Justice League: The New Wave (IC)

[kizkiz]

"If you have the capacity to disable their emotional and dreaming minds then that might work as a proxy, but as they control the blood, they have a capacity to repair damage to the body." Kiz's fist snapped out in a clean punch. "Your capacity would have to exceed theirs."

 

[Wyldfire]

Thea being Grandad's girl........

"Magic users." Kaldur murmured, eyes narrowed. "Psychics. Your thoughts."

"Kal's a good guy," Thea thought to herself, he'd been trained and taught to lead well. He knew when to call for a brain trust. "Let's just hope he can keep this lot alive," she continued in her internal monologue.

"Mediums," Kiz corrected Kaldur. "Ravana's Rakshasa is tethered to their Ātman inducing the Artha-Shastra." He frowned, "And I assume your code prevents you from flooding the stadium." He turned to look at the Rider, "And her as well. The Ravana is powered by the nightmares of the people in the stadium. It is fed and curated by the 333. Even if you kill one of the Bestowed, that portion of Ravana will only seek another. Even if the vessel is impure, it will attach and bestow. Even if we destroyed all of Kobra so that Ravana had none to settle into, it would find other vessels, the citizens in the stadium. You'd have to kill them if you weren't worn to nubs by then."

He let that settle into the minds of the children around him. This wasn't a bank robber or terrorist, this was one of the most powerful demons in Hell. This was one of the Prince's, itself an aspect of Kali while also being Kali's offspring.

"And your warlock is clearly not up to the challenge of banishing Ravana." He looked at Raven, his eyes not human eyes anymore but twin wells of the Void. He stared into her soul. Then he looked back towards the stadium. "A contingent could attempt to empty out the Stadium through speed, flight, or dimensional manipulation. That would weaken the Bestowed, they'd risk defaulting on their oaths. If they did default, then I could convince Ravana to depart. That would be easy enough on my end."

Kiz turned and looked through the tunnel he'd bored through creation. "Anything that moves that way will be propelled along the Ley Line like a rock skipping along the surface of a lake...or creation in this case. That should help any who become grievously injured or rescued to withdraw with some hope of survival."

Kiz unhooked his Key Dagger, swinging it around his finger. He wasn't sure if they'd trust him if he disclosed how the Key Dagger could absorb those portions of Ravana when the Bestowed died, but he pressed on anyway. "It'll take the passage of seven moments before Ravana has exited a dead Bestowed and enters another host. Not much time, but enough that if I'm fast enough I could absorb that portion with this." He raised the Key Dagger, "If I amass a super majority of the 333, then I may be able to negate their oaths. I would be vulnerable, so I prefer to put you all in harms way before I put myself." Kiz was nothing if not honest. "I am not invested enough to risk my life in this, but I will aid you so long as the Rogues and Rose remain."

So Spooky's true colors showed. Whole lotta power and an ego to match. He might be alla that and a ham sandwich but Thea wasn't going to trust it till she really saw it. And she really needed to bring a freaking dictionary and Thesaurus in her smartphone next time she ever had to work with this guy. He kinda seemed buddy buddy with the baddies in the ranks too, smelled alot like a Felix Faust "The next Generation" more and more. At least he did one thing nice for the team giving them the magic slip and slide to keep from being put in the ground. Not that Thea planned on needing it, but it was a gesture.

To one side sat a green furred feline, half hidden in the shadows as he washed his paws. At Kiz' words his ears pricked and he started forward, turning into the human form of Garfield.

"Wait did I understand you correctly? You want to kill 333 people?"

He looked around, sure he was the shortest and nobody had to listen to him since he was not actually part of the League, but he was still human...well kinda...

"Can't we like... teleport or transport or do some sort of port the people out of there? I mean... those are innocent people out there, they did not ask to get gathered together and be part of some blood cult demon worship Exorcism hard-on scheme."

"You heard wrong Garfield. There are 333 Bestowed at the peak of their power, drawing from the nightmares of the citizens of both towns. If not more." Kiz shrugged. "I would kill thousands to save millions, but I acknowledge you would not." He tilted his head, doing some calculations. "More people have died while we shook each other's hands and said our hellos, then dwell in that stadium. I didn't see you concerned while you were making jokes." His lips compressed and he scanned the assembled Heros. "But I wouldn't ask you to compromise your own honor for convienence. I never do."

"Best call I think I ever heard from Gar there," she thought. When in doubt make sure they're asking you to be a homicidal maniac for the greater good. Make them make things clear. Spooky was starting to get on her nerves though. All his high an mighty crap. Spooks needed to figure out real quick that not everyone there had fought at the battle of five armies, the battle against Voldemort, or whatever. Most of these people didn't have a whole lotta time under their belts at the whole saving the universe thing.

Aright aright, caught up to the second on this crazy shit. Thea finally got into the current conversation. "These cut and paste power guys?" she looked over at Spooky. "Can they only copy you Harry Potter types, or can they copy guys like the cyborg dude and twinkle toes over there?" pointing at G.R.I.D. and Velocity. "'Cause, if they can then we got some trouble. 'Wing, Arrows, the thugs, and I might be able ta do some damage if they got no powers ta copy. Just a thought, so you big guns can deal with the bigger picture kinda thing," and she turned to Gar and G.R.I.D., "That way we can keep our hands clean and keep them from playing magical hopscotch ta any a us "imperfects"."

And Thea smiled at the simple thought of beating the shit outta some big pieces of meat.

