“Life, or Something Like It”
Gar Logan rolled his eyes. Beside him, Tara Markov was rambling about invitations and colors. Why do I have to be here? he thought. It seems like this is all going to be about her, anyway. Tara showed him another page of invitations. “What’s the difference?” he asked. ”The roses! One is blush and the other is bashful!” Tara replied. “Can’t you see! There’s a world of difference!” Gar, realizing that he’d already lost, caved in. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I thought you were talking about the paper.” Satisfied, Tara smiled and started tearing through the book again. Gar started praying for an alien invasion. Bette Kane smiled as her racquet caught the ball. It flew back across the court and was instantly returned. The ball flew back and forth as she and her opponent fought out the final point in the game. The crowd was silent, caught up in the excitement of the game. Finally Bette slipped and missed. The ball landed just inside the white line and Bette’s opponent won. Bette walked forward and the two shook hands over the net. “Good game, Serena,” Bette said. “You, too,” Serena Williams replied. “Wasn’t that amazing?” the announcer said. “That match belongs at Wimbledon, but the only place you could see it is right here!” Bette smiled as she posed with Serena and flashbulbs started popping. “I’ve just gotten word,” the announcer said, “The game today has raised 129,920 dollars for the United Hope!” The crowd burst into cheers as Serena and Bette walked back toward the locker room. “I can’t even see,” Bette said as she sat down. “All those flashbulbs.” ”You get used to it,” Serena said as she toweled sweat off her face and arms. “You know, that announcer was right. You used to be really big. Why don’t you try going out on the tour again? Hey, maybe we’d get to mix it up again at Wimbledon.” The possibilities of that statement started running through Bette’s head, and they wouldn’t soon stop. In Russia, a man named Zastrow walked into the control room. Despite the sign that clearly prohibited smoking, a cigarette still hung from his fingers. Of course, there were many things that an ex-KGB agent could do that most could not. ”How is he?” Zastrow asked as he looked through thick glass windows at the tank below. A man, engulfed in flames, stood in the tank, submerged up to his neck in heavy water. “He is progressing as expected, Comrade,” the doctor said as he fought to keep the fear out of his voice. “We are beginning construction on a containment suit as we speak.” Zastrow nodded once. “And his powers?” The doctor retrieved a clipboard. “Exactly like Mikhail Arkadin’s. He should be a quite suitable copy.” Zastrow ignored the proferred clipboard. “Alert me immediately if complications develop.” The former agent walked out. The doctor simply swallowed hard, knowing exactly what would happen to him if complications did develop. Jason Parker walked out of the elevator at the Questcorp building and headed down the hallway until he reached Questor’s office. He opened the door and stepped inside. Sarah Simms looked up from the telephone and felt the color drain from her face when she recognized him. He slowly but firmly walked over to his desk. “Jason?” she asked. “What’s going on, Sarah?” he asked as he leaned over her desk. “I haven’t even seen you since that big explosion upstairs.*” (*Titans West #34 – db) Sarah looked up. “What do you mean?” she asked, fighting to keep her emotions under control. ”I call, you’re not there. I leave messages, you don’t call back. I try to meet you and you never show up. What’s going on, Sarah? I’ve got to know.” Sarah’s eyes flashed with anger. “You really don’t know, do you?” ”No!” Jason stood with his hands out, pleading with her. “Please tell me what’s going on!” ”Why don’t you go ask Alex,” Sarah coldly suggested. “Maybe she can explain.” ”Alex?” Jason asked. “What are you talking about?” ”The explosion,” Sarah said. “You went to her.” ”I don’t understand,” Jason said. “You went to her,” Sarah said. “I could have been hurt or dead and you went to her. Maybe you’d be better off with her.” Sarah turned to her computer. “If you’ll excuse me, I have a lot of work to do.” Jason stood there staring at her with a shocked look on his face. Soon it was replaced by anger. He stormed out of the office and slammed the door behind him. Sarah sat at her desk with tears running down her face. Sonya Romanov stood in the middle of the empty theater, watching as Leonid Kovar slowly approached. They had made the date to see Dr. Zhivago a week ago, but had sat separately during the film. “Hello, Leonid,” Sonya said. “Hello, Sonya,” he replied. Sonya shifted uneasily. “Leonid, I –“ she started to say. Leonid raised a hand to stop her. “I understand,” he said. “I, too, have been given orders in the past that I did not wish to obey but was forced to.” “What do you mean?” Sonya asked. “I was not permitted to study your files.” Leonid smiled a sad smile. “It is likely that this incident is not in there