Justice League: The New Wave (IC)

[WiredIn]

Ghosts That Haunt the Mind

Static faltered as the yellow light poured over him and his vision was flooded my images of his failures. His friends he'd doomed to a life of torment and his city that lay in ruin. He disc slowed to a halt as he looked around with glazed over eyes and things no one else saw, flinching and actions and sounds no one else experienced. Unlike his compatriots, Static was crippled by his fear as it consumed him.

"I..I'm sorry. You know I nev-" Static pleaded with the air around him, to specters that weren't there, "Please, Understand..." The faces of the dead, the dying, and the cursed flooded his visions. Rubberband Man in his liquefied state, unable to reconstitute himself but forced to live on. D-Struct now unable to control his volatile nature, locked away in a box with no windows and no doors to keep everyone else safe. Replay split apart in a thousand ways and crippled by the weight of the consciousnesses of all the minds for all the bodies. Suddenly the yellow hued illusions dispersed like smoke on the wind and static was staring at nothing but air.

He closed his eyes and emptied his mind as he surged forward once again, ignoring any questions or glances thrown his way. He watched the planetary gladiator as he fought supergirl, watching closely as his energy crackled around him. "I need a shield. Something strong," Static did quick math in his head, "Something that can absorb a lot of radiation!" Static began charging a bolt of energy with just enough mass to cause the most damage in the immediate vicinity of the Planet Master.

 

[ChasNicollette]

Them's the Brakes.

And Renegade took her chance, running forwards, she leapt high and dove with her blade forward and down. ‘Just don’t move..’ she thought as she drove her blade towards Dervish’s back, and the ground beneath her. ‘I’m gonna get extra pay for this shit..’

Speedsters were not invulnerable, but they were tough as nails, and their reflexes were electric.

As Renegade's blade dropped down like a thunderbolt, Dervish twitched at the last possible instant-- by millimeters, the stab missed her spine, grazed a couple of vital organs-- she screamed in pain and rage, but she was still breathing, still going, bleeding all over the place inside but not dead--

--her hand still vibrating on the road surface--

--and with a roar of effort and agony she whipped half-around and tried to slam her elbow into her new opponent, a blurring attack with its own sonic boom and the force of a rocket-propelled grenade.

 

[ChasNicollette]

Scorched Earth.

Pausing in the air, Karan used heat vision to slice, dice, and blast the rings as the flew towards her. Eventually, she was forced to rely on instinct and deflect the weaponized Rings with her bracers. But even so she still used micro burst from her eyes.

Bursts so fast and slender it would be nearly impossible to see. But she could see. And she was targeting not him, exactly, but his suit. Controls, connections, broken bits of mirror - that Mirror Master had made and used where utilized to deflect the beams into his back, and the equipment there.

Planet-Master could have easily again used The Heat of Venus or The Cold of Uranus to diffuse and defuse those tightly-focused bursts of radiant heat. But thus far, his godlike repertoire had not included any heightened sensory abilities, and in the heat (heh) of the moment, he either failed or neglected to notice those strikes.

Everywhere the microbursts hit him, they carved into the skin of his suit.

Everywhere the microbursts carved his suit, darkning leached away like water through a cloth bag, crackling positrons annihilating any electrons in reach...

His powers did not seem to lessen under the assault, or on account of those leaks, but that couldn't be good for him.

As Karan dropped under his Saturn Ring throws and dove for the ground, he snarled and swooped after her, buzzing with leaked positricity.

He hit the Earth and braced for her, beckoning in a manner that demanded bring it on.

"POWER. OF. JUPITER."

The air screamed past her ears as she moved, much like one of the speedsters in the area. But she didn’t have access to The Speed Force, or she’d be moving even faster.

Every step took her closer and closer.

Every second a blur of slowed time.

At the last second she shifted to the side, running past The Planet Master. And she turned around, a golden rope in her hands trailing behind. A twist of her wrist, a snap of her arm, and the rope twisted, wrapping around, encircling her target.

Even with The Speed of Mercury, that was an unexpected maneuver-- he lunged for her but her molten golden blonde hair trailed through his fingers--

--and he found himself engirdled by a glowing lariat in the next instant.

