Darkfire issue #5
Abraxas scowled as Harley Quinn continued laughing and skipping around the hidden base. She had barely stopped since Punchline had returned with her and Poison Ivy.
"Oh knock it off already!" said Abraxas, sending a ball of air, coalesced into a rock hard form spiralling towards Harley, knocking her off her feet.
"Why you little!" said Harley. She leapt up and ran at Abraxas, but the sorcerer just flicked her aside.
"Enough!" said Punchline. She stepped into the room.
"Both of you, enough. We have to fight the heroes, not each other. To that matter, let me introduce you to our newest associate... Denton Slade, better known as Deathstrike, and son of the legend, Deathstoke." said Punchline.
Deathstrike stepped forward, wearing a black and orange suit of combat gear. Two pistols were strapped to his thighs, a pair of katanas crossed his back. Unlike Deathstoke, he wore no mask, but his presence was intimidating enough. "Well, aren't we the big bad wolves? I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of chaos we can cause together." Deathstrike said with a smirk.
As the villains talked about their plans, they didn't notice the shadows moving around them. As Abraxas and Harley greeted Deathstrike, all four heard a cold laughter from high above them.
"Foolish, each of you. You prattle about taking down heroes, but you know nothing about being criminals." said a voice.
Punchline glanced around, trying to find who was speaking.
"Tsk tsk. I expected better from the daughter of Joker and Harley Quinn. But I suppose madness has its own failings." said the voice again, this time from a different place. Out of the shadows stepped a young man in black. His cold eyes locked on each, and even Deathstrike took a step back.
" If you insist on this endeavour, I ask to be a part of it. In exchange, I bring news. Your heroes have gathered. Not just Quickflame, Raven, Nightwing and Black Cat any longer. Their daughter Darkfire has officially joined, as has Red Arrow and that false pretender claiming to be Batman. They call themselves Nightstar now. " said the young man.
" Just who are you, and how did you find us?" Punchline demanded.
" I have many names. Son of Darkness, Ra's al Ghul, Robin, for a while, but for the sake of introduction... I am Damien Wayne. " said the young man. The young man in black, Damien Wayne, was met with surprised glances from the villains. He continued speaking without acknowledging their reaction. "I found you because I have an interest in the destruction of this pretender who wears the bat cowl... I have a score to settle. That should have been mine. I will have it yet. But for now... I would join this pathetic band. The greatest villains ever known. But if you are going to go against this newly formed Nightstar... You need one more. And with my help, plus the knowledge in your head, Punchline, you can bring back the one person who ever came close to beating Quickflame. Bring back Aquarius... Bring back the water wielding speedster who killed Raven Roth. It will derail Quickflame. The others, we can match their powers. " said Damien. He looked at Harley, Punchline, Deathstrike and Abraxas, waiting for their response.
As Punchline listened to Damien Wayne's proposal, she couldn't help but feel a mix of curiosity and apprehension. On one hand, she was intrigued by the idea of bringing back Aquarius, someone who could potentially match Quickflame's speed and power.
Dr Vetter had been careful to keep her out of sight of his other metahumans, but she knew their reputations. After all, she had Static's powers of electro-kinetics. Aquarius, had indeed managed to kill Raven, but she had been brought back by her determination and love for Quickflame. And they could use a speedster on their villainous team.
"Very well Damien... You are welcome to join us. We each have our own scores to settle with different members of Nightstar. I say, tell me what you need to bring Aquarius back? I can revive him, but I don't know where his body is." said Punchline.
"I do." said Abraxas. "I know where his body is, but it will be very difficult to get."
At the new Nightstar base, Quickflame finished plugging in the large computer array and said, "Alright Darkfire, fire it up! Make sure Alfred is online too." he added, referring to the former Wayne butler's holographic AI program. As Darkfire began powering up the array, the room lit up with a series of holographic displays. Quickflame walked over to a large screen that showed a 3D model of Gotham City, complete with icons representing various members of the hero and villain communities. "This is our new HQ." "Alfred, activate." said Quickflame.
"Greetings, Master Darrow. How may I be of assistance?" said Alfred, appearing as a hologram of his former self. He possessed all of Alfred's memories and mannerisms, plus he was now linked to the entire Nightstar headquarters.
"Everyone, gather around please. Give your codenames and aliases to Alfred so you can access the system. You will only need to give your aliases this one time for the verification process. " said Quickflame.
Raven, Starfire, Nightwing, Black Cat, Darkfire, Red Arrow and Batman stepped forward.
