With an arm raised, John Stewart fired blast after blast at his opponent. Such an attack was pretty effective when in a fight. It gave him the advantage of long distance.
The problem, however, was that they weren't doing anything.
The strange-looking woman before him took the blasts head on. One beam seemed to rip through her shoulder, leaving the arm dangling by a string of meat and flesh, only for the damage to repair itself, the arm filling itself in until it normal again. Another beam tore through her chest, leaving a large hole in its wake, yet her body just closed the hole as if it were nothing. Even weirder was that it wasn't like the repairs were done with a fluid-like substance that hardened, but more like a gas that jumped right into solidity.
What kind of shapeshifter was this?
"This isn't fun anymore," the woman—Element Woman she called herself—complained. She then raised both of her arms up, John stopping his barrage as he stared at her. "It's my turn!"
Her mismatched arms turned blue then, jiggling with the consistency of water right before a torrent of the alleged fluid blasted towards the Green Lantern. John's eyes widened right before he tried to form a shield construct; however, he was a step too slow. Before he could raise his defense, the torrent of water slammed into him, lifting him off the floor, and sending him flying back. He was unable to cry out as his mouth was filled with water—salt water, now that he got a taste of it. His back soon slammed into the concrete wall, causing a spider's web of cracks to form behind him. The water soon stopped, which left the man to drop to his feet, and subsequently his knees, his hands and arms bracing up against the floor to keep him from fully collapsing onto it.
Over and over, John coughed and gagged, trying to catch his breath even as he spat the salt water out. This was looking like a true challenge for him. It had been a long time since he fought someone without knowing their capabilities, the Red Lantern Corp notwithstanding. He didn't know much of this shapeshifter, but her abilities were hard to predict.
Tilting his head up, he scowled at the woman as her arms returned to their stone and clay-colored forms. Shifting one leg up so that he was kneeling on one knee, a hand pressed on top of his bent knee, he then raised his ring up and took aim at her. If blasting her into pieces wasn't working, he needed a new tactic.
Green light fired from the ring, the green construct of a missile forming instantly. The missile flew through the air right towards Element Woman, who watched it closing in on her. "This is a new one!" she exclaimed excitedly.
Then, a moment before the missile hit her, it detonated, sending an explosion that blew her off her feet and through the air towards the other side of the parking garage. A green aura glowing around him, John lifted up into the air before he charged ahead.
He caught up soon with Element Woman, who he found just landing on her feet on the floor, where she began skidding across it. Firing another beam of energy, this one hit the woman, only to envelop her in a green glow. Coming to a stop in midair, John then flung his arm up, which caused the green light to go up as well, along with Element Woman. Her body slammed into the ceiling, the crunching sound of concrete filling the air.
Not finished, John then swung his arm down, which forced his foe to crash down hard on the floor. With a finishing touch, he then raised his arm slight, but threw it to a side, which in turn sent Element Woman flying through the air, following along with the arc of the Green Lantern's arm. She ended up slamming into another wall, bursting through it, and leaving a large hole in her wake.
There, that should've done it.
Floating through the air, John moved to hover before the hole, trying to see his foe through it. Before he reached it, however, a large stream of fire shot through the opening. "Whoa!" he shouted as he dodged to a side, the flames and heat licking at him as it passed by.
The moment the fire died down, Element Woman stepped through the hole, a frown on her face. "That wasn't very nice," she said disapprovingly. One of her arms looked like living flames as it crackled, danced, and burned.
"It wasn't supposed to be," John growled at her before he took aim with his ring again. Alright, so blasting her didn't work, blunt force hadn't worked—it seemed he was going to have to get up close and personal. He rapidly fired three green beams, each of which hit the floor by Element Woman's feet, causing a cloud of smoke and dust to kick up in front of her, blinding her to him.
Immediately, John drew his arm back and formed another construct with his ring, this one being a long, wicked-looking blade. Rushing forward, he thrust his arm forward just as he reached the smokescreen, his blow striking true as he felt his arm jerk and come to a sudden stop, a pained gasp coming from his target. As the smoke cleared, John found himself standing on the ground, Element Woman right before him, his blade buried in her chest and extending out her back.
Oh, yeah, he had her now. She was as good as dead.
Element Woman stared down at the construct stabbing her, looking at it in disbelief. Slowly, she looked up at him, her mouth hanging open as if she wanted to say something, but was unsure of what to say. Every other second a choked gag was made. John would've said she was paling, but her face was already white.
