Barbara lay down on the sand, listening carefully. She could still hear that breathing sound, faint in the rustling of the wind and sand outside of Amani's dome, but unmistakable. And that cold feeling still spread through her.
"Do you see it?" Amani asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
Barbara looked again through a small opening Amani had made near the bottom of the dome. Still just more sand flying about in the storm. No sign of the mysterious figure, whoever it was. But they were still out there, she knew that for sure.
"No," she said softly back.
"What do we do?" Ember asked.
"We could attack?" Amani suggested, though even she didn't seem too convinced by that idea. "Element of surprise. Doesn't seem like whoever's out there knows we're here."
"Maybe, but we have no idea who they are. Attacking without any knowledge is reckless," Barbara pointed out. She was guilty of the same thing, honestly. It was part of the reason she liked her Oracle persona so much. Without the adrenaline and thrill of being out in person, she could think more rationally about problems and advise her teammates more carefully.
"Yeah, as you already know from me, you don't always know what's hiding beneath the surface," Ember reminded them. Again, Barbara blinked. It was hard to imagine this young girl as a dragon, that at any moment she could shift into a large reptile that breathed fire. At least, Barbara assumed she breathed fire. She hadn't met many dragons in her adventures.
"So let's just wait and see," Barbara told them. "Hopefully, whoever this is will just pass by. Or, maybe they're friendly." But somehow, she doubted that one. She could still feel that aura of fear and darkness around them, like this person just naturally exuded it wherever they went. She didn't think friendly people did that too much. Maybe Batman at times, though not like this. This felt more…supernatural.
She looked out through the hole again and frowned, seeing nothing. Not like she couldn't see anything of interest out there, but that she couldn't see anything at all. It was just black. Like everything had just disappeared or been replaced…
"HAAAWWWW-PPPPEEEERRRRR."
"Oh shit!" Barbara muttered and dove out of the way right before a crimson blade of light struck the place she'd just been lying down. She came up on her feet, hurling several batarangs but the blade twisted, cutting each one down.
"Amani!"
"On it!" The girl raised her hand and the sand around them rose up, rushing to the intruder who was still hidden behind the sand dome. Barbara thought for a second, as the sand crashed into the figure, that that would be enough. And then she saw Amani tense, eyes narrowing, and begin to step forward, as if pushing something. But whatever she was doing, it wasn't enough. Barbara looked back at where the figure was and saw the crimson light of the blade glowing more and more fiercely until the sand parted like water and it appeared, shining violently and brimming with energy. Barbara had first thought it was some sort of sword or other blade charged with energy. But now she was it was light forged into a shimmering blade, like the constructs of the different lantern corps. Only this one seemed more…alive.
And then the blade's owner stepped forward.
The figure was completely dressed in black, from gloves to boots to helmet to even a long cape draped over the shoulders. The helmet had a dome-like shape with what looked like visors over the eyes and a columned mouthpiece which was where that intense breathing was coming from. There was also a box on the figure's chest with several buttons and dials. Based on a quick analysis, Barbara assumed that the figure had a breathing problem or something like it. She could use that.
"You would be wise to surrender," the figure said in a cold, monotone voice.
"Not going to happen," Ember snarled, her eyes narrowing into slits.
The figure turned to look at Amani. "You are the one I sensed. You have great power inside of you. Tell me what you know of this place and how I came to be here."
"We don't know," Barbara told him. "We just arrived here out of nowhere. Same as you, I'm guessing."
The figure regarded her for a second before returning to Amani. "Your power…is both similar and different to what I have seen." He took a step forward. "You will come with me."
"I don't think so," Amani replied and threw her hands forward. The sand again rushed to obey her, swarming towards the figure but he merely held out his hand and it was like all the sand hit an invisible wall, stopping midair. Again, Amani grunted and pushed forward but Barbara could see it was having no effect. Whoever this figure was, they were stronger. Then, the figure pushed back slightly with his hand and it was like Amani had been struck, flying backwards and hitting the sand hard.
