#TricksAndFools
Before their eyes, the problem seemed to have gotten even bigger than imagined. In the midst of a fight against Quentin Beck, using the alias Mysterio, Spider-Man, Miss Martian, Shadowcat and Lady Shazam, found themselves in the eye of the hurricane amidst Beck's plans. Having incapacitated Wonder Woman, Zatanna, Supergirl, Bumblebee, Green Lantern, and Batgirl in the middle of one of his magic shows using sleeping gas, Mysterio was keen to put everything on the line, committing a series of robberies, just to see if the heroines would show up, and the fact that only four heroes showed up was a sign that his plans seemed to have worked. However, the quartet of heroes, guided by Peter Parker, began to feel an enormous worry taking over their bodies because of what had happened. It was as if they were seeing a giant silhouette about to attack.
"Do you see that? That is the moment that Metropolis will bow down before my feet. They cannot predict what I am capable of, and they will fail trying to contain me." Mysterio stood confidently, while Spider-Man, Shadowcat, Miss Martian and Lady Shazam analyzed the scene, with Mary approaching Megan, trying to find some answer to the particular problem.
"Miss Martian, can you read his mind to see what we can do now?" Megan began to look at the scene, trying to read Mysterio's mind, but to no avail.
"I'm not getting any readings! It's as if he's managing to block the neural signals in an imperceptible way!" Miss Martian seemed to be getting desperate, including the fact that they couldn't find a consensus to stand firm in the middle of the confrontation, which made it clear how much more complicated things could become.
Noticing the desperation, Spider-Man just closed his eyes and at the same time, decided to let his Spider-Sense take over at that moment, willing to leave everything he had by instinct, guiding himself through emotions and trust to try to confront Mysterio, face to face on this specific trouble. Peter Parker knew very well how much he had become Spider-Man, he had to master control over some of his abilities, however, to become the Spectacular Spider-Man, it was more of a journey that was filled with more surprises that he couldn't expect now. Feeling the punch in his front, Peter just prepared himself for the impact of the attack, until he felt something strange through his sixth sense and this way, made a jump, throwing his webs over the giant fist and in the process, pulling Mysterio into the mist, proving that the giant version in their eyes, was one more of his illusions to defeat the heroes.
"I have to admit that I'm quite surprised to see that you managed to figure out my trick." Mysterio stood forward between the girls, looking at the heroines as if he had all the worry in the world around his body, trying to figure out what had happened in the middle of this whole story. - "This is the first time anyone has managed to figure out one of my illusions."
"There are some things we just can't understand, can we?" Peter just stood in position, as did Mary, Megan and Kitty, looking at Quentin Beck, who was making a point of trying to find an advantage against his enemies in front of him, ready to take things to a whole new level.
Spider-Man then, attacked first, trying to hit Mysterio, however, the villain started to dodge the attacks, however, giving way for Miss Martian to approach Mysterio, behind him and with that, she started to use her powers to try to subdue the villain to surrender using her psychic skills to put Quentin Beck on his knees, however, Mysterio started to resist and with that, used some of the drones near him to confuse Megan, taking the opportunity to take the Green Martian from him. Slowly, Mary began to analyze the scenario, trying to find a way to resolve things in her own ways.
"Speed of Mercury! Power of Zeus! Wisdom of Solomon! Stamina of Atlas! Strength of Hercules!" Conjuring five of her gifts at once, Mary began to look at every detail in Mysterio's movements, knowing full well that she could not make any mistakes, otherwise she would be risking the lives of all of her friends in the middle of the confrontation. Because of this, seeing Spider-Man moving around, using his instincts to guide himself and confront Quentin Beck in the middle of the fight, things seemed to be getting more and more intense before the confrontation. - "Let's see if Mysterio can handle most of my combined powers!"
Moving her body in a higher speed than usual, Mary began to approach Mysterio, practically pushing the villain in an opposite direction, putting the illusionist on the defensive. With all she could do being used at the moment, this allowed Spider-Man to approach, alongside Shadowcat and Miss Martian, with the trio of heroes appearing behind Quentin, allowing them to get the villain on the defensive, but using the drones around him, Mysterio created yet another smoke screen, escaping the heroes' reach.
"Do you really think you can stop me? I can be in several places in the same world. Mysterio will reign supreme! And the age of heroes in Metropolis will finally come to an end!" The quartet of heroes held together, with Mary using her powers to try to analyze the variables, however, Megan could no longer feel his psychic signature, almost like if Quentin Beck was hiding his moves in an attempt to win against the heroes. - "If your allies didn't come to your aid, then my plan really worked. I managed to contain the Super Hero Girls inside that theater, so the B-team was sent in!"