 

[kizkiz]

Aright aright, caught up to the second on this crazy shit. Thea finally got into the current conversation. "These cut and paste power guys?" she looked over at Spooky. "Can they only copy you Harry Potter types, or can they copy guys like the cyborg dude and twinkle toes over there?" pointing at G.R.I.D. and Velocity. "'Cause, if they can then we got some trouble. 'Wing, Arrows, the thugs, and I might be able ta do some damage if they got no powers ta copy. Just a thought, so you big guns can deal with the bigger picture kinda thing," and she turned to Gar and G.R.I.D., "That way we can keep our hands clean and keep them from playing magical hopscotch ta any a us "imperfects"."

"Thea," Kiz said, turning his head towards her. His eyes were still not eyes but holes in creation leaking the Void in small, tear-like tendrils. "Half of what you said made no sense, but if your power comes from or is related to your blood and to some extent your body be it organic, technic, or magic then yes within their demesne-" He pointed towards the stadium and the mystic bonfires. "They could attune, harmonize, and then utilize an analog." He paused for a second, "But they can not do so to me."

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Connor looked at Kiz. So what the guy was saying was that even though he didn't have powers, they could still copy him just because he had trained all his life to be one of the best marksmen in the world? What a load of Bull!!

"You know, when the shit starts flying, I am betting those bastards are really not going to be paying much attention to those of us not being too flashy," he smiled. "I mean if you had the choice between me and Super babe over there," he said grinning at Wonder girl , "Who would you pick? Hell I wouldn't even pick me," he chuckled.

He glanced around at the others and pointed at Heatwave, Cold, Wildcat and Himself. "Look, we four are probably going to be the ones best suited to sneak around and hit these guys from cover. At least for the first part of the battle. They will concentrate on the big guns first and try to take you out before worrying about us and that will be their mistake. Of course once they realize that we will be in trouble but hey that's part of the job right," he grinned.

"So just so we're clear. The object is to take these jokers out right? Personally I have no problems with it but does anyone else?"

 

[ChasNicollette]

To the right, to the left. We will fight to the death!

"Then we are so bound by oath sworn and Void filled." Black script oozed between unseen cracks in creation, blossoming around them like a violent surge of mold for a few seconds as their agreement was written and accepted within the halls of High House Void.

Like Cameron Chase before her, Lisa Snart had had no idea what to expect when sealing a deal with Kiz. And she certainly hadn't known to expect... that.

Her ectoplasmic composition was indeterminate, but it was possible that she was at least somewhat Void in her own right. And to feel that strange crawling sensation of the world slithering into a new configuration and locking in their handshake to the very building-blocks of reality...

...she gasped softly. And blinked rapidly. And had to take a minute to... recover.

"Mediums," Kiz corrected Kaldur.

It wasn't a correction, as such. Kaldur had been seeking insights from the psychics and mystics among their own somewhat merry band, but to take time to point that out would be more beneficial to his ego than the conversation.

Kiz' providing his insights was certainly more useful. So Kaldur listened.

"Ravana's Rakshasa is tethered to their Ātman inducing the Artha-Shastra." He frowned, "And I assume your code prevents you from flooding the stadium."

"It does not prevent it. But absolutely all other options should be exhausted first. I will not destroy this city in order to save it unless we can save it no other way."

He turned to look at the Rider, "And her as well. The Ravana is powered by the nightmares of the people in the stadium. It is fed and curated by the 333. Even if you kill one of the Bestowed, that portion of Ravana will only seek another. Even if the vessel is impure, it will attach and bestow. Even if we destroyed all of Kobra so that Ravana had none to settle into, it would find other vessels, the citizens in the stadium. You'd have to kill them if you weren't worn to nubs by then."

Kaldur narrowed his eyes. Yes. This was not ideal.

Ruby had had the long walk across the city to try and get her head back on straight. And she wasn't all there yet. Wasn't all back yet. But she was back enough in the moment that the idea of having to systematically exterminate any hosts for these spirit-things struck what moral chords she had left. "What? Fuck no."

Rose couldn't help but agree, her Pale Martian heart thudding with anguish in her chest. "There has to be another way."

He let that settle into the minds of the children around him.

"And your warlock is clearly not up to the challenge of banishing Ravana." He looked at Raven, his eyes not human eyes anymore but twin wells of the Void. He stared into her soul. Then he looked back towards the stadium. "A contingent could attempt to empty out the Stadium through speed, flight, or dimensional manipulation. That would weaken the Bestowed, they'd risk defaulting on their oaths. If they did default, then I could convince Ravana to depart. That would be easy enough on my end."

"Then that is our objective here," Kaldur nodded.

Kiz turned and looked through the tunnel he'd bored through creation. "Anything that moves that way will be propelled along the Ley Line like a rock skipping along the surface of a lake...or creation in this case. That should help any who become grievously injured or rescued to withdraw with some hope of survival."

"This ley-line," Rose clarified, "once we get people out of that-- oubliette-- abattoir-- place-- we can put them in there and shunt them to safety and go back for more? Good."

"It'll take the passage of seven moments before Ravana has exited a dead Bestowed and enters another host. Not much time, but enough that if I'm fast enough I could absorb that portion with this." He raised the Key Dagger, "If I amass a super majority of the 333, then I may be able to negate their oaths. I would be vulnerable, so I prefer to put you all in harms way before I put myself." Kiz was nothing if not honest. "I am not invested enough to risk my life in this, but I will aid you so long as the Rogues and Rose remain."

"I don't want to kill anyone," Rose shook her head sharply. "But I'm certainly not abandoning innocent people to a living Hell in there."

Ruby had already run ninjas over with The T-Car earlier. What a world. What a day. "Hashtag same."

