Kid Flash was first on the scene. He skidded to a stunned halt as he caught sight of the wolf-dragon taking off. He ran over to Superboy, who lay on his back, choking as if he couldn't breathe.
"Holy cow, you're bleeding!," Kid Flash stated the obvious, too surprised to do otherwise.
Superboy ignored him, staring upward as if his life depended on it. Only a few seconds had passed since he had called to tell the team he'd found one of the creatures, but it seemed like an eternity. Kid Flash followed his gaze in time to see the dragons crashing together. Four wings folded around the great beasts, concealing them as gravity took hold and they plummeted towards earth.
He ducked on instinct as the creatures parted, mere inches from the ground and one swept just over him. The talons of the one who flew over him snatched at his head, as if trying to take it off. The creatures swept back faster than seemed physically possible, even to Kid Flash. They slammed together with an audible crash. Shrieking, snarling and growling, they tore at one another with razor claws and snapped with jaws powerful enough to crush the skull of a bear.
The Batplane appeared, barely dodging as the tangled beasts twisted through the air in mortal combat. The bio-ship was not so lucky. As the creatures parted to reassess the battle, the larger of the two smacked right into the ship with its tail, knocking it from the air like a fly-swatter would a fly.
The beast didn't even appear to notice, seeming to swim through the air towards the other, mouth agape. The smaller creature hooked its claws into the other's snout and shoved it lower in the air, then flew over its adversary, blood adorning its claws.
The large creature shook its head, neatly clipping the tops from several trees as it changed direction to defend itself from the following onslaught.
The Batplane landed in the clearing, the bio-ship had crashed.
"Miss Martian, are you alright?. Kaldur?," Miss Martian and Kaldur had been inside the bio-ship.
"A little bruised, but mostly just stunned," Miss Martian replied "Kaldur?,"
"I am fine," came the somewhat shaky response.
"Superboy isn't," Kid Flash said "he's not moving. I can't even tell if he's breathing,"
Miss Martian appeared almost at once, kneeling beside him. There was, of course, very little she could do. She glared up at the airborne behemoths, trying to pull them from the sky, touch their minds, anything. But it was as if they weren't real.
"I can't read their thoughts," she gasped after a minute's trying brought no hint of result "I can't even touch them at all,"
If Superboy could have spoken, he could have offered a theory as to why that was. If Robin and Nightwing had the power to become anything they wanted, was it not unreasonable for them to be resistant to the power of a Martian, even one so powerful as she?.
But he couldn't speak, and the paralysis was spreading to his internal organs. He was barely able to breathe, and his heart was beginning to slow. He was dying, and couldn't even say so.
Batman had remained in the Batplane, thinking hard, his mind racing over the possibilities and probabilities and options left to him. The beasts were fighting. Perhaps they merely wanted to kill anything and everything, but something told him otherwise.
Had he known what Superboy now did, he probably wouldn't have gone on the attack. But as it was, it seemed the only thing to do. If he took a pot shot at them, he was betting that one would attack him, and the other would duck away.
Clearly, one had attacked Superboy, which indicated the other might be protecting him. It was a long shot, but it seemed that he had to take it.
He was fortunate. The creatures did not anticipate his attack. One of them had defeated Superboy easily, and all firepower used against the others of their kind had been something of a joke. The very idea of a ship attacking them was laughable.
The Batplane took off, dove in and shot near, but missed both targets. As Batman had anticipated, the animals parted and one swept upwards towards him, while the other hung in the air as though undecided for a moment, before descending towards the ground.
The team below had not considered that one of the beasts might be on their side. Kaldur and Miss Martian threw everything they had at the descending beast. A tree flew past its head as the animal landed, and Kaldur struck it in the side with a powerful swing.
The great beast's mouth parted in what they expected to be a roar like the one before. It roared, but this was quieter, and was followed by something much more terrifying to the Martian and Atlantean. A tongue of flame sprang from the beast's parted jaws, leaping out at them, driving them back with its intense heat. The licking flames danced in the black eyes of the beast and it roared again.
It advanced on them, driving them back. Kid Flash attempted to run up its back for an attack, but it hit him hard with its tail, not even sparing him a glance. He flew across the clearing and bounced off a tree, lying stunned on the grass, staring blankly up at the sky, where Batman and the other beast were engaged in aerial combat. Batman was losing, the long claws of the beast had raked across the plane and it was beginning to smoke.
Abruptly, the fiery beast snapped its jaws shut and whirled towards the fallen Superboy, smoke curling up from its nostrils as it snorted irritably.
When Kaldur and Miss Martian again advanced, the powerful tail swept across them, knocking them aside like they were bowling pins.
Black eyes, unending in their darkened depths, met the half-Kryptonian's wounded gaze. For a long moment, there was silence and stillness as the two stared at one another, a strange, almost frightened recognition passing between them like the lightning overhead.
