Battle Until Gaia Swallows All
His mind was aware of the pain first, pain that seemed to come from all over his body. It was not something he or anyone else would want to wake up to.
The next thing he was aware of were the sounds of grunts, yelling, moving feet, people being hit, bodies landing on the floor, and pretty much any noise that went along with an all-out brawl. Somebody was having a fight and it was close.
Would he open his eyes, and check out what was going on? The pain throbbing around his body, especially in his torso and arms made a convincing argument not to. Besides, what would seeing what was up do?
It wasn't like Garfield had anything waiting for him out there. He was so stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Why hadn't he listened? When Terra warned him, when that mean mind-reading chick yelled at him, why didn't he listen? Why'd he have to wait for Brother Blood to confirm to him what everyone else had said?
Because he was stupid, that's why. Even now, his memory still didn't tell him anything of his life before Brother Blood. It was all blank, wisps of events teasing him but never letting him get his green hands on them. Always out of reach, never letting themselves be caught, and if he got too close, another kind of pain would push him away.
Maybe it was better not to remember. To remember absolutely nothing. To not remember the quiet and personal times with Terra, to not remember being held against his will by a bunch of kids about his age, maybe older. To not remember having fun with Cyborg playing video games, or talking with Kori about anything.
To not remember any kind of dream he had of...of...what did it matter? Nothing mattered anymore.
Just another idiot, he didn't listen to any of the facts and look where that got him. It was no wonder why he had nothing. No friends. No parents. No home. Nothing.
So he should just stay here, wherever that was, and just be. Existing, not living. Hearing the sounds of a fight nearby but not even giving it the time of day to open his eyes and look at it.
Because nothing mattered anymore.
"We shed our lives. We shed our flesh. We shed our blood for him."
Pounding her fist into the mouth of one of these cultist creeps was very satisfying. Too bad there were like a hundred more saying that same Goddamn thing, and annoying the armored blonde to no end.
But wait, there was more. For some reason or another, that prick Red Robin was joining them. That made no sense, none at all, and Cassie didn't like it when things did not make any sense. When that happened, she had the incredible urge to punch something, and oh yeah, wasn't Red Robin volunteering to be punched?
Blocking a high kick that she never knew the masked prick to be able to do, and doing a backflip to avoid the next couple of punches, and ending with ramming both of her feet into two chanting cultists behind her told Cassie that yes, that was definitely Red Robin volunteering to be punched.
Far be it from her to refuse him. She still had a lot of frustration over him coopting her home into a hostel for runaway kids and aliens. If he was going to be a bigger prick and be on the bad guy's side, that was just a bonus reason.
The blonde lunged at the dark-haired vigilante, throwing a couple jabs his way. Red Robin blocked each one, knocking them to a side with ease. After one fist tried to strike him in the chest, but also got blocked, Red Robin rushed in and gave her a one-two-three combo. First hit was in the ribs, second was the stomach, and third was the chin, and back she stumbled.
Two pairs of arms wrapped around her, the cultists chanting loudly in her ears, "We shed our lives. We shed our flesh. We shed our—"
With a loud cry, Cassie used her incredible strength to rip her arms out of their grasps then threw her elbows back and into their faces. Could feel cartilage giving way as noses were broken
And Red Robin was back, jumping in the air and swinging a leg out, kicking at her head. Cassie brought an arm up and blocked, though the force behind the leg was strong enough to send her skidding away. Something was really messed up about that.
At about that time, Victor was back-to-back with her, facing off with more of those cultists. "Okay, what's up with him?" he demanded, not taking his eyes off the encircling crowd.
"I have no idea," Cassie grumbled back, her blue eyes focused solely on the vigilante.
"This is a hell of a time for him to jump ship and switch sides," Victor added, his voice full of frustration.
"No idea why he thought now was a good time. Wasn't he trying to help us save our lives?" she replied. "I don't like this."
"You ain't kidding," Victor agreed.
"He's also fighting better," the armored blonde complained. "It's like he took some classes and became Bruce Lee in an hour. Was he holding back on me this whole time?"
"No idea about any of that. You tell me," Victor hollered as he fired a blast from that arm cannon of his, warding away some of the cultists who were trying to move in on them.
"You mind keeping them busy?" she asked loudly. "I'll handle Red Robin, see if I can't punch some sense into his head."
"Do what you gotta do," Victor agreed.
A vote of confidence if there ever was one. Taking in a deep breath, Cassie launched herself forward, dashing towards her former vigilante comrade. Not that they were comrades in the first place; they just happened to be fighting for the same side recently, that's all.
Two cultists tried to get in her way, but like a football player, she crashed through them and knocked them to the sides like they were bowling pins. She threw a punch, a devastating one she would add as she was not holding anything back. Turned out to be a useless punch as Red Robin leapt up, his body flipping as he threw his hands downward. Landing on top of her fist, Red Robin balanced on those two gloved hands of his for a second before finishing the flip, bringing a foot down in an axe kick.
Luckily for her, Cassie still had a free arm that she was about to raise up and block with. To her surprise, her gauntleted arm shook from the force that kick landed with. Whoa, that was definitely new.
Pushing her arm back, Cassie watched as Red Dick here move with the flow, flipping over himself to land on his feet easily. It was so freaking effortless, it pissed her off. Had he been holding back on her? Because he had never shown such skill before.
"What's the deal?" she demanded, wanting to get to the bottom of this.
The Red Asshole answered by attacking instead, choosing fists over words. She dodged and ducked each one that came her way, blocking a kick here and there, but keeping up. So this was the way he wanted it? Fine. She could really use this to release some frustration.
As she herself got into the flow of this fight, she paid no mind to the fact that, despite the mask, Red Robin's eyes were wide and in no way narrowed as was natural in a fight.
Terra could hear the sounds of action from where she sat on the floor, her back pressed up against the corridor's wall, and her legs bent in front of her. She rested her arms against her knees and did her best to ignore all the noise, the yells and screams, and the occasional explosion. At least, it sounded like there were explosions in there.
A part of her wanted to be in there, joining it. However, she knew better. Blood already had his claws into her. She'd be made to fight against the people she had originally been sent to kill. The problem was, theirs was the side she wanted to be on.
They were her ticket out of here and she couldn't use them. They'd have to do all the work.
So she would sit here and let things play out. It sucked. For once, all she wanted was some control over her life. She used to have control over herself, or powers at least, but even now that hum was really testing her. Yes, it was back and with a vengeance. Things would be a little bit more bearable if only that hum wasn't…
Oh, who was she kidding? She had never had control over anything. All her choices had always been made by other people. Yeah, sure, she had plans to leave, but a big part of her knew that there was no way they'd ever succeed. Once Blood got control of you, that was it. You were his. End of story.
At least, that's what she had been told. Funny how he hadn't been able to figure where Gar had gone to when he was missing. Had that kid found a way out of Blood's power? If so, why hadn't he shared? That would have been something good to know about.
