Chapter 35: Brawling Bang Babies
DISCLAIMER: I do not own any DC characters or logos.
Raven followed after the two older heroes as they entered the nearby club. While she could not be seen by the naked eye, an uneasy feeling had begun to build in the pit of her stomach. She was confident that it had nothing to do with the mission she was on at the moment… no… she was worried about something else entirely. While she had no definite proof that anything unsavory was happening to them, the young sorceress always had a sixth sense for these sorts of things. Having spent so much time around them for so long, Raven had developed a small connection to each of them through pure instinct.
"You still there…" Black Canary muttered out of the corner of her mouth. The sudden call had disrupted her train of thought, but she worked quickly to regain her concentration. It wouldn't do them any good if the affects of her invisibility spell had dispersed in public.
The young sorceress tapped her teammate's shoulder rather than voice her answer for everyone in the room to hear. While she gave a quick intake of breath, the blonde inclined her head briefly in response to the action and continued to walk as if nothing had happened.
The plan was going well so far, as the two older heroes were dressed rather normally instead of wearing their usual hero clothes. Huntress had donned a black dress, and had wisely decided to remove her mask and cape, while Black Canary had traded her jacket in exchange for more formal attire, and wore a light blue dress over her form-fitting clothing.
Joining the mob of people outside the doorway to the arena, the three heroes easily infiltrated the group of bystanders and entered the underground stadium. Raven slipped through the doors leading to the basement seconds before they closed, hanging back slightly so that she did not accidentally bump into anyone in the line. Her invisibility spell may have prevented people from seeing her, but that didn't necessarily mean that they could not touch her.
Following after the roaming crowd, she silently wished that she had done more work to perfect the intangibility spell before coming on this mission. While her thoughts lingered on this for a moment, she snapped back to the current situation upon seeing the arena.
The underground stadium was surprisingly extravagant for a place where villains illegally participated in steel cage matches. Large golden chandeliers hung from the ceiling of the large room, illuminating the stairways and seats around the arena. In the center of the room was a large ring, surrounded by double-enforced safety glass that even someone with super strength would have trouble breaking.
Looking around the arena, she realized how full the place was tonight. There were many people present for the event… most of which appeared to be relatively wealthy by the way that they were dressed. It made sense thought, since just one ticket to the Meta Brawl could cost as much as a few thousand dollars. As her eyes probed the arena more closely, she caught sight of a few familiar faces. The famous mafia boss, Rupert Thorpe was sitting in the top section of the room, with a few of his security guys with him.
She quickly caught sight of Huntress and Black Canary, both of which were sitting in the furthest row from the ring. She dared not sit down beside her companions in the case that someone did not see her and accidentally sat on top of her. If something like that happened, it was possible that she could blow their cover.
Standing near the top edges of the room, Raven's eyes darted toward the large monitor, which hung above the ring. The screen flashed for a second as the image of a woman's face appeared on the surface of the monitor. When the picture cleared, the woman began to speak.
"Greetings esteemed guests, and welcome to the newest edition of the Meta Brawl…" she declared flamboyantly to the audience. "My name is Roulette, and I make the rules."
Her announcement was met with loud cheers from all sides of the room. She paused a second to listen to the audience before continuing. "Tonight, we bring you a real showstopper. That's right folks… we have some special guests tonight that I'm sure you're all dying to meet." As she said this, the floor of the ring opened up, revealing the first contestant.
The man standing before them was obviously a younger contender. He was a rough-looking guy, wearing a sleeveless red shirt and a pair of baggy tan-colored pants that hung a bit lower than normal, showing a glimpse of the upper half of his undergarments in the back. He wore his fiery red hair in a messy, pointy style, as if it were styled to look like burning flames.
Roulette waited for the cheering to quiet before she continued. "Ladies and gentleman, please give a warm welcome to our newest Meta Brawler… the bruiser from Dakota, the fiery furnace, that bad boy from the streets… the unpredictable Hot Streak!"
As she finished speaking, the young man standing in the ring raised his arms in a flashy manner. Changing his demeanor, the villain's eyes began to glow a vindictive red. Flames literally enveloped his hair as fireballs formed in his hands. Taking a deep breath, the released a large stream of fire from his mouth in a frightening display, causing the audience to cheer with renewed vigor.
"Save some for our next contestant…" Roulette replied, straightening her sunglasses. "Our next contestant is the returning champion, the veteran brawler, the former heavyweight boxing champion… give it up for our undefeated champion… WILDCAT!"
The second secret compartment in the floor opened up, revealing a large man wearing a black spandex suit. Most of his face was concealed by a mask, but the lines on the lower half of his face clearly represented his age. The mask had two small points on the top of his head, similar to cat ears.