Gar, GRID, Wildcat, and this young new Green Arrow all sought clarification, and Kiz provided it with alacrity.

"So just so we're clear. The object is to take these jokers out right? Personally I have no problems with it but does anyone else?"

"We will take these 'jokers' out," Kaldur agreed. "But we will simultaneously diminish their pool of power by getting as many civilians as possible out of harm's way as the rest of us engage the enemy directly."

"Many of us quite rightly are sworn against the killing of villains, costumed or otherwise. But this is not a day for us to be heroes. This is a day to be warriors, as this is war. A war for the heart and soul of a continent and for all mankind. And in war, as hurtful and as hateful as that is, there is killing. We have already slain many of their ninja soldiers and their hulking blockbusters. Killing these mediums is no different. We will pay the price of our consciences to save the lives that they would crush and slay and twist if we were not willing to take measures to stop them."

"When the first true Justice League formed twenty years ago, in their first year they faced an enemy organization called Locus, geneticists who had transferred their own minds into clone bodies that could survive in an ecosystem blasted by an alien invasion they were hoping to usher in. The Manhunter from Mars attempted to read their minds to figure out how to stop them, and accidentally activated a psychic feedback failsafe-- all of Locus died in moments."

"J'onn never forgave himself for that. But he also confided in me that he was grateful for the lives they saved that day, that year."

"Let us for today be that kind of Justice League. Let us today do what it takes."

"Tomorrow we will have the luxury of being heroes again. And I hope and pray that we return to that higher standard of honor."

"But for now. We will show them that they are not the only ones who can deal in blood. Justice runs red."

He took a breath, squared his shoulders.

Pointed to Karan, Raven, Martian Manhuntress, Velocity, and The Glider.

"You five, and anyone else who can move many people quickly-- it is down to you to usher the civilians into the ley-tunnel that Kiz has provided."

"The rest of us must fight to keep these Bestowed off of the evac contingent's back, and slay them where possible and necessary. In this way we will deplete their power on two fronts."

"May our gods have mercy on our souls."

"GO!"

 

[ChasNicollette]

A warning to The Prophet, The Liar, The Honest. This is War. (Hotline)

Kaldur's speech wasn't just about killing.

It was-- about--

--doing whatever it took.

Even if your soul took a hit in the bargain.

Some things were worth that balance.

Holding the line against chaos.

Tomorrow she could pray to a God she only sometimes believed in and drink herself into oblivion before checking into rehab and therapy.

But for now.

For now.

Ruby Reed would do whatever it took.

As Aquaman's command rang in the air, Ruby unholstered her phone. Her Dial.

And she Dialed.

4. 3. 7. 6.

H-E-R-O.

SssshhCLICK!

 

[TertiusHuman]

Cat's in the cradle and the silver moon, little boy playing with the Spinosaurus

He listened to the others and felt that feeling you get when you are sinking and have no way to stop yourself from sinking too deep. This was not what he had bargained for, but then again he got dragged into this and he was not going to back down now. Not with the heroes around him.

He used the watch to look at dinosaurs and then to anybody who was still listening to him, "I do hope they don't mind getting eaten. And since I will not be able to talk for a while, please no jokes about this form."

Moments later a green hued Spinosaurus stood where Garfield had stood. Garfield took a few moments to get used to the perspective of towering above everybody and then flexed his back and tail, opening his jaws to reveal quite impressive teeth. Flexing the fingers on the short front feet, he was as ready as he could be in this situation. Of course weighing in at nine metric tons and being 18m (9.9 tons and 59feet), would also make him stand out and be a great target.

For the first time Garfield realized that he might have made a mistake, but then again, the distraction would work to give the others the chance to hit hard and fast. That was about it. Taking a deep breath he followed the lead.

 

[LuckyVic]

Damian might have thought that Kaldur’s speech was a good one… might have if he had been there to listen to everyone talking. It wouldn’t be known by the others exactly when it was he had disappeared, they were so distracted with the mission that he was able to use that distraction. Besides out in the daylight he was vulnerable, and Damian hated being vulnerable.

One of the good things about sports complexes was that there were plenty of entrances. Too many entrances in fact. He had a feeling that Kobra would only place guards in the obvious places.. loading docks, doors, the roof, etc. But some of these places had alternate entrances, some that were used secretly by visiting stars or teams, others that weren’t as obvious like sewers. He just had to find the perfect one. One that would give him not only access to the building, but keep him hidden and in the shadows. The shadows where he belonged, where he could gather intel as well as act.

 

[ChasNicollette]

To the Leader, The Pariah, The Victor, The Messiah. This is War.

Damian might have thought that Kaldur’s speech was a good one… might have if he had been there to listen to everyone talking. It wouldn’t be known by the others exactly when it was he had disappeared, they were so distracted with the mission that he was able to use that distraction. Besides out in the daylight he was vulnerable, and Damian hated being vulnerable.

One of the good things about sports complexes was that there were plenty of entrances. Too many entrances in fact. He had a feeling that Kobra would only place guards in the obvious places.. loading docks, doors, the roof, etc. But some of these places had alternate entrances, some that were used secretly by visiting stars or teams, others that weren’t as obvious like sewers. He just had to find the perfect one. One that would give him not only access to the building, but keep him hidden and in the shadows. The shadows where he belonged, where he could gather intel as well as act.

Calling the reddish darkness and the crackling green-gold lightning that illuminated The Gem Cities under the dome "daylight" was perhaps a joke that Helia would find bitterly bemusing. But nevertheless, The Son of The Bat was uniquely predisposed to making a non-frontal incursion.

He would find within the united stadiums that the residents of Central and Keystone City had all been crammed in en masse with zero regard for comfort.