"Damn it," Barbara muttered, starting to move forward but Ember beat her to it. Barbara gaped as the girl in front of her shifted, the human skin transforming into hardened red scales, her limbs elongating into large talons, her face morphing into a muzzle with long sharp teeth, her back stretching into ridges with spikes sticking out. A tail shot out from her back, whipping back and forth. The change took seconds, as if the dragon inside her had been waiting to come out this entire time.
With a roar, the red dragon charged forward and send a claw right at the dark figure but at the last second he ducked under, sliding beneath the claw and thrust his blade up, striking one of Ember's talons. She shrieked, whipping her claw back in pain. She tried to attack again but again the figure dodged easily and struck back. This time, Ember was able to back away, but only barely, the blade missing her chest by an inch.
Seeing an opening, Barbara launched several more of her batarangs. The figure turned his blade came up, cleaving through them, but then Barbara came forward with her bo staff, bringing it down on hard on him. He leaned out of the way, the staff striking the ground, and Barbara twisted out of the way before the blade could come down on her. She swung the staff again upwards but again he dodged, leaning back a little so the staff missed. She spun it in hand, twisting it around her shoulders, before moving to attack. But as she did, she suddenly felt a powerful force grip her staff, pulling it out of her hands. She tried to hold on to it but the force was much stronger and the staff was ripped from her grasp and sent flying out of reach.
She looked back and saw the figure's gloved hand turn to her and then she felt the force wrap around her. She gasped, trying to break free but the next second she was flying forward right toward the figure, his crimson blade pointed directly at her. She cried out, trying to break free, but she still soared straight to her death.
And then right before the blade could strike her, the sand beneath the figure's feet rose up, knocking him aside. Barbara felt the grip on her loose and she fell to the ground, gasping at how close she had just come to death.
The figure rose quickly as the sand continued to attack him, Amani once again on her feet, but his wall was up to, keeping the sand back. She pressed down on him, the sand twisting and forming into sharp spikes that constantly stabbed at him but he still held them at bay. For a second, it looked like his eye visors had narrowed as he raised his hand even more. But before he could do anything, he was suddenly engulfed in a wave of fire. Barbara gaped and then turned to see Ember breathing a river of bright flames down upon him. She stumbled back as the heat intensified, the fire almost white-hot. Even Amani backed off, staring in shock.
"Do you think that did it?" Barbara asked her.
"I don't know how anyone could survive that," she murmured back.
The flames exploded outward, knocking them all backwards. And then the figure emerged, the fire dissipating around him and him looking none the worse for wear, as if he had just taken a stroll in the park rather than being in the center of a blazing inferno. Barbara had faced many threats over the years, but for some reason she thought this one might be the greatest.
"What the-" Ember muttered when the figure's hand lunged outwards and Ember gasped, her eyes wide. Her claws tried to go up to her throat, as if trying to dislodge something there but there wasn't anything.
"He's choking her," Barbara realized in horror. He had telekinetic abilities. Extremely powerful ones. Thinking fast, she moved to grab her equipment but Amani moved first, once more the sand rising to her. "No, that won't work," Barbara tried, but it was too late. The sand launched itself at the figure who barely turned his head to stop it, the sand stopping in front of him. And then, slowly, it began to turn around back towards Amani.
"What?" she muttered in disbelief. Then her eyes narrowed and she pushed back but the sand didn't move. Or at least, it didn't move towards the figure. Instead, it started moving towards her, shifting until it formed a spear as hard as stone. And then it lunged forward.
"Move!" Barbara cried, leaping and crashing into Amani, knocking them both aside before the sand spear could kill her. As she did, she threw a couple flash grenades right at the figure. They went off with a soft boom, startling the figure a little and causing him to stumble back a step. Barbara used the opportunity to hurl her bola at him while simultaneously grabbing her bo staff from where it had fallen, charging forward with it. The figure grabbed the bola out the air with ease, tossing it aside, and then lunged forward to meet her when he nearly tripped, the sand beneath his feet rising. He grunted, hand outward and apparently holding him upright. Barbara used the opportunity to strike at him with her staff but even knee-deep in sand, he was still a good fighter, his blade striking at her first and nearly slicing her in half if she hadn't dodged aside at the last second.
