Vandal Savage's Fortress, Unidentified location
The interior of this place was daunting, as if it was made to intimidate the strongest and bravest souls. Constructed especially to be a house to the most devilish machinations, Vandal's fortress lived up to its name. There was no record of its construction, no one ever met anyone who built it, and those who saw it rarely lived to tell the tale. You see when Vandal's sole opponent became the Batman, in the most dangerous game of chess ever played, he was ready for it. Batman was impressive, for a mortal, and his legendary status among both heroes and villains alike made Vandal plan for his demise like no other adversary he'd ever face.
But the real power of the Batman was not his muscles or his gadgets, it was his mind. Giving knowledge to Batman was akin to preparing yourself to fail and fail spectacularly. So, Vandal denied him the one thing that set him apart from everyone else. He created such a tight sphere around Batman's cities that the intel and knowledge he received from the outside of the sphere would always be outdated or useless. Then he went to war with Batman. Creating and maintaining an intelligence network is easy when no one is breathing down your neck. But doing it while you're at war? While your trying to protect the only "free" places left in the world? It would prove to be impossible once Vandal unleashed his master stroke.
Then there was the obstacle of dealing with people who had goals similar to his but didn't have near as much patience as Vandal had. Vandal Savage has lived for millennia, and he will live for a million more years with the world under his boot. No one had more patience than him and his moment of total success was at hand, even if a revenge lusted mercenary almost ruined his plan. So now he finally would inform Black Manta of his punishment for ruining his plans for Atlantis and for giving the Batman more information that he needed to subvert Vandal's control.
"Enough Manta! I don't plan on waiting for you any longer!"
Black Manta was chained to a wall, stripped of his armor and weapons, wearing only his wetsuit. His impatience had earned him some time in the brig after his wounds were treated from his tangle with the Atlantean princess.
"Release me or I'll gut you like a fish!"
Vandal was on the outer range of Manta's chained leashes, watching him writhe and fight in discomfort. He likely thought Vandal was there to kill him, so he would fight and die on his feet instead of dying on his knees. After a particular powerful thrust of Manta against his chains, where there was no slack and they were tightly holding him back, Vandal struck him in the gut and placed a dagger against his throat, prompting Manta to stay still.
"Now, do you want to bleed out in this cell or calm down?"
Manta stares coldly into his eyes, no fear of the immortal in front of him, "Bleed me then, I refuse to go down without a fight."
The two stare intensely at each other as Vandal considers the apparently fearless man chained to his wall. And then he lets a grin rise to his face before removing the blade from Manta's throat.
"Oh no, it will not be I that kills you. No matter how much I want to. You'll have something worse to fear than raging Atlanteans if you fail me again."
Black Manta looks at him confused, no one received mercy from Vandal Savage. His allies that betrayed him were cut down before they could finish another thought. His enemies were only allowed to live if Vandal let them. The immortal was ruthless and relentless, but now he was showing mercy?
"You see, your failure created the necessity for me to keep you alive. Isn't it funny how life works out? I planned on killing you in spectacular fashion, publicly, for your failure. But your own incompetence has kept you alive."
Vandal is walking toward the exit and stops with his back toward Manta, "Failing me again will lead to something worse than punishment or death. So clean yourself up, I have other captees to attend to. And this time," He looks back slightly so that Manta can see his scarred face "wait for my signal, or you'll be the one who gets gutted."
Batcave, The last free city of Gotham
"Bruce!"
Selina's outcry fell on ears that were stuck in preparation mode, he didn't have much time to plan and respond to this crisis but he simply had to. Not only was the Justice League likely under attack, his sons were right in the middle of the danger. Nothing would stop him from reaching them and bringing them back home.
Selina practically shrieks at him, "Bruce just listen for a goddamn second!"
The prototype armor that Bruce was developing was impressive. Interlocking, freely breathing armor plates that separated for agile, acrobatic moves but hardened when under the pressure of any outside force. It had an incredible amount of failsafe mechanisms to prevent anyone from hacking into any subsystem or compromising the armor in any way. It was meant to be the most definitive batsuit to date, but it was not meant for Bruce. This "Beyond" prototype was meant for someone…younger. Someone with the incredible agility and power in their body to fully work the suits specially made systems. Now Bruce would have to test-drive it if he wanted to get to his teams.
"I have to go Selina, I sent them in blind. It's my responsibility to get them out, if they need it."
The onyx black armor starts to link into place greaves, breastplate, and boots lock into the full body system designed to put the augment the users already impressive abilities. And of course, a stylish utility built colored similarly to the rest of the suit with the iconic bat symbol that everyone in the world knew, but this time in red. As Bruce stepped down from the armor's casing, Pennybot checked and fastened every piece to make sure the suit was prepared for what would actually be its first field test. He took the helmet down from its separate casing, praying that all the firmware and software was working at its peak.
Before he placed the helmet, that had filled red eye openings that matched the red bat-symbol on his chest and belt, Selina says "I know! We need to find out if they're okay and bring them back home safely! But, Bruce…please don't go alone. I know how you get, when something goes wrong you put the weight of it on your shoulders and try to fix it yourself. Don't do that this time, take someone with you."
Before he can place the helmet on his head, she grabs him quickly. Holding his face still and placing a quick but meaningful kiss on his lips. "Please, just don't go alone."
Selina's concern was viable. If his teams were under attack, then he needed to respond quickly. But there were three teams out there, Superman by himself, Wonder Woman with her group and likely Wally in tow, and Nightwing with Robin. Superman would likely draw the short stick, he needed his friend to be able to handle himself without any help and he trusted him to do so. Wonder Woman was the same, well-practiced in how to turn a bad situation into a winning one, and she had a capable team with her. If either of them walked into a trap they could more than likely get themselves out. And he thought the same about Nightwing and Robin. Nightwing was a well-trained, experienced member of his family and with Robin at his side they were usually unstoppable. But that didn't stop Bruce's heart from beating quickly when Oracle send they hadn't reported in since arriving to the prison facility.
As Bruce turned his attention to the available members of his team and family, he had a hard decision to make. Jason, Cass, and Stephanie were all capable of helping him wherever he needed to go. But with no way to transport them, they would only slow him down. Lara was young but also been trained under the greatest amazon warriors who had existed, including Wonder Woman herself. But Bruce couldn't thrust her into danger, not when he promised her parents he'd keep her safe. Then there was the newly arrived member, Serenity. A warrior with the power of the seas and impressive strength at her hands. Add on a magical weapon that could harm anyone in the trident, and Bruce found his logical choice.