Terra frowned. Though that hum was insistent, it had fluctuated a bit. She was being told something. And that something was...someone was coming.
Appearing down the corridor, the other two girls who had voluntarily stayed behind to fight off the Ravagers came into view. From under her arm, the blonde geokinetic could see them. Well, good news for the others fighting it out with Blood. Their reinforcements had arrived.
Terra didn't move though, content with remaining where she was. Again, there wasn't a lot she could do here.
"Why are you sitting there?"
Huh? Looking up, Terra found that the girl with the cloak was right in front of her, looking down on her. She didn't look curious or angry or anything. Nope, that face was blanker than a blank sheet of paper.
"Don't mind me, your friends could use your help," she said dismissively. She even gestured with a hand, shooing the cloak-wearing girl away.
"And why aren't you also helping?" the dark-haired girl questioned in response.
"It's complicated. I'd be more of a problem than help to anyone. So get in there already. You're just wasting time here." Listen to her, for once. Let someone actually listen to what she had to say.
"Now you're confusing me. First you want to help us, now you want to sit there and let us do the work without you," the cloak-wearing girl said. "What is it you're trying to accomplish? How do your actions, from volunteering to lead us to where we need to go to sitting on the sidelines doing nothing help you?"
"It doesn't matter. If I go in there, I'd be more of a liability. The best thing I can do for you people is sit right here doing nothing. The moment I go in there, it's over. So stop being confused, stop asking questions, and get in there and help already!" Why was this such a difficult thing for her to understand? She doing you guys a favor by staying put!
"What about Garfield? Based on your actions, I'm led to believe you're the one he called Terra," the cloak-wearing girl continued. "From what he told me about you, you have a cool head on your shoulders. You are friends. Why then are you not trying to help him?"
"Because everyone here is under Blood's control, okay? Even me. I have no choice. I go in there, he makes me one of those zombies he has walking around here, and I make things worse. Is that what you wanted to know? Now stop wasting time. The longer you stay out here talking with me, the closer your friends are to being killed, or worse, being made his slaves. So be heroes already and save them!"
By now, she was full out glaring at this idiot who seemed more keen on wasting time than anything. Just because you had special powers didn't mean you were invincible. If anything, it put a target on your back that screamed for people to try and use you however they wanted to. In having power, you were powerless.
Cloak girl looked like she wanted to say more, but the orange-skinned woman put her hand on the cloak-wearing girl's shoulder and said, "She has her reasons for staying out of the battle. We can only honor them and move on. Now come, our comrades are fighting for their lives."
Finally. Finally someone who made sense, and Terra didn't even know who the hell she was.
The cloak-wearing girl was quiet for a moment, a moment too long in the blonde's opinion. "Very well. Do what you feel you need to do. We'll do what we need to do. That doesn't change the fact that I feel somewhat disappointed. I had a high opinion of you before. For being so close to Garfield, I thought you would have done more."
Satisfied that she had the last word, the cloak-wearing girl set off down the hallway, the orange-skinned woman following after her. The sounds of fighting were only going to get louder once those two showed up.
However, now Terra was pissed off. Who the hell did that bitch think she was? Even after she had explained herself, that moron still thought…? What idiots had Gar teamed up with? At least the other one saw sense, but that didn't make the geokinetic feel any better.
Because she would love nothing more than to ram a boulder up Blood's ass and tell him that's what she thought about his "charity." Because more than anything, she wanted control over her own life, to be able to make decisions and choices that were hers and hers alone, without anyone else butting in.
Terra could feel the earth tremble around her, anticipating some action itself. It would have to be denied, though for how long she did not know. The only thing that was certain was that that hum was getting worse.
This was not going well. On top of Blood bringing in all those mindless cultists, he had him, Red Robin, doing his dirty work for him too. It was weird how no matter how hard he tried, the masked teen could not get his body to do what he wanted. Instead, it was doing what Blood wanted, which was fighting the team of teens that had come with him to this place.
It grated on his nerves that he seemed to be fighting better under the mind/body/whatever control Blood had over him. If only he could perform this way on his own.
Like right now, he was doing a spin kick that he hadn't known he was ever capable of. Cassie, meanwhile, was ducking under it and darting in for a quick strike. His body leaned to a side, letting the fist barely graze by his torso. Then it threw his elbow back and to Cassie's face, the blonde tilting her head to a side in time to avoid it, barely.
The armored blonde brought her knee up. Blocked. His body tried to uppercut. Dodged. Cassie slammed her palm into the inside of the elbow, causing his arm to involuntarily bend. Snagging his lower arm, Cassie pulled down and flipped him over.
His back did not make friends with floor. Instead, his feet landed first and his knees bent at a ninety degree angle, the rest of his body parallel with the floor except for his arms which were grasping at Cassie's. Using her as leverage, his body spun around so that it could regain its balance, his front facing downwards now.
Then his body pulled itself closer and knocked Cassie's arm aside. A one-two hit combo was landed in her stomach and a kick added for good measure, shoving the blonde back. It was all so smooth and nowhere near his actual level of skill. What the hell?
"This is really starting to piss me off," Cassie growled as she glared at him. Her hands were over her gut region, shielding it from further harm. As she raised them up, it was revealed that that part of her body now had armor covering it. That had been something he had noticed back on the Gordanians' ship. Was he doing enough damage to cause that armor of hers to respond defensively?
Now, he would have liked to have said something, but again Blood's control prevented him. His body, on the other hand, wanted to communicate with its fists, which is what it did, rushing in for another attack.
For once—he couldn't believe this—Red Robin was rooting for the blonde to somehow kick his ass. So when she went on the defense instead, blocking and parrying the punches and kicks his body sent her way, he could only yell fruitlessly in his head for her not to do that. Come on, she was always the aggressive one when the two first came to blows!
Finally, after blocking a particularly vicious punch to her face, Cassie broke through his body's defense and managed to land a blow of her own, striking the right side of his chest. Pain blossomed from the hit point, and despite not having control over his own body, he could still feel it. Oh, come on! Why did he have to feel things but not be able to do anything? It wasn't right!
And now he was rethinking his earlier desire for her to kick his ass.
Cassie abruptly backed away, taking a defensive stance as if waiting for something. Recovering from the earlier hit, Red Robin's body charged forward. The masked teen noticed how Cassie frowned, the frown changing to an expression of concentration as she resumed a more aggressive defense, blocking and parrying once more.
When one of his arms shot out to strike her, the armored blonde reached up and trapped it with one of her arms. Reaching around his back and grabbing his opposite shoulder, she spun him around and locked his body in a one-armed hold, her other arm restraining the one it had snatched.
"Not gonna use your toys?" she taunted in his ear. "Thought you would have used them by now."
Would he have? Let him think...huh, yeah, he would've. Was that why she had backed away a minute ago? Because she was expecting him to pull something out of his belt? Not that there was much left since he had pretty much exhausted it by now.
