J'onn groaned. He had thought he had seen an opening, an opportunity to rid Batman of Phobos' control. He hadn't expected Phobos to resist as strongly as he had, clutching to the Dark Knight like a child to their mother. His fury at his interference was predictable.
However, whatever power or force the God of Fear had used had hurt him. Physically not so much, but his mind was exhausted. Weakness poured out of him in waves.
Of course, that's when he felt a tremor. Lifting his head up, he saw Phobos stomping towards him, looking furious. "May Hades take pity on you," he growled.
That's when Diana came flying in, leading with her shoulder. She rammed right into the God's side, knocking him away as the God cried out in surprise. She quickly gave chase, throwing a punch that slammed right into her foe's face, snapping his head back from the force of the blow.
J'onn took a deep breath and released it in relief. Phobos was off-balance for the moment and Diana could hold him off for now. Unfortunately, she couldn't keep that off, not with a God that had access to every thought Batman ever had.
He had realized it when Diana and Phobos had first clashed. For something as large as he was, Phobos had been behaving as if he were the weaker of the two. It was a position Batman normally took when he fought the others, leading them to underestimate him before countering. Diana had figured that out shortly after if her sudden hesitation was anything to go by.
And with the God focused on her, it was clear he wasn't paying attention to him. The reaction had been unexpected. J'onn hadn't realized just how powerful a mystical god was, his mind quite formidable. In fact, he hadn't been able to break through the God's mental defenses and had paid the price for it. The fatigue he felt seemed too much and he wasn't sure if he would be able to help out, physically at least.
"J'onn! Are you okay?" Turning his head, he saw Black Canary and Batgirl quickly approaching him. Last he had seen, they had been removing the Joker from the battle and they wouldn't leave him somewhere he could either escape, or simply leave. Their presence must mean they had him secured somewhere.
"I will be fine," he answered as he pushed himself into a kneeling position. "But I fear I will not be of much assistance."
"Mind telling us what that thing is?" the blonde vigilante asked. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say that was some giant Batman suit with someone else at the wheel."
That was one way to put it. "Phobos has possessed Batman," he told her. "I just tried using my telepathy to remove the God's hold on him, but I failed. My mind feels very weak now, so I will not be able to do that again. The God's hold is too strong for me to sever."
"Can Wonder Woman beat him?" came the next question.
"I fear not. Phobos is using Batman's knowledge on the Justice League to his advantage. Though she has the upper hand currently, all it takes is one instant and he will turn the tables."
"Then we need to keep him off-balanced." Black Canary looked to the two battling metas. "Do you think you have enough strength to throw me?"
J'onn looked at the blonde vigilante oddly. "I beg your pardon?"
"I need you to throw me as hard as you can so that way I can be right on top of Phobos. Just make sure you cover your ears."
The Martian realized what the woman's plan was. "Very well." He weakly stood up, his knees bent and his back hunched over. He then reached out to the vigilante, taking a hold of her upper arm. Without warning, he swung the woman off of the ground and sent her flying high into the air.
Black Canary soared towards the towering Phobos. The God was oblivious to her approach as he was focused on Diana. The Amazon was off to his right, holding off his clawed hand. She had one foot pressed down on his thumb as her hands grabbed onto a couple of fingers, preventing them from closing around her.
Diana! Withdraw quickly! J'onn ordered through their telepathic link. Cover your ears!
Immediately, Diana pulled away, darting backwards through the air. Phobos seemed to stumble a step forward from her sudden retreat, leaving him wide open as Black Canary arrived just above him.
Then with a scream, Black Canary unleashed her Canary Cry, sound waves blasting right upon Phobos. Even though he had his ears covered, J'onn couldn't help grimacing from the shrill sound. Batgirl and Diana were copying his gesture, even going so far as to flinch away.
As for Phobos, he was frozen where he stood as he took the attack head on. His covered face seemed to be twisted with pain, unable to move as he was pounded by the Canary Cry. The ground at his feet, began to crack, the asphalt crumbling. Nearby windows from buildings and cars shattered in an instant. Black Canary didn't let up for an instant, seeming to hover in midair above the Fear God.
Then Phobos twitched. It was the first movement he had made since the Canary Cry hit him. As quick as a snake, his hand shot up and he snatched Black Canary right out of the air, his fingers wrapping completely around her, leaving only her head and her feet visible. The moment his hand squeezed, the blonde vigilante's scream was cut off with a pitiful gag.
"That's enough out of you," Phobos said, his tone filled with annoyance. "That scream of yours is quite potent, even dangerous if I allow it to continue any further. Fortunately, I know how to silence a little bird." He squeezed harder then, a pained gasp forcing its way past of Black Canary lips. J'onn could hear the agony she felt in his mind.
