I am so sorry this took so long. It never fails, I finally get time to write and then no ideas. But there should be another chapter up soon, at least sooner. Which is good…cause you guys might not like me for the end of this. However, its been over a week so I cut this short and am posting it. So, as always, reviews are love, I accept any and all requests for scenes, and I hope everyone enjoys.
BRL
PS I apologize now you'll see why.
Bruce watched as Terry and Max waded through the maelstrom of violence that was the gang war. He knew he couldn't let his protégés worry about their friend's situation; any distraction could become life threatening. But that didn't mean he couldn't do something about it. So he muted their comms and called for some back up. "Ted Grant," answered the voice.
"Ted, Drake is missing, downtown's erupted in a massive war. Terry and Max are keeping it contained, but they need help. If those aliens of Drake's are still around I need you to get them. Now," snapped Bruce.
There was a momentary pause. "On it." The line went dead and Bruce went back to watching Terry and Max.
As Batman and Wildcat fought, Achilles and his group retreated to their headquarters. As Achilles detached his jet pack, Sen dropped the unconscious Nightwing in a chair and began to chain him up. "Sen you and Bast round up our wayward aliens, I'll deal with Tiberius."
Sen nodded as he rolled his shoulders. "They won't exactly be easy to take."
"They're nothing without Tiberius. They won't trouble you," answered Achilles.
Sen shrugged. "If you say so."
"I do, now go!" snapped Achilles. Sen floated into the air and called for his sister. Soon enough, the pair were flying across Gotham.
In a supposed abandoned tenement building. A'lexx looked up from his paper. He seemed to stare into the wall, brows furrowed. His eyes widened. "Isis!" he shouted. Then Sen crashed into the room.
"We've done this before Martian, give up!" bellowed the Tamaranean. A'lexx went incorporeal as Sen threw several bolts.
A'lexx smirked. "Last time I had no desire to win. Now, I do."
"Bold words for a coward!" thundered Sen as he threw a massive haymaker.
A'lexx caught it. He forced the other alien back, bending his wrist. "I'm not a coward, nor do you have any hope of beating me." A'lexx's other hand morphed into a giant fist covered in stone. He crashed the transformed fist into Sen's head, twice. The Tamaranean sunk to his knees. A'lexx tossed him aside. He looked around, stretching his nine senses to the max. Outside he could feel Bast engaging Isis. But he couldn't worry about her just yet. He was looking, looking for the inevitable ace card A'lexx was sure Achilles had. Afterall. "That can't be it." A'lexx muttered to himself. "Not even Sen is that fool hardy to think he could defeat me on his own without any advantage."
"I'm not done!" roared Sen. A'lexx turned incorporeal again as the Tamaranean powered charged through him. "Stay solid you bastard!" A'lexx's eyes narrowed Sen charged at him again. This time, A'lexx stayed solid, smashing a punch into Sen that Superman would have been proud of. As Sen flew back, A'lexx grabbed his leg and slammed him into the floor. Three times. Then the Martain hauled the other alien up.
A'lexx phased his hand into Sen's chest, grasping the Tamaranean's heart. "If not for a vow I made long ago," hissed A'lexx as Sen writhed in front of him. "I would kill you," he squeezed Sen's heart for emphasis. The Tamaranean gasped out blood as A'lexx stared at him. "But…I was forced to swear never to do that. And I honor my word." He withdrew his hand from Sen's chest, dropping the bleeding Tamaranean.
"Weak," coughed Sen as he spat out blood.
A'lexx spared Sen a blank stare. "By your definition of the word alone. But you're the one on the ground aren't you?" A loud screech resounded through the building. A'lexx smirked. "The bird or the cat? Who will win," mused the Martian.
"Isis cant be Bast, you know that! And when my sister is done ripping the wings off your little bird she'll be here to help me finish you!" growled Sen as he started to get up.