Struggling to free itself, his body raised both his legs up and threw them down, rocking itself in the stronger blonde's hold. Oh, it was trying to throw her over it. Let go Cassie, quickly!
Instead, Cassie heaved up, grunting as she did, then pushed forward. The force she used was enough to send the both of them falling flat on the floor. An "oomph!" escaped his throat, the first sound that had come out of the vigilante since he first lost control of his body.
Quickly, the armored blonde snagged and restrained both of his arms, pinning them against his back. To add to his discomfort, she pressed her knee into his lower back.
"That's enough out of you. Now snap out of it. What's the deal with you picking a fight?" Cassie demanded as she resisted his body's attempt to squirm out of its compromised position.
"We shed our lives."
"Hold on a second," she said as she pressed all her weight on her knee and kicked out with her other leg, nailing the mindless cultist and sending the guy flying away like a ragdoll.
Unfortunately, all that weight really did a number on his back. Ow. Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, Ow, Ow, OW! Christ! You were going to break something down there! Ah, okay, she was back into a crouching position and taking a lot of her weight off her knee.
"Where were we? Right. Had enough yet?" Cassie taunted. "Just say uncle and I might think about letting you go."
His body flopped helplessly beneath her might.
"C'mon Red, if you wanted a rematch, you could have waited until after we finished this shit up," the armored blonde complained. "Are you having your time of the month or something?"
"Allow me."
What the? When did Rachel…?
Two hands were placed on either side of his face and then this cold, dark sensation flooded into his head and throughout his body. It was like he was drowning; he couldn't breathe or move, and he had the terrible feeling he was sinking. Sinking into what, he couldn't explain or describe.
Then he felt himself slump, that unnatural sensation exiting him as quickly as it had entered. Red Robin gasped as he sucked in large amounts of air like he couldn't get enough of the sweet stuff.
"You can let him go now," Rachel's calm voice said.
"I'd rather take my chances," Cassie retorted, tightening her grip on his wrists.
"I—It—sss," he stopped to let out a cough, his voice surprisingly hoarse. "It...s alright. I...I'm back."
"Whoa, why do you sound like that?" He could hear the surprise in the blonde's voice.
"Couldn't...couldn't control myself. Body...not mine." There, get out the most information you could in a short amount of time. "Blood. Took it away."
"You're not making any sense, Red," Cassie stated blandly.
"An outside force had seized control of his bodily movements," Rachel explained matter-of-factly. "He was not in control of himself while you two were fighting. At least, he wasn't during the portion of the fight I witnessed."
"What makes you so sure he's free now, that is if he was being mind controlled in the first place? Cassie questioned, still not taking anything at face value.
"You...said it yourself. Didn't...use...any of...my toys." Red Robin grimaced at the last word he said because damn it, they weren't toys, as fun as they were to use. "Would have...used some by now. Don't'cha think?"
"Enough, let him up. If he tries anything, I think the two of us can more than handle him," Rachel ordered.
There was a moment where nothing happened, probably a glaring contest of some sort, before Cassie finally relinquished her hold on him and granted his lower back some relief from that knee of hers. Oh, that was so much better.
"Red Robin, now's not the time for you to rest. We have work to do," Rachel continued. "Where's Blood. Where's Garfield?"
"Don't know where Blood is. He's somewhere around here." Oh, how nice, his voice was returning to him. "Garfield's hanging over that portal over there."
"Portal? What portal?" Cassie demanded. A second later, "Oh, that portal. What the hell is that thing?"
"Something Blood wants to enter, we can't let him," Red Robin told her as he began to push himself onto his knees.
"Right," Cassie said distantly.
"I will retrieve Garfield," Kori spoke up. Whoa, when did she get here? "I ask that you prevent any resistance I might face."
"You got it," Cassie agreed. For some reason, Red Robin had the image of her cracking her knuckles pop up in his head. Then a light nudge in his side bothered him. "On your feet, Red. We got work to do."
Why did he want to be a crimefighter again?
With a blast of black-colored magic, Rachel cleared the way ahead of them for Kori to attempt her rescue. The sight of the green-skinned boy was not one foreign to her, unfortunately. While the Tamaranian was making her way towards him, the cloak-wearing girl followed, allowing Cassie and Red Robin to clean up behind her.
She had a plan of her own. While the others dealt with Blood and his forces, she would use the information that Red Robin had provided and deal with the interdimensional portal that was practically the proverbial red-colored elephant in the room. The goal was not to let Blood enter it, so it stood to reason that the fastest way to end this was to close the portal itself.
Breaking away from Kori's flank, she approached hovering disc, her feet landing on the dais before it. The churning reds were almost hypnotic, and for a mystic such as herself, it was very mesmerizing.
Detecting the multiple sources of magical energies fueling the portal from the three witches that stood behind it, almost blocked out of sight, Rachel knew this was going to be a fight. Those three would not simply allow her to close it shut, so all her energies would be needed for this.
A shame it wasn't going to be easy.
Focusing herself, the words Azarath Metrion Zinthos on the tip of her tongue, she was about to begin her assault when movement within the portal distracted her. Unable to resist curiosity, she took a harder look into it and forgot the world around her.
Cold, unfeeling metal was the only thing holding him up, warmed only by his body heat. It wasn't the most comfortable of support, but it wasn't like the green-skinned boy was complaining. He had put himself in this position anyway. No way could anyone else be blamed for it.
The sounds of fighting were only getting louder, yet it said something that he was able to ignore it.
Then a supporting chain disappeared, followed by a second. A source of warmth that was unbelievably hot was pressing up against him, making him forget all about the chains. It was enough to make him willingly open his eyes and see what was going on around him.
The first thing Garfield was able to see was the strong image of Kori, sweet Kori, looming over him as she tore the last remaining restraining him off, holding him against her like he was a baby.
It was a really nice feeling. He wished it could last
There was a feeling of being lowered, though he wasn't being removed from Kori's hold on him. If anything, she was holding him tightly, like she was afraid she might drop him.
Noticing that he was looking up at her, Kori asked, "Who has harmed you so, young Gar? You have so many injuries!"
Was...was she worried about him? Why? Why should she be worried about a guy like him? He was a stupid idiot who didn't listen to others.
"Why?" he croaked out.
Kori tilted her head to a side. It made her look cute. "Why what, my friend?"
Friend? What? Never mind.
"What are you doing here?" he rephrased his question. "You shouldn't be here."
"Why would I not be here?" Kori looked genuinely confused, like she was really wondering why he was asking such a question.
All Garfield could do was stare back. He didn't really understand that reply, no matter how hard he tried to wrap his head around it. Why wouldn't she be here? Why would she want to be here?
"I don't...I don't understand." That was the only thing he could say to that. Because it didn't make any sense. None.
