#TroublesAndSecrets
A twist had emerged in front of the Super Hero Girls and the Birds of Prey. Sportsmaster, a professional mercenary, a tricky opponent to deal with, managing to handle the heroines and protectors of Metropolis. Now using Bane's Venom enhancer to get more strength to defeat his enemies, he stood firm before the arrival of Supergirl, Black Canary and Huntress. Using his brute strength, Sportsmaster looked at Dinah, heading towards the vigilante, which made Kara punch him hard in the chest, however, laughing again from under his mask, he head-butted her, managing to throw the Kryptonian to the ground. On the other side, Huntress shot an arrow at the wall, creating a magnet around them, trying to pull the mercenary, however, he forced his body and with another field hockey puck, destroyed the arrow, going towards Helena, which made Diana and Jessica throw themselves forward and use their powers to restrain Lawrence Crusher, Meanwhile, Zatanna began to concentrate her magic, ready for the counterattack, closing her eyes, which made Bumblebee, Question and Batgirl start their own sequence of strikes, using their gadgets to distract Sportsmaster, who was focusing on Supergirl, Huntress, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and Black Canary.
Without realizing it, Icestreak was watching the fight, wondering what else was going to happen in the clash of the Super Hero Girls, slowly having serious doubts about the plan that had been put into motion. Even more so considering how Lex Luthor was only using the team of villains Jason was part of as means to an end and leverage his true goals.
"I think there are things very wrong. The determination of my enemies, but at the same time, the fury of the enemy in front of them. It's almost as if there is something wrong..." Speaking to himself at that moment, Icestreak continued to watch the fight, wondering if he should intervene now, because of his doubts about what was happening.
"Formation!"
Splitting into three groups, Wonder Woman, Zatanna and Green Lantern took the lead, with Bumblebee, Batgirl and Question going left, causing Supergirl, Huntress and Black Canary to attack right, trying to surround Sportsmaster. Holding off a blow from Diana with her right hand, out of nowhere, Zatanna found another gap. Signaling to the Kryptonian, Kara used her super breath to try to push the mercenary backwards, however, he stood firm on the ground, surprising the heroine. Using a little more strength in the fight, Supergirl started to use her heat vision on Sportsmaster, but out of nowhere, throwing another field hockey puck in front of her, it ended up exploding, creating a flash of light around the heroines. However, Question could still see Lawrence Crusher's movements, due to the fact that her mask was on her face. She was the faceless detective, but for Renée Montoya, it was a rather unexpected challenge.
Taking advantage of the scene, she borrowed some gadgets from Batgirl while the heroine wasn't looking, which made Renée analyze the scene a bit. Knocking Huntress to the ground, even blind, Helena activated another arrow, creating a small smoke screen, just as the two sides were doing and disappearing from Sportsmaster's view, Question took advantage of the scene, using Batgirl's harpoon, trying to trap the villain in front of them. Getting the mercenary's attention, Renée made him run in her direction, where as she lowered her head, the vigilante just pressed a button hidden under her sleeve and with that, triggered a small explosion that blinded the enemy in front of the two teams. While the other heroines recovered from what had happened, only in silence, Question took advantage of the fact that Sportsmaster was dizzy and with that, she unleashed several blows one after another, managing to hit his body with unexpected force.
"I think you underestimated me, Sportsmaster." Renée continued to pace, where the blows she landed on her opponent, along with her knowledge of martial arts seemed to have brought the mercenary to his knees, even with the Venom enhancer. - "I am not only a detective, but I have knowledge of numerous martial arts and fighting styles when I put on this mask.
Managing to knock Sportsmaster to the ground, Question took advantage of the scene to use another of Batgirl's gadgets, creating a small rope on the ground, trapping his arms, however, the villain easily broke free, putting everything in his plan on display. Sighing, he took the opportunity to counterattack, leaving Renée on the defensive, which caused Diana to throw the Lasso of Truth again. Holding one of her feet to the wall, the Amazon forced her body, trying to hold Sportsmaster with everything she had inside of her, however, pulling the heroine once again, Supergirl took the front, helping Wonder Woman and that way, Kara flew towards the mercenary, using her heat vision to hit the villain, throwing him to the ground. Surprised to see the increased resistance with the Venom enhancer in her body, Black Canary took advantage of the scene and held her staff again, looking at Sportsmaster.
