There was a moment of shock when the crowd witnessed a shadow sprint over their heads, looking up to see a shape leap over them creating a series of platforms out of blue energy following the blinking signal on her wrist. Nobody realised it was Dreamer until she landed on the stage and deflected the Sentinel's axe with her astral construct and threw her off the stage. When they did, there was a pause of silence before they all suddenly erupted into cheers. Many in the crowd had begun to doubt whether the news about Dreamer's escape from her execution was real or not, but her appearance here put the matter to bed. She was alive and fighting.
Miranda saw the shift in the crowd, growing even more frustrated about seeing the hybrid abomination again. She gritted her teeth and hoisted her weapon as Dreamer stood in front of Supergirl, who was still pinned under the scaffold. Her eyes drifted to her momentarily before snapping back to the masked woman. She couldn't help her mentor without turning her back on her opponent. Miranda had no intention of giving her a moment to either help the alien or poison the minds of her people again. She charged at the superhero.
Dreamer ran forward to intercept her, leaping over her head projecting a platform to catapult her into a cartwheel landing behind her. The Sentinel spun around with her axe, but Dreamer used her momentum from the landing to duck backwards avoiding the blade, spinning on her heel to grab the shaft and deliver an elbow to her iron mask. Miranda stumbled but didn't stagger, pulling her weapon back to swing again. Dreamer ducked again, kicked her in the side that did make her stagger and lash out, dodging the next attack easily and lining her perfectly to fire twin beams of astral energy powerful enough to send her flying from her fists into her chest.
The energy struck Miranda in the chest, the impact sliding her feet back a few feet. But instead of falling over she was able to hold her ground as the armour she wore dissipated the energy harmlessly. She exhaled looking at her chest, feeling the hum of vibrations coming from the specially made metals weaved throughout her suit. She smiled, promising not to doubt the Blacksmith again as she looked up at the surprised Dreamer, her hands still glowing with energy. The Sentinel charged again, swinging with a clumsy overhead swing that Dreamer, thanks to her training, managed to redirect and disarm. She kicked at her opponent's wrist knocking the weapon out and hitting her in the midriff with another blast of energy at close range. Miranda grunted but took the hit, the energy discharging through her suit again. The vibrations grew intense, so intense she threw her hands out to shove the freak back. the energy stored within discharged out of her gloves and unleashed a concussive blast of blue energy that knocked Dreamer ten feet back nearly toppling into the crowd. The young woman gasped in surprise as she landed on her backside.
Miranda looked at the suit. Maybe she should've asked what kind of edge it gave her before she put it on. It clearly shared the properties of her weapon. Perfect she grinned, looking at Dreamer as she climbed to her feet. "Is that all you have abomination?" she challenged loudly.
That's not what I was expecting Nia thought as she rose back to her feet. She looked at the suit the Sentinel was wearing. It was definitely different to her last suit. She didn't have time to ask about it. Not that she could anyway. She left her earpiece at home and the radio in the van. She couldn't contact Brainy. Kara was trapped under the scaffolding on the stage suffering kryptonite poisoning. Both Alex and J'onn seemed to be unconscious. Olsen was somewhere in the crowd without his costume. That just left her. Her alone to fight the bad guys.
She sucked in a deep breath before her fear to set in. she can do this she told herself. They all believe in me. I can do this. Maybe just until one of them wake up and give me a hand she thought.
She sprinted back into the fight to engage the determined Sentinel. If she couldn't blast her with her energy she'll have to try hand to hand. Unfortunately she still needed practice in hand to hand as the iron clad woman blocked her initial strikes and tried to punch her. Nia blocked it with a small shield, which she then used to hit her in the stomach. She doubled over. No energy discharge. The suit must absorb energy and redirect it. It can't absorb her constructs though. Good Nia laughed, creating a bat that she whacked the Sentinel over the head with.
The woman howled in fury while the crowd cheered Dreamer on. Their cheers made her even angrier, grabbing a fist full of peddles and using them to distract the hero before tackling her to the ground. Nia tried to dig her heels in but the woman proved flexible for her age, twisting her body around and driving Dreamer onto the floor face down. She was on top of her in seconds, grabbing her by the hair to yank her head back before slamming her face back into the concrete.
