He was the biggest and strongest of their forces. So was Solomon Grundy. It only made perfect sense for the two of them to collide.

Captain Atom took off flying, charging headfirst at the towering zombie. Grundy just stared at him with a blank stare, right up until the last moment. The captain raised both of his arms in front of him, ramming fist first into the giant's body. The force of their collision lifted Grundy off the ground, the two sailing through the air. It wasn't until they crashed into the side of a building that they stopped.

Pulling a fist back, Captain Atom went to work. Arms pumping, he slammed fist after fist into the giant zombie, hitting him as hard as he could. He heard grunts after every hit he landed, Grundy sinking further and further into the wall before he burst through it.

A large hole was left in the zombie's wake. Captain Atom held back until his eyes adjusted to the stark change in lighting, daylight becoming dimed lighting. He saw Grundy pushing himself into a sitting position, pieces of masonry littered around him. The giant zombie had one of his large hands covering his face, as if he were trying to massage away a headache.

The captain lunged towards his foe, intent on continuing the beating. However, he didn't expect Grundy to suddenly fling the hand covering his face out, the back of it hitting him and literally swatting him away. It hadn't looked like the zombie had been trying at all, but the force he had been hit with was incredible.

Letting out a surprised cry, Captain Atom was flung backwards and up through the air. He hit the wall above the hole he had forced Grundy through, making one of his own as he crashed through it, careening wildly through open air. It took him a moment to regain his flight, but the moment he did, he came to a stop in midair.

By then, he spotted Grundy exiting the building, one hand pressed against the side of the hole as he stepped onto the sidewalk. "That hurt Grundy," he grunted before an enraged look appeared on his face. "Grundy smash!"

Suddenly, the zombie leaped up into the air, hurling himself right for the captain, surprising him. He shook off his astonishment when he noticed Grundy drawing a fist back, a move he copied as he drew back his own. Simultaneously, they threw their fists at each other, their knuckles colliding with each other.

A shockwave erupted around them. Glass from nearby windows shattered. Cracks appeared in cement and stone. The very air seemed to rush out before sucking back in.

And then Captain Atom pointed his other hand right at Grundy's chest. Point blank, he fired an energy blast, one that sent Grundy flying higher into the air as he cried out. The zombie soared higher and higher before he seemed to go into an arch. Soon he was falling through the air, landing on top of a building.

Captain Atom rose himself higher as he went towards Grundy's impact site. He had a better understanding of Grundy's strength now and he knew a simple blast like that wouldn't take him down. He needed to get a visual and confirm his opponent's status.


Steel zeroed in on Metallo, blocking the former man's path. With his sledgehammer at the ready, he swung it with as much force as he could, forcing Corben to raise both of his arms up to block it.

The head of the hammer connected with the metallic alloy, and the metal menace was sent backwards, feet digging trenches into the street. Steel narrowed his eyes slightly, noticing how off one of the arms appeared. Compared to his previous encounter, that right arm looked like it had a shoddy patch job applied to it.

Well, didn't matter how that happened; it was something he could exploit.

"Tell me something: how many more times are you going to try and take out Superman before you finally give it up?" he inquired. Witty banter hadn't been his strong suit, but it never hurt to try.

The green lens of a robotic eye seemed to glow while the fake human eye narrowed. "If you haven't figured it out by now, then I suppose there is no helping stupid."

"You know what's stupid? Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result."

Metallo's human eye rolled. "That's the definition of insanity, you dolt."

With a smirk, "From where I'm standing, that's exactly what it looks like to me."

"A comedian, eh? Allow me to heckle." Metallo lunged forward, swinging a punch.

Steel held his sledgehammer up, using its shaft to block the blow. His feet dug into the pavement, allowing him to not be forced back. Then, the metal-clad man twisted and swung his hammer at Metallo's side, knocking his opponent away. Metallo went into a roll then launched himself again. This time, Steel slipped around the metallic fist, but before he could retaliate, a knee rammed into his side.

Stumbling away with a grunt, Steel regained his balanced and heft his hammer over his head. He swung downwards, barely clipping Metallo as he leapt backwards to evade. Immediately, the robot man followed up by launching himself forward, landing a shoulder tackle that earned another grunt out of Steel as he was forced back.

The hand from the shoddy arm latched down on Steel's left and held it in place. An uppercut landed under his chin, caused the metal-clad man's head to snap up. Metallo's fist whipped around and landed another hit in his ribs, his armor protecting him, but he was definitely feeling the blow.

Clenching his teeth, he threw his head down, headbutting Metallo and stopping the assault momentarily. Slowly, Metallo lifted his head up and raised a fake eyebrow. "You seriously believed that would work?"

No, because there was nothing organic to injure. What it did do was buy time, which Steel put to good use. Activating the jets in his boots, he propelled himself up into the air by several feet, ripping his arm out of Metallo's grasp in the process. Gripping the shaft of his hammer, he spun his whole body as he swung his weapon once more, landing a devastating hit to Metallo's face and tearing off the fake human face in the process.

Metallo flew through the air, his body skipping against the pavement until he crashed into the side of a building, an apartment biulding by the looks of it. Giving a wince, Steel then gave chase, sledgehammer at the ready.

It might be a good hit, but this fight was far from over.


A fireball was hurled towards her head. It was human instinct that Fire leaned her head to one side to avoid it. Hmm, perhaps that was not accurate. A normal human would have jumped out of the way entirely. She, on the other hand, would not have had a second thought of letting it touch her. It was odd that she would even move, suffice to say.

Perhaps it was the lovely woman with flowing red hair that caused her to do such a thing. She was Volcana, someone equally adept at their control over the flame as she. Out of the gate, the two had naturally found each other, moths to the flame, as the saying went.

"Careful now," Volcana taunted. "I would hate to burn that green hair of yours. Burnt hair has a very distinctive smell, you know."