While the audience appeared to be relative enthusiastic to see this man in the arena, Raven stood in shock. Wildcat was a member of the Justice League… so what was he doing here. Looking for answers, the young sorceress glance down at Black Canary, only find that the blonde appeared to be just as shocked as she was.
The villain in the arena looked less than impressed by his opponent. "This old man is the only bruiser that you guys got for me the challenge?" Hot Streak shouted to the audience, earning an eruption of cheers from the crowd.
Black Canary stood up, her hands shaking violently as she clenched her fists, but was quickly pulled back by Huntress. "Now's not the time for your personal issues… or his…" she hissed, giving the blonde a warning look. The second woman simply nodded grudgingly a she sat back down.
"BEGIN!" Roulette cried, as the bell sounded. As soon as the tone had sounded, the two fighters began the match.
Hot Streak grinned in an unpleasant manner, tossing fireballs at his opponent with rapid succession. "You messed with the wrong dude." He taunted, igniting his hands in a fluid motion.
Wildcat dodged the attacks as they came, timing his movements carefully as the fireballs soared past him, missing his body by inches. To his surprise, the younger man lowered his arms, his eyes returning to their normal color as he took a few steps back.
"Give up yet?" he asked, a cocky expression on his face.
The older fighter stood his ground, a small smile creeping its way onto his aged face. "Why? You're afraid of losing to an old man?" he asked taking a fighting stance as he spoke.
The villain laughed in a rude manner, looking thoroughly amused by the idea. "You got guts old dude… What you gonna do? Wheeze on me?"
Wildcat took his opening, darting forward and planting his fist into the side of his opponent's head. The villain flew a few feet into the air, crashing headfirst into the safety glass wall. While the wall did not shatter, it gave off a loud ringing noise as the younger fighter made contact with it. "You should really learn not to talk so much." He replied, turning his back to the kid.
Hot Streak roared in pain, clutching his head as he struggled to his feet. His breaths were shallow and strained, but it was not out of pain… but out of pure rage. The fire from his hair spread, engulfing his entire arms and shoulders as his anger increased. "Damn you, you old bastard! You just made the biggest mistake of your life, and unfortunately for you… it's also the last mistake you'll ever make." The flames engulfing his body roared in his fury, rising higher and higher as he began firing off multiple blasts at his opponent.
The older man flipped sideways to avoid the attacks, landing on his feet a few yards away. Taking in a quick breath, he was forced to jump sideways to avoid another blast that has been inches from incinerating his body. Darting forward, Wildcat continued to dodge the incoming blasts, being careful to maneuver in a way that would not move him out of the way of one attack, only to run into another.
Ducking underneath another blast, the hero smiled in enjoyment. He always liked fighting, and this new guy was actually proving to be a challenge. The hero lost his balance for a moment, but quickly caught himself before he tripped and fell. While he was able to move away from the oncoming fireball, he could feet the heat on his arm.
Looking down at his shoulder, the old fighter winced in pain as he saw the singe mark on his costume. Despite his pride, Wildcat was no fool by any means. While there was once a time that he could have dodged oncoming attacks for long periods of time, he knew that he wasn't as young as he used to be, and that if his opponent kept on attacking like this he would eventually be killed.
"Give up old man!" The fiery villain called out, flashing his opponent an arrogant smile. The hero was weakening, and he could tell just from his movements.
To his surprise, the older fighter returned his smile.
The flames engulfing Hot Streak's body roared higher as he glared at his opponent in annoyance. "WHAT'S SO DAMN FUNNY?" he shouted, hurling another fireball at his nemesis.
Wildcat said nothing in response to his opponent's outburst as he leapt forward to attack. While most people would have considered such an act foolish, the older hero had a plan.
The furious villain dodged the attack, taking a few steps backwards as he prepared to continue his assault, but his opponent refused to let up, and continued to aim punches at him. Hot Streak knew that he was on the offensive for letting his opponent move to close to him, but it was only a matter of time before he could put some distance between them, and as soon as he did, the old man would be nothing but a pile of smoldering ash. Seeing another punch coming his way, Hot Streak jumped backward again.
Wildcat only grinned as his opponent fell backwards, turning his head just in time to see that the wall he was about to hit was electrified. The human furnace crashed into the wall, howling in agony as pure electricity tore through his body like a knife. After a few seconds, he fell to the floor.
The villain struggled to his feet, but before he could activate his powers, he found himself face to face with Wildcat's fist. The blow struck him in the jaw, sending him flying back into the electric wall. Falling forward one again, he no longer had the strength left to use his meta-human powers.