"Huddled masses yearning to breathe free."

The air was oppressive. The stink of warm humanity wedged together in fear and loathing. Their worst fears and panics and claustrophobias and agoraphobias spilling up and over, flooding their blood with dread that The Bestowed could use to anchor and magnify their power and transmit it out across the continent to their fellow bloodmages.

No doubt Damian's strength of will was second to none, and he had been trained by his mother and grandfather and father and birdboy brothers to resist mesmerism and psionic influences. But even he would feel the horror creeping in around the edges of his mask.

And even the all-concealing shadows are permeable to those whose scrying eyes rely on more than five conventional senses.

One of The Bestowed shimmered into space before him, levitating above him, leering down at him, robe billowing.

"What have we here? Your blood is interesting indeed-- a legendary bloodline."

She thrust out her hand and exerted her will on the blood in his veins.

"Let's see how legendary it is when I force it out of your every orafice."

"NO GOD BUT GOD!"

 

[ChasNicollette]

"You know, when the shit starts flying, I am betting those bastards are really not going to be paying much attention to those of us not being too flashy," he smiled. "I mean if you had the choice between me and Super babe over there," he said grinning at Wonder girl , "Who would you pick? Hell I wouldn't even pick me," he chuckled.

"Depends if they hunt like wolves, culling the weak of the herd," Cold harrumphed. "Maybe we show them we ain't so weak after all."

He glanced around at the others and pointed at Heatwave, Cold, Wildcat and Himself. "Look, we four are probably going to be the ones best suited to sneak around and hit these guys from cover. At least for the first part of the battle. They will concentrate on the big guns first and try to take you out before worrying about us and that will be their mistake. Of course once they realize that we will be in trouble but hey that's part of the job right," he grinned.

"Sounds good to me," Cold nodded. "Just put your pointy sticks in the other guys, GA 2.0, we'll get along fine."

He glanced at Heatwave. "Guerilla tactics, Mick. Stick and move. Only when they start acting like we're a credible threat, that's when you start blowing up all the gas tanks in this parking lot."

"That'll do," Heatwave grinned, dragging his attention away from Ghost Rider for once.

 

[kizkiz]

Kiz for his part let Kaldur do the talking and the rest to settle into whatever configuration and parameters they saw fit. If the death toll rose high enough, he had surprises to unveil. For now, he stood in the precipice between the conventional portions of creation and the mouth of the Void-tunnel encompassing one of the Earth's ley lines. Havel's shield was proof against most magics associated with necromancy, blood magic being one of them. As a Death Knight, Havel himself could counter and compose many necromantic effects, but for now Kiz preferred to hold his bigger cards in reserve. He'd call forth Shanker if a blood Mage got too close and lingered in any one place for too long, but even Shanker wasn't necessary just yet.

As the blood mage's used their magics against him and places near him, he was able to further attune to their resonance. The Key Dagger was his metronome. He had no desire demean himself by making or assuming an analog their powers; his specialty was in the reverse. A sound wave could be canceled it if it encountered it's perfect anti-wave form. Of course if he could harvest more of Ravana with the Key Dagger that would speed up exponentially, but again Kiz was playing cautious during the first few salvos.

The ideal scenario would be one in which Kiz wasn't required to unveil any more power or abilities than he already had. If Rose and the Rogues were really committed to seeing the city freed and the country saved, then there would be more to face then just Ravana and those who had been bestowed with a portion of his power. And in the grand scheme of his mission, this would be the least he'd have to face.

Kiz twirled the Key Dagger around the sausage-like forefinger of his right hand. It made no audible noise as one might expect, but in the arcane frequencies upon which the Bestowed channeled, pooled, and manipulated their powers it would be discordance, dissonance, and very soon negation. An anti-melody that grew louder in their frequencies the more the Bestowed wielded magics or attacked near him or at him.

 

[ChasNicollette]

"Pale," by Within Temptation. (Rose/M'gann)

He used the watch to look at dinosaurs and then to anybody who was still listening to him, "I do hope they don't mind getting eaten. And since I will not be able to talk for a while, please no jokes about this form."

Moments later a green hued Spinosaurus stood where Garfield had stood. Garfield took a few moments to get used to the perspective of towering above everybody and then flexed his back and tail, opening his jaws to reveal quite impressive teeth. Flexing the fingers on the short front feet, he was as ready as he could be in this situation. Of course weighing in at nine metric tons and being 18m (9.9 tons and 59feet), would also make him stand out and be a great target.

<I think you look amazing,> Rose remarked telepathically to Beast Boy's dinosaur brain, and she meant it.

She could shapeshift into other people, but it had never occurred to her to start experimenting with that ability, to try taking on other forms that would be more useful in battle. The ability to become any animal that you glanced at was inspiring to her.

Kaldur was already running across the parking lot, bounding over parked cars with as much effort as it might take a baseline person to mount the front steps of a house, The Champion's Trident spinning to a ready position in his hand, the tines held low.

He glanced up to see Rose soaring up overhead, trying to approach the complex from an angle that would keep those burning barrels ringing the place far enough away that they would not hamper her ability to stay airborne.

His mind called out to hers even as he ran, gritting his teeth as the target grew closer:

<Martian Manhuntress. Communication will be difficult in the heat of battle. Especially for those of us who are limited verbally like the metamorphosed Beast Boy. Do what you can to link everyone's minds, if you can. This was something The Martian Manhunter did often for The Justice League, and it proved invaluable time and again.>

This request surprised Rose. Another thing that she hadn't even considered. <I'll... try.>

<Thank you.>

The thought fleeted through her mind-- this was the second time in as many moments that Kaldur had mentioned J'onn J'onzz. She hoped when all this was done she could turn to him for more insights about how to be... Martian.

