Short note: I am so sorry for not updating this in… three months. Please don't hate me. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I have no ownership to any DC Universe characters.
Keystone City
12:19
People screamed as they ran away in terror. Loud bolts of electricity rang out in every direction. Diana and Ryalani took refuge behind an old newspaper stand, looking over cautiously at the creature wrecking havoc. When a stray bolt headed in their direction, the girls whipped around, Ryla instinctively hovering over the younger as she could somewhat withstand the electric currents if she were to take a minor hit.
The Atlantian hybrid stood up, looking briefly over her shoulder at Diana with concern. "Any suggestions while we wait for back up as we are weaponless?"
Just as the words left her mouth, they spotted an older man backing up towards them. The dark haired teenager jerked her head up at a popping sound similar to mock gunshots coming near them. Light poles blew out in a trail, coming closer. "One. Move!"
Ryla instantly caught on and grabbed a hold of the elderly man as Diana grabbed her arm and pulled them both back, out of the way. The light that was above them exploded, little pieces of glass raining down.
"Are you alright, sir?" Ryla asked, helping him stand back up.
"Yes, thank you girls," He gratefully responded, patting the blonde's hand that was still on his arm, slowly releasing. "But you girls better get out of here too. It's not safe."
Diana gave a small smile on the side as she gave her best friend a look. "We know," Ryla answered, "We are—" She stopped suddenly as all of their attention went to the loud shock. The electric monster took a few steps before whipping its arm toward a nearby electronic store and disappearing again.
"That can't be good," Diana mumbled, carefully looking around for when it would pop up again. They tensed as scraps of newspaper went flying behind them. They gave simultaneous sighs of relief when the girls recognized the figure in yellow and white that appeared, hands on her hips. Another appeared at her side in red and blue, a large S etched across his t-shirt.
"Where is it?" Impulse quickly asked, eyes darting around everywhere.
"It vanished over there," The man responded, pointing towards the store. "I don't think it's completely gone, but are you sure that—"
The man didn't have time to finish as the electric monster appeared a yard away from them, roaring in a static as he looked directly at them. Steel immediately picked up the man and gave a slight warning to hold on as he flew them a distance away. Impulse latched both arms onto the younger girls' and speedily jerked back. The speedster remained standing as the other two were on the ground, Ryla rubbing the back of her neck.
"Talk about a bit of whiplash,"
Impulse apologized quietly as she narrowed her eyes at the creature in front of them. It seemed to be focused on the hero in bright colors as it moved their direction. Before it could get any further, a giant green shield blocked its way, the female Green Lantern floating nearby with her hand extended out to keep the shield up. The monster let out a screeching roar as it proceeded to pound on the shield. As it was distracted, a laser blasted at its side. As he turned towards the attack, a small object was thrown on the other side. Once it hit, gas erupted from it and engulfed the electric monster, it bellowing in response. Robin and Meteor joined the three girls as they all examined the situation.
"Any ideas what this thing is?" Meteor asked. The tall, slender nineteen year old took a stance as his electric red eyes stared at the slowly dissipating smoke. He clenched his right hand tightly before reopening, the rock type material of his skin softly scraping against each other as he extended his left arm in front of him, palm facing out and the same rock hard skin traveling up from the back of his hand and up his arm. Meteor wore completely dark clothes with a large black overcoat, sleeves completely covering up his arms.
"Overload," Robin answered without hesitation. He moved his yellow cape to the side as he handed the Atlantian her personalized water bearers he brought in from the cave. They were similar to her father's but smaller and in a shade of light blue. She gave him thanks, gripping her weapons firmly in her hands as they began to vaguely light up.
"Of course you know everything," Steel added while rolling his eyes, landing near the others.
The boy wonder ignored him as he glared at the monster. "Someone must have activated him again as he was put on ice years ago."
"Excelente," Green Lantern sarcastically replied as she landed near them and put down her shield to wait in a calculated stance. "Hopefully the League group is faring better in Midway with that goo monster."
"Plasmus," Steel corrected, quoting the name with his fingers as he gave a side glance to their leader. Robin wasn't even looking at him as he pulled up his holographic wristwatch. That is when Impulse really looked at the younger girls. The red-head approached her little sister with high concern.
