"Yeah, I don't do well to people who give me orders," Frozone replied. "What's with you and this woman?"
"She attacked me," Krell explained. "Came out of nowhere. Once I am able to communicate with the Republic again, I will have her imprisoned for assaulting a Jedi Master."
"That's a lie."
They all looked up as another figure dropped down from the hole in the cave roof, a girl about Harry's age and maybe older with shoulder length black curly hair. She faced Krell, arms raised just like Frozone. "He attacked us," she said.
"Oh, you're still alive," Krell muttered. "Thought I sent you flying."
"It takes more than that to kill me," she said through gritted teeth.
"Evidently," Krell nodded. "Well, let's see how much more."
"Stand down, all of you," Frozone said.
"You do not give a Jedi Master orders!" Krell cried and thrust his arm out. Frozone suddenly went up in the air, hurtling into the cave wall where he fell on some crystals with a groan. Instantly, the girl in the bat-suit and the girl who had just dropped down went on the attack. Krell kicked the second girl in the face, knocking her back just as the first girl whipped out the strange boomerangs right at him. He dodged two but the third hit him right in the forehead, knocking him back. Before he could recover, the girl was on him, kneeing him in the face before jumping off and twisting in mid-air to send a kick that had him sprawling across the ground.
Harry, after seeing how quickly Vorjavik recovered, acted fast. "Petrificus totalus!" he cried, the spell shooting out, but Krell was much faster. He leapt out of the way and then thrust his hand out again. Harry suddenly felt a wave of pure force against his chest that sent him flying, crashing into the sandy floor, his wand still clutched in his hand.
"If this is the way to play it," Krell said, taking out two objects from his belt. Harry got to his feet, watching him. They looked like metallic wands to him, except bigger. And then they ignited, shimmering blue and green energy blades shooting out from both ends of what he realized were handles. Krell laughed, spinning the blades around in a deadly arcs, before launching himself right at the bat-suited girl. She dodged and weaved as he spun the blades around, narrowly missing being shorn in half unlike many of the crystals around them. Whoever this girl was, she was well-trained as she dove between the blades, launching attacks of her own every chance she got. She ducked underneath one of the spinning blades, sliding across the floor, and kicked upwards, knocking Krell back a couple feet. Then, she shot back up and ran forward, dodging the other blade to do a backwards somersault, her foot catching Krell's chin and this time sending him crashing to the floor from the impact. She landed smoothly in a crouch, already moving forward again.
"Yah!" Krell cried, his foot launching up and catching the girl unawares, sending her flying this time. He then lunged, his blades coming less than inches from her before she managed to roll away, part of her hair singed. She then ducked under the next blade and jumped over the next, backing up fast. She tried launching a counter attack but this time Krell was ready, one of his lower arms blocking her and holding her at bay despite it not having a blade.
"You are well-trained, girl," Krell admitted. "But you are still no match for a Jedi master."
"Accio…Krell's weapons!" Harry suddenly cried out. It had taken him a few seconds to think of the right words but apparently it did the trick. The blades shot from Krell's grasp, flying over to Harry. He grinned in triumph, but that slowly faded as he watched the blades come at him, spinning around in a deadly whirl. He yelped and jerked his wand, sending them soaring away from him right before they could slice him in half. Krell growled but before he could make a move, the girl was on him, attacking him from all angles as she spun and kicked and punched. He tried to block her and attack but she was limber, able to dodge his every blow.
As the blades landed on the ground, Frozone blasted them with ice but whatever was powering the blades just cracked right through, melting whatever he put on them. Then, before he or anyone could try anything else, they flew back into the air, whipping right back into Krell's hands. Harry blinked at that, not expecting it. How had he done that? It was like he had used a spell, but without a wand. That was extremely powerful.
"A neat trick," Krell said. "But it is nothing compared to my power."
The girl made no response, merely continuing to attack or at least trying to but Krell kept pushing her back. Harry wanted to help but at this point their fighting was so intense that it was hard to know if any spell might hit her instead of Krell. Frozone clearly had the same problem, grunting in frustration as he looked for a way to help. Luke, on the other hand, had his sword in hand but didn't look too interested in helping, merely watching right now. Harry frowned at that, not sure what to make of it.
