“Dark Nemesis”
Axis, a blue-skinned woman, walked into the darkened office. “Have you finished reviewing the file?” the shadowy figure seated behind the desk asked. “I have,” she replied. “You know our price.” ”The money is already on route,” the man behind the desk said. “Do not fail.” ”Don’t worry,” Axis said with a smirk. “We know our business.” She turned and walked out. Behind her, Mr. Bones watched her go. “We’ll see,” he said softly. “I’ve missed you,” Bette Kane said as she clung tightly. “I know,” Charley Parker said. “I’ve missed you, too.” Bette looked around as he released her. They were in the old Titan’s Lair in New York. “We need to talk,” he said. “What’s wrong?” Bette asked as they sat down at the table facing each other. Charley reached out and took her hands. ”Jason knows,” he said. Bette went white. “Or he suspects, anyway,” Charley continued. “What’s he going to do?” Bette asked. Charley smiled. “I talked to him,” he said. “I don’t think he’ll keep digging.” ”But if he found out, then anybody else could, too,” Bette said as she stood and began to pace. She turned back to Charley with tears in her eyes. “Gar knows, but he was there.” She grabbed onto Charley and pulled him close. “What am I going to do?” ”Hey,” Charley said as he gently raised Bette’s head. She looked into his smiling eyes. “It’s okay. I’m watching over both of you from here.” ”I know,” Bette said. “It’s just the little things that are getting to me. I went back into the past recently and if things hadn’t worked out, I never would have made it back to this time again.” “So that’s where you went. I’d been wondering.” Charley pulled Bette close. As she sobbed into his chest, he lowered his head and whispered in her ear. “It’s okay. We did everything we could to hide this. You faked an injury and I just disappeared. It worked.” ”I was stupid,” Bette sobbed. “I never should have had him at the wedding. Now Jason knows.” ”Don’t worry,” Charley reassured her. “When the time’s right, you can tell Jason everything.” He pulled her closer. “And if you don’t, it’s no harm done. Nobody else needs to know that Brandon is really our son.” Mal was whistling as he worked on the main computer. “What’s going on?” Dagon asked as he walked in. “Just happy,” Mal said. “You seen Bette? I need to talk to her for a few minutes.” ”I think she’s taking a nap,” Dagon replied. “Now if you’ll excuse me,” he smiled, revealing his fangs, “the sun is up and I need to rest.” Mal shivered as Dagon flew out of the room. “That guy gives me the creeps,” he muttered, his good mood evaporating. Jason Parker fastened his helmet under his chin and stepped off the roof. Golden Eagle smiled as he always did at this time. He loved flying at sunrise. The wind hit his face just right as he soared over the rooftops of the campus. He closed his eyes and let the wind carry him. Then a truck slammed into his midsection. As he fought to regain his breath, he flew backward in time to see a purple blur whiz past. “Carom!” a woman shouted from below. “Incapacitate him, but do not harm the armor!” ”Gotchaboss,” came the reply. Knowing when he was outnumbered, Eagle hit his signaler. “Wake up, Bette!” Paco called as he opened the door to Bette’s room in the base. “We just got a call from Eagle!” Bette rubbed the sleep from her eyes and started taking stock of the situation. “What’s going on?” ”Won’t know till we get there,” Paco replied. Bette nodded and waited until Paco had closed the door behind him to turn on the light. She quickly changed into her costume, fighting to banish her dream from her mind. “So what do we know?” Flamebird asked her communicator as the Titans flew through the air, courtesy of CM3. (The jet, unfortunately, was grounded until Changeling returned – none of the others knew how to fly). “Not much,” Mal replied. “I’m trying to bring up some more news footage now, but it looks like Dark Nemesis.” “Dark Nemesis?” Vibe asked. “What sorta stupid name is that?” ”According to my records, they fought Argent’s group of Teen Titans,” Mal continued, ignoring the interruption. “I’m forwarding info on their powers now.” “Got it,” Flamebird said. “Thanks, Mal.” She closed the communication. “At least somebody in your family is dependable.” ”Problem?” Vibe asked. “Nothing that I can’t deal with,” Flamebird said before beginning a briefing on Dark