Adventures of Supergirl 7x17
7th Circle
Mon stepped forward towards Nnoitra ready to do battle with an ax in hand. Nnoitra's weapon appeared as an unusual scythe blade. It was a long staff with two crescent blades going in opposite directions making the weapon resemble the number eight. "I can handle this asshole," Mon said confidently.
Nnoitra immediately sliced down with his scythe with Mon blocking with his ax. The two struggled briefly against each other until Mon threw Nnoitra off him. "I've been looking forward to this," Mon said gleefully and then aggressively attacked the demon.
"He looks like he's enjoying himself," Kara said amused as Mon continued the attack.
"Looks like we could have an interesting duel," Mon remarked to Nnoitra as neither side got a hit on the other. "So, let me enjoy it a little longer."
"Same here," Nnoitra smirked.
The two clashed repeatedly until Nnoitra tied Mon up with his scythe. "Don't tell me you're shocked just by this level. I'm waiting for you. Come at me like your life depended on it!" Nnoitra taunted.
Mon merely laughed at that. "Alright, no more feeling each other out. From now, it's killed or be killed." Mon then swiped at Nnoitra dragged his ax across his chest but was unable to cut him. Nnoitra laughed at Mon and sliced his left shoulder with his scythe.
Mon continued to swipe at Nnoitra getting a few hits but not able to cut him. Nnoitra mocking kicked Mon away. "At this level, you can't cut my skin," Nnoitra informed him. Undeterred, Mon continued to attack forcing Nnoitra into the air by the force of his hit on Nnoitra's scythe. Mon then grabbed the chain that went to Nnoitra's scythe, dragged him back to the ground, and then tried to slice his face open with his ax. Nnoitra rolled just out of the way of being hit.
"You dodged, eh? That means you felt threatened of being hurt," Mon reasoned. "So, there must be areas I can cut."
"Your ax cannot cut me. That is all there is to it," Nnoitra insisted and then swung his scythe down on him. Mon caught the blade without it cutting him and then let it fall to the sand.
"I've met plenty of guys who tell me I can never cut them. I'm going to look forward to proving you wrong," Mon said confidently.
"This is madness! This is blasphemy!" Nnoitra accused.
Mon leaped up and tackled Nnoitra into the sand. The two clashed repeatedly and then Mon managed to make Nnoitra's wrist bleed upon being hit. Nnoitra retreated away and assessed the cut. "What? You think because you got this cut you can win?" Nnoitra mocked.
"Come at me, bro," Mon taunted.
Nnoitra charged Mon with his scythe only for Mon's ax to slice a few inches into it. Nnoitra backed off alarmed by Mon's cutting power. "I think I got the hang of your hardness. It's almost half as hard as my dick," he mocked.
A lot more confident now, Mon charged Nnoitra and slashed his chest open from top to bottom. "Sorry, I couldn't hold back," Mon smirked.
"You were hiding your true strength from me this entire time," Nnoitra realized. "I won't be defeated by the likes of you, Jin-Saiyan," he said angrily. He then powered up and transformed to his final form. He now had four arms, four smaller scythe blades, white armor on his arms and back, and two crescent-shaped horns on the top of his head. His wound had also sealed up.
"What do you think of me now, Insane?" Nnoitra asked.
"It's been a very short while since I crushed a bug," Mon smiled amused. Mon then charged Nnoitra only to be blocked by one of his scythe blades. Nnoitra used another arm to slash across Mon's chest giving him a serious injury.
"Well, that's no fun," Mon said as he realized he could be easily blocked with every swing.
"Cut them all off!" Kara shouted at him.
"Really? Well...no shit," Mon agreed.
Nnoitra kicked Mon into a rock formation in the middle of the desert. After a long pause, Mon erupted from the sand, took Nnoitra by the head, and slammed him down. Mon then went for Nnoitra's head with his ax. Nnoitra quickly blocked Mon with his four scythe blades, erupted two new arms, and then punched a solid hole through Mon's gut and out the other side.
Mon backed away devastated. Nnoitra laughed victoriously, now with six arms. "It's over, Insane." Mon merely laughed in amusement. Nnoitra slashed Mon's arm, then his shoulder, but Mon kept coming. "Just hurry up and die," Nnoitra said as he slashed Mon to the neck and chest as they charged each other.
