Titans: The Resistance #41

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Titans Resistance
Issue #41: “Champions Rising, Part One”
Story by Jay McIntyre
Art by Ryan Alcock
Edited by Mark Bowers

”Strength is Happiness. Strength is itself victory. In weakness and cowardice there is no happiness. When you wage a struggle, you might win or you might lose. But regardless of the short-term outcome, the very fact of your continuing to struggle is proof of your victory as a human being.”
- Daisaku Ikeda


“Generally speaking, the Way of the warrior is resolute acceptance of death”
- Miyamoto Musashi


-1-

Tokyo.

The most ironic thing was, when they began, they had not planned to fight the Markovians at all.

There were things buried under the islands of Nippon. Terrible things. Some of them from the days when the Markovians first tried to take the islands. Some from earlier.

Those things were still there, but most of them slumbered still....and the Markovians were a more immediate threat.

That was the second irony. The bestial horrors they had trained to face were far more fearsome than the Markovian Empire ever could be. Individual Markovian soldiers were nothing. The Rocket-Men, few and far between as they were, were almost an insult. Their threat to the Japanese Empire—the one true Empire—was negligible.

The great horror of the Markovians lay in their sheer numbers. How what had originally been such a tiny country, even with the aid of mercenaries and conquered peoples, could spawn so many, was almost inconceivable.

At first, the Japanese navy had needed little help. China had fallen, and that was no great loss to Japan; but the Emperor, in his wisdom, clearly recognized that one threat had been replaced by another. And the Markovians were threatening to engulf the world. This, the Emperor could not allow.

Their own supreme fleet had kept the Markovians back. As yet, not one Markovian nor mercenary in their service had set foot on the islands. In those early days, the help of the Shining Dragons had not even been really needed, merely helpful.

But now the Markovians were bringing superpowered beings into the fight. Never many, but their numbers were slowly increasing. Now the Shining Dragons’ actions were helpful, and soon they would become essential.

Currently there were five; and if it could be avoided, only three were ever in the air at once. The Emperor had no knowledge of the patriots behind these gleaming marvels of technology, though there were a few bureaucrats in his service who knew the truth. But Emperor Tadashi Shimizu and his exalted Questioners did not examine the situation too closely. The Emperor, in his wisdom, knew that the knowledge they did not possess could not slip into the hands of the enemy. There was some concern, of course, about where the ultimate allegiance of the Shining Dragons lay; but so long as they fought the Markovians, that was enough.

Two of them were leaping from rooftop to rooftop on their jet-boots now. It was an overcast day, cool but not unpleasant. To the younger of the two Shining Dragons, the one wearing the green armor, this seemed not right; either their armor should be highlighted by the rising or setting sun; or else reflect the gleam of stars. She kept such poetic thoughts to herself, however, knowing the others would view them as foolish.

The older of the two, in the red armor, was much more pragmatic in her mind. Calmly focused on the task at hand. They would meet the enemy in battle, and as always, they would do whatever it took to achieve victory.

-2-

Robin found the group much subdued and thoughtful after their trip to Atlantis without him.

All except Deriven. He was affected by what happened there, of course, but also energized. He would have to return there soon, he said. But in the meantime he had already stumbled across another spark of magic in this benighted world.

“The flare of power is from the general area of Seattle,” he said. “Tied in somehow with the collective subconscious, not of humans, but of animals.”

“Why didn’t you sense this before?” Terra asked.

“It just manifested in the last few days,” Deriven said. “Clearly, something has been unleashed or awakened.”

“Is this a good thing or a bad thing?” Robin asked.

“Potentially both. That is why I want to investigate it, before any.....final choices are made.”

“We all have choices,” Ravager said.

“Deep and meaningful, dear,” Anarky said to her. She playfully swatted his hat off his head. He scrambled after it and the others laughed.

“Yes, very droll. However, I feel it warrants investigating,” Deriven pressed.

“Well, that’s fine, but I want to talk to those armored warrior women in Japan,” Robin said. “They might be allies. Batman has been looking into them; they look promising.”

“They will probably be focused on defending their own lands,” Deriven pointed out.

“Just as Atlantis was,” Terra riposted, stepping up beside Robin and taking his hand. Rose smiled at them.

“It is a fair point,” Deriven conceded. “But technology is not my forte.”

“So we’ll divvy up, like we did when dealing with Rose’s brothers,” Robin said. “Some of us will go to Japan, and some to Seattle.”