A'lexx's red eyes flashed and Sen found his body immobile. "Sit there and be quiet. Honestly, why Achilles chose you and your sister as his counterparts is beyond me. The Big Three must work together, not be the mindless lackeys of one. But, then again, he was never the most stable of Spartoi's experiments."
Meanwhile, above A'lexx, Bast and Isis spiraled in the sky, Bast throwing star bolts as Isis covered herself in Nth metal armor. "You can't win!" screamed Bast. "You and your Martian are mistakes, and you're all going back to Spartoi to get fixed!"
Isis's hand snapped up and blasted Bast with a laser pistol. "Thanagarian Graviton Pistol. Hurts, doesn't it?" Isis jeered as Bast struggled to right herself.
"You'll pay for that bird!" bellowed Bast. The Tamaranean power charged straight towards the Thanagarian, who, for her part, merely dropped her pistol and created a golden mace and shield. Bast smashed into Isis, both rocketing back. Isis struggled to keep her shield in front as Bast hammered blow after blow home. Finally Bast grabbed the rim of the shield and ripped it aside, then shoved a star bolt right in Isis's chest. The Thanagarian streaked back, smoke billowing from her chest. She crashed onto a roof, gasping as she struggled to get to her feet. Her weapons and armor retreated back into her body as she lost focus. "You always were such a braggart Isis. You get a lucky shot and think you'll win. Idiot," cackled Bast as she floated down to Isis. "It's no wonder Tiberius left you and A'lexx. Your supposed Superman has no stomach to actually fight, and you, you are useless. Even with Nth metal bonded to your very DNA, you can barely survive one of my star bolts. You're weak, pathetic even. The only one of your miserable group who had any potential was Tiberius, and compared to Achilles, he's nothing."
"You'll pay for that," hissed Isis as she clambered to her feet. Her armor reformed around her, becoming a suit of shining golden plate. In between the armored plates were red segmented joints. "Berserker mode activated" stated a new voice.
Bast cocked her head to the side. "What's this?"
Isis just roared as she charged at Bast. Almost faster than Bast could react, Isis was on her, swinging out with a gold battle axe and mace. Bast blocked and dodged the gold weapons, but Isis's raw aggression put Bast on the defensive as the Tamaranean struggled to keep up with her opponent. Isis swung out with her left handed mace, exposing her left side. Bast smirked, she slammed a star bolt into her side, followed by a vicious uppercut which lifted Isis into the sky. Bast right on her heels. Only Isis barely seemed affected by Bast's attack. Her wings flapped once and she shot upwards. Isis's axe morphed into a mace again while a new shield grew from her left hand gauntlet. The aliens spiraled trading shots as they ascended.
Finally Isis had enough. She bellowed at the top of her lungs and threw her wings out as wide as she could, halting them in the air. Isis shoved with her shield, using all her strength to knock Bast back, then swung out with her mace. The golden weapon slammed home into Bast's head, Isis followed with a shield punch with the edge of her shield. Only three long claws sprouted from the metal, impaling Bast.
Isis pulled the struggling Bast close. "You always thought you were the best. Too bad you're not!" she hissed as she kicked Bast off her shield.
"Isis!" shouted A'lexx as he appeared on the roof, Sen in one hand. "If you killed her!"
"She'll live! Tamaraneans are remarkably durable, even to Nth metal!" Isis called back. The red segmented strips began to retreat, and Isis's armor returned to its usual look.
A'lexx sighed as he shook his head. "Then catch her!" Isis sighed as she dove after the falling Bast, catching her by her leg and dropping her on the roof. A'lexx tossed Sen next to the unconscious Bast. "You know what this means correct? If Achilles sent them alone"
"He has Tiberius," finished Isis.
"And you kiddies are gonna be needed to help him," said a new voice. Both teenagers spun, ready for a fight, only to see Ted Grant in his Wild Cat suit step out of the shadows. "I was watching ya tussle, thought you might need a hand, but I guess not." He whistled at the two unconscious Tamaraneans. "I can see Drake aint the only one of yas with potential. But that's not why I'm here. There's a war going on tonight, and Batman and Wildcat are in the middle of it."