And then her face turned yellow. Hmm, that was a little strange, but perhaps this was how her body showed blood loss or impending death. At least, that's what he thought right before she sucked some air in and then blew it at him. Rather than a stream of air from her mouth lightly caressing him, her entire face became a large cloud of yellow smoke, which blew into his face. Immediately, John sucked in the smoke before immediately coughing. He ended up stumbling back a couple steps, his green blade pulling out of Element Woman and vanishing as he raised his hand to cover his mouth, coughing over and over.
"You know, I was told you were a bad guy," Element Woman suddenly spoke, not sounding as if she had just been impaled in the chest. Cracking his closed eyes open, John saw through teary and irritated eyes a distinct lack of a bloody hole in her torso, something that caused alarms to go off in his head. "Now I see it is true. I wasn't always like this you know, able to make any chemical compound with my body."
Chemical?! Already, John didn't like where this was going.
"I can remember a time you were called a hero, a good guy. But now I know you're bad. No good guy goes for a killing stroke because he can." Her face returned to its normal white color, though that wasn't all it changed to. Her mouth began to grow wider as sharp teeth extended out, her eyes becoming demonic.
"Ahhh!" John shouted as he jumped backwards, right before aiming his ring hand up and blasting the ceiling right above Element Woman. The blast caused large chunks of concrete to fall right on top of her, crushing her beneath its weight.
Panting for a moment, the Green Lantern quickly caught his breath. She had done something to him with that yellow smoke, he was sure of it. Was it a poison? Yeah, it had to be. He could feel something was off with his body. Too bad he couldn't ask Element Woman what it was though.
At least, that's what he thought until he noticed smoke beginning to pour out through the cracks and between the pieces of rubble. Columns emerged all over the pile before they all moved towards the side closest Green Lantern. Right before him, the smoke merged with each other until the head of Element Woman formed. It was only the head, mind you, floating there with a cloud of smoke wafting behind it. "That was fun!" she shouted, much to his shock. Soon, the rest of her body began to form until she was standing in front of him again, looking no worse for wear. "Do you want to do it again?"
"What the hell are you?!" John exclaimed.
"I'm Element Woman!" she proclaimed proudly, hands pressing into her hips. "The Ultimate Survivalist! I can adapt my body to any and all environments, or at least that's what my project was supposed to do. It's worked, you know!"
"You don't say. What else can you do? Make poisons?"
She eagerly nodded. "I can, but I wouldn't. Killing is bad, you know. Now, I think you're getting at that lovely compound I blew into your face. Well, there's a funny story to that: I didn't even come up with it! Batman told me this formula once and had me practice it. He told me what it did, but he didn't really have to, you know. I am an accomplished chemist; I know a hallucinogen when I see one."
That got John's attention. It couldn't be…
No, it could. That yellow smoke was the fear gas the vigilante had used on him at Etemenanki. So, he thought he could use the same trick twice? Yeah, right.
"Well, it's not going to work," John warned her as he assumed a stance, one arm hovering in front of him as he drew his ring hand back, holding it up by his head. "You just told me what I'm dealing with; it won't work on me."
Element Woman tilted her head to a side, her pink hair falling down her shoulder. "It won't? Well, how about this?"
Suddenly, her entire body gradually turned black. In fact, she seemed to grow a few inches too, her body becoming bulkier. Horns began to grow out of her head as well as white eyes formed.
And then she changed further.
Fear raced throughout John's body, unexpected and uncontrollable. He...he had seen this monster before. Its white eyes bored into his as a gaping maw of sharp teeth and acid-like drool dripped down its chin. That was about all he could make of the face. There were sharp claws that reached out for him, which he immediately flung his ring hand in front of him, forming a shield in front of him.
No! Not again!
John shook his head as he stamped down on the fear eating away at him. No, this was just like last time. Though he felt fear like any normal person, he had learned to conquer it and leave it dormant beneath his will. Now though, the fear would not be suppressed. It gnawed away at his insides, festering and leaching away at his will.
The creature Element Woman had become reached a hand towards the shield, even as it formed wings that reached high above her head and stretched out into an incredible wingspan. The clawed hand pressed up against the construct, then to John's horror passed right through it without any resistance.
"No!" John shouted before he willed his shield to rush forward, slamming into the black monster's body. Yet, not even that worked as the construct just passed through the creature. All the while, it reached out to John with its extended claws. So focused was he on those claws that he never noticed the monster draw a fist back before throwing it forward, slamming it into his face. The force of the blow sent him flying backwards through the air until he landed hard on his back on the ground, skidding across the floor until he came to a stop.
Face wincing, John absently rubbed his cheek, feeling it beginning to swell up. Damn, he hadn't expected that. It was just as strong as it was big, just like he remembered it. Cracking open his eyes, he tilted his head up to look at it, only to find it was nowhere to be found.