“Yeah, but this time, I’m staying on the boat. Atlantis was enough fun for me for a while, thanks,” Rose said.

“Understood,” Robin said. “Right, let’s divide the team.....”

-3-

Seattle.


She ran.

From place to place, hiding from every face.

But one face would not leave her.

The face that was now inside her head.

The face of an animal, but it spoke!

You have the power now, the face said. Do not fear me. I am here to help you.

“Leave me alone!” she screamed aloud, turning heads as she fled through the late-night, rain-slicked streets.

I cannot. I awoke inside your head. The alien parasite came for you, but you resisted. And that resistance woke me up, Courtney. You have the power now, whether either of us wishes it or not.

“No! NO!”

Courtney ran, and ran.

Eventually she stumbled on the slick sidewalk. Her ankle flashed with pain. Gritting her teeth, she got up and limped on.

Nobody came after her.

Yet.

-4-

Tokyo.

There were three Rocket-Men coming for them this time. They were no match for two Shining Dragons; the odds said the Rocket-Men had the advantage, but the truth was otherwise.

The Rocket-Men had more sustained flight, but they were no match for the Shining Dragons’ speed and agility, not to mention weapons.

A glowing plasma blade extended from the left gauntlet of the green Dragon, and she sliced the Rocket-Man in half. The other two Rocket-Men fired their weapons, but one missile went wide and over the city; the other was caught by the red Dragon and thrown back at the Rocket-Man who had fired it. She turned her flamethrower on the other Rocket-Man, and he died a screaming death of melting agony.

The green Dragon, meanwhile, went chasing after the missile. It was still arcing over the city, and might overshoot; but she couldn’t take that chance. Damage to the isles themselves had, so far, been minimal; they aimed to keep it that way.

Leaping off a rooftop, shooting high into the air, she chased after the missile. She already knew that there was no chance that she could get into range before it impacted; but the range of her own weapons was another matter.

Looking through the heads-up display in her helmet, she lined up a shot and opened fire. A plasma bolt arced outwards, bearing directly. It found the missile as it fishtailed over the city, and they went up in a ball of fire.

There would be some flaming debris over the city, but the emergency services were used to that by now. And it was much better than letting the missile hit.

But now the Markovians had sent a metahuman as backup; he came on an arc of lightning, that same power sizzling in his hands.

The red Dragon fired her railgun at the enemy, and the green Dragon fired her plasma bolts, but the enemy used his powers to create an electromagnetic shield around himself.

They could shoulder charge him, but their own suits would be depowered. So instead the red Dragon fired her flamethrower, forcing the metahuman to keep his shield up. It became a question of the Dragon’s fuel for her flamethrower versus the stamina of the metahuman foe.

As anticipated, the metahuman was worn out first. As his shield began to fail, he backed up towards the sea; the green Dragon fired three plasma bolts and it was over.

They returned to the islands of their Empire, knowing that though they had won today, the battle was far from over.

-5-

Deriven, Supergirl and Argent went to Seattle, and with a far shorter distance to travel, arrived first.

“Lots of things happening in this city,” Deriven said, breathing it in. “Arcane and otherwise. I may have to come back here, later.”

“Charming,” Argent murmured.

“I don’t know why you asked for my help with this situation,” Supergirl said.

“Aren’t you curious?” Deriven asked her, lightly.

“Somewhat, but that is not the point.”

“Partially it is, at least for me. Partially, I can use your strength in whatever battle is to come. And partially—and Robin and Terra agreed with me on this— it might be better to separate you and Starfire.”

Supergirl bowed her head and sighed. “It has been....very frustrating,” she admitted. “More so than my debates with you.”

“Yes, she is a feisty one, isn’t she?” Deriven smiled. “She has spirit, but its direction is often misplaced.”

“I hate to break up the melodrama,” Argent said, “but what about this energy spike you found?”

“Yesler Terrace,” Deriven said, “southeast of the city center. Most unusual. This sort of human-animal connection is hardly ever seen outside of Lycanthropes.”

“So it’s not a shape-changer?” Argent asked. “It’s something else?”

“Something, yes. Not entirely sure what. If the animus is manifesting in a new way, that is worth noting in itself. But I think there is more to it than that.”


“Let us proceed, then,” Supergirl said.

