‘Dishonor’
As the battle between Earth First
and the Legion of Doom wore on, Commander Jarrod of
the League of Shadows desperately waited for information that would lead him to
Tempest's kryptonite ring, a ring that he believed could kill Lex Luthor.
Finally he received word from a member of Earth First known as 'Shark' in
In an abandoned building in Park Row, in the East End of Gotham, Commander
Natasha met Agent Smoke who had been tracking the location of Shark and his
friends. Natasha learned from Agent Smoke that Shark had been followed by
Luthorcorp operatives.
Shark and his gang ran through the streets of
"You're were followed", a voice said in the
distance. It was Natasha. On opposite sides of the room, on
an upper balcony, stood agents Smoke and Woodcutter.
"I know", Shark said, catching his breath.
"Are you Shark?", Natasha asked.
"Yeah", Shark replied, more rested now.
"You have the ring?", Natasha asked.
"Yeah", he said again.
Natasha and her men approached them. "They'll be here soon", she told
Shark. "We might need your help to fight them off. How many of you have
powers?"
"All of us", Shark replied.
"Really. What can you do?",
Natasha asked curiously.
"Aquatic", Shark replied.
"You're a swimmer?", Natasha asked.
"Swimmer", Shark said under his breath bitterly. "Aquatic
abilities, including telepathy, healing factor, enhanced senses, superhuman
strength and durability, extra resistance to heat/energy based attacks and,
yes, I can swim and breathe underwater."
"How fast are you?", she asked eagerly.
"Are you faster than Aquaman?"
"No", Shark said dismissively. "Nobody's that
fast. I top out at 60 miles/hour."
"Are your friends here also aquatics?",
Natasha asked.
Shark turned to the man at the right, giving him a look. The man stepped
forward confidently and said "No".
"What's your name?", Natasha asked.
"They call me X'r", the man replied.
"X-ray vision."
"So you can see them coming?!", Natasha
asked eagerly.
"No", X'r replied flatly. "Their suits
are lined with lead."
"But you can see us?", Natasha asked.
"Oh, yeah", X'r said casually. "No
problem."
"And you?!", Natasha said eagerly to the
other man. "What can you do?!"
"The name's Mike", the man said bitterly. "Don't call me phaser. I can walk through solid matter."
"Can you run through solid matter?", Natasha
asked.
"Definitely", Mike replied.
"Good. We'll get you two set up with some weapons", Natasha said.
"Shark, I need to talk to you in private. Let's go downstairs."
"Weapons?", X'r
said nervously. "What good are weapons against Star Sapphire?"
Natasha hesitated for a moment. "All we need from you is a
distraction", Natasha replied. X'r gave her a
skeptical look. "Ten seconds at the most", she continued.
Agent Woodcutter passed by them with some rigging equipment.
The equipment narrowly missed Shark's head.
"Whoa, buddy! Watch it!", Shark said to him.
Woodcutter gave him an angry look, and then turned and walked away. Shark
turned to Natasha and asked, "Does he talk?"
"No", Natasha replied casually.
"Why not?", Shark asked curiously.
"I don't know", Natasha said, lost in thought.
(Photos from left to right: Zach Galifianakis as "Woodcutter", Anthony Kiedis as "Shark", Jada
Pinkett Smith as "Natasha")