Nemesis’s powers. Golden Eagle swerved again as Carom zoomed past. “Hurry!” Axis ordered. “He has doubtless alerted the others by now!” “Allow me,” Scorcher said as she took a step forward. ”No,” Axis said. “We cannot allow him to be damaged. Vault.” The hulking man known as Vault raised his hands and a black box began to form around Golden Eagle. Within seconds the ebony mass had enveloped him and it gently lowered to the ground. “Why’dyoudothat?” Carom demanded. “Ihadhim!” “Silence,” Axis ordered. “I allowed you to have your fun but now it is time for business. We have a job to complete.” Inside the box, Golden Eagle looked around. Even though the light was dim, he could see. He activated his infrared goggles to no avail. He still couldn’t see through the walls. He looked back and discovered that his wings were held fast. He lashed out with the claws of his gauntlets at the walls. The claws went into the walls but that was it. He could not claw through. He was trapped. “Excellent,” Axis said. “Now quickly. We must get him aboard the transport.” She turned as she heard a slight urk from behind. CM3 was hovering there, his arm outstretched. Carom was still dangling from the devastating clothesline. As she watched, his chin slipped from CM3’s forearm and he fell to the ground. “They’re here!” Axis yelled. “Kill them all!” “With pleasure,” Blizzard said. He stepped forward and began firing ice spikes at the heroes. Scorcher flew past, her hands already glowing with flame. Axis held out a hand as Vault started forward. “Wait,” she said. “Let’s see what they can do.” Flamebird led the charge as the Titans raced forward. “Cover me while I try to get Eagle loose!” she yelled as she ran toward the prison. Vibe smirked as he stared down Scorcher. “Great,” Vibe muttered. “So I get to take care of these two.” He fired a sonic wave that disoriented Scorcher. She crashed to the ground and knocked herself out. Unfortunately, Vibe didn’t draw back quickly enough and discovered his hand was covered in ice, courtesy of Blizzard. “The next one covers your head, boy,” Blizzard wheezed. Vibe looked up as he heard a crunch. CM3 had punched Blizzard so hard he had punched through the armor. Blizzard fell to the ground, clutching his midsection. “Vault, take them!” Axis ordered with concern in her voice. “I’ve had enough of you!” CM3 yelled as he launched forward. A sickening crunch was heard as he punched Vault on the chin, breaking his jaw. If Vault could have screamed, he would have. CM3 grabbed his left arm and pulled it behind him. “Let Eagle go or your arm’s next,” he threatened. With tears in his eyes, Vault nodded. The prison around Eagle dissolved. “And now there’s you,” CM3 said as he grabbed Axis by the hair and pulled her back. “Nighty-night.” One punch later, she fell to the ground as well. “You know, I’m starting to feel pretty useless,” Vibe said as Flamebird slowly chipped away at the ice on his hand with a miniature laser torch. “Thanks. Let me try now.” A tiny application of Vibe’s powers caused the weakened ice to shatter. “Who are these guys?” Eagle asked as he approached them. “I’ve never even seen them before. They just jumped me out of nowhere.” “I don’t know,” Flamebird said. “I just hope they didn’t get what they were after.” Director Bones leaned back in his leather chair. “They failed,” he mused. “I thought they would.” He laughed a short, dry laugh. “At least they were successful in getting the information on the Titans’ current power levels.” He laughed as he thought of his next step. The Titans had returned to their base and filled in Dagon on the day’s events. Flamebird had taken Vibe to the infirmary where he was treated to prevent frostbite on his frozen hand and Eagle had returned to class. CM3 had simply returned to his room and fallen asleep. The buzzing of the intercom awakened him. “What?” he asked. “It’s Mal,” came the reply. “You need to come to the monitor room. There’s somebody here to see you.” ”On my way,” CM3 grumbled as he reached for his uniform. CM3 walked into the monitor room. “What’s this about?” he asked, then stopped as he saw who was standing beside Mal. “Hi, Freddy. We need to talk,” Captain Marvel said. Next Issue: What’s been up with CM3’s brutal behavior? Find out as he and Cap have a “discussion!” Plus, Gar and Tara finally return! Previous Issue | Next Issue |