The girl barely managed to duck underneath the green blade but then was forced back by the blue one, Krell rotating it in hand like a spinning wheel of death. Again, the girl tried to back up but then one of Krell's free hands shot out and the girl was suddenly held fast in midair, unable to move.
Krell grinned savagely, raising his blade. Harry rushed forward alongside Frozone, both ready to act but Luke was faster. He dove into the fight just as Krell brought his blade down, the saber of burning light striking against Luke's metal sword. Harry winced, expecting to see the metal blade sheared in half but instead it held fast. Krell's blade seemed to spit angrily and Luke's own sword seemed to glow a little from the heat, but it managed to hold off the attack.
Krell frowned and pushed harder, trying to break the metal but it still refused, Luke pushing back against the energy blade. Then Krell brought his other blade around, ready to cut Luke himself in half. Harry raised his wand to help, but Luke didn't need it. He ducked under the second blade, dropping his guard on the first and letting it slide by him. He then thrust forward, hoping to catch Krell off guard, but the Jedi Master was good, stepping back and letting Luke carry himself forward, now off balance and barely able to recover as the energy blades came down again. The two parried, Luke holding his own against Krell just like with Vorjavik. The bat-suited girl also helped, darting in and out to launch a kick or punch whenever she could, knocking Krell off balance. He grunted, more in annoyance that anything, and continued his attack, holding both her and Luke at bay.
Harry stood on the sidelines, ready to help whenever he could. Frozone was moving Chewie away from the battle while the girl who had come through the hole was now by the green-clothed woman.
"ENOUGH!" Krell bellowed, throwing his arms wide. Instantly, the world seemed to shake as everyone and everything went flying, a great and powerful force pushing them all away. Harry landed in the sand but rolled with it, coming up on his hands and knees. He could see the bat-suited girl like that as well while Luke groaned at the wall he had smacked into to. "This has gone on long enough," Krell growled. "You are all beneath me and not worthy of my time."
"Well, that's sad to hear," Frozone replied, walking toward him. "It's always my top priority to make my enemies feel it was worth their time to have me whoop their butts."
"Ha!" Krell laughed dryly. "And what can you do? You don't even have a sword."
"Well, here's the thing buddy," Frozone said, the air growing noticeably colder. "I don't need a sword." Just like before, blast of cold air seemed to burst out of his hands right at Krell, blocks of ice forming around him. Krell grunted and struggled against it, shattered some ice but more grew, spreading fast around him. Harry smiled, thinking they had won, when Krell lifted his hands up and all the ice burst apart. He then shot his hand out but this time, instead of Frozone being sent flying, he was lifted up in the air. Krell smiled and closed his fist a little. Instantly, Frozone began choking, gasping for breath. Somehow, Krell was strangling from several yards away.
The time for staying back was over. Harry was done letting the others fight while he just watched, feeling helpless. That wasn't how he fought against Voldemort and it wouldn't be how he fought now. He raised his wand and silently sent a stunning spell at Krell who saw it at the last second, bringing the green energy blade up just in time and deflecting the spell. But Harry didn't stop there, sending more and more spells his way. Krell grunted, throwing Frozone aside who coughed on the ground as his throat recovered, either dodging or deflecting each spell.
"I don't know what kind of blaster that is, boy, but it would be wise to surrender now," Krell warned him. "Before I slice you down the middle."
"I've had plenty of people, far worse than you, threaten me before," Harry replied. "So you're gonna have to try better than that to scare me."
"Oh am I now?" Krell asked with a dark grin.
Harry saw his hand go up and knew what was coming, acting fast. "Expelliarmus!" he cried and, just like he thought, Krell raised one of his blades to deflect it. Except when the spell hit, it didn't deflect. Instead, the blade and its companion shot out of Krell's hands like magic, landing in the far corner of the cave, the energy blades vanishing back into their handles somehow.
"Wha-" Krell started, confused for a second but that was all Harry needed. He then pushed the Jedi back with his wand, his magic forcing Krell against the wall and holding him there.
"I have to ask, how exactly are you going to slice me down the middle from over there?" Harry asked him.
Krell growled against the wall but managed to face Harry, gritting his teeth savagely. "You'll see," he promised.