Just then, Ember, who had been released from the choke-grip, attacked as well, unleashing a fresh torrent of fire at the figure who barely got his free hand up in time, dropping his blade and creating a barrier against the flame. Seeing her opportunity, Barbara crept along his blindside and then swung the staff with all her strength right at the figure, bringing it down hard on his helmet. The hollow banging sound echoed for hears alone. She thought for a second that she had managed to do something when the figure slowly turned to her, the helmet's blank gaze staring at her with pure menace.
"That was a mistake," the figure said in a voice colder than any she'd heard before that it sent shivers down her spine. Slowly, the figure lifted up his hands and Barbara felt a change in the air, like something was pressing down on it. "You cannot fathom the power you now face. You are no match for the dark side of the force. Allow me to demonstrate."
He lifted his hand and suddenly Barbara felt a tight pressure around her throat, strangling her. She tried to push it away but there was nothing there, just the force of it. She gasped, now rising in the air. She could see out of the corner of her eye the same thing happening with Ember and Amani. She struggled for breath while she scrambled for her belt. But before she could reach it, her hand froze in the air, immobilized.
So this was it then. She was gone. This couldn't be how it ended and yet she didn't know what else to do. Bruce probably would, since he was Batman, but at this moment, Barbara couldn't think of a single thing. She closed her eyes, picturing her father and praying he would make it through this. And picturing Dick. If she was going to die, she wanted him to be the last thing she remembered.
The pressure was getting too intense. She made one last gasp right before…
…a glowing blue fist materialized behind the figure, punching him in the back and sending him sprawling. Instantly, Barbara and the others dropped, gasping for breath. Barbara rubbed her throat, trying to ease the pain.
"Yeah, got him!" a voice cried out in glee. "That's how you do it!"
"Silence boy. We need to press our advantage. Diggle!"
"On it! Immobulus!"
The figure, on the verge of rising, became perfectly still, as if he'd just become a statue.
"Good work."
Barbara felt a hand on her shoulder as someone helped her up. She turned and saw a big kid with dirty blonde hair a few years younger than her. In his hand was a large, weird-shaped sword that was curved so it seemed almost like an axe-blade at the same time. "Hey, I'm Julian," he said with a small smile.
"Uh…Barbara," she replied, still feeling woozy after her near death experience. She then turned and saw Amani and Ember also rising to their feet. And beside them were two people that were so out of place that it took her a second to process them. One was a short older man wearing a long violet cloak that dangled around his feet. In his hand was a short stick of wood. The other man was so much taller than him it was almost comical but he was wearing shiny bright armor that seemed to wrap around him, two long sashes hanging off his shoulders. He had long black hair draped down his backside that was held together by a small crown on his forehead. In his hands was a sword so sharp it seemed like it could cleave through anything. It took a second for Barbara to notice but she also saw that his ears were slightly pointed.
"That's Dedalus and Elrond," Julian gestured to them.
"Nice to meet you, I guess," she said, still a little unsure.
"Same!" Dedalus grinned while Elrond didn't reply, still staring down at the figure.
"That's Amani and Ember," Barbara pointed to them each. Both seemed to have recovered and were now backing away from the figure's prone form. "Sorry, how are you doing that?" she asked, pointing at him.
"Magic, my dear," Dedalus practically squeaked. "Don't worry, he can't break out. It's a freezing charm. It'll hold him."
Barbara frowned, unconvinced. "Are you sure about that?"
"Oh yes, positive. He won-"
Dedalus didn't get to finish that sentence as he was suddenly dragged forward with a squeal of surprise. Before he could even cry out, the figure's crimson blade flashed outwards, slicing the man in half. His body dissolving into a shimmer of bright light before vanishing completely. Barbara gasped and Julian swore while Elrond raised his sword. In Dedalus's place, the figure rose. It was impossible to tell with the mask on, but Barbara swore she could feel his glare on all of them.
"Your power is inconsequential compared to mine. You will all die now."