Nia tasted blood on her tongue as her teeth rattled, a tooth cutting inside her mouth, her nose almost bending the wrong way. She inhaled sharply as her hair was pulled back again, this time throwing her body back with it channelling a wave of energy towards her enemy. It was enough to stun the woman for a second, long enough for Nia to twist around and bend her knees, pushing up with her boots to shove the Sentinel into the air with a little help from her powers to propel her across the clearing.
Miranda landed hand on her back, hissing in pain as her suit vibrated again. She turned her head and found her weapon close by. She rolled over and grabbed it, immediately twisting the handle charging it. The energy stored in her suit was drawn into the weapon, increasing the charge it built up. She grimaced as she jumped to her feet, bringing the hammer over her head screaming at her enemy. Dreamer threw her legs up and let them carry her body into a backflip before the hammer could hit her, impacting the ground with a thunder clap that shook the square. The crowd screamed as the ground rippled, throwing many off their feet. The impact knocked Dreamer's coordination off too, resulting in her landing on her stomach with a grunt.
The Olsen siblings felt the shake, able to hold their footing back grabbing each other. Unfortunately the tremor knocked a large piece of debris free from the building next to them, the metal sign falling from the crumbing bricks. The called for the civilians they were helping to hurry, pulling another trio out of the way while those still inside the barricade backed away. The sign fell and the pair were cut off from the rest of the crowd they were evacuating.
While Officers came to help the escaped civilians, Jimmy ran up to the barricade looking for a way to open another space to get the rest of the people out. "Maybe there's another way to get to them" Kelly said optimistically, looking up and down the blocked street.
But James was climbing the debris to peer into the crowd. He could glimpse the centre where the crowd had parted. He saw flashes of blue light and knew instinctively who it was. "I have to…find a way around" he lied, climbing down and rushing off into a side alley to find a way back to the van where his suit was.
Kelly, however, chased after him. "Where are you going? James!"
"I'll be right back, just stay here and help the people who need you" he said.
"They can use your help too" she shouted, her voice carrying over the empty alleyway. When her brother refused to stop she huffed. "Supergirl is in there with her friends. They don't need the Guardian right now James" she bellowed. "These people do."
Jimmy froze as he slowed to a stop, turning back to look at his sister as she waited several feet behind him. He hoped he misheard, but her expression assured him he did not. "How did you…"
"Know you were running around in a costume being a superhero, putting your life in even more danger every day?" she finished. She sighed heavily putting her hands on her hips. "I had a hunch for a while, after you got shot." James closed his eyes and sighed, reluctantly walking back to her. "I'm not mad. I'm disappointed you didn't tell me."
"I didn't want you to be mad" he said sadly. He looked in the direction of the fighting, the urge to help growing stronger. "There's not enough time to explain…"
"Then don't" she agreed. "But those people…they're lucky to have you" she told him compassionately. "But right now they don't need you. Those people we helped do. Some are injured. They are all scared. They could use our help. Let Guardian be a hero without the mask for a while" she asked.
He looked up the ally, the way he would take to get to his van. Even if he could get his suit on he wasn't sure how he'd help inside the barricade. He looked back the way he came, were the innocent humans and aliens were scared and panicked. He didn't want to leave his friends to fend for themselves, but he trusted they could handle it. He believed Nia could handle it. "Alright" he said, nodding to his sister and following her back down the alley. "Just out of curiosity, what gave me away" he asked her.
She laughed. "There's not enough time to explain" she replied.
Now that she'd gauged the level of difficulty she was dealing with, Dreamer was a bit more prepared as she weaved around the Sentinel and her massive axe/hammer. She ducked, dodged, side stepped and blocked her attacks while trying to sneak in her own. Miranda proved she wasn't a versatile fighter, but Nia was put on the back foot everything her armour absorbed her energy blasts, which she sent back at her every chance she got. Their weapons, both real and construct, clashed together deflecting and blocking swipes at each other.
Nia tried to counter her counter by punching the woman with her bare fists, something she regretted when her knuckles bounced off her iron mask while she hissed in pain. Miranda retaliated with a smack from her hammer, which struck the shield Nia narrowly threw up knocking her skidding backwards on her heels. She exhaled heavily, feeling exhaustion starting to creep in as the Sentinel leaped at her again. She summoned a lance which blocked the axe, locking the pair of them in place on the battle field.