"Have you suffered brain trauma? Are you maimed in locations I am as of now unable to make eye contact with? Is there an injury hiding under that tight-fitting garment you wear around your waist? Shall I check for certainty?"
"No!" he squeaked out as a kind yet incredibly strong hand reached down for his shorts. His hands immediately went down to cover/protect his only source of modesty from being disturbed, no matter what helpful intentions Kori had.
Such movement reminded him of the state he was in, muscles pulling skin that was littered with so many cuts, some deeper than others, others shallower. Didn't take away from the fact that they still hurt. A whimper escaped him as he settled bonelessly where he lied.
"Are your injures more dire than I had anticipated?" Kori asked, her face the very definition of worry.
"Why...do you care?" Another great question.
"Should I not care about your wellbeing?" the Tamaranian asked.
"What's in it for you? I'm a stupid loser who didn't listen to people and now look at me. I freaking deserve this. Because I'm stupid. So why? Why did you come here? I'm not worth it." Now it was all spilling out. The questions that had been in his head were finally given voice to.
"Have you forgotten already?" Now that was unexpected. Kori was asking a question as her answer instead of, you know, giving a straight answer.
"Forgotten what?" he said dryly.
"Not long ago, you yourself were volunteering to come to my aid," Kori told him. "When my former owner made threats against your planet for my return, did you not come to my defense, and engage in combat against his forces so that I did not have to return? I myself initially refused such aid, yet you gave it anyway. My gratitude knows no boundaries."
So this was what? Paying him back or something. Please, there were other people more worthy of it.
"You still shouldn't have come," he told her.
"But I did. Because I wanted to. Because if our situations were the opposite, I want to believe that you would do the same for me. That you would force your aid on me as I am now doing to you. Is that not what allies do on this planet?" Kori's so very green eyes had locked onto his, never wavering once as she spoke. When he didn't say anything, she continued, "I do not know everything you have been through. I do know betrayal, and I can see it in your eyes that you know what it means to experience it. The details of our tales may differ, but the emotions are all the same. Tell me, Gar, are you going to allow those that betrayed you to take your happiness from you, or will you fight them to the bitter end before you allow them to take it?"
"That all sounds so...nice, when you say it, but what's the point?" he sighed.
"Your lack of life is very depressing. If it would please you, I would visit righteous fury on those who have made you so." Kori released him, though after laying him out on the now very cold floor. "Rest now. I shall return, hopefully with victory."
"Why?" he blurted out once more.
"Did I not say so earlier? We are allies. Comrades. On my planet, you fight for and defend your comrades. After all, they are the closest you have to family," Kori told him. "And family...even if they hurt you, you still fight for them. Because there is nothing else."
Family, huh. But hadn't her family...no, her sister sold her into slavery, much like he had been? Yeah, that had happened. And then she had come to Earth and everything. A nice story, it was.
But...but here she was. Even after being hurt, she was still trucking. And when that alien guy was threatening to blow up the city, hadn't she decided to turn herself in first? She had, but they wouldn't let her. Those other guys. Cyborg and his cool as hell robot body. Wonder Chick and that armor that did not hide the places he liked to look at. He wasn't sure that was her real name, by the way.
Oh, and there was that Red Robin guy, not related to the restaurant or anything. Didn't really get to know him, but he seemed like the kind of guy who took things way too seriously. Kinda like that Rachel girl. Except, she was dark and no fun and kinda made him want to hide sometimes. Especially when she was mad.
He was forgetting someone, though. Felt like...felt like there was one more. Hmm. Who could it...oh yeah, he was with them too. He helped out, just like Kori said he had. Huh, that felt like a long time ago. Things had changed, he was different too.
A flare of light followed by a zapping explosion attracted his attention. Lifting his head up, for the first time he took in everything that was happening around him. He could see Kori firing bolts of that funky green energy of hers, pushing away Brother Blood's worshipers. Wonder Chick and Red Robin were mopping up those who avoided or were hit by the bolts. And over there, he could see that Rachel girl staring into the portal to the Red and nothing else. And guarding the portal were the three Sisters who freaked him out in ways not even that Rachel girl at her maddest had.
There was a lot of people in here, wasn't there? But weren't there supposed to be others? He didn't see any of the Ravagers, including Terra. That...also kinda hurt. He would have thought that she'd be here too. But wait, that's right, Brother Blood would've been able to...yeah, that makes some sense.
Hold on, there, over there, that was Cyborg. Awesome dude. He was here too with all the others. Oh, and there was Brother Blood too. The other worshipers were leaving those two alone, probably 'cause Brother Blood told them too.
Watching as Cyborg fire that energy cannon of his and Brother Blood stepping aside like he did such a thing all the time at first confused the green teen. Then he realized that the two of them were fighting. Whenever Brother Blood got too close, Victor would start throwing his metal fists around, trying to punch him. Brother Blood would move out of the way or catch any that got too close. Then he would do something like throw Cyborg around and onto his back without breaking a sweat. And then Cyborg would get back up, block some attacks from Brother Blood then try and attack back and on and on.
It was easy to tell that Cyborg wasn't getting anywhere. All he was doing was keeping Brother Blood busy, which made the big man himself angrier. Ah, Brother Blood was trying to be quick about this, but Cyborg wasn't letting him do what he wanted.
But then Brother Blood got two good hits in, and surprisingly, even though he was half-robot, Cyborg went down again. That could not be good. It was definitely not good.
Where were the others? Kori, Red Robin, Wonder Chick, and Rachel girl. Why weren't they helping? Why were they beating up all the worshipers? Didn't they see that Cyborg needed help? He could see it. He knew the robot man needed help.
He needed help. He needed...to help.
Garfield clenched his fist tightly.
"You're quite the unusual one."
Pushing himself up onto his feet, Victor glared at the weird man with the dinosaur skull on his head. With the way his eyes were glowing, the fact that none of the cult guys were getting close to him, and that he could hit like a freight train, he figured this was the big bad guy they needed to take down.
"And you look like you got dressed by someone who's color blind," the cybernetic teen retorted.
The man, Brother Blood, smirked. "You still have a sense of humor. Good. I always do enjoy beating it out of people. But I'm on a time table right now, so I won't be able to take my time like I normally would. A shame, really. I do believe it would be a challenge."
"How about I be a challenge right now!" Victor fired back, both figuratively and literally. A blast of energy from his arm cannon sliced through the air at the multi-colored freak. Blood stepped to a side, his hand cupping a pulsing red ball for some reason.
"You've shown me yours. Now I'll show mine," the amused man quipped as he held up that previously mentioned hand and—oh shit, what the hell! A red beam blasted towards the cyborg, and Victor leapt out of the way without any grace whatsoever.
Next thing he knew, Blood was right next to him, his other hand cupping another pulsing red ball and—fuck, he was going to shoot it point blank, wasn't he?