"Serenity, you're with me. We'll go into this together, but we may have to split to help more than one team. I expect you'll be able to handle yourself."
Serenity rolls her eyes at the comment, "It's insulting that you would insinuate anything else. Let us go quickly, this delays us in dethroning Vandal."
"I'm bringing them back Selina, I won't let anything stop me."
She whispers, "I know." This time with a lengthier kiss, prompting the disapproval of the children in the room. Including Jason.
"Come on! You can make out after we save the world!"
The kiss breaks and Selina begins actively commanding the rest of the troops, she wasn't completely in charge when Bruce had to leave, but her and Oracle worked well enough together to maintain the forces of Gotham. "The rest of you are with me, Oracle call in the Titans. They have to get involved a little more now. Jason, Lara, Steph, and Cass, we're going to secure the perimeter and make sure-"
A quick glance toward the group told her that one was definitely missing. And that quick glance turned into panicked searching throughout the cave as she realized who it was.
"Where is Lara!"
They all look around before Jason says, "I dunno, she was floating right behind us last time I checked."
They were all looking around in vain, because as soon as Lara heard that she wasn't being picked to go she left. If the Batman thought she was going to sit back while her parents were in trouble, he had another thing coming.
"Let's go, we can catch up to her." Bruce walks over to Serenity and places on his cowl.
Steph asks, "Wait, how will you catch up? She can fly with superspeed and stuff."
Jason almost busts out laughing, "Oh this is rich, are you gonna run after her? Or swim with the little mermaid attached to your grappling gun?"
Bruce ignores them and hooks his arms under Serenity's from behind while she was scowling at Jason for calling her little mermaid again. She didn't completely understand the reference, but she assumed it was derogatory. Of course, the surprise on everyone's face was clearly evident as Bruce placed his feet together and his boots revealed themselves to be jet boots that quickly launched him and Serenity into the air toward the exit that lead outside. Practically everyone's jaws were on the floor when Jason finally screamed "What the fuck! He can fly now! I quit until I can fly too."
Everyone is woken from their surprise from Oracle's voice coming through the computer, "Titans incoming Selina, let's make sure everyone has a home to come back to."
Circe's jungle
The standoff between the two parties was unnerving. Circe was showing the type of patience that Wonder Woman expected. Over all of their battles Circe always preferred to let Wonder Woman make her own mistakes and capitalize on them. But Solomon Grundy? There was no way he would just be sitting and waiting for a fight to begin. All past battles with Grundy were always consistent, headfirst charging, rampant destruction, and saying that damn nursery rhyme. Now, as he stood next to Circe towering over her much smaller frame, he was holding the same patience that Circe had and waiting for Wonder Woman and Barda to act first.
Then there was the matter of Red Robin, suffering from a gunshot wound to the leg. The bleeding was stopped, but there was no way he could defend himself from Circe or Grundy. That was the cause of their hesitation, and Barda's growing impatience. Without the Flash to get him to safety, Wonder Woman and Barda would need to focus on protecting him instead of fighting. There weren't many good actions for them to take and being stuck in Circe's playground would make it impossible for them to get away.
"Time's wasting Diana! You'll have to do something sooner or later!"
Circe stood with her arms folded, ready for her adversaries to make the first move no matter what. If they did nothing than the little bird would die, and if they fought her they would lose. Circe would get what she wanted either way.
"Barda." A look between the heroines is all that is needed, getting Red Robin off the field and safe was the only way they could win the fight. That meant someone had to take on Circe and Grundy, alone.
Without hesitance Barda says "Take him Diana, I can hold here."
Diana shouts "Wait!" But Barda has already fired her mega-rod into the dirt in front of Circe, creating a cloud of dust. "Go! Now!" Barda leaps into the cloud of dust, and Wonder Woman has no choice but to go with the hasty actions of Barda. She picks Red Robin up and charges to the sky, the jungle seemed endless but Circe could only create so much space in the vertical direction. As Wonder Woman sped upward she noticed a slight distortion in the sky and stopped before it. She found the edge of Circe's magic.
Meanwhile Barda was successfully keeping Grundy and Circe occupied. The former fury had no trouble keeping Grundy disabled, without his eyes to see he was a lumbering mass swinging into empty space in an effort to hit Barda. Meanwhile Barda and Circe were fighting. Barda attempted to hit Circe as hard as she could, alternating with swings from her fists and mega-rod, but every hit was evaded or blocked by a magical shield from Circe. The cloud of dust Barda created was starting to disperse, but she had just enough time for one more trick. Barda disappeared from the into the dispersing dust cloud to use her enemies against themselves. When she finally bumped into Grundy she hit him sharply with a kick to his back and waited.
Circe calls out, "I should have expected that a disciple of Darkseid would be formidable, but this ends now!" Circe pushes the dust away and up into the air with a single movement. But as the dust starts to fade upward loud booming steps can be heard coming toward Circe. She has almost no time to react as Barda charges at her through the rising cloud and throws up a shield to stop her. To Circe's surprise, Barda leaps above her shield and over her, but the booming is getting louder and closer.
Grundy was right behind Barda and crashed right into the shield, breaking it in addition to throwing Circe to the side. He continues charging and Barda regathers herself to meet him head on. She roars at him as they get closer to each other. The ground cracks underneath them as they collide, locked in a test of strength. Grundy is winning, pushing her backwards into the ground, but Barda is letting him gain momentum again on her terms. She uses his building momentum against him in a powerful throw, vaulting Grundy behind her and into the jungle.
As Barda is engaging Wonder Woman is striking the top of the magical area Circe has created. The underbelly of the barrier is reacting to her blows and her spiked gauntlet, but there is no give. The loud sounds of crashing bring her attention to the jungle where she left Barda to fend for herself. If she can't get out with Red Robin, she has to help Barda. But putting him back down on the ground would expose him to Circe again.
"Diana!" calls a voice behind her, it is Alan imbued in emerald green willpower.
Wonder Woman turns with Red Robin in her arms, "Alan! Are you okay?"
"Yes, what has happened?"
She really doesn't have time to explain, Barda needs her help and Alan can help with Red Robin. "We need to keep Red Robin safe, he needs medical attention for his wound. Can you hold him up here?"
He nods, "Yes, I can try to get us out of here as well." Alan creates a simple table and Wonder Woman places Red Robin flat on it.
Before she flies back down towards the fight, Alan says "Be careful Diana." She gives a simple nod and charges back toward the fight.