Where did it go?
"Are you seeing something scary?"
John yelped as his jerked his head to a side. Laying on her stomach, head resting on folded arms was Element Woman. Her feet were even up in the air, casually swaying from one side to the other. She was looking at him expectantly, curiously even. Scrambling across the ground to get on his side, he tried to get back onto his feet, but kept slipping back onto the floor. All the while, the pink-haired woman watched him.
And then she lost her from, becoming a large cloud of yellow smoke which blew all over him.
John couldn't help but breath in the gas, coughing an instant later. He squeezed his eyes shut as tears began to leak out of them due to them being irritated by the smoke. Wiping a hand against them to try and clean the irritation away, he cracked an eye open, seeing the yellow gas hovering above and all around him.
That's when he saw it. A face began to form from the smoke. At first, he thought it was a woman's face—in fact, he thought it was Element Woman's. But then it changed into something much different, much more terrifying.
John couldn't help but scream.
They stared at each other, neither party making a move, waiting for the other to make the first mistake. That was alright in Dr. Fate's mind. Though he loathed violence, looking down on those who relished in it with disdain, he did not mind holding a stalemate. He was certain such a state of affairs would not last, however.
Shazam, though he had the body of a man in his prime, had the mind of an adolescent. The power of the wizard Shazam at the beck and call of a boy of immaturity was foolish. The current conflict was evidence of this.
"So you're the one they call Dr. Fate," Shazam said to him, his eyes boring into his helmet. "I've heard a lot of you from the Wizard."
"Then you know this battle is futile," Fate replied, still hovering over the floor. "Surrender now and let us end this without further violence."
"No," the boy responded sternly. "This world needs leadership and that leadership comes from the only person capable: Superman. He's brought peace to this world, which is something I know you strive for. You should be on our side, not the Insurgents'."
"That is false. The only thing you and this Regime have brought is strife for decades now. Superman's leadership is nothing more than that of a petty despot clinging to power."
"At least he uses his!" Shazam shouted back. "I can't say the same for you, Fate."
"I withhold mine because the damage it could wrought would be immeasurable," Fate said coolly. "There is nothing wrong with restraint, something your mentors have forgotten to teach you. I will be the one to teach you this lesson."
Shazam's body shifted into an aggressive posture. "There's nothing you have that is worth being learned."
"There is always something worth learning," the sorcerer countered. "For instance, I can see a multitude of futures flowing into and out of existence. Right now is a turning point for this world. A better world is within reach and makes for a worthy cause worth fighting for."
"At least that's one thing we can agree on."
That was when Shazam made his move. It was a basic, headstrong charge, one befitting brutes. Dr. Fate merely waved a hand before him, a shimmering blue light radiating out of his palm and washing over his foe. It was the same spell he had used against Batman and Batwoman when he had captured them, but this time he used it to divert Shazam's charge away from him and off to his right. As his hand completed his gesture, he ended the spell, the light fading out of existence. A moment later and there was a loud crash as Shazam undoubtedly slammed head first into the wall. Turning his head, he saw the young man on his hands and knees, shaking the daze he most likely felt. Keeping his head still, Fate turned the rest of his body so that he could fully face the red-clad man.
"Cute trick," Shazam spat out as he slowly pushed himself onto his feet, standing up straight. "But that will not work twice."
Suddenly, he raced towards the sorcerer as a red blur. The speed was surprising, but nothing that worried Fate. Crossing his arms over his chest, a construct of light blue light appeared before him, just as his opponent threw a punch at him.
The fist rammed right into the construct, but went no further. For a moment, the dark-haired youth blinked his eyes in surprise before a determined expression covered his face. Drawing back his other fist, he threw it a moment later, receiving the same result as the shield withstood his blow. Over and over, he slammed punch after punch against the shield spell, not once causing it to waver or break. His stubbornness to physically break through the spell was beyond foolishness.
Case in point: as Shazam landed another blow to the shield, it suddenly expanded out in all directions, right before the edges curved inward. Before the youth knew what had happened, the spell had surrounded him on all sides, forming a bubble around him.
Holding a hand out before him, the palm facing up towards the ceiling, Dr. Fate then moved his arm up, which caused the bubble to suddenly dart up into the air. In fact, it crashed right into the ceiling, causing Shazam to be thrown up into the top of the bubble, bouncing up and down with in it. Rotating his hand to face down, Fate then swung his arm down, which brought Shazam down to the floor, the blue bubble causing him to ricochet within it upon contact.