Harry frowned at that, feeling a tingle of dread creep down his spine.
"Look out!"
Harry turned at the warning and his eyes widened as he saw the energy blades spinning through the air right at him, ignited again. He ducked instantly, missing them by a hairsbreadth. They twisted in midair, landing right back in Krell's palm who, now free of Harry's magic, began walking toward him.
"Now, you wil-" he began when suddenly, he was thrown aside by some force. Harry turned and saw the girl who had jumped down from the hole with her hand raised toward Krell.
"Yeah, you're not the only one who can use that trick," she said.
"Perhaps," Krell replied, getting back to his feet. "But let us see who is stronger, eh?" He then thrust his arm out, his strange force power launching out. The girl did the same and Harry could feel their different powers colliding, pushing against each other. It was strange to see as it was only two people pushing their hands at each other from across the room. But Harry could feel the invisible forces clashing with one another, trying to dominate the other. He tried to fire another spell at Krell but it just bounced off, his power somehow forming a shield around him.
Both Krell and the girl grunted from the effort, the pressure building midair. Harry felt like the very cave was going to pop. He began to back up fast. He had been in a similar situation, fighting Voldemort in that graveyard. But this felt different. This felt like if someone didn't give soon, then the whole cave was going to give, with them in it.
"We have to stop them," he muttered. But how? He raised his wand and tried a stunning spell on Krell, but even it couldn't make it through, the spell being deflected into the wall. He could see Krell and the other girl's faces strained, both gritting their teeth fiercely, trying to overpower the other's will. The very cave began to shake, sand drifting down like rain.
"They're going to bring the place down on top of us!" Luke shouted. "We have to get out of here."
"Wait," Frozone said. He sent a blast of ice right at Krell and Harry let out a breath of relief when he saw ice form around the guy, encasing him. Then, the smile slowly faded as he realized it wasn't forming around Krell. It was forming in the air around Krell. The pressure was so intense, even the ice couldn't break through.
"Damn it!" Frozone muttered. "Alright, new plan." He then turned his attention to the cave ceiling and started blasting ice up there. Harry could see cracks forming but the ice quickly covered them up. "This'll keep it in place."
"But not for long," Luke said and as he did, Harry could already see he was right. More and more cracks were forming along the walls, on the surrounding crystals, even across the floor. The ice itself was cracking apart, no matter how much Frozone replenished it. "We need to get out of here!"
"But it won't stop," Harry replied. "They won't stop. They'll just keep going until this entire place collapses. We need to break them apart."
"That energy will just release anyway, taking them and probably us and the whole damn cave system with it," Luke reminded him.
Harry nodded. He was right. They had to separate the two but they also had to make sure the cave didn't blow up. He grimaced, trying to think. More than ever, he wished Hermione was here. She was the smart one. She'd know exactly what to do in this situation. He was just the guy who hung out with her and was good at the spells.
Wait. He did hang out with her. They'd been best friends, almost siblings, for seven years now. Sometimes he knew what she was going to say before she did, knew how she thought. Which meant he could also find a way out of this.
Ok, think like Hermione, he thought to himself. He quickly analyzed the situation. They didn't have long, minutes if they were lucky and seconds if not. So he had to hurry. They couldn't let either of the two release that energy in here. If they threw it at each other at this point, it would still take out the whole cave and them with it. Which meant it had to go somewhere else. But where?
His gaze fell on the small patch of sunlight coming from the hole in the ceiling. He looked up at it. Could it work? Maybe, but it was still small. If all that pressure went up it, it might still take out that ceiling. Which meant he had to take out the ceiling first.
"Brace yourselves!" he yelled, raising his wand.
"For what? Death? Too late!" Luke cried out but Harry ignored him. He prayed this would work and not deflect like the last spell had.
"Reducto!" he yelled and the spell blasted from his wand, hitting the earth just next to the hole in the ceiling and detonated, the small explosion sending rocks and dirt flying down. Harry ducked then looked back. There was now a bigger hole, but still not big enough.
"What are you trying to do, kill us early?" Luke yelled.
"Kid, shut up!" Frozone said. "Other kid, keep it up."