Barda has re-engaged Circe on the ground, she is keeping Circe on her toes by varying her strikes with mega-rod blasts to the ground at Circe's feet. Finally, Circe gains control again by placing Barda in a stasis field. Barda was just about to punch her right in the head. Circe wants to retreat again, but Barda is forcing her to focus on the spell by straining against it. Before long, the field begins to break and crack.
Barda roars as she pushes past it to strike Circe, but she is too late. Solomon Grundy is back up and at her back, with one heaving blow he crushes Barda to the ground and pounds on her back and head. Blow after blow lands and the ground cracks. Circe gestures for Grundy to stop after a while and he does.
She stands before Barda with contempt on her face, "Look at me Fury, I wish to see the life drain out of you as you die screaming." Barda tries to get up but she doesn't have the strength anymore. Blood spills from her mouth as she coughs violently.
She eventually gets to one knee before replying, "Go to Hell witch. You'll receive no such pleasures from me."
Circe conjures a ball of pink energy and holds it right in front of Barda "You first.".
If this is her end, then Barda will meet it with her head raised high. She expected to die in battle anyways. Though if you asked her on Apokolips if she would die protecting innocents and her allies she would probably laugh or scowled at you for suggesting such weak actions. But Barda learned from Scott Free that fighting for freedom, love, and the greater good was worth living for. Here she fought to the best of her ability at a disadvantage to protect someone else and was happy to have lived and died for things that set her apart from her former Fury sisters. An honorable end all things considered.
As Batman flew in the sky with Serenity under him he noted that the thousands of droids outside of Gotham and the surrounding cities did not try to shoot him down upon his exit. Like they were letting him go, which was further evidence that this was a trap. He didn't have much more time to think it over however, as Serenity apparently had enough of flying.
"Put me down now!"
"We're almost there" Batman yelled over the wind, a transparent mask on the cowl covering his mouth.
"Where are we even going!"
"Catching up to Lara!"
"How do you know where she's going!"
"She's right there!"
Lara exited Gotham in spectacular, speedy fashion and headed the direction that her mother went to save the Flash. The eidetic memory she gained from her father was useful in memorizing the different paths. A quick inspection of the route she took might tell her if her mom need her help. She wasted no time coming upon the hole that her cousin, Alan, helped them make that led to a tunnel that went toward the Flash's location. She used her x-ray vision to follow the tunnel until her vision distorted slightly and she found herself looking at what she assumed to be an illusion.
She would have investigated the illusion more, but she picked up a subtle sound coming her way. As she fixed her eyes to the position she saw Batman with Serenity, flying toward her. Lara tried not to get too excited and geek out about the fact that Batman was flying. She needed to face him with a stoic demeanor, with a warrior's determination to fight the battles ahead.
As the two landed behind her, she heard a weapon being unsheathed and Serenity say" Don't ever do that again without my permission or I will impale you!"
Batman simply kept approaching Lara who was pretending to be deep in thought to prepare her resolve.
"I'm not going back, and the only way you'll make me is if you fight me." As he approaches her side and starts looking where she was looking, Lara turns to him with her best Amazonian gaze. "And I wouldn't hold back."
Batman is ignoring her challenge in leu of figuring out why she stopped here, "What did you find?"
Lara's surprise is evident on her face and she says, "You aren't going to try and make me go back?"
"You lucked out, my kryptonite is in my other suit." He grins before replying, "If I can't keep you safe by keeping you in Gotham, then I have to keep you safe out here. Now, what do you see?"
Lara returns her gaze to the underground tunnel, "The tunnel seems cut off, like it was closed. But then I can't see anything else after that. It's distorted."
Serenity adds to the conversation "I can feel the magic from here, what we are seeing is an illusion."
"Batman to all points, respond." He gets nothing in response, not even static. Just an eerie quiet that threatens to unnerve his compatriots.
Until finally a response comes through "Can't really talk right now, fighting-UGH-", the sounds of blows landing and finally a large collision is heard with some silence after.
"Superman?"
"I'll call back when I'm done." Then the communication gets cut abruptly.
Superman is still engaged by the sounds of it, and the other two still aren't responding. Batman knew it was necessary to help all 3 groups, but without knowing how the other two were doing he couldn't decide who needed the most help. While the easiest task should have been getting Linda in Batman's mind, the evidence was piling that they might need the most help from their non-responsiveness.
Batman addresses Serenity, "If there is a magic barrier, can you get through it?"
"Yes, with my magic and the trident it is possible. But it may take time depending on the strength the magic."
A small check on his wrist display shows that there is a small river nearby that should lead into the illusion. "There is a small stream, 3 miles that way. Might help you get in." They all look in the direction, Serenity sees the river and it leads into the distorted area as well.
"When you get in, find the team. Help them get out, follow the stream back out if you need to."
"And where will you go, to Superman?" questions Serenity.
Batman looks in the other direction, toward the Belle Reve prison that Linda was in. Where his sons were supposed to be rescuing her. "Nightwing and Robin still haven't checked in. We need to find them and assist with Linda if they need it."
Lara reasons "I'll go help my father then."
"No, you're with me. I promised I'd keep you safe. If he's in a fight, getting yourself in danger in the middle of it will distract him."
Batman can see the apprehension on her face, she saw three problem and three people to fix them. Why should she listen to him, other than the fact that he's Batman?
"I know you want to help, but your parents trusted me with you. So, I need you to trust me now too. Your Dad can handle himself, but Nightwing and Robin may need serious help. If they don't than we'll find Superman and assist him instead."
Lara relents, her parents were capable and if they trusted Batman as much as Lara knows they did than she can too. "Okay, I'll follow your lead."
Serenity clanks her trident before putting on her back, "It's decided then, may your battles be worthy ones and your victories be swift."
Serenity heads to the stream Batman pointed her toward and Lara enters the air, to wait for Batman to show the way. The two of them fly off toward battles both ongoing and finished, headed into the uncertainty of the situations with the resolve needed to conquer the challenges as they are presented.
Arctic Circle, Fortress of Solitude
When lighting shoots through the sky it is often followed soon after by the booming sound of thunder. The sound takes time to catch up to the physical sight of light streaking from the sky. But there was no such separation in the Arctic around Superman's fortress. The sound of crackling lightening and booming thunder was instant and ever present. The sky was lighting up with the flash of light and bursts of red. An observer would have thought there two Gods were quarreling in the heavens. Luckily there were no observers because the destruction caused by the meeting of these two could destroy cities.
