#StrengthAndMind
An unexpected moment seemed to involve the Super Hero Girls in the worst possible way: Lex Luthor, billionaire, philanthropist, the man who started a chain of events that brought the heroine defenders of Metropolis together with the Birds of Prey, formed by the trio Black Canary, Huntress and Question. And with that came trouble. Starting with the fact that Luthor had recruited Jade Nguyen, aka Cheshire, to help him in his plan to destroy the heroes in the city, but now, the mercenary herself was forced to keep up appearances to get away with Lex's plan, willing to do everything in her power to keep him in the dark. Supported by Jinx and Mammoth, with one of the villains having escaped after an attack on one of the safe houses, little by little, Lex's plans seemed to be falling apart. Last but not least, Lawrence Crusher, the mercenary known as Sportsmaster, involved with a much greater power than imagined through the use of the Venom enhancer. The house of cards was crumbling in an unexpected way, but Lex still remained confident in the triumph of his plan: a fight against the Super Hero Girls, plus the support of the Birds of Prey and the villainous, rival of Atlas, Icestreak, realizing how the course of things seemed to be becoming a little more complicated, but still, putting himself in readiness to deal with any problem.
Diana launched the first strike, spinning her Lasso of Truth, attacking Lex inside his exosuit, however, the villain began to repel each of the Amazon's blows, making clear his determination to beat the heroines, but with that, launching several blasts from his arms, Lex found himself in a stalemate against Wonder Woman, however, Zatanna opened her arms, preparing for another attack.
"Sdnah, emoc morf eht roolf dna barg eht ymene!" In a sudden way, two purple hands emerged from the ground, grabbing Lex's legs and leaving him surprised by this movement, allowing Wonder Woman to be able to launch an attack, quite quickly with the Lasso and with this, threw the villain backwards, allowing the Amazon to launch another attack with the shield, managing to bewilder Lex inside the exosuit. However, launching a blast from his right hand, Diana was thrown backwards, making Atlas angry.
"Ok, now you're crossing a line here, Luthor!" Channeling his power once again, Atlas placed his hands on the ground, creating a wave of energy around him that began to involve Lex, allowing him to be thrown upwards, but activating the rockets in his feet, the villain began to levitate again, feeling his anger rising. Anticipating the movement patterns of Atlas and Wonder Woman, the villain prepared for his next attack.
Dodging the attacks, Diana ran towards Lex, going left, while Atlas ran in the opposite direction, throwing several blows, with an unexpected teamwork, allowing Dinah and Renée to go towards their opponent, using their own skills to strike the opponent. Dinah then, decided to force her own throat again, and started to use her Canary Cry, however, all of a sudden, the sonic scream dissipated, leaving Dinah worried and the girls in shock.
"What happened?" Huntress asked, until the group realized what had happened: the girl's vocal cords seemed to have reached their limit, which seemed to make it clear how complicated everything had gotten in an unusual way. Icestreak approached, looking at the vigilante, worried.
"It may even sound like a lie, Canary, but for once, I am trying to help you. Apparently, the overuse of your sonic screams has burned out your vocal cords to the point where you can't use your powers." Looking at Wonder Woman and Atlas, getting help from Question, the trio began to coordinate their movements, managing to hit Lex, however, using the pattern system on his costume, he began to dodge again, creating a counterattack that allowed him to punch Atlas in the chest, pushing him on top of Wonder Woman, which knocked them both to the ground. At the same time, Tigress and Cheshire continued their clash, throwing several punches one after the other, watching their movements as they thought about the next steps of what lay ahead.
"This is getting more worrisome than it ever has been now." Jade talked, looking to the fight, while at the same time, Artemis punched her face, making Jade more dizzy, trying to recompose herself in this situation. Receiving a kick from her sister in the chest, Jade was having some trouble trying to look back into her opponent. - "Is this really how you're going to handle things?"
"We've already hit a rough patch, Jade. Let's not keep acting like this anymore."
