TARGET: POWER ALLIANCE Part 1
The day had started out so simple. Mermista had just finished apprehending gunrunners in the Gotham Harbor, and though she despised the disgusting state of Gotham's water, she cleaned up the Operation in no time. She decided to take the time afterward to explore Adora's home city, out of a sort of curiosity. Admittedly, it did not take her long to see that Adora was definitely not exaggerating when she spoke of the city. Beneath all the magnificent skyscrapers and architecture, Gotham was not a good place to live. Mermista scoffed at the sights around her, questioning Adora's willingness to fight for what seemed to be such a lost cause.
Suddenly, a chill ran up her spine, and she stopped, focusing on where the bad feeling was coming from. He gaze shot to the nearby manhole, feeling the waters beneath rushing, as if something was rapidly approaching her position. She gripped her Trident tightly and readied for whatever came, when the water suddenly stilled. As she slowly approached the manhole top scope out the situation, the ground beneath her feet practically shattered, a scaly green arm grabbing her leg tightly and dragging her into the sewers. Quickly she drove her Trident into the arm to force its grip to loosen, freeing herself and leaping to the walkways to see her assailant.
While the files on the watchtower described him as a human with a medical condition, the only true way to describe her opponent, Killer Croc, was a Monster. The Massive behemoth of a man stood at nearly 9 feet tall, his entire body covered in scales, and his teeth sharp as his namesake, showing from his eerily wide jaw, currently curled into a sadistic grin. He appeared to be wearing the remnants of an Arkham Asylum jumpsuit, his hands still bearing shackles and chains, and he cackled at the sight of the Atlantean. "Thought I caught your scent, Fish girl…"
"I definitely caught yours.." Mermista deadpanned, her face scrunching from the scent of Croc and her current surroundings.
"Heheh, this seems like my lucky day." Croc growled, slowly lowering into he water. "I'm gonna be rich, and have myself an exotic meal." Soon, he vanished below the surface.
Mermista began to run through her options. Normally she could swim away from any danger, but Croc was also a good swimmer. Croc was also sturdy, and much stronger than the average human, meaning her Atlantean strength was nearly matched. This gave her a disadvantage due to his immense size. Her trident proved capable of piercing his hide, but again she would need to get close to him. Therefore, her best option was her Hydrokinesis. Keeping track of his movements, she dodged to the side as Croc lunged from the water, crashing into the wall. He snarled and charged at her, so she manipulated the sewer water into a wave to slam against him. He barely flinched and kept up his charge, forcing Mermista to dive into the water, much to her disgust. As she anticipated, he followed after her. Quickly, she formulated a plan.
He charged closer to her and lunged with his jaws, barely missing her leg as she took a hard turn. She began to swim through as fast as she could until she reached a massive drop. Quickly, she used her power to readjust the water flow to guide her to a nearby walkway. Then she cut the flow off, causing Croc to fly out of the tunnel and fall into the reservoir. She wasn't yet done, however, and pushed the water aside, leading to the hulking monster to impact the ground, hard. He yelled out in pain and snarled, still alive. "You bitch! I'll chew the flesh off your bones!" He shouted up at her.
"Sorry, not on the menu, Ugly." She said, forcing all the water back in the reservoir, and forming a geyser to launch him into the ceiling. He burst up from the ground, in an underpass, and slammed into the ground hard, part of his hand being buried by debris. Quickly, Mermista followed him up and drove her Trident into his free arm, pinning him to the ground. She leapt onto his chest and glared at the Crocodile man's face. "You want teeth? I want answers. Why did you attack me?!" She growled in uncharacteristic anger, slowing her breath to compose herself.
"For the Reward money. There's a price on the heads of you and your little pals." Croc replied with a grin. "For the next 24 hours, whoever kills one of you is getting a massive payday."
"Who's all involved?" She asked, glaring at him.