Mon frowned realizing he was in trouble. "Looks like I have no choice. When I was younger, my old man would make me use both hands when swinging a sword." Nnoitra ignored Mon's ramblings and charged for the kill. With precise timing, Mon slammed his ax down on Nnoitra using both hands. In an explosion of force, Mon sliced off one of Nnoitra's horns and deep into his face and torso. Nnoitra was now on the ground bleeding and dumbfounded.
"You're still alive? You're one tough dude," Mon acknowledged.
"How could your genocidal ass defeat me? You've destroyed planets, entire civilizations, and laughed as you did it. You're responsible for an ocean of blood," Nnoitra accused. Enraged, he charged Mon with all of his blades. Mon used both hands and slashed him across the chest again. Nnoitra then fell to the ground totally defeated.
Mon rested on his ax severely injured. "It's just a flesh wound," Kara winced.
"I have to go back. I'm no use to you now," Mon said.
"What? Come on. I can still use you as a meat shield," Kara joked.
"I feel like a changed man. I feel like there is something to look forward to. Like my life has begun anew," Mon said reflectively. "Thank you for bringing me to this place."
"You going to be okay all by yourself?" Kara asked concernedly.
"I'll be fine," Mon assured them. "I've always wanted to kick Lucifer's ass...but your sister means more. Don't lose."
Kara embraced Mon tearfully. "It's fitting my father and you got this far into hell. I wouldn't have it any other way."
"Let this be the last time," Mon smirked and then gave Jeremiah a look. Jeremiah came over to Mon and shook his hand. "This is a new beginning for you. I'm proud of you, son."
Mon gave them both a salute and then walked across the desert. As he did, he was no longer visible as a sandstorm came in.
1st Circle
Once they were healed and their weapons repaired, Kelly, Winn, Lena, Nia, and James were at a loss as to what to do. "Do we go back out?" Winn wondered.
"Yes," Kelly said adamantly. "This time, we go together."
"And we could get our asses kicked again," James reminded her.
"What if we asked the people here to help?" Nia suggested. Everyone stared at her as if she were insane. "What?"
"Is there a government here, some representative we can talk to?" Lena asked a random nurse.
"You mean King Barragan?" she asked confused.
"No, fuck that guy. Someone like you...a...," Lena said awkwardly.
"A damned soul?" she asked brightly.
"Right, a damned...soul. You guys have your own government?" Lena asked.
"There are many kings, queens, and philosophers among us," the nurse said thoughtfully. "We've never had a need for a government. We work for others in exchange for goods and services, each according to our needs."
"Everything you've just said makes me violently angry," Lena admitted.
A booming voice interrupted them. "Citizens of Limbo, hear me! Among you are five living humans who have deeply offended your lord, King Barragan. You are to arrest them and bring them to us or there will be...trouble," Findorr declared.
The five went outside and noticed Barragan's demon servants: Choe, Charlotte, Abirama, Findorr, Ggio, and Nirgge. They were all dressed in white with swords on top of separate rooftops. "Looks like we have to deal with this bullshit first," James said dryly.
"Pick a target," Lena said to the others. "This is how we gain the people's loyalty and trust. This is the way."
7th Circle
John went outside the cabin and sprinkled holy water on the cabin. He then cut himself and marked the door to the cabin with it. He then went back inside before the Harpies could get to him. Alex gave him a curious look as John waited for the enemy to come to him. The Harpies backed off as wolves descended onto the cabin. Without hesitation, John fired on the wolfs extinguishing them with each hit. With perfect aim, he took several of them out. Unable to touch the cabin itself, the wolves went through the window.
"A gun...please?" Alex requested.
"Fuck it," John realized and then handed her a pistol.
She proceeded to take the other side of the cabin and fired accurate shots at the wolves taking them out. More wolves soon followed to overwhelm them. John fired his dragon breath on the forest creating a forest fire. The trees cried out in pain as they were burned alive. The wolves were extinguished by the flames with the cabin encircled in fire.
Stark then approached the cabin away from the ring of fire and fired his twin pistols at the cabin. The beams from his pistols deflected off the cabin as if it had an energy shield. John fired back at him with his shotgun blasting bark and blood into the air. Stark took cover and fired back without result. The two traded fire without being able to hit each other. Stark then raised his pistol, aimed carefully, and fired into the window. John cried out as he was hit by a glancing shot.
"Son-of-a-bitch," John cursed and then got back to his feet.