The older fighter glared down at his half-conscious opponent, seizing the pyromaniac by his hair, Wildcat swung him over his head, slamming him onto the floor. Seeing that the villain was trying to stand again, Wildcat grabbed him by the front of his shirt, pulling him into a standing position. Letting go of his opponent, he took advantage on the opening and landed a volley of punches to his opponent's head and torso. With a cry of pain, the fiery villain's unconscious form slid onto the floor, a stream of blood leaking out from his lower lip.
Wildcat turned his back to the defeated villain, raising his arms in victory as the audience cheered him on. As he finished grandstanding, the large monitor above his head flicked on a second time, causing Roulette's face to appear.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, the winner and still champion… Wildcat!" she declared, earning another chorus of cheers from the crowd. "We'll be right back after a brief intermission, so place those bets folks." As she finished speaking, the monitor switched off once again.
Black Canary rose from her seat, her fists clenched in annoyance as she ascended the steps leading towards the exit. After all he had been through, why would her old mentor have come back to the Meta brawl? It just didn't make any sense to her.
Catching sight of her accomplice, Huntress gave a small sigh of agitation as she followed after the blonde hero. The two heroes tore through the crowds of people, shuffling and pushing to create a path towards the door.
It took a few minutes, but they had finally reached the ladies restroom, which was luckily empty at the moment. As if one cue, Raven appeared besides them, her expression a combination of mingled curiosity and anxiousness. "So… is it time to begin the operation?" she asked in a calm and controlled tone. The blonde hero jumped slightly at the reappearance of her teammate, but quickly hid any signs of shock. Cocking her head to the side, she nodded in agreement.
Huntress returned the collective nod, flashing a small grin as she unbuttoned her dress, revealing the form fitting hero outfit that she wore underneath. Bending down over the dress, she reached into the folds of the discarded garment, withdrawing an angular mask. Lifting the item to eye level, she placed it over the upper half of her face, pushing it into position over her eyes. While she did not have her cape at the moment, she knew that it really didn't make much of a difference. She could kick butt with or without it.
Black Canary tore open the back of her dress, discarding the garment in a nearby trashcan as she slipped on her jacket. "Let's go!"
Raven nodded in agreement, casting her invisibility spell once more as she followed after the other two heroes. In a matter of moments, they had disappeared into the darkened hallways.
A large man in a suit stood in front of the blonde hero, his eyes hidden behind dark glasses. "I said where the hell do you think you're go'in lady?" he spat glaring down at them from behind his shades.
The blonde superhero looked completely unfazed, the makings of a smile forming on her lips. "That way…" she replied, pointing towards the locked door behind the man.
"You're a pretty little thing, but don't get stupid… Can't you read?" the man said, pointing towards the sign on the door. "It says ta keep outta there… well Barbie?" he asked, a cocky grin appearing on his face. Black Canary scowled at the insult, but said nothing in retaliation.
"Roulette told me not to let anyone through here." He said, cracking his knuckles together in a menacing way. "Don't make me hurt you."
At this moment, the blonde superhero's beautiful face lit with an amused smile, her eyes shining maliciously as she returned his glare. "Actually… I was about to say the same thing."
Before the giant man had a chance to react, Black Canary had delivered a swift kick between the man's legs, causing him to double over in pain. Taking the opening, she seized him by the arm and tossed him headfirst into the wall, causing his limp form to topple over helplessly onto the ground.
Unfortunately, her actions had attracted the attention of half the security guard within distance of the noise that she had made. The female superhero looked up just in time to see seven more guards enter the hallway from the surrounding rooms. While she was not in the mood to deal with so many all by herself, she had brought reinforcements too.
Huntress stepped out from the shadows, standing next to her companion as they both prepared for the fight ahead. "Bet I can take down more of them than you can." She said, raising her fists.
Her rival shot her a competitive grin as she turned around, looking completely unfazed by the challenge. "Not really fair if you ask me… you've got four coming from your side and I only have three on my side."
"Whatever… There's probably more of these goons guarding Roulette." She answered in a casual fashion.
Black Canary and Huntress stood back to back, both of them taking fighting stances as the mob of hired henchmen closed in around them. The two heroes wore equally cocky grins as the dark-clad woman made a taunting gesture at the surrounding beating the thugs to a pulp as they charged at women, flailing their fists in a futile attempt to defeat the two heroes.
Raven sat within the boundary of her invisibility spell, holding back as the guards rushed onto the scene. While she would normally have helped her teammates in a battle, she didn't see much of a reason to waste her energy at the moment. Her two companions appeared to be having too much fun at the moment, and she didn't feel like spoiling it for them.
One particularly large man came in from the side, hoping to catch the female heroes off guard, but his attempt failed miserably. As he closed in on them, Black Canary saw him out of the corner of her eye, seizing him one of the other henchmen by the arm, and tossing him in the direction of her attacker.