"Diana, you shouldn't be here. I'm taking you home where you'll be safe." Robin shook his head, closing the hologram.
"Impulse, you're needed here. Changeling reported another monster sighting in Ivy Town and needs back up. Cinderblock."
"Another one?" Ryla, now Syren, groaned, putting her light blue mask on her face. "It is like someone is putting out a distraction or something."
"Yes it is," Robin said to himself, eyes narrowing in thought. He turned his head to the side. "Steel, Lantern," He called out, "Head to Ivy. We'll handle it here."
"If you're sure…" The two named heroes glanced at each other before taking off towards the nearest Zeta.
"Rob! What about Diana!" Impulse pointed out, gesturing to the thirteen year old behind her. "She can't stay here and you know it."
The Dark Knight's son pulled out a few small weapons from his utility belt and held them in his hands as he stared straight ahead. The smoke completely cleared, leaving a highly ticked electric monster staring them down. Robin's expression was serious as he went in complete battle mode.
"She's smart enough to stay safe." He ordered, "Meteor, take the left side, Syren, right, and Impulse, help distract."
The female speedster gave a concerned glance to her little sister. "Head straight home and see if you can get a hold of Jai to help. He's not answering."
Diana nodded and Impulse ran straight ahead to the approaching monster. She slid across to avoid Overload's extended attack before getting back up to move behind him. Meteor took a hard stance before releasing a large energy attack, only teetering the electric creature over slightly.
"If you had your archery stuff, you could fight." Ryla told Diana, trying to be helpful as she tightened her grip on her weapons and searched for an opening.
The dark haired girl shook her head. "Not for this one," The archer in training saw how her friend looked at her.
"Ryla, it's okay. Irey is right. I'm not ready." Diana began to back up away from the battle as she pulled out her phone. Not even looking at the blonde, she added as she typed in a few keys, "You better go. I'll be fine." Syren gave a anxious look until she hesitantly turned around to rejoin the others.
….
Meanwhile on the other side of town, an older teenager with short spiky dark hair walked along the street with his hands in his pockets. After that little sparring match back in the cave, Jai was in a bit of a foul mood. Arch had some skills, that was certain. The newbie just didn't have to take something simple so hard. Jai subconsciously rubbed his slightly sore jaw at the memory. That guy did pack a strong punch. Jai would know better now than to taunt him again.
Not really interested in returning home yet, the dark haired speedster took his time waltzing around the streets of his hometown. The frowned at the thought of home. That was the place he began to dread being at lately. Jai would find any excuse to stay out with his own plans. Even if that consisted of wandering around alone in his thoughts. Home was where he was reminded that his all-star twin sister shined with her faster speed and favored by dad. No matter how much they denied any favoritism, he could see right through.
Speaking of Irey, he huffed and narrowed his eyes on annoyance as he put the phone back in his pocket, letting it continue to buzz with no intention to answer. Most likely to bother him about that sparring match. He was not in the mood to talk to his twin. Hardly ever was. She would get the attention she sought for, taking all of the Team with her on her side.
"Who needs any of them anyway?" Jai mumbled to himself.
The thoughts to go solo like his cousin Lian after she gave her leadership position to Robin sounded more and more appealing. Speedy seemed to be doing quite well on her own, following her own rules. Perhaps she could give him some tips. At least Lian was one of the few who weren't infatuated with Irey and her 'superb' abilities.
And Diana. His little sister never seemed to favor anyone or astounded with anyone who had abilities as she had none of her own. At least she had an understanding of what it took to be great. Diana probably had Lian to thank for that. Too bad their own mother led the hero community against his little sister joining the team soon. The archer in training was not helpless. Diana was perhaps the only reason he really came home anymore. Someone needed to watch out for her and make sure she could get what she deserved.
Jai kicked up some stray pebbles in his walk, beginning to get bored. Perhaps he could call up Cody to see if his buddy was up to doing something fun. Especially with graduation the next day. As he pulled out his phone to call him up, Jai paused when he heard the sound of glass breaking. On high alert, he put his phone away and instead took out his Flash ring. When he further heard glass as if someone was moving it out of the way, he opened up the ring. In an instant, he sported his personalized version of the red and white of Kid Flash.
