Simon

Josiah Shark had been beaten by a girl; and the youngest member of Teen Justice. Dr. Ivan Eclipso (M[aster of] D[ark]) had enlisted help for his mission; and STILL lost to a member of Teen Justice who had sent both he AND Zoe Stollin (The Living Lazer) packing. “Doctor” Luthor Vanderice had been dickering in a war of words with a Teen Justice advocate; just before losing an actual fight to his girlfriend.

Simon, the Sinister Cyborg Man, had watched all of Teen Justice’s solo missions play out; who BUT a super intelligent half-man/half-computer could have orchestrated a series of simultaneous attacks to lure Teen Justice away from the fold and from one another? So far, Simon was less than impressed with a vast majority of his pawns; the outliers were “Al”bert Hute, the “Desperado,” an individual with actual meta powers to match Teen Justice’s advocates, and his associate Aiden Nash, the “Bull.” They had also contended with a member of Teen Justice and lost. Nonetheless, they had put up the best fight and Simon had witnessed their abilities on display.

“Splitting up Teen Justice did nothing but to prove just how inferior their adversaries are alone; and just how much these teens have learned!” Simon spat into his monitoring equipment. “Interesting. Analysis: ‘Though Teen Justice has won each of these battles as individuals, they still ARE at their most powerful as one unit.’ Speculation: ‘What if I were to assemble their enemies TOGETHER as one unit as well, with each of their evils combined under one cause?’ The ultimate experiment begins…NOW.”

With that, Simon Vann threw a computer switch and raised a broadcast antenna to amplify his technopathic brainwaves. The villains, even “Desperado,” a man with actual powers and who, therefore, had a gang of his own underlings, had been fools to believe that their individual assaults had been their ideas. It was time that Simon tipped his hand.

“Al Hute, despicable Desperado,” Simon declared to the empty room as his computer brain pulsed with the broadcast antenna, “though your meta human abilities are super speed and power detection, they are still super abilities. I could use some for my cause; I summon you and I summon Bull. The rest of your outlaws may continue to sit this one out from their prison cells.”

The call had gone out and Simon sensed that “Desperado” had heard him. He could continue.

“Doctor Ivan Eclipso, former power station technician; zero energy advocate; I summon you and I call upon the Living Lazer whom you are so expertly grooming as well.”

Simon had made sure that THAT call had come complete with a beam of pure energy that Zoe Stollin, the Living Lazer, would naturally follow out of teenaged curiosity and ambition.

“Josiah Shark, plunderer of the seas, mad submarine inventor; come. I’ll make sure to have an aquarium set aside for you.”

Simon flipped another master switch on his console and the walls slid aside to reveal a giant, aquatic apparatus. Simon was a brilliant mind and knew that Shark could survive on land or in the waters; however, he tended to sulk quietly if he were treated as though he was useless on land and Simon had more to say. At long last, Simon only had to reach out to one final person.

“Luthor Vanderice, former male figure skater, fashionisto, and deranged weapons man; you pride yourself with the title of ‘Doctor.’ My prescription for Teen Justice is for a very cold day for their leader; while his precious children aren’t home yet.”

Simon glanced about his laboratory as the antenna lowered itself again obediently.

“Enemies of Teen Justice,” Simon declared once more, “I have summoned you all.”

Instantly, several portals opened up simultaneously. Shark was spat out into the tank of water first and promptly began banging on the glass walls. Desperado and Bull emerged next. Living Lazer emerged in a glowing aura of her former self, still feeding off of Simon’s energy beam and hungering for more. Ivan Eclipso’s portal became a black hole and he too stepped out, polishing a pistol sized version of his “Dark Gun.” Doctor Eclipso spied The Living Lazer, the very teenaged delinquent that he had been so delicately grooming as an honor guard, and he could sense her teenaged angst at him. Doctor Eclipso, in turn, stood down. The final portal of light energy suddenly crystallized and Luthor Vanderice casually kicked his way through the ice portal, holding a rifle-sized Frost Gun connected to an ice pack.

“What is the meaning of this?” Vanderice demanded, glancing about. “Why am I here with the fashion-challenged?”

“Fashion challenged?” Living Lazer spat back, looking up and down at the bejeweled ice goggles, frilly winter coat, and unnecessary cape. “Honey, invest in a mirror!”

“I am trapped in this thing!” Shark bellowed in his natural gurgle as his hands touched the glass walls. “I have told you all once, I will tell you again; I am powerful enough to breathe and survive out of water or in it!”

“Yes, yes; great power you’ve got!” Desperado spat. “But it is still a power; something that only you, myself, Bull here, and Living Lazer share in common. Wouldn’t you say so, Doctors?”

“Try running on ice, cowboy!” Vanderice spat.

“Or into a giant dark tunnel for that matter.” Eclipso added.

“Enough of this petty bickering!” a sharp, almost metallic voice suddenly shouted.

