Chapter 70: Wild Water
*****Previously At The Eternal Spring*****
Alya, using the spirit of the kangaroo, jumped in front of a group of retreating agents.
"Going somewhere, boys," she smirked, showing animal-like fangs.
Touching her amulet, the spirit of a gorilla surrounded her. With the spirit's added strength, she charged. Gorilla strength plus monkey agility equals one bad ass girl. Alya was able to dodge their gun blasts, crush their weapons, and knock them out in no less than three seconds.
Huntress swerved in the sky, the blasts never being able to reach her.
"Nice try, boys, but you're gonna have to try harder than that to get me," she snickered.
She took a dive, catching three agents in the open 'V' part of her hover board. Pressing a button, it activated her board's ghost zapper. Pink electricity surged between the two halves of the 'V' and electrocuted the three agents. She dropped them on the ground, the three nearly burned to a crisp and still sparking.
"Quite a shocking development," Valerie smirked, then frowned. "I've been spending way too much time with Phantom."
"I would have to agree, my friend," Kaldur says. "But only on the sarcasm. Spend as much time as you like with Phantom."
Huntress sent a quick glare at the Atlantean.
"Not another word, Kaldur," she glared.
Aqualad held up the trident, multiple streams of water came out. The streams all acted like rope lassos, latching around about a dozen agents and lifting them into the air. With a swing, they were all sent flying. He then slammed down the trident, water swirling around him. It formed a sort-of octopus of water around him, the tentacles lashed around him.
Alya wanted in on the fun. Her eyes going blue, the spirit of an octopus surrounded her.
"Fun time," she evilly grinned.
*****Present*****
Aqualad's aqua octopus stretched out its tentacles. All eight of the tentacles had grabbed a single agent each. Spinning like one of those instantly-throw-up-on-it carnival ride, he sent them flying when he let them go.
"He certainly knows how to use that trident, that's for sure," Alya smirked, using her octopus spirit's tentacles to slam two agents together.
"Heads up, Alya," Valerie yelled.
Immediately switching from octopus to monkey, Alya flipped out of the way and into the trees. Red Huntress swooped down, her wrist ray cannons at the ready. She rapidly fired, sending agents into an instant KO or just running with their tails between their legs.
"I know Technus had been planning on taking over the world when he did this to my armor, but I still have to appreciate it," she snickered.
"I sure hope you mean the armor, and not the 'taking over the world' part," Alya says, hanging upside down in one of the trees.
"Do you really think i'm plotting my own 'take over the world' plan," Valerie put her hands in her hips.
"Like I know what goes on in that head of yours," Alya joked. "Do I look like a telepath, to you. I leave the mind reading to the martians and the Isles of Wicca and Demigods."
Alya was pretty sure Huntress rolled her eyes, but her helmet made it hard to tell. The armored girl just flew away on her hover board.
"Coming in hot, boys," Valerie yelled.
She started diving at another group of agents. Out of her armor came her three cubic cannons. They floated next to her and fired.
"Yeah, baby," the heroine cheered, knocking down agents like it was her full time job.
She flew over Aqualad, who had taken down the octopus in exchange for extra water tentacles. They formed from an aqua ring around him. A dozen water tentacles whipped around him. Pushing out one of his hands and the trident, he hooked more of the small army.
"I always had a feeling that you'd never go after an Atlantean in fear of my king's rage," Kaldur said. "But in truth, you're just cowards. Taking an Atlantean would bring attention to you, especially when found with the one you took. But that does not give you the right to go after the mystics that hide for their safety."
Aqualad's tattoos started glowing. Sparking with his Atlantean magic, he put his hand in the water. It sent the mystical electricity through all the tentacles. The agents lit up like Christmas trees, falling to the ground unconscious.
"Remind me to never make you angry, Kaldur," Alya said, landing next to him after kicking an agent in the head.
"The day we left Mount Justice, I did agree with what you all were saying," Kaldur told the animal witch. "They were willing to go to great lengths to attack the mystics and ghosts. So it was only a matter of time before the Guys In White went after my people, or even the Amazons."
"Both races of mystic are very ancient in our world," Alya says. "The Atlanteans have been around since even before the city snuck into the sea. Mermaids, mermen, naiads, and water nymphs have been a part of mystic life for as long as even the elders can remember. Water is one of the original elements of magic. And the Amazons, there will always be women that prefer the battlefield to the household. Helen of Troy and Andromeda come to mind."
"With all the hidden places, it's no wonder your kinds have been able to hide for so long," Kaldur said.
"Still doesn't"t mean that we haven't had close calls every now and again," Alya told him. "Salem and Van Helsing are just the most famous. Every myth, every legend, every fairy tale, fiction story, and ancient artifact are all little peeks into our world. Sure, humans tend to over exaggerate, but that's just a human thing to do. Mostly with Greek mythology and fairy tales are the exaggerations made. You've met White and Lena, do you really expect them to be the singing carnivores the myths describe?"