Then Phobos whipped his arm across his body, throwing a limp Black Canary through the air. She shot past Diana before she could so much as move to catch her, the Amazon only being able to turn her head to follow. The vigilante was flying straight for a building, one she stood no chance of surviving should she hit it.
A red and blue blur suddenly raced in between the blonde woman and the building. J'onn only caught an instant of Superman before he caught Black Canary, the force she hit him with knocking him backwards through the air until his back collided with the imposing building. The cement surface broke and crumbled, forming an imprint of the Kryptonian's back.
"Hey, Tin Man!" another voice shouted. The collective attention of the combatants turned in time to see the Green Lantern rushing in. "Let's see you handle this!"
John then thrust his ring hand in front of him, a giant blast of green energy firing from the ring. PHobos only had time to turn and face the incoming beam before it slammed right into him, a pained cry echoing from the God.
The explosion that followed was incredible.
As the force of the explosion faded away, John watched the rising cloud of smoke and dust intently. No way would an attack like that finish off something that big.
And as expected, that armored being exploded out of the cloud, roaring with rage as it lunged at the Green Lantern, leading with a clawed hand.
Immediately, John created a shield construct, one that he pushed forward, willing it to grow with every inch it moved closer to the incoming threat. It was the size of his foe when they collided with each other. A tremor ran down the light connecting the construct to the ring, John feeling the strain. Gritting his teeth, he urged his will to push back hard, his shield holding strong before overpowering the giant. John forced it backwards until it toppled over, collapsing to the ground.
Allowing his construct to dissipate, John stared it down. This was new, though he wasn't seeing anything he couldn't handle. He and Superman had been blocks away when they heard an incredibly loud scream. His ears were still ringing from it to be honest. It stopped as sudden as it began, and they found this thing holding up one of those Gotham vigilantes.
There was a chuckle. "That was new," the being said before it began to push itself onto its feet. "I actually felt that, Lantern."
"What the hell are you?" John countered.
"Oh, can't you tell? Or have you already forgotten Phobos, the God of Fear?"
Phobos? The creepy guy he and Shayera fought once? He didn't look anything like he did then, what with the towering body and the armor. He looked completely different.
Be careful, J'onn voice suddenly appeared in his head. Phobos has taken possession of Batman and his appearance has changed. He is incredibly powerful.
Well, that made some sense. Different host, different look. Still, he wasn't going to hold back, even if it was a former ally.
"I remember you," Phobos continued as he climbed back onto his feet. "I remember how the very sight of my fear left you helpless like a baby. Or perhaps that is your fear? Are you afraid of being useless? Unable to defend yourself? I wish to confirm this."
"I'm not afraid of anything," John defended. "Fear's greatest weakness is will and I'll show you just how determined my will is."
"Yes! Do just that!" Phobos shouted as his yellow eyes suddenly grew brighter. An instant later and eye beams fired from them, racing right for the Green Lantern. John was barely able to react in time, throwing up his ring hand and creating a bubble construct around him, the fastest shield he could make. The beams made contact with his shield an instant later. The force in which they hit was incredible, John grunting from the initial contact. Cracks appeared in his shield as the blast raged against the construct.
Memories of the last time he had come into contact with Phobos' fear-based attacks filled his mind then, incidentally allowing the cracks to grow bigger. He could still remember his ring being utterly drained and thoughts raced through his mind to prevent that from happening again. The cracks widened even more because of this diverted concentration. Eventually, the shield could not hold any longer and the construct shattered. As a last ditch effort, John increased the glow of his aura before the blast enveloped him, throwing him backwards through the air as he cried out.
Superman watched as John was blasted away. He would be fine, he usually was. Looking to the woman in his arms, he asked, "Are you okay?"
"Oh, just fine," the woman—Black Canary, he believed her name was—gasped out. "My ribs...just need to stop...poking my lungs…"
The corner of his mouth twitched up. These Gotham heroes, they always had a sense of humor, he could give them that. Using his power of flight, he pried himself out of the building he was stuck in, then drifted down to the street below. Laying Black Canary on the ground, he told her, "Stay here. I'll take over."
"Deal," was her only reply.
Looking to Phobos, he was just in time to see Diana rushing in. Coming in low, she swooped upwards at the last moment to land an uppercut, one that nailed Phobos beneath his chin and snap his head upwards. His eye beams stopped abruptly, the God grunting from the blow. Drifting upwards, Diana threw another punch, one that forced her foe's head to jerk to a side.
Suddenly, Phobos whipped his face back to look at the Amazon even as he shot a hand up. He managed to wrap his large fingers around her legs, pinning them together. The swing of his arm forced the dark-haired woman to one side, stopping her attack. He then swung her upward, Diana whipping around like rag doll. The moment his arm reached the highest it could go, Phobos then brought his captive down, slamming her down on the ground before him. He had even let go of her at the last moment, effectively throwing her into the pavement. Not hesitating, he then raised a foot up and stomped it down upon the Amazon, smashing her further down into the ground.