"What kinda rat you think I am?" Croc replied. "I ain't talking." Mermista proceeded to shut Croc up with a punch to the face, knocking him unconscious.
She sighed in annoyance and put in a call to the GCPD. She had a feeling the next 24 hours were gonna be long.
Earlier that day:
"You all have been gathered because you're good at what you do. And My client knows he can rely on you." The Calculator spoke, his voice echoing around the warehouse where seven supervillains had gathered together. "The Client is offering this deal for 24 hours only. You may notice the files in front of you. Each of you take a single dossier."
The seven stepped forth and examined the files with interest.
"These are the newest superheroes to grace the planet. The Power Alliance." Calculator continued. "The Client is willing to pay you $50,000,000 for even a single one killed. At the end of the 24 hours, this contract will be nullified. You may work together, or co-ordinate as you desire. Dismissed."
Each of the assassins dispersed as Calculator cut the feed. He knew that the client also had a special job for him, and immediately set to work on it.
Star City:
Bow was resting on a rooftop after a patrol, when the call came in from Mermista. "Maybe we should all group up, increase our chances?" He suggested. "Or better yet, hide?"
"That's not a smart move." Adora commented over the comms. "If we hide, it's likely they'll start threatening innocents to get us into the open."
"And if we group up, they could come after us all at once." Emily added in. "Depending on who's hunting, that could be worse than soloing them."
"Everyone just keep on your guard. Croc was not holding back." Mermista finished. "Watch your backs."
"Got it, Apollo out." Bow replied, ending the comm and shooting a Zipline to continue his patrol. On the way, his line was suddenly cut by a bullet, causing him to crash onto a nearby roof. "Ow...gonna feel that in the morning." He groaned, getting into cover and attempting to track down the shooter. Using a pair of binoculars he kept in a satchel, he caught the glimpse of a sniper scope, and barely ducked into cover before his opponent fired. 'Okay, think Bow, think… Highly sought after assassin, firearms specialization…' He ran through his memory of the Justice League's files to identify his shooter. His eyes suddenly widened in realization.
Floyd Lawton, Deadshot.
'Someone must really be out to get us if they sent Deadshot…' Bow internally groaned, weighing his options. He needed to get closer, but every moment he was out of cover, he was in danger. Deadshot was known as the marksman who never misses, and with good reason. He nearly always gets his target, with only the Justice League having much luck dealing with him. Bow also had the feeling that Deadshot was watching his cover for any chance to fire, possibly even plotting out ricochets to be able to hit him behind cover. But he did have an idea to get past that. Feeling around his utility belt, he pulled out a smoke pellet, and a small device Emily had made for him. He smirked to himself and tossed the smoke pellet to the side of his cover, which he hoped would draw Deadshot's eye. He then rolled the device over, closed his eyes and covered his ears.
Deadshot, who had recently turned on his infrared sight to track Bow in the smoke, was caught off guard by the device bursting. It was a miniature flashbang, and his infrared sight was reduced to white briefly, throwing off his focus. Bow moved as soon as he could leaping across to a nearby roof and catching sight of Deadshot. He notched an arrow, another gadget crafted by Emily, and fired it at Deadshot. The arrow was an EMP, and once it pulsed, it took out the devices in Deadshot's mask. As he pulled off the eyepiece, Bow used a grappling Arrow to swing his way to the building Deadshot was on. He rolled into cover and notched one of Green Arrow's signature weapons, the Boxing Glove arrow. Bow still had no idea how this thing worked, but it was his best bet.
"So, you made it over here, kid. Not bad." Deadshot shouted, setting down his rifle and taking the safety off his wrist guns. "Was beginning to think this job would be too easy."
"Well, glad to impress you, Deadshot." Bow replied, peering around the corner. "What's the price on my team?"
"Fifty Million." Deadshot replied, beginning to maneuver along the roof on the hunt. "Probably more going on here than first glance mind you, but I won't say no to a payout like that."