"Perhaps you may not know me. But I'm gonna make sure to defeat you in all means!" Dinah remained determined to fight on behalf of what she believed in. Slamming her staff to the ground, she looked at the mercenary, knowing full well that the fight was hard. Sighing, out of nowhere, Kara stood at the vigilante's side, which caused the other heroes to stand by.
"You won't be alone on this one. Leave him to us."
Dinah and Kara got into position, where the two then began to attack Sportsmaster. The Kryptonian began striking from a distance, using her powers, while Black Canary attacked up close, using her staff and knowledge of fighting skills to defeat the mercenary in front of them, who was able to resist each attack with the serum used by Bane in his fights against Batman. Walking towards Kara, she forced even harder the use of her heat vision, managing to push the mercenary backwards. Concentrating even more rage in his body, Lawrence Crusher increased his strength even more, proving the level of the Venom enhancer he was using, practically committing to give his all to defeat the Super Hero Girls and the Birds of Prey once and for all. Slowly, both sides knew very well that the fight was only getting more complicated and that both heroes and villains would have to go to the limit in order to win.
Inside the main room, Cheshire was still watching Atlas and Tigress, still feeling the wound that was inflicted when the sword went through her body, almost as if it was inflamed. Grabbing the bottle of ethyl alcohol again, Jade threw the bottle between the bandages and taking the bandages and gauze, began to roll up her chest, lifting her shirt to show her belly, the mercenary could feel her concern even more, finally understanding why Lex wanted Atlas alive. The boy let out a sigh, feeling all the worry in the world in his body.
"If it's any consolation, I'm sorry, Jade." Johnny spoke, drawing Cheshire's attention at that moment. - "There is something inside me, that sometimes, I really can't control. It's like a surge of anger coming on, unable to contain. When we fight, something kicked in, like a desire to use everything against my enemies."
While the mercenary used the alcohol to clean the wounds on her body and change the bandages, Jade tried to hold back some of her own rage to keep her plan moving forward. She wasn't sure what might happen, but she was willing to risk everything in her attempt to escape Lex once and for all.
"I don't blame you. I've pushed you too far when I threatened your friends, Atlas. All day long, I keep thinking about the possibility that everything can go wrong. Everything is a blur when I try to solve these problems I have. You are not so different from me. Your anger can do unexpected things, Atlas. Now more than ever, your powers can be used as a weapon against certain people." Jade laughed, which made her realize how much everything could go wrong. She imagined everything and what else would follow, but getting out of this plan, was something much bigger at the moment. - "Certain secrets can put a target on your back."
"We've seen this game many times, sister. Even more so thinking a little bit about our lives. Every day, you talk to yourself that holding back your anger is the only way not to make the same mistakes that our Dad made when he started to train us. But your fear is so strong, however, that it is forcing your body to accept a truth that not even you believe anymore." Artemis still worried about her sister, even more so under these circumstances.
"And what we choose now is in our hands. Perhaps you can be forgiven, Jade." As incredible as he himself could believe, Johnny's words made him realize how much good heart there was within their own enemy, seeing the doubts running through his mind. - "My friends are at risk. Please."
"I can't let them go. I still need a bargaining chip to get out of this whole thing without suffering retribution from Lex."
Out of nowhere, Artemis broke the ropes she was attached to, freeing herself, much to the surprise of Jade, who hadn't been able to see her own sister's movements. Throwing a dagger into Johnny's ropes, Tigress released the boy, which made Cheshire hold her double sai again, more annoyed than ever.
"However, keeping you talking to me always worked when I needed to work out a backup plan."