That was enough. Lifting up into the air, Superman launched himself into action, flying like a missile right for the God. He didn't try for anything fancy, or aim for some potential weak spot. He just rammed fist first into Phobos' gut, forcing the armored god off the ground and carrying through the air and further down the street. Pulling back one fist, he then pounded it back into his foe's body, followed by another and then another. He heard Phobos grunt from each strike, though he didn't retaliate.
Instead, the moment the Kryptonian pulled back, Phobos dropped to one knee, an arm wrapped around his stomach right where he had been attacked. Taking that opportunity, Superman moved to hover right above the god's head, clasping both of his hands above his own. He then swung them down, delivering a jackhammer blow atop his opponent's head, forcing him to crash face first into the pavement. The asphalt cracked all around him, some pieces splintering and jutting up into the air. A rush of smoke and dust blew out in all directions, sweeping by the surrounding buildings and streetlights.
Eyes going red, Superman then fired his heat vision for added effect, nailing his foe against his back. Much to his surprise, Phobos' body seemed to dissolve from the heat blast, disintegrating down into dark smoke, which washed out over the ground in all directions.
Stopping his heat vision, the Kryptonian stared with rapt fascination as the rest of the God deteriorated into nothing. Unbeknownst to him, the dark smoke the God became began to drift upwards, gathering at a spot behind him. He didn't know this until something powerful slammed against his back, knocking him into the large imprint in the ground, a crater forming from his collision with it.
That had been unexpected. Grunting, Superman pushed himself onto his hands, tilting his head up. He was just in time to see Phobos' large form dropping down on him, the armored being letting out a war cry as he threw a fist down at him. Immediately, he threw his upper body up, extended his hands above his head. He caught the fist a moment later, the force of the blow causing him to sink further into the hole.
However, this was not the hardest he had ever been hit, so he weathered the attack well. Not waiting for a follow up, Superman immediately lifted up into the air, shooting upwards as he pushed against the fist. Phobos actually leaned backwards as he was pushed again, allowing him to rotate and allow the hero to fly right by him. Pulling up higher into the air, Superman looked down on his foe.
Before he could come up with another attack, Phobos was already on the offensive. Roaring, he fired his yellow eye beams, ones that smashed into the Kryptonian, causing him to cry out as he was sent even higher into the air. For a split second, he thought he felt his strength weaken, but he wasn't sure if that was just his mind playing tricks on him, or was actually happening.
By the time he was done sailing upwards, Superman began to hover, shaking off the hit he had taken. Looking down, he saw Phobos glaring up at him. "That actually hurt," he growled. "You hurt me."
"You better get used to it," Superman told him. "Or give yourself up. I recommend the latter."
Phobos seemed to glower before his posture straightened out. "Or I can wait you out," he added. "Fear is not some momentary weakness. It gnaws at you from the inside, hollowing out your courage until you are nothing more than a husk. Even now you are feeling it, though you are denying it. Keep doing it, I insist. Before too long, you will end up just like the others."
Superman initially wanted to ignore those words, but a split-second epiphany struck him. When he had taken the brunt of those eye beams, he had felt as if he were losing his strength. Was that what Phobos was talking about? If so, he needed to end the God's threat sooner rather than later.
That's when the Fear God extended his hand out to one side. Immediately, Superman readied himself for an attack, only for something to appear in the corner of his eye. Tilting his head to one side, he spotted a green light, the source of it racing towards the god. The longer he watched it, the more sickly that green light became. A sinking feeling appeared in his stomach as he realized just what the source of the light was. Phobos wasn't readying himself to strike, not at that moment. He was summoning a weapon, one that even he feared.
Kryptonite—a large piece of it too—flew through the air like a missile. No doubt the God had every intent to use it against him.
He couldn't let that happen.
For once, Shayera hadn't launched herself into a fight. It went against her Thanagarian military training, but she felt that such action was needed.
See, the others were fighting this large, armored god, one that loudly proclaimed himself to be Phobos. If that was the case, then the gangly creature she had fought once had gotten jacked really freaking fast.
She had seen John get thrown back some time ago. Diana hadn't fared much better as she had been whipped around like a child's doll. Superman seemed to have the upper hand, but now they were at a standstill. As for J'onn, she couldn't see him anywhere. Unless he got caught up with one of those Maxie Zeus guys, he must have been somewhere around here.