Kaldur and Miss Martian again got their feet, and so did Kid Flash. The creature snapped its head to look at them, hostility burning plain in its unnaturally glinting eyes.
"There is no percentage in continuing this battle," Kaldur said sensibly.
Perhaps he knew the futility of standing against the beast, or maybe he knew it would not harm them unless they provoked it. Either way, he stood down, and the others reluctantly followed suit.
The beast stared at them distrustfully for a few seconds. Then suddenly its jaws were closed around Superboy's left shoulder. Its teeth sank in, and Miss Martian cried out and would have run forward had Kaldur not put out an arm to stop her.
The bite was deep, and blood welled up and coated the beast's fangs. It closed its eyes briefly, then opened its jaws, flapped its wings once and took to the air, catching the other beast in the underbelly and propelling it away from the Batplane, which was beginning to fall from the sky.
Miss Martian fell beside Superboy, who was already beginning to come around. He blinked once, then twice, then slowly and stiffly sat up. His wounds had already started to heal, though not so swiftly as Superman's would have. Their eyes met, and then they both looked up. The Batplane spiraled towards the ground. Above it, the beasts were locked in their deadly combat once more.
"Well now what do we do?," Kid Flash asked, staring upwards.
"What can we do?," Kaldur asked "there is no defense against what they've become,"
"I'm not so sure that's true," Superboy said, his voice hoarse.
"Why not?,"
"They're shape-shifters," he said slowly "And I think they only defend against attacks they anticipate. The creature that clawed me, I think it was Robin, waited several seconds before doing so. As if it had to take in who I was, and then reform its insides to poison me,"
"And the fire breather had not created flame until it faced us," Kaldur said.
"Then why couldn't I touch them?. If they expected me, surely they must have expected Superboy," Miss Martian wanted to know.
"Maybe they can't be everything at once?," Kid Flash suggested, but it didn't ring true somehow.
"In any case, it seems evident that only their own kind poses any threat to them," Batman had suddenly appeared "my shots were only briefly, and slightly, effective. Though it seems that they can't just heal sustained wounds. The smaller one is badly injured and probably won't continue the fight,"
As if on cue, the smaller creature suddenly broke away from the larger, shifting its form as it fled so that it could attain greater speed. The larger roared, seemed to consider following it, then instead lowered itself slowly, carefully to the ground. It alighted near Superboy, its noble-looking head tucked to its expansive chest, folding its wings gently around itself like a cloak.
A moment of silence passed as they all looked over the creature, and it glared skeptically at them, as if they were strangers to it. Slowly it opened its jaws and blew a small fire, like a rattlesnake shaking its tail in warning. It could deep fry them all if it wanted to.
"Doesn't he recognize us?," Miss Martian asked.
"I'm sure he does, on some level," Batman replied "but it's clear he no longer regards us as allies,"
"Then why save my life?," Superboy wondered.
The beast looked from one person to another, with eyes that spoke of impatience and barely suppressed fury. It looked towards the sky, as if it expected the other to come back at any second. It looked as though it wanted that to happen, yet still it stood.
It parted its jaws again, but this time no fire sprang forth. Instead, a set of thin, fragile looking teeth snapped down from the roof of its mouth, like the poison fangs of a snake. The fangs extended forward, reaching beyond the creature's mouth, as though seeking something. At their fullest extent, the fangs dripped a clear fluid, which fell to the ground. Then it folded the teeth back and hissed.
"Do you know where the other is going?," Batman asked suddenly, breaking the silence.
The beast drew its head closer to its chest and snorted, smoke spewing from its nostrils in a small black cloud. No one could guess what this was supposed to mean. The creature extended its muzzle and pointed towards the sky.
"It's like he wants us to do something. Follow him?," Miss Martian wondered.
She tried to touch the beast's mind, but it recoiled physically, snarling and blowing fire at her. It roared quietly, then tucked its head again.
Without warning, it spread its blackened leathery wings and emitted a high pitched shriek like that of a bat, only louder and more ferocious. It took to the air, flapping heavily, disappearing into the night. As it went, it shrieked out its frustration, or perhaps called to the other, nobody was sure.
"Should we follow him?," Miss Martian asked.
"To what end?," Kaldur wanted to know "there is nothing we can do against these creatures,"
"That's not necessarily true," Batman replied "it may be possible to attack them with something they do not expect. If we can inflict enough damage, we can render them helpless,"
"And then what?," Kaldur asked, dreading the answer.
"And then we kill them," Batman said "we have no other choice. They are simply too dangerous and unpredictable to be allowed to go free,"
"Even Nightwing?," Superboy asked "he saved my life,"
"Even Nightwing, because he cannot be counted on not to kill you should he see you again,"