"I am aware," Fire responded as she formed her own fireball and threw it at her foe. Volcana merely swung an arm across her body, a stream of orange fire flowing from her palm. The green fireball collided with the wall of flames and was consumed just as quickly.

"That wasn't much to write home about," the fiery lady remarked. "Here allow me to show you what a real fire looks like!"

She then thrust both hands out in front of her and a torrent of fire erupted, racing towards Fire. She was not afraid of such an attack though. Raising both of her arms out to shoulder height, she took control of the approaching flames. The orange fire veered off to one side before swinging around behind her. Fire then sent it flying right back to Volcana, who had a surprised look on her face.

The flames collided with the redhead and she was engulfed with her own fire. Considering there wasn't any screaming, Fire knew that her foe was not so easily defeated. So she channeled her own fire, her hands becoming engulfed in green flames. Drawing back one hand, she then threw it right at the inferno in front of her.

As expected, Volcana emerged from the flames, reducing them with her power to mere embers and smoke. She didn't look pleased having her own attack redirected at her, but that look changed as a green fireball collided with her face. "Gah!" she cried out as she stumbled back.

Fire threw her other fireball, reforming another with her other hand, and throwing it just as quickly as it formed. Fireball after fireball flew towards Volcana, colliding with her body over and over. Her shoulder jerked back from one, her hip another, causing the foot of the same side to drag backwards to maintain her balance. Another hit her in the face, followed by one landing on her stomach.

"Enough!" Volcana roared as a wall of fire erupted around her, setting the very pavement beneath her feet on fire, melting it. "You want to see real flames? I'll show you real ones!"

Again, she thrust both of her hands in front of her, launching an even larger blast of fire. Fire lowered her own hands in front of her, keeping them low. Then she swung them up above her head, taking control of the approaching fire and sending it flying over her head. She paid little mind to where they went once they were gone.

And then a fireball smacked her on the face, surprising her as she cried out. It didn't really burn her, not that it could. In fact, the heat from it was rather pleasant. It was just the suddenness that got her.

More flames reached her and she was engulfed by them. The heat around her raised exponentially, finally concerning her. She could feel the asphalt weakening beneath her feet, becoming a viscous liquid.

Thrusting both of her hands out in front of her, Fire finally unleashed her own torrent of green flames, pushing back Volcana's. She felt some pushback shortly after, Volcana no doubt realizing she wasn't incinerating her. Fire just poured out more fire, ready to return whatever the red-haired woman could throw out.

She was a master fire manipulator and she would show this pretender just who she was up against.


Fire had Volcana, so it made sense for Ice to tackle Killer Frost. There was something fitting about it, fire against fire, and ice against ice.

In theory.

Her hands had condensation wafting around them and her eyes focused solely on the frozen homicidal maniac who didn't seem the least bit impressed. Ice's body was tense, braced to either move or strike, she hadn't decided yet.

"Great, so I get the leftovers," Killer Frost mocked. "Mind pointing me to someone a bit…hotter? I'm just looking for a little warmth here."

"Sorry, but I'm gonna have to put that one on ice for a while," Ice bantered back. She felt confident about that response.

Killer Frost didn't seem to share the same opinion. "If that's your best, I think I can make some time. For just that line, you have to die."

Well wasn't that overreacting—

Frost slashed her arm through the air and Ice barely caught the makings of an arctic blast. It would've frozen her in place, trapping her in what would have looked like a wave of ice, except she blocked by making a wall of ice to defend herself. Frost's power collided with Ice's wall and the wall held. Whew, she hadn't known she'd be able to react quick enough, but at least—wait, what was that sound?

Obscured by the ice, the League recruit hadn't heard Frost running up the ice formation on the other side, using it as a ramp to get over the wall and jump. Pure cold swirled around one of Frost's hands and a bloodthirsty look of glee split the maniac's face as she plummeted down to the hapless hero.

Acting quickly, Ice raised both of her arms above her head and fired a chilling blast at her opponent. Frost twisted out of the way and flipped her body about, feet landing on pavement with legs bent. Then the frosty killer launched herself at the once again hapless hero, who was having to cut off her own blast.

She was too slow, too slow to try and dodge as Frost's hand reached out to grab her, the cold still swirling around the limb. The short-haired blonde was able to snag the wrist and planted her other hand on Frost's shoulder, struggling to hold the criminal back. She grunted with exertion, eyes narrowed and focused on the hand that sought to grab and freeze her.

Ice had no idea if there was a way to resist being frozen alive. This was the kind of situation where having Fire with her was a godsend, but her partner was busy right now so she needed to step up.

"Hmm," Frost murmured. "You seemed to have a little heat in you after all. Don't mind if I do."

With her other hand, Frost latched on to Ice's arm. The effect was instant; sure she wielded the force of nature that meant turning water into a solid, but she was still warm-blooded at heart. She had a body temperature; she liked the warmth of the good ol' indoors whenever it was freaking freezing outside.

It felt like all that warmth was rushing out of her, right through the place where Frost was touching her, her costume doing nothing to stop any of it. Ice felt cold, actually cold. It was one thing when it was weather, another when it was her own power, but this was something she had never encountered before.

She couldn't let it continue.

Releasing Frost's shoulder, Ice twisted her arm counterclockwise and broke out of the killer's grasp. With her free hand, she bent her wrist and fired a blast at Frost's other arm, the one that threatened to do who knows what with that swirling cold it held, and began freezing the limb in an arm-shaped block of ice. The hero took care to let go before her own hand was captured, and as the swirling cold was swept into the forming ice, Ice took the chance with her now free hand to ball it into a fist and deck Killer Frost right in the face.

Her icy blast was then aimed at the street and a new wall of ice formed, blocking the killer from sight. Putting her back to the new ice wall, Ice took a moment to catch her breath and try to warm up a bit. Not easy when, you know, you were leaning up against ice, but it wasn't as heat-sapping as her opponent.