In the meantime, he had offered her another way to help that didn't involve killing people? She'd take it!

Shooting Karan a glance, she drew strength from her nearby Wonder Girl, and even as she flew, she attempted to reach out with tendrils of her mind.

 

[ChasNicollette]

...a Kiz goodbye.

Kiz twirled the Key Dagger around the sausage-like forefinger of his right hand. It made no audible noise as one might expect, but in the arcane frequencies upon which the Bestowed channeled, pooled, and manipulated their powers it would be discordance, dissonance, and very soon negation. An anti-melody that grew louder in their frequencies the more the Bestowed wielded magics or attacked near him or at him.

That Key spiraled around that meaty digit and the vibration of it thrilled through her Deathless incorporeality.

And the Glider grinned at him, standing there all bad-ass and framed against the night that had ravaged her cities, and she blew him a kiss.

And then she was gone-- as fast as Kiz could vanish from place to place --away towards the complex at invisible, intangible superspeed.

 

[ChasNicollette]

Flux Capacity. (Hotline)

4. 3. 7. 6.

H-E-R-O.

SssshhCLICK!

And when the hyperspacedust settled, she was...?

"CLOCKWORK!"

A golden-skinned robotic creature, a technological organism, its species physically devoid of gender dimorphism but this one internally identifying as female, comprised of gears and circuits like the ultimate mash-up of cyberpunk and steampunk. She had a key atop her head like you'd use to wind up a toy.

Her voice was deep and sweet, with a Swiss/German accent that spoke of precision timepieces... and pronounced her "w's" like "v's," so she sounded like she'd shouted the name CLOCKVERK!

In the first few instants after Clockwork coalesced around Ruby, the mind of the ectype brushed up against Ruby's extant consciousness and informed her what Clockwork knew of her own abilities. And they were... extensive!

The body was big and clumsy and didn't have very good stamina relatively speaking but she was strong, physically-- and she had enormous abilities to manipulate the local flow of time. The trouble was, with how quickly she would become exhausted, she had to pick very carefully the tactic she would undertake.

Especially since-- just peeking a little bit forward in the timestream here-- she could tell this was going to be one of the times when her Dial would time out on her relatively quickly. Time was of the essence!

She could age people or things to dust, recalibrate people or things that had been temporally or dimensionally displaced, "pause" and "rewind" time, project chronal afterimages to see things that had transpired before...

...she could even slow down time around her person so that she could seem like she was moving at superhuman speed.

Yes. That's it, that's what I'll do, I'll help the evac contingent--

But as she turned to regard the battlefield once more, she caught sight of The Bestowed, hovering in wait for the attacking New Justice League and their allies. And with her Chronosapien awareness, she could see the massive distortions of spacetime around each bloodmage. Not only could they use their magic to teleport, but they could also rend space around themselves so that attacks would miss them.

(Kiz had some curious hypertemporal distortions around himself as well, but his abilities were more organic, they worked with the flow of Space and Time and Void in this particular universe, written into the margins of reality, rather than forcing the universe to gape apart and accommodate him.)

Clockwork could target each bloodmage directly. Vaporize them in a stream of emerald spaciotemporal light. But how many would she be able to get before she wore out? Two, maybe three? Especially at this distance, the long run across the parking lot.

No, she could use her powers to debuff the bloodmages and neutralize their ability to make themselves harder to hit. Reduce the miss-chance. Give her friends a better shot at hitting them, at killing them, at leaving their demon-pieces exposed for this Kiz guy to scoop up and absorb.

Okay.

It's a plan.

She threw her arms wide, and the key atop her head glowed bright bright green, and turned... clockwise.

And with a great BOOOOONG like Big Ben, a ring of great green energy expanded from her clockwork heart and washed over the battlefield...

...illuminating The Bestowed and anchoring them in spacetime. They could still teleport, with effort, and levitate...

...but they could not simply brush attacks aside as though they were kites caught by zephyrs.

Shuddering with the exertion, Clockwork felt her gears grinding...

...she could already feel her Dial trying to time out, but with all that was within her she clung onto one second and looped it, holding herself there, holding herself in the form of Clockwork, and grimly maintaining the debuff effect that would make The Bestowed much less elusive targets.

 

[ChasNicollette]

Executive Orders. (Luthor)

Behind Luthor, another impact throomed his panic room, but then everything went quiet. Lex squinted. "I leave this in your capable hands, Justice League. Good luck." And signed off, his subscreen of the HUD winking out and giving them a clearer view through the canopy.

Luthor stood, slowly, warily, and faced the door to his panic room.

The CCTV camera showing the office beyond had been badly damaged, and the picture it was feeding him was jumpy, staticky, he couldn't make out the situation.

"Mercy," he touched the key to the commlink. "Mercy. Bishop. Report."

No response was immediate. Had the commlink been damaged too? Were his defenders dead?

He instantly began evaluating the possibilities of creating a new teleport jamming system using the communications tech in the panic room and mounting an escape--

--he was Lex Goddamn Luthor he would not be bullied or intimidated or murdered by any C-list religious zealots--

"Sir. Mister Luthor." Mercy's voice was almost drowning in the hiss of a damaged comm mic. "Sorry. I'm spread. Very thin. I need to consolidate some of these dead mes, get my head back on straighter."

"I am--" Lex grimaced, trying to be patient, "--sorry for your losses, Mercy. But I need a report."