Elrond raised his blade. "We will see." He then charged forward but the figure gestured with his hand and sent Elrond flying aside. Whoever he was though, he was agile as he twisted midair and landed on his feet. As he did, Julian charged forward, his fist suddenly encompassed in gigantic shimmering blue version of it. He tried to punch the figure but again he merely dodged aside before striking back with his blade, the weapon hitting the fist and both energy constructs crackling with tendrils of electricity. Julian gasped, his face contorted in a grimace before summoning another giant blue fist with his other hand, sending that hurtling towards the figure who gave up the fight with the first fist to turn and cut right through the second one, dissipating it.
"They're not going to win," Barbara muttered, watching as Elrond returned to the fight, Amani also charging forward. Whoever this guy was, none of them were enough to stop him. She could tell by his stance, his movements. He didn't feel threatened by any of them. It wasn't like he was overconfident. It was like he knew their strengths and knew that his far outmatched theirs. She was reminded of Batman who always went into a fight prepared, who never believed he would win just because he had won previous times even against someone he'd fought a hundred times before. He went into each fight as if it was the first one, analyzing his opponent to see their strengths and how he could match them. And when they were no match, he let them know it. That was exactly what this guy was doing here. Except with Bruce, he'd let them live. This guy wouldn't.
The figure's hand shot out, lifting Julian up and throwing him aside like a ragdoll. Elrond took the opportunity to strike but the figure twisted, blade in hand, and halted his opponent's sword. Elrond then spun and kicked out before sidestepping and bringing his sword down. The figure countered easily, bringing his own weapon down in a lethal arc if Elrond hadn't blocked it. The two continued to trade blows in such a fast and deadly way that Barbara had a hard time keeping up with it. Any of those moves felt like a killing blow and yet the two continually blocked and struck again, both expert warriors.
"I…can't."
Barbara turned and saw Amani slump a little, breathing hard. "I can't move the sand," she said, her voice filled with disbelief. She turned to Barbara, her eyes wide. "He's doing something, stopping me from using my powers. I…I didn't even know that was possible." She stared back at the figure, sweeping his blade towards Elrond's neck who leaned back only a fraction far enough to avoid it. "Who is he?"
Barbara was beginning to wonder if they even wanted to know.
Next to them, Ember huffed in dragon form, clearly anxious to get into the fight but unable to do anything as long as the two were so close together. Barbara felt the same way except she really had no idea what she was going to be able to do.
They continued to watch the fight and as it progressed, Barbara became more and more concerned. At any moment, the figure could easily have ripped Elrond's sword from his grasp. He had done it with her staff already. So why wasn't he doing it now? Or he could choke him. Or do other things. So why was he concentrating so hard on the duel, only using his blade?
Because he likes it.
As she watched, Barbara realized it was true. The way he acted, it was like him cutting loose a little. He seemed to live with each blow he struck. He wanted the challenge. She wondered how long that would last. Because it was also starting to feel like he was only playing with Elrond.
Elrond backed away second, panting a little. "I do not know what kind of dark being you are, but I swear I will send you back into the abyss."
The figure lowered his blade for a second. "I am Vader," he said, his voice was freezing blast of air. And then he moved, practically flying across the ground to Elrond who barely managed to get his blade up in time, the crimson saber meeting it head on. The metal blade started to glow as Vader pressed down on it. Elrond grimaced and looked like he was trying to break free but couldn't.
"Screw this!" Ember growled, moving to attack. The sand rose up before she could, wrapping around their ankles and holding them fast. Barbara wrestled with it and nearly tripped over. She then could only watch as Vader continued to press down.
She saw it in her mind first, Vader giving one last push that had his blade shatter through Elrond's, leaving it in two searing pieces. Elrond only had time to gape before Vader moved again, the saber coming down again across his chest. But even then, Elrond proved his agility, instinctively ducking back so the saber didn't cut too deep.
Judging from his cries of pain, it was still bad.
"Hey loser!" They all turned to see Julian returning, one of his curved swords in each hand. "Try this on for size," he said and then the air around him shimmered before a giant figure of a warrior with the head of a hawk appeared around him.
"Holy," Barbara muttered.
"There's something you don't see every day," Ember muttered.
If Vader was worried, there were no signs. He turned to face Julian's new form, blade at the ready. "Are you ready to die?" he asked.