"Okay, I don't think I like this B-team thing one bit!" Kitty said, getting into position and in that way, concentrating her powers in a way where they would be able to contain Mysterio.
"Think about it! All my tricks can come true! With just a snap of my fingers, I'm able to turn various things around into weapons!" Using the surrounding drones, Beck took the opportunity to create an illusion where several buildings began to fall on top of the heroes, leaving them surprised.
"Is that part of his plan? To smash us to smithereens?" Mary concentrated her powers, with electricity surging out of her body in an attempt to contain the falling objects and buildings around her, letting the worry rise in an unusual way in her vision.
Spider-Man, on the other side, continued to use his Spider-Sense, dodging attacks and managing to use his powers in a way where dexterity seemed to be Peter's greatest ally at the moment. While all this was going on, Megan gave a smile, noticing what the boy seemed to be doing: Using not just his eyes, but rather, his instincts.
"Miss Martian! Connect your minds with mine! I have a plan!" Just nodding, Mary and Kitty agreed to the idea and that way, Megan used her powers, establishing a psychic link between them.
"Can you hear me?" Miss Martian asked, trying to see what could happen.
"Loud and clear." With her mind, Lady Shazam confirmed her answer, which made clear the limit they would have to reach to contain Mysterio in the middle of the fight.
"We just need to keep an eye out for attacks. I think you'll be able to sense some of my sixth sense, so we'll be able to sense Mysterio's movements all together." Peter could tell how much they had some unusual feelings in the middle of everything. Uncertainty took over, but as Spider-Man, he knew that he had to risk everything in an attempt to protect the city and keep his friends safe in the midst of it all. Throwing themselves into the fog, Lady Shazam, Miss Martian, and Shadowcat went for it, realizing how much trouble they still had in the middle of the confrontation.
"Come on to play!" Mysterio began to multiply within the mist, noticing that there was something very wrong before the plan and in this way, taking one of his hands, Quentin Beck ordered the duplicates to attack, however, without any hesitation, the quartet went through them, proving that now, they were able to distinguish what the illusions before their eyes were.
Realizing that the plan had gone wrong, Mysterio started to hit the heroes, doing everything he could to get the victory against the last heroes still standing. However, coordinating his movements with the psychic link created between them by Miss Martian, combining the blows and the powers, Quentin Beck began to get defensive, trying to understand what was happening. Taking one punch after another from Spider-Man, Peter made sure to contain the villain as best he could. A Shadowcat attack, making her body intangible, allowed Lady Shazam to use all her powers combined, launching the electric blast in a way so strong that it made all Quentin Beck's drones short-circuit in a matter of seconds, surprising the illusionist in a worrying way, letting the mist disappear, showing a certain fear over everything.
"It's over now, Mysterio. Without the drones, you are nothing!" Spider-Man started to approach, however, releasing another mist from his hands, Mysterio blinded the hero and with that, Quentin Beck stood firm in his decision, standing firm in the middle of the confrontation. Slowly, throwing his body backwards, he began to float, showing that he still had a few tricks up his sleeve. - "But what?"
"I don't need the drones in this whole thing. I can put it into practice, the old-fashioned way to certain things." Beck then, began to fight Spider-Man, throwing the hero into a car, almost knocking him out, which made Miss Martian and Shadowcat combine their attacks in a way where Beck could not get results. In this way, Lady Shazam was able to use her powers, to create an explosion so strong as to show surprise in front of all the heroes. Slowly, things seemed to be turning into something difficult, until out of nowhere, Mysterio disappeared, to the surprise of the quartet of heroes.
"Where is he?" Spider-Man asked, completely surprised by what had happened.
"I didn't understand anything. I used my powers in a small amount so as not to overdo them." With that, the quartet approached, looking at an open manhole cover, noting that he had escaped through the tunnels.
Feeling humiliated about everything that had happened, Mysterio started to walk, practically furious with himself because of the defeat he had suffered. Slowly, Quentin Beck began to move and making contact with Otto Octavius, Mysterio felt the rage taking over his body.
"I failed, Octavius. They managed to defeat me, even though I managed to immobilize every one of them." Out of nowhere, Otto let out a laugh, drawing Quentin Beck's attention.
"Don't worry, Quentin. There will be other opportunities. We're taking it easy on these heroines, but when the time comes, we should be prepared for the unexpected." Closing the transmission, Otto looked at a silhouette in the shadows, wearing a spear in his hands, confidently. - "Your turn, Kraven."
In front of Otto Octavius, the figure of Kraven the Hunter. One of the most recognizable hunters, confident, determined and cunning about unexpected plans. Looking at the scientist, Kraven had given a smile, confident with his possible triumph in the midst of so many problems amidst the villains' plans, because of all that had occurred so far.