Okay. Her eyes sharpening, Ice held both of her hands up in front of her chest. Between her hands, she formed an orb of pale blue light, one that initially fluctuate then grew stronger and more solid by the second. When the orb detonated, it was going to capture anything that got too close to it with…well, you could figure that out by yourself.

Pulling one hand away, and using the other to balance the orb, Ice then swung her arm to her left, her hand latching on to the edge of the ice wall behind her. Pulling, she spun herself around the wall, finding Killer Frost close by and struggling with her arm, and then fired the orb right at her.

Killer Frost's head whipped up, saw the attack coming and made to escape. The orb detonated, but Ice was already charging ahead, intending on finishing this fight quickly.


It seemed everyone else had found a dance partner. That just left Vixen to try and see if she couldn't lend a hand here or there or…wait a second.

A smirk grew on her face. She had just found a wallflower, someone who hadn't found a fight yet. Well, it was time to give him one.

Crouching down, Vixen channeled the wild power of the cheetah, felt its strength flow throughout her muscles, and then she shot off, her movements mimicking the spotted feline. Darting and slipping around various fights, she skidding to a stop in front of an albino gorilla.

How appropriate for her to take this one.

"Looks like it's you and me," she said, gesturing at the ape she knew to be called Ultra Humanite to come at her.

Vixen had seen gorillas up close before. She had looked into dark brown eyes, experienced their soulfulness, and the eyes that gazed back at her with such disinterest were something else. They possessed none of the gentleness, or the simplicity she was used to seeing. No, they were something else.

Something…human.

Humanite looked away from her, taking in the battleground, which irritated her to no end at being dismissed. Then those too human eyes returned to her, and a bored tone of voice said, "Very well. If we must."

Strike two for another insult. This Ultra Humanite had a high opinion of himself and it was past time to knock him down several pegs. From within, she released the speed of the cheetah and summoned forth the power of a tiger. From her throat, she released a growl not unlike that big, stripped cat, and earned the raising of an eyebrow from Humanite.

Legs pushed against the ground, and up Vixen leapt, air rushing past her as she made to pounce on the fake gorilla, arms held out, hands spread, and fingers curled to resemble those of a tiger's striking paws. She lashed out with feline grace and speed, her fingernails sharpened and slicing.

Humantite took a step back and leaned his body out of the way. It was a simple maneuver and effortless in execution, but it did not intimidate her. She twisted about, swiping with her other hand, the albino gorilla stepping back and then again with the follow-up swipe. Vixen bared her teeth, a feline snarl emitting from her throat to try and intimidate the intelligent primate.

Humanite slipped out a yellow baton, his gorilla hand swallowing much of it, and jabbed it at her. Instinct had her pulling back, her eyes picking up on the crackling of electricity that only flared when it came too close to her. Jerking back, Vixen put some space between the two of them, eyeing that baton warily.

"That got your attention, didn't it?" Humanite remarked casually. "Unlike many of the others, I took the time to do some research on the new League recruits. You would be surprised about the downtime one has while leading a group of reprobates and miscreants such as this."

Narrowing her eyes, Vixen began circling around her opponent, looking for an opening. Humanite turned with her, keeping in one spot, but never letting her leave his sight. She spat back, "So you think that allows you to know me? Know what I can do?"

A smirk formed on the gorilla face, a facial expression that seemed so wrong with those features. "It allows me to know enough. You are able to channel the various abilities of the animal kingdom. You are not a proper shapeshifter, but you don't need to be as your body can adapt to the various movements of each animal whose skills and talents you chose to utilize. Right now you masquerade as one of the big cats, a tiger or a lion, I have yet to deduce which. I was expecting you to try to match me strength for strength as a gorilla, but that would be banal and predictable."

Okay, the guy was smart. He also liked hearing himself talk. Maybe she could use that. "You're smarter than you look. Is the body for show?"

"Hardly." The gorilla rolled his eyes, but Vixen did not take the opportunity. Not yet. "The body is acquired, but its physical attributes have not changed since I began inhabiting it. However, just because I now possess the raw strength of a gorilla does not mean I have to rely on it."

Which meant…he didn't want to rely on it? Or he preferred to fight differently? Well, if he did not want to use the strength that was natural to that body, then she might as well show him the error of his ways.

"There's more than just strength in that body," she quipped, picturing a great beast in her mind and channeling it through herself. "As smart as you are, you still see that body as that of a burte when it is so much more. Plus, haven't you heard? It's not how strong you are, it's how you use it!"

Vixen reared back, arms rising up, then she flung herself down, slamming her palms down on the pavement, The might of an elephant was forced into the ground and the resulting shockwave disrupted the street, debris exploding from where it once laid fused into concrete. Humanite cried out and she heard the clattering of the baton as it struck the ground.

Now.

As dirt and dust clouded the air, Vixen launched herself through it, tackling Humanite and bringing both of them down. The gorilla body landed back first and then skidded across the rough surface. Pulling her upper body back, the dark-skinned woman raised her arms up, ready to pummel.

Down both of her fists went, striking the leathery chest. However, before she could go for a second strike, two gorilla hands slapped down on either side of her head with great force. Disorientation hit her, but fortunately she hadn't released her hold on the elephant; while true her muscles were most affected by her abilities, they weren't the only part of her that altered. Bone density could be altered, and so instead of gorilla strength crushing a human skull, the density of an elephant's managed to endure.

It still hurt like a bitch, though.

Humanite pulled her close while he threw his head forward. Skull met skull, and for a brief instant she saw the look of exertion on the gorilla's face, from angry eyes, a wrinkled nose, and bared teeth.

Knowing she needed to break away, Vixen slipped her arms forward then bent them at the elbows. Jabbing them outwards, she struck the insides of Humanite's elbows and managed to put the slightest amount of space between large, leathery hands and her thin-skinned head.

Another animal, one with a great amount of flexibility was chosen and she was pulling away and off of the albino gorilla. Some distance was put between them, but she didn't go too far, keeping her opponent in sight at all times.