Harry nodded, but he didn't think another reducto spell would cut it. He needed something more. But that might cause some more problems. "We need to back up fast," he said.
"Great idea, let's do it," Luke said, already taking off. Harry glared at him but still backed up to the edge of the cave with Frozone and the bat-suited girl as well as the green-clothed woman who Frozone had dragged with them.
"I'm going to cause a bigger explosion up there," Harry explained.
"Might cause reaction," the bat-suited girl replied.
Harry frowned for a second and then swore when he realized she was right. His explosion might cause those two to release the energy anyway and if they didn't direct it upwards, they were still dead.
"We need them to get it upwards," he said. "Hey! Hey…girl!"
"Girl?" Frozone questioned.
"What, I don't know her name."
"Marina."
The voice had them all turned to see the green-clothed girl getting to her feet. "Her name is Marina. And mine is Kuvira."
"Marina and Kuvira. Great." Harry turned back to the fight. "Marina!"
Instantly, he saw her turn to look at him and he winced at her expression. It was bordering on exhaustion, her face and hair practically drenched in sweat and her arms quivering. She wouldn't be able to hold out long. But one look at Krell and Harry could tell he would come out on top. While also looking tired, his expression was much more fierce as he kept pushing, Marina coming down to one knee.
"Marina," he said again. "Get it to go up, ok?"
She didn't reply but he did see her nod a little and decided to take that as a yes. He raised his wand when suddenly he felt a force push him back, sending him stumbling to the ground. He looked back up in surprise and saw Krell's outstretched hand.
"No," he growled. "I will not yield. I will take all of you out if it's the last thing I do." He then pushed his hands out more and Marina cried out in pain, sinking into the ground now from the power.
"It will be the last thing you do if you do-" Harry started, getting back to his feet, but then he felt an arm on his shoulder and he turned and saw Kuvira standing there.
"On my signal, fire your spell," she said.
"But what about him? Marina can't do it with him pushing her like that."
"I know," she replied. "Which is why I will take care of it. Just be ready."
Harry nodded, hoping she knew what she was doing. They were out of time. The cave was shaking like crazy, the pressure too intense. They had to act now before they were all buried alive.
"One…" Kuvira started, her hand closing into a fist as she faced Krell, "…two…"
Harry held his wand up, ready for the final word, already muttering the spell.
"…THREE!" she yelled and thrust her arm up, a pillar of rock shooting out and striking Krell in the chest, knocking him aside.
"BOMBARDA MAXIMUM!" Harry yelled out at the same time, the ceiling exploding from the spell and all of it bearing down to crash upon them.
"YAAAAHHHH!" Marina screamed, throwing her and Krell's power out and sending it above her to the falling ceiling, all the earthen debris blasting up and away from the intense pressure through the hole Harry had made. With that done, she slumped over.
Harry almost joined her. He wasn't tired but mentally he felt done. He didn't think he could deal with anything else right now.
"Everyone ok?" Frozone asked, stepping forward.
"Define 'ok,'" Luke snapped, coughing from the smog of dirt around them.
Harry just rolled his eyes, getting tired of Luke at this point. Everyone else seemed to be fine. Kuvira and the bat-suited girl were over by Marina's side, trying to get her back on her feet.
"I'm ok, I'm ok," she told them. "I just need a minute."
"Where's Krell?" the bat-suited girl asked.
"Good question," Frozone said, looking to where they had seen him earlier. The rock pillar Kuvira had formed was still there but the Jedi master was gone. A pit formed in Harry's stomach. He should have realized sooner, been on high alert from the very second they had released all that energy. Because of course this wasn't over. They had dealt with the immediate threat of being buried alive but now they had to deal with the overall threat. Krell himself.
"Keep your eyes peeled," Frozone muttered, hands raised to blast ice at any attack. Harry was tempted to use the revelio charm again but he wasn't sure if it would work with so many people in the cave now, and they were all a little scattered around. He just had to be ready.
