The dressing room was small, but it had more than enough space for a single person to be in it. There was also enough space for potential purchases, as well as to change into them to see how they fit.
Tina had no such intentions of trying anything on. It was simple, grab what you want, head back to the dressing rooms, be sure to remove any and all tags if you could, then take off your shirt and slip them on. Don't forget to put the shirt you came in back on as well. You couldn't look that different.
Pants were a little trickier. Yeah, sure, come in with the baggiest size you owned and leave with them fitting snugly. That was a dead giveaway. You had to be patient with pants. Lift one at a time, one per trip. You may not get as many as you would shirts, but it was doable.
In her hands, she held a pair that might be a tight fit, but tight was what she was going for. You had to show off the goods but not give too much away. It's why it was called teasing. So, how tight were these babies and would she be able to get them on? It would be—
The wall beside her suddenly heaved forward, and Tina found herself pressing up against the dressing room door. Eyes wide, she saw pieces of the wall fall to the floor, and there, sticking out of the wall was a head. Really pale skin, sunken eyes, and don't even get her started on the hair because someone was definitely not using product here.
She clutched at the pair of pants she held, holding it close to her chest as the head raised, and dead eyes made contact with her scared ones. It was a standoff as the two stared at one another, broken only when Tina spoke up.
"I...I just want some pants."
Not the best sentence she had ever spoken.
It did get a reaction out of the head sticking through the wall. It started with a groan, then a rumble, and then the head spoke itself.
"Solomon Grundy wants pants too."
To Tina's horror, more of the wall began to crumble as two huge hands began to tear through it, the head rising up and ripping through even more wall. The shoplifter's neck tilted back as a monster emerged into the dressing room.
Then the monster was pulled back, causing even more damage to the wall, and in its place was...Superman?
There was crashing behind the Man of Steel, but the Kryptonian took a second to look right at the frightened woman and tell her, "Get out of here! I'll keep him busy."
Without waiting, Superman flew after Grundy, passing by multiple displays of consumer products. Grundy had crashed into the shoe section, knocking footwear all over the place. Angry, dead eyes glared at the approaching alien and the zombie man pushed himself back onto his feet. Grabbing a nearby display table, the furniture was thrown, and easily dodged by the blue-clad hero. Pulling back an arm, he threw a punch that collided with the larger monster's head, snapping it to a side.
Big feet stumbled across the floor, but the creature remained standing. A second punch pushed Grundy back further. A third punch was taken, getting a grunt out of the massive hulk, which should have been warning enough. The large fist ramming into the Man of Steal sent him flying back, halfway across the store and definitely out of the shoe department.
Grundy charged after him, landing another hit right as the Kryptonian was beginning to right himself. Back he went, almost reaching a set of escalators. Then there was a tackle, one backed up by the huge mass that was this mountain of a monster. The tackle had them both falling down to the lower floor, crashing through the guardrail and a portion of the escalator.
They landed in a section that consisted of kitchen appliances and other cookware. Various devices and instruments were sent scattering around. Getting his feet between himself and Grundy, Superman kicked the larger creature off of him, Grundy crashing through several aisles of consumer goods.
Picking himself up, Superman glanced around, searching for any sign of any bystanders because this was not a fight he wanted anyone to get caught up in. Stomping alerted him that his opponent was not only back on its feet, but also charging back into the fight.
Grabbing a display, Superman took a page from Grundy's book and threw what used to be an assortment of a celebrity chef's sponsored cookware. The table barely stopped the charging Grundy; a display of blenders were thrown next and one of Tupperware fared no better. By the time the zombie had caught up with the dark-haired hero, he was already reaching out for another weapon, his hand wrapping around a handle.
Then Grundy's arms wrapped around him, catching him in a bearhug. The grip was crushing, but fortunately his bones weren't grinding against each other quite yet. That didn't mean the pressure wasn't affecting other areas, like his organs. He could take a lot of damage, but his internal organs weren't as strong as his durable skin and skeleton, which was a shame.
So he brought in the one weapon he had just grabbed and slammed it down into Grundy's face with a loud clang! The cast-iron skillet was pulled back, Grundy looking affected from the blow as his dead eyes appeared dazed. Superman swung the skillet into the side of Grundy's head once, then a second time in reverse. Feeling the crushing grip of the bearhug weaken, Superman pushed off and out of the hold, spinning around as he swung the skillet once more to land a fourth blow that sent the undead monster flying away.