Adrenaline was pumping through her system now and it was keeping at bay any trauma or injuries she may have experienced. While she would definitely feel it later, right now was not the time to let any of it take hold of her. The fighting around her hadn't abated, and so she could not either, especially as Humanite was picking himself up.

"There seems to be merit to your argument," the gorilla said to her, panting slightly. "However, I am far from finished."

"So am I," Vixen retorted, already selecting another animal.

Making her next choice, once more she went on the attack.


Perhaps the most overlooked aspect of his skill set, Black Lightning was an Olympian-class athlete. Before he had come into his own with his powers, he had trained for years to be the best, to bring out the best within him, putting himself in a class that very few ever reached.

It was why he was able to backflip to avoid a beam of pink energy as it struck the ground. Shooting his hands above his head, he planted them on the ground and finished off his flip, landing on his feet. He then darted to his left as another beam came racing in, hitting the ground he had been standing on mere moments ago.

Up in the air was Star Sapphire, firing her energy beams from that jewel on her forehead. She had waited until he had approached her before launching her attack.

Dodging her wasn't going to win this fight, however. He wasn't even winded, but he couldn't wait for that power jewel to run out of power. If it was anything like Green Lantern's power ring, it could go for awhile. So as he planted his feet, he pointed a hand right at the woman and fired a bolt of electricity at her.

Stretching her arms out wide, a pink barrier formed around her, his electric blast hitting it. Static electricity danced over her shield, but didn't cause her any harm from what he could see. "Is that all you have?" she asked him pointedly, somehow her voice coming out clearly despite the other sounds of destruction around them.

"Not even close," he gruffly responded. "All I have to do is hit you once and you'll be done."

Though she wore a mask, it was clear she was rolling her eyes at him. "And how do you figure that?"

"My electricity can generate the same voltage as a lightning strike. I don't care what kind of power you have, one lightning bolt is all it takes to kill a man. You will be no different."

"Wrong. I have the power of love and that can overcome anything!" Star Sapphire boasted. "Allow me to prove it!"

Her shield shrank in around her, gathering at the jewel on her forehead. Then she fired a much larger blast at him. This time, Black Lightning didn't bother dodging. Instead, he gathered his power, tiny bolts dancing all over his body. Then he held both of his hands out in front of him, as if he were going to catch the incoming beam. However, he unleashed his power, his own shield of pure electricity erupting out in front of him.

The pink beam collided with his shield and went no further. It pushed hard against his electric shield, but he gave up no ground, outlasting it until Star Sapphire gave it up.

That didn't mean she was finished, though. She fired another beam, forming a giant hand with it. The hand came to hover over his head before dropping down, Black Lightning realizing that she intended to crush him against the ground.

So he took off running, channeling his electricity into the muscles in his legs, he raced out from beneath the pink construct, avoiding it as it slammed down on the pavement. Skidding to a stop, he raised both hands and fired another blast of electricity at his foe.

And again, Star Sapphire blocked his attack by forming another shield around her. Damn it, he wasn't getting anywhere with a frontal attack. If she saw him, she could block him.

So he needed to attack her in a different way.

Noticing street lights lining the streets, he sensed the electrical currents running through them. Perfect. While he could generate more power than what he was feeling within the lamps, he could make do with it. Focusing his mind on them, he could feel the electricity within them respond to his call. The glass enclosures shattered in response, destroying the light bulbs within them and revealing the metal sockets within.

As Star Sapphire relaxed her shield to go on the offensive, Black Lightning struck. A thin electric bolt shot out from the nearest street light, zapping her, and causing her to yelp. Another one did the same, only from the opposite side of the street, Star Sapphire crying out as she spun around to locate what had shocked her.

A couple more simultaneously sent bolts of their own, causing her to spin around to face them. Squatting down, Black Lightning then launched himself high into the air, soaring right towards the woman. By the time she noticed she wasn't being shocked, she turned back around in time for his fist to slam into her face. Star Sapphire cried out as he sent her flying right down to the ground, where she made a crater, cracking and breaking the pavement.

However, he didn't drop down to join his opponent on the ground, instead hovering in midair, using the current of static electricity to keep him aloft. It was several moments before he heard Star Sapphire groan as she began to push herself up. "That hurt," she growled as she looked up at him.

"Did you think these muscles were for show?" Black Lightning retorted. "You just got a taste of what I can do. If you're up for Round 2, I'd be happy to show you just what else I'm capable of."

A pink aura flared around the Star Sapphire as she began to rise into the air. "And I'll show you everything I can do–and I promise, you're not going to like it."

A smirk appeared on his face. "Bring it on."


Between two metas that could fly, having a fist fight in midair wasn't what one would think of when pitting the two against each other.

That's what Firestorm found himself in as Silver Banshee hurled punch after punch at him. He had his arms up, blocking each blow, surprised by how much strength the ghoulish woman had. She had the body of a supermodel, the long, white hair of a society dame, and somehow could punch hard enough to break down a brick wall. Something about that didn't add up to him.

The young man grunted as he felt another punch vibrate through his arms. Damn, he was going to have some bruising after this. Tired of this stalemate he found himself in, he launched himself higher into the air, avoiding yet another punch from Silver Banshee.

In response, Silver Banshee tilted her head back and watched him rise for a second before she gave chase. Raising a hand up, Firestorm formed a fireball and then threw it out her. The white-haired woman easily avoided it as she swerved to one side, the fireball passing by her harmlessly. Undeterred, Firestorm raised his other arm and made another fireball, throwing that one.

And again, she dodged it, but this time she countered. Opening her mouth, she unleashed an ungodly wail, the very air in front of her mouth rippling, the only visual of the scream. Firestorm saw the air ripples rapidly closing in on him, even as he winced from the high-pitched screech that left a ringing sound in his ears.

That simply had to stop. Holding both hands in front of him, his palms facing one another, he began removing the air between them, sucking out every last molecule until he had created a vacuum. He began stretching his arms out, widening the area until it hovered right in front of him.

