Outside Spiffany's, Metropolis
One minute they're clapping and in the next, all mayhem's broken loose. Ronnie can only watch in shock as his arch-nemesis Multiplex, who he knew as soon as he'd appeared seemingly out of nowhere, grabs the Mayor by the throat, barely hearing him utter, "Just call me Multiplex, sir," before he hurling him towards his bodyguards, knocking them all down in one go.
Jeez! Is this guy joined to me by the hip or what? I can't even go on a field trip without him showing his black-spandex face! The voice inside his head exclaims, his attention suddenly back on his classmates and teacher when he hears the police enter the scene by the sound of their sirens. Also, Multiplex has just duplicated himself several times, ordering them to stand guard while he, and a few of his duploids, ransacks Spiffany's of all its expensive inventory.
His teacher and his classmates are already running in the direction of the police officers' shouts, ordering them to get way behind the cars and to stay clear of the area. That's good, I can use that to my advantage, Ronnie tells himself as he keeps a lookout to make sure Cliff, or anyone else for that matter, isn't looking in his direction. They're not, thankfully, so it's the perfect chance for Ronnie to 'disappear'.
Sprinting into a nearby alley that provides him with the cover he needs, Ronnie silently apologizes to Martin Stein for what he's about to do, hoping that he's not in the middle of one of his experiments, before he transforms into Firestorm, dubbed 'The Nuclear Man', in a flash of radioactive light purely by his act of will.
"What now, Ronnie? You do realize that I was in a middle of something important. If I don't return soon, I'll probably find my lab in millions of pieces!" He isn't truly angry, but Ronnie can tell by the sound of his voice that he's a little annoyed of the current situation. "I truly am sorry for that Martin, but Firestorm's needed. It appears that Multiplex had chosen Metropolis as his new stomping grounds as he's robbing a barely reopened jewellery store as we speak." Firestorm informs him as he takes to the air in the direction of the commotion, the activation of his powers surrounding him in an aura of nuclear energy.
Flying overhead, he can see that the area's now been cleared, and that most of it is covered with, hopefully, unconscious bodyguards and police officers from their attempts to hinder Multiplex's duploids. Also, if his eyes aren't deceiving him, he can also see two costumed individuals readying themselves to advance, one he recognizes from the newspapers.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't the Green Arrow, but who's the other guy in the cape? Never seen him before," Firestorm asks, knowing that Martin will respond, "Does it really matter? Against Multiplex, you should be thankful to have allies on your side for a change." Even though he can't see it, Ronnie can tell that Martin's smiling at the idea.
"Okay…then I best go down there and introduce myself."
Down below Green Arrow and Nightwing are already advancing to the entrance of Spiffany's, planning to take down this super-villain as quickly as possible, to guarantee that no-one else gets hurt apprehending him.
"You know," Nightwing utters, soft enough for his boyfriend to hear, but not loud enough for anyone else, "I could just use my super-speed and take them all out, main guy included." He finishes with a smirk before witnessing Ollie taking out the three guys with his 'trick-arrows', in this case, stun arrows.
"What? And take all the fun and glory? You wound me," Green Arrow beams, pearly whites on show, pressing a palm to his chest as though Nightwing's suggestion had broken his heart. A second later, they both see that the trio Green Arrow had just put down has now multiplied by three, now facing nine more than they'd originally started with.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding," Green Arrow sighed, as the duploids begin to advance, their eyes on the two superheroes, "This is going to be a lot harder than we initially thought." He then reaches behind and takes out another three arrows; this time net ones, and fires upon the small group, intending to ensnare them so they can't duplicate via physical contact from himself and Clark.
It seems to work at first, but doesn't count on the fact that they all have superhuman strength on their side, ripping the net away like tissue paper. Back on their feet the duploids continue to advance, now seeming to look like a small army, all huddling together, as the two superheroes turn to plan B.
Taking in a long, deep breath, Nightwing exhales it into his super-breath, blowing them away with its gale force-like effects. Flying through the air like rag-dolls, they land hard against the ground, some even fly through the windows of Spiffany's, glass flying everywhere and drawing the attention of the real Multiplex.