"Pushovers…" Huntress commented, gently pressing her fingers to the forehead of the guard closest to her. Having been beaten senseless by the heroes, the thug fell backwards onto the floor, his body crashing onto the floor with a resounding thump.
Black Canary nodded in agreement, cracking her knuckles in a bored manner as she strode forward. Her companions followed after her coming to a halt outside of a steel enforced door.
Huntress dropped to one knee, her expression hardening as she observed the door. "I think we need a password…" she replied as her eyes shifted across the number pad that stood where the handle was supposed to be. "What a pain…" she replied, aiming a kick at the doorway. Her foot crashed against the metal barricade, but the door remained undamaged by her sudden attack. She hissed in annoyance as a sharp pain coursed through her leg.
"Did you honestly think that kicking down a solid metal door was going to work?" the blonde replied, looking slightly amused by her reaction. "We have to think up another approach… maybe we can find another way in."
As Black Canary finished speaking, Raven removed her invisibility spell. At this point she no longer felt a need to hide, and it was about time she did something to speed up this mission so she could check on he friends. While she wasn't quite sure what it was, something just told her that there was something weird going on, and they might be in danger. The last thing she wanted to do was to waste time on a lead that probably wouldn't even yield much.
"Well… it's about time the witch came out from under her veil." Huntress replied, crossing her arms as she leaned against the nearby wall.
Raven ignored her comment, taking a few steps forward towards the door. "Leave this to me… I need you guys to take a few steps back."
Her teammates obeyed her request, moving away from the door as the young sorceress pressed her hand onto the surface of the metal. Closing her eyes in concentration, she muttered an incantation under her breath, focusing her spell. In a matter of seconds, the door crumpled like paper, the sound of metal wrenching and creaking as it fell off of its hinges.
Without another word, her teammates dashed past her, leaping over the destroyed remains of the door as they entered the room. The young sorceress followed suit, stepping over the rubble and into the control room.
The room was a large circular shape, the walls lined with advanced equipment and monitors. A red-clad woman with her hair tied into a bun sat next to the control panel, her back turned to the three heroes. She switched off the camera that allowed her to broadcast her announcements before turning to greet her guests.
"Ah… well if it isn't the Justice League." Roulette asked. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she straightened her sunglasses. The woman next to her gave a humorous laugh, flashing the new arrivals a cocky grin.
The second woman wore a black leotard, and her appearance was much more striking. She had a remarkable pale complexion and shocking blue hair that stood up in a spiky pattern, but was otherwise quite attractive. The opening near the upper half of her leotard was shaped like a lightning bolt and showed a small amount of cleavage. Pulling her arm back, Livewire shot a bolt of lighting from her fingertips.
Raven reacted quickly to her opponent's attack. Extending her hand forward, the young sorceress absorbed the attack in her fist and redirected the blast. She sent the lightning in Roulettes direction, but the female villain sidestepped the blast, looking slightly surprised.
"That's cheating…" Livewire spat out, her grin changing into a look of outrage.
Black Canary took a fighting stance, her eyes narrowing as she took a few steps forward. "Your both coming with us." She stated, clenching her fists tightly. Ignoring her rival's warning statement, Huntress shot forward like a missile, her leg thrust into the air in a kicking motion.
Roulette dodged sideways, flipping through the air and landing on her feet a few yards away. Reaching up onto the bun that held her hair, she pulled out the two knives that held her hair in place, causing her hair to spill out over the sides if her head. "You're both going to pay for sending me to jail during the Glamour Slam fiasco a year ago."
"Yeah right." Huntress replied, aiming a quick volley of punches and kicks at the red-clad villain "Why don't you just give up Roulette, you know you can't beat all three of us."
"Maybe not in a fair fight, but Livewire's not the only one who came to help me tonight." Roulette snapped her fingers in a quick motion of her fingers, her smile widening as a dark shadow moved across the floor. Huntress spun around just in time to see a strange portal opening on the surface of the nearby wall.
The dark vortex swirled and spun as a shadow emerged from the entrance, as the new arrival moved further away from the vortex, his body began to solidify. Although he clearly resembled a human from his waist upward, the lower half of his body appeared to be a stretchy blob, and his entire body was completely dark colored as if he had fallen into a vat of ink.
"Where did you come from?" Raven asked, her eyes scanning his strange appearance as if he were a particularly interesting curio. She was not frightened by his sudden appearance, on the contrary. When you lived in a place like Doctor Fate's tower, where the occupants were constantly phasing in and out of rooms, you sort of got used to unannounced intrusion. Eying the villain's unnatural form, she began wondering what kind of powers he possessed.
"And who the hell are you?" Black Canary interjected, observing the blob-like villain with a mixture of interest and disgust.