Kid Flash put on his goggles and wasted no time to investigate the disturbance. Following the short trail of broken glass, the speedster came across the shattered window of a hardware store. Intrigued, he went inside, first noting that no alarms went off. Maybe they forgot to pay their bill. He mused to himself. Following the rummaging nearby, he gave a smug look and leaned against the wall with a foot propped up in a relaxed state, arms folded. The burglar paid no mind as they continued their search through various items.
"You know, you're an interesting thief. Not going for the usual break ins and all." The figure stopped moving, back turned to the hero. It wasn't until they stood up that the speedster recognized the short pale blonde hair that barely went past her shoulders. It was the same thief from about a week ago at the pawn shop. The one that somehow stopped him from pursuing.
Kid Flash immediately straightened up in a quick defense. He narrowed his eyes. "You again,"
"And I was about to say the same thing," She answered in a low voice. The thief turned her head to the side, revealing almost pale smooth skin and a bright blue eye staring him down.
"What are you after," The question was more of a statement. Instead of answering, she swiftly pushed random items off of a shelf towards him. He moved to dodge before shaking his head and going after her. Even Kid Flash would admit that she was pretty quick for not being a speedster. At least he doubted that conclusion. She tried to make a run for it once outside, but he was directly in her path.
"Not the best idea running from someone who can move a lot faster." She glared at him, both arms blocking herself. "Now, I will ask ag—ugh!"
Kid Flash was caught off-guard, again, as ice came out of nowhere, blocking directly in front of him. He dodged around as she extended her arms and shot more attacks at him. "Now hold on," He skitted around behind her and she swung around, waving her arm and leaving a trail of ice in her wake, trapping his left arm and his right hand to his chest.
The speedster struggled against his new confines. "Who are you?"
She glared at him. "No one of your concern, junior. Now leave me alone."
He speedily moved his arms, shattering the ice around him. He took a step towards her, her arms immediately extending again. "Sorry, but breaking into any place is my business…wait," He paused, confused for a moment at his own words. "I can't let you get away… again,"
The female thief raised an eyebrow at him. "Too bad," A loud explosion sounded in a distance followed by a screeching noise. The pale blonde glanced towards the noise. "Sounds like you have other issues to deal with." Without another word, she took off. His phone went off again. With a groan and a shaking his head, he answered when he saw it was Diana instead.
Giving a glance where the thief disappeared to, Jai sighed. "I'm on my way."
…..
Back in midst of the battle, Impulse ran in circles around Overload to contain and short out its power, but as the electric monster seemed to have a mind of its own, she spent more time trying to avoid getting shocked. Robin threw a few small grenades. He flipped back in time only to have them blow before having direct contact on Overload. Syren stepped over in a fluid motion to move behind a large sign. Nearby, the remnants of the attack for her extended over to Meteor who cringed as the shocks hit him. Taking a deep breath, he pushed back the attack collected into his own energy against the monster. Overload screeched and stumbled back momentarily before disappearing in electric wires.
"This section of city's main power was turned off so it shouldn't get too far." Robin informed as they regrouped in search for their missing adversary. The team of young heroes listened closely for any signs of an electric buzz. The whole air around them seemed to have a numbness of it.
"Any suggestions on how to take it down?" Meteor asked, still getting over the tingling sensations the electric current left on his body. He was able to withstand most energy attacks. It sometimes left brief side effects.
"I'm not able to get close enough to do anything." Syren admitted with a frown.
"Well how was he taken down before—" Impulse stopped to sprint forward to dodge the trail of shocks tailing after her. She didn't get far before the electric current caught up to her. She cringed in pain as Overload fully formed with a grip around her as it lifted the speedster up.
Wasting no time, Meteor shot a load of energy in its unprotected side as Syren used long water constructs to strike at the legs. In the double whammy, the monster bellowed and teetered as he released the speedster. Robin swooped in to grab her before she hit the ground.
Impulse shook as shocks still ran through her, but she forced herself to sit up. Robin gazed over her with concern as she stopped shaking, her eyes still tightly closed to fight it off. With her eyes halfway opened, she noticed the boy wonder lingering. The speedster put up her hand in assurance.