"Yeah. 24 hours to kill a buncha teenagers?" Bow asked, creeping around as well, moving from cover to cover as the two began a lethal game of Cat and Mouse. "Sounds more like we're being tested. So who's the client?"
"You aren't bad kid. We don't know." Deadshot admitted. "They contacted us through Calculator. So, I've got a few ideas. And if I'm right, I've got a payday coming regardless…" He rounded a corner, missing Bow by mere seconds. "You can't keep this up forever Apollo. The moment you're in my sight, it's over."
Bow nodded. "Then I just have to stay out of your sight!" he shouted, creeping around a wall. "I'm not just some kid, I've picked up a few things from Green Arrow." He rolled around from his cover and took aim. "Head's up!" As Deadshot swung around, a boxing glove met his face and knocked him over. Bow quickly ran to him and yanked off his wrist guns, tying his hands before the disoriented assassin could recover.
"Damn...not bad kid." Deadshot chuckled as Bow yanked off his mask. "You got me real good. No wonder the client's worried about you all."
"Who's your client, who do you think he is." Bow asked, moving Deadshot into a sitting position.
"Sorry, I'm a professional." Deadshot replied with a smirk. "I don't sell out my buyers. It's bad for business. All I'm gonna say is each of us picked one of you. I'll be surprised, and impressed, if we all fail."
"Who's after the others." Bow asked, glaring at Deadshot...though admittedly he was nowhere as intimidating as he wanted to be.
Deadshot laughed. "Not gonna tell, why spoil the surprise. But...I'll leave you with a little hint. The Ice girl's in for a nasty shock."
Winter and Angie had elected to stay together once Mermista's warning was issued. They figured the two of them together could fight off any threat. Even still, both found themselves looking over their shoulders. "I wasn't expecting us to get bounties on our heads so soon…" Winter said.
"Guess that's the hard part about being a hero." Angie responded. "But as long as we're together, nobody can beat us, right sis?"
"Right!" Winter smirked. "You blind em, I'll smash em." Angie leaned against an alley wall with a smile..however, a dark shadow began to form behind her, as The Shade suddenly put his Nightstick over her neck. "G-Glimmer!" Winter yelled, the Shade grinning and pulling Angie into the shadow, separating the two sisters. Winter began to form Ice over her hands to smash the wall down, until she noticed her breath begin to mist. A chill flowed through the alleyway, a coldness she hadn't seen in years.
"That son of a bitch…" A familiar voice growled, footsteps slowly approaching her. "I told him I'd handle Sparkles… now he's got me fighting you. I had hoped I wouldn't need to actually lay a hand on you."
Winter slowed turned, shaking in recognition as the woman stood before her. A face she had never wanted to see as long as she lived.
Killer frost sighed, examining her nails and smirked at her. "Hello Winter. Come give your mommy a hug."
To Be Continued….
This is gonna be a fun arc. I had run through a few potential story-lines to follow up the last filler chapter, and my inspiration came from replaying Arkham Origins. I honestly consider the game overly hated, and find the concept of multiple assassins sent in one night to be a lot of fun with plenty of potential, so I adapted to concept for my hero team.
The other fun thing is the fact this will allow me to do solo hero fights with the characters to really let them shine on their own. As for the chosen assassins:
Killer Croc – I felt this would be a suitably dangerous fight for an Atlantean, forcing Mermista to rely on her Hydrokinesis just to survive.
Deadshot – A personal favourite of mine, his fight was hard to write. I settled on the Cat and Mouse concept to show Bow can be clever under pressure.
Shade – Darkness vs the Light of Glimmer.
Killer Frost – I wanted to write a follow up to the fact that Frosta is her daughter, and the opportunity just presented itself.
Any DC fans feel free to try and guess who Adora, Perfuma and Entrapta will need to do battle with.
I do not own She-Ra or the DC Universe.
NEXT TIME: Shadows, Ice and Fire.