The shifty villain stretched the upper half of his body forward like a snake ready to strike, his eyes flashing dangerously. "All you guys need to know if that I'm the dude dat's gonna kick your sorry self."
Roulette grinned, her eyes flashing dangerously. "I would like to introduce you to my newest associate… Ebon."
"Das right." The shadowy villain replied, his eyes narrowing slightly. "You'll never heard of me and my gang back in Dakota. Where we come from they call us da Meta Breed."
Raven's eyes widened slightly as she remembered something that she had heard once. It took her a moment, but she recognized his face from the Justice League's villain profiles. Ebon and his cronies were the top villains in the city of Dakota, and were primarily captured by a young electricity-manipulating hero named Static.
Shifting her thoughts back to the situation, she couldn't help but wonder what he was doing here. It was strange, because she had heard that all the Dakota's Big Bang Meta Humans except for Static and his friend had been cured of their unnatural superpowers.
"I thought that every victim of the Big Bang had been cured except for Static and Gear, how is it that you still have your powers?" Raven said, thinking out loud.
Ebon shook his head to the side, looking rather irritated. "Yeah, you right. Those punk scientists back home took most of my crew and returned them to normal, but there was still a few of us, and the rest of us just were able to find the Big Bang Gas and get our powers back."
Huntress tilted her head to the side in a mocking gesture. "Gee… either way I don't think it makes much of a difference. The Meta Brawl must be lowering their standards if Roulette is hiring second-rate bruisers like you." She replied, flashing an evil grin in the direction of the three villains.
"He came here on my request…" Roulette said, pushing up her glasses as she spoke. "For a decent cut of the gross, this charming young gentleman was willing to lend me some fresh young fighters for the Meta Brawl. It's a pity that Wildcat had to pummel Hot Steak so badly, but off course we might have lost a major money maker either way."
"WHY!" Black Canary who had remained relatively silent during her explanation had suddenly seen a chance to ask the question that had been burning at her ever since she had seen her former mentor in the ring. "Why is Wildcat participating in these fights again?"
Roulette opened her mouth to answer, but Ebon lifted a hand to silence the red-clad woman. "You broads ain't got no business questioning how we do things round here, you get that?"
Losing her temper, Black Canary took few steps toward the trio of villains standing a cross the room, her eyes flashing dangerously. She turned back to her companions for a brief moment. "Cover your ears and stay away." She ordered, gesturing backwards as she continued to move towards the trio of bad guys.
Raven nodded in agreement, distancing herself from the enemy as Huntress followed after her. The pair just hoped that she knew what she was doing. Inhaling a deep breath, the blonde superhero releases a sonic birdcall at her opponents, all of which fled at the noise to avoid taking any injury.
Ebon tore his hand through the surrounding air, opening another vortex. Slipping through the portal, he vanished into the swirling darkness, leaving no trace behind that he had even been there to begin with. Roulette promptly fled from the scene of the attack, bolting for the door like an animal in a trap.
While she had avoided to worst of Black Canary's attack, the Meta Brawl manager found herself face to face with the other two heroes as she tried to flee the room. Huntress took a fighting stance as she flipped through the air, landing directly in front of the room's only exit. Distracted by this sudden challenge, the red-clad woman was caught off guard by a paralyzation spell that Raven had blasted her in her direction. Huntress bent over the female villain, binding her hands with rope as Raven prepared to take her in, but they realized that the battle was not quite over yet.
Ebon's strange vortex had reappeared in the center of the room, and was now growing larger by the second. In a matter of moments, the blob-like villain emerged from his portal, stretching the entrance wider so that more people could come through. Five Meta-humans stepped through the swirling energy. The gang leader nodded his head in an angry manner as he glared at the heroes.
"So, what's with the freak brigade?" Huntress asked, returned his glare with one of her own.
Raven simply took a step backwards out of instinct, a feeling of fear bubbling up from the pit of her stomach. While this emotion was normally not a major port of her personality, the absence of her rage and anger had dulled her edge, making her more susceptible to weakness. She was a little bit scared at the moment, but no matter what the situation was, they were now clearly outnumbered.
Ebon moved to the side of his crew, his eyes flashing dangerously. "Yo dog, no one insults me and my posse and gets away with it. Meet the Meta Breed." He said, gesturing towards his gang.
The first member to step up closely resembled a gigantic armadillo. A rather shorter woman stood behind him, her hair done in a strange style and the upper half of her body was gliding on a cloud of smog, which floated where her legs should have been. Behind her was a larger Meta Human who bore a beastly appearance. His skin was a strange purple color, and it was quite obvious from his size and build that he was physically strong. Another woman stood beside them, and although she was probably the most normal looking of the bunch, there was something about her that gave the off the impression that she was the most dangerous of the bunch.