Green Lantern then, concentrated her willpower in the ring and with that, began to create several obstacles around Luthor, to make sure he couldn't have a chance to strike. Creating a giant fist with her ring, she hit Lex, who held the fist with only one hand, demonstrating his determination and will to win at all costs. Creating a bow and arrow with the ring, Jess launched each one of them, which began to explode with each arrow fired, however, Lex dodged the attacks with enormous ease, making it clear how much more confident he was at the moment.
"Are we seriously going to go through this again? We know very well how much there are certain things that don't work for me."
As he did so, he activated a button on his costume, turning invisible and worrying the heroes. Punching Atlas several times, he grabbed the hero's face with one hand, launching a blast that hit his face, pushing him behind and bringing the young hero to his knees. Next, Lex looked at Renée, which made her stand at the ready. Throwing herself on top of the villain, she threw another smoke bomb on the ground, which as it formed, allowed Renée to see where her opponent was, and with that, she hit Lex's back, with an open hand, using her gifts and martial arts training to launch the blow, in a very strong way. Being forced out of camouflage mode, he looked at Bumblebee and Batgirl, who became his next opponents, deciding to be sure of the victory in his hands. Karen then shrunk in size, flying towards Lex, but in this, he delivered another blow that threw Bumblebee to the ground, showing that he could see the movements of his opponents, even in microscopic size, making it clear how much he had prepared for all possibilities.
"Misery, misery and more misery. That's all they're bringing to this city. I tried, but I think I've been too generous now." Putting his hands together, he fired another blast, hitting Atlas in the chest and throwing him to the ground, which gave the gap for Zatanna to take the lead, however, still feeling the effects of the magic she summoned from the Lords of Order, her body started to become motionless, which caused the villain to throw something from her right arm, a kind of web-like glue, making her mouth become stuck and unable to chant any spell. - "That really is an unexpected situation. We have problems and more problems, but I'm solving every one of them."
Black Canary and Zatanna seemed to be having serious setbacks, unable to help their friends, while Atlas struggled with the pain in his body, pushing his powers to the limit, it was clear how difficult everything seemed to be. Closing his eyes, Johnny opened his hands, making several metal rebars appear behind him, and in this, he threw them towards Lex Luthor, trapping his body, arms and legs, making it impossible for him to move.
"How about that, Luthor? I've had one more trick under my sleeve. Guess you didn't knew that."
"On the contrary, Atlas. I knew about this idea of yours. "Out of nowhere, Atlas felt something in his body, leaving him surprised at what had happened. Falling to his knees, he noticed the hole in the tranquilizer dart that had hit him, leaving Lex confident in his triumph. - "You know, Cheshire hit you with a dart, didn't he? And your powers were helping you stay on your feet. But I think now, the fact that you stay focused all the time is leaving you completely weakened." - Out of nowhere, Wonder Woman threw the Lasso of Truth into Lex's arms, pulling the villain with all her might, until he gave a smile from beneath the exosuit.
"I compel you to surrender, Luthor! It is useless to resist the power of the Lasso of Hestia!"
"I always wondered how such a weapon would work. "
Grabbing the Lasso, Lex began to spin it, putting Diana in a tricky situation, trying to hold the villain back, until in this, the Amazon stuck her sword into the ground, managing to hold on, but in this, at the cost of making Lex break free of the rope he had been tied to. In the midst of it all, Icestreak approached Black Canary, freezing one of her hands, and placed them around Dinah's neck, leaving the vigilante confused.
"I'm trying to calm your vocal cords, Canary. The overuse of your metahuman abilities has made you hoarse, not to mention the fact that you may have burned something inside."
"I needed to...save my friends. Now I can't even stand." Unexpectedly, the heroes could see at hand, how Icestreak was willing to help, even if he was a villain, he made it clear how much he would do anything to stop Luthor, even though the alliance between them was temporary. - "It's a difficult thing, but I don't think I could understand it."