"So that was your idea?" Artemis and Johnny looked at each other, knowing full well what was going to happen now and they couldn't risk losing everything they had so that Lex Luthor could win and put the entire city of Metropolis under their hands. - "I have to admit that I failed to understand some of your old tricks, sis. Do you start or do I?"
"That's Jade's desperation talking. Her will to escape Luthor's hands now that she's seen how far he'll go to defeat the heroes of Metropolis and satisfy her own selfish desires to proclaim herself the savior of the city is driving her to do anything to save herself." - Artemis' internal thoughts took over again and with everything that was happening, she knew very well that defeat was very likely at that moment. Without her weapons at that moment, the vigilante knew how hard she would have to fight without any equipment at hand. She was lucky to have a paper clip to save herself and help Johnny at that moment.
Jade was the first to attack, which made Artemis and Johnny stand at the ready for Cheshire's attacks. Seeing her sword in a sheath on her sister's back, Tigress took advantage of the scene and began to strike her opponent, at the same time Johnny opened his hands, channeling his powers once again, wrapping his fists in the energy he had in his body. Putting on her mask, Jade began to use everything in her power, going towards the two heroes. Taking advantage of the tactics she had learned, Cheshire pressed a button, deactivating the lights in the room, and with that, leaving the two blinded by this scene.
"Don't think I'm going to make the same mistake twice." Hitting Johnny's chest with a small cut, Jade ended up punching his face, throwing him behind, while at the same time, Artemis closed her eyes, sensing the place around her. Grabbing the sai in her right hand, Tigress head-butted her in the face, bewildering the villain. Atlas then stood up again, launching blasts from his hands, trying to hit Cheshire, while at the same time, the mercenary dodged each blow, looking to her front, showing that the young hero could see her, even with the lights turned off. - "But you seem to have a few tricks to spare."
"The warehouse thing, Cheshire. It won't happen to me again."
Atlas then snapped his fingers, creating a small shockwave around him and with that, making it clear that he was in control of his abilities again, without letting anger take over. However, he decided to take advantage of a trick coming from Jade, creating a small barrier in his hands, waiting to see where the next attack would come from. Out of nowhere, the villain disappeared from Tigress' and Atlas' eyes.
"Looks like she's up to her dirty tricks again." Artemis looked everywhere, scanning the scene before making any moves, until out of nowhere, she saw her own sister appearing behind Atlas. - "Look out!"
With a smile on his face, noticing the movement, he placed the barrier on his back, managing to block the attack. Sighing, the hero dispelled the barrier, deciding to fight only with his willpower for the moment.
"You know what, Cheshire? I'll give you a challenge. I'll be able to beat you just by using the strength in my body, that's not including powers. "
"You say that for fear of using the true extent of your gift, Atlas. But we both know very well the real secret in your body: Your anger will always be a catalyst of emotions for everything to get out of control in the worst possible way. "
"Maybe. But this time, I'm looking at it as a bit of a challenge. I'll keep my emotions at bay now." Both sides stood ready for any possibility and with that, Johnny took the lead, looking at Cheshire and the double sai in her hands.
The mercenary was the first to attack, trying to hit the boy with her weapons, while he dodged, staying on the defensive. Holding one of the sai with his right hand, Johnny kicked Cheshire in the left leg, knocking his opponent on the floor, which made Jade put the other weapon in front of him, hitting him in the stomach with one blow, which caused a slight cut in his suit. The place was still in the dark and Artemis continued to observe everything lightly, trying to keep a firm grasp on all possibilities. Running towards one of the walls of the room, Tigress launched herself at Cheshire, hitting her in the face with a kick, and threw Jade onto the floor.
"One thing you don't learn is how far I can go, Jade. We were both trained by the same person, sister. So I know some of his tricks too." Holding her by the neck, the mercenary threw her body backwards, falling all over Artemis and making her dizzy, however, seeing the scene, Johnny ran towards Cheshire, sliding and knocking the villain down by her legs, holding the sai of her right hand, trying to contain the next attack.