"I already have a plan in place. If we take Spider-Man out of the picture, perhaps these Super Hero Girls will fall without one of their personal friends."
"Thinking ahead. I like that. Are you ready?"
Kraven had a plan in motion. To take Spider-Man out of the equation, so that he could put his plan to defeat the Super Hero Girls in the middle of the confrontation into action. Slowly, the battle to save Metropolis seemed to be reaching an unbelievable point, with the heroines unable to figure out what the next plan to put in motion would be at the current moment, doing everything for the results, but Kraven intended to bring success at all costs, for the sake of Otto's plans.
In the hideout, Peter, Mary, Megan and Kitty were reunited, having led their friends back to the scene. After a few seconds, Diana, Jessica, Barbara, Kara, Karen, Zee, Michelle and Ned woke up, surprised at what had happened. The quartet looked to their friends, hugging them on account of all the recent events.
"What happened?" Zee asked, confused by what had happened.
"Nothing else. Just the fact that we stopped a criminal who used illusions to commit various crimes." The girls seemed to be confused by what had happened, nervous about it.
"You have lost the biggest battle of all!" Kitty spoke up, completely optimistic about everything. - "Quentin Beck used a sleeping gas to make everyone in the theater black out. And you also lost the four of us, taking on one criminal, all by ourselves."
"True. There was this moment when we combined our minds, in a psychic link, to coordinate our attacks, and you also lost Lady Shazam, Shadowcat, Spider-Man and I giving a historic beating to Beck, who used the name Mysterio to commit crimes."
"I knew it! I knew this guy was a fake!" Zee said, completely confident in seeing that she was right in the midst of her assertions.
"By Hera and all the Gods, I can't believe we've fallen for this trick."
"But at least we managed to defeat Mysterio. Even though he escaped, we won and kept the city safe."
"Hello, Megan!" Megan said, feeling a little confidence around her body. - "After all that, you guys missed the grand finale, as you would say. Mary practically combined all her powers and made Mysterio run!"
"And we missed all that?" Babs said, completely flustered with herself. - "Just when something interesting happens, we end up missing one of the best fights of all that we could be a part of!"
"There will be other fights, Babs." Peter talked, confidently. Amidst all the fighting that followed, there were many unexpected things yet to be revealed. - "No matter what happens, we will be ready to carry on the battle to save the innocents of this city."
"I'm totally agreeing with this point now." Michelle seemed to be more surprised with herself, agreeing with these words, however, making sure that everything would go in a way that they couldn't expect in these times.
"Well, but if there's one thing we know, it's that although the future is not yet set, we can choose our own paths, the way we can see the limits and true strength of our powers. Whatever villains or villainous beings arise in this city, we will be ready for battle." Diana's words seemed to be of something more among the team, of people, whom the Amazon saw as her siblings, her tribe, in a way where she might be able to fulfill her mission in the World of Men, in her view of all that might ensue in the midst of future confrontations. - "But what will happen, we will be prepared for the future battles to follow."
"Okay. How about some ice cream? After today, I think we need a break from all of this." Peter said, completely tired because of all that was happening after the last few days.
"I agree." Ned spoke, looking at his friends, after all that might have ensued. - "But next time, let's try to avoid problems on that level."
"Come on. We've faced much worse things so far. What could possibly go wrong?" Zee began to ask, to the point of making everyone in the hideout irritated. - "What, when someone asks a question like that, it doesn't mean it's going to go wrong."
"We'll see about that." Peter looked at his friends, knowing that they still had many things unfinished.
While everyone was preparing for a little break, without realizing it, Megan started to blush, almost as if she felt her heart beating faster than imagined, not understanding what could be happening to herself. Gradually, the Martian began to suppress her thoughts and with that, joined her friends again after the last events. But the problem was still far from over and now that Octavius intended to send Kraven as the next villain summoned by the scientist in an attempt to contain the Super Hero Girls once and for all, the signal was clear: The battle to save Metropolis was still far from over.
To be continued...
Author's Note: Ok, that's it for today, folks. I need I owe you an explanation: After two months, my mind has started to suffer with the lack of ideas. Didn't had any idea on how to go forward this chapter and I tried my best to write this one, that I had to leave the plataform for a while after everything, to try and get some inspiration. But indeed, we're back, dear readers. And to be honest, in the next chapters, we'll delve into some uncharted territory for the next villains and I think you all understand who the next enemy in this story will be now. Indeed, Kraven will leave his mark, in a way you can't expect, and very soon, we're gonna be back.
See you all next time, dear readers!