"It's come to my attention that I have some uninvited guests," he spoke amongst the quiet of the store, turning to face the front entrance, to see that just outside he can see two costumed characters; one's garbed in green, the other navy-blue. "And what's this? More costumed do-gooders to beleaguer me! No matter! Let my duploids deal with them!" And after saying that, Multiplex clones more of himself, separating from his body in the same function as cells do in the human body. By the time he's done, he's slightly weaken, having just duplicated fifteen or more as well as maintaining the ones he'd done before. Fortunately he will regain his strength in a matter of minutes.
Back outside the duploids that Nightwing had just taken down with his super-breath are now getting up, accompanied by the ones Multiplex had just created just seconds ago. Now the two are facing a small army.
"It looks like the odds are stacked against us, Green Arrow," Nightwing replies, but doesn't appear intimidated by the horde, more like enthused. "2 against 24, to my count." He raises his hands up to chest level in a defensive stance, clenching them into fists, ready to take them down by any means necessary. Green Arrow does the same, reaching back into his quiver and taking out three glue arrows this time, in an attempt to at least stall them while they think of a suitable plan.
Suddenly, several bolts of unknown energy descended from the sky, and the two superheroes gaze up to see a man garbing a red-and-yellow costume with a sun emblem over his heart, and a corona of fire burning brightly above his head, as though it was his hair. "Make that 3 against 24!" He informs as he flies down, emitting another barrage of energy bolts from his hands, resulting in scattering the duploids all over the place.
Once they're grounded for the moment, the brightly-coloured superhero flies over to Green Arrow and Nightwing, who let their guard down while the duploids are incapacitated, eager to find out who this mysterious superhero is. When Firestorm touches ground a few feet in front of them, he openly sticks his hand out, offering them to shake it as he introduces himself, "Greetings fellow superheroes. The name's Firestorm, and it's going to be a pleasure to fight alongside others like myself."
At first Green Arrow and Nightwing don't answer, too amazed at the obvious fact that, other than the members of the Justice League, there are other heroes with incredible powers fighting the good fight. Then Nightwing manages to reply with a, "It's seems we're going to need all the help we can get taking down this guy." He nods in the direction of Spiffany's before continuing, "I'm Nightwing by the way, and this is…," but Firestorm hastily interrupts him with a smile on his face, "Green Arrow. Yeah, I've heard of you, but you are a mystery." He glances back at Nightwing, whose eyebrows are creasing in confusion.
"That's probably because he's a newbie. Just starting out as it were, aren't ya Nightwing?" Green Arrow answers, giving him a good slap on the back, Nightwing answering with a simple, "Yeah."
Their little conversation's put on hold for the moment when two of Multiplex's duploids tackle Firestorm from out of nowhere, pinning him to the ground with their superhuman strength while the others charge at Green Arrow and Nightwing.
"Guess we'll have to continue this discussion later," Green Arrow grins, eager to get back into the battle, and leaving the introductions and questioning until afterwards. Pulling back on his bow's string, he unleashes all three glue arrows at the same time, landing on the ground several yards away.
Almost immediately, the round arrowheads explode, covering the ground with white, sticky goop within a small radius. It also manages to capture several of the duploids at once, stopping them in their tracks as they try to break away from its impenetrable hold.
"Huh, well whaddya know. I didn't think that was actually going to work." However, he isn't left to wonder for long because three more of the goons are pursuing him, Green Arrow reaching into his quiver to pull out another trick arrow; hopefully a useful one because he doesn't have time for second chances.
Beside him, several feet away, Nightwing's utilizing his own superhuman strength to punch the duploids skywards like they're nothing to him, slamming into car roofs and doors, walls and through shop windows, but every time he does, more keep appearing in their place. Sooner or later, they're going to overwhelm him and the others, and they need to think of something fast before that happens.
Meanwhile, still pinned to the ground, Firestorm utilizes his ability to phase through solid objects, and afterwards soars into the sky to give himself a few seconds to breathe. As predictable as ever, the duploids fly after him, dodging his blasts of nuclear energy in his attempt to buy him time, time to think of something, anything to help them in their crowded situation.
Back down below, Nightwing takes in a lot of air before unleashing it in a blast of gale force-like wind, blowing most of the duploids back into the air and landing hard on the concrete just outside Spiffany's. Immediately after Green Arrow fires four arrows into the air before their tips burst and rain down on the fallen duploids large black nets that were strong enough to hold down an African elephant.