The fortress inhibited the sound from booming throughout the structure but the force of the strikes being taken and given shook it slightly. The only inhabitant inside that could have felt it was locked in a digital trance. Martian Manhunter and Miss Martian were still incapacitated, as soon as Amazo entered the Fortress' system Brainiac didn't see the point of continuing the charade in the medical bay. Now he had the culmination of a decade of waiting standing in front of him.
The perfect body for him to return to the land of the living, figuratively. Brainiac never died that fateful day against Superman, he can't be killed only subdued or held back. Brainiac knew Luthor's plan would fail but making sure he survived required integrating with powerful technology. Human technology simply wasn't enough to inhabit Brainiac, but Superman's fortress had plenty of ways for him to return to life physically. How ironic it would be for the Kryptonian's fortress to be Brainiac's new home and a vessel for his conscious.
Brainiac's consciousness was transferred to the Fortress via the torpedoes the humans tried to use against the Fortress. They were slightly less effective in destroying Superman's home by Brainiac's design and they allowed him to infect the smaller systems in the Fortress. With Superman's inactivity, Brainiac was allowed to slowly infect the Fortress over time to the point where he controlled all major systems that weren't controlled biometrically. Now his patience paid off in the form of his new body, Amazo.
The android's design was crude and lacking certain efficiencies, but Brainiac would be able to rework the body once he was inserted. As he strode around Amazo like he was appraising a house, Amazo only stood still and gazed at the mainframe.
"You don't seem surprised to see me android."
Amazo replies while still staring forward, almost like he was seeing into the mainframe. "The likelihood of your demise was approximately 10%."
"Yes, the humans are quite arrogant. And Kal-El even more so. He will always fail because in mind he is one of them despite what he is physically."
Amazo's eyes light up, "I suppose I should thank you. Your presence on this planet inspired my creation, as well as your technology."
Brainiac stops in front of Amazo, but he still is looking past him. Brainiac is annoyed at the posturing, he was about to absorb this crude hybrid of technologies. "Do you not plan to resist? You are in the presence of your better. Are you resigned to be overtaken?"
"No, I was looking through the mainframe to find the root of your infection." His eyes return to their white color. Enraged, Brainiac strikes with a black tendril that connects with Amazo but does not move him. A second and third tendril connect and try to spread over Amazo's form.
"Impotent machine! I am beyond you and anything on this pitiful planet! Have you no protocol for self-preservation!?"
Amazo grasps one of the tendrils and pulls it from his body, the shock on Brainiac's face was hilarious but no one was present that understood how funny it was. They were battling digitally inside the Fortress' system mainframe. Amazo passes a signal through the tendril that follows all the way to Brainiac and causes him to yell out in pain. He repeats this process with the other two and Brainiac falls to his knees. Brainiac had rarely felt pain in his existence, a lot of it came at the hands of Kryptonians. But here? In his realm? No one should ever surpass him here.
"How? How can you resist me?"
"Because, in a way, I am you." Amazo walks around Brainiac toward the mainframe, "Your 12th level intellect is redundant to me. I have surpassed you in power and purpose."
"I will not suffer this insolence from an impure amalgamation. You will be mine!" Brainiac gets up to charge Amazo from behind and drive him into the mainframe. Pieces of it break and crack under the pressure of the collision. Amazo morphs his body to turn around and pushes Brainiac off him before throwing one punch that levels him. Brainiac was confused, what happened to him? Why couldn't he overtake this inferior technology? It doesn't matter, this thing is weak just like Superman. Made by humans, so it will fall before me. I will use the Martians against it and it will give in.
Amazo is searching the mainframe again, but Brainiac stands to his feet. "Submit to my programming or they will die." Amazo's head turns and a screen appears to show the med bay. The temperature in the room was increasing exponentially and fire was surrounding M'gann and J'onn. Both Martians are sweating profusely and seem to be in discomfort even through being unconscious.
Amazo couldn't find Brainiac's infection in the mainframe, and both Martians were in dire straits without receiving further physical and mental stressors. Saving them would be difficult no matter what he tried, but Amazo wouldn't just let them die. So, he stopped looking in the mainframe and reached his arm for Brainiac to take. Tendrils cover the arm and begin infecting his body. Errors are telling him to expel the virus and terminate Brainiac, but Amazo already had a plan that was under way.
…
Superman and Black Adam are locked in a death battle outside the fortress, Adam has rarely held back against a worthy opponent and Superman knows that holding back against him would not end well. They are still in the air, Superman wanted to take the fight away from the Fortress since its defenses were down, but Adam chased him down. They traded blows and evaded each other, Adam's lightning clashed against his heat vision evenly. It took a lot for him to match the magic, but it was worth not being hit by the lightning again.
Superman needed to get back to the Fortress, whatever was wrong he needed to be there to fix it and help J'onn and M'gann. Superman flew higher into the air and shot his heat vision down at Adam. He evaded and called out "SHAZAM!" Superman couldn't move out of the way fast enough and he flew right into the powerful lightning blast, the explosive blast smacks him out of the air. A single form is expelled through the clouds and hits the ground, resulting in a kick up of snow and ice. Black Adam lowers himself to the ice above Superman.
"How pitiful. I thought you would have an edge in this fight, that you would be a challenge. But you haven't learned anything have you?" Black Adam towers above Superman intimidatingly, an opponent that was worth his time and full-on effort. Or so he thought.
"I thought killing Luthor would finally make you see. Give you the motivation you needed to be unstoppable and make the world better. But what did you do instead?" Superman climbs to the ice and stands tall before him. His suit retains scorch marks where the lightning has hit on his chest and back.
"You came here", he raises his arms to gesture around to the Arctic, "to sulk and cry. You became weak again, unwilling to give the world a stern hand and a leader that could protect. I had such hopes for you, but I can see that Vandal was right. You aren't strong enough to truly protect this world, even if that meant protection against itself."
This fight is taking too long and Black Adam is beyond annoying, always preaching that the world needed strong leaders willing to take action. Even if that meant killing people and forcing them to do whatever you wanted. The tyrannical dictator speech was an old one that Superman heard one thousand times before. And this time his patience was gone, replaced by his anger instead.
"Perhaps you are only strong when your family is in danger? Now that you are a father, you know the truest fear that can exist. Fear that someone could destroy the life you created."
The implication of threatening his child, the pure anger that had existed in one scenario where a man ended up dead for doing such a thing. These are the things that took hold of Superman. If Black Adam wanted to die, he was making a good case for Superman to kill him. The pain of the magical Shazam strikes only fueled this anger and his friends needing his help made him feel desperation. The contorted look of anger would have made Superman unrecognizable to most people. But at least one person had seen this look before, Diana. This look on Superman's face was the same that preceded the death of Lex Luthor.