All the while, she, Flash, Huntress, and Katana watched from their perch on a nearby building. They had gone unnoticed and they were planning to keep it that way until they saw an opening. It was a very Gotham thing to do apparently. However, Shayera felt that she was really the only person among them that could do something. She was stronger than them, though Flash was definitely faster. Speed didn't seem to be an option against something that could take a hit from Superman or Diana and ask for another. That basically took out Huntress and Katana as they only had their skills and no super strength to speak of.
If she could help it, they would stay out of this mess.
That's when she spotted John flying right for Phobos. His green aura was like a beacon to everyone as he raced towards the God, even as he extended a hand out towards the Lantern.
Something about it didn't seem right. She knew something wasn't right when Phobos talked about how fear drained people of their courage. Then John fired another green blast at the God.
The beam was heading right for Phobos' hand. At the last second, he suddenly whipped his hand forward, pointing it towards Superman. Incredibly, the green beam curved through the air, redirecting itself from Phobos and heading right towards Superman. The Kryptonian actually flinched—flinched!—from the oncoming beam before it hit him.
He took John beam head on, crying out as he was shot out of the sky, falling down like a sack of rocks until he crashed into the ground. Without missing a beat, Phobos turned towards John as he continued his charge. The Green Lantern had formed a construct, a large sword to be exact. In response, Phobos crossed an arm over his chest and waited. When John swung his sword, the God moved to one side, allowing the charging Lantern to fly past him.
At least, that's what Shayara thought until Phobos swung out his crossed arm, delivering a backhand blow that sent John flying haphazardly through the air until he crashed into the base of a building.
"Alright, we're going in, right?" Flash asked, damn near vibrating from nervous energy.
"You're not; I am," the Thanagarian told him.
"Why you?"
"Because he's hovering in midair and last I checked, you can't fly. Maybe if we get him to the ground, you could do something, but look at that armor. I doubt you'd be able to dent it."
"I gotta agree," Huntress butted in. "Superman was pushing him around, but do you see any actual damage? Cause I don't."
Flash looked to both women, turning his head back and forth. "You know, you two know just how to pick at a guy's insecurities. I really hope you know that?"
The purple-clad woman shrugged her shoulders. "We're women, that's what we do."
There was a blur of red and yellow. It took Shayera a second before she realized Katana had thrown herself off of the building, soaring through the air towards Phobos. "That idiot!" she shouted before she leaped after her. "Flash! Find J'onn, he has to be somewhere around her; I'm going after Katana!"
Even worse, Phobos saw her coming, her sword held high above her head. The God merely moved an arm up, bracing for the sword strike. It was a basic high block, even she could see that.
Unfortunately, the winged woman was unable to make up the distance between her and the sword-wielding woman. The moment she was within striking distance, Katana swung her blade down, its edge hitting the armored forearm.
Then much to Shayera's amazement, the sword actually sank into the aim, biting through the metal. Phobos gave out a cry as he flinched from the cut. Instinctively, he swung his other arm up, trying to knock Katana away. By then, the woman had placed her feet on top of her foe's arm, using her legs to help leverage her sword out of the arm. The moment it slid out, she sprung up into the air, avoiding the incoming fist as it flew beneath her. She touched down on the following forearm and bounced up it, ending up on Phobos' shoulder. Without hesitation, she swung a side-slash, one that bit into the side of the God's head and caused another scream.
That was when a black, flame-like aura erupted from the Fear God. Katana nimbly jumped away from it, dropping through the air until she landed on the ground. She kept her sword at the ready, the tip pointed right at her foe.
"You!" Phobos shrieked, glaring down at the Asian woman. He had a hand covering the side of his face where the sword had cut him. "That is the last time you will ever harm me, wretch!"
Katana shifted her stance, taking a hold of her sword with both hands as she raised the hilt up above her head, angling the blade in a downward diagonal angle. "We will see," she replied coolly.
Phobos continued to seethe at her, then just as suddenly stopped. "I am the God of Fear," he intoned in a low tone. "Do you have any idea what that means? I am every fear imaginable. I linger in the darkest recesses of your mind, waiting to destroy you."
"There is nothing I fear that you can exploit," she returned evenly.
The God stared at her. "Perhaps so. I do not feel fear in you. However…" Suddenly, there was a change in tone. "Before now, I could only prey on the fear that already existed in others. Now I inhabit a body that creates that fear. I wonder...what fear will I make in you?"
Shayera wasn't sure what that all meant. However, there was a tremor as the area began to shake. That was followed by the very piece of pavement Katana stood on breaking away, shooting upwards into the air. A long rocky base followed it until it came to a stop high above the surrounding buildings. There was a brief instance where she saw Katana lying on her stomach on the growing column, obviously to stabilize herself so she wasn't thrown off, and then the winged woman was craning her head up.
It was high.
It was so very high.
Katana clinged to the piece of street she had been standing on, though now she laid on it. She had been in high places before. She had never had a problem with them. This was not something she was unfamiliar with.