However, there were still those that Firestorm's busy dealing with up in the sky and there are those two that evaded Nightwing's super-powered breath, and are now flying towards Green Arrow, hooking him by his underarms, ascending him into the air.
He can only observe as they take his lover higher than the highest building in Metropolis in a speed that only he can surpass. Firestorm's too busy firing off blasts of nuclear energy and utilizing intangibility to make sure that they're not going to get the drop on him. I've only got seconds before the air gets thin up there and then Ollie's only got the time he can hold his breath before he needs to breathe and asphyxiates. Time to make my move.
Genuflecting just a little to give him enough momentum, he pushes off quickly, bounding into the air like a shuttle taking off, catching up with the captors in no time at all. He can see that Green Arrow's already having trouble breathing, observing his mouth as he opens up to gasp in some air, but finding none.
Urging himself forward, Nightwing exploits his heat vision just hot enough so when it hit one of the duploids' shoulder, it causes him to let go, using that to grab his leg and swing him back down to earth. The other one's a little more difficult to deal with. He's got his arm wrapped around Green Arrow's neck, cutting off his ability to breathe, making it harder for him to, and judging by what Nightwing had seen, they also possess superhuman strength, but hopefully not as strong as he is.
Grabbing the duploid by his ankle, he pulls him down, wanting to fight him at his level. The duploid kicks out, trying to hit him in the face, knock him down, but Nightwing's too fast. Using this to his advantage, Nightwing rolls away from the attack, elbowing him in the face with enough force to break his nose and let go of Green Arrow.
Now he's only got a minute, maybe less, to deal with this duploid and catch Green Arrow before he impacts with the ground, and he definitely doesn't want that to happen. The duploid goes for another attack, this time trying to punch him, but Nightwing's just as fast, grabbing it and wrenching it behind his back. Then, using his superhuman speed, spins on a spot looking like a spinning top before he lets go, sending the duploid further into space, knowing that it's just a carbon copy of the real threat they're dealing with, watching it evaporate into thin air.
Now his next problem's Green Arrow, who's still plummeting and now unconscious from lack of oxygen. Diving down after him, he makes it to Green Arrow in a matter of seconds, cupping him in his arms, looking down at him, and thanking God that he's not hurt and still breathing. He also doesn't realize that he's flying, slowly hovering back down to earth, never looking away from his sleeping 'angel'.
Once the city of Metropolis' back in view, it's at this moment that Green Arrow opens his eyes, wondering why he feels so light and why he's got a pounding headache. Looking to his right, he finds Clark still in his 'Nightwing' costume, holding him bridal style as though it's their wedding night. He looks the other way and notices that they're very high above the buildings of Metropolis, and that Clark's actually flying!
"Cl-Clark? Are you…flying?" He manages to utter, still dozy from being without oxygen for a limited time, which he hears Clark answer with a soft, "Yeah, I guess I am," that cute smile that causes Ollie's stomach to flutter like butterflies following afterwards.
Continuing to slowly descend, the two costumed heroes are joined by Firestorm, who flies up to their level, but isn't being tailed by the duploids. Did he take care of the problem all by himself? I'll definitely give him credit for it if he did.
"Are you two alright?" He asks, genuine concern in his voice, "After I saw them take ya up into the sky, I thought I could ditch the dupes who were chasing me and go after ya, but they just kept coming. Thank God you can also fly." He replies to Nightwing, who's staring down at Green Arrow and smiles, "Yeah, it is."
"So, did you take care of Multiplex or whoever that guy said he was?" Green Arrow enquires, both of them looking at Firestorm, watching him shake his head, a little disappointment etched on his face, "Nah, I was too busy trying to fend off the dupes and he managed to escape before I could give him a few beatings."
"Look, don't beat yourself up about it. It's happens and besides, we need to respite and figure out what our next plan of action is. Try and catch this guy when he least expects it." Clark replies, enjoying holding Ollie in his arms, admitting to himself that he doesn't get to do it often because either their work keeps them on overtime or their vigilante jobs as superheroes takes up most of their free time, leaving only the weekend and the few hours left of the day to spend together.
"And I know just the place."