Glancing at the skillet, he took a second to marvel at how sturdy the kitchen instrument had been, taking all the damage and not even a dent—wait. There was a dent, one that was shaped oddly enough like Grundy's face, and it was pushing from the bottom of the skillet and up. Huh, must have hit harder than he had thought.
Tossing the skillet aside, Superman pursued after the zombie man, his mind racing to come up with a way to stop this monster before anyone could get hurt.
"Haaaaa!"
As the desk bore down on her, Hawkgirl swung her mace, shattering it into splinters as Nth metal crushed the wood. The pieces fell to the floor below, but she didn't have time to worry about that. A chair was flying for her head at the moment. Using a backswing, she nailed it with her mace, breaking it into just as many pieces as the desk.
Jerking her head back and forth, she saw no more magically-possessed furniture. About damn time too, this was getting old.
Dropping through the air, she landed a short distance away from Faust, who looked a little fatigued. All of that magic and someone needed a nap. This was definitely not the old, self-proclaimed God of Magic. It was almost like seeing Zatanna back in the day, huffing and puffing over a simple spell.
Casually, the Thanagarian tapped the head of her mace against the palm of her free hand. She sauntered towards the mage expectantly. "Looks like you're starting to run low on gas," she called out to him. "How much longer do you want to drag this out? Before too long this will get sad, so I highly suggest you step down."
Faust glared at her even as he panted. It wasn't some comical, heavy breathing. It was more winded than anything. The batteries were running low on this one.
That was when she felt something tap her shoulder. Seriously, was one of the innocent bystanders trying to get her attention now? When she was about to take down the very person responsible for making them innocent bystanders? Their timing was seriously bad here.
"Mind if I step in?"
"What are—" she began as she turned her head, only for a fist to slam into her face, cutting her off. She was sent careening through the air until she crashed headfirst into a wall, or at least what she thought was a wall. It was too hard to tell at the moment.
The next thing she knew, she was on the floor, pieces of whatever the wall was made of crumbling onto her. Shaking her head to rid the daze she felt, she tightened her grip on her mace, thanking Lady Luck for the strap at the end of the handle. She would have been seriously irritated if she had lost her weapon from that sucker punch. Standing back onto her feet, she had to press a hand against the wall to help steady her.
Apparently she had flown over the teller's desk as she found it between her and the guy that had hit her. Make that part of a guy. The parts that weren't human looking were robotic. It was a weird combination of the two. Oddly enough, the sinister grin he was giving her worked for both the human and robot sides of his face.
"And just what the hell are you?" she demanded.
"Quite appropriate," robot guy replied as he marched over towards her. He didn't break stride even as he reached the teller's desk, opting to walk through it. The counter snapped and cracked and broke with very little resistance.
Hawkgirl immediately swung her mace. Robot guy raised his robot hand and caught it, stopping it with relative ease. "My, my, that wasn't polite," he tsked her.
"Neither is this," she shot back. The mace lit up with electricity, channeling it right into Robot guy's hand and up his arm. His eyes went wide as his body went stiff from the electrocution.
With her free hand, Hawkgirl pulled it back before she swung it for the robot's face, slamming her fist into his face. Much to her surprise, her fist bounced off of it, her hand spasming as she yelped. This cut off her focus and the electrical current stopped.
Suddenly, Robot guy's human hand grabbed her by the throat, squeezing down tightly as she began to choke. "That didn't feel good, did it?" he said mockingly. "I'll have you know I was built to fight Superman—and can take whatever beating he can muster. If I can survive a punch from him, well, who are you?"
The redhead gagged even as she glared down at the guy. A robot built to fight Superman, just great, especially when the big blue Boy Scout was having a rumble somewhere else. Never let it be said she took a fight lying down though. She might not be as strong as the Kryptonian, but she was more vicious, and this guy would be finding that out the hard way.
"I know what you must be thinking," the robot guy said then. "I'll just shock this guy with my mace. Not a bad idea until you consider I do have your throat in my hand. Shock me and I'll naturally squeeze harder. I don't think you'll be able to breathe that way."
Did he honestly think that was all she could do? While he was right, shocking him would be a bad idea, there was a simpler way out of this. With her mace at her side she then swung it straight up, the spiked head hitting the underside of the robot's elbow. This made it bend unnaturally, almost to the point where it broke off.