"You still don't understand, Atlas." Inside the main room, where the Lexosuit was being prepared, out of nowhere, the feed from the cameras went back to normal, which made Lex notice the darkness in the place and realize that something had gone wrong. Looking up with a deep anger and pressing a button near the monitors, he sped up the preparations of his suit.
"It looks like our guests are trying another one of your tricks. I will give them something they can fear very soon."
Cheshire noticed her problems in the fight, as she realized how much Atlas tried to contain his own powers, but still managed to leave her in a very unfavorable position in the fight. Holding Johnny's hands, out of nowhere, keeping the sai in her right hand, she removed the mask with her left hand and bit the fingers of his hands, provoking an unexpected pain for the hero and with this, Jade punched him in the face, knocking him on the floor.
"She bit my fingers!" Artemis stood in disbelief, on which Jade stood up, looking to the two heroes.
"Sorry. But you forced my hand." Jade held her double sai, looking at Atlas, as he tried to recover, but Artemis stood in front, where slowly, she looked to her sister, ready for the struggle again.
Without saying a word, Tigress took advantage of the scene and began a sequence of attacks, where in a mirrored fashion, Jade did the same, managing to connect several of her punches and kicks at a speed similar to that of her sister. Hitting Artemis in the face with a knee, the heroine returned the blow with a kick to her chest, knocking the mercenary's mask to the ground. Atlas slowly threw herself forward, holding Jade's hands, trying to hold her opponent and not lose control of her powers, but at the same time, the fact that she had said she wouldn't use them complicated the scene even more.
"You fear what you might do. I've seen it countless times. You call yourself a hero and you can't use what's in your body." Headbutting the hero, Cheshire gave another kick to his chest, throwing him into the ground and with this, disappeared from the visions of Johnny and Artemis once again. - "As always, the tale of the Cheshire Cat has their issues. Vanishing and appearing in the most unexpected moments. Remember? We're all mad. Madders hatters."
The two heroes got into position, until out of nowhere, Johnny felt something cut his left leg, followed by a blow to the back of the head that knocked him down again, and then Artemis ended up having her legs grabbed by something unexpected, which made her go on the defensive, seeing that Jade had managed to stick one of her sai in one of her legs, causing her to go into shock. The desperation was clear for both sisters, which caused Artemis, in retaliation, to kick Cheshire in the face, throwing her to the ground. Getting up, Jade slammed one of her hands on a panel, opening the door behind her.
"As the Cheshire Cat, now I will disappear."
"Oh, no! You won't!"
Trying to close the door, out of nowhere, Johnny forced the use of his powers, holding the door with all his willpower, allowing Artemis to walk through it, while the boy accompanied her. In the middle of it all, he concentrated his powers again, making the entire Lexcorp building shake with this scenario. Every minute, the two heroes knew very well the possibilities and the consequences of failing to stop the nefarious plan put in motion by Lex Luthor. Seeing the objects around, Johnny used his powers, throwing a plant pot at Jade, making her dodge it, and in this, the hero was pushing several other objects around. Taking advantage of the distraction, Artemis jumped up, standing behind Cheshire and giving a kick in her back, taking the sword in her hands once again. Both heroes looked at each other, knowing what would happen now.
"I think the three of us know very well that anything can go wrong. I went into this plan headlong, and now, I'm getting surrounded. " Her words symbolized a drop in sanity, even more so considering her desperation to escape the plan she had with her. - "But I still need to finish you two off."
"Don't you think you're taking this too far?"
"I have the advantage. As long as Luthor doesn't know about it, I'll do everything I can to take what he really needs off his hands. But I will do it with all the dedication in the world."
Raising his hands, Johnny concentrated his powers again, until out of nowhere, Cheshire prepared a crossbow on her wrist, firing several arrows without even moving her body, showing that the weapon was automatic, taking the duo by surprise with this scene. Atlas opened the palm of his left hand, throwing a little energy sphere in Jade's direction, who dodged the attack, more concerned with the battle.