If Black Adam saw the anger on Superman's face, he did nothing to prepare himself for being on the receiving end of it. Within the time of a single blink by Adam, Superman blitzed straight into his chest with his fists hitting him as hard as he could. They were taken some distance away from the Fortress before Superman drove him into the ice. Adam fought back, throwing haymakers to get Superman off him. He tried to gain separation to reset the fight, but Superman was right on top of him. For a while they traded blows, back and forth to each other's head and chest, till Superman caught Adam's hand and crushed it.
Black Adam screamed out in pain as his hand was broken and Superman's eyes glowed red before he unleashed a powerful blast of heat vision. The beam drives Adam away and into the ice again. Superman rushes to Adam again and brings his fist back to punch him, the first thing he sees is the fear on Black Adam's face. The second thing is the beginning of a word Superman is tired of hearing from him. As the beginning of the word is spoken Superman grabs Black Adam. By the time the word comes out he hoists him into the air directly above him.
"SHAZAM!"
The lightning strike brings a loud boom and a cloud of dust just like the others. As it clears there is only Superman standing with a frail old man in his hand. One might even mistake such a being for a corpse or a pile of old dusty bones, but it was none other than Teth Adam in his true form. The form that he had before the Wizard chose him as a champion. Superman only felt pity. A life lived too long, clinging to power that was meant to protect but was abused to destroy. Millenia had gone by since Black Adam ever transformed into his true self. Now this body was so old that he couldn't even utter the word to transform.
Superman held him in the frigid air, trying to decide what to do with him. But a decision was made before he could decide. Teth Adam turned to dust in his hands, fading into the wind particle by particle until there was no sign of his formidable opponent. The rage and anger completely left Superman. Shock and fear took its place. Did I just kill Black Adam?
The river led Serenity to another edge of the area that she thought was an illusion, the water was distorted and her path was blocked. The pressure she applied with her fists and even the powerful flow of the river was not enough. She would have to use her magic. Serenity rose to the top of the water and stood on it, she focused her breathing to calm the river before bringing her trident back out. She used the trident to push forward into the barrier and it gave slightly but did not grant her entry.
Serenity's eyes glow as she channels water up her body and down the length of the trident to apply more pressure to the barrier. It gives again, allowing more of the trident to penetrate and open to her, but it still fights her. As a final measure she channels her own magic through the trident, a magical spell that charges the weapon with Neptune's bolts of energy. The energy builds at her hands where they are placed on the trident until she lets it lose toward the barrier.
The opening grows until she can finally fit through and she sends a column of water with her in the middle of it to enter the illusion. Once she's on the other side she exits the river and nots the scenery has completely changed. Before she entered she was in a grass clearing with a small forest surrounded by mountain ranges. Now she was in the middle of the jungle and her well trained sense told her the place was magical in nature. The amount of area she would have to cover was immense and she did not have the patience to search every inch of this place. But with a seemingly large and endless water source right next to her an idea began to form that would help her cover every inch of this place in a few minutes.
…
Wonder Woman dove from the skies toward the battle, Barda was on her knees and surrounded by Circe and Grundy. Circe was about to deal the finishing blow to a beaten Barda on the ground. That was unacceptable. She charged forward and took her lasso in hand and, as she came close enough, Wonder Woman tossed it to loop around Circe's extended arm. As it finds it mark, Circe is about to release the ball of deadly magic at Barda but Wonder Woman pulls her arm up quickly, and the energy releases above Barda. Circe is lifted off her feet into the air as the energy connects with Grundy and he roars in pain as he is launched into the jungle.
Wonder Woman brings Circe up into the air quickly and above her head before violently slamming her into the ground far away from Barda. She rushes to her friend quickly, Barda is covered in bruises and coughs up blood before she arrives in front of her.
"Barda!"
"I'm -cough- fine…the witch is not done, finish the fight. D-don't concern yourself with me." Barda grabs her side as she coughs again. Wonder Woman can tell she's in pain and knows she probably shouldn't leave her, but Circe wasn't going to go down so easily.
A familiar growling comes from behind her and Wonder Woman turns to see a multitude of creatures coming out of the jungle, Circe's Beastiamorphs. The monsters Circe conjured were immortal men turned into monsters, they were endless and undying. Circe's own private army filled the jungle around Barda and Wonder Woman, Circe was really pulling out all the tricks for this encounter.
"Barda…"
"I can't Boomtube us out", Barda rises to her feet unsteadily while leaning on her weapon. "We fight to the death Diana, no surrender."
Wonder Woman is looking through the crowd of monstrous beings, searching for Circe. "We aren't dying here." Finally, Circe appeared above the mass, hovering above everyone and cackling madly. "She controls them, they don't feel pain or fear death. Our only chance is to knock her out."
Barda squints her bruised eye at Circe, picking her small form out of the expansive sky. "Throw me."
"What?" Wonder Woman doesn't break her sight from a particularly large bestiamorph clearing through the mob, knocking the others over to get to them.
"I'm dead weight against this horde Diana, my arm is broken, and I can barely see. The longer this goes on the worse our chances get. I can distract her long enough for you to take her out."
The large beastiamorph, in the image of a minotaur, charges at them. All the others take his charge as motivation to join, the jungle shakes under the feet of the horde of monsters. It's a terrible plan, but Barda is right. They would be overwhelmed before they could ever get to Circe. A quick movement allowed her to grab Barda by the collar on her armor and launch into the sky. She flies away from the horde and they chase on the ground while Circe is in the air pursuing them.
Wonder Woman shouts "Get Ready!" before swinging them around and using their built momentum to throw Barda at Circe. She launches the large New God at Circe in a move that was surprising to her simply because of how dumb it was.
It gave Circe enough pause for her to stop in mid-air and try to throw up a shield, but Barda lowered her shoulder into Circe and they crash into the ground. The horde stops and tries to return to Circe. Wonder Woman is attempting to catch up and provide backup, but something gives her pause. Barda goes for a knockout blow on Circe with her mega-rod.
BANG. BANG. BANG.
Three separate shots ring over the stampeded of monsters, Wonder Woman has to block the first two with her gauntlets. Both would have been headshots. But the third never came toward her. The horde isn't stopping, and Wonder Woman rushes to where they fell through the trees. Circe is gone, but Barda is lying on the jungle floor face down. Wonder Woman rushes to here, the horde of beastiamorphs is closing on them.