"On the contrary. Basically, I think we both have some issues to work out."
Batgirl then used one of her gadgets, holding a remote control and making several batarangs come out of her utility belt, heading towards Lex and attacking him in an unexpected way. Giving the perfect opportunity for Bumblebee to shrink in size once again and give the heroine a way to sabotage the suit. Flying into the exosuit, Karen began to see the circuits and wires around her, while remaining undetected inside. Slowly, Jessica took the lead, using her ring to initiate several attacks one after the other. Conjuring a giant sledgehammer, she tried to hit Lex, however, putting his hands in front of the sledgehammer as Karen stood worriedly on the inside of the exosuit.
"Is this how we're going to play now? Hope, full propulsion!" Activating the thrusters of his boots, Lex began to force the suit to the limit, holding the projection created by Green Lantern and in that, broke it into several pieces, surprising Jessica Cruz at that moment. - "Disable basic protocol."
"Are you sure, Mr. Luthor? You might even have control of the Lexosuit's arsenal and force its capabilities, however..."
"I don't care! Disable the protocol!" Disabling the security protocol, out of nowhere, Lex's helmet display turned red, making it clear how much something was quite wrong at that moment. Sighing, Huntress looked at the scene, as she prepared her crossbow, worried.
"I have a very bad feeling about all this." Helena wondered what problem she had gotten herself into, as she held her crossbow, trying to figure out what the Super Hero Girls' next step would be. - "Does anyone here have an idea how to solve this problem?"
"Already thinking on this!" Wonder Woman analyzed the scene, giving the gap for Lex to start the devices on her costume, preparing for all possibilities of attack coming from the heroines.
"Do you really think you can beat me? I am ready to everything this team can throw at me! So don't be afraid! Come at me!"
Lex Luthor remained confident in his victory. The fact that he believed he could be the hero of his own story could only be the beginning of something even worse to come. A future that would be bleaker than ever if the heroes of Metropolis failed to contain the billionaire's plans and prevent the city from losing its soul to a person willing to use manipulation and other resources to keep control of things. Diana held her sword and shield, going first to strike, while at the same time, Icestreak froze the glue that was stuck in Zatanna's mouth, destroying it in several pieces and allowing her to use her spells again. With that, Wonder Woman, Zatanna, Green Lantern, Supergirl, Batgirl, Question, Huntress and Atlas began to surround the villain, willing to defeat their opponent, however, the fact that Lex was calm under the costume meant that he had a much bigger plan. Parallel to the fight, Bumblebee continued to fly over Lex Luthor's exosuit, willing to sabotage the suit from the inside and ensure an advantage for her friends at that moment, who needed a miracle at this crucial moment of the clash.
Meanwhile, Artemis watched the fight against Lex again, realizing that things were getting out of hand, making it clear that the fight they were now engaged in symbolized that all bets were off at this point, literally in a way they couldn't imagine right now. Diana led the team, who took the lead, ready to do anything for her friends and the city she had sworn to protect as part of her mission in the World of Men. But with each attack, the heroine had her blows blocked in unexpected ways. Realizing how badly it could all go wrong, Diana put her shield in front of her, blocking the punches coming from Lex and in this way, allowed Supergirl to hold the suit, through her arms, even with the kryptonite inside the suit damaging her body. Batgirl used her grappling hook to get a hold of the villain while Huntress shot an arrow, which released a rope, tying the exosuit by the chest. There were three heroines holding Lex, while at the same time, Atlas continued to feel the effects of the tranquilizer in his body, being forced to use even more power inside himself to stand up, even if it was difficult.
"My body feels like it's wanting to fall, but I can't do that." Atlas looked around, realizing that something was very wrong. It had gotten too easy, until out of nowhere, Lex gave another smile under the exosuit.