Robot guy cried out as he lost his grip on her and Hawkgirl immediately pulled away. Wings opening, she bounced off of the ground and flew backwards, putting distance between her and her foe. Her hand was on her throat, massaging it as she coughed raspily.
Coming to a stop, she landed softly on the floor, grasping her mace with both hands. Electricity was sparking along its head, a warning to anyone and everyone. A quick glance around her showed that the bank employees and customers were long gone, having made the best decision and scurried out during her fight. It was just the three of them: her, Faust, and Robot guy.
She also spotted something else, something that she was certain would put an end to this fight.
Glancing around, she saw a broken leg from one of the chairs she had demolished. Bending down, she snatched it up and held one end of it to her sparking mace. It didn't take long for smoke to begin rising and then fire lit up on the leg.
"What is this?" the robot guy spoke as he began walking towards her again. "Do you intend on fighting me with a burning stick? How caveman of you."
"That's cavewoman," she retorted before she launched up into the air. Heading right for the ceiling, she allowed the electricity to die down around her mace. Reaching the ceiling, she was right next to a sprinkler head, which she held the burning stick to.
It only took a couple of seconds, but then the fire alarm went off, sprinkler heads jutting out and unleashing a torrent of water, which fell to the floor below. Everything was soaked in a matter of seconds.
"I still fail to see your strategy," Robot guy said as he stared up at her.
That's when she held out her mace again, up above the falling spray of water, so that she could allow the electricity to return. "I hope you're ready for a shocking time, because I know I am," she returned evenly.
Robot guy's human eye narrowed, mostly because his robot one couldn't move. "You do realize you'll get caught up in it, right?"
"I know, but I'll get you and your pal Faust too. I know the EMTs will do whatever they can to save me, but can you say the same about you?"
"Do it," Robot guy challenged. "I dare you."
Well, when someone asked for it.
Faust suddenly appeared behind the robot, placing a hand on her shoulder. "We are no longer in an advantageous position," he told him. "It would be best if we retreat."
"Says you. Just steer clear of getting shocked to death and we'll have what we came for," Robot Guy retorted.
"That wasn't a request." Faust held up his other hand, his spell book hovering nearby. "Nos transferet," he chanted and in a flash of fire and smoke, the two vanished.
That just left a partially soaked Hawkgirl hovering in midair. It seemed her gambit paid off, though she rather have the two of them twitching and spasming from electrocution. Ugh, hopefully Superman was having better luck with Grundy.
It had come out of nowhere.
There Flash stood, playing around with the red rock called the Philosopher's Stone. It was a small thing, easily fitting in his palm. Over and over, he tossed it up and down.
Wondy had her Lasso in hand, ready to tie up Dr. Alchemy in its magically enchanted coils. Once he was tied up in that, he wouldn't be getting away.
And then an ear-piercing scream changed everything.
Flash cried out, not that he could hear himself do it. No, it was drowned out as a high-pitched wail rang out, stabbing into his ears. He had been in mid-toss with the Philosopher's Stone too, so the moment he shot both hands to cover his ears, the red rock fell to the floor, clattering on it by his feet.
Wonder Woman was having the same problem as she clamped her own hands on her ears. It was probably worse for her too since she had better hearing than he did. It wasn't no Kryptonian Super-Hearing, but he had witnessed the Amazon hear a whisper clear across a room once. Now that he thought about it, there was quite some overlap in powers between her and Supes.
Then the scream stopped, but the ringing it left behind never stopped. Flash let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding, taking in deeper and deeper breaths. At some point he had dropped to his knees and he hadn't realized it. Looking around, he found Wondy had done the same, along with Dr. Alchemy. All three of them were panting as if they had run a marathon on Jupiter.
That's when he spotted her. At least he hoped it was a her because the person had a very distinctive curvy body. There was almost an ethereal look about her in her black and white costume.
However, when he saw her face, he was instinctively repulsed. It was like looking at a bleached white skull surrounded by a mane of white hair. There was a skull-like grin on her face as she walked over to Wonder Woman.
By then, the Amazon realized someone was approaching her. She turned to look up at the ghoul chick, who stood towering over her. Suddenly, white hands shot out and grabbed onto the dark-haired woman's face. The ghoul chick sucked in a deep breath before she let out another scream full force into Diana's face.
Even though he wasn't the target of the scream, the high-pitched frequency drilled into Flash's head and he was damn near useless as he vainly tried to protect his ears. His eyes squinted shut, but he had to force himself to keep one of them cracked open.