-6-

Sweet Lilli was making best possible speed through the Panama Canal. One of the things Ravager wished for most was that their various team members would provide more technical expertise to upgrade her ships. Supergirl had helped somewhat in that area, but she was a scientist, not a technician. Starfire, similarly, was more of a warrior. And Green Lantern used his imagination more than any technological knowledge. Anarky only knew some basic homemade weapons, nothing she couldn’t come up with herself. He was more useful tactically. And...other ways, of course. She smiled to herself.

If pushed, Robin could provide technical details from Batman. But she didn’t want to owe his boss that many favors, nor attract hostile attention from him.

Speaking of Robin and Terra, she saw them below deck hand in hand, and smiled to herself. She thought it was long overdue.

-7-

But even so, Rose still underestimated the shy, relatively more moral standing of both of them. They both were very much attracted to each other by now, yes. But even so....

“Timothy....I...” Terra faltered, and stopped, still holding his hand. “I do want.....to be with you but...but....would you mind if we just...lay in the same bed? And not....and not actually....”

“Sure,” he said, and hugged her. “No rush. We’ll get there when we get there. I’m not exactly the most forward person in the world, either.”

“Thank you,” she breathed, and hugged him back even tighter.

-8-

Tokyo.

The five women who made up the Shining Dragons were together in their base, which was unusual. Their schedules didn’t mesh to that extent very often.

That was one of the reasons there were so many of them, so they could be sure that there could be someone available at any time to deal with a threat.

None of them were wearing their armor at the moment, though at least three of them expected to suit up soon.

“You have all done very well,” their mentor said, “but things are going to get harder all the time. Either some of you will have to give up major aspects of your private lives, or we will have to recruit more members. And we don’t have the extra suits for that, yet.”

The eldest of the women stirred. “It is not that we object to dedicating every waking moment to the cause,” she said, “but our understanding was that the sustained expense of doing so was difficult bordering on impossible.”

“Difficult, yes. Not impossible. It is a matter of time more than money. Given time, I can get the money I need. I do not suggest all of you move in here permanently.” This brought titters from three of them. “Nor do I suggest any action, yet. Just be prepared for the possibility. In the meantime; I need Emerald, Amethyst, and Gold to go out tonight.”

They bowed and left. None of them thought it odd that he did not turn to face them. They knew why.

His name was Ishi Shourisha. He had made the suits, and set up the Shining Dragons. But he had suffered much.

He was a cyborg now, and more than that, he was permanently wired into his computer mainframes.

It was a difficult burden, but one he had accepted long ago.

-9-

Seattle.

It was bound to happen sooner or later.

The sun had risen over the city, but it was still obscured by rainclouds. It was more mist than rain, which didn’t make Courtney feel any better.

Courtney had slept in an alley most of the night, her ankle still throbbing. Anybody who thought that particular injury was just a cheap movie cliché had never experienced that particular pain.

But as she hobbled out of the filthy alley, feeling disgusting and hating herself, someone finally did catch up with her.

There were three of them. They had guns but hadn’t drawn them; instead they wielded their knives. They didn’t want to kill her; and robbery was a secondary motive. They wanted something more basic, more primal.

She saw them, and figured out without any great intellectual leap what they wanted.

I can help you, the creature inside her head said. You cannot defeat them by strength alone. And they do not deserve your body, even if you were willing to give it to them.

That was true, but she was more afraid of it than them.

Do not let them do this! the voice in her head insisted, almost pleaded. Be empowered, not a victim!

Finally and unhappily, she let it out.

The three thugs were just about close enough to touch her when the thing leapt out of her head. They saw it as a lion’s face and bear claws leaving behind a streak of orange.

Only one of them screamed. To their credit, the other two were tough. They raised their blades and slashed, and when that was ineffective they drew their guns.

But only one of them had time to fire, and it did him no good.

The Animus tore them apart as they tried to fight. One of them screamed, the other roared in rage and pain and defiance as he died. The Animus appreciated that more; it reminded it of itself.

It had no respect, however, for the one that ran. It caught up to him easily and slammed him against a brick wall. It did not finish him off; instead it would let him die slowly from his wounds.

The Animus retreated back into Courtney’s head. She had not been helpless or immobile, but she had been so utterly shocked that she hadn’t moved.

She had not been any kind of shrinking violet before fighting the alien monstrosity that had led to her heaving this thing inside her head; but recent events had put her on the defensive.

After the Animus had retreated back into her mind, she was shocked again; instead of her normal grunge-rocker style clothes, she was now adorned in silver, spiky armor. And her ankle was healed.

The Animus said soothing words to her about coming into her empowerment and being a force in the world, but she ignored it, and wept.

To Be Continued....



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