"Activate soundwaves!" Creating another soundwave, stronger than the last one she had used, the heroes began to feel their ears being affected, leaving each more worried than usual. Zatanna then opened her arms, using more of her magical arsenal at that moment.
"Erif and Eci!"
Out of a sudden, a small stream of fire hit the Lexosuit, making the villain even more confident, seeing that he was not being affected, however, out of nowhere, Lex saw the legs and arms of his suit frozen, making it impossible for him to move. With all this, Karen took advantage of the scene and got close to the circuits that were part of the protocol created by the billionaire, on which a lightbulb appeared in her head.
"Okay, Lex. You think you have all the control of the fight, but let's see how you'll do without your pattern system."
Using her stingers, Karen hit some of the Lexosuit's protocol wires, with that, on Lex's visor, he began to see some glitches, making it clear that something was very wrong. Suddenly, Diana managed to hit Lex's face, inside the suit, with her shield, leaving the heroines surprised by this scene. At this, Question took advantage of the scene, throwing a barrage of punches that managed to throw the billionaire to the ground, allowing Karen to get out of the exosuit, without anyone noticing, making it clear how much there was something very wrong for the billionaire.
"Hope! What happened?"
"The movement pattern system has suffered a certain amount of damage. It is no longer possible to predict your enemies' attacks, Mr. Luthor." The AI started to talk, on which Lex's fury began to grow inside of the exosuit.
"Then start the self-repair system now! I'm ordering you!"
"It is no longer possible. With the safety protocol disabled, repairs can no longer be carried out. And it can't be reactivated, because of the damage." Looking ahead, Lex saw Bumblebee returning to her normal size, realizing what had really happened, having suffered internal sabotage inside her Lexosuit.
Lex's anger began to rise, making it clear how much he himself couldn't predict what had happened, until out of nowhere, Diana caught the billionaire's eye, at which the team stood all together. Even with her body unable to stand, Black Canary put her hands in her staff, looking at Luthor, while Atlas and Icestreak stood next to each other, making it clear that rivals and enemies were putting their differences aside to win, which left Artemis and Jade surprised by this scene, but made it clear that Luthor's plans now had a serious problem ahead.
"It was once said that the greatest battles we face can show how our enemies can act in difficult times. You claim to have a brilliant mind, Lex, but deep down, you have just proven that you have no contingency plan for this. You're completely trapped." Wonder Woman looked to her siblings, realizing how much the odds were to their side now. - "Now, your plans to corrupt the soul of Metropolis will fall through."
"I refuse! If you want to beat me so badly, go ahead! I want to see who will be the first to have the courage to hit me!" Seeing Icestreak exchanging glances with him, Lex felt the betrayal coming with everything, realizing how wrong everything had gone. - "Traitor! I gave you everything you wanted! The opportunity of a lifetime that your team could the Super Hero Girls, Icestreak! And you're really going to choose the wrong side?"
"You led our entire team to believe that we had something working for you, when in fact, we were just your pawns so that you could go ahead with this plan of yours that doesn't make the slightest sense, in my view. To you, we must all be pawns, just as Cheshire or anyone else you have recruited, to do your bidding. But for the first time, I will have the pleasure of defeating someone with whom I disagree in certain attitudes." Lex realized at that moment that he would not be able to convince Jason otherwise, putting everything at risk to defeat the billionaire once and for all. He found himself in a situation where he had no chance of winning. It was a long shot, but in his mind, he still thought that he needed to do in the name of his plans and of everything he had planned.
Artemis gave a smile, more arrogant than expected, seeing how Lex seemed to be in far more trouble than now. Wonder Woman, Atlas, Supergirl and Batgirl were the first to attack. Combining his movements with Barbara, Atlas held a batarang and channeled her energy into the object, allowing the heroine to hurl it towards Lex and hit his face, creating a shockwave strong enough to throw the billionaire backwards. Next, Supergirl used her super breath once more, pushing Lex behind, but in a sudden move, Wonder Woman hit her metal bracelets, creating another shockwave that pushed the villain back, making sure that everything had gone wrong with her plans. Next, Atlas and Icestreak combined several of their attacks, punching and kicking in a coordinated manner, using part of their powers to attack, which left her opponent on the defensive, due to the fact that he was unable to land any blows on top. At the same time, everything was unfolding for an unexpected moment, until out of nowhere, activating the camouflage mode of his exosuit, Lex disappeared from the heroes' vision, leaving everyone worried about what could happen.