"And," snapped Isis.
Ted just shook his head. "And if ya used your head for anything other than knowing how to swing that mace, you'd know those are Drake's two best friends. And they're in the middle of that damn war because of Achilles. You two say ya care about Drake, now would be a good time to show it. Batman and Wildcat need help and you're gonna be the ones who give them that help."
Isis went to argue bur A'lexx held up a hand. "And after?"
Ted shrugged. "Do what you want, you're free. Though, I would ask you two stick around, get some training. Or, go to the league. But that's only a favor, your choice. Martian, you read minds yea?" A'lexx nodded. Ted grinned. "Good take a quick look to see where the war is then get to there. I got work to do elsewhere." A'lexx stepped forward, when Ted caught his hand. "Only the location of the fight," stated the older hero.
A'lexx, despite being vastly stronger and more powerful, felt something…odd about the old man. But he ignored the feeling and nodded. "Of course." Ted lowered his head, and A'lexx touched him. A'lexx's closed and he found the memory easily. "Got it. Isis."
Isis sighed. "I'm coming."
"What about them?" asked A'lexx as he gestured to the Tamaraneans. Sen growled and struggled to move his body, Bast was unconscious.
Ted grinned as he withdrew a pair of meta human manacles. "These will keep them calm." He cuffed the twins then called the cops. "The police will be here for them soon. The commissioner was one of us once, she'll hold them for a while. Now you two better get going."
Isis glanced at A'lexx who shrugged. "We were made to be heroes, we should probably start acting like it," stated the Martian.
Isis grinned. "Good, my blood is still up and I'd love to tear into someone."
Ted chuckled. "That's the right attitude. Now get going, they need ya."
Meanwhile, across Gotham.
Batman gasped as he blocked a sloppy Jokerz's haymaker, crashing a swift hook into the ganger's head before leaping and slamming his shin into a card. Since both gangs were fighting with enhancements, both were substantially harder to put down. And the melee was draining our heroes. Terry, the more experienced of the two, was handling the fight better, but both were getting tired, and there seemed no end to the violence. Thankfully, because of their continued harassment of the edge of the war, Batman and Wildcat had managed to keep the fight from spreading across Gotham. Though, neither knew how much longer they could keep it up….or how to deal with the purple dragon that was knocking Jokerz about like bowling pins.
Batman Grabbed a Joker and used him to smash aside several more then threw the Joker turned weapon into his comrades. "Batman!" roared a new voice. Scarecrow swept his scythe around him, knocking cards back. "I'm coming for you Batman. The bell shall toll for you tonight!"
"No it doesn't! It tolls for thee!" screamed the Red Queen. A flaming sword was clutched in her hand, the same one Scarecrow used to break Alice out of jail.
Scarecrow sighed as he rolled his eyes. "Why can't you just die like a good girl?!" he bellowed. Alice gave a screeching battle cry as she attacked like mad with her sword.
Batman just stared. "Well…that's something you don't see every day." He ducked under a card's attack and sent the ganger back. "Right, gang war. Back to work."
Not that Wildcat was having an easier time. Wildcat smashed an electrified punch into a Card, followed by a knee. She spun and threw the Card into a charging group. That's when she came face to face with her worst nightmare. "Well, the newest member of the batclan. I'm Terminal, you should remember that name," said the Joker as he appeared in front of her. He grinned as he lifted his gas pistol. "Well…maybe you wont." He fired. Wildcat threw herself to the side, a Card taking the blast instead. Terminal raised an eyebrow. "Huh, agile thing aren't you. Well," he continued with a vicious grin. "That just makes it all the more fun."
"You're a son of a bitch…and I'm gonna put you down," hissed Wildcat.
Terminal snickered. "Try."