Jade Nguyen's mind turned to unexpected moments in her past, on the defensive and trapped in the midst of so many problems, she knew very well everything that could happen and what would follow if she failed to escape and defeat the heroes. But she was willing to make it a purpose, not because she wanted to help Lex Luthor, but to take away his main objective. However, Artemis also had similar thoughts to her sister, knowing very well how much the past had defined them in the worst possible way.
A few years ago...
Looking at herself in the mirror, Artemis Crock could feel on her skin a little more of what was to follow. A green suit, with the symbol of an arrow in her chest, a ponytail, a bow and arrows, she could see herself as more than a vigilante. In her first step to become a hero, she could to something far unexpected. Looking to some thieves in a jewelry store, Artemis whistled, drawing the attention of three robbers who were stealing.
(Artemis) - Did I come at a bad time? - Firing an arrow at one of the thieves, she released a rope, trapping the first criminal and in this way, looked at the other two, who tried to hit the vigilante, however, Artemis gave a smile. After a few seconds, holding the bow, the young woman knocked out several of them, and with that, she fired another arrow upwards, releasing a net that managed to trap all of them on the ground and knocked them out with everything. With a calmness in her body, she felt some adrenaline coursing through her heart, until out of nowhere, she heard a round of applause, drawing her attention. Aiming an arrow through the shadows, she saw what was surprising: Cheshire's figure. - Don't move a muscle.
(Cheshire) - Wow... - Cheshire then removed her mask, revealing her face to Artemis: Just the last person she least expected. Her sister, Jade Nguyen. - I'm completely at your mercy.
(Artemis) - You...
(Cheshire) - Don't worry, Sis. The cameras are disabled. Maybe this is the only chance we have to talk. You could never imagine the truth to follow, but deep down, there are still certain things from the past that cannot be escaped.
(Artemis) - And yet, nothing has changed.
(Cheshire) - Tell me: When you wear this costume, is it because you choose to deny your true origins or what? I just came here to tell you that very soon, you might have a big chance that enemies will come all over you. The world is changing. And so are we.
(Artemis) - You talk about these heroes as if they are a problem, but in fact, they can help when you least expect it. Choosing to break a pedestal is enough to put several doubts in your mind.
(Cheshire) - You may not know it, but a revolution is approaching. - The two continued to look at each other, realizing how much both had become polar opposites now, not quite knowing what would come to pass. - Heroes may not be ready for the truth. They may not always be able to solve all the world's problems. And he is not perfect.
(Artemis) - But there are certain things that are worth protecting. It may not be perfect, but at least there is a chance to keep the innocent safe.
(Cheshire) - Then I won't convince you otherwise, sis.
Leaving Artemis alone, she wondered what might happen now, even more so considering how much everything still had certain problems around it, not knowing very well about the setbacks and all around, almost a warning of even worse events coming ahead, not knowing the possible consequences.
Now...
Artemis understood very well what Jade meant at that moment. This was the revolution she had been talking so much about. The plans she put into Metropolis and bringing down the pedestal in each of them, knowing full well the possible consequences to follow. Both involved in a larger plan, where everyone became pieces on a chessboard in Lex Luthor's twisted mind. And in the middle of it all, she decided to reaffirm her oath to defeat her sister and her father at all costs, if need be. As Tigress. As a hero. On the other side, Atlas looked to the mercenary, worried.
"I don't know how we're going to get out of that."
"I already have something in mind."
Tigress held something in her hands, more precisely, a little ball that was thrown on the floor, creating a soundwave that took everyone by surprise. At the same time, this gave Atlas an opening to use his powers and with that, he threw Cheshire through another door that was closed, being close to the room where his friends were.
Not far away, Sportsmaster continued to give the Super Hero Girls a hard time, managing to put all the heroines on the defensive, the fight seemed to no longer be in the group's favor. Hearing the soundwave out of nowhere, it was clear to the heroines that there were some very strange things going on around them, but the noise around them seemed to make it clear that there was a problem going on. But on the other side, in the girls' minds, it was a warning that their friends had managed to free themselves, but now, they were involved in a battle bigger than they could imagine at the moment.