Thinking about his next move, Lex hit Atlas with a kick to his right leg, followed by another kick that hit his face, knocking him down again, as he felt the effects of the tranquilizer dart in his body. It was almost as if his vision was blurred. With that, Black Canary, Zatanna, and Huntress took the lead. Using another arrow, a magnetic arrow, she managed to pin Lex's body to the ground, forcing the villain to deactivate his cloaking mode and with that, Zatanna opened her arms, even with her body having half of her energy depleted, she began to hit Lex with another blast, making sure to hit every circuit of the Lexosuit. At this, Question and Green Lantern moved in, with Renée landing several blows on the display and making it clear how incapacitated he was, but, moving one of his arms, Lex hit Supergirl with a blast of kryptonite, incapacitating the heroine, but at this, Jessica Cruz conjured another giant fist, crushing the villain even more on the ground. Unable to move, he was trying to figure out what might happen now, until suddenly, Wonder Woman delivered the final blow, hitting her shield on the exosuit's chest and face, knocking the villain motionless.
"This... isn't... fair." With those words, Lex collapsed inside the costume, giving the victory to the Super Hero Girls, leaving the heroines in shock at what they were seeing, while in the middle of it all, the fight between Cheshire and Tigress stopped, still with surprise in store.
"What... happened?" Even with the kryptonite taking effect on her body, Kara stood up, with a smile on her face and still trying to understand what had happened.
"It looks like we... won." The Kryptonian said, confused.
"Our battle is finally over, siblings. We have defeated the man responsible for all these manipulations and the soul of Metropolis has been saved, at last." Wonder Woman remained quite optimistic, realizing how much more difficult and unexpected everything seemed to be than ever, what confused her was the fact that it seemed to have been too easy.
Out of nowhere, another tremor was felt on the spot, making it clear that something was wrong. Jade Nguyen's face at that moment seemed to have made it clear how much everything could go wrong, which did not go unnoticed by Artemis after all she had seen.
"That's not a good sign. And I know that feeling very well."
The heroines stood at the ready, wondering where the next attack would come from, until in one unexpected move, a field hockey puck popped up in front of Atlas and Icestreak, exploding and throwing them both backwards, falling flat on their backs on the ground. Just then, the Super Hero Girls looked to their left, at the door to the stairs, seeing Sportsmaster facing them, leaving the shock in place.
"I won't lose as easily as you think. I have trained so long to deal with people like you. Do you really think that layers of ice are capable of containing me? I've seen it before, Icestreak. Escaping from an internal freeze was so easy that I felt sorry for your attempt. But letting you believe you won was worth it just to see your reactions. With those words, everyone stood at the ready again, but at that, Icestreak stood up, along with Atlas and at that, the two of them began to channel their powers, but this time, looking at each other, with a sense of determination in their bodies.
"What the..." Diana looked at the scene, worried about what might happen, until Zee saw what they were going to do, making her concern clear.
"It will be a double strike."
"You and me, Icestreak. If we don't win..."
"I know."
The two then channeled everything they could, and in doing so, the combined blast hit Sportsmaster, which began to push the mercenary backwards, until out of nowhere, he began to walk, leaving the group worried. Supergirl put her strength in, using her heat vision again, while Zatanna used her magic, forcing even more her own body, almost depleted of physical energy, but willing to help in any way she could, while Green Lantern used all of her willpower in the attack, being a combined blast of five against a villain, but he kept walking, without any concern.