Because of this, he saw Wondy's body go limp, her arms hanging at her sides. Ghoul lady stopped her scream then, still clutching at the woman's head. Her grin grew wider and she finally let go of the Amazon, dropping her to the floor.
Because of the way she landed, Flash was able to see that Wonder Woman's eyes had rolled into the back of her head. She was clearly out, her face frozen into a soundless scream. That wasn't good; that wasn't good at all.
"That's one," the lady said soothingly, almost like a loud whisper. Then her eyes locked onto Flash. "One more to go."
Oh, hell no. He was not going to get a face full of screaming. His eardrum couldn't take anymore.
So he did what he did best and took off running. The whole world around him slowed down, ghoul lady taking a step towards him, her leg seemingly forever hovering in midair. In an instant he was at Wondy's side, his hands grabbing onto her. He lifted her up into the air, lying her rather heavy body—not that he would ever tell a chick she was heavy—over his shoulder in a fireman's carry.
And then he was out of there. The world blurred around him as he passed by the screaming lady and Dr. Alchemy, leaving the bank and emerging out into the sun-filled street.
"Hey, Bats!" Flash's voice came over the comm link. "We've got a problem down here!"
There were several images on the Monitor Room's large screen. Security feeds for the inside of each bank were down, so he had the next best thing, that being the security camera's outside of the banks. It really wasn't much consolation since he didn't actually have a view of the various fights, except for Superman's. He had knocked Solomon Grundy out of one of the banks and then promptly partially destroyed a mall. That was the only window that was showing action at the moment.
Only moments ago, he had seen a red blur dash out of the Second National Bank. Flash's hail came seconds later.
"Sit rep," Batman replied as he pressed a button on the computer console, activating the microphone.
"Some silver ghost lady showed up and kicked our asses. Wondy's down after taking a face full of her screaming. I got her out of there and am heading for a safe place."
Just then, a fire alarm went off, this one at the First National Bank, the first of the three that had been hit, and as far as he knew, the current location of Hawkgirl. It could have just been the result of the fight there, but a surprise interloper into the apprehension of Dr. Alchemy seemed too coincidental.
What the hell was going on down there?
"Copy that. Let me know when you're safe and I'll teleport the two of you back to the Watchtower," he told Flash. He paused for a moment, then looked at the other feeds. For whatever reason, he didn't feel right about this. Three simultaneous bank robberies in the same city? Then a meta interferes and takes down Diana? Admittingly, it was a tenuous thought.
Hitting the button again, he then asked, "Were you able to apprehend Dr. Alchemy?"
"We were just about to; that's when the ghoul lady showed up. Just screamed her head off and all three of us couldn't so much as move. My ears are still ringing."
That sounded very similar to Black Canary's Canary Cry, a hypersonic scream that could incapacitate all those who heard it. He was willing to bet a blast like that at close range would have knocked Diana unconscious. Unfortunately, that still meant Dr. Alchemy was on the loose with a possible ally, or someone that had their own plans for him.
There were too many unknowns and he didn't like it.
"Attention all Justice League members," he announced over the comm links. "I'm sending reinforcements to all three robberies." He then turned his chair around and stood up, heading for the door. The doors slid open automatically and he found the lobby with the new recruits lounging around.
"Listen up!" he called out, getting all of their attention. "A new situation has developed on Earth. I'm sending teams to back up the League members already present. Everyone report to the teleporter and we'll begin."
The new members all shared looks with each other before they began heading towards the Monitor Room. Batman returned to the computer station, staring at the images once more. This wasn't his preferred option since they still weren't certain on the teamwork aspect of these new members, but he would just have to do his best with what he had.
"Black Lightning and Steel, I'll be sending you to back up Superman," he said as the room filled up. "He seems to be handling Solomon Grundy on his own, but I'm not taking any chances. "Fire, Black Canary, and Green Arrow, you're heading to Hawkgirl's location. We know that Felix Faust is there, so be on your guard for magic."
He paused. "Firestorm and Ice, you'll be taking over for Wonder Woman and Flash. Dr. Alchemy is still there, along with a new face, a woman that can scream at hypersonic levels."
"Like my Canary Cry?" Black Canary questioned. "Why don't you send me there? I should be able to cancel that out with my own scream."