Hot Streak stood at the end of the group, his expression a mixture of loathing and rage. Apparently he was still angry about being defeated by Wildcat in front of an audience and was just about ready to blow off some of that anger.
Ebon cleared his throat as he glanced at the three heroes. "Meet Carmendillo, Puff, Onyx, Madelyn and Hot Streak." Each of the Meta humans nodded or acknowledged Ebon with either a nod or grunt as he named them.
"Just get 'um." Livewire shouted, pointing in the direction of the three heroes.
While Ebon hated taking orders from anyone, the shifty gang leader simply nodded his head in obedience, gesturing his arm forward as a signal for his gang to attack. While most of them followed his lead without question, two of them looked less than happy about taking his orders. Hot Streak and Madelyn stood back, watching as the other villains started to close in around their adversaries.
The armadillo-like Carmendillo charged forward, his body curling into a spherical shape, which rolled towards the heroes like a giant ball. Huntress sidestepped the misjudged attack, causing the mutant villain to roll through the open door of the room and down the nearby stairs.
Spinning around, the masked hero found herself face to face with another opponent. The pyromaniac Hot Streak shot fireballs from his hands, attempting to burn her to death. The masked female backed away from her opponent, carefully dodging his fiery assault as she weaved around his fire blasts. She drew her crossbow, but upon seeing a streak of blonde out of the corner of her eye, she had a feeling that she wasn't going to need it at the moment.
Black Canary flipped forward landing between Huntress and Hot Streak. Taking a deep breath, she released her birdcall at full power, the sonic notes hitting the fiery villain like a freight train. He struggled for a few moments, but was eventually defeated by the assault, collapsing helplessly onto the ground for the second time that night. The two rivals exchanged nods before running back towards the fray. The young sorceress was trying to take on the remaining villains by herself, and so far she was losing the fight.
Raven sent a constant stream of stunning spells at Puff, but her partner Onyx stood directly in front of her, blocking the attacks. While the purple strong man was by no means a magic-using opponent, his insane strength and endurance was more than a match for her low-level spells, granting him an unnatural immunity. She also fought defensively, using barriers to deflect Livewire's constant blasts of electricity as well as the clouds of poisonous smog that Puff sent at her from behind Onyx's back. Needless to say, she was beginning to feel the strain from this fight, and it wasn't even over yet.
The two other heroes noticed this and immediately sprang into action. Huntress shot an arrow from her crossbow at the poisonous Meta Human, but the attack had little affect. While the projectile had struck Puff's body, the female Meta Human had seen the attack, and had transformed her torso into smoke to avoid fatal injury.
"Freaky…" Huntress muttered to herself as she charged forwards into the fray.
The blonde hero nodded in agreement, following her rival into the ensuing battle. Black Canary sent off a minor sonic blast in Livewire's direction, but the electrical villain transformed her body into electricity for the duration and reappeared a few feet to the left. Weary from the overuse of her birdcalls Black Canary sprung forward, aiming attacks at her opponent. She attempted to battle the electrical Livewire, but no matter how many kicks that she threw at the shocking villain, all her attacks struck was the surrounding air.
"What's the matter, no power left." Livewire taunted, hitting Black Canary with a concentrated stream of lighting. Tired from her previous actions, the blonde hero fell to her knees in defeat. She looked up defiantly at her opponent, but was struck on the back of the heard by Ebon's fist, rendering her unconscious.
Raven assessed the situation in her mind, as she continued to fend off the attacks from the gang of unruly Meta Humans. Breaking away from the tussle, she decided to help her teammate by using Livewire's weakness against her. "Ciutu Ita Nezilla Aguatori." She chanted, pointing her left hand at the electrical villain's outline as she scattered Puff's smog attack with magical blast from her right hand. Jets of water shot forth from her fingertips, but Livewire saw the attack coming and moved out of the way to escape injury.
Ebon simply gasped in awe as the streams of water collided with his shadowy form, sending him flying a few feet.
Unable to ignore her own situation any longer, Raven turned back to her own battle. The giant purple villain had been able to get within a few feet of her and was now bearing down on her with all of his strength. He had his hands pressed against the surface of her protective barrier and was attempting to push it aside like wall.
"Look alive brat." Livewire shouted, turning away from a defeated Black Canary. Charging up her energy, she shot a gigantic blast of electricity at Raven's barrier, shattering the magical shield like glass.
The young sorceress stepped sideways as Onyx's giant fist came down on her, missing her body by inches. Raven thought quickly, using her acrobatics training to flip backwards as her opponent continued to pound away at the floor.
Meanwhile, Huntress was having problems of her own. Roulette had broken free from her binds and was now swinging her knives in a rather dangerous manner. Watching her movements carefully, Huntress seized her opponent by the wrists and threw her into the air.