Yet, she could not make herself move. She felt frozen in place, unable to twitch lest she accidentally fall off this elevated platform. Thoughts of falling to her doom filled her mind, followed by her broken body surrounded by a pool of blood that exploded out of her breaking body.
It was overwhelming.
Do not move, you will be alright, she chanted in her head. Do not move, you will be alright.
Do not move and you will be...alright…
"How delicious," Phobos crowed. "I never knew creating fear would be so satisfying. A fear of heights is quite appropriate."
Alright, that was enough. Shayera had enough of this guy pushing them around. Though she didn't have a cursed sword that could inflict harm on gods, she did have a Nth metal mace and it had seen its share of magic before. Phobos would be learning just what it could do shortly.
Gripping her mace with both hands, electricity crackling over the weapon's head, the Thanagarian took off towards the armored god. She flew as fast as she could, though Phobos didn't seem too surprised. In fact, he held his ground, expecting her attack.
And attack she did. The moment she was within striking distance, she swung her mace. In response, Phobos brought his arm up to block. The mace collided with the arm, sparks exploding in all direction from the contact.
The Fear God winced, but didn't budge. This didn't bother the redhead, though. Over and over, she swung her mace, beating down on the god's arm. Electricity crackles and spark with each hit.
Then something caught Shayera's eye. There was a spot on the armored arm that was broken, or more like cut. In fact, she was certain that was where Katana had struck Phobos, actually dealing some damage. As she drew her mace back, she aimed her next hit for that spot.
The moment her mace hit the opening, sparks and electricity blasted it. Phobos hissed from the pain, actually flinching away, taking a step back.
Now that was what she was talking about. Shayera didn't let up on her assault, but this time she aimed for that sword cut, hitting it every single time. Each hit caused the same reaction with Phobos flinching away from it.
Unfortunately, it didn't last. As she swung her mace once again, Phobos moved his other hand in front of him, catching the mace with his palm. His fingers curled in, swallowing it up along with part of Shayera's arms. They stuck out between two of his fingers. "I've had just about enough of that," he growled.
"You haven't seen anything yet," Shayera countered. That's when she focused on her mace, calling upon the properties of the Nth metal. Electricity suddenly erupted all over Phobos' hand, causing the God to cry out. The metal of the armor made for a superb conductor, channeling the electricity all over, including into the damaged areas of the armor.
"I can keep this up all night!" she shouted. "How long can you take it?!"
The expression on Phobos' face hardened. He then held out his opposite hand, fingers slightly curled, the palm exposed. That was when the electricity surrounding Phobos' clinched fist began running up his arm, across his body, and then down the other arm and into the open hand. Shayera only had time to widen her eyes at the sight of the gathering electricity before it lashed out towards her.
It was like a bolt of lightning struck her, causing the Thanagarian to cry out. The surge became too much and Shayera found herself being thrown backwards through the air. She wasn't sure how long she flew until she hit the face of a building. A cry escaped her lips as she bounced right off its now-cracked surface, then fell to the ground below.
God, that hurt. It really, really hurt. She had forgotten what it was like getting struck by Nth metal electricity. She had to go back to her military days to when that had last happened to her. With a groan, she slowly lifted her head up.
She saw Phobos standing in place. He was looking at his hand, where her mace was still. It was only then that Shayera realized it wasn't with her. The God seemed to be looking at it intently.
"What a simple design," he murmured. "How about we make this worthy of a God?"
He then clenched his hand, swallowing up the mace completely. Staring with intent focus at it, it was several moments before something began to grow from the top and bottom of his fist. From the bottom was what appeared to be a staff. From the top was the other end of the staff, but a wicked axe blade emerged. "Now there is a weapon worthy for me!"
There was a gust of wind and J'onn found himself prying his eyes from Phobos. Standing nearby was Flash, who was letting Huntress take a step away from him. The Martian was sad to say he hadn't thought of the red-clad man until this moment.
"This isn't looking too good, J'onn," Flash said in greeting. "Please tell me you've got some sort of plan."
He, in fact, did not. Though he could sense the others weren't out of the fight just yet, Phobos was proving to be quite formidable. His personification of fear meant it was only a matter of time before he defeated John, or rendered his power ring useless. He had made sure Diana's Lasso of Truth could not be used against him, which was perhaps their best shot at removing his hold over Batman. Superman could go toe-to-toe with him physically, but the mystical nature of his powers put that Kryptonian at a disadvantage as well. As for him...his mind was slowly recovering, but he still felt quite weak.
It was as if their preference for overpowering opponents was no longer an option.