"I'm okay." She cringed out, "Just… need a moment." Robin studied her for a moment longer before hesitantly joining back into the action.
"She okay?" Syren asked with concern as she momentarily backed up when Meteor strikes full force. The leader gave another glance back at his fellow teammate who pushed herself up to stand. Arms firmly at her sides, she looked up and gave a slow nod of assurance.
Robin gave the ghost of a smile. "She'll be fine."
Without another word, he took the opportunity to strike where Meteor had just blasted. Syren concentrated to bring the water from a miniature fountain nearby in the middle of the square they were now positioned. With a vocal thrust, she used all her focus to extend her arms forward and attack with the large glob of water. Overload let out an extremely loud shriek as his side sparked. With immediate action, Robin pulled out ice pellets from his utility belt and threw them a distance that would make a baseball pitcher proud. Patches of ice formed on the electric monster as he struggled to move. Soon, Overload broke out of the ice confines, but remained weak.
"Too bad this place wasn't near the ocean or something." Syren asked, not taking her eyes off of the monster as she tried to form a tactical plan. "We'd need a lot of water to take it completely down."
"Got spare water in your utility belt too?" Impulse joked to Robin while rejoining the others. The boy wonder in response looked over her briefly, relieved to see her smiling and ready.
"I got an idea!" Meteor announced, taking off behind them. Robin notioned the Atlantian to follow.
The leader pulled out more pellets to distract. "Impulse, up to helping me?"
The speedster put her goggles back on. "On it!" She sprinted out of sight, only to return with a large water dispenser usually used in office workplaces in her arms. "Will this do?" With a thrust, Impulse opened the container and dumped the water at Overload. She tossed the now empty dispenser aside and took off as the monster screeched. It stumbled forward, considerably smaller.
Meteor stationed himself by a fire hydrant a short distance away. He punched into it with his rock solid hand. After a few hard hits, he managed to break through. Water exploded from the top. Syren gave a vocal thanks before concentrating on holding the water back for immense pressure.
"Go!" The blonde Atlantian yelled in a strained voice. In no time, Robin and Impulse cleared the area.
"Ha!" Syren forced forward, the water fully directed at the creature. Overload let out a ear-piercing scream as water entirely covered him. The noises rapidly dissipated as smoke filled the area. Once it cleared, all that remained was the full hand sized circuit board.
"Now why didn't we use this approach sooner?" Impulse replied, carefully catching her breath. She didn't want to admit that little sneak attack left her a bit winded. Robin picked up the empty water jug and carefully placed the barely sparking circuit board inside for temporary safe keeping.
"Would have been easier and faster." Meteor added after he pushed closed the hole in the fire hydrant. Water slowly dripped off the sides. A handful of people who had come out of hiding applauded on the heroic deeds while a few others looked slightly ticked on the damage that was left behind. The newest hero was especially apologetic to some of the expressions that were given towards them. However, Robin appeared to ignore the others around them.
"We need to get Overload back under full lock and key and figure out who released him… and the others." He added, watching a news van come in, "And we go now." He didn't have any arguments there.
….
"After what you have seen with Zatanna and Static involving the plasma monster in Midway, much damage has been received. That was not the only report as other monsters have popped up in other cities such as Keystone and Ivy, with costumed heroes not far behind."
The female reporter continued on, reporting on the big recent events of the day. "Could it be that these so called monsters and villains only appear to bring in these heroes and cause further issues for the rest of us? Charlotte Rivers reporting on this story. More details after the break."
Once the television droned on about a new car advertisement, the volume was muted. A figure in the dark room leaned against the desk where a bigger figure sat, studying the screen.
"The plan turned out much better than anticipated. And we may have gotten something for later use."
The sitting figure leaned forward, with elbows on the surface and hands clasped together while propped under his chin. "Excellent,"
I'm so sorry if this chapter wasn't the best. Action scenes are not my forte. And again, I am deeply apologetic about the long wait for an update. School, work, and everything else inbetween put writing on hold for a while. I want to give a special shout out for that reminder from a reader to update. Hope it was worth it!
Questions, comments…. REVIEW!