Julian laughed. "Buddy, you're the one who needs to ask that question." Then he paused, realizing what he'd said. "No wait, that's not what I…oh never mind, let's just do this." He leapt forward, bringing both swords down but Vader moved to the side, the blades passing him by and hitting the ground instead. His own blade came down on Julian's avatar form, the figure flickering and Barbara could see Julian wince inside.
"Come on," she muttered, looking down at the tendrils of sand still holding her tightly. She could try throwing some more grenades and batarangs but those had proven useless against this guy already. She needed a new tactic.
She looked at his chest plate again. If she could just hit that without him knowing.
She reached down and tried cutting through the sand with one of her batarangs but it was like rock, the batarang not even scratching it.
"Amani, any luck?" she asked.
"No," the girl replied, her teeth gritted in concentration. "I keep pushing but there's this cold…presence around it or something. I just can't break through. I'm sorry."
Ember let out a burst of fire but Vader was over on the next dune now, no longer interested in them. He was currently slashing away at Julian's hawk figure, causing it to flicker with each blow. Julian was trying to fight back but each of his attacks was weaker than the last and Vader dodged or deflected them all. He was losing ground and fast.
"Here." They all turned to see Elrond rise up to them, his severed blade in hand. He leaned over and sliced through the sand holding Barbara's feet.
"How did you do that?"
"Elven steel," he held the blade up. "Made to cut through dark magic."
Barbara nodded, just going with it at this point. "Alright then."
Elrond swiftly freed the others and then turned to see Vader strike Julian one last time, his avatar vanishing under the blow. Barbara hissed and moved to run towards him as Vader raised his saber for the killing stroke when Julian suddenly yelled out, "Ha-wi!" and something blue shimmered in front of him.
Vader instantly flew back, as if struck by an invisible opponent.
"Hell yeah!" Julian cheered and Barbara had the resist the urge to yell at him. Vader clearly wasn't down yet.
That was obvious a second later as Julian was suddenly lifted in the air, choking for air.
"Shit!" Barbara started running, readying her weapons but she already knew she'd be too late. Vader made a small gesture and Julian came flying over to him right to where his saber was pointed.
Then something else blue shimmered in front of Julian right before he hit the saber and then he just stopped inches from the simmering point. He winced, shaking from strain. Vader seemed to tighten his grip on the blade, pressing it forward but whatever the barrier was, he couldn't break it. Yet.
This was her chance. But before she could act on it, Elrond ran past her, his feet barely touching the ground. "His chest," she said as he did. He didn't show any sign of having heard her so she continued anyway while trying to think up a workable plan.
Vader turned at the last second as Elrond leapt for him, two large knives in his hands. The elf-man quickly had to twist his blades up in order to meet Vader's saber. He tried to kick at the dark figure but Vader stepped out of the way. Barbara saw his hand coming up but Elrond saw it too, jumping away and attacking from the side, forcing Vader back on the attack.
Barbara rushed to Julian's side who was panting hard. Amani and Ember were right on her tail.
"I…" Julian paused, staring at Vader with wide eyes. "What is he?"
"I don't know. But we need to get out of here." She turned to Ember. "Can you fly us out of here."
Ember blinked. "Uh…maybe. You'll be heavy. And it'll be slow. But, technically yes I can."
Barbara nodded. They could work with that. She had no allusions that they would ever be able to beat Vader. Elrond was currently barely holding his own, his chest wound clearly weighing on him. She just hoped that they could halt him some way to give them all enough time to get away.
And then it happened. Vader dodged one of the knife thrusts, turned and his saber flashed down. Elrond screamed out in pain as one of his hands dropped lifelessly to the ground. Then before they could do anything, the saber came down again and the second hand joined the first. Elrond dropped to his knees, his chest heaving.
"A valiant effort," Vader said coldly. "But the result is always the same."
Barbara gritted her teeth in anger, hand closing around the flash grenade.
Elrond grimaced before he looked up, facing Vader. "I don't know what you are. But I do know that you are nothing but darkness and pain. And I pity you for that." He then looked down at Barbara and nodded once.