With a roar, he grabbed the rope with both hands and poured darkning down it-- like lightning down a lightning rod-- trying to fry the Kryptonian Amazon like a bird on a wire...

 

[ChasNicollette]

Clay Target Shooting.

"Yeah.. just can't get to it until I get you down." he said as he they continued to rise... and then one of Lady Clayface's hardened spearheads sliced his line. Nightwing didn't have time to think, he said a balcony and tossed Wildcat towards it hoping she'd be able to make it.

Now without her he was able to activate the control studs in his gloves and his glider wings came out. Allowing him to save himself from falling to the ground.

"Little Boy Blue," Lady Clayface oozed, "so tricky tricky tricky."

Beating her clay wings furiously she propelled herself forward and dove like a falcon, aiming to crash down upon Nightwing and his knightly wings, pin those gliders in a Silly Putty wrap, and force them both to tumble downwards in the grip of gravity--

--whether they hit the water or the ground, either way they'd both go splat.

Going splat was one of her favorite things, but she doubted Nightwing would survive it.

 

[ChasNicollette]

Free as a Bird.

He was FREE!!!

The ravens gave one caw in unison and broke off their attack on Raven and Thea, who had just been saved by Nightwing. The murder swirled into the air, flying in a clockwise funnel and just like that, 420 ravens dove down towards the bridge, aiming for Fauna Faust and just before impacting, they were gone. On closer inspection, they were not truly gone, but the emerald Bullet Ants, a whole 420 of them had landed on top of Fauna Faust's legs and abdomen and about to bite.

Fauna looked up sharply, her eyes snapping wide despite the blood from her nose and the obvious disorientation. "Oh. Shit."

She flung out her hand, tried to assert control-- "STOP!" "BREAK OFF!" "...BUTTERFLIES!" "AAAAHHHH!"

The birds became bullet ants and every bite they inflicted was a focused point of neural agony--

Freed from the raven-flock, Zebra-Man whirled, flung out both his own hands, and used his diamagnetic powers to give Fauna and the ants opposing charges, forcing the ants to be repulsed and hurtle away from Faust's Daughter...

...but the damage was done.

Each bite would create a lasting effect, waves of pain that would recede and crash and ebb and flow continuously for close to twelve hours-- and even in those few seconds Fauna had been bitten dozens of times.

She could cast a healing spell on herself, surely, or at least a cryonic conjuration that would numb the agonized contact points, but there was no way in Hell she could focus through that pain.

(And of course, if she couldn't heal herself, she certainly as fuck couldn't heal Syonide.)

Levitating high above the battle, Rose nodded to herself, glad at Garfield's freedom, congratulating herself.

"Now to go help my girlfriend!" she cried triumphantly, and whirled in the air to try and find Karan and Planet-Master as they accelerated about at Kryptonian and Mercurial speeds.

But down on the bridge, Lady Eve gestured sharply to Zebra-Man and to Elemental Woman-- who had thus far been unable to engage and was ready to bust some heads. "You two! The pale psychic is a Martian! Attack!"

Zebra-Man and Elemental Woman shared a look, and Elemental Woman nodded. "Let's see how they like a Fastball Special, Zebby."

Zebra-Man snorted-- not unlike an actual zebra-- and with a wave of his hand diamagnetically repulsed Elemental Woman...

...who hurtled through the air in a frighteningly accurate parabolic arc.

So focused was Rose on trying to locate her girlfriend and her opponents, trying to tune in with her own latent super-senses, that she didn't hear M'gann screaming a warning in her head until an instant too late.

She whipped her head around to see Elemental Woman hurtling at her. Her red eyes went wide.

Elemental Woman smirked. And in that instant became living magnesium and burst into flame.

...the "firewall" Raven had constructed had already taken massive damage from the Fear dreams unleashed by The Spectrumonster, and now Raven was whole planes of existence away and unable to shore them up.

Fire filled Rose's field of vision and she screamed and burned and tumbled headlong.

 

[LuckyVic]

"Little Boy Blue," Lady Clayface oozed, "so tricky tricky tricky."

Beating her clay wings furiously she propelled herself forward and dove like a falcon, aiming to crash down upon Nightwing and his knightly wings, pin those gliders in a Silly Putty wrap, and force them both to tumble downwards in the grip of gravity--

--whether they hit the water or the ground, either way they'd both go splat.