Blood did, and Victor cried out as his body was covered with crackling, red bolts. He still wasn't used to experiencing pain again, so that was a double whammy right there. He fell to the floor, not spasming since really, it was only the human part that felt anything.
"You're all cover with metal. Kinda makes it tough on me," Blood commented as he loomed over the half-robot. "Not a lot of places to really cut you up. Whoever gave you this really went out of their way to protect you." Don't you dare say that, asshole. "But they let one pretty big flaw. I can see your face—" a hand that looked like it had claws for fingertips approached that area of Victor's head, "—and that's where I will undo you. Again, a shame. I would have loved dismantling you..."
Blood paused, building up some suspense before he finished up that earlier train of thought he was having. Victor had a pretty good idea of what it was right as the now very intimidating man finished with a very soft yet evil tone of voice.
"...piece…"
Victor's human eye dilated, almost a pin prick as his fears were beginning to be realized.
"...by…"
He swallowed, already knowing what that next word would be.
"—oof!"
And Blood was gone.
Victor blinked his human eye dumbly. Well, couldn't say he had been expecting that.
A green colored paw stomped by his side, directing the cybernetic teen's gaze to the large, green bear that roared and then shifted into a cheetah, launching itself over him as it went into a sprint. Meanwhile, Blood was holding his arm, removing his hand from it to examine the blood that now stained it. He snapped his dinosaur-wearing head up, eyes glowing red, about to say something, but was headbutted by the bull that ran into him and thrown back as the animal tossed around its head.
The bull didn't waste a second as he kept charging, shifting into a gorilla that snagged Blood and threw him up into the air, soaring over the battlefield that filled the cavernous room. Jumping forth, the ape changed into a small falcon that sliced through the air, a green blur to the naked eye. Though his body was also in flight, Blood lifted his head up enough to get the green bird dead in his sights.
"Enough!" Blood roared at the bird, but only after this avian had shifted into an armadillo, balled up and spinning. Whatever freaky powers Blood had, apparently they couldn't do anything about momentum. The older man was struck in the face with enough force that he was flipping in midair until he landed on the floor with a smack.
Meanwhile, the armadillo had reverted back into a bird, though its flight was unsteady. It suddenly shrinking into something smaller, and it took Victor's robot eye to zoom in on it to see the form of a hummingbird.
Higher the hummingbird went up until it shifted again. Victor's human eye widened as—was that a freaking?!—whale plummeted through the air, and directly beneath it was none other than Blood. Recovering from his landing, Blood noticed what was heading to him and he scrambled out of the way, barely escaping the crushing mass of the marine-based mammal.
As dust and dirt clouded the area the whale had landed, blocking it from sight, Blood had put a few feet between himself and the green creature. "How dare you!" Blood spat out. "How dare you strike me, you little freak!"
As the cloud dissipated, the slight form of Garfield emerged, crouched with a hand holding his head. As if struggling, the little guy peered up with the best shit-eating grin he could muster. "I never...can...turn down a dare."
Shit. Garfield gone wild.
Blood's glowing red eyes flared and Garfield gave out a cry. "I never gave you permission to grow a pair, changeling. Weren't you suppose to be catatonic, lost with no hope whatsoever?"
"I don't...even know...what that word means," Garfield grunted out through whatever pain he was experiencing.
"Then I'll show you what it means," Blood snarled as he held out both of his hands, two large, pulsing, red orbs in each one.
Not on his watch. A quick adjustment to his arm, and he fired a sonic pulse at the religious asshole. The hit knocked Blood away from the Green Bean, the two red balls flashing out of existence. As soon as that happened, Garfield was shifting again, his body spinning as he changed.
Where once crouched a green-colored human kid, an enormous T-rex took his place, still spinning. The massive tail was like a whip, and Blood had barely recovered when he was smacked with it, flying like a baseball into the gathering of his zombie worshipers, and scattering any of them who happened to be in his way.
Jogging up to the shapeshifter's side, who by then had returned to his human form, Victor said the only thing on his mind at the moment. "Dawg, that was awesome!"
Pausing, the little guy looked up at him, eyes wide. "You think?" he asked, as if wondering if the praise was genuine.
"Would I lie?" Victor retorted, jerking a thumb at himself. "Now how about we continue this pain train? Got anything else up your sleeve?"
"Dude, the whole animal kingdom!" Garfield declared.
"Then show me everything you can do," Victor commanded as he held his hand out, elbow bent.
Giving a small smirk, Garfield reached out and clasped his smaller hand with the cyborg's larger, metal one.
Red Robin was starting to pant hard. He had no idea how long he had been at this, but combined with the butt-kicking Cassie had given him earlier, he was really starting to slow down. His body ached, his muscles were screaming at him for a break, but everywhere he looked…
"We shed our lives. We shed our flesh. We shed our blood for him."
Those guys were everywhere and they weren't letting up.
So even though he was fighting to keep his breath, his arms were beginning to protest being held in a defensive stance, and his legs were beginning to burn from strain, the teen vigilante forced himself to press on. There was no other choice but to keep fighting. There was no power or reset button sitting around anywhere.
"We shed our lives," one cultist chanted as he lunged at the masked teen. Red Robin waited, letting the mindless man approach, then struck when there was no way for the guy to dodge.
Tilting his upper body to a side, Reed Robin brought up a knee into the cultist's stomach, clasped his hands together, and jackhammered the back of the crazed man's skull. As the man collapsed, another cultist ran forward, chanting, "We shed our flesh."
Spinning on his heel, the vigilante slipped around the charge and sent a kick into the attack's back, propelling him forward and straight into the rest of his cultist buddies. Slipping a hand down to his belt, the masked teen was given a nasty reminder that he had exhausted his belt and had nothing else on him. The only weapons he had on him were his hands and feet, and even those were aching from all the punishment he was dishing out.
How much longer would he be able to keep fighting?
Someone slipped up behind him, and his internal alarms were screaming that he was under attack. However, a voice that was different from the mindless hum of repeated sentences spoke up. "Looking tired there, Red. Never thought you got tired this easily."
Okay, he was still under attack, but it was only verbal. The jab to his stamina aside, Cassie was watching his back now, making sure no one was going to try and rush him from behind. At least, that's what he hoped.
"Not everyone has a magic suit of armor to give them a boost," he retorted.
"A boost? Buddy, this is all natural," Cassie boasted, taking a second to deck a rushing cultist. "Always could knock someone out if I felt like it."
"Do you think you can knock them out harder?" he asked wryly, noticing from the corner of his eye how the man she had punched was getting back onto his feet.
"Any harder and I might knock someone's head off. Literally," she answered. "You willing to look the other way on that?"
Uh, yeah, no. The thought of that was enough to make him feel a little sick to the stomach, not that he needed to feel that in their current situation. Could really do without hearing that right now.
"Any other thoughts you'd like to share? Preferably ones that end this all sooner rather than later?" the vigilante asked maybe a little too loudly.
