government.” Leonid turned around. “The last time I encountered Hammer and Sickle they attempted to kill me. What is the major change?” Sonya stepped back. “The Party is no longer in control. Russia is a democracy now. The KGB has lost its power. It is much different.” Leonid started walking out. “Sonya, I apologize, but I must go.” ”I understand,” Sonya said. “Please come back.” Leonid walked out without replying. At LAX, two passengers disembarked from a private Russian jet. Both had short blond hair. They retrieved their luggage without speaking. They had a mission to complete. Gar Logan paced behind Mal Duncan. “Nothing?” Gar asked again. Mal shook his head. “Not a thing. Not since that last burst of static.” ”Great,” Gar said. “I think we can assume that they’ve been found out. We’ll have to go in and get them out. Call in the team.” ”Right,” Mal replied. He activated the recall signal in the communicators. Bette Kane frowned as she looked around. She was in a dark cell with the only light coming through the barred window in the door. She looked up and squinted as the door was opened and the room was filled with light. Sister Slay stepped into the door. “Well, well, Ms. Kane,” she said. “It is so rare that someone of your caliber visits our church. Still, you should have known that you would be recognized, Flamebird.” Bette fought to keep her face still to hide her shock. “Don’t be surprised. When the hero you call Nightwing was our guest some years ago, he provided us with a great deal of useful information.” Bette fought to keep her face neutral. “Here,” Slay said. “Take him. He’s of no use to us.” Two acolytes tossed the bleeding Paco into the cell. Bette ran over to him as the doors closed. “Oh, Paco,” she said as she tried to use the scraps of his shirt to try and stop the bleeding on the cuts that covered his torso. “Hey,” Paco said weakly. “What did they do to you?” Bette asked as tears started running down her cheeks. “Don’t know,” Paco replied. His eyes fluttered closed as he slipped into unconsciousness. At a private mental hospital, a young man’s eyes flew open. He looked around the room. “Hello?” he whispered. An army of doctors had soon surrounded him, murmuring among themselves about his miraculous recovery. One of them handed the chart to a colleague. The name on the chart was Mark Dayton. The boy simply sat in the bed and smiled. Gar frowned as he looked around the table. “This had better be big,” Tara said. “I was trying to pick out our invitations.” ”I know,” Gar said. “But we’ve got trouble.” He quickly briefed the team on what had happened to Bette and Paco. “We’ve got to get them out,” he finished. “Gar!” Mal’s voice came over the intercom. “Check out this feed I’m sending you now.” Gar turned around as the monitor behind the table lit up. Joshua was on the screen. “Hello, Mr. Logan,” he said with a smile. “I trust that your fine media person is ensuring that this comes through to you. We know all about your little attempt to attack my church through your members Vibe and Flamebird. Why you would send such weaklings is beyond me. I would have thought that we would at least rate Red Star or Risk.” ”Risk is out of the picture right now,” Gar spat back at the monitor. “Anyway,” Joshua continued, “As you may or may not be aware, this church is recognized as Zandian national territory. Also, as the head of the Church of Blood, I am the Zandian leader. Therefore, I expect you and your team to come, kneel before me, and ask my forgiveness and I will return your teammates. Refuse and they will die.” The screen went red with “All hail Brother Blood” written on it before it went dark. “Well, here’s another fine mess,” Gar said. “Let’s get to the jet. We’re getting them out.” Joshua sat on a throne that resembles an extinct beast’s skeleton and smiled as Changeling, Terra, and Bumblebee entered the throne room. Paco and Bette were at the foot of his throne. “So you did come,” Joshua said. He smirked. “I believe you know the procedure.” ”Wrong,” Gar said. “You’ve beaten and tortured these two. Let them leave in peace.” ”I don’t think so,” Joshua said. He flipped a switch and an energy screen sizzled to life around the throne. “And you can’t get out of there,” Gar said. “It does appear we have reached an impasse,” Joshua said. “Very well. You will do battle with my acolyte. If you win, they are yours.” ”Fine,” Gar said. “Let’s do it.” Jason Parker threw his books onto the desk in his dorm room and checked his answering machine. He frowned when he saw