Stark smirked and advanced closer to the cabin. "I absolve you," John said to Alex with his cross. "Fuck," he muttered when it didn't work. Stark fired on the roof of the cabin thinking John would forget about it. His shots became deflected as well. "That's right, asshole," John told him off and continued firing at him. Alex took another window across from him and fired back at Stark as well. Stark was hit a few times and retreated to denser cover.
"Not bad," John said to her.
Alex kept it up firing into the forest causing unnecessary pain and suffering to the trees. "Okay, you can stop," John said bringing her pistol down.
8th Circle
Jeremiah and Kara came before a cliff and found the Stairs of Grief. The stone stairs were in a state of disrepair and quite steep slowing down their progress. "This is going to suck going back up," Kara realized.
Jeremiah couldn't help but smile. "You still have hope we'll win?"
"Always," Kara smiled confidently.
1st Circle
The Super-Friends confronted King Barragan's demons on the rooftops inside the limbo city. Winn took on Choe, Nia took on Charlotte, Lena took on Abirama, Kelly took on Ggio, and James took on Nirgge.
"Let's show them our diversity is stronger than theirs," Ggio mocked and then went straight for Kelly. The two dashed across rooftops clashing with their blades until Kelly kicked Ggio to the jaw. Ggio hit a building hard implanting in its wall. In a burst of energy, Ggio freed himself and collapsed the building around him. He then zipped behind Kelly for the kill. Kelly turned around and blocked him just in time. Kelly went for an attack but Ggio zipped away just in time. Kelly twirled giving Ggio a swinging kick. Kelly went for the kill with her stinger blade with Ggio zipping away. Gigio then slashed down with his sword nearly slicing Kelly's right hand off.
Ggio decided to take the fight a little more seriously and took out a second blade. The two then clashed in the air with neither getting a hit. Ggio finally kicked Kelly into a building blasting a hole through it. Kelly took flight as Ggio went for an attack. After several punches and kicks from Ggio, Kelly retreated back.
"You seem preoccupied? Are you concerned for your friends? Don't tell me you have concern for the damned below," Ggio mocked. Ggio continued his assault on Kelly with his blades and then kicked her up against the wall of a building. Ggio then threw two daggers at Kelly pinning her robes to the wall. With Kelly pinned, Ggio went for the kill only to be blocked by James' shield.
"No fair," Ggio said immaturely.
"I don't give a fuck," James said.
Kelly then gave Ggio a solid kick into a building. "Thanks for the save," Kelly said gratefully. The building exploded as Ggio emerged pissed off. "I'm sorry for taking you so lightly but I don't fight children as a rule," Kelly mocked.
"Oh, you think of me as a child, do you?" Ggio said insulted. "I'm billion of years, bitch."
"And still you act like one," Kelly shook her head. "Someday you will grow into a man. All I see is a confused little boy."
"Oh really?" Ggio said enraged. "Let me show you what I can be."
Kelly eyed Ggio as he bulked up his muscles multiplying his surface area and mass. "Look at me now, bitch!" he said in a low-demonic tone. Kelly suddenly slashed him with her stinger now that he was bulkier and slower than before. She had goaded him into making himself an easy target.
"The fuck?" Ggio wondered and then his body exploded.
Meanwhile, Choe grew to giant-sized and bitch-slapped Winn to the ground defeating him. He proceeded to create a ruckus in the city causing the residents to flee. In the park, Charlotte had Nia's neck in his grip. "It's over it. Believe it," he told her. "A princess always gets her way. It may not be fair but that's the way things are."
Nia gave him an odd look. While he was in a princess uniform, he looked completely masculine in his physique and voice. "He's not even attempting to pass. Should I pass judgment on his appearance? Is it okay to do so since I'm also trans? What are the rules?" Nia wondered in her head.
Charlotte formed a giant thorn patch around himself and Nia to block anyone else from seeing their fight. Flowers then bloomed inside the thorn patch. "My most beautiful and most cruel white rose. This is your fate. You will die here unseen by anyone smothered in white petals. Your lifeforce will continue to weaken until it is extinguished. It's an ugly way to die but it's a fitting end to the second most beautiful transwoman in hell," Charlotte mocked.
"Second...isn't bad," Nia considered.
"But nothing compared to me. You have no sense of grace or beauty in your life," Charlotte critiqued.