"You won't get away with this Miranda Oakridge" Dreamer said, hoping revealing her identity has been blown would throw her off.
It had the opposite effect as the woman pushed down harder, driving Nia down to her knee as she strained against the weapon. "It doesn't matter, as long as all the freaks and traitors like you and your friends are exterminated from this planet" she hissed.
On the stage Kara watched the battle and struggled to push the scaffolding off her. Her weakened state had left her deflated, the kryptonite imbedded in her system sapping her energy. It felt like she was covered in ants eating away at her, which she supposed was good. If it felt like burning or acid dissolving her that usually indicated it was killing her. This was more of an irritation. Non-lethal, again. All these chances and the Children of Liberty still chose not to kill me? Why? She shelved the question for later. Right now she needed to get up and help Nia. "Brainy? Alex? Anyone?" she called into her earpiece.
Brainy was the only one who answered. "Supergirl. What's you're status?"
"Not good" she replied in a wheeze. "Where is everyone?"
"Alex and J'onn aren't responding" he told her. "Olsen is without his radio. And I can't reach Nia. I'm sending additional troops to your position" he said.
Kara barely heard the last part as she heard footsteps around her. People were scurrying back and forth from the stage all the time, the crowd frantic and worried. But then Kara picked out a distinct set of footsteps approaching her. He craned her neck up to see who it was, hoping it was Alex.
A figure in a gold mask and grey hood stalked up to the kryptonian, their eyes glaring at her coldly as they walked up carrying a machine gun. Kara's eyes widened as they stood over her, the gun lifting pointing straight at her head. Oh, now they intend to kill me she thought, struggling to move the metal pinning her down.
Before the figure could shoot they were hit in the back by a Taser, their body spasming violently as they dropped the gun and collapsed to the floor. Kara blinked in surprise as two women ran up to kneel over her. "Lena?" Kara croaked seeing her raven haired best friend fall to her knees carrying a small metal case. Then her blue eyes looked up at the older woman hovering over her watching the stage. "Eliza?"
"Hush dear" she replied, a worried expression on her face as she picked up the machine gun cradling it in her arms.
"Hold still" Lena suggested, preparing a syringe injector with a dose of blue liquid which she injected into Kara's shoulder. The young blonde instantly felt the kryptonite effects fade, but not enough to bring her strength back. "That should help but we need to get you out of here" she suggested.
"What are you doing here?" Kara asked as Lena tried to move the scaffold. "Both of you?"
"You didn't think we would sit this one out did you?" Lena asked, showing her the signal watch that led her to her friend.
"Lena's helicopter dropped us inside the perimeter" Eliza explained, looking up at one of many flying machines circling the square.
"She insisted on coming along" Lena added in a whisper.
Kara pitied her. When Eliza Danvers wanted something nobody was going to stop her. Especially if it involved her daughters. "Where's your sister?" Eliza asked concerned.
"I don't know" Kara replied, trying to pull her arm free when Lena got the metal to move. Eliza reluctantly put the gun down to help, slowly moving the debris.
Alex was coming around to consciousness after getting knocked down by the Sentinel of Liberty. She hissed and pushed herself up to her knees. She was somewhere in the crowd, almost getting trampled by a hundred pairs of feet. She crawled to the nearest shelter, a fallen gazebo with three of its rods bent. She lifted her head and shook the dizziness from her skull. "Brainy, status report" she coughed, tapping her ear. She discovered her earpiece was missing. Looking around she found it nearby trampled to pieces. "Damnit" she muttered, looking for her gun.
She heard a familiar voice groan from nearby, turning her head to see the green Martian lying on the ground as people tripped over him. She saw the blood dripping from his mouth and lunged for him, crawling along the ground in a hurry to reach him "J'onn!" she called, catching his attention as she drew near. Once in range she made a snap analysis of his condition and hooked her arms under his elbows, dragging back to the gazebo with her. Once sheltered she made a more analytical observation. He wasn't doing well and needed medical treatment. "Just stay still" she said, cradling his green head on her lap. "We'll get you out of here. Do you still have your earpiece?"