So if physically defeating Phobos was not the way to go, then what options did they have? Magic or mystical weapons seemed to have an effect on him, but the only access they had to such a weapon was Katana's sword and she was currently trying not to let her newfound fear of heights get the better of her. Hawkgirl's mace disrupted magic due to its unusual properties, but that mace was now the axe in Phobos' hand.
On top of that, his own telepathic powers were weakened, a key part as to his own fatigue. J'onn had not gone against a being like Phobos mind-to-mind before, it was was vastly different than the telepaths and non-telepaths he had encountered previously and he did not feel like he was able to be effective. Seeing as he was the only telepath here, that option was currently unavailable.
No, no that wasn't the case. There was another telepath in the field. If there was anyone that could assist them in this battle, it would be her.
He needed to reach Ace.
Looking directly at Phobos, J'onn's eyes glowed as he reached out with his mind. He did not dare manifest himself inside the God's mind as that would draw his attention to him and open up another avenue for attack. No, he specifically sought out Ace's consciousness, which dwelled within Batman's psyche.
Ace? Can you hear me? He called out.
There was no immediate response, but he did not give up. Ace, please answer me. Are you alright?
There was a longer silence, one J'onn did not like. Ace, I need you to answer me!
Again silence—
Martian?
J'onn visibly relaxed. He had finally made contact. Ace, I am glad to find you well. I am not aware of what you know, but currently Batman is being possessed by the Greek God of Fear.
I know, came her response. He is trying to take him from me. It is taking everything I have to hold him off. It is like facing the Dark God again and I don't know how much longer I can last.
J'onn frowned slightly. Phobos did not have full possession of Batman? Was the man merely unconscious within that armored frame? That could be the break they needed. Though he did not think Batman could remove the God on his own, his own will was quite indomitable. He could provide them an opening in which they could attack, effectively weakening Phobos' power. Taking into account Ace's own power, she could potentially rid the Dark Knight of the God's influence.
He needed to confirm this. Ace, if we were able to weaken Phobos' presence, would you be able to expel him?
There was a moment of silence, one that stretched far too long for J'onn's taste. Then, I can expel him if given the chance.
Excellent. Ready yourself. I and the others will give you that opportunity. J'onn did not relinquish his connection, making sure he stayed in contact with the girl. Even through the link, he could feel the strain she was under and it was incredible. It was astounding she had not been crushed yet.
"We need to distract Phobos," the Martian announced, causing the others around him to jump. "Phobos does not have full control over Batman yet. If we can weaken his hold, he might be able to cast Phobos out."
"And how do you expect us to do that?" Huntress questioned. "I'm not exactly seeing a lot of heroes still standing here."
"I'll get things started," Flash volunteered. "If you can get the others in on it, I can buy us some time."
J'onn nodded. "Go."
Immediately, Flash ran off, racing towards the towering God. In the meantime, J'onn reached out with his mind to the others. They needed to take advantage of this opportunity, otherwise he did not see where they would get another.
Flash was a red blur as he closed in on Phobos. Before the guy could react to him, the speedster was running around him, a red circle that was spinning faster and faster. Air was pulled along after him, sucking it out from around Phobos. A red vortex then rose up into the air, the Fear God disappearing from sight within the tornado.
Phobos didn't seem too taken back by this. "I don't know what you are doing, but it is futile."
"Hey, nothing's futile until you try," Flash shot back. All the while, his right hand was vibrating, gathering kinetic energy for his Infinite Mass Punch. He didn't have all the time in the world, but he'd have enough to get this as strong as possible. Picking up his pace, the whole world slowed even more than it already was. Of the people he could see, they seemed to be barely moving, if they were to begin with. The rays of light from nearby street lamps were becoming longer, stretching out as he was beginning to see how far they reached.
And then Flash took a step towards Phobos. In an instant he was at the God's foot, then he was running up his body, and then he was right at his face. Throwing his vibrating fist, he slammed it right into the armored face.
In an instant, Phobos was thrown off of his feet and crashed head first into the ground. The force of the punch caused the god to skid down the road, leaving a trench in his wake until he slowed to a stop.
In the meantime, Flash dropped to the ground, landing on it. He only paused as Superman rocketed overhead, flying right towards the fallen God.
By then, Phobos was pushing himself up, albeit wobbly. It seemed that punch had a pretty good effect on him. However, he spotted the Kryptonian flying right at him. Forcing himself into a kneeling position, he hefted up his axe and swung it from one side to another. Immediately, Superman changed his flight, avoiding the swing by going underneath it. Swinging a fist, he rammed it right into Phobos' stomach.
The Fear God grunted as he backed up a step. Arching his axe up, he then swung it down, intending to split the Man of Steel's head. That's when Wonder Woman swooped in, arriving over Superman's head. Crossing her arms above her, the axe struck her bracers. There was a sharp PING! from the clash of metals, but the axe did not cut through the enchanted gauntlets. The force of the blow did cause the Amazon to drop down through the air until her feet collided with the pavement., causing the asphalt to crack.