"The effect of the Venom enhancer still lingers. They are really foolish to think they can do anything to me."
Throwing three field hockey pucks high, another explosion went off, throwing the quintet of heroines backwards and leaving only Wonder Woman, Batgirl, Bumblebee, Huntress, Question and Black Canary standing, demonstrating how difficult the fight seemed to be somewhat. Until out of nowhere, Lawrence's muscles began to twitch, making Batgirl realize what was happening, however the mercenary himself didn't.
"I saw it on the news when Batman took on Bane. Venom's effects are wearing off. Soon, he will lose all the strength he had acquired from the enhancer, meaning he has a chance of the fight turning in our favor. " Batgirl's internal thoughts made it clear how much hope there still was, however, out of nowhere, Lawrence Crusher turned his focus to Artemis and Jade, making clear his conviction amidst all the problems.
"My daughters. I gotta say I'm very disappointed with the direction they have chosen to take. One daughter turning against everything I taught her, acting like a vigilante and believing it will make a city a better place, and the other, still reluctant to use the rage I've been teaching her for years to get what she wants." Artemis held up her sword, looking at Sportsmaster, realizing how much was going wrong now and even more so considering what she swore to uphold as a heroine, she remembered starting all this to find her sister, but now, her very soul was at risk. - I still wonder which way things are going to go. This city is beyond saving, daughters.
"You put in all this training to turn us into weapons. I don't intend to follow your teachings. As I said before, to find my own way." Artemis looked at her father, who also began to hold a sword, making it clear that he was going to use all the strength in his body to defeat his own daughter. The Super Hero Girls then began to get into position, the heroines who were still standing looked at Sportsmaster, willing to help, until out of nowhere, Jade stood by her sister's side, leaving Artemis surprised about this. - "Jade?"
"What are you doing?"
"Choosing my own path, Dad. I'll give you an incentive: I have a secret I refuse to tell. Without me, you are nothing!" She made it clear about Atlas' secret identity, but Jade made it clear that she would not divulge who was under the mask. - "I've followed Luthor's plans for too long. Now, I think it's time to change things up a bit. Girls." The girls looked at Jade and Artemis, in shock. - "I don't want you to interfere with this fight."
"So it will be like this? Father and daughters, at war with each other. So it will be like this."
A family duel that was about to bring out the worst sides of both parties. The final battle against Sportsmaster was about to begin, now with Jade and Artemis joining forces, finally creating a truce to ensure her father's defeat and the downfall of Lex's plans once and for all. Holding their weapons, Tigress and Cheshire looked to one another, while Sportsmaster did the same. Slowly, the ominous feeling began to hover around the helipad, making it clear to everyone what was really going to happen. A family story that would reach a new chapter. Cheshire. Artemis. Sportsmaster. Divided, but now, ready to ensure victory for their sides. The tale of two sisters was about to reach its conclusion, ready to fight the last fight and solve their problems.
Without the heroines realizing it, certain debris began to move on its own. In the middle of it all, Atlas, even passed out, seemed to be channeling his powers lightly, making it clear that the boy's anger was beginning to grow and that very soon, the fight to save Metropolis' soul would reach a completely unexpected point and that it would bring out something much bigger than the eye could see.
To be continued...
Author's Note: This is it, folks. The next chapter, will end this arc, with a high note, this I can promise. After all the struggles and the union of two hero teams, only one enemy is remaining to make sure Metropolis will be safe, however, what will the fight have in mind for the heroines that are still fighting to save the very soul of the home they've sworn to protect?
You thought the final fight would be against Lex Luthor, am I right? Well, I decided to take a page from The Dark Knight movie and give some subversions involving the arc. One last fight, but in this situation, it will involve certain situations very unexpected, for all you can wait for. Will Sportsmaster be defeated? Or will the heroes deal with their greatest defeat ever? Well, these answers will be revealed, soon enough!
See you all next time, dear readers!