With his palm facing the bubble now, Fate then thrust it forward, sending his captured foe flying away from him until the spell came into contact with another wall. This time, the bubble detonated, causing an explosion to ring out as smoke was thrown in all directions.
Once more, Fate had both arms crossed over his chest as he began to float towards the destruction. He doubted that was the end of Shazam, but he had been wrong about such things before. It was always best to ensure victory rather than assume it.
As the smoke began to dissipate, however, a bolt of electricity suddenly flashed towards him, striking the sorcerer in the chest. Immediately, his body began to spasm from the charge, Fate cringing away from it as he cried out, arms twisting at his sides.
That was when Shazam re-emerged. Fate only knew this as a fist slammed into his face, causing his head to snap backwards and to a side. The next thing he knew, he was flying head first through the air, spinning as he did so until he crashed into a wall. While his helmet protected his head from great trauma, the rest of his body was forced to continue moving from his momentum, slapping down against the wall as it swung from a horizontal angle to a vertical one. Gravity set in and he dropped down, his feet touching down on the floor, back pressed up against the wall for balance.
"You really like to use magic," Shazam remarked as he walked towards him, one hand wrapped over a fist, cracking the knuckles. "Unfortunately for you, magic is what I'm all about."
Fate physically shook his head to rid himself of the daze he felt. "You know nothing of magic."
"Says you." Shazam held both of his hands up, bolts of electricity dancing over his palms and fingers, just before he clenched them into fists, promptly ending his display of power. "I have six Gods that lend me their power. How many do you have?"
"Only one," he admitted
Shazam snorted. "You thought you could put the power of one God against six? I think that helmet of yours is on a little too tight."
Dr. Fate narrowed his eyes. "It is the quality, not the quantity. The Gods that fuel your power are nothing in the presence of Nabu. I will show this to you."
Shazam summoned his power back to his hands, arms still held up. Suddenly he pointed his hands towards the sorcerer, a bolt of lighting firing from them. In response, Fate thrust both of his arms out, the bottom of his palms pressed against each other while his fingers curved to point towards his opponent. He formed another shield in front of him to block the lightning, which the electrical spell struck.
However, the power behind it was greater than Dr. Fate had anticipated. His shield was shattered before his eyes, right before the magical lightning blasted into him, forcing his body to press back harder against the wall. Cracks began to grow out on the wall's surface from behind his body from the pressure.
And then Shazam was right in front of him, slamming a fist against the side of his face, causing his head to snap to a side. He threw another punch with his other hand, which caused his head to jerk to the other side. A blow to his stomach made the sorcerer bend over, losing the air in his lungs that left him breathless.
The dark-haired youth then stepped to a side, a hand grabbing onto Fate's cape. Twisting his body around, he pulled on it hard enough to pull Fate off the floor and swing around the young man. Letting go, Shazam sent him tumbling through the air until he landed hard on the floor, bouncing a few times before he came to a stop.
A groan left Fate's lips. This sensation, this feeling of physical exhaustion and pain, he had not felt such a thing in a long time. Though he was confident in his magical prowess, this physicality he was not prepared for. Pushing his upper body up with his hands and arms, he turned his head to see Shazam rushing towards him. Eyes widening, he called upon a spell to protect him.
It started off as a small sphere of light, but as it moved away from him, the symbol of the ankh formed, growing larger and larger. Predictably, Shazam charged right into it, only to be blasted backwards as he cried out. The youth careened upward through the air until he collided with the ceiling, immediately ricocheting off of it, dropping straight down to land on the floor.
Gingerly, Fate got back onto his feet. He did not like how his body ached, but that would have to be dealt with at a later time. Holding both of his arms out at shoulder height and to his side, he formed two large orbs of magic that surrounded his hands, the symbol of Anubis contained at their cores. Taking a step forward, the sorcerer threw one of the orbs towards Shazam, throwing the other a moment later. They moved through the air at a constant rate, not speeding up nor slowing down.
By the time they had reached their target, Shazam had gotten back onto his feet. Seeing the spells, he jerked to a side to avoid the first one, the orb flying by him harmlessly. For the second one, he gathered electricity that danced up and down one arm. Drawing the arm across his chest, he then swung it out, batting the second magic orb away. This one flew towards a wall at a fast rate, detonating the moment it crashed into the solid surface.
However, by the time the explosion rang out, the first orb had reversed course, flying back towards Shazam, where it struck him in the back. The young man cried out as his head jerked backwards, face twisted with pain.
Now!
Thrusting both hands out in front of him, a much larger blue light glowed out from Fate's palms, traveling through the air until it washed over Shazam. Immediately, his body froze in its pose, the young man taking a moment to realize this before he attempted to resist.