Going splat was one of her favorite things, but she doubted Nightwing would survive it.

Nightwing used the wind gusts and turned himself around and saw her diving straight towards him. She was so predictable. "I have more than one trick up my sleeve." he said as he threw a pellet at her. It was a pellet of compressed liquid nitrogen that would explode on contact thus releasing it's contents on her. He knew it wouldn't kill her when she hit the ground. But it would be a long while before she was able to cause trouble.

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

...but as shaken, rocked, bruised, and bloody as Dervish was, she wasn't out yet.

She fell to one knee under the crashing impact of a particularly brutal axe kick, but she immediately put a hand out onto the ground and--

--instantly kicked into high gear--

--vibrating her fingertips hard, oscillating them furiously to destabilize the street under Velocity's feet in an attempt to break her rhythm and buy an instant for Dervish to get herself back into this fight.

Velocity was ready to deliver another blow to the Speedster's head when she felt the world literally fall away from her. Her feet flew away and as she tried to compensate and get her balance back she finally saw what she was doing. Her hand was planted hard on the road and vibrating intensely sending out waves of sound and causing the road to buckle and heave below her feet.

It only took her a second to compensate but a second was a lifetime in a speed battle. Her opponent gathered herself up and was once again ready to battle, all her offense surprise had gone and even as she watched she was healing. Well back to square one.

Speedsters were not invulnerable, but they were tough as nails, and their reflexes were electric.

As Renegade's blade dropped down like a thunderbolt, Dervish twitched at the last possible instant-- by millimeters, the stab missed her spine, grazed a couple of vital organs-- she screamed in pain and rage, but she was still breathing, still going, bleeding all over the place inside but not dead--

--her hand still vibrating on the road surface--

--and with a roar of effort and agony she whipped half-around and tried to slam her elbow into her new opponent, a blurring attack with its own sonic boom and the force of a rocket-propelled grenade.

Velocity kept her eyes on her opponent as she caught sight of Renegade moving in slow motion towards her back. She stayed right where she was and faked several moves keeping her from moving as she got closer and closer, but she must have sensed the blade as it touched her. She moved at the last moment but Velocity was able to hold her still as the blade ripped through her but she was shrugged off as she launched a blow and Renegade that would probably take her head off.

Velocity raced it, grabbing Renegade and moving her away just millimeters before the elbow connected and moved her several meters away. Stopping and dropping back to normal speed she looked back at her opponent, pretty sure she would not be able to maintain her own speed with her injury.

Looking at Renegade she smiled. "Nice blow, but next time remember that you might not get a chance to get a second one in."

 

[ChasNicollette]

Signal to Noise.

“Vengeance!!” Xarathos roared, throwing itself forwards it raged. In another universe it could have been Green, and bellowing the word ‘SMASH’.

...and, as The Hellrider was unleashed, though perhaps far more focused than it would have been without Green Arrow's influence, Arrow would find that the powerhouses of the StrikeForce had been engaged or taken out of play, and that he was perhaps now free to loose his arrows at targets of opportunity.

Meanwhile, trying to get a Trident in edgewise in the clash of titanic forces that was Planet-Master versus Wondergirl, Kaldur gritted his teeth and willed the winds to keep him aloft.

But then The Ghost Rider unmoored her/itself and powered forward like some unstoppable Hellfiery juggernaut.

Aquaman's heart thudded in his throat-- but as a leader, he saw opportunity. With a rush of atmokinesis, he swooped over near The Hellrider and flew alongside her/it.

"THE BRIDGE! RIDER, ATTACK THE BRIDGE ITSELF! UNMAKE THE CREATION OF THE ARCHITECT OF THIS MASSACRE AND VENGEANCE-- JUSTICE-- WILL BE INTRINSIC!"

As for containing her afterwards, well, they'd burn that bridge when they came to it.

Speaking of bridges...

...it was, perhaps, highly ironic that earlier today Static had complained about fights on bridges' being cliche, and now all the sanity and sanctity of North America depended on such a battle on such a bridge.

He watched the planetary gladiator as he fought supergirl, watching closely as his energy crackled around him. "I need a shield. Something strong," Static did quick math in his head, "Something that can absorb a lot of radiation!" Static began charging a bolt of energy with just enough mass to cause the most damage in the immediate vicinity of the Planet Master.