" Codename, Quickflame. AKA Alex Darrow. " said Quickflame to Alfred's hologram. Raven stepped forward, "Codename, Raven. AKA Rachel Roth."
Starfire nodded, "Codename, Starfire. AKA Koriand'r."
Nightwing spoke up, "Codename, Nightwing. AKA Dick Grayson. " Black Cat said, "Codename, Black Cat. AKA Ethan Kyle."
Darkfire looked at the screen, "Codename, Darkfire. AKA Caroline Darrow-Roth."
Red Arrow stated, "Codename, Red Arrow. AKA Erin Thomas."
Alfred acknowledged each member's identity and linked them to the system. "Welcome, Nightstar. I stand ready to assist in any way." said Alfred. As the team gathered, Quickflame looked around at his fellow heroes. He had assembled a diverse group of individuals with unique abilities and backgrounds. Raven stood beside him, their daughter Darkfire at their side as well. Nightwing, once known as Robin, had come a long way since they last worked together. "Might I suggest two more friends who should be here." said Starfire.
Raven looked at Starfire.
"Who do you mean, Kori?" she asked.
"Beast Boy and Cyborg of course." said Starfire.
Quickflame shook his head slowly.
"Beast Boy retired, so did Cyborg. Although... He did once say if we needed him, he would come." said Quickflame.
Red Arrow suggested, "Well, we do have a bit of a situation here. We've got Punchline on the loose and she's got a few tricks up her sleeve. We could use all the help we can get."
Alfred interjected, "Indeed. I have located Mr Logan and Mr Stone. Shall I send you the information?" Nightwing nodded, "Yeah, send it over. We could use their help against Punchline."
"Thank you Harold. I assure you, you will not be disappointed with this new automated system.. Yes of course.. It will be operational as soon as my team installs it." said Victor Stone. "Alright, take care. Thanks again." he said, hanging up the phone. He sat at his desk in his office, looking around in pleased satisfaction. He took pride in the tech company he had built on his own, starting by reverse engineering his own cybernetics, which had enabled him to build a more normal looking cybernetic body. It certainly helped with his business dealings.
"Good to see you're still working hard." said a familiar voice.
Victor turned to see a man in a clean suit standing in the doorway.
"Alex! Son of a gun it's good to see you! How's Rachel and Caroline?" said Victor.
"They're doing well." said Quickflame, taking a seat.
When Victor stopped doing hero work, he had insisted on using civilian names, to better conceal their hero identities. Quickflame smiled, "Rachel and Caroline are both doing great. Rachel is still keeping up with her magical studies, and Caroline is learning to control her powers under my guidance." He looked at his old friend, "It's been quite some time since we've seen each other. How have you been?" "You know, it's not so easy maintaining an international company. I do sometimes miss the thrill of hero work." said Victor.
"What if you could do both?" said Quickflame.
"Alex... You know I'm out." said Victor.
"Buddy, I don't need Victor Stone. I need Cyborg. Listen..." said Quickflame, and he explained about Punchline, Harley Quinn's escape from prison, how Punchline was the daughter of the Joker and Harley, her powers linked back to Project Trident and his creating a new hero team.
"You are the best tech genius I've ever known. I could use your help. Even if it was just to stop Punchline, then you could retire again and I'll never bother you with hero work again." said Quickflame. Victor looked at his old friend, his gaze intense. "Alex, I can't believe you're asking this of me. But... I'll do it. For you, for the team, and for the world. Let's stop this Punchline before she causes any more chaos." "Thank you. I'll have Alfred send you the location of the team's headquarters." said Quickflame.
Victor grinned.
"It seems so long ago I created that program. Is he still holding up?" said Victor. "Still every bit as shrewd, savvy and personable as the real Alfred was. I have already incorporated his program into the new system. I'm sure he will be happy to have you working on him again. It's good to have you back... Cyborg." said Quickflame, standing and smiling at his old friend. As the two heroes continued their conversation, the setting shifted to Gotham City. The skyline was dark and ominous, with an eerie silence hanging in the air. The streets were deserted, save for a few stray cats and dogs that seemed to be cautiously avoiding something.
Raven and Starfire looked around cautiously. Raven felt for sure there had been some kind of mistake. This couldn't be where Beast Boy was living. The air around them felt heavy, as if it were filled with tension and danger. Raven glanced at Starfire, who nodded reassuringly. "It's alright," she whispered. "We can handle this."
They approached a dilapidated building with a worn number 17 on the door, then knocked sharply.
The door creaked open and faint music could be heard.