"I must admit, you have proven yourself capable," Dr. Fate told him as he maintained his spell. "Such power in one so young, however, cannot be allowed to go on. I feel that if this world was not so corrupted, one of your ability and belief would be a great hero. The abuses you have committed thus far cannot and will not be allowed to go on further."
A golden aura began to glow around Dr. Fate as he gathered his magical energies to his person, concentrating them. What he was about to do was going to require quite a bit of power, but it would be done. In a hollow voice that rang throughout his helmet, he commanded, "Loqui verbum."
Shazam's body stiffened, muscles flexing and straining at the magical command. His face began to become red as his cheeks began to puff out. Though his will was great, it was nothing against the power of Fate. "Shazam!" he cried out.
Through the hole in the roof, a large bolt of lightning flashed down, striking the youth. The moment it touched him, a blinding light filled the room. Immediately, Dr. Fate unleashed his gathered energies, directing them towards Shazam. The unleashed spell formed a large blue sphere at the impact site of the lightning, glowing brighter and brighter with every passing second The whiteness of the lightning combined with the blue of his magic erased everything from sight. Fate couldn't see so much as a foot in front of his face, losing sight of his extended arms.
It took some time before the light began to fade away. When the room finally came back into view, the only things standing were Dr. Fate and the form of Billy Batson. Gone was the lightning and the blue spell as well as the powerful form of Shazam.
The sorcerer panted heavily from fatigue within his helm, another long forgotten feeling. This time, however, he was more than happy to feel such a thing considering the amount of magic he had used.
Billy looked amazed at the sight of his normal self. "What...what happened?" he asked as he looked at his bare arms. He then shifted his attention to Fate. "Shazam!" he shouted.
Nothing happened.
A few seconds passed before a frown appeared on the boy's face. "Shazam!" he cried out again, only to receive the same result. "Shazam! Shazam!"
"That will not work," Fate told him.
Immediately, the boy's full focus was on him. "What did you do?!" he screamed.
"What should have been done a long time ago." Dr. Fate straightened out his posture, feeling his fatigue slowly relieving itself. "I have cut you off from your connection to the Wizard, Shazam. No matter how many times you say his name, his power is beyond your grasp."
The amazement and disbelief on Billy's face was all-encompassing. "You…you can't. Do you know what you've done?!"
Fate tilted his head back. "I have done what was needed to be done."
That's when he felt it. Though Billy no longer was able to summon the lightning of Shazam, the presence of magic prickled at him. It was the only warning he received and it was all he needed.
Throwing his arms out to his sides, a blue shield formed around him, just as green flames collided with it and washed over its curved surface. He was able to weather the attack, waiting for it to stop before he dropped his defense.
Turning around, Fate found the attacker, the green-clad witch simply known as Enchantress. "I'm glad to see I'm not too late to the party," the woman declared, holding a hand out in front of her, green flames licking at her fingers.
"Enchantress," Fate intoned.
"Dr. Fate," she greeted back, hungrily licking her lips with her tongue. "I'm so glad to see you here. I've waited a long time for this."
Blue Beetle focused on the very sharp points of the trident as it stabbed towards him. His goal was to make sure it didn't skewer him.
That would've been nice.
Jerking to a side as his body twisted, he avoided the thrust successfully, head following along with the weapon as it was pulled back. Aquaman was not the least bit perturbed by his miss as he stabbed over and over at him with the trident, Beetle jumping from side to side as he dodged it.
Seeing that he wasn't getting anywhere, the blond man crossed his weapon across his chest before he swung it out, trying a different way to hit the teen. Seeing as the guy was a solid foot taller than him, which made his swing high, Blue Beetle ducked down as the trident passed over his head.
However, that proved to be the wrong thing to focus on. Using the momentum of his swing to his advantage, Aquaman spun along with it, one leg drawn back before he lashed out with it, landing a kick to the side of Blue Beetle's face. Head snapping to a side, Jaime felt shell-shocked by the blow. He hadn't ever been hit like that—though that was probably in part because he never got into fights. Feeling rattled, he realized almost too late that the Atlantean was still spinning, meaning he going in for another attack.
Jumping backwards, he just barely dodged the trident again, though this time its tips scraped against his chest, leaving white scratch marks in their wake. There was no blood, thankfully; however, he was again left wide open for the fist that rammed into his face.
Blue Beetle cried out as he felt himself flying backward, his back colliding with a wall. Gritting his teeth, he fought to keep his eyes open, refusing to let them close. If he did that, there was no telling what else Aquaman would do to him.