"Sir," Kelley Bishop's voice chimed in. "We-- I think we drove them off? They stopped sending new ones. Maybe they're having to re-evaluate tactics."

Not the all-clear he was hoping for. And of course nothing less than an all-clear would convince these two to let him out of this damned box.

"Bishop. Kelley." Luthor frowned. "Are you damaged? Is Mercy injured?"

"Systems diagnostics are coming up mostly greens and a few yellows," Kelley replied after a moment's hesitation. "I may have a small microfracture ferrofluid leak. Nothing I can't patch. Mercy's prime self seems uninjured but she also seems exhausted. Maybe shell-shocked. She fought like a demon, sir, like a horde of demons."

"Yes," Luthor acknowledged. "That's very her."

Mercy got back on the horn, sounding a little more focused. "I'm okay. I've reabsorbed some of my dead duplicates. Never a fun process, but that weird feedback whine at the back of my brain is starting to fade. Appreciate your concern, Mister Luthor."

She paused. "Listen, not that I'm one to talk, but I ripped off a couple of the ninja guys' masks when we were mixing it up in there and-- they all look alike. I mean, they seriously all look alike. Not just the Caucasian complexion and the build and the-- their faces are identical. I wonder if the big beast guys are identical too under their masks before they change."

Lex frowned. "...a disturbing development. Perhaps it explains their incredible numbers. Bishop, analysis."

"I'm not a tricorder, sir, I-- I can't do a molecular level sweep to match their DNA. But my signal tracking systems suggest there's a circuitry woven into the ninja uniforms, and it's that which is receiving the teleport signal."

Lex wheeled away from the door to sit down again at his own comm array.

He needed to be able to run his multinational company despite threat of kidnap or assassination-- he could chair a board meeting from in here if he needed to--

--chat with George Stephanopoulos or that gasbag idiot O'Reilly--

"Get me someone from R&D up here. Immediately. Tell them there will be maximum compensation for the risk of accidental death and dismemberment, and residuals in perpetuity for any resulting patents. Tell them to bring a tablet with Natasha Irons on video chat, I want her looped in on this."

He paused.

"And somebody find me Dr. Serling Roquette."

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

A road to nowhere

Velocity had kept quiet as everybody discussed what they wanted to do. Personally she wasn't really worried about what she was assigned to do, but she was kind of glad that she was going to be on the rescue squad.

As she walked towards the stadium she studied it and the surrounding area, looking for the closest exit and what was between it and the tunnel Kiz had created.

There were several different exits, ranging from small doorways, to a loading dock. What would be best would be if she could get the loading bay open as it would enable her to get more people out easier. However she didn't have the strength to do that if it was locked. She would have to rely on one of the others having the same thought and doing something about it. Maybe Rose or Glider would open it. They both seemed to have the sort of abilities that would let them do it.

Her best bet would be to get inside one of the doors and start ferrying out people one at a time as fast as possible. Depending on what happened, she should be able to get one person out every few seconds. The worst part would be learning the layout of the inside of the stadium the first time. After that it would just be a case of reacting to any surprises.

Beside her she saw the girl called Hotline change in a flash of light and then the clockwork creature she became looked towards the stadium and throwing her/it's arms wide released a wide green pulse towards it and the bloodmage's. Velocity did not know what she had done but just for a fraction of a second, something seemed to happen to them. Deciding to take advantage of the situation she zoomed towards the nearest door and not even waiting to see if it was open or not she vibrated her hand and used it to sheer off the handle. Opening it she dashed inside and began to move through the maze of corridors and rooms looking for the way to where the people were being kept.

 

[Wyldfire]

Okay, so as advertised previously. Spooky was useless except to tell the entire crew they were useless and pitiful. "Fine Spooks," she said, "Summon yerself up a lawn chair and watch the show 'till just yer little favorites are left. Yer as bad as all the other "Big guns"." She hadn't missed the blown kiss, and she had to wonder at how people thought anymore. Maybe Grand had done her a bad with raising her with his old fashioned beliefs. Or maybe he'd done her a solid. She'd figure it out later. If there was a later.

She started at a trot towards the stadium. "Shall we go get ourselves killed till Spooks' enema is done?" And with that she was off. The fact that Spooks had called her by her real name when she hadn't told anyone said a whole lot. Freak was in their heads. Or one of his little favorites. Ah well. Velocity had bolted towards the fight. Good egg that one. Nightwing had pulled the Batgig and vanished earlier. Time to see how many of the kids would be alive at the end of this. Hell, time to see if she had any lives left on the other side.

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Let the Bodies hit the Floor

Music to fight by

Connor approached the stadium using every bit of cover he could find. He could see those bloodmages floating all around the place and as they got closer more and more winked into place. Well so much for a surprise attack. Still he had not really expected to get away with one, not after what he had been told about their abilities.

He was just about in range when a large gong sounded and a huge green flash passed over him. He had been paying so much attention to his surroundings and his opponents that he had not noticed what his allies had been doing.

He looked back and saw a large golden being that had not been there before. Wracking his brain he realized this was probably Hotline. She had that ability to turn into different heroes. Well obviously she had done something but what?

Turning back to the Bloodmages he saw that a lot of them were gradually lowering towards the ground although they were slowly halting their downward progress. Still whatever had happened it looked like it had weakened them.

Smiling he took aim at the nearest one and let fly. As ever his aim was true and the bloodmage casually raised a hand and tried to brush it aside. He looked surprised when it pierced his hand and thudded into his shoulder. His scream of pain echoed in the eerie silence.