there were no messages. He grabbed his cell phone and quickly dialed a familiar number. ”Sarah Simms, please. This is Jason Parker.” “No, no message.” Jason flipped the phone closed and laid down on the bed. “Where is she?” he murmured. In Questcorp headquarters, Sarah smiled at the woman who hung up the phone. “You know, he’s been calling quite a bit. Are you sure you don’t want to talk to him?” ”I’m sure,” Sarah said. “Thanks.” She watched the other woman walk out of her office, trying not to think about the picture she still hadn’t been able to bring herself to throw away. Gar frowned as he hefted the sword he’d been given. A power-dampening collar, not unlike those used by the DEO, was fastened tightly around his neck. He looked up and saw Harm standing at the other side of the arena. Harm smiled as he threw his cape to the ground. “So you’re the acolyte,” Gar said. “Great.” Harm expertly sliced his sword through the air. “I am the acolyte. And you are about to die.” Gar jumped backward as Harm’s sword sliced through the air where he’d been standing a moment before. Gar awkwardly deflected one or two blows and then was on the retreat again. “I hate this, Karen,” Terra muttered. “He’s going to get himself killed!” Bumblebee frowned. “I don’t know,” she said. “Gar can handle himself.” Terra simply clasped her hands together and leaned forward. “I don’t know,” she said. “I just can’t handle this.” Bette, who had been allowed to sit with the two women and Paco, laid her hand on his shoulder. “Give him credit,” she said. “Gar’s tougher than you think. Trust me.” Gar rolled backward as Harm’s sword struck the floor where he’d been standing. Sparks flew as Harm looked after Gar again. Gar began sweating as his back pressed against the wall of the arena. “Now you’re mine,” Harm said as he raised his sword. Gar dove as the sword swung down. He screamed as the blade sliced easily through his spandex shirt and into the flesh beneath. “God,” Terra whispered as tears flowed down her face. “He’s going to die.” Bette put her arm around her and pulled her tighter. Gar fought to keep his blade up with one hand as the other covered the wound in his side, trying to stanch the blood flow. “Surrender and I will let you live,” Harm said. “Surrender yourself!” Gar yelled as he fought back. A surprised Harm found that it was all he could do to block the slices. Finally both scored a hit – Harm sliced Gar’s upper arm and Gar cut Harm’s cheek almost to the bone. Shocked, Harm backed away as Gar tore the sleeve off his costume and quickly fashioned a bandage. “You tried to kill me,” Harm said. “No, just stop you,” Gar replied. “This is my life!” Harm screamed at him. “You will never take it away again!” Gar was unprepared as Harm ran toward him and slammed him into the wall. Gar gasped as he felt ribs giving way under the pressure. “I won’t go back!” Harm yelled as he grabbed Gar by the throat and threw him across the arena. Gar skidded to a stop and tried to regain his senses. Harm stopped only to pick up his sword. He walked forward and placed the tip of his sword on Gar’s neck. “Give my regards to Neron,” he said. “Can I say something first?” Gar asked. “Very well,” Harm conceded. “You just broke this collar,” Gar said as he disappeared from sight. The green ant he’d become scurried to a safe distance and assumed the form of a rhino. The rhino gored Harm and slammed him into the wall. Harm gasped for breath as he fell to the ground. “Look!” Bumblebee said as she pointed at Harm. “Look at his chest!” The other four Titans did so and were shocked. Despite the gaping wound from the horn, there was no blood. Gar changed back to human form and grabbed a sword. He placed the point against Harm’s throat. “Your choice, Joshua!” he yelled. Joshua scowled and stood. “You will take your teammates and depart. You will never again trespass on these grounds or I will contact your State Department over your invasions of my nation’s territory. And if you kill Brother William, you are dead.” Joshua turned and strode out of the room. The team hurried into the arena. Two acolytes were helping Harm out of the room. Terra grabbed Gar in a bear hug and he screamed. “Are you okay?” she asked with concern. “Don’t do that to somebody with broken ribs,” he gasped. “Come on,” Bette said as she helped Terra support him. “Let’s get out of here before Josh changes his mind.” Slowly, the Titans made their way out of Blood’s church. Next Issue: Red Star and Sonya have some visitors… Previous Issue | Next Issue |
