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Post by David on Mar 31, 2007 13:26:42 GMT -5
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Post by David on Mar 31, 2007 13:27:12 GMT -5
DC2 Challenge
Week 6: “ The Dark Side of the Moon”
Written by Sebastian Gutierrez
Cover by Craig Cermak
Edited by David Charlton |
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Post by David on Mar 31, 2007 13:28:41 GMT -5
The Professor could see nothing. Minutes before, he had been on the moon as Firestorm with Ronald Raymond, when a force played havoc with the student’s mind. And then--- nothing.
He was in a pitch black void. There were no walls, no objects; just space. Stein could see only himself. He knew he was not alone, and he also knew what the thing that kept him company was.
“What have you done?” He asked, summoning all the courage he had. His mouth went dry, and his blood turned cold. “Where is this place?”
A voice came out from nowhere. It sounded cavernous and deep. [shadow=blue,left,900]"Found yourself without all the answers Professor? Oh, pity."[/shadow]
“Tell me what you’ve done to Ronald!” Professor Stein demanded.
[shadow=blue,left,900]"He is now my agent. He’s still the man you know, but there have been slight modifications. And you are in no position to save him. You are trapped inside him, Professor Stein, but he can’t hear you anymore."[/shadow]
The presence disappeared, and Stein was left alone, feeling uneasy. But still, he held the hope that Ronald would be able to control himself and free him. There’d always be hope.
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Post by David on Mar 31, 2007 13:30:07 GMT -5
“You wanted a fight, right?” Catwoman slashed Power Girl’s face. “Then what’s happening?! Not so cocky now, huh?”
Power Girl received another punch from Selina that sent her flying against the pavement of the street. She couldn’t believe it. A normal theft in Gotham had gone bizarre and now she was actually losing!
“Ugh… Weren’t you supposed to be powerless?”
“You think you can push us around, but the moment we get the powers, you fall back!” Catwoman landed on Power Girl. The heroine noticed a strange feline-like glimmer in the eyes of her foe. “Now it’s time for the cat to get your tongue.”
Power Girl punched Catwoman in the face, sending her back. “Like hell.”
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Post by David on Mar 31, 2007 13:30:34 GMT -5
Merlyn destroyed the door of the warehouse with one of his new bolts, and jumped inside the building. He spotted several thugs, and quickly disposed of them. He grabbed one of them and threw him against a mountain of crates.
“Where is the League of Assassins?”
“What..?” The criminal cried out. Merlyn didn’t have time to play around, so he broke the guy’s left arm. He then produced one of his arrows and placed it under his neck.
“League of Assassins. They came here. They are searching for me. Now they are in hiding”
“Dunno’ what you talkin’ about, man.”
“Really? That’s not good.” He said, and slammed the man against the wall. “Go with your boss, and tell him about them. If you don’t get me the information soon, I’ll come back and it won’t be pretty.”
Merlyn had wasted no time since he got his improvement. He had successfully hunted down half a dozen Assassins, wringing the information out of tortured criminals, mobsters, policemen and government officials. They were his.
The archer ran away, but stopped in an alley. He looked up to the moon. A full moon. And somehow, he knew that up there was happening, something big. He raised his arms and shouted.
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Post by David on Mar 31, 2007 13:30:59 GMT -5
Power Girl was giving all she got, not holding back this time. Punches flew as thunder rumbled down from the black clouds above. Catwoman leapt swiftly from roof to roof. She halted and threw herself at Power Girl, shooting black rays from her hands. She bent stopped, grabbed the cat statuette and jumped again.
“What the...? Well, whatever that is, I still can punch harder.” She grabbed Selina’s right hand and pulled her back towards her. Anger was building up within her, and she wanted to express it in unrelenting violence.
Power Girl opened her hand and there it was. A little black diamond. She closed her arm tightly, and hateful thoughts appeared in her mind. She just couldn’t stop. And when she tried to open her hands, they just closed harder. She knew that something was wrong with the diamond.
In a second, she started to fill with energy, followed by an enhancement of all her powers. She could see farther and hear better. And with that, the knowledge of things started to pop up in her brain. The location of people she hadn’t even heard of, and the feeling that something powerful was lurking on the moon.
Catwoman broke from her grasp, unnoticed, and fled.
Fighting the urge to succumb to the diamond, Power Girl took to the skies, where the clouds where already dissipating.
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Post by David on Mar 31, 2007 13:31:21 GMT -5
“Balthazar Hernandez?” Came the voice from outside.
“Huh?”
The big, Hispanic mobster turned around. He was supposed to be left alone that day, no matter what. He grabbed his gun and turned on the lights of his hotel suite. He quickly moved towards the door and placed his hand at the knob.
“Who is it?”
“Oh, you wouldn’t know me. But I know you. You’ve got a name in the back alleys of Gotham. A reputation. I’m a man looking to make a name for himself... So, I came here…”
“Look, you… I’ve gotta gun, so I’ll count to three, and if you’re still talking to me, I’ll blow your damn head off! One… two…”
“I knew this was going to happen. Adios, Mister Balthazar.”
“…Three! That’s it, you loon!”
Balthazar fired his gun at the door, and then, after the smoke had cleared, slowly opened it. A moth landed on his hand. He scared it off, but more landed on him. He tried to brush them away, but more just came back. Soon, his Italian tuxedo wasn’t visible behind a cover of fluttering of corpse-white wings.
“Agghhhh! What is this! Who are you?”
“I’m the new power in Gotham. Call me Charaxes.”
The man walked into the suite, and grabbed Balthazar’s cell phone. Through the window, he saw the moon. Adrenaline started pumping like mad through his veins. He felt agitated. Thoughts of power and violence filled his head.
“You are mine! Do you hear? You are mine, Gotham! And not even all of your heroes will stop me! Not even the Batman!” He shouted. And as if on a cue, a giant bat silhouette flew passed by the building. Charaxes smiled, and sent several of his insects to track the bat.
He did not know that he had sent them, not in search of the Batman, but a Man Bat instead…
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Post by David on Mar 31, 2007 13:32:09 GMT -5
First he gained consciousness. Then the information that he was being reformed. Next were all his memories. He was Ronald Raymond, and just a while ago he had been overwhelmed by a mysterious foe. He couldn’t hear Professor Stein anymore, and he was glad; the constant backseat driving was just slowing him down. Now, he thought of all the things he could do.
His powers had come back with a vengeance. Something was inside him, making him even more powerful. Now he was truly unstoppable. He looked at his hands. He could see part of the bone covered with muscles and veins, the skin wasn’t there yet. He looked darker. And then he knew it, who he was now.
“ What…Why am I here?” A voice behind him said. There stood Power Girl, with an expression that revealed the fight occurring within her.
“Don’t fight it, just surrender babe.”
Power Girl snarled up at him. “No one… calls me… that. Who are you?”
Ronnie smiled. “I AM THE SHADOWSTORM!”
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Post by David on Mar 31, 2007 13:33:18 GMT -5
To Be Continued!
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Post by mockingbird on Jul 28, 2011 13:05:17 GMT -5
To let us know what you think of this issue, please visit the letters page here!
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