"We seem to have a little problem." Sportsmaster remained determined to win. Seeing Supergirl and Black Canary approaching, Huntress took the opportunity to take another arrow, creating another rope, which split into several parts, delivering a very strong shock to his body and trying to restrain the mercenary with all her strength.
"Those arrows won't last forever here!" Huntress felt her concern growing as the fight continued. Supergirl launched another punch, pushing Sportsmaster behind, even with the Venom enhancer. Using her super breath, Kara tried to make sure that the mercenary would stay still, however, Lawrence Crusher started to push through, on which he gave another kick, throwing the Kryptonian on the floor. Even without using their weaknesses, Sportsmaster seemed to be enjoying everything.
"Okay. This is going too far now. I'm gonna end this once and for all."
"Do you really think this arrogance of yours is going to save you, Sportsmaster?" Kara prepared herself, punching her own hands, concentrating some of her strength. - "Now I can realize one thing: I can't hold back now."
Flying towards the villain, she punched the mercenary hard in the face, enough to split his Sportsmaster mask in two, leaving his face exposed, overcome with rage and constant fury in the worst possible way. Smiling back to her friends, Kara threw several punches, breaking her own limit involving speed, almost like the time itself was stopping now. Managing to knock Sportsmaster to the ground, the heroine used her heat vision again, followed by a two-handed blow that threw the mercenary to the ceiling, almost knocking him out. Concentrating more and more of his fury, he fought back, managing to attack the Kryptonian and hitting her, having used most of his strength to attack Kara Zor-El, Black Canary watched the scene, completely surprised with what happened.
Without hesitation, Supergirl increased even more the force in her heat vision again, this time, almost in 100% of force, pushing Lawrence Crusher behind, however, in his own blind rage, suddenly, he started to run, giving an elbow strike to the Kryptonian and throwing her on a wall. Flying in the direction of the villain once again, suddenly, he got another hockey disk, on which Sportsmaster threw the object on the hands of Supergirl.
"What? Do you really think one more of your toys is going to save you in this situation?" Kara seemed convinced of victory, until out of nowhere, Sportsmaster smiled back at the heroine, leaving her confused.
Out of nowhere, a green smoke appeared from the disk, leaving Supergirl in shock to what happened. Feeling her own body becoming weak, and slowly, feeling a huge weight on her, she became dizzy, which allowed Sportsmaster to punch her several times in the face, knocking her to the floor, which made Diana try to contain the attacks with her Lasso of Truth, but pulling the rope, the villain threw the Amazon on top of Green Lantern and Zatanna, knocking the three heroines on the floor. With that, to complete the victory, he grabbed Kara's body, slamming it on the floor several times, until he let go with everything, leaving Black Canary enraged.
"It's a piece of your world. I thought you knew more about the history of Krypton, but it seems I was wrong. You couldn't even identify the substance I used now." Kara finally realized what Lawrence Crusher meant about that: kryptonite. More precisely, converted into something quite unexpected. Feeling her body motionless, the villain moved closer, until Black Canary's staff hit his back, pushing him forward and drawing the villain's attention. - "From the looks of it, everyone here is about to lose. Scream. It won't do any good all you've fought for."
"Do you want to see a real scream? I'll show you."
Dinah knew very well that she was still feeling the effects of her fight against Jinx and Mammoth, but that could mean that she could do more and more damage to her body doing this. Looking at Sportsmaster, the vigilante just closed her eyes, concentrated all the strength inside her lungs and released a sonic scream towards the villain, but the main difference was that this scream seemed to be stronger, shrill, destructive and deafening, affecting even the ears of her teammates, both the Super Hero Girls and Huntress and Question. Forcing everything in her body, that voice put to the test was not only that of Dinah Drake, but of Laurel Lance, the girl who was trying to balance not only the tide of the fight, but to defeat her opponent once and for all. All the girls on both teams could feel the sonic scream going towards their ears, channeled by Dinah's own anger now.