He nodded, passing it to her so she could call for back up. While he rested his telepathy picked up the fear in her thoughts. "Kara's going to be fine" he told her. "Eliza and Lena are with her."
"Oh, good" she breathed in relieve. And then the tension returned. "Wait, why is my mom here?"
Nia strained against the increasing pressure the Sentinel was driving down onto her, the axe coming closer to her neck as her arms ached. Miranda sucked in a breath and put her arm against the handle to push even more force. "I think you'll agree this makes for a much better venue to carry out your sentence abomination" she snarled, driving the sharp blade forward seeking to chop her alien head off.
Nia tried to hold it together, but her concentration lapsed and her construct lance dissolved. Her hands flew up as she saw the blade come down, catching it in her palm creating a small glove to protect her flesh. The crowd around her inhaled as they watched the struggle with wide eyes. The blade still cut into her skin drawing blood, the pain making her hiss as she desperately threw her other hand forward to blast the woman at point blank range with as much energy as she could. She succeeded in knocking the woman back a few feet buying her a few seconds to breath.
Unfortunately, as a result the Sentinel suit was charged with a great deal of energy, which she charged into her axe with a twist of the handle. "Any last words before your fellow freaks watch you fall at my feet?" she asked her.
Dreamer caught her breath and looked around at the silent crowd watching her. They all shared a look of concern, of fear, but also of hope. They looked at her with hope. They believed in her. She turned her head looking for her friends, unable to see them through the crowd. Yet somehow she felt their belief too. Felt Brainy watching her through the security cameras surrounding her. Felt J'onn as he monitored her doubts telepathically. Felt Kara as she promised to be there for her. Felt Jimmy as he put his faith in her abilities.
Everyone around her believed in Dreamer. So Nia put her faith in her too as she looked up at the hate fuelled woman in front of her. "No. I have nothing to say to you" she said, rising uneasily to her feet, blood dripping from her palm. "You, who is so afraid of change that you'll lash out like a child terrified of what they don't understand. You call use freaks and monsters, people like me abominations. But the only monsters I see here are you and those who follow you, people willing to murder hundreds of innocents simply out of fear. And like any bully you want us to be afraid too. But look around Miranda! The reason all these people are here is to show you they are not afraid. Not afraid to be seen, to be heard, to stand up to bullies who tell them they don't belong. They came to tell you that if you are not willing to open your mind, open your heart to change, then it's you who doesn't belong."
Miranda scoffed at the speech, but her hands tightened around her hammer. Because out the corner of her eye she saw the faces of the crowd around them, humans and aliens alike, all nodded and smiling and turning their contempt towards her. Inside her mask she seethed. It was just as Lockwood predicted, just as she feared. She couldn't let this stand. "What I want is your head" she snarled, hoisting the weapon charging at her, the energy pulsing as she swung it over her head.
Dreamer tensed her legs and prepared, waiting for the axe to rise over the Sentinel's head before firing her energy blasts from her hands. This time she aimed above the woman, hitting the weapon she sought to kill her with. The energy hit the metal and the crowd shuddered as there was a massive discharge of force from the weapon. Miranda cringed as the concussive blast knocked her to her knees, her ears ringing inside her iron helmet, the hammer spinning through the air landing with a thump on the ground. Dreamer stood poised and exhaled with a smile on her face, waiting for her opponent to lift her head in fury realising she'd disarmed her before sprinting back into the fight.
Her passionate speech gave her a second wind, as did the support from the crowd as they cheered her on. Nia charged back into the fight swing, summoning a series of weapons to throw at the Sentinel as she blocked and punched and swung at her. She dodged and weaved, hopping on and off of glowing platforms to out manoeuvre the woman as she battered her punches away with shields and countered with boxing gloves. Miranda got a few lucky hits in but Nia found her zone, utilising her powers as she'd been trained to outclass the woman and knock her down. Miranda used her suit as much as she could, but her discharges were getting sloppy. Dreamer never hit her with her energy blasts again, instead aiming for the ground at her feet to trip her up or stagger her. Her best move came when the woman furiously tackled her, only for Nia to spin, lasso the woman and flip her over her back through the air and onto the ground. Miranda grunted angrily, crawling along the ground as the crowd cackled her.