"Or amplify both of your screams," Batman countered. "There's too many unknowns, so I'd rather we take this new threat down fast. If Ice freezes them, they'll have something else to worry about other than screaming. Firestorm can then fend off whatever Dr. Alchemy does with his own powers."
"So that leaves Vixen and Captain Atom for the third one," Green Arrow surmised. "Uhh, who's the third guy again?"
"The Shade," Batman answered him. "He has control of shadows, so be on your guard."
"You might have to explain that team," Black Lightning suddenly said. "Seems like you're sending in a lot of muscle in Captain Atom, when he might be better used with Superman."
"Atom's powers can create a light source that can fight back whatever shadows Shade uses," the vigilante countered. "And Vixen can call upon any animal, which she can use a nocturnal animal's night vision to find him at any point."
Vixen looked impressed. "That's a pretty good idea actually. You've done your homework."
"He always does," Black Canary remarked.
"First team, on the pad," Batman then ordered, Black Lightning and Steel immediately going over to them. Activating the teleporter, he put in the coordinates and then put in the command.
Immediately, a large red alarm appeared on screen. Jerking his head up, Batman's eyes narrowed. Teleporter failure?
He then put in another set of coordinates, another close to Superman's location and tried. He received another alert with the same warning. Then, as if to compound the issue, multiples of the same warning began popping up one after the other.
Then a groaning sound was made as the teleporter powered down. All heads were looking between the teleporter and the main computer, trying to figure out what was going on.
Batman just made fists with his hands. What were the chances of the teleporter shutting down when they needed to use it most? The simultaneous bank robberies, the surprise appearance of someone that could take down an Amazon, and now this? There was something going on and he didn't like it.
In the meantime, his fingers began dancing across the keyboard. He needed to find out why the teleporter had shut down and fix it. The others would just have to hold out, or retreat.
They were effectively on their own.
"Come on, come on, what's taking so long?"
Not an uncommon question coming from the Fastest Man Alive, but this time it wasn't from impatience. Wondy was still laying there, her eyes rolled up in the back of her head and not responsive, and that was not a good thing. That ghoul lady was out there and who knew if she was going to try and track the two of them down?
Flash didn't want to go too far. Bats would need the two of them to be still to use the League's teleporter, and he wasn't quite sure if the thing could teleport two people moving at fast speed, so it would be better all-around if he, you know, sat still.
Still.
Oh, this wait was gonna kill him. If the ghoul lady and Alchemy didn't, then it was going to be the wait.
And what was taking so long?
He really must have been in his own head, because with no reason or anything, a finger tapped his shoulder. Huh, that was a bit polite. Didn't think either of those guys he had left back there would do something like that.
Then, he looked up and around. First, he saw a pair of green khaki pants and black combat boots. Second, he noted how there was no shirt to be found. Third, the skin looked like metal, a bronze-colored metal, and with plates that tried to mimic various muscle groups. Fourth, there was the hair, if you could call it that. Were they metal cables or wiring, because it was all frizzy and say, he knew this guy!
"Girder?" Flash spoke up. "What are you doing here? Long time no see!"
Girder grunted. "Long time no see yourself."
Kinda expected that, but Girder was the kind of guy that always tried to sound as tough as he looked. Standing up, Flash continued to greet the Keystone native. "I'd like to say it's nice to see you again, but right now I got something important going on, but man, it's nice to see you again...hey, aren't you supposed to be in Iron Heights?"
"Good behavior."
Of course, good behavior. Well, hey, that wasn't all too bad. "Say, can you keep a look out. I got a couple of bad guys that might be looking for me. Just give me a heads up if you see anyone, like a freaky-looking ghoul lady and a Full Metal Alchemist wannabe."
Girder grunted, and Flash took that as a yes, and so began to turn back to Wondy to see how she was doing. However, a large hand clamped down on his shoulder, stopping him. "Yeah, about that."
Ever get that sinking feeling in your stomach. Yeah, the Scarlet Speedster was definitely feeling that right now. "You're not gonna tell me you're working with those guys back there, are you?" Because you had to hold onto hope, right?
"Got myself a job. This ain't personal, only business." The hand tightened on his shoulder and it was really uncomfortable.
"But why?" Flash looked up at the Central City Rogue.
Girder gave a shrug of his shoulders. "Granny can't depend on her Social Security forever. What she needs is a nice nest egg and I found her one."
"But won't she be disappointed if she finds out how you got that nest egg?"
"What she don't know won't hurt her."