As it was now, the man was running at him, both hands holding onto his trident and keeping it next to his hip, looking to impale the teen on it. No way was that going to happen. Holding his right hand out, he frantically willed for it to become some sort of blunt object, anything that he could use at a moment's notice.
Though he would've settled for anything useful, it seemed the Scarab had a couple ideas. Hand expanding and becoming round, it was soon a large mace head with spikes sticking out all over the place. Hoping he was timing this right, he took a step forward and swung the mace upward.
The mace collided with the end of the trident, causing both weapons to be flung upward, the sound of clashing metals ringing out into the air. Success!
And then Aquaman adjusted his body so that he was leading with his shoulder, moving the trident behind him just as he rammed into the teen, pushing him back up against the wall. The blond man's free hand grabbed onto Blue Beetle's wrist, the one belonging to his mace, and pinned it against the wall. Before the teen could do anything, Aquaman leaned his head back before throwing it forward, landing a headbutt to his face.
If getting punched and kicked in the face bothered Blue Beetle, the headbutt was damn near indescribable in comparison. Pain exploded throughout his nose, cheeks, and forehead, the boy crying out in response.
Oh God. Why am I doing this? Why did I agree to this? Those thoughts rattled around in Jaime's head. He should've known; he should've known this was a bad idea. It was one thing to be sparing with fighting veterans, but this was live combat. Aquaman was trying to kill him! He shouldn't be here. He shouldn't be here at all!
He wanted out of this!
Since his eyes had squeezed shut from the headbutt, he had to force them open. He was just in time too to see Aquaman adjusting his body so that he could spear him with the trident. Oh God, somebody help me!
Though no one came to his aid, some thing did. In fact, it was the Scarab as Jaime found his body not under his control anymore. From his back, two insect-like legs emerged out, moving around his body and then shooting off like missiles to stab into Aquaman. Caught off guard, the Atlantean backed off a few steps, hissing as the ends of the legs pulled out from his torso, leaving small, bloody holes in their wake.
This left both of his hands free, even though only one of them had technically been restrained. His body leaping forward, Jaime swung down his mace hand, slamming it down on the top of Aquaman's head, causing it to snap down as his knees buckled. With his mace held low, his body then swung it up, landing an uppercut to the blond man's face, and this time sending him flying backwards, landing on his back on the floor several feet away.
Yet, Jaime could feel his body—the Scarab—was not finished. Stop! he cried out in his mind, which gave the Scarab pause. Immediately, he seized control again, complete feeling returning throughout his arms and legs. Flashes of the time the Scarab had full control of him during the fight with Cyborg filled his mind, motivation to seize control while he had a chance. He didn't want to be an unwilling passenger again.
By the time he was certain he was back in the driver's seat, Aquaman was back on his feet, the butt of his trident on the floor as he held it vertical. "So you do have some fight in you," the Atlantean remarked. "This may prove interesting yet."
"What can I say, I'm full of surprises," Jaime quipped as he readied himself, sounding more confident than he felt. He just knew this guy was going to attack him, he just didn't know how.
That was when energy began crackling up and down the trident, catching the teen's full attention. "As you will see, so am I," Aquaman retorted.
That was when he lifted up the trident and pointed it towards him, a bolt of lighting firing from its tips, racing towards Jaime. Yelping, the youth froze as the attack streaked right for him.
It would have hit him too had the Scarab not acted. Wings sprouted out of his back and immediately began to flap, causing them to shoot up into the air, dodging the lightning bolt as it passed right below them. It struck the wall soon after, leaving a scorch mark in its wake.
Unfortunately, Aquaman wasn't done. Letting out a war cry, he twisted his body to a side, flipping his trident in his grasp. Turning back, he threw the weapon right at Jaime, the teen darting to a side to dodge it. His body twisted around so that he could follow it, seeing its points hit the glass of the dome above their heads. In fact, the trident stuck in the glass.
And then it vanished in a flash of light, leaving only cracked glass and puncture holes where it had once stood. The glass had to be made of something thick considering water wasn't leaking through it. That was of some comfort.
However, Jaime had the sneaky suspicion that the missing trident was not a good thing. Spinning around, he found, much to his chagrin, Aquaman holding the trident once more, as if it had never left his side. There was something unfair about that.
The moment he saw the lightning dancing over the weapon, the youth knew he needed to act. Forming his energy blaster, he aimed it right at his opponent and fired a beam of energy at him. Seeing it coming, Aquaman dove to a side, going into a roll which ended with him back on his feet, though crouching. Jaime's beam hit the ground where he had been standing previously, damaging the floor, but nothing more.