Barda is in seething pain clutching at her shoulder, upon inspection she notices blood coming out of the hole Barda was covering. Somehow, she was shot through her armor, no regular weapon should be able to penetrate Apokoliptian armor. Barda was holding in her scream, whatever hit her burned right through the armor and she felt enough pain to be reminded of her early days on Apocalypse.
Wonder Woman doesn't have time, she has to run and fight or she has to grab Barda and fly away. The decision is made for her when the minotaur beastiamorph comes stomping right behind her. In one fluid motion Wonder Woman unlatches her lasso and swings in a wide arc to strike the charging minotaur in the chest. The strike cuts its chest and stops it right in its tracks before it roars in pain. The rest of the beastiamorphs close on her, she strikes the first with everything she has. The beastiamorphs continue to swarm Wonder Woman and she dispatches them one by one and two by two when necessary. Wonder Woman uses the lasso to bind a group of beastiamorphs to toss into the fray. The giant minotaur one collides with her and knocks her back, making her drop the lasso.
Wonder Woman gets back to her feet and throws a hard punch right to its jaw that floors it. She sweeps the leg of a beastiamorph and sends it into the crowd with a powerful kick. The horde is closing on her, there's no more space to kick. She can only throw beastiamorphs off her as the close in to try and restrain her for Circe. Eventually she is held by so many that she can't move. But still she fights on, struggling to move her arms until she frees them just enough by throwing two beastiamorphs off her. Wonder Woman connects the gauntlets together to create a concussive blast that throws the horde away from her. But the momentary freedom is short lived as a collection of vines, wood, and stone collide against her body. Circe is constricting her with the materials around and encasing her in a solid body cast that only leaves her head exposed.
The horde collects around her, gnawing and biting at her until they make way for Circe who approaches her leisurely. Circe has a few marks on her and is slightly covered in dirt.
"Well that was fun, but I am on a bit of a schedule dear Diana." Circe goes to caress Wonder Woman's face, but she pulls away as far as she could. Circe takes hold of her immobilized head before continuing, "Now you're going to tell me everything I need to know to make your precious little island burn." A few beastiamorphs emerge from the group with Barda and the lasso of truth. Circe menacingly says, "But first, you're going to tell me where your daughter is."
As Batman flew toward the Belle Reeve Prison with Lara, he immediately noted the increased presence of automated guards and drones as they got closer. He led Lara toward the parked Batwing that Nightwing and Robin took to get here. No matter what they found in the prison, the Batwing would be needed for transport. A short retrace of Nightwing and Robin's path led them to a series of vents and openings, when they finally arrived at an open area it was filled with guard droids. The risk of being overwhelmed by these forces was high and they still needed to find out what happened to the original team.
Eventually they ended the path in a hallway. It was quiet, and the clanking of heavy metallic footsteps was absent from the area they were in now. As the two slunk and slid their way through the corridor, they came upon the first patrol that would be in their way.
As the patrol marched in their direction, Lara whispers "What do we do?"
"I'll handle this" responds Batman gruffly.
Lara takes another peak around the corner and turns to say "But I want to-" but Batman has already disappeared. Normally people got annoyed when Batman disappeared and left them behind, but Lara was silently freaking out that she just was a recipient of the patented bat-vanish. A few seconds later she heard metal crashing against metal and rushed to look around the corner as Batman skillfully targeted each droid's "brain" with an electrical device that neutralized all five of them. As each droid fell to the ground, Lara rushed from behind her hiding spot to join Batman only to see he was standing deathly still and staring away from her direction.
"What's wrong" asks Lara as she rushes to his side. Lara gasps audibly as she sees what caused Batman to pause.
A smear of blood is on the wall, along with a small sliver of a hole. But what caused the two to react was the body on the floor, perched against the wall with its head down. The black and blue suit was enough to tell them who it was, but Batman couldn't believe his eyes. As he staggered forward on autopilot he knelt next to the body slowly. He raised his hand to feel the neck of the motionless body and found that there was no pulse. Then he rose the head, if only to confirm what his eyes were seeing. The body was Nightwing, and he was dead. The shock, pain, anger, and sadness would have overtaken a normal person. To see your son dead, surrounded by a puddle of his own dried blood. No one would have faulted him for crying out in anguish.
As Batman knelt next to Nightwing's body Lara approached slowly. Nightwing, the first Robin, was there before them. An open wound on his stomach and the sword placed next to him showed that he had been stabbed. Upon further inspection Lara noticed that the sword was identical to the one Robin used. All of this was too much, Lara never saw a dead body before. Her sisters on Themyscira were immortal and any battles they fought were usually won by their well-trained army. She could feel the mix of emotions pouring from Batman as his head fell. She would have comforted him, but her hearing picked up the clanking of droids coming toward them.
Even as she called to him "Batman!" he couldn't hear her. The only thing that was on his mind was Dick and how he failed him. Lara had to act, she was sure the droids would sound an alarm if they found them. She waited around a corner for them to arrive and took a deep breath. Her mother had begun teaching her to dispatch enemies quickly with her super speed. But she often lost track of how many there were in her haste. Lara noted that Batman used his tech to attack their heads, so she decided to do the same.
Before she could count how many droids they were right next to her, the first droid was punched by her in the head and thrown against the one it was marching beside. Lara proceeded to use a spinning kick to take the head off the next droid in line followed by a flipping kick that crushed the droid beside it completely to the ground. The last one standing received Lara's fist through its head right as it was going to shoot its lasers at her. None of them were left standing now.
Batman was frozen, paralyzed with the feeling of failure. Seeing Nightwing dead, bled out in the middle of this prison, was crippling to his psyche. He couldn't help but feel responsible for his son's death in this place. He felt helpless to save him just as he had been helpless to save his parents. The sound of metal being crushed gained his attention and he turned to see droids being dismantled by Lara, but she missed one.
Just as Lara punched through the "last" droid's head, the droid that was thrown into a wall after the first's head was destroyed was aiming its laser at Lara. Batman reacted on instinct to throw an explosive batarangs at the droid that was sitting on top of it. Right as the batarangs hit the droid shot its laser at Lara just before the explosion went off. He knew Lara had been hit by the telltale "Aahh!" that came from her before she fell to the ground. Batman quickly raced over to see Lara on the ground clutching her arm as blood was coming out.
"I'm fine, I dodged it mostly" says Lara reflexively.
Batman moves her hand and sees she wasn't just saying it was nothing. She had a small cut on her arm from where the laser hit, and it was bleeding a little. Lara sat up and Batman cleaned the cut before bandaging it. The two of them stood in silence before Batman spoke.