"No one can see me in here...at all? Well, in that case, I don't have to worry about the optics of what I'm about to do to a fellow transwoman," Nia said as she sliced into Charlotte's grip with her whip sword.
Charlotte backed away completely appalled that he may have broken a nail. Nia whipped her whip sword around Charlotte's body pinning his muscular arms and legs to his sides. "What is all this? God is still watching you," he warned.
"I hope he is," Nia said and then tightened the whip so that the blades sliced into Charlotte's body ripping him to pieces in a fountain of blood. The thorn patch then disintegrated around them. "Now, I'm number one, bitch," Nia said to the remains and walked away from the bloody scene.
On the rooftops, Lena engaged Abirama. She fired at him from a distance keeping him at bay and avoiding a close encounter. Abirama then transformed into a red humanoid bird creature with four wings. Abirama then fired down razor-sharp projectile feathers down on Lena. Upon seeing the feathers puncture the roof of where she was standing, she dropped down to the floor below. Abirama continued to fire feathers piercing the roof and the floor Lena was on. Realizing she couldn't escape him, Lena blasted out the wall and escaped the building before it collapsed.
As she exited, Abirama was already on her.
James punched Nirgge several times without result. "How's that?" James asked panting. Nirgge proceeded to bitch-slap James away. "You know, I really wanted to fight someone other than your kind like the blond chick. I'm not interested in defeating a black man like you," Nirgge sighed.
"So, that's how it's going to be?" James asked annoyed.
"Yeah," Nirgge confirmed and then transformed into a large furry elephant creature. Now even stronger than before, Nirgge punched James down the street. James retreated away and used the streets to his advantage thinking Nirgge would be too slow to catch up. Nirgge then jumped his ass from above. "Shouldn't judge from appearances," Nirgge lectured.
James grabbed Nirgge from his trunk, flipped over Nirgge's head and onto his neck. James then took his shield and slammed it down on Nirgge's neck severing his vertebra. Nirgge fell to the ground in a heap defeated.
"You're the one that shouldn't have judged by appearances," James said victoriously.
7th Circle
John and Alex continued to trade shots with Stark in the forest. Bits of the cabin tore off from the exchange of fire. There were now noticeable holes in the wall. "Oh Lord, bless thy hand grenade that with it, I may blow my enemies to tiny bits, in thy mercy," John recited and then threw the grenade at Stark. The hand grenade exploded near Stark severely wounding him.
"Fuck!" Stark cried out as he retreated further into the forest. Pissed off, Stark summoned the corpses hanging on the trees to his aid and then sent them towards the cabin like a zombie hoard.
John and Alex fired on the zombies non-stop as they surrounded the cabin. As the zombies went for the windows, John punched them back using holy brass knuckles.
8th Circle
An exhausted Kara and Jeremiah finally got down the stairs of grief and encountered a large circle so vast they couldn't see the other side over the horizon. Within the 8th Circle of Hell were ten distinct ditches connected to each other with bridges. In these ditches, shades were compelled to orbit the circle without end and endure their punishments. In the center of the circle was an even deeper pit. To make things even more difficult the bridges were positioned on either side of the pit forcing Kara and Jeremiah to make half rotations around each of these circles.
"Well...shit," Kara sighed.
Shades went past them weeping as they did with large heavy purses hanging from their necks. Kara immediately recognized some of her bankers that had passed away. They had been helpful to her in keeping Wayne Enterprise afloat. They were now here for the sin of excessive usury. Looking down into the chasms, Kara and Jeremiah saw shades being beaten, whipped, and swiped at by demons as they walked about in two different directions. The first group was the panderers while the second group was the seducers.
Lacking any sympathy for them, the two walked about the first circle to get the bridge on the other side. "We should just fly over," Kara suggested and tried just that. She ended up falling on her face.
"Your body has been weighed down by your cross. We go forward on foot from now on," Jeremiah told her.
1st Circle
Winn was given a second chance to shine against Findorr on a rooftop. "Before we begin, what rank are you?" Findorr asked.
"I...actually was never given a rank in either the DEO or Argo," Winn said embarrassed.
"That is so lame," Findorr mocked.
"My name is Winn Schott from the ancient Schott family of Scottish people. I fight you for the glory of my people," Winn said confidently. Findorr's wrist blade and Winn's lance clashed in the air and then they backed off.
"You're not too hard," Winn judged.
"Exactly. I've just been warming up. Right now, I'm at a fifth of your level," Findorr said condescendingly.