"Sure I have a plan. Keep knocking heads together until they all stay down," the armored blond replied.
Not the answer he wanted to hear.
Several cultists came at them, continuing their chants of shedding everything about themselves. Tensing his tired muscles, Red Robin readied himself for another round that would leave him more tired than he was now, and he was already reaching his limit. Fortunately, a bolt of green energy struck the floor in front of the charging cultists, detonating and slowing them down. Zooming through the air, Kori shattered their loose formation, scattering them.
"Are you in trouble, my friends? You have stopped fighting," the Tamaranian called out to the two of them. As soon as she finished speaking, the orange-colored alien performed a roundhouse kick that sent its unfortunate victim flying away.
"Just trying to figure out a way to keep these guys from getting back up," Cassie called to the alien. "Any ideas?"
"Is death permissible or no?" Kori asked in answer.
Red Robin would take that as a no.
"We need to come up with a plan. Like right now," he stated. Then he added, "One that doesn't involve killing people. We don't know anything about these people or if we can save them or not."
"That sounds fine and dandy but that doesn't change the fact they're all trying to kill us," Cassie retorted. "Better think of something quick before this gets worse."
He was trying, damn it. It wasn't as easy as people make it out to be. Didn't change the fact that the armored blonde was right, though. That was probably more annoying than being stuck in this situation in the first place. Looking around, hoping for some kind of inspiration or something that could single-handedly give them the win they were looking for—
—oh no. Cassie, why did you have to tempt fate?
A powerful arm swatted aside any cult members that happened to be in the way. With burn marks covering his torso, Trogaar came into sight, and he did not look happy.
"Great, it just got worse," he said blandly.
Cassie swore, saying something that should never be repeated.
Kori didn't say anything; she flew right into action instead, attacking the Gordanian who looked like he had gained a second wind. He blocked whatever blows the Tamaranian threw at him, then counterattacked with his own. Kori ducked under the swinging arm and went back onto the offensive without missing her stride.
"How else can this get worse?" Cassie complained as she raised her leg up and landed a kick in a charging cultist's chest, knocking him away.
Since she had tempted fate before, Tim quickly scanned around, taking a second to block another attacking cultist and retaliating with a brutal punch to the throat and a second blow to the head, before spotting fate's second retort.
This time it was that robed woman, Mayhem, and she had retrieved her gun. She was taking aim at the pair of them, and damn it, Red Robin would have to be out of anything he could throw to disarm her. So he did the next best thing he could.
"Your eight o'clock! Watch out!" he bellowed as Mayhem pulled the trigger of her weapon.
The shattering sound of a gunshot blared over the noises of combat. Somewhere in the air, there was a small projectile moving at the speed of sound. What its target was was unknown, but they would all find out in less than a second.
By then, Cassie had swung out a gauntleted arm to her eight o'clock, Red Robin's warning giving her enough time to use it as a shield. Lo and behold, the blonde had been Mayhem's target.
The masked teen heard the ringing of the bullet striking the gauntlet, Cassie's arm trembled slightly, and then Mayhem cried out as the bullet ricocheted and hit her, causing the robed woman to fall back.
It was tense for a second before Cassie broke it. "Okay, I did not mean for that to happen."
Seeing that Mayhem was curling up on the floor, she was still alive. "It was an accident," the vigilante said quickly. "We'll worry about her later. We got a fight—" he spun around a lunging cultist, landed his elbow into the attacker's back, and sent him stumbling into the armored blonde's swinging fist, "—to finish first. We need to take out Trogaar over there. Any thoughts?"
"Yeah, hit him hard enough that he'll stay down this time," Cassie snarled as she began barreling through the mass of chanting cultists, knocking them out of her way as she went to join the fray with Kori.
Choosing the better part of valor, Red Robin dashed after her, his body still protesting even as the cultists gave chase after him.
Picking himself up, Blood groaned as he still felt the blows from that green freak affecting him.
It made no sense. How was Garfield able to attack him? The brat was his thrall! He had already established his control over him long ago! So how? Oh, and let's not forget, he had restricted that shapeshifting powers of his before shedding all that lovely blood.
So what was going on?
Because of proximity, he could detect the green changeling was close by and he zeroed in on it. It didn't take long to realize that he had dropped the block on the shapeshifting, choosing to use his energies to form his precious portal. There had been no expectation that Garfield would join forces with the other brats who had intruded in his home.
This would have to be a mistake he corrected.
Barreling into view, a rhino trampled over his mindless drones, the cyborg riding atop the ungulate and firing off shots from that arm of his. Spotting him, the cyborg began redirecting the green shapeshifter in the Blood's general direction.
That wasn't good.
Picking himself up, Blood stumbled back, the full force of his injuries beginning to weigh on him. That assault had taken a lot more out of him than he had thought. There wasn't a lot of time, he needed to turn the tables, now.
Quickly looking around, he spotted the portal to the Red, its glow so welcoming. But he wouldn't be able to reach it or access the power that lay on the other side. Especially not with a rhinoceros-riding robot coming his way. And yes, he knew how ridiculous that sounded. Also, there was that other intruder, the gray-skinned girl who was staring at the portal. Whatever reason for it there was, Blood didn't know or care. It amounted to one more obstacle that was determined to stand in his way.
Then his eyes landed on the three Sisters who had taken post around the portal, keeping an eye on that strange girl.
"Sisters!" he roared. "Grant me your strength! Your Brother Blood requires your power in this time of need!"
The three masked women turned their heads towards him. "We live only to serve," the three intoned as red auras encased them. Like a mist, the auras reached out to Blood and he welcomed them, power beginning to fill his being.
The aches and pains of his body were forgotten. His might was restored. And now, vengeance would be served.
Releasing a cry of fury, Blood unleashed a shockwave of power that crashed into anything and everything. The rebellious changeling and his robotic rider were swatted aside easily. His followers, his drones fared no better. The other intruders, even his recent alien acquisition were overpowered.
Now this, this was more like it! His lips parted to reveal a toothy smile while his hands powered up two large orbs of magical whoopass. He threw one at the changeling and cyborg, the two allies giving cries of terror and scrambling out of the way. The orb exploded on contact with the floor, but the force emitted scattered the pair.
The other orb was for the other three, all of whom were trying to battle his alien conquest. The mighty roar of the resulting explosion complemented the blood red detonation, the orange-skinned girl blasted away as she was closest to the blast radius.
One of the remaining two who had endured called out a word, a name perhaps, but Blood didn't give a shit what it was. He formed two more pulsing orbs and fired them off one by one, determined to kill these pests once and for all.
The cavern floor rocked and shuddered with each explosive discharge. By now his followers had retreated, survival instinct overcoming blind and forced devotion. They ended up barring any exits, though, so they still served him; this time it was to prevent any escape from his wrath.