In an unexpected way, the sound coming from Black Canary began to affect Cheshire, Tigress, and Atlas, noticing how the sound wave seemed to be with a much greater force than imagined, causing all three to put their hands to their ears, worried about what was happening now. However, Sportsmaster continued to force his body, walking towards Dinah, putting his hands in front of him.
"Is that all you've got, little girl?" Dinah forced her body, using everything in her power to overcome the brute force of Sportsmaster, who kept walking towards the heroine. - "You claim to understand how far you're willing to go, the same old story, but deep down, you're just kids playing a tough game."
Out of nowhere, the ground around her began to shake, slowly, Dinah increased the sonic wave in her screams, managing to make the mercenary's body completely heavy with it, leaving everyone in shock. Sinking Sportsmaster's body to the ground, she continued to push her powers harder, managing to knock the villain down. Falling to her knees, Black Canary felt her body physically worn out, and her throat burning in a way she couldn't expect now. With that, the girls came closer, looking at Dinah. Then Renée and Helena put their hands on the heroine's shoulders, helping her up.
"Are you okay, Black Canary?" Diana asked, more worried than ever now.
"I'm going to be. My body can barely stand now. Using my Canary Cry practically forced everything I had in my abilities. To top it off, my throat is burning, like I'm losing my voice."
"When we're done with all this, I'll help you with this one, girl." Kara talked, convincing Dinah. With that, the group looked to the next door, until out of nowhere, the group heard a laugh, totally insane, leaving both teams in shock.
Suddenly, Sportsmaster stood up, throwing another disc, this time blinding the heroines, which allowed the villain to stand up, feeling his fury rising in an unbelievable way. Putting his body on its feet, his own anger now took over at that point.
"I can't believe they humiliated me like that! I am one of the most respected and lethal mercenaries in my line of work! I won't admit it!" Taking another vial from the Venom enhancer, the group just looked in disbelief to what was happening now. - "You're going to pay for that, Super Hero Girls."
"Does he have another vial like that?" Huntress asked, in shock to what they were seeing now.
"It should be the backup plan for this one in case the first vial didn't work to defeat us. " Zatanna talked, looking to the villain, while she concentrated her magic.
Ingesting the vial, Sportsmaster's strength was increasing unbelievably, leaving the heroines worried about what they were now seeing. Diana looked at the villain, realizing how badly it had all gone wrong now. The look on Lawrence Crusher's face symbolized a warning that he had a huge rage in his body, willing to do anything to defeat his enemies.
"Now who is ready to suffer?"
The villain was able to maintain his own sanity amidst the use of the fully enhanced Venom enhancer. Looking at the team of heroines, Wonder Woman, Supergirl, Zatanna, Green Lantern, Batgirl, Bumblebee, Black Canary, Huntress and Question got ready, getting into position, almost powerless to stand, until out of nowhere, a freezing blast hit Sportsmaster, trapping his legs, chest and arms, taking the hero team by surprise now. Looking behind, Icestreak had one of his hands lifted, trading glances with the heroines.
"Icestreak?" Green Lantern said, mostly in disbelief now.
"I think that for once, girls... I'm gonna be helping you. " Feeling himself tired, however, Jason just forced his body to stay awake now. Shaking his head, Icestreak concentrated his powers.
Sportsmaster then broke free of Icestreak's trap, turning his focus to the villain. In this way, it was clear to Lawrence Crusher's eyes the level that the plan had reached. Running towards Jason, he began to use his powers, trying to freeze the mercenary, who broke free from each attack, forcing him to dodge. Slowly, Icestreak got into position, which caused Sportsmaster to punch the wall hard, causing an unexpected tremor down the hallway.