Winn immediately went for a strike taking advantage of Findorr's hubris. He clashed with Findor's wrist blade and then rotated his lance a full circle to slice into his back. Findorr fell to the ground hurt. "You're supposed to wait until I reach your level and then dramatically power up surpassing you!"
Winn threw his lance right at Findorr with perfect timing. The blade end of his lance sliced half of Findorr's face off and then hit the ground behind him.
Elsewhere, Lena powered up a strong arrow as Abirama fired feathers at her. The demon mocked her by moving around frantically and firing feathers at her. Lena was hit a few times by the razor-sharp feathers but kept her ground. Finally, Lena fired missing Abirama completely. "Ha! How could you miss at this range?" Abirama mocked.
The arrow deflected off James' shield and hit Abirama to the back devastating him. "Got your feathered, ass," James said as he tackled Abirama to the ground. Now on the ground, Lena aimed her bow at his head and blasted it off.
"How many more?" Lena asked fatigued.
"Just the big guy," James pointed out the skyscraper tall Choe who was busying destroying the city.
"We'll need everyone for this one," Lena judged.
The group gathered together in clear sight of Choe. "Of course, I got the hardest one," Winn muttered.
"What do we do?" Nia asked apprehensively.
"I have an idea. Everyone touch their weapons to my bow and touch my back," Lena said as she took a knee. The group proceeded to place their weapons on her shoulder touching the bow. Lena powered up her strongest arrow absorbing the energy from all of their weapons. The arrow became massively big causing Lena to shake. As they worked to keep her aim steady, Lena finally fired on Choe. The beam sliced the demon in half bottom-to-top. The two sides of Choe then tore apart and fell to the ground. The people of limbo immediately applauded the Super-Friends. For a time, their city and circle were finally theirs.
Lena went to a random limbo resident. "I need to talk to your philosophers. I have a plan."
8th Circle
Reaching the first bridge, Kara and Jeremiah rotated around the second circle. There, they found flatterers stuck in black boiling excrement up to their heads. Kara gave a disgusted look at having to smell it while Jeremiah remained focused. Instead of flattering Kara, these shades now were talking shit about her bringing up every embarrassing detail from her past. Even Jeremiah was slightly shocked, slightly appalled.
"It's all lies," Kara denied.
"You can dish it but you can't take it," Jeremiah chided.
While in this circle, Kara continually fought back against these shades wanting the last word for every insult sent her way.
1st Circle
Lena brought in six philosopher leaders of limbo to discuss her plan. But before she could, she had to deal with their bullshit first. When they came in, they all dressed in their historical attire and spoke the same language so Lena could understand. While Lena remained sitting at the table, they kept their distance in two pairs of three.
"I'm coming off the Acropolis to start some pandemonium. Don't bring limp flaps to a pimp slap symposium. The mad gadfly, philosophy was my invention," Socrates boasted.
"Rolling with the flyest nihilist," Nietzsche introduced himself.
"And me, their French henchman," Voltaire added.
"We got the wisdom," Nietzsche began. "And the wit," Voltaire interjected. "That even I couldn't question," Socrates finished.
"It's evident...," Nietzsche said obviously. "You've never been...," Voltaire continued. "Our type of mental brethren. We're better thinkers, better speakers, better lovers, better men," they all said together.
"You may have wisdom but you have no clue how to respect a woman," Lena said scornfully.
"You women are sloppy, needing discipline in life. You lack control of yourselves," Lao Tzu scolded.
"That's sexist and uncalled for," Lena shot back.
"While we use precise strikes to disrupt your concentration!" Sun Tzu interrupted with quick hand movements.
"Holy shit," Lena said startled by him.
"Hand you an ass-whipping our descendants will honor for generations," Confucius declared.
"We filled a nation with patience and the presence for living and you'll never hold a candle to wisdom we've written," they all said together.
"Let me say it's been a real honor to be roasted by all of you," Lena said sarcastically.
"You need to take control of the life you're given. They call me Übermensch, 'cause I'm so driven," Nietzsche scolded.
"I'm in complete control of my life right now. I manage a foundation, married, ready to start a family," Lena told him off.
"And I'm a freethinker so confronting conformists like you? It's my job. Dishing out more disses than letters and pamphlets and plays I've been publishing," Voltaire attacked.