Starfire and Raven glanced at each other and went in. What they saw surprised them. Outside, the building looked ready to fall apart. Inside looked like a gamer's heaven. Diagrams and drawings hung around the walls, coloured lights lit the room in a kaleidoscope of hues. Sitting in a chair in front of three computer screens, was a late twenties man with green skin and green hair.
"BB?" said Raven, stepping closer. The man looked up, his green eyes widening in surprise. "Whoa, hey Raven! And Starfire too! What are you two doing here?" He asked, standing up from his chair.
"Well, we need help. We're kinda hoping we can convince you to come out of retirement, Beast Boy." said Raven.
"Hey, let's see what we can do," said Beast Boy, his grin returning. "I've been itching for some action lately." He transformed into a tiger and then back into his normal form. "So, what's the mission?"
Starfire took the lead and said, "Alright, let's give you a quick update. Fifteen years ago, we fought against Dr. Vetter and Project Trident. Many metahumans were created, but only a few survived. We've been trying to keep the peace ever since, but now Punchline, the daughter of the Joker, is causing havoc. Quickflame put together a new team. But we could really use your help too Beast Boy. " Beast Boy grinned and said, "Heck yeah dude. But if I'm going to get back to hero stuff... I think we need to reconsider my hero name. I'm not a kid anymore.. How about... Beastmaster?"
On the large 3d projector in the middle of the room, a video played, showing Punchline in action during her breaking out Harley Quinn.
Cyborg frowned as he saw her using some form of electricity to attack guards.
"Don't tell me Vetter gave this lunatic Static's powers?" he asked. Raven nodded. "Unfortunately, yes. She also has Clayface's shapeshifting abilities and Dr. Vetter's own memories and knowledge of metahuman biology and genetics. She's incredibly dangerous."
New Batman spoke up. "What do we know about her targets?" "She's specifically targeting Darkfire, my daughter with Raven," said Quickflame. "But she also seems to be targeting people related to me or my team. She broke out Harley Quinn to form an alliance with her, and she's been spotted with Poison Ivy and Catwoman." Black Cat scowled.
"Should have known better than to believe Selina would stay out of the fight." said Black Cat. "If she wasn't my mother, I would have scratched her face off a long time ago. I still might when I face her soon."
Quickflame looked at Black Cat, his eyes narrowing in thought. "We need to find out more about Punchline's targets and motives. Alfred, can you gather information on the individuals she's been associating with and their connections to each other?" "I can, but I will need access to some sort of electronics." said the AI hologram.
"No problem there. I can set you up Alfred. My company has devices so small you can't even see it." said Cyborg. Black Cat looked up. "That will require someone extremely stealthy to get it in place. Since the most stealthy one is me, I'll take care of it." he said. Quickflame nodded in agreement, "That's a good idea, Black Cat. I trust you'll be careful." He turned to the others, "The rest of you should focus on training and preparing for any potential conflicts. Punchline won't be our only problem." Nightwing spoke up and said, "I'll go with Black Cat and back him up. Red Arrow, can you provide ranged support if we get in a jam?" "Sure thing, Nightwing," Red Arrow replied, readying her bow. "But remember, we don't know much about Punchline's powers yet. Let's tread lightly."
Meanwhile at Punchline's hidden base, Deathstrike was sharpening his swords, Harley was laughing at whatever her insanity was saying in her head, and Damien Wayne was lounging around. The door opened and Punchline and Abraxas entered. Abraxas held his hands out, using his magic to levitate a long wooden box labeled: DANGER, METAHUMAN REMAINS.
"Ahh.. You found him alright then?" said Damien, standing up.
"Right where you said. Of course, there's not much of the A.R.G.U.S building left now." said Punchline with a cackle of glee.
Abraxas set the box down, and Punchline broke the seals on it. Laying inside the box, nearly perfectly preserved, still in his blue and black suit, was the body of Aquarius, the water manipulating speedster, and one of Dr Vetter's old experiments.
Damien stepped forward, and produced a vial of what looked like water.
"Direct from the Lazarus Pit. Punchline, did you get what you need to restore his mind?" said Damien. "Yes, I did," replied Punchline, holding up a small metal device with a red gemstone in it. "This is the Trident Stone, which was used to create the metahumans. With it, I was able to extract the necessary memories and knowledge from Aquarius's mind before he died." Punchline pressed the stone to Aquarius's body, and Damien poured the water from the Lazarus pit on the body. At first, nothing seemed to happen. Then Deathstrike noticed Aquarius's hands were vibrating. Suddenly, the speedster took a deep gasping breath and opened his eyes.