And then Aquaman thrust his trident in front of him, firing another lightning bolt at him. Jaime also moved to a side to avoid the attack, taking aim again with his blaster.
Except, Aquaman was now firing another lightning blast at him, forcing the youth to keep moving. Over and over, the blasts flew towards him and he kept flying, going up and down, darting from side to side to avoid them all. None came close to him, which he liked, but he was kept on the defensive the entire time.
Then, for whatever reason, the guy stopped. Coming to hover in midair, Jaime stared at him, unsure of what to do. "Getting tired of shooting at me?" he asked hesitantly.
"Something like that," Aquaman grunted back. "Though if I were you, I would get back onto the ground."
"No, thanks," he quickly replied. "Being this far away from you suits me just fine."
"Suit yourself, but you might want to look behind you."
Jaime was definitely puzzled. Why would Aquaman tell him that? Turning around, he soon found out just what the man meant. Hovering over the glass dome was some kind of monster. It was large, had countless suction cups that glued it to the dome, and a big, beak-like mouth that scratched at the glass.
"Santa Maria!" he swore as he darted backwards, an unconscious reflex. What the hell was that?! A squid? A kraken?!
And then something powerful, something painful struck him in the back. Jaime screamed as he was burned and jolted, his wings stiffening from whatever had hit him. The moment it ended, he fell to the floor, landing on it hard enough to bounce off of it, and then collapse right back onto it.
"Ow…" he groaned as he slowly pushed his head up. Before him, he saw some weird kind of circle on the wall, ripples of water forming a liquid barrier. For some reason, he felt as if that was some kind of doorway out into the watery depths surrounding Atlantis. Why they had such a doorway mystified him to be honest.
Pushing himself onto his hands, and then his feet, he slowly stood up, wincing from the wounds on his back. At least, he thought there were some. The Scarab was freaking out in the back of his head, clearly agitated.
That was when he heard footsteps, loud and fast ones, which caused the youth the turn around. There he found Aquaman running at him, holding his trident in both hands in front of him. As the distance between them shrank rapidly, the blond man moved the lower end of his trident further away from him and then down. The moment it touched the floor, Aquaman leapt off the ground, using the weapon to vault himself forward as he swung his legs in front of him. It had happened so quickly that Jaime was unable to respond.
Aquaman slammed his feet into Jaime's chest, causing him to go flying backwards. Before he knew it, his back collided with the watery doorway he had seen mere seconds earlier, his entire body passing through it and being submerged in water.
And suddenly Jaime knew why Atlantis had such a door.
It had been fairly easy to separate from Batwoman. With the guards providing an effective distraction, Batman had parted ways with her, his presence going unnoticed by all. She would be fine on her own, he was quite certain of. This next part she didn't need to be involved with.
Which led him to here. According to the schematics Mr. Terrific had obtained during his excursion here, this was the Throne Room, where Superman would most likely be. It was the most logical place for him to be.
Accessing the keypad next to the door, he entered the correct code, the door sliding to a side in response. Passing through the doorway, he saw the depressing decor, the looming dais at the other end of the room.
Superman sitting on his throne, staring down at him.
The two men stared at each other from across the room, neither one moving nor speaking. The door even slid shut behind Batman, though he gave it very little attention.
Ultimately, it was Superman who broke the silence. "I was beginning to wonder when we would meet," the dark-haired man greeted him.
"I was beginning to wonder if you would ever leave that throne of yours to come find me," the vigilante countered.
The Kryptonian shrugged his shoulders. "Why would I? We both knew you were going to come to me eventually; it was only a matter of time."
Batman narrowed his eyes. "You know, something's been bothering me, ever since I came...here. When I last saw you, you were more than willing to fight your own battles. You didn't let others dirty their hands for you. You dove in headfirst, the consequences be damned."
The dark-haired man raised an eyebrow, looking down at the vigilante from behind his upturned nose. "Are you trying to make a point?"
"What changed?" Batman returned rhetorically. "If what I've heard is true, you never had any problem killing people. Strangling them, beating them, burning them with your heat vision; there was no hesitation."
Superman's features hardened. "Don't you get sanctimonious with me, not after everything you've done. You're just as much of a sinner as I am, what with your torturing of suspects, breaking the law, invasion of privacy."
"But never killing," he interjected. "I'm the only one here whose hands aren't drenched in blood. You used to be the same way too."
"That was before I realized some lives needed to be taken so that others could live in peace."
"Lives like J'onn J'onzz?"