"Where do you get off? I'm not a conformist. I'm a rich white corporate heiress republican...shit," Lena realized.
"I'll be picking you apart with my method, woman. This corporatist isn't so tough at the table. All you women must be the same, pitifully lacking. Lucky for history, your brother now owns your company," Socrates mocked.
"Damn," Lena said dismayed.
"Bitch, I wrote the Art of War, so you better get your guns out. This white girl is getting burned, 'cause guess what? Now the Sun's out," Sun Tsu warned.
"Can we get back to negotiations?" Lena asked impatiently.
"I'm N-I-E-T-Z-S-C-H-E and I'll end any motherfucker like my name in a spelling bee," Nietzsche said confidently.
"This isn't a competition," Lena told him off.
"I'm toxic like a hemlock sip. Hang a sandal on the door cause you can suck Soc's dick!" Socrates taunted.
"That crosses the line," Lena glared.
"Sacrebleu, Socrates! You're making things a little tense. Come, let's blind this girl with some shiny bright enlightenment," Voltaire encouraged.
"I'll not be taught camaraderie from a frog who rigged the lottery. You make a mockery of ethics, so keep your fat nose in your coffee!" Socrates fired back.
"Is this really productive? We're wasting time and getting nothing done," Lena said to all of them.
"You must remember, a bowl is most useful when it is empty," Lao Tzu told her.
"What the fuck does that even mean? Try making sense," Lena said impatiently.
"Oh, you don't want to stand in the path of Lao Tzu today. I'll make you move, bitch, get out the way!" Lao Tzu warned.
"Where in the tradition of philosophy is it written that you all should squabble like some fucking chickens," Lena scolded.
"Okay, I see, you wanna make it like that? Confucius say you can hold these fortune cookies!" Confucius said referring to his giant balls.
"You all good now? Is it out of your system? Can we get back to business?" Lena asked pissed off.
The philosophers gave each uncertain looks. "Proceed," they allowed.
8th Circle
Around the third circle, Kara and Jeremiah went by those guilt of simony, the clergy that accepted bribes for spiritual favor. Their bodies were placed in holes head-first with their feet on fire. Additionally, fire and smoke came out of the holes they were put in. For the real assholes, their bodies were completely in the ground with a second sinner on top of them. The holes resembled baptismal fonts and the fire on their feet the spiritual ointment oil meant to mock them. Several popes, bishops, and priests were present here.
"You know, I always knew the Catholic Church was corrupt as fuck. Look at all these guys. I knew it was the right call to be an evangelical," Kara said of them. Jeremiah merely pointed out those who were protestant and those of other faiths as well.
"Shit," Kara said as she saw the entire circle filled with these people from every religion of the world.
"In the future, you are the queen with divine right. Never permit this kind of corruption or you'll end up here, yourself," Jeremiah warned.
1st Circle
Lena brought in James and Winn to back her up during negotiations to keep the "learned" philosophers from making rude sexist remarks every time she went over a contract line. Later, it was revealed that the philosophers figured James was Lena's slave or servant.
"So, in return for limbo's army to invade the gates of hell and retrieve my friends, I will set the record straight on your spiritual state, make Philosophy 001 a mandatory general-ed class at MU, give realistic depictions of yourself as statues in the Metropolis Art Museum, make military history being part of the Metropolis Highschool curriculum, lobby city hall for a Greek quarter development, promote French as the official European Union language, a press release that Nietzsche never supported or condoned the Third Reich, and this coupon for Hot Topic," Lena summarized.
The philosophers squabbled amongst themselves on whether to accept this deal. "We don't have a whole lot of time," Winn told them.
"Is time real here?" Socrates questioned.
"Time is an illusion of the human mind," Confucius said.
"Time was invented by clock companies to sell more clocks," Nietzsche said cynically.
"Sign the damn treaty!" Lena ordered them.
"What does it mean to make a good treaty?" Socrates asked confused as if seeing it for the first time.
"What does it mean?" Nietzsche seconded.
"What does 'it' mean?" Voltaire asked smirkingly.
"What is?" Lao Tsu asked thoughtfully.
"What?!" James shouted rhetorically.
The philosophers looked at James in amazement and awe at his inner wisdom. "To war," Sun Tsu smiled eagerly.
8th Circle
In the fourth circle, Kara and Jeremiah encountered fortune-tellers and diviners who desired to see the future and dabbled in witchcraft. For their punishments, their heads were twisted around so they could not see forward to mock them. "Is this the fate of Nia and Lena?" Kara wondered looking at them.