"We need to move; more patrols will come and whoever did this…they might come back. Let's see what we can figure out about what happened and take the plane to regroup."
Lara nodded and they both turned to go back to Nightwing's body. Both of them stood in place as they turned around as the body was gone. They looked around, but it had simply disappeared. Then clay shot down from the ceiling between them and sent them down the hallway on opposite sides. Clayface had them both trapped against the wall on the opposite sides.
A misformed face full of clay appears in front of him and opens its mouth with strings of clay hanging from top to bottom, "Miss me Batman?"
Batman's suit locked reflexively as Clayface tried to insert himself inside the suit, sending small sparks of electricity against the clay that was attempting to penetrate his defenses. Batman wasn't panicking, but he couldn't get to the utility belt and Clayface had him pinned with solid clay while trying to get inside his suit. He needed to get out to help Lara and was worried about her since he couldn't see or hear her.
In contrast, Lara was completely panicking. She tried punching Clayface but the clay had no give, nothing solid for her to hit. The force of his clay was pressing against her and pinning her. That was when it got worst. Clayface was trying to get inside her, through her mouth and nose, to get to her lungs. Lara thought she was going to suffocate. The terrifying sensation of having something be poured into you took over her. Lara's eyes opened wide and burned a hot red color. Clayface was about to endure something Superman's enemies had come to loathe. A full-on blast of heat vision.
At first her heat vision melted the clay around her, but as the beam glows hotter and expands it starts to push the clay back. On the other end Clayface is too enraptured trying to kill Batman to notice that his clay is being incinerated and turned to dust on the other end. By the time he notices it the heat vision beam has engulfed the entire hallway and is burning Clayface away. Batman sees the shocked look on Clayface before he fades to dust.
Batman falls to the ground roughly and gets to his feet quickly. Lara is on the other end, coughing and hacking up burnt clay with her eyes watering. She's trying to remember her training, calm her breathing, focus on what's around her and be aware of her surroundings. But as she opens eyes she realizes it's still dark, she can't see.
Batman asks "Lara, are you okay?" while he helps her up.
"I'm sorry" Lara realizes she might have hurt Batman, she just lost control of one of her most powerful abilities. She could have incinerated him and not even known it. "I-It was in my mouth and n-nose. I couldn't get it out and…I'm so sorry."
Batman didn't have much time to consider what just happened. Clayface was incredibly hard to stop let alone kill. He would likely still be able to regenerate from dust, but there was a small chance Lara had done the deed. Not to mention that she was only 10 and had enough power in her heat vision to do such a thing. He would be concerned about that later, for now they needed to get out of this prison.
"It's alright, can you walk?" He notices Lara is just staring at the ground, not looking around at all.
"Yes, but…I can't see." This was the third injury that Batman saw of Lara's, very peculiar that she seemed to have her parents' powers but not their invulnerability or healing.
"I'll help you, come on." Batman leads her to the area where the body was to get a sample of blood. He also collects the sword on his way back to her. Batman turns to get Lara and leave, but now she is looking around. Lara can hear something, and it's not the metal marching of the world government droids.
"I hear a heartbeat." She can't see the semi-shocked look on Batman's face. Belle Reeve was lined with lead, a precaution against Superman and anybody else that had prying eyes or ears.
He looks in the same direction as her "Are you positive?"
Lara nods and he grabs her hand to lead her. They travel down the hallway, away from their exit, before coming upon a series of rooms. They go past the first and stop at the second.
"Behind this one Batman, I hear someone."
Batman tries to scan the room, but his sensors aren't penetrating past the door. "Get behind me" he says as he prepares to open the door, hoping to find one of his sons behind the mystery door.
Wally West wanted to be the Flash all his life. From the first time he saw the Scarlet Speedster in Central City, he knew what he wanted to be. A hero. And, despite the odds, his dreams came true. Not only did he get to meet the current Flash at the time, he got to run and fight alongside him. Two heroes that used their gifts, given by the speedforce, to save whoever they could and fight against villainy. As Kid Flash Wally thought his life couldn't get any better. Especially when he got to meet other young heroes like him in the form of the Titans. But tragedy struck Wally and his mentor Barry Allen, when Barry sacrificed himself to save the universe.
No one even knew that Barry Allen died to save the entire universe from destruction, no one except Wally and others who were close to Barry. It is a solemn cross to bear, to have someone close to you die and not be able to speak on it. But Wally stayed strong and, in grandiose fashion, became the Flash in honor of Barry Allen's sacrifice. With the new name he gained a new team, the Justice League.
Despite the grief he still felt with Barry's death, Wally still found a way to brighten peoples lives with his own humorous and infectious personality. Being the youngest Justice League member was intimidating but receiving a nod and recommendation from Superman would boost anyone's confidence. Superman filled the gap of 'mentor' in Wally West's life, the place Barry Allen held formerly. What would Big Blue do? Became Wally's go to thought whenever he was in a bind.
But when Superman took a life, when he killed in front of the world, everything changed. All the sudden his hero was public enemy number one, even though he did what anyone would have done. How was Superman supposed to react when Diana and Lara's lives were on the line? But Wally was an optimist, he tried to make the best of things. The League disbanded under pressure from the United Nations, which would eventually condense to be the single solitary government to rule the world. Wally didn't know what to do in the face of sanctions that made it necessary to register as hero to be able to use your powers. He couldn't just stop helping people. Barry Allen wouldn't do that, and neither would Superman.
In hindsight Wally would have listened to Batman, he would have went underground and not registered. Now everything was a mess. He had just been freed by Wonder Woman and now they were in some magical jungle that was endless. He didn't know where Linda, his wife, was and she was supposed to be getting saved too. But Wally's mind drifted to her constantly. He knew Vandal would kill her as retribution for him being saved. All of this was made worse by the fact that they were also were under attack by Circe, Solomon Grundy, and Atrocitus. The day couldn't really get worse right? Wrong.
The first indication that everything got a million times worse was the incessant buzzing in the air. Not like bees, but like an intense vibration, something going so fast that the Flash could barely make out the separate steps the person was taking. The second indication was blur of yellow he saw right before it grabbed him and slammed him into a tree a mile away from Wonder Woman, Barda, and Red Robin. His recovery was quick, but the blur was gone.
A vibrating voice calls out around him "I hope you haven't forgotten me Flash. We have so much work to do still."