One explosion managed to stun his shapeshifting turncoat of a Ravager, leaving him helpless for a follow-up attack. The cyborg quickly came to the rescue, using his body as a shield to protect the green slave, and as a result overestimated just what Blood's power could do. The older man couldn't help but let out a cackle as the mostly metal and machine pest was thrown across the room, dragging the shapeshifter under his body. Peeled skin and a trail of blood were left in their wake, a beautiful sight as unintentional as it was.
The blonde with the armor tried to charge at him, leaving his alien thrall to be dealt with by her costumed teammate. Grinning, Blood altered his next attack into a fiery red blast of power that sliced through the air beautifully. Instead of doing the sensible thing, like dodging, the blonde crossed her arms in front of her, trying to shield herself.
That ended as well as one would expect. Not anticipating the kind of oomph the attack possessed, the resulting explosion pushed the armor-wearing girl back, her feet digging trenches into the floor, and breaking open her guard.
With a triumphant yell, Blood fired a second blast, eagerly waiting the direct hit that awaited it. The costumed boy—who he had enslaved earlier, why was he acting on his own?—darted in between the girl and the blast, whipping his cape up to act a shield. Much to the cult leader's surprise, even though his blast had a direct hit on that cape, it barely left a scratch on it and the boy was still standing.
Narrowing his eyes, he formed a pulsing red orb in one hand while readying a blast with the other. As the Sisters kept supplying him with more and more magical energy, he need not hold back. So he didn't.
With a heave, he threw the orb, aiming towards the costumed teen's legs. Predictably, the boy tilted his cape—for some reason—to better take the brunt of the explosive force slamming into him. With him justly distracted, Blood fired his prepared blast. The attack made quick work of the distance between the two of them, yet it seemed his aim was off.
A mere tilt of his head, and the masked boy had managed to avoid the blast, but the attack was close enough that it seared a portion of the boy's face and that ridiculous mask he wore over his eyes. The cry of shock and pain was music to the older man's ears.
There was a flash of green, and instinctively Blood raised a glowing red hand up to catch the bolt of green energy. Clamping his fingers down on it, he extinguished the pathetic attempt at a counterattack. The orange-skinned girl who had been the one who had thrown that bolt was staring at him in surprise, caught off guard enough that she could only stare, unable to comprehend that her precious little attack had been smothered so easily.
Giving a smirk, Blood paid the attempt back in kind, the orange girl scrambling to escape but not making it out of the detonation's range. She landed at the feet of his alien thrall who stomped his foot on her back, pinning her to the floor. Finally, the help was doing something for once.
Ah, this was addictive. Right now, he felt like he could do anything, more specifically tear these pests apart limb by limb. In fact, why not do that right now? Why not make examples of them here and now, and show why no one opposed the one who bore the title of Brother Blood?
"Brother! The portal!" Mayhem, called out to him, one of her hands pressed against her side. A curious sight, but it did remind him of the task at hand. Good girl, Mayhem.
Yes, the portal was more important than asserting his dominance. The Red waited for no one, which was why he had worked so hard to open this gate in the first place. Enough time had already been wasted fighting these insects; no more playing around.
"You," he snapped at his alien thrall, "make sure none of them interfere. I'm tired of this game."
Spinning on his heel, his cape making a nice whooshing sound, Blood made his approach to the still open portal, but came to a stop as he almost ran into the one other pest who had for the most part stayed out of the battle. To be honest, he had forgotten that there had been one other intruder in his sanctum.
What was she doing? From what he could see, she was just standing there, her lips moving as if she were speaking—whispering?—to someone. That didn't make any sense. What did was that she was in his way.
"Move aside," Blood said darkly as he raised an arm up to bat her way.
The floor under his feet buckled then lifted up, throwing him back and away from the girl. Luckily, he was able to regain his balance before making a fool of himself and falling on his ass.
There was a slight tremor beneath his feet, which was then followed by a pillar of rock shooting up into the air, and the older man standing on top of it. Unfortunately, this time, he couldn't keep his balance and fell back to the cavern floor below. A good thing, in hindsight, as that pillar continued up until it smashed into the ceiling high above.
Immediately recognizing the handiwork, Blood searched for and spotted the one responsible. "Terra!" he snarled. "What do you think you're doing?!"
Standing before a grouping of his mindless followers, of whom were buried up to their waists in mounds of dirt and stone, was the blonde girl in question, her body covered in a yellow glow that shimmered around her. There was an energy about her, a feeling that she was on the brink of doing something that was going to piss the cult leader off more than he already was.
However, it was the fact she did not say anything or respond, which sent him over the brink.
"I have had enough of this!" Blood roared as his augmented power flared about him. The Sisters behind him wavered, struggling to keep up with the demand he placed on them. Eyes flashing red, Blood asserted his will on the girl striking at any and all vulnerabilities she had. No more tolerating insubordination. It was bad enough he had Warblade keeping vital information from him, and then the green shapeshifter harming him, but Terra denying him his destiny was too far.
Terra cried out, and while Blood was granted with instant gratification, it was short lived. Because the very second the girl fell to her knees, the floor was cracked open and a very solid, very pointed rock tore out of the opening with speed that belied its weight. Breaking off his psychic assault, Blood leapt out of the way as the rock crashed into the spot he had once stood. Smaller rocks pelted him, loosened from the crash site.
Noticing that the cavern room was shaking, he yelled at the girl to stop before a shadow was cast over him. Snapping his head upwards, Blood's eyes bulged as chunk of the ceiling was plummeting through the air and heading directly for where he stood now. Evasive maneuvers were needed ASAP.
"What do you think you're doing?! You'll crush us all!" he shouted at Terra. When it was apparent she wasn't about to stop, he threw a look at his pet alien. "Stop her before she kills us all!"
Pressing his weight on the back of the orange girl, Trogaar hurried over to where Terra continued to kneel, a fist raised with the obvious intent of knocking her out. As if sensing his approach, Terra's head whipped around and she threw out an arm. In response, a veritable wall of rock broke through the floor and rammed into the alien, throwing him back several feet to land on his back.
The brute of an alien had no time to return to the task at hand. In the next second, a stalactite impaled him in the middle of his torso, the pointed rock having descended from the high-up ceiling where it had been dislodged. As the extraterrestrial gurgled up blood, Blood felt himself experience pain as death backlashed through his connection to the dying being.
The suddenness and unexpected nature of the connection's dissolution caused a scream to rip from Blood's throat as he grasped at his head. The Sisters behind also screamed, the efforts to channel their powers into him cutting off as they too were affected by the backlash.
Stumbling back, Blood tripped over himself, reeling from the affect effects still afflicting him. The agony threatened to destroy his mind.
Usually when terminating a slave or servant, he would prepare himself for the cutting off of the connection that existed between himself and the person to be slaughtered. Magical and psychic backlashes were always a risk when it came to such events which could be countered with prior knowledge and preparation. But when there was no preparation or prior knowledge, it was such a bitch, almost psychologically crippling.