Connor himself was stunned then quickly fired off five shots downing three bloodmages while two of them managed to avoid his arrows somehow. As the bodies thudded to the parking lot ground he smiled and yelled out.

"Time to go on the offensive people. Their vulnerable for now but who knows how long it's going to last. Let's hit them hard and fast and give Kiz a chance to do his Mojo thing."

Springing from cover he launched another two arrows catching a bloodmage in the stomach as it managed to deflect his aim, before rolling into cover.

 

[ChasNicollette]

Vectoring in.

Deciding to take advantage of the situation she zoomed towards the nearest door and not even waiting to see if it was open or not she vibrated her hand and used it to sheer off the handle. Opening it she dashed inside and began to move through the maze of corridors and rooms looking for the way to where the people were being kept.

Velocity wouldn't have to go far.

The stadiums were like sardine cans. Millions of people wedged standing room only into a space designed to seat thousands.

But then there was that psychic miasma. That pall of nightmarish dread.

Even with her neural pathways racing with the lightning of The Speed Force, if she wasn't careful... that waking sleep paralysis, that hypnagogic catatonia... it might catch up with her, too.

 

[ChasNicollette]

Skin against skin, blood and bone. You're all by yourself but you're not alone.

She started at a trot towards the stadium. "Shall we go get ourselves killed till Spooks' enema is done?" And with that she was off.

Sprinting along on either side of Wildcat-- pushing themselves to keep up, let's be honest, damn that lady was fast, but then again they'd fought faster --just as Green Arrow had suggested--

--Heatwave and Captain Cold ran interference.

"Keep your friends close," Cold growled. "And your enemas closer. Kiz knows his shit, cat-lady, don't be talking down to my crew."

Clockwork's debuff effect had immediate results.

But they were subtle, not tremendously evident.

But they were profound.

Levitation was no longer as effortless. Teleportation was... like moving through half-frozen molasses, not like stepping through a doorway.

They could still harness the powers in the heroes' blood. And perform their sanguimancy upon their bodies.

But the powerhouses were not yet in reach for them to harness the greatest of those powers.

And despite the wide gaze of their scrying, they could yet be taken by surprise.

Smiling he took aim at the nearest one and let fly. As ever his aim was true and the bloodmage casually raised a hand and tried to brush it aside. He looked surprised when it pierced his hand and thudded into his shoulder. His scream of pain echoed in the eerie silence.

In that moment echoed a heartbeat.

The bloodmage had tried to wave the attack aside just as he and his brothers and sisters had done hundreds of time today. But it flew just where Connor had sent it. The cry was of surprise and fury at this insignificant gnat having a piercing bite as much as it was of pain-- you did not get to be a master of blood-bending arts without being tolerant of agony.

But there came that stunning realization amongst himself and his people that their defenses were not what they had been.

The heroes had only moments to capitalize before The Bestowed adapted their tactics.

With a roar, Heatwave brought up his flamethrower weapon and scorched the hovering, injured bloodmage to ash, finishing the job that Arrow had started before he could summon bloodmagic to heal himself.

Connor himself was stunned then quickly fired off five shots downing three bloodmages while two of them managed to avoid his arrows somehow.

The first three went down like wet sacks of ballistic jelly-- heart, throat, forehead, they were dead and they were done. The remaining two were just a little bit faster. They teleported short distances away-- but shorter than they expected. Teleporting was harder now.

And because they didn't get far-- they were still targets.

Cold fired-- blasting torrents of cold-- freezing those two solid before they could use their blood powers on themselves to thaw out--

--their frozen corpses shattered when they hit the ground.

As the bodies thudded to the parking lot ground he smiled and yelled out.

"Time to go on the offensive people. Their vulnerable for now but who knows how long it's going to last. Let's hit them hard and fast and give Kiz a chance to do his Mojo thing."

Springing from cover he launched another two arrows catching a bloodmage in the stomach as it managed to deflect his aim, before rolling into cover.

A stomach puncture was intensely painful. It was one of the most horrifically painful things a human being could experience and stay conscious. But it didn't kill you immediately.

The bloodmage roared at the injury, sank lower in the air bobbed closer to the roofs of parked cars, furious--

--and thrust out both hands, catching Cold and Heatwave in a surge of blood-boiling heat, the fluid pounding in their ears, in their brains, their BPs going through the roof...

...both of them staggered, fell to their knees, weapons dropping...

"This isn't..." Cold hissed, clutching his heart, sweat drenching him in his parka "...this isn't my element."

Heatwave was more defiant, staying upright on his knees, fists clenched at his sides and bellowing against the pain-- "You call this bringing the heat? I am the heat!"

 

[Wyldfire]

Cold had given his warning and then the two Rogues went into it. Arrow's last victim waved and the Rogues wavered. With his wave at the Rogues he exposed that arrow laden gut. Thea threw herself up and into a flip. One foot hit each shaft and drove them fletching deep. She back flipped off his gut popping her claws, clawing from the arrows to under the mage's chin savaging his throat.

Hitting the ground she flung herself backwards doing her best to distract the mages from the Rogues. Bad call. Two of the mage's brought their blood boiling fury on her. Pain Thea knew. Hit by a car. Shot through the heart. That was shit to this. Her blood boiled and her heart cooked. Thea's scream was horrifying as she fell lifeless at Cold and Heatwave's feet.

 

[kizkiz]

The archer took advantage of Ruby's new form and the distractions it caused. Her powers were useful. The archer killed three. The other two were dispatched by the Rogues.

Another of the Bestowed was hit in the stomach with the archer's arrow.