The rippling air hit the vacuum a moment later and stopped in its tracks. In fact, the banshee scream had dulled as well, the sound waves unable to pass through the vacuum. So even sound couldn't move in empty space.

And then Silver Banshee rammed into the space, her eyes widening as her shriek stopped and she began to gag. Firestorm had to jerk himself out of the way as the woman went careening right through the spot he had been floating. She soared limply, both hands having shot up to her neck. Faintly, he could hear her gasping for air, getting it once she had passed through the vacuum.

This was too good of a chance to pass up too. Allowing the vacuum to collapse, which caused air to sweep in, a strong wind pulling at him, Firestorm pointed both hands towards the limp Silver Banshee and fired a stream of fire.

Or at least that's what he had planned to do. Instead, his fire went perhaps a few inches from his hands before it was pulled back and towards the collapsing vacuum. The fire died out damn near instantly.

Now that was bad luck. Even worse was that Silver Banshee had recovered, stopping her flight as she took to hovering. Slowly, she turned around to glare at him menacingly.

"Ehh, sorry?" Firestorm lamely apologized. He wasn't entirely sure why he had done that, it just felt like a good idea to do.

The white-haired woman spun around and sucked in air through her mouth. Her head had drawn back as her chest expanded.

Damn it, not again! Clasping both hands together, Firestorm urged them to heat up, his hands glowing. He then increased the heat, setting the very air around his hands on fire. Yet, he wasn't done as he focused on the burning to burn bright.

Then he opened his hands and a flash of light as bright as the sun erupted between his palms. The flare nearly blinded him, even as he had his own eyes shut to protect them.

Silver Banshee, however, took the flash head on. She screamed from the pain she undoubtedly felt, though thankfully this scream wasn't that banshee wail she was known for. This was a pained shriek. Stopping the transmutation, Firestorm cracked his eyes open, ignoring the burning from the seemingly bright daylight and spotted the white-haired woman pressing her hands to her face, her palms digging into her eyes.

Gritting his teeth, Firestorm charged forward, leading with his hands as fists held out before him. It was his turn to show this woman he was strong too. While something in him was bothered by the idea of hitting a woman, the alternative was her beating his ass black and blue and he was not one for that.


The Justice League wasn't holding back. They had attacked the Legion of Doom with gusto, the battle devolving into a series of one-on-one fights. This spread out the damage being done to the surrounding area, but if it led to the ultimate defeat of the Legion, then it was a small price to pay.

Of course, it seemed only Superman saw this.

John had both of his arms crossed over his chest, a finger tapping irritably on his bicep every few seconds. Hawkgirl was marginally better, her arms dangling at her sides as she turned her head from side to side, studying the fighting in front of her.

"This is taking too long," John finally said as he dropped his arms to his sides. His ring flashed with green energy as it awoke. "It's time we stepped in."

"Not yet," Superman ordered. "Let them have their fun. There's not an opportunity for a quick shot yet."

"They're holding their own so far," Hawkgirl reluctantly agreed. Her Thanagarian upbringing was no doubt demanding she join the fray, so she was showing remarkable restraint. It was a ticking clock, much like with Lantern, until her patience was gone.

The Kryptonian spotted Grundy flying high into the air, courtesy of a nuclear blast by Captain Atom. The giant zombie landed on top of a rooftop, the military man giving chase. His eyes then darted to where he saw Fire and Volcana slinging fire at each other, the red and green flames differentiating themselves to know who threw what. He didn't see any obvious upper hands in the fighting, so there wasn't someone to involve himself and tip the scales in their favor.

"I'm going in," John then announced as his green aura glowed around him.

"Stand your ground," Superman barked, his tone severe so that there was no mistaking his intentions. "Do not move until I say so."

There was an incredulous look on Lantern's face as he looked at him. Admittedly it wasn't often the Man of Steel gave out such orders, or demanded inaction, but that was the plan for now and they would do things his way. There was no question who would win a fight between them, but that was the last thing they needed, a brawl between two senior League members for the entire world to see.

"There will be time for us to take action," he then calmly assured his two comrades. "And when we do, it'll be with our brand of justice. There aren't going to be any arrests today. These villains have taken advantage of our judicial system too many times for rehabilitation to be of any use. All we have to be is patient and our opportunity will present itself."

"And how are we going to be able to do that?" Hawkgirl questioned. "I have no doubt there are people still hanging around this ghetto and they have their camera phones recording everything. With the bad press we've been receiving lately, no doubt if we make an attempt to permanently stop these people, it'll be shown in the worst light possible."

"Accidents happen," Superman replied. "All we have to do is make our killing stroke look like an accident and there won't be a court on Earth that would find us guilty."

"And any prosecutor can spin a story to their liking," John pointed out.

"Our past counterparts have built up enough goodwill that if someone were to die here, it would be readily forgiven." Superman eyed Metallo, specifically his robotic arm. Even from this distance, it looked as if it had been poorly repaired, the reason why eluding him. "And barring that, if one of them were to fall into a coma they never wake up from, that would be considered a victory."

"I hope you're right about this," Hawkgirl responded.

Of course he was right. It was what they had done in their time and it would work here. While their first times were genuine accidents, it wouldn't be all that hard to replicate it. After all, if he happened to hit Grundy too hard, who could blame him in the heat of the moment?


The fighting had already started. That wasn't ideal, but there was very little that could be changed about it.

Batman stood upon one of the taller buildings in the area, the rest of his team gathered around him. They watched as the League took on the Legion, superpowers being thrown around carelessly. Fire, ice, electricity, they all destroyed this conveniently forgotten blight on the City of Tomorrow.

Strangely, Superman, Green Lantern, and Hawkgirl just watched the action rather than participated themselves. That was a stark contrast to how gung-ho they had been in the future.

"See to the Legion," Batman ordered as he continued to survey the scene. "Help the League put them down, but don't put yourselves in the crosshairs. J'onn and Flash on me. We need to have a word with the Founders."