Simon’s words alone had prompted the villains to hush up and begin to notice. With that, Simon, the sinister cyborg man, marched forward as the perfect half-and-half melding between man and machine.

“Gentlemen, Ms. Stollin; I am called Simon.” He declared, casually. “You’ve perhaps heard of me?”

“Simon, the Cyborg?” Living Lazer gushed. “Yes!”

“You combine man and machine!” Vanderice added.

“You also killed one, Terrel Jenks; and led to the creation of T.J. and union of Teen Justice.” Eclipso snorted. “I’m unimpressed with the legend.”

“Never heard of you!” Desperado snorted.

Bull shook his head as well.

With that, Simon placed his mechanical hand on Desperado’s shoulder.

“Then perhaps my unique abilities are just advanced enough to block themselves from your power detection.” The cyborg answered casually.

The despicable Desperado promptly quieted himself as Vanderice beamed from the corner of the room.

“I think I like this guy!” the master of cold declared.

“Unsurprising; and unimpressed with your advances.” Simon answered, impatiently. “Now, listen. Teen Justice is, at present, still split up at several locations. Thus leaves T.J., their leader and advisor and nothing more than a computerized hologram, at their home base alone. I know where their base is; and I mean to delete T.J.’s existence.”

“Destroy a computer program?” Bull grunted.

“Splitting up Teen Justice on several individual missions did nothing, thanks to the failures of the lot of you.” Simon spat. “When we destroy T.J., we break the program that bonded them.”

“Failed???” Shark demanded, slamming his body against the glass case with no results.

“I said what I said.” Simon insisted with a steady smirk.

Desperado was flipping a coin to himself in boredom all along and finally piped up.

“Say now, your new electronic brainstorm might have merit, big guy,” he intoned, “if you had remembered that T.J. generates portals to send his brats out and can send portals to fetch’em back.”

Simon took in the interruption and scraped his mechanical hand against the metal half of his chin to feign pondering the disruption.

“Finally, a smart man!” Simon declared. “Yes, T.J. uses a portal system to recall Teen Justice as needed; portals of pure, delicious energy. Zoe…”

Instantly, the youngest of the villains and the sole woman levitated on air for a moment. With that, her body began to radiate with excess energy until she was a glowing, silver and blue skeleton of her former self.

“What portals?” she spat back in a seemingly distant voice.

With that, she restored her former body image by firing off a burst of silver and blue energy right at the fish tank and freeing Shark to land again.

“It’s about time!” Shark declared, pacing the floor as he dripped wet.

The lesser villains were impressed by the performance as The Living Lazer landed once more, her point proven and her real image restored. Simon wasn’t as impressed.

“A wet floor; in a cyborg’s lab and surrounded by a wealth of sophisticated electronic equipment.” He spat. “Care to clean that up, youth?”

Living Lazer reached out to the nearest computer and did syphon off its energy to dry the floor. Simon had to accept that.

“Now, we go with my latest plan,” Simon concluded. “We fly to the base and, with my new associates here, we crush Teen Justice through their leader. Agreed?”

“I will break him!” Bull bellowed

“I’ll shoot his lights out!” Dr. Eclipso declared.

“I’ll put him on ice.” Vanderice concluded.

“…and we’ll do this together.” Simon finally insisted.

Shark grinned to reveal his impressive incisors.

“Wipe out T.J. and use their base for shore-leave,” Shark intoned, “and leave Teen Justice floundering as shark-bait!”

“We’re with you!” Living Lazer added.

Simon glanced to the girl in particular and gave a grin.

“You, my dear were smart enough to stand with me from the start.” The sinister Cyborg-Man declared, pushing a button on his belt.

With that, the walls to his laboratory slid aside once more and revealed a massive air ship.

“To The Injustice Metas?” he asked, raising a glass in his human hand.

“The Injustice Metas!” they all hollered back.

“…and whence T.J. meets his end,” Doctor Eclipso declared, “so ends Teen Justice.”

Bull smashed his fist into his open palm. Living Lazer hovered on air in an expression of support. Shark gnashed his jaws open and shut in anticipation. Vanderice shivered in eagerness as he cradled his Frost Gun. Finally, it was Desperado who surged forward on intense speed to stand alongside the powerful ship.

“While we’re here jawing about all of this,” he declared, “T.J.’s got the time to build up new portals for his precious teenaged deputies.”

“So you’ll detect the portals and girlie here will syphon them off!” Vanderice retorted.

Desperado took in the dismissive words and snapped his fingers casually. Instantly, Bull had his plus-sized mitts around Vanderice’s neck.

“What'd you say to my boss?” he demanded as his hot breath exploded in Vanderice’s face.

A brief nod from Desperado, however, caused Bull to set the meager weapons man back on the ground.

“Desperado raises a good point; and he’s riding shotgun.” Simon retorted. “Gentlemen, Ms. Stollin; welcome to T.J.’s final curtain call…”

The villains silently filed into Simon’s air ship. Their next destination would be T.J., and Teen Justice’s, final stand; in their own home…