The bloodmage roared at the injury, sank lower in the air bobbed closer to the roofs of parked cars, furious and thrust out both hands, catching Cold and Heatwave in a surge of blood-boiling heat, the fluid pounding in their ears, in their brains, their BPs going through the roof...both of them staggered, fell to their knees, weapons dropping...

"This isn't..." Cold hissed, clutching his heart, sweat drenching him in his parka "...this isn't my element."

Heatwave was more defiant, staying upright on his knees, fists clenched at his sides and bellowing against the pain-- "You call this bringing the heat? I am the heat!"

>>Shanker, my love.<<

>>Yes, great lord of the Void?<<

With his wave at the Rogues he exposed that arrow laden gut. Thea threw herself up and into a flip. One foot hit each shaft and drove them fletching deep. She back flipped off his gut popping her claws, clawing from the arrows to under the mage's chin savaging his throat.

Hitting the ground she flung herself backwards doing her best to distract the mages from the Rogues. Bad call. Two of the mage's brought their blood boiling fury on her. Pain Thea knew. Hit by a car. Shot through the heart. That was shit to this. Her blood boiled and her heart cooked. Thea's scream was horrifying as she fell lifeless at Cold and Heatwave's feet.

Kiz frowned. Not at the loss of a team member, he was aware of how contorted Thea's soul was. He'd looked at her with his sight, watching the regurgitating of her life. No, he was surprised that Kaldur had failed to counter the magics. Kiz wasn't surprised, but he was disappointed. He was used to being disappointed. At least the Rogue's were fine.

However, the Bestowed had failed to realize the nature of the bond that existed. Kiz raised the Key Blade as it whirled around his finger. He raised it higher. Then he raised his other hand and the key hovered between both his palms. His fingers outstretched. A black sigil burst through the skein of creation. A manifestation of his attunement.

>>Come forth, my sweet.<<

>>As the Void honored one commands...<<

Kiz felt Shanker emerge from his shadow. Power left him. She coiled around his legs and up around his torso and came to a rest along his shoulders. Kiz lowered his hands and stroked the broad head of Shanker. Above him the Key Dagger whirled like an insane minute hand of a cloak. Another sigil punched through creation like the numerals on a clock.

Around Kiz, arrayed atop the abandoned street lights and corpses of cars the Nadeau cleaned their feathers and watched the battle. One of the Nadeau dropped from a post, snapped its wings out and plunged towards one of the fallen Bestowed. It punctured through its skull, beak first. It's claws tore bone and flesh, stuffing brains down its craw. Three others descended around the other corpses.

 

[Varshanka]

Khaos writhed and battled around her as she walked, chains and sword lashed, the shotgun in her left hand bellowing with each pull of the trigger. This was like battling in hell. No quarter, only death.

Without blood to attach to she was effectively immune to the touch of the Magi. Unless the found a way around it. For now Xarathos reigned supreme, and wasn’t planning on letting go. Not so long as an innocent was being harmed, or in danger.

*****

Renegade kept well back, not nearly as foolish as her temporary companions, she didn’t pause to see if each soft pull of her finger did it’s job. There were so many Blood mages, she didn’t have enough ammo to kill everyone anyways.

Laying on the rooftop, she shifted from target to target, occasionally aiming for an allies head, of lower spine. Thinking about the day they would become the target, and not the ally. The arrogant one, she’d enjoy. The Rider would be interesting, they had tangled before, and now she carried a coin.

Stupid fuck had made her hurt.

She’d dance with Kiz one day as well. It was just a matter of time before someone hired her to take him out. Big bad ass bitches always got hired out. Never do a job when it was personal. Always keep it neutral. IF you wanted someone dead, hire it out.

Such was life. And why she charged what she did.

*******

Staying back as far as she could Raven used her magic to stir up dust and mayhem, doing what she could to hamper breathing and vision around the Magi, aiding her allies where she could.

Staying as close to the Rider as she could, and drawing power from that infernal fire, Wondergirl used beams of fire lancing from her eyes to spear/slash at enemies, and setting fire to anything that could burn, as long as it slowed them down.

She even went so far as to take a long deep breath, and pursing her lips blew out a thin stream of air. Almost a whistle it was more a slice of cold, ice forming on everything it touched, even as the eyefire burned.

******

Having a idea as she created confusion, Raven sent a thought to the Rider. And watched as it paused for a brief instant in time. More of a slowing of battle than anything else, and then with a mental response it redoubled it’s fury.

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Velocity found the first of the civilians very quickly. In fact it was so very easy it was scary. She burst from the underground tunnel into the stadium itself and had to stop almost dead as she came to a wall of people. As far as she could see, people stood side by side tightly packed together, staring forward at nothing.

Grabbing the first person she could, a small boy, she picked him up and carried him out and to the beginning of Kiz's tunnel. Placing him on the ground she gave him a little push and suddenly he was no longer there. Running back she began to repeat the process, grabbing one person after another.

Each time she went in though she began to feel a little worse. She didn't know if it was the smoke, or just the depressive atmosphere, but she felt like she was actually going slower and slower, her mind getting numb as she took longer.

Still she kept pushing herself. So far she had rescued over a hundred people, but there were millions inside. At this rate it was going to take too long. She needed to think of a faster way to get more people out at once.

 

[Zet_Cross]

From analysis of the enemy's durability you know what I'm going to recommend.

"Yes I know, but I'm setting them to concussive force rather than explosive."

The barrel of GRID's Arm Cannon started to widen with tendrils of energy arcing across it's edge.

"Anyone in close quarters with these thing best watch out"

At that he fires a concussive Missile at one of the Bestowed, hitting it square in the chest, knocking it back about 10 ft. and leaving quite the dent in it.