The vigilantes responded with a cacophony of grapple gun firings. They swung out towards the battlefield, each one heading for a specific fight.

A hand touched his shoulder. Tearing his eyes away, Batman saw Zatanna looking at him with concern. It went unsaid that she didn't approve of him going up against the strongest members in the League. She also knew better than to try and persuade him out of it. "Be careful," she told him sternly.

"Join us when you're finished with the Legion," he replied. "We should be able to hold out long enough."

The dark-haired woman continued to stare at him for a couple more moments before she vanished into a cloud of smoke. That just left the three former League members.

"You sure about us not bringing Wondy or Fate to this?" Flash asked. "Those are some pretty big guns to not be using."

"Diana is still recovering from the brainwashing," Batman said. "And as far as Superman and the others are concerned, she's in the process of becoming their Wonder Woman. I'd rather them continue thinking that so that we have an ace in the hole if this goes south."

"That's some ace," Flash remarked. "And Fate?"

"He declined involvement," J'onn replied succinctly. "He only intervenes if necessary."

"He's also keeping an eye on Diana, so he'll have his hands full," Batman added. That wasn't to say he doubted that J'onn had undone the brainwashing, but if there was even a part of her that felt that the Regime may have a point, she needed to be prevented from intervening. All possibilities had to be taken into consideration, no matter how remote they were.

Another moment passed. "Either one of you feel like we're stalling?" Flash asked then. "Like we really don't want to do this?"

"I do feel apprehension, yes," J'onn admitted. "Whatever comes of this battle will scar this land and I have no desire to be privy to such destruction."

"Our hands' have been forced, thanks to Luthor," Batman finished for them. "We don't have a choice anymore."

He then leapt off of the building, J'onn taking to flight as Flash raced down the side of the building. The two airborne men soared over to the League Founders, landing behind them with Flash appearing next to them an instant later.

Superman instantly detected their presence, turning his head and soon the rest of his body to face them. "Why am I not surprised to find you here?" he intoned, which caused Lantern and Hawkgirl to turn around as well.

Green Lantern immediately focused on Flash. "Flash, what are you doing here?" His eyes narrowed before he turned his attention to Batman. "Praying on people's fears again, aren't you? What did you tell Flash?"

"Nothing that I didn't see with my own eyes," the speedster retorted. "You almost killed a man, GL. Two men, actually. I can't let you continue doing this."

Lantern looked as if he were about to argue, but Hawkgirl raised a hand and slapped the back of it against the man's chest. "Don't waste your breath. It's clear which side he's chosen."

"No doubt manipulated," the dark-skinned man grumbled.

"This does not need to happen," J'onn said then. "Once the Legion has been dealt with, we can discuss this matter amongst ourselves. There does not need to be further aggression."

"That's funny, coming from someone that had no problem attacking his own allies," Lantern rebutted.

"My only desire is to not involve the civilians still in the vicinity. They are already at risk with the current level of activity, but were we to engage, they could be hurt."

"Stop it," Superman commanded. "Just stop. It's clear we're too entrenched in our respective sides. We will deal with the Legion our way, and if you get in our way, we will do the same to you. What happens next is entirely up to you."

The Man of Steel was trying to frame this as their choice; their choice to attack; their choice to cause further destruction. It was a rather effective tactic.

J'onn fired his Martian Vision, the white beams blasting Superman away and high into the air. The Kryptonian cried out as he soared away, the Martian giving chase. Flash rushed forward, ramming right into Green Lantern and taking the two of them to an entirely different location.

Which left Batman with Hawkgirl, who glared at him, mace in hand. "You know you don't stand a chance," she told him.

"No, I don't." Batman raised his fists up, assuming a boxer's stance. "Now put up, or shut up."

Letting out a war cry, the Thanagarian hurled herself at the vigilante, swinging her mace at him


J'onn closed in on Superman, who was regaining his momentum, slowing himself to a stop in midair. His eyes were glowing red as he focused on the approaching Martian.

J'onn dramatically increased his speed, nearly breaking the sound barrier in the process. In an instant, he was right in front of the Kryptonian, swinging an uppercut that landed beneath his foe's chin. Superman's head snapped up, his Heat Vision firing harmlessly up into the atmosphere.

Drawing his other fist back, J'onn threw it as quickly as he could, slamming it to the side of Superman's face, jerking his head to a side. He followed that up with his other fist, knocking the dark-haired man back the other way. Raising both hands up above his head, J'onn clasped them together before swinging them downward, landing a jackhammer below that should have sent the Kryptonian falling to the ground below.

While Superman did drop through the air, he didn't go nearly as far as J'onn expected. Instead, he stopped, then launched himself upward, driving a fist into the green man's abdomen. J'onn felt the air in his lungs be forced out, leaving him breathless as he doubled over from the blow.

"You preach diplomacy," Superman growled at him before he rammed another punch into the Martian's face, snapping his head to a side. "But you were the first to attack. How can you justify such action?"

J'onn saw the next punch coming and he responded in turn. He changed the composition of his body, becoming transparent, allowing Superman's fist to pass right through him. He then lunged forward, passing through his foe, and emerging behind him. Spinning around, J'onn solidified as he swung an arm out, landing a backhand blow to the back of Superman's head, causing him to cry out. "And how do you justify murder?" he countered.

Superman suddenly whipped his head around, his chest expanding outward. He then blew the collected air in his lungs out, blasting hurricane level winds out of his mouth. The force of the wind slammed into the Martian, pushing him back.

However, the wind was noticeably cold, freezing in fact. He realized what the Kryptonian was up to when he felt ice crystals forming on his skin. He immediately recalled their previous fight in Metropolis, where a Jokerized Superman had frozen him solid.

He would not let such a thing come to pass again.