"Stay focused," Jeremiah scolded her.
In the chasms, Kara recognized Lena's mother from a picture Lena had shown her. "I have to save that one," Kara pointed out.
"Kara, please," Jeremiah shook his head.
With her cross, Kara fired on Lena's mother absolving her. The other shades immediately tried to tilt their heads towards Kara and Jeremiah unable to do so and crashing into each other. "Let's move," Jeremiah said impatiently.
1st Circle
While the Super-Friends and the philosophers devised a military plan to invade hell, the bells of the city rang. A man was dragged from the river and brought to the hospital. "We found him the river. He is alive body and soul," a doctor informed Lena.
Arriving at the hospital, they found Mon in bad shape with deep cuts, blood loss, and countless bruises from being brushed up against rocks from the river. "Inform me when he wakes up. We have to know what he knows," Lena said to the doctor. An orange shield was placed over him and immediately his wounds began to heal.
8th Circle
In the fifth circle, Kara and Jeremiah encountered a hot boiling sticky black tar. Every so often, a shade would emerge from the tar to gain relief. When they did, demons wearing white suits would hook them around their sticky hair and then pull them up into the air. Another demon would then take pleasure in fraying the shade until he was only pieces and then drop the shade back into the tar. The demons laughed and mocked the shades as they went about their work making sure no shade was able to break the surface for too long.
In this circle, the bridge to the sixth circle had collapsed and hadn't been repaired. "We need to cross to the next circle," Jeremiah told them.
"For what reason, mortal?" the lead demon asked.
"We seek an audience with Lucifer," Jeremiah replied.
"Now, that is a name that commands power," Demon #1 remarked.
"Every time I hear it, it makes me shudder," Demons #2 said.
"Lucifer," Demon #1 said smirkingly.
"Ooh...do it again," Demon #2 said shuddering.
"Lucifer, Lucifer, Lucifer!" Demon #1 crackled sending Demon #2 into a shuddering fit.
"I'm surrounded by idiots. You're all making us look bad in front of the mortals," Demon #3 scolded them.
"Assist us across...now," Jeremiah ordered.
"Fine, alright, alright," the demons said and then laid themselves on top of each other to make a chain bridge.
"You trust these fucks?" Kara asked incredulously.
"Even demons are forced to obey heaven," Jeremiah said and then crossed the gap by stepping over the demons to the other side. Kara reluctantly followed after him.
"This one is a lot heavier than the other one," the demons complained.
"Yeah, right?" Kara scoffed defensively as she got to the other side.
"Oh, we got one!" a demon shouted as he pulled a shade out of the tar pit by his hair and brought him up.
"What are these people here for?" Kara asked a demon.
"Graft, exploitation, corruption, shit like that," the demon said nonchalantly. The demons twirled the shade around to get to his back. "Oh, we'll have fun with this one," the demon said as he got out some whips.
Kara recalled how she was nearly whipped to death in Apocalypse and shuddered as she was about to see it in front of her. "Who is he?" Kara asked.
"What's your name, asshole?" the demon ordered the shade.
"Edge...Morgan Edge," the shade replied.
"No, I freed you from Brainiac. You shouldn't be here. I redeemed you," Kara protested.
"You only freed my body but not my soul. I never had the chance to change my ways after I was taken over," Morgan said.
"Tough shit. You had a lifetime to unfuck yourself," the demon said about to whip his back to ribbons.
"This is my fault. I should have done more. I was toying with him and could have found a way to save him. I just didn't give a shit," Kara said mournfully.
Two demons lined up with their whips and then flogged Edge. As they did, they counted in Latin for emphasis. Edge cried out in pain. "Why, Kara? Why didn't you pity me?" he asked her.
"I absolve you," Kara said zapping his body away into her cross. The demons immediately gave them a pissed-off look. "After everything we did for you, you take away our boy?" they asked advancing on them with their hooks, spears, and swords.
"In the name of God, go into the pit," Jeremiah ordered.
Immediately, the demons felt compelled to jump into the pit. Other demons arrived and mounted a rescue attempt for their fallen comrades. "Keep moving," Jeremiah ordered Kara forward. The demons rescuing their comrades noticed Jeremiah and Kara walking away. "Don't worry, boys. Zommari will take care of them."