And then Flash was thrown and this wasn't like he was sent away several feet. See, Girder there was a strong boy, a really strong boy, and so his throw sent the speedster not only high up into the air, but buildings were rushing beneath him as well.
Well, this sucked. So now what? Keep flying head over heels until he came to a stop while Wonder Woman was back there helpless and Bats was in no hurry to teleport her out? Yeah, not on his watch.
Flipping over himself, Flash held both of his arms out and began to spin them rapidly. Air was pulled in, and two cyclones formed around both of his rotating limbs. The city began to slow down, then he angled his arms upward to push himself downwards. Now the city was coming up quickly, which meant changing the direction of the cyclones down so slow himself. The street was coming closer and closer, and the second his foot touched asphalt, he was taking off.
Everything was a gray blur around him as the speedster sought to return to his teammate's side. Up ahead, he saw the growing figure of Girder as the metal man approached Wondy's prone form. What he intended to do, well, Flash wasn't not going to wait and find out.
Girder was bending down, arms stretching out. Any second now, he would be grabbing the comatose Amazon, but Flash only needed a second to cut in and sweep her out of the way. Over his shoulder in a fireman carry, the speedster carried the Gateway guardian away from his rogue, stopping several dozen feet away.
"Sorry, pal, but I saw her first," he called over his shoulder.
Girder gave a small growl as he stood up. "You're really making this harder than it has to be, Flash."
"What can I say? I'm the kind of guy that makes things hard," he quipped back, smirking.
Somehow, Girder raised a metal eyebrow. "You say that while holding an unconscious woman?"
Flash blinked, then looked to Wondy, wondering where Girder was going with this—oh. "Not in that way!" he exclaimed, panicking.
Now he was distracted, and Girder knew it. Raising two metal fists into the air, the metal man brought them down into the street, causing a shockwave that ran through the asphalt, tearing it up. Naturally, it had direction, and it was heading right for the speedster.
It was impressive to watch, but so easy to dodge because, you know, superspeed, and he was out of the way in a flash. Instead of remaining at ground level, he raced up the side of a building until he reached the rooftop, deciding the high ground would be the best place to be right now. The destruction that he had escaped tore the crap out of where he had been standing, heck, even went into a storefront and damaged everything there. That was not going to be cheap to replace.
Girder looked around, obviously searching for the two of them. Loudly, the metal man called out, "You can't hide, Flash!"
Oh, this was too easy. "But I can run!" he called back from his vantage point, immediately getting Girder's attention. Giving a wave, Flash took off once more, Wonder Woman still on his shoulder. Instead of waiting around for anyone else to show up, he was gonna take off and get the Amazon to safety, even if that meant in the next city.
Girder had been going after Wonder Woman back there, but to hurt her, or something else, he didn't know. Either way, neither choice was a good one, and so it would be best to make sure nothing bad happened to begin with. Once he was sure the two of them were safe, he was so going to give Batman an earful.
Maybe half an ear if he was glared at.
Over and over, John fired energy blasts from his ring. He had to watch as each one missed Star Sapphire, the violet villain flying gracefully through the air, weaving around as she dodged the attacks. Each beam hit the wall, detonating, and leave a missing chunk in its wake.
He wasn't getting anywhere with this. On top of that, he had heard Batman speaking minutes ago, but in mid-communication, it went static. There was no telling what the Gothamite was trying to say and he would have to figure it out later.
The entire time, there was this infuriating smirk on the Star Sapphire's face, as if she knew she were toying with him. She didn't say a word, but her smugness was rolling off of her in waves. As she dodged yet another blast, she then fired her own violet one at the Green Lantern.
John immediately formed a shield, blocking the blast. The moment he let the construct fade away, he saw another beam, though this one formed a large fist, one that rammed right into him, sending him careening through the air. He ended up crashing right into a wall.
Suddenly, he was struck with more violet constructs. What looked like pink iron shackles latched onto his arms and legs, pinning them to the wall behind him. One even wrapped around his neck, piercing into the sheetrock behind him.
"You are a powerful Green Lantern," he heard the Star Sapphire say as she drew closer to him, one hand on a curvy hip as she smirked at him. "But you have a limited imagination, I'm afraid."
"You want to see limited?" he shot back as he fueled his will into his ring. Though his hand was pointed to the right, he fired a beam from it, one that arched through the air until its path rammed right into the back of Star Sapphire's head. The villainess cried out as she lunged forward.