Superman nearly leaped out of his chair, lunging forward, but stopping right at the edge of his seat. "He betrayed the cause," he shouted angrily, his face twisted with fury. "He let out countless criminals to undermine everything!"
"Criminals like my daughter?!" Batman roared back.
Superman froze, which was all the dark-clad man needed to know. "I heard what you did to Batgirl, how you lobotomized her." It was getting harder to keep his own anger under control as he spat out each word. "What exactly did she do that warranted you burning her mind away?"
"She was your...but how...I...I didn't know…" the dark-haired man stammered.
"Of course you didn't, which has always been your problem, Kent—you've never thought out your actions. For a man as smart as you, the moment a crisis springs up, you rely on your fists. Never mind investigating, never mind gathering the facts, you just punch your way to the finish line. Sometimes that can work when there's no other alternatives left to you, but when you do have a choice and still choose to beat your problems into submission, that's when you get incidents like Metropolis."
"Don't you dare put that on me," Superman threatened, his eyes burning with anger. "I was under the Joker's influence then and you know it."
"After you disobeyed an order to stay in pairs," Batman replied snidely. "You underestimated the man and he got the better of you—and Metropolis paid the price for your hubris."
The scowl on the Kryptonian's face told him just how much he thought of that statement. "Is that all you have to say? Criticism? What happened to Batgirl is as much your fault as it is mine. If I had known you had a child, I would have never hurt them. But you never told anyone. All anyone knew was that Bruce Wayne was a lifelong bachelor. That means no kids, maybe, possibly only extended family. Was she even your own blood?"
"No, she isn't," he said through gritted teeth. "But she's just as much my family the same way Jonathan and Martha Kent are yours."
There was a pause. "So that's the way, is it?"
"It is."
"Then I'm sorry—truly."
"No, you're not." Batman's face hardened. "If you really were, you wouldn't have killed as many people as you have, then ordered the others to do so as well."
"And now we've come full circle." Superman slumped into his chair. "Why don't we skip the rest of this posturing and just get into the fight? You were spoiling for one long before you got here, so let's just get it over with."
"You sure you're up to it?" Batman asked. "After all, you haven't fought your own battles in nearly five years."
"Because there hasn't been anyone worth fighting," he replied haughtily.
"Now that's another thing that's been bothering me—those words. Those aren't yours. Clark Kent never said anything like that. It's something Hawkgirl or Diana would say. In fact, I'm betting on that."
Superman narrowed his eyes at him. "What are you trying to say?"
"That it was one of them who said that and you're just parroting their words." When the dark-haired man didn't reply, Batman continued, "A lot of things have struck me as coincidental since I arrived on the scene. Your absent from the battlefield, the production of your little super pills. All of these things happened about five years ago, the last known uprising against your Regime."
"Your point?"
"That something happened then. Zatanna was the one leading it, right? She got to you, didn't she? She got to you and put a spell on you before she could be stopped. By the time she was killed, it was too late to reverse it. In fact, any chance of reversing it ended when Zatanna died at the hands of one of your stooges. You tried other ways to break the spell, but all the magic users your brought in couldn't do it. You were stuck with it."
Batman then straightened out his posture. "You don't have to tell me what the spell did. There's only one thing it could be; Zatanna took away your powers, didn't she."
The silence in the room told him he was right, so he pressed on. "That's why you started the production of the super pills, so that you could restore your powers another way. They worked in some ways, giving you back your strength and durability, but it didn't give you your flight, or heat vision, maybe even your super speed. So the others came up with your excuse of unworthy opponents and you locked yourself away in your throne room. Sound about right?"
Superman just stared at him. Slowly, he raised his hands up, just before he began clapping them over and over. "You really are the World's Greatest Detective," he complimented him.
He then stopped his clapping before reaching out to a small stand next to his throne, a bowl situated on top of it. There was a rattling sound coming from it as Superman's hand disappeared into it, only to reveal one of the super pills when he drew it back. Clutched between his fingers, he raised the pill up to his mouth and tossed it in, dry swallowing it with an audible gulp.
Standing up, the Kryptonian began descending down the stairs, reaching the bottom soon after. "I hope you're ready, Bruce. I won't be going easy on you."
Batman slid into a fighting stance. "Funny, that's what I was going to say to you."
A small smile appeared on Superman's face, a moment of levity for him, or so it would seem. Then his face hardened and he charged forward.
To Guest: Dr. Fate clearly won his fight
To Archergreatestsecretagent: For some reason FFN isn't allowing me to reply to your review. It's happened before, so until it's fixed, I'll respond to you this way. The response itself: I'm glad your enjoying the story. BvS is just around the corner.