She winced, knowing what was going to happen. But she rolled the grenade anyway, softly so Vader wouldn't sense it. It stopped just beneath his feet right as the saber came down once more, cutting Elrond into light, just like Dedalus.
Barbara readied her staff just as the grenade went off. Vader stumbled in shock, letting out a groan of surprise. He was so distracted that he never saw her coming, Barbara whipping around his blind spot and bringing the staff as hard as she could on his chest plate.
There was an instant hissing sound and Vader suddenly fell to his knees, his breath strangled. Barbara grinned. This was their moment.
"Ember!" she yelled and the dragon answered, flying up and landing on top of him, flattening him to the ground.
"Nice work," Ember grinned a toothy grin. "Now we got h-"
Vader suddenly sent his arms wide and it was like a bomb just went off, a shockwave of pure force sending them all hurtling backwards, flying up into the air. Barbara felt like a truck had just run her over. She tried to breathe, to focus, but the panic of the moment sent her mind reeling. Her body hurtled upwards, so high that she went over the cliff, the vast landscape spread out below her.
Think! Think! Think! she screamed at herself. If she didn't think fast, she was dead. She'd been in hundreds of deadly situations before and she'd always managed to make it through. This time was no different. It shouldn't be. She was Batgirl. And this was now how she died.
She started to fall, the ground rushing towards her. She had seconds to act. She looked around fast and realized she was falling down the side of the cliff, its wall rushing past her. She scrambled over her costume and then realized which costume this was. And the accessories it had. In her panic, she had forgotten. Acting fast, she pulled on the threads and brought her gliders out, the wind catching them and holding them aloft. Barbara breathed out in relief as now, instead of falling, she was gliding through the air. But she didn't really want to stay like this all the way down. The wind could change at any second and then she'd be in trouble.
She glided by the cliff face and then whipped out her grappling hook, aiming it, and firing. The grapple shot upwards, its small rope spiraling behind it, before it caught the rock she'd aimed at and bit in tight. Barbara braced but she couldn't fully prepare for when her body came to an abrupt stop, every bone and muscle in her body jolting and feeling like loose change. It wasn't as bad if she'd been falling, but it still hurt like hell. She felt like she had just been hit by a truck, groaning from the strain. She wouldn't be surprised if she had just dislocated her shoulder. Certainly felt like it. But the worse pain came from her power back, where only a small device kept her spine intact. Throbs of agony rocked her whole body from there and she just hung limply for a few minutes until it finally began to subside.
Thankfully, she still had her bo staff, which she quickly folded up and placed in her belt.
"This just keeps getting better and better," she grunted, switching arms to relieve the other of the pressure. "What's next? An earthquake? Volcanic eruption? Or maybe…" she paused, a sensation overtaking her. She hadn't paid attention to it in a little while, focused on the battle with the dark figure. But it was back now. The pull in her blood, as if it was being drawn out of her. Or, more specifically, the iron in her blood was being drawn out of her. By something large enough, powerful enough, to generate its own gravitational field. Like a giant, specifically one she had seen ten minutes ago at the bottom of a cliff.
She felt a pit grow deep inside of her. "I guess things can get worse," she muttered, turning around to see a large figure approaching. "So much worse."
So I hope you liked Darth Vader's introduction. This was a tough scene to write cause I had to sort of pick and choose which characters to kill off and which ones I wanted to keep around cause when you face Vader, your life expectancy goes way down. Don't worry, he's not going anywhere. Vader will remain a major character throughout this series. Anyone around him…not so much.
Can Elven Steel actually stop a lightsaber? No idea. But I think, since it's one of the more powerful metals in Middle Earth, it would be similar to Beskar and may be able to halt it for a while. But not for too long.
And now the characters:
For those who don't know, Elrond comes from the Lord of the Rings films. So sorry if you're a huge fan and are disappointed to see him go out that quick but I needed someone powerful like him to go down in the first battle.
Dedalus Diggle is a minor character who appears in the Harry Potter books.
Julian is a character from Rick Riordan's Kane Chronicles who follows the path of Horus and thus has more combat-based magic.
Again, let me know if you want any other characters to appear and please leave a review if you can.