J'onn had the ability to alter his body based off of the stages of matter. His normal form was of a solid, but he had changed it to liquid and gaseous forms many times. However, there was a fourth stage of matter, one that would benefit him here. Immediately, his solidity lost its shape, becoming gaseous. However, unlike gas, he began to glow brightly, incredible heat wafting off of his form.

The ice that had been forming on him lost its hold, melting until it was no more. The wind pulled at his form, tearing it apart, however. He could feel himself stretching out in all directions, much like his gaseous form, but his mind maintained connection with every last molecule, making certain he didn't lose any piece of himself, no matter how small.

The moment Superman stopped his Ice Breath, J'onn pulled his body back together, reforming and solidifying until he was in his natural state. "What was that?" the Kryptonian asked in astonishment.

"A rarely acknowledged state," J'onn replied, "much like your own culpability."

"You're still convinced that I am in the wrong," Superman said, shaking his head with disappointment. "Bruce has firmly brainwashed you, hasn't he?"

J'onn wanted to point out that his former comrade was doing the same to Diana, but he held his tongue. There was no need to draw his attention to their last remaining member, who was noticeably absent. "Even if he has," he acknowledged, "you've done the same to billions. You are on a path of tyranny and I will not allow you to restore what was rightfully torn down."

A scowl appeared on Superman's face. "I think we're done talking. You've left me no choice, but to charge you once again with treason. I'm certain you're familiar with the punishment for that."

"I am, but if you believe you'll be the one to administer that punishment, you will find that I am more difficult to dispose of than your Martian Manhunter."


Through fire and ice and broken asphalt, Flash carried John right through the battle that raged between the League and the Legion. Everyone looked as if they were frozen in time, in mid-punch, or mid-flight from being hit.

The two former friends emerged on the other side of the fight right before taking a sharp turn into a nearby alley. Well, to call it an alley was perhaps the wrong wording for it. They entered a gap between two houses, a driveway being the only thing separating the two buildings.

Flash again changed directions, slamming GL right into the wall of one of the houses. The Lantern cried out even as bricks crumbled beneath him, others jutting out from the wall and seemingly embracing him as he sunk into it.

Flash pulled back, only so that he could rapid-fire send punches into GL's stomach. He pounded the man several times in the span of a second, leaving him breathless. Unable to help himself, the speedster threw another fist, this one smacking the man across the face, causing it to jerk to one side.

That was when a green bubble suddenly erupted around the Lantern, pushing Flash back. Damn construct, he groused in his head.

Now, he was the Fastest Man Alive. He was able to vibrate the very atoms of his body so that he could pass through walls and stuff. The problem here was that the construct was made of energy, meaning very excitable atoms. The atoms that made the construct were moving so fast that he couldn't slip right through them.

"You made me do this," he heard GL growl, right before he pointed his ring at him.

Flash was on the move, racing to the other house…which didn't take any time at all. New constructs erupted from GL's ring, big, long weights with chains attaching them to the ring.

The red-clad man's world changed perspective as he placed a foot on the wall of the house in front of him. As things turned ninety degrees, he went running the length of the house's side, a green weight construct ramming into the place behind him. He felt one, two, three tremors as the constructs crashed through the wooden wall.

As he reached the corner, he jumped to the ground, his world turning back to normal. He came to stop as he faced down GL, who allowed his weight constructs to disappear. He wrenched himself out of the brick wall behind him, dropping to his feet, taking a couple steps so that he could turn and face the speedster.

"You're on the wrong side," his former friend called out.

"No, I'm right where I need to be," Flash countered. "Between you and everyone you're trying to hurt."

"Don't you get it? This isn't about killing people; it's about protecting them. There are people that can't, or refuse to rehabilitate. Why should we keep giving them chance after chance only for them to keep hurting others?"

"That's the problem between you and me. You see things in black and white; right and wrong. I know that things aren't that easy. Do you know how many guys I face in Central City? Ones that just need to have access to their meds or take them, and they're just like you and me. Ones that don't have a choice but to do crime because that's the only option left to them."

"You can't seriously be that naive!" GL exclaimed. "What are you saying, that people like Vandal Savage don't have a choice? Or the Joker needs to be on his meds to be sane?"

"Those aren't the ones I'm talking about," Flash retorted. "There isn't a med around that could make the Joker sane. Who I am talking about are guys like Girder, you know, the guy you tried to drill a hole through his head. Did you know that he does crime to support his grandmother? Because he's a giant metal man, he doesn't have a lot of options. You'd be surprised at the lack of job offers he gets."

"Or it's because he knocks off banks every time he gets out," GL shot back. "How can you keep defending people like that?"

"Quite easily, actually."

GL shook his head with disgust. "This isn't getting us anywhere. I don't want to have to hurt you, Flash, but you're leaving me no choice."

"The same way you didn't have a choice but to try and kill the Shade?"

The Lantern thrust his ring hand up, firing a blast at him. Flash easily dodged it as he took off running towards the man. Whatever indoctrination had been done to him, it was far too deep for this one, adrenaline-fueled fight was going to get rid of. He was going to put him down and pull that ring off of him so that he couldn't hurt anyone anymore.

Sorry about this, GL, but I'm doing this for everyone's good.


Because of her wingspan and proclivity for flight, it was easy to dodge Hawkgirl's first strike, a mace swing for his head.

Ducking down, Batman felt the Thanagarian fly just over his head. Spinning around so that he kept her in front of him, he saw the winged woman literally turn on a dime. She didn't need to make some wide sweeping arch as she was wont to do. No, she went a few feet past him and did an immediate U-turn.

"Haaaaaaaa!" she roared as she swung her mace at him. Batman backpedaled, avoiding the attack. He kept this up, backing away as he bobbed and weaved from side to side, Hawkgirl swinging her mace back and forth trying to hit him.

Getting tired of this, the redhead then held her mace high above her head before swinging it down. Batman leapt to one side, going into a flip. That left the Nth metal mace to hit the ground where he had been standing, crushing it into thousands of pieces. Shooting a hand above his head, Batman did a one-handed flip, landing back on his feet as he kept himself facing his winged opponent.