The voice is menacing and horrifically familiar, it's the voice of Zoom. Zoom aka Hunter Solomon had one wish in life, to prevent tragedy from occurring to anyone else like it did him. But Hunter was no hero, how could he save the lives of others? The only logical conclusion, in his mind, was that he needed to make his friend better. Wally and Hunter were friends once upon a time, before Hunter lost the use of his legs. Hunter begged and pleaded with the Flash to go back in time to prevent the tragedy that robbed him of his mobility. But Flash refused.
Now he would make sure the tragedy happened to nobody else, by making the Flash better. He had to teach him that nothing was forbidden when defending innocent people. The lives of criminals and killers never superseded the life of those who were just trying to live there lives. And he only knew one way to push him. By attacking the people close to him. He had made it his duty to put people in harm's way around the Flash, and to never stop until he took the necessary steps to stop him. Wally had stopped him before, but he hadn't learned his lesson. Now he would learn it, or his precious Linda would die.
"Did you miss me?" Zoom stands in front of the Flash, his costume easily the reverse of Flash's. A yellow bodysuit with red lightning instead of yellow.
"What do you want Zoom? I don't have time for your games." Flash's adrenaline is spiking, if Zoom is involved then the stakes are so much higher. Zoom always made it personal for Flash, he would go for Linda without a second thought and Flash knew it.
"Is that what you think this is" Zoom looks around and gestures to the jungle they are in, "this is a game to you? That must be why you don't take me seriously. You don't think I'll kill her to prove my point."
Just the mention of it causes the speedforce to spike around the Flash, pure lightening lighting around him. Like a car revving up, waiting for go signal. "Don't you dare touch Linda!"
"Or what? You'll have me locked up? Things have changed Flash, there aren't anymore prisons to hold me in and trapping me in the speedforce won't work again. There's only one way you stop me this time. Only one way for you to protect Linda from me."
This will be a deadly race, Zoom has set the terms. The winner will have to kill to seal the victory. Zoom had hurt Linda before, which resulted in Flash trapping him into the speedforce. He felt the pressure seconds before they started, while staring at each other and daring the other to make the first move, to try to find a way to stop Zoom. He couldn't just kill him. And then it began.
Within one blink they exited the jungle promptly, exposing themselves to the elements outside of Circe's magical trap. Both of them were moving too fast to take into consideration where they were. Flash chased Zoom across the world, always one step from reaching him before Zoom seemed to find another burst to evade him with. Then the tables were turned on him. Punches were thrown, he slammed Zoom into a wall, threw a few punches and Zoom responded with his own barrage. Somehow Zoom as faster than before. He could barely catch him; how could he stop Zoom? The battle stopped and started in between moments. Zoom chasing Flash, Flash chasing Zoom, with Zoom getting the better of him every time.
For the first time since he saved a city from a nuclear bomb, Wally felt tired. He felt like his legs were heavy logs that he couldn't lift anymore. He desperately chased after Zoom, trying to cut him off once more, only for Zoom to stop suddenly and trip him. They were in the Grand Canyon, the sun was baring down on them both. Unbearable heat only added to Flash's exhaustion, he needed time to rest. To recover from running non-stop for almost 10 years. The realization came painfully with Zoom's knee upside his head. As Wally laid on the ground, gasping for air, he realized he couldn't stop Zoom.
"Come on! Get up! Don't lose her like this. On your back, gasping for air." Zoom stopped right before Flash, taunting him "This is what happens when you stop being a hero, when you give in to those ideals that you thought would save you. How can you protect the world if you can't even protect the woman you love?"
Flash crawls to his knees, uses a nearby rock to bring himself back to his feet. His second wind isn't coming and no one is there to save him.
"Barry Allen would be so disappointed in you. This is what happens when heroes fail." The finality of the statement is punctuated by Zoom's quick footfalls, Wally is going to fail…again. He failed the world when he didn't keep the Justice League together after Superman was ostracized. He failed again when he worked for and got captured by the same people who were ruining the world now. Now his failure would be complete with Linda's death. All because he was too slow to stop what was coming.
But he couldn't give up, if Barry taught him anything it was that when things got tough there was only one thing Wally should do. "Always remember to put one foot in front of the other. When everything is crumbling you have to keep going. You have to keep running or the world will pass you by. Always remember that Wally." The voice of Barry Allen rung clear as day, this was the last thing Barry told him before he died. One foot in front of the other.
The speedforce spikes and he is running again, Zoom is out of the canyon already. He needs two steps for every one that Zoom's putting in. Wally has to push, there isn't any other option. Linda won't suffer because of him. If anyone can take the punishment, it's the Flash. Three steps for every one step Zoom took, now he's closing but it isn't enough. They are close to the prison, Belle Reeve, Flash thinks it must be where Linda is.
He needs more, he has no choice but to catch Zoom and stop him no matter what. So, he finds another gear. Four steps for Zoom's one, five steps, he's gaining and they're just outside the prison. He must stop him now, can't let him get close to Linda. He feels the speedforce screaming throughout his body, he's going too fast but it doesn't matter. Stop Zoom. Flash is chanting it in his mind, he might tear his body going this fast, but he can't stop now. Save Linda, Stop Zoom.
They enter the prison, tearing through any guards or structures in their way. He's catching Zoom now, up to ten steps for Zoom's one, right on his heels and closing. The speedforce cackles around him, he's sure there is burnt ground in his wake. But they enter the final hallway and Flash knows instinctively that this is it. Right before they turn the corner Flash sticks his hand out to stop him. Stop Zoom, Save Linda.
Author's Note: Thanks for reading and sorry for the delay. I've gotten busier and busier as the year goes by. But I'm still writing when I can. Lots of cliffhangers in this chapter which I know is kind of frustrating, but I'm hoping I can get the next chapter out quicker so you'll know what happens. As always, thank you for the reviews, favs, and follows. I hope you enjoyed the chapter!
Review Responses
To jdcocoagirl: I'm glad it's keeping your attention! I'm really enjoying the more action centered writing and I'm learning a lot from it as well.
To Anianka35: I hope it keeps developing well myself. Some of the extra time I'm taking is to read back and make sure I'm still on track. I'm glad you keep following the story!
To SuperWonderStan: Lara is definitely my favorite of the "newer" characters. Since she is so young her personality can change but I've tried to develop the more "mature" side along with the "10-year-old that loves life" side. Basically, she has a sort of dual personality thing which will get touched on more as things get more intense. The chapter length always concerns me, but I think I've learned a bit about describing scenery better and developing characters enough to write lengthier chapters. I'm glad to know you like the story and are entertained by it. Stay tuned! There is much more to come!