anyway. It occurred while I was still known as Starfire. “I was assigned to locate and dispatch a Soviet citizen who had been dispatched by a rogue Soviet official. This citizen had, without her knowledge, been infected with a lethal virus that spread to anyone she touched. She had been told that she was being sent on the orders of our government to meet an agent. I located her at the same time the Teen Titans did.” ”What happened?” Sonya asked. “The Titans won and took her to a local hospital. It was too late to save her, but all of her victims were cured.” Leonid took a deep breath and looked up as his eyes filled with tears. “Her name was Maladi. She died on the day we were to be married.” ”Leonid,” Sonya said as she put her arms around him. “I am so sorry.” “As are we,” a voice said from behind them. They turned and rose and saw a man and a woman standing there in overcoats. ”Yes,” the woman said. “It is always so sad when a Soviet citizen is barred from doing their duty.” ”Who are you?” Sonya asked. The man smiled a sadistic smile. “We are the ones you are attempting to replace.” The man and woman threw their overcoats off revealing the clothes underneath. The original Hammer and Sickle stood before them. In an instant, Red Star had stepped before Sonya. “Leonid, this is not your fight,” Sonya said as she pulled off her outer clothes, revealing her own Sickle uniform. “Yes, it is,” Leonid replied. “I have encountered these two before. They tried to turn me against my friends and even convinced me to kidnap Starfire. I owe them for that.” “And we owe you as well,” Hammer said. “You are the reason we returned home in disgrace.” ”At least you could return home!” Leonid snapped. “I have been exiled due to the games of your masters.” “And if you are wise, our masters will also become yours,” Hammer said. “Leonid Kovar, return to the Party and help us deal with this… dissident. You will return home as a Hero of the Party!” Leonid scowled as he stepped forward. “There is no Party!” he yelled as his fist slammed into Hammer’s jaw, knocking the blond man backward. He advanced toward the fallen Hammer, rage filling his every pore like a fire. “The Party is dead! And I am glad! It stole Maladi from me! It stole my home from me! All it did was steal and kill and I am glad it is gone!” A clang of steel on steel grabbed Leo’s attention and he turned around. Sonya stood there with her sickle blocking that of the other Sickle. “You must not turn your back on these two,” Sonya said. “They seek to do you harm.” ”Not only him!” Sickle yelled as she punched Sonya in the face. Sonya stumbled as Sickle raised her weapon. Sonya dove for cover as Sickle swung her weapon and laser scythes flew across the theater, destroying anything they touched. Leonid grabbed Sickle’s hand, throwing her aim off. “You will stop this now,” he said coldly. Sickle gritted her teeth as the bones in her hand began to grind against each other. Suddenly she was free. Hammer had jumped from the ground and plowed into Leonid, throwing them both through a wall into the next theater, where “Just Shoot Me: the Movie” was playing, which meant that the theater was already empty. Hammer walked forward and stood over the stunned Leonid. “You have betrayed our homeland!” Hammer yelled as he lifted his hammer over his head. “Now you die.” Leonid caught the hammer as it was on its way down and started to squeeze. Finally the hammer exploded. The shocked Hammer stared at his destroyed weapon. A punch from Leonid sent him reeling. “On top of everything else, I liked this shirt,” Leonid said, looking down at his shirt which had been torn when he and Hammer went through the wall. ”You will not defeat us so easily,” Hammer said as he staggered to his feet. “I already have,” Leonid said as he grabbed Hammer’s collar. Another punch sent Hammer flying up and through the screen, right between David Spade’s eyes. “And that takes care of that,” Leonid observed as he walked back to the other theater. He arrived just in time to see the unconscious Sickle fall to the ground. With a smile, he offered Sonya his arm. Arm-in-arm, the two walked out seconds before the police arrived. Later that night, the two sat at a restaurant overlooking the city. A candle flickered on the table between them. ”What is wrong?” Leonid asked. Sonya turned her gaze away from the window. “This is not the end,” she said. Worry etched her features. “They will simply keep coming with more and more men until they capture us.” Leonid smiled as he laid his fork down on his plate. He reached across the table and gave Sonya’s hand a reassuring squeeze. “Do not worry. You are with the Titans now. And Titans stand together.” Far away, Zastrow hung up a telephone. Frustration had turned his lips into a thin slash crossing his face. “It is time,” he told the visitor in his office. “Prepare the People’s Heroes. There is an issue in Los Angeles they need to resolve.” Next Issue: An old Titans foe returns, and Vicky Winters makes her move! Previous Issue | Next Issue |
