Some time has passed, but this story is still kicking! Thanks for the support and those who follow this. Here's the new chapter!
"Who's Wrath?" Amethyst asked quietly while looking at the group. The various minions were chanting louder, raising their guns and items in a dangerous fashion.
"I don't know," Garnet replied. "Let's watch it play out."
As soon as she had said this, Wrath boldly moved towards his soldiers, his yellow eyes narrowed in continued arrogance. His raised a finger and placed it harshly on the chest on one of his Scorns, causing the example to get nervous at being addressed.
"Do you have what it takes to free Gotham from the Bat?" Wrath asked venomously.
"Yes, sir!"
"Good." Wrath moved quickly amongst the rows of cloaked, cybernetic henchmen. "We strike at midnight. The GCPD thinks because they can call upon him, they are protected. They aren't. We will make them an example of Gotham's future!" Another wave of cheers followed this. Steven looked horrified at what was happening.
"This is horrible…" he said. "He seems horrible."
Before Pearl could respond, shuffling was heard amongst the ranks. A generic Scorn appeared out of the massive herd and made his way to the front, standing before their leader. "Sir!"
"What is it?" Wrath asked, giving the Gems he did not like being addressed without respect.
"I found something you'll find interesting." The Scorn dig into his cloak and whipped out, to the Gems' shock, the very same container they'd been looking for. It was as transparent as when they'd first seen it in Emerald's palm.
Wrath viewed the container with bigotry. "Is this supposed to be a jewel? What is it?"
The Scorn looked abashed at the comment. "A power source, sir. My monitors saw energy in it that was off the charts!"
"Energy?" Connie realized. "That container packed enough energy to send us here?"
Apparently none of the Gems heard this, as Wrath took everyone's attention once again. He snatched the container from his minion's hands and held it closer. After a few seconds, he looked back to the Scorn. "I will study this. Rest assured, your effort is noted." The villain turned and began to walk back to his throne.
Garnet's face twisted into serious dislike at this. "Get ready. Now," she whispered heavily to the others. Before anyone else could respond, the purple Gem had darted out and stood plainly in view to the entire crowd. "Hey!"
All of the Scorns, in addition to Wrath, looked to Garnet in a fit of surprise. Within seconds, the rest of the Crystal Gems were behind her, standing resolute and ready. The gathering was a shock.
"Give the container up," Garnet demanded. Her tone was dead serious.
Wrath's helmet concealed his face, but as he spoke, his tone indicated an amused reaction. "And why would I do that? My men and I are armed with cutting-edge technology. You, most likely disciples of the bat, are inexperienced at best." He rounded this out with a hollow laugh, then turned to his goons. "Men, prepare to fire."
The Scorns loaded their rifles and trained them on the Gems. As their bullets began to rocket at the heroes, a sudden pink bubble erupted from thin air and enveloped the Gems. The bullets deflected off of it like nothing, leaving the Gems unscathed.
"Good job, Steven!" Pearl said. "Let us out now!"
Steven braced his arms and shouted, "Got it!" The pink bubble dissipated quickly, exposing the warriors to the rest of the room. Pearl quickly charged out, jumping and swinging her trident around in a circle. The move knocked down two Scorns and sent another flying backwards. Peridot was behind her, raising her small arms to halt a wave of bullets from a number of Scorns back further.
"These guys really are violent!" Peridot said to Pearl. "Talk about overkill."
"Never thought you'd be one for puns," Pearl smirked as she knocked a rifle away from a goon.
Some feet away, Connie traded blows with a Scorn who had a long black katana. The two swords were evenly matched; at least, that was until Connie applied pressure and did a swirl. The sword flew out of the Scorn's hands, and the next thing he knew, Connie had punched him square in the face.
Lapis was having luck working with Steven. He used his shield to block bullets from the rifles, and in turn, she blasted various minions with water she created. The tag team effort worked, drenching criminals and knocking them off balance.
Meanwhile, Amethyst was having the time do her life. She'd turned into a wheel and was crashing right into the Scorns. They tried valiantly to stop her, but their bullets just missed her. Helping her was Garnet, who prompted to deliver a series of devastating punches and kicks. Several Scorns lay on the floor thanks to the ferocity and force of these blows, groaning in pain.
"This is fun, right Garnet?" Amethyst said, serving to avoid a shot from a Scorn several meters away. She transformed in mid air and attacked him with her whip instantaneously.
"I wouldn't say fun…" Garnet responded, defending herself from various shots as she said this. "…But it is exciting." She shot a small smile at Amethyst, instantly sending a giggle down the throat of the purple Gem.
The Gems were having so much fun defeating the Scorns, that they never saw Wrath gazing at them all. He had escaped to the nearby balcony near the window, watching the battle as it was unfolded. To be frank, it was insane. These women and children had fainted-handedly defeated most of his forces, all of his soldiers having been armed with weapons. And for what, a container? He now realized they probably had nothing to do with Batman, yet a part of him was intrigued by their desire. What made a container like this so special? If they were willing to be so substantial a threat to his plans…
Then he would delay theirs as well.
Wrath took out the container, held it in the air, and shouted, "Stop!" Everyone on the room floor below him halted before gazing in his direction. All of the Gems panted heavily, while the majority of his men were lying on the ground, either unconscious or moaning in pain.
"You may have bested my men, but I won't be stopped by the likes of you," Wrath spat. "It's time to end this…"
"Give us the container and we'll end it gladly," Pearl said with saltiness in her voice.
"Funny. We both have different ideas on that," Wrath said back. He secreted an explosive from his belt and held next to the container. "I prefer the explosive kind." With no regrets, the villain dropped the weapon, letting it fall towards the others.
Garnet vaulted forwards, her fists outstretched as the bomb went supernova. "No!" She cried.
Steven watched, shocked and some feet away. "Garnet, no!"
The explosion erupted before anything else was said. After that, only a broken building, black smoke, and silence was left.
…
Batman grappled through the cold city air, making sure his line was working well in supporting him. Behind him, Robin was flying valiantly, a grimace on his face. He dared not look at Nightwing or Batgirl, as tonight had not been rewarding at all.
A sudden BOOM! was heard from far off. The four vigilantes managed to land on a nearby building just in time, seeing a big pile of smoke emerge from a far-off section of the city.
"That…that had to be in the Cauldron," Batgirl stammered, evidently in shock at what had just happened.
"Let's go," Batman barked. He fired his grappled and flew off. After a moment, the other joined in pursuit.
…
The Gem temple house, despite not being in use, still had its lights on. At night, that sort of situation attracted all kinds of attention. Including the attention of a massive, pink-haired Lion.
Lion has waited for Steven to play with him all day, even sleeping some hours to get rest. But his master had not come. Not had any of the other Gems, which wasn't normal. And now they were gone. To Lion, that meant something was wrong.
Suddenly, a new feeling seized the animal. He could feel where they had gone. It was scary and far-off, and it made no sense as to why they were there. But they needed his help, which was the only thing that mattered.
Stretching out on all fours, Lion took off faster than he's ever vaulted. Just before he collided with the water, the massive feline released a powerful roar. The resulting shock wave created a glowing pink portal, and he proceeded to vault into it without any second thoughts.
The portal disappeared moments later, and with it Lion himself. All that was left was a quiet beach, a rippling night ocean…
And a lion going to save his master.
And that's a wrap! Next chapter, I introduce the rest of the Detective team, and then we prep for one heck of a fight!