Roulette's form glided gracefully to the air, but her body froze as if a pair of invisible hands had caught her in midair. The strange forced let her down gently, pushing her into a standing position as she landed on the ground.
The masked hero's eyes widened in shock as she realized the cause. The last of Ebon's group who had yet to attack had finally decided to enter the fight. She looked young like the other members of the group, but something about her made her seem oddly sinister, and from the recent display, Huntress guessed that this girl could move objects with her mind… This was going to be trouble.
A teenage superhero riding on a metal disk glided into the room, a stream of lightning extending from his fingertips as he closed in on the shocking villains. Pulling his hands back, Static absorbed all of Livewire's electrical power, effectively dulling the power of her attacks. While Raven and her teammates appeared to be quite surprised by this sudden arrival, Roulette and the Meta Human gang appeared even more startled.
"How the hell did you find us?" Ebon shouted, glaring at his nemesis.
Static cocked his head to the side and folded his arms in an amused manner. "Oh, that wasn't too hard. I had Gear track Puff's smoke trail from Dakota."
The female Bang Baby said nothing in response to the comment, and simply blasted her opponent with a wall of smog. The column of poisonous smoke erupted from her lips, expanding and closing in on her opponent like a snake preparing to strike.
"Yo stank breath, I got one word for you… MOUTHWASH" Static shouted. Focusing his powers on the walls, the shocking superhero channeled an electrical current through the building. Magnetizing the water line in the ceiling with his electricity, he tore the metal pipe clean through the paneling, causing it to burst open.
The water line rumbled uncontrollably, showering Puff with a stream of water as it dissolved the toxins in her noxious gas. Having seen his best friend defeated by Static, Onyx ran full pelt at his enemy, but the young superhero floated out of the way on his flying desk, refocusing his powers on the pipe that he had used on Puff.
After a few seconds, the steel pipe sprung forward at Onyx like a viper, wrapping itself around the purple-skinned thug and binding him like a prisoner. He struggled against the metal binds that bound his arms, but fell forward through the window that overlooked the Meta Brawl Arena. His body spun through the air as the people below fled for their lives like frightened ants. With a resounding crash, the large villain landed on top of a pile of chairs and lost consciousness as his head struck the hard floor.
Ebon scowled in anger, his gang having been defeated before his eyes. Madelyn broke away from her fight with Huntress, moving backwards and landing besides her self-proclaimed leader as the remaining heroes began to close in around them.
"So, what do we do now… boss." She replied, placing an unnecessary amount of emphasis on the last word.
The shadowy villain backhanded her, his eyes flashing dangerously. "I'm outta here. Later…" he replied with a small wave as he escaped through a swirling vortex. His body sunk into the floor until nothing remained, and in a matter of seconds, he was gone.
"You bastard!" Madelyn cried, kicking the spot where Ebon had just vanished. "You're abandoning us! I'll kill you!" She pouted like a child, but a light tap on her shoulder caught her attention. She prepared to shout at whoever had interrupted her hysterical ranting, but turned around just in time to see Huntress's fist coming. Stumbling backwards in an unsteady manner, the young villain's unconscious form spilt onto the ground, a small trickle of blood leaking out of her mouth.
"What an annoyance." Huntress commented, cracking her head to the side in an irritated manner.
Raven breathed a sigh of relief, brushing the dust from her cloak as she joined the other heroes. Her eyes scanned the room for a few moments, making her realize how rough that fight had been. Huntress was in the corner of the room, helping an inured Black Canary stand on her feet, while Static surveyed the unconscious villains.
"So, why are you here." Raven asked, cocking an eyebrow in suspicion as she observed the young superhero.
Static nodded in her direction, taking a small metal device out of his pocket. "I cam here in search of the Meta Breed. Like you guys already know, most of the Bang Babies in Dakota were returned to normal, but a few of them were able to slip through the nets."
"You included…" Huntress interjected.
"Yeah…" The young hero said, shrugging off her comment. "Anyway, a few of them were not cured, and a few others were able to get their powers back by exposing themselves to the big bang gas again. When the Meta Breed started acting up in Dakota again, I had my sidekick, Gear, track Puff's gas trail to Metropolis."
The young sorceress nodded in response as he finished speaking. "We're glad that you got here tonight… we were heavily outnumbered."
He flashed her a cheerful grin. "No problem. I'm just a really cool dude that can put a shock to your system."
"Corny…" Huntress commented, lifting Black Canary to a standing position as she spoke. "If that was your catch phrase, you really should get a new one."
The masked teenager let out a sigh of relief ran a hand through his hair, a few electric sparks crackling as he styled his messy black locks. Becoming serious one more, the young Meta Human walked across the room to observe Madelyn's unconscious body.