That was the power of death for you.
Holding his head, Blood finally came to rest on the floor, the portal nearby and waiting for him, still waiting for him to claim it. He could see it from the corner of his eye and he knew that no more time could wasted. He needed to hurry and claim it, claim it now!
But as was his luck today, there was one last—and neglected—obstacle in his way.
Rachel tuned back into the world and found that it was a much different place than when she had, ahem, "left it." For one, there was a lot less fighting. Two, the people she was aligned to were all in various states of injury, from Kori laying on her stomach, to Cassie supporting Red Robin, and Victor shielding the body of Garfield. And third, it felt as if there was an earthquake disrupting this earth-based chamber. Ah, there was Terra right over there, her powers over the earth completely overactive. That would explain that last part.
And lastly, there was Brother Blood at her feet. He had the look of someone experiencing a psychic backlash, never a pretty thing.
From her point of view, she saw not a master of the arcane, a leader of a group of delusional zealots, or ruthless megalomaniac. She saw an amateur in over his head.
The main reason for that was the portal that had captivated her the second she set her eyes on it. According to Terra, this portal should lead to the Red, whatever that was. Except, it didn't. How did she know that? Because after staring into it for so long, she caught of glimpse of what was hiding within it, and she knew where it led.
And this fool thought otherwise.
"Out of my way," Brother Blood spat at her. "You will not deny me my destiny."
Rachel narrowed her eyes as she tapped into her magic. "Deny you? On the contrary."
Extending a hand, she allowed her dark powers to weave around the cult leader and pick him up, keeping him suspended in the air. He made a token effort of struggle, but there would be no escape for him. He was helpless, at her mercy, and she would extend to him the same mercy he had displayed to her...friends.
"Allow me to give you the one thing you want," she told him, ignoring his flabbergasted look. "Just know that that portal is one way only. Give my regards to the ruler of that realm."
Then she blasted Blood straight into the portal, the man crying out at the suddenness of his flight. He vanished from sight, devoured by the portal that was now enveloped in inky black. With the easy part accomplished, Rachel set about asserting her will over this gate, filling the construct with her magical energies and then picking it apart until it could hold its shape no more.
Visibly, the portal began to shrink, reducing in size until all that was left was a ball of black-colored magic that with a thought, she dispelled. Nothing but air remained where the object of Blood's triumph once rested.
As if to add one last insult, a large boulder loosened from the ceiling crashed down into the pool of blood that had provided much of the portal's foundation. Also, it was evidence that the danger had yet to pass.
This whole place was trembling, and any time something as unmovable as earth and rock trembled, it meant it was about to move. The trembling needed to stop now or they needed to get out of here.
Using her magic to levitate herself, Rachel glided over to the source of the danger, the blonde-haired girl known as Terra. The geokinetic was still crouched on the floor, her body covered in a yellow glow. You didn't need to be a rocket scientist to know that so long as Terra was glowing, her powers were active.
"Terra, you can stop now," Rachel declared as she came to a stop in front of the blonde. "Blood's gone. It's over. Stop before you kill everyone here."
Terra's shoulders trembled, which surprisingly accompanied a tremor in the room. "I...can't," Terra forced out. "The noise...it's too loud. I have to...I need to stop it."
Rachel frowned. Noise? What noise? "What are you talking about?"
Terra shook her head. "You leave. Do it now. I'll be fine, so go. I...I need to do this. This place...it's hurt so many, me, Gar. It'll do."
That was very alarming to hear, and the implications…
"How do you expect us to get out? You need to get control over yourself!" the dark-haired girl urged.
"I used to have control, until you came around," Terra replied, looking up at her through her bangs. "It's too late. Get yourself out of here. Get them out of here. Get Gar out of here. Please. Take care of him too, will you? He needs someone to watch his back. But I'll be back. Don't you worry about that."
There was a finality to her tone of words. A resignation. Or maybe she really believed that she would be fine. Whatever the case, it was quickly apparent that there was no talking her out of this.
"I hope you're the type of person that keeps their word," Rachel stated as she turned away, quickly looking around for her companions.
The trembling of the cavernous room was becoming worse. You could actually see it rocking up and down, side to side. The walls were beginning to crack, and above the ceiling was losing its strength as pieces of it were beginning to dislodge.
There, there, and there, Rachel identified the locations of her comrades. "Victor! To me!" she called out to her cybernetic friend, using her powers to amplify her voice to the half-robotic teen. Looking at her, Victor nodded and picked up the wounded Garfield, the green changeling's back bleeding from a large swath of skin that had been torn off.
Two down. "Kori! If you can move, get to Cassie and Red Robin," she ordered the Tamaranian. Pushed up on her arms, Kori nodded and levitated herself, moving over to where their costumed and armored allies were.
That left herself to close the distance and bring all six of them together. There was a way out of here that did not require them to trek through the maze of hallways outside of this room.
Reaching the side of Cassie who was propping up Red Robin, a portion of his face burned, Rachel did a head count, counting Victor and Garfield last as the pair reached her side. "Get close together," she commanded. "Make yourselves as small as possible. This is going to be...interesting."
Understanding the severity of her words, the other five bunched themselves together as close as they could. Given the limitations the variety of their bodies allowed, be their sizes, composition, and states of injury, it wasn't easy to do, but they complied as best as they could.
As pieces of the ceiling increased in their frequency of breaking loose and falling down on their heads, Rachel uttered a chant that swallowed the group in a black bubble of magic and removed them from this terrible place.
"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"
Terra watched as the newly formed group of six were blocked from view by that black magic that had caused the blonde so many problems and sink into the floor. It was good timing on that girl's part as a chunk of the ceiling landed where they had gathered.
She was serious, though. What she said earlier. The hum that never seemed to go away had only intensified as she waited out in the hallways outside this chamber. Since the only way to weaken it was to use her powers, that's what she was going to do. And she was not going to be doing half measures. She was not going to stop until either that hum went away or this whole place collapsed on itself, whichever came first.
Blood's worshipers had scattered after their master had been thrown into that portal. The connection that tied her to him had been cut immediately afterwards, barely a second passing. Freedom, she finally had it.
Nearby, Mother Mayhem stood, covering a wound that did not stop bleeding and staring at the place where she had last seen Blood. "He's done it," the Mother said, her voice full of reverence. "He's done it. He's finally found his way. The Red is his. Power unimaginable. He is a God now. A God."
Terra ignored her. Instead, she choose to focus on her powers, how it tuned itself to the makeup of the planet itself. How it infused itself with her surroundings. She was keyed in in more ways than one.
With a scream, she unleashed it all, drowning that hum out as she tore this place down. Anybody still in it was crushed, from Mother Mayhem, the three seer-like Sisters, even the body of that alien. As the ceiling fully collapsed, it was followed after by the church that sat above it. That structure would descend into the earth too, it all would.
Buried and forgotten, exactly as it deserved.