In the crowd, however, one man saw the battle turning against his employer. Samuel stood in the mass of people silently, his cold glare fixed onto Dreamer as her back turned to him to walk towards Miranda. He stepped forward, drawing his gun from his belt, hidden from their view. Around him more members of the Children of Liberty stalked forward, their masks removed to blend in, and their guns at their sides. At Samuel's unspoken signal they took a step to the edge of the clearing and prepared to open fire, the driver's gun lifting up to point directly at the back of the young woman's skull.
Before he could pull the trigger, a hand shot out and grabbed his wrist, yanking his arm up so the gun fired harmlessly into the air, the gunshot surprising everyone. Dreamer froze from the gunshot and spun to see Samuel glaring at the man who had stopped him, equally stunned to discover one of the alien males glaring back at him. He recognised the man; the one from the new broadcast, the one who Dorian saved, the man who called for this march, whose daughter Dreamer save. The man fixed his eyes on the gunman and told him "never again" as several more hands suddenly reached out to grab him.
Samuel's head whipped around in alarm as several members of the crowd grabbed him and dragged him to the ground. Around the clearing the Children of Liberty members were discovered with their guns as more humans and aliens teamed up to disarm and restrain them. They shouted and resisted but there was too many of them. The entire firing squad was overwhelmed by the brave men and women who brought them down proclaiming they were not afraid of them any longer.
Nia watched in awe as the whole crowd turned on the gunmen, watching them bring them down with a mixed sense of pride and joy. Behind her Miranda crawled to her weapon, her fury bubbling over as she climbed to her feet and bellowed a roar. Nia narrowed her eyes and spun back around, watching the axe charge with energy as she charged for her. She inhaled a breath and sidestepped the swing, throwing her arm up to help guide the blade down to the ground where it discharged harmlessly into the earth. "It's over" she said to the masked woman. "You've lost."
Miranda bellowed in denial, swinging her arm in a backhand swing, lashing out in outrage. Nia let go of the weapon to twirl on her toes, performing a spin in which she dodged Miranda's fist, channelled her powers into a new weapon, the bleu energy taking the shape of a massive hammer which she used to uppercut the woman in one mighty blow. The Sentinel of Liberty was taken off her feet, tumbling through the air, the blow shattering the side of her iron mask as she flew across the clearing face fist into the concrete.
Miranda's face was flushed with hate when she lifted herself up to her hands and knees growling, pieces of her broken mask falling from her head revealing the red faced middle aged woman beneath. Dreamer walked slowly towards her, letting the hammer in her hands disappear as she approached the defeated older woman. Before she could tense and leap up to strangle her, Dreamer created a swirl of energy which she tossed at her clamping her wrists together in blue handcuffs. "The Children of Liberty are done" Dreamer told her. "You, your followers, Lockwood…it's all over now."
Miranda glared at her with menace and vicious venom. "It will never be over" she growled. "There will be more of us. There are always more of us" she promised. "As long as you and your kind threaten our very existence, people will rise and fight for the safety of humanity. It didn't end with Ben Lockwood, and it will not end with mMPHFFT!"
Dreamer interrupted her with a construct materialising around her mouth gagging her, sighing in exhaustion muttering "I'm done debating with you" as she turned her back on her. She released a long breath of release as she stood there glad the fight was over.
After a couple of seconds of silence there was a slow rise of noise that filled the city square. Nia's eyes opened as she heard the distinct sound of clapping, at first quiet and then rising in volume. She looked up and saw several members of the crowd applauding her. And then more joined in, the applause growing louder. Then more, cheers filling the air. Dreamer stood in the middle of the crowd perplexed as one by one the men and women, humans and aliens, all began to cheer for her. More than that, they began to chant her name. Their voices rose, victorious and joyful, all cheering for her.
Nia stared in stunned bewilderment as they applauded her. She couldn't comprehend why she deserved this. But as she looked around she finally found her friends in the crowd. She saw Alex on the edge with an injured J'onn watching the crowd, nodding an agreement. She glimpsed Jimmy Olsen over people's heads, clapping furiously. Then she looked up at the stage and saw Supergirl leaning against a support with Lena beside her, both of them smiling proudly.
Nia found their smiles infectious as she broke into a grin, turning in a circle humbly watching the whole city chant her name and praise her for saving them, the emotions they brought overwhelming the young superhero.