Chapter 35
"None of you will be able to withstand the absolute might of Starro!"
A small explosion rocked the asteroid. Thankfully, Nightwing saw it coming about half a second before it happened, as did the rest of the group. They scattered and jumped up high into the air. Nightwing rushed towards Batman.
He really did not want to do this, for numerous reasons. Nightwing punched Batman. Batman deflected the punch. He returned fire with multiple punches of his own. Each punch drove Nightwing down until the crime fighter just barely managed to take Batman's legs out from underneath the crime fighter. Nightwing jumped on Batman's back. A small shock brought Nightwing off.
"Come on Batman, you're stronger than this."
But, no matter what, Nightwing could not penetrate Batman's stubborn head. The Detective nailed his protege with a huge punch. Nightwing slid back and hung on for dear life. Another punch and Nightwing blocked the attack.
Hawkgirl's mace swung wild in the air. Blackfire barely avoided the attack from the winged warrior woman.
"I admire your skills! But, you can't be there with that thing on your head."
Bleez threw a violent attack at Hawkgirl. She had been blocked by the Green Lantern's power ring. Jessica and Jade came up from behind the Green Lantern. Three beams of light intersected around them. The trio struggled against each other.
Starfire went toe to toe with Wonder Woman. The Tamarian realized just how skilled Wonder Woman had been. Even with half of her abilities, Diana was able to tie Starfire up into knots. Diana grabbed Starfire by the throat. Kory struggled against the stranglehold the Amazon Princess put on her until the moment where she flipped over the shoulder and landed on her feet. Starfire smashed her fist down into the back of Diana's head.
The Martian Manhunter used a powerful attack to drop them all down. Nightwing reached into his belt. He hoped J'onn's fear of fire would balance out the control the Starro drone had on him. A press of the button released a firebomb and sent the Martian Manhunter staggering back a couple of feet.
"Time to regroup!" Nightwing called.
"Are you kidding?" Blackfire asked.
"We have to separate them!" Nightwing yelled.
Supergirl and Superman hovered around them in the air. The two Kryptonians traded punches. Supergirl just managed to use her speed briefly to take Superman off balance. The Girl of Steel flipped Superman face first down onto the rocks above.
The entire group backed off from fighting the League. Batman, Wonder Woman, Hawkgirl, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, and Superman all crowded around each other. Batman's eyes shifted over a moment as they disappeared into the distance.
"A trick."
The other members nodded in response. The Star Conqueror would not be fooled by such petty games. They would take down these interlopers. They would join. Or they would perish.
Wonder Woman sensed trouble is near.
"Sister."
Diana's head turned a few inches to the side. The Amazon Princess locked eyes with her younger sister. Donna stood ready to fight.
"I don't want to do this."
"You don't have to. Join us. Join Starro and you shall live. Join Starro and you shall be strong. Join Starro and you shall thrive….."
Donna's fists curled up. An intense look built over her face.
"Not happening."
Diana blocked Donna's first attack. The Amazon Princess slammed her sister around by the leg and put her down onto the grounded. The ankle had been folded back and Donna struggled to get out of the leg hold. Diana stomped down onto the leg to further injure her.
Donna reached up and flipped Diana down. Diana still had a few instincts about her. They had been dulled thanks to the parasite's control. Donna used that to her advantage and hit multiple punches to her sister. Diana shrugged it off. She grabbed Donna by the waist and threw her back.
"You will join us. Or perish. It is the will of Starro."
"I will not bow before a filthy parasite!"
Maxima dove down to smash down upon Diana's shoulders. The Amazon had been caught off guard by the attack on the part of the alien queen. A slow turn around followed. Maxima withdrew a blade. Diana matched her attacks and the two fought with their swords.
Donna caught the glint of Diana's lasso in her belt. Now was her chance. Donna slid in to grab it. The moment the lasso pulled from Diana, Donna had one shot. Diana had been momentarily distracted. Donna used this distraction to lasso her sister up.
Diana struggled against the rope and still fought against it's pull. Or rather Starro did.
"Maxima, now!"
Maxima rushed in and detached the drone from Diana's face. The Starro drone spurted with blood as Maxima tore it from its host. She propelled it high into the air and stabbed down onto it for good measure.
Diana's eyes glazed over.
"Thanks."
"No problem. But we got work to do."
"You can't hope to hide from me for much longer."
John Stewart continued to hunt for the two other Green Lanterns. He created a miniature wrecking ball to smash the cover around them. The debris crumpled around them.
Jessica Cruz rushed out of the side and caught John with a blinding attack.
"I don't need my human eyes. Not when Starro is my guide."
Jade came from the other end to send a large winged creature at John. The creature had been blocked when John sliced it in half.
"You were always by the books, weren't you? Never thought outside of the box."
Two green cages manifested around Jade and Jessica. John squeeze the palm of his hand. The two Green Lanterns struggled underneath the cage. John put the heat on.