Unfortunately, that wasn't enough. They had no warning as Krell suddenly appeared out of the shadows, landing directly on top of the bat-suited girl and Luke, pinning them to the ground with his legs. Before anyone else could make a move, Krell's hands shot out and Harry found some invisible force holding him in the air, stopping him from moving. He gasped and struggled but couldn't do anything. The others all had the same problem. Frozone kept trying to freeze his way out but his powers had no effect. Marina just hung limply in the air and Kuvira apparently couldn't use her powers without movement and Krell was keeping her pinned.
"That was an interesting move," Krell admitted. "Took me by surprise. But no matter. There was only one way this would end."
"Gods, do you ever shut up?" Luke groaned from beneath his foot.
Krell peered down at him. "For someone whose very survival depends on my mood, you would do best not to anger me further."
"I've been in worse situations," Luke replied. "And I've suffered more than you can know. So do your worst, you frog-faced freak."
Harry's eyes went wide at Luke's insult, worried he was about to see his makeshift friend die but Krell didn't seem interested in killing him just yet. Instead, he continued to ponder Luke for a minute.
"Do you know that ever since I gave into the darkness, my power has become so much stronger, so much greater than I could have imagined," he said. "I feel…free, unshackled by the rules placed on me before. It is what makes me what I am now. And, as such, I can sense it in others as well. And you, well, I can sense a similar power."
Harry saw Luke go still, his face turning pale.
"Yes. There is great darkness in you, great anger and hatred. And yet, I can sense you hiding it, pushing it away, forcing it down." Krell gave a dark smile. "Why would you do such a thing when you can just release it and free yourself?"
"Because I already did," Luke replied softly, so quiet Harry almost couldn't hear. "I gave in to that anger and hatred and because of it a lot of people died and the world was almost destroyed. Everything I loved almost died because of my decisions. In the end, it wasn't worth it. So yeah, I push it down cause I know the consequences of setting it loose. Do you?"
"Hmmm," Krell looked down at him for another second, still holding everyone aloft with his strange powers. "How disappointing. Well then, I guess there will be no one to miss you when you're gone."
With that, he began to squeeze Luke with his foot. Luke gasped in pain, the foot crushing into the floor. The others all struggled even harder to break free but Krell held fast, not letting any of them go. He smiled savagely down at Luke, squeezing harder and harder. "I would suggest," he said as Luke's gasps got softer, "that you pray to whatever gods you believe in, as-"
He never got to finish that sentence as an arrow suddenly appeared in his head.
They all fell to the ground, Harry hitting the sand with a thump. He scrambled back up and watched as Krell tried to look at the arrow sprouting from his forehead, blinking. Then, his entire body seemed to dissolve into a bright light until he faded from sight, almost like he ceased to exist. Luke instantly coughed and rolled over, the pressure gone.
Harry and the others all looked up to where the arrow had come from and watched as a man in leather clothes dropped down. Harry blinked as he looked at this new person. His skin seemed almost flawless to look at and he had shiny blonde hair running down his back, almost flowing as well as pointed ears. In the man's hands was a bow with a quiver of arrows strapped to his back.
"You are welcome," he said, bowing slightly. "The name is Legolas, Royal Ranger to the King."
Just want to thank everyone who's been reading this. Means a lot.
This version of Legolas is from the Lord of the Rings films.
That is indeed Kuvira from Legend of Korra but if you've read the comics as well, she comes after Ruins of the Empire.
The other girl is Marina, a character from the Lorien Legacies book series. If you don't know it, you should give it a shot. But don't worry too much, I'll explain her powers as this goes on.
And yeah, the bat-suited girl is Cassandra Cain. I loved her in James Tynion's Detective Comics so I wanted her to be involved.
N1k3r0: I am so sorry, but I actually haven't seen Doctor Who so I can't bring any of those characters in as I would want to do them justice. Sorry.
Sakra95: That is exactly it. Wonder Woman and Aquaman's weapons might be able to hurt Superman but Percy's sword was designed for monsters and magical beings, not mortals. Now, it is able for reasons that I can't say yet but it really is just an ordinary sword to them. So, it has no effect on someone like Homelander.
LGSgotTaken: Those aren't the Seven Ribbons of Hathor, it's just magical string like the kind Carter uses. Vlad is just so powerful that it works quickly on them, especially since none of them are magic (except Hermione which is why she blocked it).
Please leave a review if you can and any other characters, I will try and make them work. Thanks again.