This allowed Superman to shoot straight up, throwing an uppercut that snapped Phobos' head backwards. A pained grunt came from the God's mouth. That's when John came flying in, making a sledgehammer construct with his ring. Swinging it, he rammed it against the back of Phobos' knee, causing it to buckle and sending the Olympian falling onto his back on the ground.
Superman then took a deep breath. The next moment he blew it out, a chilling wind spilling out as it poured all over Phobos. Ice crystals formed almost immediately, rapidly covering Phobos until he was completely encased in ice.
"Nicely done," John congratulated as he came to hover next to the Man of Steel. "How long do you think it'll take for him to get out of this?"
As if in answer, a dark shadow extended out in all directions from the frozen god. "Not long," Superman mused as he watched the growing shadow, which passed right beneath Wonder Woman and Flash's feet.
"I gotta say, I'm really getting tired of fighting shadows," the Green Lantern groused.
Suddenly, a clawed hand erupted underneath Wonder Woman, clamping down around her. She was yanked up into the air before she was then swung around through the air. The hand only let go of her after one spin, sending her flying right towards Flash. The speedster opened his arms to catch her, but the force she hit him with knocked him off his feet, sending the two Leaguers careening through the air until they crashed into a building. The bounced off of it, landing on the ground.
"Ughh, not doing that again," Flash groaned, wincing as he took a deep breath. Instinctively, Wonder Woman reached out with a hand and gently pressed it against the speedster's side, which caused him to take a sharp gasp.
"You've got broken ribs," she said, even as she pushed herself to sit up.
"Yeah, I've noticed."
Suddenly, a much larger form erupted out of the shadow. Phobos launched himself into the air, rushing towards Superman and Green Lantern as he let out a war cry. Immediately, John fired a beam of green energy, making a shield construct between them and the charging god.
Undeterred, Phobos swung his axe, the blade actually slicing right through the construct. That one swing shattered the shield, sending its pieces flying at the two Leaguers, who instinctively backed away, using their arms to shield their faces. That was when Phobos reversed the swing of his axe, performing another side-sweep. While John continued to back away, Superman wasn't nearly as fast.
It was as shocking as it was fast. The edge of the axe cut into the blue material of his suit, ripping through the S symbol, then bit into the invulnerable Kryptonian flesh. A large gash was left in its wake across Superman's chest as he cried out.
"No!" John shouted as he reversed course, firing a blast right for Phobos' face. The beam hit him hard, causing his head to jerk backwards. However, he began to rotate, going into a flip. Phobos swung a kick up, one that nailed the Green Lantern and sent him flying higher up into the air.
"Haaaaa!" Phobos then shouted as he thrust a hand towards Superman the moment he was right-side up. His arm suddenly extended, stretching out until his hand collided with the Kryptonian, fingers wrapping around him. Whipping his overstretched arm up, he swung Superman high above his head before swinging the same arm down. The action added greater force, sending the Man of Steel rocketing towards the ground below.
Immediately, Wonder Woman rushed out, putting herself between the falling Superman and the ground. She held her arms out, fully expecting to catch her comrade, which she did. But like Flash when he caught her, she was immediately forced down, the two heroes hitting the ground so hard, a new crater formed, a giant cloud of dust exploding upwards into the air as high as the skyscrapers around them.
J'onn grimaced as he weathered through the tremor that shook the very ground he kneeled on. The others were putting up a fight, but Phobos was taking everything they threw and throwing it right back at them. There was no telling how much longer this could last, not without the complete devastation of Gotham.
"This isn't working!" Huntress shouted. "Is there something, anything we can do that doesn't require demolishing half the city?!"
The Martian shook his head. "Not that I know of. Perhaps if we were able to awaken Batman, he could provide assistance, but I cannot think of an appropriate trigger."
"Trigger? What kind of trigger?"
That was a good question. "At this point, I doubt a physical one. It would need to be something that could touch his mind."
"So why aren't you doing that?" the purple-clad woman demanded.
"I am unable to reach his mind. In fact, ever since this case began, I have been unable to communicate with Batman when he is unconscious." J'onn knew very well that was the work of Ace, who was doing everything she could to protect the man. Unfortunately, it was preventing him from doing what he could to arouse the hero. It was possible to ask the girl to awaken him, but her current focus was holding off Phobos, so any deviation of her attention would leave her open for attack.
"So if you can't do it psychically, then how do we do it...in other ways?"
"Emotional would be one," he offered.
There was a snort. "You do realize we're talking about the most emotionally constipated man in Gotham. No offense—"
Huntress suddenly cut herself off. "Wait, where's Batgirl?"