"You're pretty nimble for someone that's fast approaching the end of their prime," Hawkgirl commented as she touched her feet down, looking at him through the angry face of her hawk mask. "I wonder, do you have any of those infamous countermeasures for me? You have no problem using them on Superman and Green Lantern; show me what mine is."

Well, he didn't have a steel box on hand to take advantage of her claustrophobia, so there was little point in trying that one. However, he did have a few up his sleeve.

"If that's what you want," he told her. He reached a hand to his belt and pulled out a small pellet. He saw her eyes immediately focus on his hand, her eyes catching every move he made. "Catch."

He then tossed the pellet towards her. Instead of trying to catch it, as he had advised, the redhead swung her mace and hit the pellet. Immediately, a puff of smoke erupted, a bright, blinding flash shining right in her face.

"Ahhhh!" she yelped as she pressed her free hand to her face, trying to cover her eyes. A trait of the Thanagarian was her enhanced eyesight. Much like a bird of prey, they were designed for her to pick up the most minute of movement. It also left her more susceptible to blinding light, especially right in front of her face.

Batman shot both of his hands to his belt even as he took off running. Pulling his hands back up, he had his electrified brass knuckles on, crackling with electricity as he made fists. The moment he reached her, slammed his fist into her face, sending several jolts of electricity with it.

Hawkgirl stumbled back a couple steps, swinging her mace back and forth to ward off further attack. As she began an in-swing, Batman shot a hand out and grabbed her by the forearm, stopping the defensive maneuver. Drawing his other hand back, he then swung it into her abdomen, pounding her over and over as he forced the air out of her lungs.

Then with one last swing, he landed an uppercut to her chin, sending her flying up into the air and then back to the ground, where she landed in a heap. He didn't press his advantage, lowering his arms to his side as he regarded the fallen woman.

Predictably, she wasn't finished. With a growl, she began to push herself back up. "What did you do to me?" she grunted as she sat up. Her eyes were blinking over and over, trying to clear themselves of the stars she undoubtedly saw.

"Temporarily blinded you," Batman told her. "It'll go away in a few minutes, but since you do have enhanced eyesight, it might last longer."

"Bastard," she cursed. "I'm going to smash your head in when I find you."

Find was the operative word here. However, he knew that while Hawkgirl was used to using her eyes, she could use her ears as well and she had better than average hearing at that. She was an experienced fighter too, so no doubt she was trying to draw him in with her helplessness and detect his approach with her ears.

So instead he pulled out another shuriken, one he pressed right up to his brass knuckle. The moment he made a fist, the electricity transferred to the shuriken. Another weakness of the Thanagarian was electricity, which he had been using thus far with the brass knuckles. She was about to feel it from his shuriken now.

With a swing of his arm, he sent the electrified projectile flying.


The reports of fighting had flooded in, which had been anticipated beforehand. If anything, that was the signal to act.

Approaching the urban battlefield, a helicopter with a distinctive logo painted on its hull flew towards the danger, keeping to high altitudes. The fighting itself would cover much of the noise made by the propellors and the attention of the combatants would distract them from whatever they did hear. Even if noticed, it could be passed off as an aircraft from the Daily Planet if need be. How would any of them see the L-shaped logo if it wasn't in direct view?

Luthor observed the approach from the safety of Ivo's lab. Here he would monitor the situation as well as use the extensive surveillance equipment that was setup prior to the fight. This needed to be recorded for posterity's sake after all.

"We're approaching our destination. We'll be ready to drop the package as soon as we arrive."

Another status update from the pilot and it was promising. In response, the CEO replied, "Once you drop your package, leave the scene immediately." It wasn't that he particularly cared about the pilot's life; helicopters were expensive to replace, especially if they were one of his.

There was no doubt that chaos was going to happen here.

Turning to the professor, "Anything on your end?" he asked.

Ivo didn't even look up from his monitor. "Everything is working optimally. I can't see anything of concern here."

Very good. To the pilot, he issued one last order. "Release when you are ready."


As the helicopter reached the fringes of the fighting, fire, electricity, ice, beams of energy, and even something atomic flashed about. The pilot, considering himself of the fearless type, felt his more cautious side take control. Who knew if anything in that mess down there could send him into freefall? No, the very edge of the fighting looked like the best spot to him.

A hand began pressing and flicking buttons and switches. The underbelly of the helicopter opened up, the sight implying that a bomb was about to be dropped. Reaching for one last button, the pilot stated into his mic, "Releasing package," and then pressed down.


Instead of a bomb falling out from the underside of the helicopter, an android did. Amazo plummeted to the city below, air buffeting its body the whole way down. From this height, the city drew closer slowly, expansive beneath it. Its heavy weight sped up its fall until it reached terminal velocity, drawing closer and closer to the fighting.

The closer it came to the city, the faster it started to pick up the small details such as individual buildings and streets. The rush to the planet below sped up, Amazo keeping its limbs stretched out to slow its fall. Once the details of the rooftops themselves could be picked up, the android angled its body until it was feet first.

The collision with the street soon followed.

Asphalt buckled, caved slightly in as impressive cracks spiderwebbed around the impact site. Particles of debris wafted through the air around the android, its legs bent enough that it ended up taking a knee. As dirt and dust dissipated, Amazo began to stand up, facing the violence of the fighting before it.

Its arrival had gone almost unnoticed. The majority of metahumans were too concentrated on their individual fights. The exception were a pair on the outskirts, both pausing and looking to the android with some shock, some surprise, and easily confirmed uncertainty.

Standing to its full height, Amazo took its first step to the battle.


The state of matter that J'onn takes is plasma. It's been some years since high school science class, but I recall that plasma was being considered as a fourth state of matter at that time, if not was being referred to as such. If that has changed, then I do apologize for using something not factual.

To Guest: There's definitely more stories after this one. I'll discuss what comes next during the last chapter as I don't want to give anything away just yet