Concentrating his will, he had his ring channel it into his arms and legs, his muscles to be exact, increasing his overall strength. Grunting, he pulled his arms forward until he ended up ripping out large chunks from the wall. Due to the violet restraints, they remained attached to him. His legs soon followed, and eventually his head and neck. He had to resist the choking feeling he felt, but eventually he was freed.
Charging forward, he swung a fist at the Star Sapphire, landing the blow to her face. Because of the wall connected to his arm, his punch came with the addition of a rock bashing her in the head as well. The violet lantern cried out even as he drove his other fist into her stomach.
Drawing back his ring hand, he revved it up with his will before he thrust it point blank in her face. He then fired a large blast of power, sending Star Sapphire flying towards the other side of the room, crying out until she hit the wall, bouncing off of it before dropping to the floor below.
A moment later and the violet restraint constructs faded away, the pieces of wall connected to him falling off and landing on the ground. "How's that for limited?" he rhetorically asked.
Suddenly, something wrapped around his foot. John only had a second to glance down to see darkness wrapped around it before he was yanked downward. It was his turn to cry out as he was slammed into the floor. Before he could recover, he was then pulled to one side, skimming over the floor as he sailed through various bank furniture, breaking them as he went through them. Eventually, he hit yet another wall.
"I'd say that was inspired," the Shade gloated from where he stood, holding his cane towards the Green Lantern. He then looked to Star Sapphire. "Finish the job, will ya? I can't babysit you too."
Star Sapphire was climbing onto her feet, rubbing her head with one hand. She glowered at the thin man, the sapphire on her forehead sparking with power. She didn't respond to her apparent partner and instead fired a beam at John. Before it even got halfway, however, the beam suddenly erupted into several smaller ones, each beam forming a fist.
Seeing them coming, John formed a dome around him, using the floor and ground to cheat a little as he defended himself. The onslaught of fists rained down on his construct, battering it over and over. He could hear each collision on rapid fire, never once letting up.
It was quickly getting old, however. Eventually, one of those violet fists would break through and then he'd really be in trouble. This was going to have to take some concentration, but he didn't have much of a choice.
As each fist hit his shield, it suddenly stuck to it. Thin green extensions grew over the fists until green hands had formed, holding onto the violet constructs. It was several seconds before each fist was firmly held in a hand. John could feel Star Sapphire trying to pull back her constructs, but he held fast to them.
Allowing his shield to go away as he climbed into a kneeling pose, John pulled his ring arm back before throwing it forward. In response, the interconnected violet and green constructs surged forward, heading right for the violet lantern. John couldn't see her through all of the constructs, but he did hear her cry out as they all hit her. There was a powerful detonation and he saw the dark-haired woman sailing high into the air. She began dropping to the floor though, her momentum only throwing her up rather than away.
That was when inky blackness formed on the floor, catching the Star Sapphire as she landed on it. "Do I have to do everything myself?" the Shade complained.
John turned his attention to the former god. While he doubted the guy was a challenge for J'onn, he didn't see the Martian anywhere. It took a moment for him to spot the entire front wall of the bank, where the entrance was, was covered in shadow. It swirled around like a living creature.
"If you're looking for your friend, he's having a hard time figuring up and down," the Shade told him, "which is where you're about to find yourself."
"Don't count on it," John retorted.
Suddenly, something sharp bit him in the neck. It had come out of nowhere, so his surprise was warranted. Shooting a hand up, his fingers felt a dart sticking out, its needle clearly in his neck. He would have pulled it out, except his mind became unfocused and he found it very difficult to maintain his concentration. Taking a stumbling step forward, he lost his balance as he collapsed to the floor.
"Oh, I'm going to count on it," he heard the Shade gloat. "Sweet dream, Lantern. It'll be better than the nightmares you're about to face."
For those of you weirded out by Solomon Grundy's need for pants, it comes right from a commercial for Cartoon Network's Boomerang channel. Right from a scen from the Super Friends, basically the old precursor for Justice League, there was a meeting of the Legion of Doom led by Luthor. The various villains were wanting extra weapon from Luthor and Grundy would always interject that he wanted whatever another villain wanted. Then Brainiac just screams, "I just want some pants! A decent pair of pants!" (The original Brainiac design was pantless, thus the joke).
Cue Grundy, "Solomon Grundy wants pants too!"
Yeah, AV and I are old, but we couldn't resist the pants joke.