"You all made your points a long time ago about how different you are from those tales," Kaldur said.
"GUYS," they both heard Valerie scream.
They looked up towards the speeding girl, then down at their feet. There were small metal balls rolling up to their feet. It didn't take a rocket scientist to know that they were some type of bombs.
In a split second decision, Alya touched her pendant and called the spirit of an armadillo. She threw it over Aqualad, sending the Young Justice leader away as the bombs went off. Alya, herself, was thrown off her feet from the force of the blast. She crashed onto the ground, covered in burns, cuts, and bruises.
Aqualad landed a few meters from the blast zone, the spirit having protected him.
"ALYA," Valerie yelled, immediately landing.
The two ran to their fallen friend. She was still breathing, thank the gods, but was still pretty banged up.
"I thank any god or goddess out there that her magic protected her from anything more serious," Valerie said, relieved. "All mystics have natural protections in their blood."
"She could have covered both of us with that spirit," Kaldur said. "Why didn't she?"
"Alya's the guardian of the Eternal Spring and the trident," Valerie reminded. "It's in her nature to be protective and think of others before herself."
Aqualad eyed the trident lying in the ground.
"She protected us, now we will protect her," he says.
Reaching for the trident, it started glowing. The whole thing turned to two streams of blue light. They swirled around Aqualad's wrists. They formed silver cuff bracelets with mini sapphire tridents on them.
"That's new," Valerie stared at the bracelets.
"And it gives us an advantage," Kaldur says.
He rose his hands, water swirling around them. The water swirled into a dome, then he swung his arms down. The water turned into a raging wave, with Aqualad on top of it. The wave knocked over two dozen agents. When he landed, Aqualad let the water move over his body, except for his head. Swinging his arms, water forming two large tentacle-like whips from his arms.
"I never thought i'd hate a single organization more than the Light," he said. "I guess I was wrong."
Using his water whips, he went through agents faster than a starved cheetah went through a herd of gazelle. Water would wrap around an agent's waist and spin them, like a dreidel gone wild, into another group. Others had limbs covered by one of the whips and then thrown sky high. (AN: I know I use a lot of the same phrases over and over again. But when you find things that work, you use them.)
Huntress tended to Alya's wounds with the healing kit she keeps in her armor's backpack. Spending time with Frostbite gave her some skill in the healing department. She used some of the herbal remedies Frostbite taught her to deal with the burns. A twig broke behind her and she raised her hand, opening up her hand cannon.
"Come on out, you cowards," she yelled. "Do you really have to hide in the shadows and aim at your enemy's back in order to get a shot out."
She didn't see any more movement. That got under under her skin.
"Oh for the love of the ancients," Valerie swore.
She pulled out her energy shurikens, throwing them into the woods. The screams and pink light told her that, once again, her aim was impeccable. Looking at the amount of agents going for Aqualad, then down at Alya's unconscious form, she made a decision. Pressing a button on her armor, her cubic cannons appeared again. She programmed them to guard their friend, then rushed to Aqualad's side.
"Need some help, Lad," she asked, her fists lighting up for her ghost gauntlets.
"I'm not sure weather or not that is a bad pun or just you shortening my hero name," Kaldur says, throwing another agent into a boulder. "But now is not the time to figure it out."
"No duh," Valerie said, nailing an agent with a full on uppercut.
But the more they fought, the more agents seemed to come. Took the phrase "coming out of the woodworks" to a whole new level.
"We can't keep this up forever," Valerie says, punching another agent in the gut and then throwing him into a tree.
"I am open to any suggestions," Kaldur told her.
"I have one," a girl said.
All of them, even the agents and animals, turned to see who it was. A weak looking Alya was somehow back in her feet. And she did not look happy.
"You come to my forest, trying to destroy my sacred spring," she growled. "You attack my friends, my pack, my way of life. But let me tell you one thing about animal magic."
Aqualad and Huntress both backed away from the agents, as Alya's speech was distracting them. They ducked behind a large boulder, not wanting to be caught in her animal crossfire.
"No matter what your kind, no matter your species, no matter what, the animal kingdom will protect you with everything it has," Alya growled.
She touched her pendant once more, but with a different result. The spirit light swirled around her, building up into the shape of the animal spirit. And out roared the spirit of a tyrannosaurus rex. The roar boomed over the entire forest. Over in San Francisco, three witches lifted there heads at the sound of the roar.
"Alya's at it again," the eldest sighed, the other nodding in agreement.
The agents backed away from the terrifying sight.
"Let's see how much damage dino-sized rage can do," Alya smirked, charging.