At the same time, Cheshire's fight against Tigress and Atlas seemed to have reached an unexpected point, seeing how trapped Jade Nguyen was by her opponents. Looking to the sides, she shot an arrow to the side, rebounding into the wall and landing behind Artemis, creating a small blast that threw her in front of her, allowing Cheshire to launch an attack and grab Tigress' face, throwing her to the ground. Using his powers, Atlas released two energy spheres, throwing them at Jade, who dodged, however, the spheres ended up hitting part of the company's glass. However, in a sudden way, the fight of the three stopped, feeling the tremor all around.
"What's happening?" Atlas felt everything around him stopping, until Jade made an expression, completely in shock at what she was seeing now.
"Oh, no."
Even though she was worried, taking advantage of the distraction, Jade grabbed a tranquilizer dart, taking advantage of the scene to hit Atlas in the neck, to the shock of both heroes. Sighing, Cheshire felt the wound in her chest that left her more worried than expected. But to her surprise, Atlas still stood up, his eyes red at that moment, making her realize that the boy was using the extent of his powers to keep himself awake in the fight. Walking, almost dragging himself, he headbutted Jade, throwing her into the floor, while Artemis got up, holding the sword he had with him. The mercenary then got up again, throwing several punches at Atlas' face, failing to have any effect. Stabbing one of her sai on his left leg, the boy felt the pain taking over his body, which allowed Jade to run towards the emergency exit. Up the stairs, Artemis and Johnny went after Cheshire, stopping at the top of a helipad at Lexcorp headquarters.
"I think it's time to end this, am I right?" Jade talked, reading herself for the attack, while at the same time, Atlas and Tigress started to walk, looking to Cheshire.
Suddenly, an unexpected blow struck the two heroes, throwing them both backwards. With their faces on the floor, the two heroes looked ahead, seeing the Lexosuit in front of them. Inside the suit, Lex Luthor kept control of everything in his exosuit, leaving not only Tigress and Atlas worried, but also Cheshire.
"It seems we have finally reached the last act of this story. All this journey and for what? Trying to stop the fall of the age of heroes in Metropolis? A waste of time." Looking to Cheshire, she saw how this path was going now. - "Cheshire. I have to admit that I am disappointed in you. Even with all your tricks and skills, you couldn't contain our biggest prize."
"I had some setbacks."
"Fair enough. I guess a part of me will have to deal with that on my own. Atlas is mine."
"Yeah, Luthor...you're gonna be in for a trip now."
The boy felt one of his hands shaking, putting everything into play, as he slowly began to feel the effects of the tranquilizer on his body. Lifting himself, Cheshire and Tigress exchanged looks, preparing their own weapons.
"You and me, sis. Just like last time. I hope I don't have to do damage to something of yours." Cheshire talked, ready for the strike, while at the same time, Tigress just stood in silence, seeing how everything was starting to go wrong.
Both sides prepared for the attack, while on the underside of the building, Icestreak stood by the Super Hero Girls, looking at Sportsmaster, knowing that the fight on both sides had just gotten more complicated at that point. Not knowing what could happen, the heroes found themselves making unexpected alliances, but now, what more would the Super Hero Girls have to do to be able to defeat Lex Luthor once and for all?
To be continued...
Author's Note: Ok, this one was kinda difficult to write here, but I think it was fun here. Like I said, the beginning of the end really is upon us in this arc, and with this, the sudden arrival of Lex Luthor threatens to turn the tide in the battle to save the soul of Metropolis and the age of heroes. In one side, two teams working together, the Super Hero Girls and Birds of Prey, now alongside with Icestreak, to defeat Sportsmaster, and in another, Artemis Crock, the vigilante known as Tigress and Johnny Young, the young hero known as Atlas, are about to have the greatest fight in this plan to stop Luthor once and for all, but will the combined might of the two heroes manage to stop his plans?
And also, for these very next chapters, you can expect some amazing fights, most of them making certain references involving our heroines, but for this arc, it's only a matter of time before everything is solved, but to which side? Well, that's a surprise I will leave in the open now, because there's more lying ahead, in ways, unlike any other.
See you all next time, folks!