"We really outta get these guys back to prison." Static commented, taking a small metal device out of his pocket. "I'll contact Gear and tell him to alert the cops." As he lowered his hand to dial the number, Raven seized him by the wrist.
"I'm afraid you can't do that yet."
"Uh… why not?" Static replied, shooting the young sorceress a curious expression.
Raven shook her head in response to his question. "We need to interrogate these guys in case they have any useful information to yield."
The younger hero shrugged his shoulders in an awkward manner but decided that it was best to comply with her demand. After all, the Justice League would probably send them back to Dakota's prison after their interrogation, but something was bothering him at the moment… where had Ebon gone? Ignoring the unsettling thought, Static decided to shrug it off for the time being.
Placing his Shock Box Communicator back into his belt, Static began magnetizing the villains' bodies, which lay scattered around the vicinity. Using his electricity based power, the young hero began drawing them towards his location in an attempt to make them easier to contain if any one of them were to wake up.
Huntress followed his example, dragging Roulette's unconscious body over to where Static had placed the other villains. Heaving her arm backwards, the masked female tossed the body in an unceremoniously manner, causing her to land in the heap.
As she prepared to leave the room in search of the giant armadillo, she ran into a familiar face. Wildcat stood framed in the doorway, the giant Carmendillo slopped onto his back like a rag doll. Walking over to the huddle of unconscious bad guys, he piled the body onto the others. Raven opened her mouth to answer, but Black Canary's pained groans interrupted her.
Pushing herself into a standing position, the blonde hero lifted herself off of the chair where Huntress had left her. She staggered forwards, but quickly lost her footing, and fell due to the toll of her injuries. Raven waved her hand in a circular motion, hoisting her into a standing position with her levitation spell, and moving Black Canary's closer to herself so that she could support the older woman. Black Canary accepted Raven's offer, and stood leaning on the young spell caster's shoulder for support.
Wildcat looked positively ashamed of himself, refusing to make eye contact with his former student as she glared at him.
"Why did you do it?" she asked, her glare intensifying. "I thought that you promised that you wouldn't go back to the Meta Brawl."
The middle-aged hero opened his mouth to say something, but was stopped by Raven, who raised her hand in front of him in an attempt to stop them from discussing personal matters, which did not involve the mission at hand.
Static wore a puzzled expression, but said nothing concerning the issues that were beginning to surface.
"So, should we call the Martian?" Huntress asked, attempting to break the silence.
Raven shook her head in response, muttering a quick incantation as she stared down at the floor. In a matter of moments, a large vortex appeared underneath the group of unconscious villains, drawing them into the void as it opened wider.
"You want me… to get in there?" Static asked, casting an uneasy look at the swirling energies. He looked around, but no one seemed to be as surprised as her was. Being one of the youngest Justice League affiliates, Static did not know the members as well as he could have.
When no one raised any objections, Raven and Black Canary stepped into the portal and were gone. Wildcat and Huntress followed suit, the latter partially shoving a reluctant Static through the mass of energy.
The void around the travelers grew dark for a few moments, but as they looked up, they could see that they were back in the Watchtower's main hanger.
Raven shuffled over to Huntress, supporting an injured Black Canary on her shoulder. The older hero simply nodded as she took hold of her rival's arm. "You look like crap, blondie."
Black Canary planted her elbow into the masked female's back, causing her to buckle slightly under the pain. "I can still move my arms." She replied back, smirking slightly. "Don't get too cocky."
Huntress let out a small laugh. "Yeah… but I gotta admit, you did pretty good back there… you know… compared to your usual standards."
The young sorceress let out a long sigh as she proceeded to ignore the bickering rivals. Some things never changed. Pushing the button on her earpiece to alert the Martian of their arrival. "J'onn… this is Raven. We have captured a good number of villains, and we would appreciate it if you would send a backup crew down here immediately."
The speaker crackled for a few moments before the Martian's voice came through. "I read you loud and clear and have dispatched a squad to the main hanger."
"Over and out." Raven replied, switching off her communicator.
In a matter of minutes, the Watchtower personnel had bound and shackled the villains and had taken them off to the prison wing. A medical unit had also arrived to tend to Black Canary's broken leg. They carted her off in a stretcher, carrying her towards the hospital wing.
Raven pushed her hood back away from her face as she left the main room. She was not looking forward to giving the report for this particular mission.
NOTE TO READERS: Phew… What a long haul with this chapter, I'm not even sure where this story's going from here. IDEAS PLEASE! REVIEWS PLEASE! Hope you enjoyed reading it, because it was a pain to write. Tell me, am I starting to put them out of character, because I've been striving to keep them within the boundaries of their characters as presented in Teen Titans and Justice League Unlimited.