As the dust cloud settled, Phobos drifted down to the street, landing as lightly as a feather. The toes of his metal boots were right at the edge of the hole Superman and Wonder Woman had created. As the cloud dissipated, the two heroes could be seen lying at the bottom of it, one on top of the other.
Phobos chuckled at the sight. That chuckle grew louder until he was outright laughing. "Ha ha ha! I'm growing stronger with every passing minute! Even this world's greatest warriors are nothing to me! Nothing!"
He then held out his axe, pointing it straight in front of him, though the blade face down towards the two heroes. "One cut—that is all it will take to end you. I can't wait."
Suddenly, something small clashed against the side of his head. He didn't even flinch from it, though he stayed still. Slowly, he turned his head and quickly found the person that had hit him.
Standing out in the open was Batgirl, her cape billowing behind her. The Fear God turned to fully face her, his giant form looking down on her lithe one.
"So, you wish to face me as well?" he taunted. "Look around! Your best and greatest are no match and neither will you be!"
Batgirl did not respond, at least not right away. Instead she reached to her belt, her finger flipping a switch. The lights from the street lamps suddenly went off, covering the area in darkness. Several seconds went by before they came back on again, the backup generators kicking in.
Phobos did not seem impressed by this. He took a step towards her and then another. "I fail to see the logic in this," he spoke.
"A great man once told me to always protect myself," Batgirl suddenly said. "Though the lights are returning to us, every security camera watching this is off."
Phobos lifted his axe up before he thrust the bottom of the staff into the ground next to him, leaving it to stand like a flag. "Then you failed. I am the greatest threat here and your little ploy has done nothing."
"It's not you I need protecting from. You cannot hurt me."
The Olympian came to stop before her, towering over her. "And what makes you say that, little girl?"
Batgirl looked up at him, staring through black lens. Then she calmly raised her hands up, grabbing her mask. She then pulled it off, revealing her young features. "Father, I know you're in there," she called out. "You're the only one that can stop this now. Please stop it."
Phobos snorted. "A pitiful gambit. I'll make this quick." Drawing a fist back, for a brief moment it hung there before he threw down towards the unmasked girl. Batgirl just stood there, watching the fist flying right at her.
And then it abruptly stopped, hovering mere feet away from her. Wind pulled out her cap, but she did not flinch.
For a moment, they were both frozen in that position. Phobos though, appeared to be struggling. "What...is going...on?" he grunted, sounding strained. His body was trembling as if under great strain. "I...can't...move…"
"What the hell is going on?" Huntress demanded.
J'onn stared in rapt fascination. He had seen Batgirl standing before that mad god, goading him into action. He had felt terror as that fist had been thrown at her.
The sudden stop was surprising. Even more, something seemed to be holding Phobos back. He could only think of one thing.
Ace, what is happening?! he practically shouted.
The girl answered him promptly. The darkness...it's pulling away.
It was just like he expected. Batgirl hadn't been addressing Phobos so much as she was calling out to her mentor, her guardian. And he had heard her.
Now's your chance! Cast him out!
The sound of a sharp CRACK! rang out. It was ear-piercing, causing all to hear it to wince. Looking to Phobos, Diana could see a large crack running down his armored face, his yellow eyes wide with shock. Slowly, more cracks grew from the large one along his face, trailing down his neck and shoulders.
She had managed to get out from underneath Superman and had done her best to get to the edge of the crater they had laid in. She had seen Phobos' approach on Batgirl, his sudden attack, and even more sudden stop.
"What...what's happening?!" Phobos' shrieked. His body was jerked back as another large crack erupted along his body, a bright blue light shining out of it. A horrified scream came from the Olympian as the same light shined out of the crack in his face. Though more smaller cracks began traveling all over his armored body, big ones formed and unleashed this unearthly light.
"Stop it! Stop it!" he pleaded, even as some cracks connected with each other, forming bigger ones that began to emit the light. "You're tearing me apart!"
There was a voice then, one that Diana had never heard before. It was soft and dead sounding; yet, there was a hint of vindictiveness to it. "How many people have said the same to you?" It was distinctively female, she could tell. "How many did you ignore their pleas? God of Fear, tell me how it feels to be afraid."
"Stop it! I command you—"
"Go away."
That's when the armor shattered. Pieces separated completely, revealing the source of the blue light as one large orb that had been contained within the cold metal. The orb immediately expanded, reaching outward as it pushed aside the disintegrating pieces of the armor.
"GYYYYAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Phobos cried out as he was torn apart from the inside out.
However, the light was changing. Though it kept its brilliance, Diana knew an explosion when she saw one and that's exactly what it was becoming. The blast raced out in all directions, expanding its reach as far as it could go.
And the closest person to it was Batgirl.