"Are you going to surrender?"
"No!"
Jessica and Jade summoned all of the energy they could to break free. The will power of two overpowered the will power of one. John buckled to a single knee and heavily breathed as the Two Green Lanterns forced him back.
John fought them every step of the way. It had been a back and forth battle. The wills of the two Green Lanterns had been an overwhelming factor in pushing him back.
A figure appeared from the skies. Hawkgirl hurled down onto them to try and bring them down. Only for Bleez to bring Hawkgirl down. The two hot-blooded women fought each other with fury.
"Aya, now would be the time!"
"Right. I hate to use this weapon on such an upstanding member of the Corps. But under the circumstances, there's no choice."
A beam of light erupted down from the skies and struck John on the back of the head. It drained the energy in the ring out of him. He had been a normal man, although a normal man with military training. John gave one more good go in fighting back.
Jessica shackled the man. Jade created a large vice grip and pulled with all of her might. The Starro drone struggled and struggled against the attack.
"Almost there! Just a little bit more."
The drone ripped off. Jessica contained it so it would not escape. In the aftermath, John slumped down to a knee and breathed heavily.
"Another one down," Jessica summarized.
"But, still some pretty heavy hitters to go."
Jessica hated to say it, but among the League six, they were all heavy hitters.
"You ruined our plan! You will suffer!"
Bleez blocked Hawkgirl's most violent assaults. Another one where the rage was almost attractive. She would have fought even more, but large dragon like figure appeared right behind her. The creature brought Bleez down to the ground with a resounding thud.
The Martian Manhunter rose up to fight. Starfire and Blackfire circled around him.
"Another will bend before his will."
"The last Martian. Well it's a good thing your race isn't around to see what you have come."
Blackfire's statement, while cruel and wicked, did do a wonderful job in shacking J'onn from his thoughts. This allowed Starfire to come in from the other side and drive the point of the elbow down across the Martian's head. A rattling blow brought him down.
"They fear heat above all else."
"Right!" Blackfire yelled. "I have an idea. Aim for those power cells right next us."
"But they will blow us up?"
"Not if we do it right."
Hawkgirl swung her mace violently at them. The two sisters avoided the attack and the discharge of the mace struck the MArtian Manhunter. This got their enemy into position to help spring a trap. Blackfire and Starfire moved around the other direction. Blackfire grabbed her younger sister by the shoulder.
"When I give the word. You fire. No matter my position."
"But…."
"We have to shake him!"
Hawkgirl still rushed them. Until Bleez caught her with a spiked glove on the backside. Bleez dove at Hawkgirl and the two crashed into the rocks to make a crater.
The Martian Manhunter stalked them like a predator after it's prey. The Martian's eyes glowed as it scanned the area.
"I have you now."
"KORY!"
Starfire beamed the power cell which caused them all to explode. A ring of fire surrounded the Martian Manhunter. For one brief scary second, Starfire feared Starro had been too powerful.
A scream echoed from the Martian Manhunter. He quivered on the ground. This allowed Blackfire to pull the drone off of him.
One drone, two drones, flew up into the air. Bleez sliced them both to ribbons. With J'onn's control broken, Starfire pulled him out.
"I'm sorry."
"No, you did what had to be done. And it's a good thing you did it. For I am free."
Then there were two and it was a big two.
Supergirl, Batgirl, and Nightwing walked up to Superman and Batman. Right next to them, a rocket had been pointed directly to Earth.
"You can't stop our grand leader's plan."
"Watch us," Supergirl said. "Let go of my cousin."
Superman's eyes lit up with fire. Supergirl's did as well. The two blasted each other with heat vision. The two beams intersected with each other. It had been a battle of wills. Fortunately, Supergirl broke free and grabbed Superman. Superman flipped her over onto the ground. Supergirl bounced up to the air. The Man of Steel caught his cousin with an uppercut to the chest. The wind rushed from Kara's lungs.
Kara recognized the Nova-Javelin mounted on the rocket. She had to get to it. Unfortunately, Superman buried her face first into the ground and tried to put a Starro drone on her.
Batgirl electrocuted Superman and caused him to step back. Supergirl grabbed a huge rock and smashed her cousin in the face. The rock crumbled and Superman kept going after her.
Nightwing and Batman circled each other one more time. Batman dropped a smoke pellet down onto the ground.
"Make sure none of them reach the rocket. Starro's directive will be fulfilled."
Nightwing flung a disc at Batman and caught the bottom of his boot. Right before Superman moved towards him only to be repelled slightly by the Kryptonite Nightwing held on him at all times.
"I'm going to get to the rocket," Nightwing said.
Superman staggered a few feet and Supergirl caught him around the neck. The two took their fight up to the sky.
The rocket began to blast off. Complete with a Kryptonite super weapon. And it's trajectory was pointed directly at Earth.
The Plot Continues In the Next Chapter