Shooting one last look at The Hellrider, and hoping for the best-case scenario, Aquaman soared off to answer Static's call.

"The Champion's Trident can create powerful forcefields. Just tell me where, I will follow your lead!"

 

[ChasNicollette]

Judges 7:20.

Nightwing used the wind gusts and turned himself around and saw her diving straight towards him. She was so predictable. "I have more than one trick up my sleeve." he said as he threw a pellet at her. It was a pellet of compressed liquid nitrogen that would explode on contact thus releasing it's contents on her. He knew it wouldn't kill her when she hit the ground. But it would be a long while before she was able to cause trouble.

Lady Clayface roared in dismay and outrage as the pellet thudded into her plasticine dermal layer and embedded deep within her.

The endothermic effects of the liquid nitrogen were instantaneous, and she rapidly crystallized, freezing solid from the inside out, letting out a long low scream of impotent rage and molecular-level agony.

And, of course, with her elasticity and plasticity removed, her ability to metamorphose in a heartbeat to shapeshift the flapping of her wings...

...she dropped like a rock.

She hit the water.

She shattered like glass.

And the dozens of hundreds of shards and hardened globules of her scattered across the thrashing surface of The Missouri River, spread out for dozens of yards.

Soon she would thaw and reassemble herself, reconstituting slithering bits of herself and pooling back together until she was intact, like some sort of mimetic polyalloy killing machine.

But it would take... quite some time.

 

[Zet_Cross]

Doing some quick calculations in his head GRID looks the bridge over. "Super Missiles would be ideal."

Advanced Missile systems are still needing repairs.

"Right normal missiles it is."

 

[ChasNicollette]

Slash Fiction.

In the air again. Fun, not, but better than the water again. Thea twisted and prepped for the landing. It was going to be close, but she caught the rail to the service balcony and flung herself up to the main deck of the bridge. Over one more rail and she was back on the bridge proper.

Now where was Twisted. Oh, there she was, right where Thea had left most of her. Dodging and weaving (and running like a quadruped?) she made for Syonide.....

"Those who fail in service to Naja-Naja deserve the death and pain they receive," Kobra's Lieutenant snarled, but nevertheless he bounded into Thea's path, drawing a katana in one hand and a wakizashi in the other as a main gauche.

"But you will not approach Lord Kobra!"

He slashed at her with both fury and precision, instantly showing that he was a cut (heh) above the disposable Blackadder minions-- unlike them, he was not born of shoddy programming and obsolete cloning tech. He had been preparing to be a Hand of Kobra all his life, and believed with every fiber of his being.

"FAITH TO KALI YUGA! NO GOD BUT GOD!"

 

[ChasNicollette]

(Mega) Bustin' Makes Me Feel Good.

Doing some quick calculations in his head GRID looks the bridge over. "Super Missiles would be ideal."

Advanced Missile systems are still needing repairs.

"Right normal missiles it is."

"I always did like Mega Man 2," Ruby!G.R.I.D. smirked. "Crash Bomber away! ...or was it 'Clash Bomber?' Ugh, I hate The Mandela Effect."

Both G.R.I.D.s swept The Keystone-Central Bridge with their Scan Visors, and instantly structural weak points glowed on their respective H.U.D.s, highlighting where best to undermine the architecture of the massive edifice.

And, leveling their respective arm-cannons, they unleashed a hail of missile after missile, seeking out those weak points...

...with each impact and each detonation, the bridge quaked and creaked and leaned and twisted, but stayed standing.

 

[ChasNicollette]

Death Becomes Her.

“Zatanna would probably adore the hats,” Raven commented as they walked, and realizing she was floating again, slowly lowered back to the ground. Unconscious magic was bad, and Impolite.

While her brother Dream misliked small magics, Death didn't mind in the slightest. She just wanted Raven to be comfortable.

"Oh, yeah, she's died a couple of times now," Death chuckled. "We usually swap fashion tips-- turns out we're both fans of Cinammon Hadley --and talk about her dad. Well, as much as I'm allowed to."

“So I’m chatting up death?” Raven asked.

"Well, we're chatting," Death replied, sagely. "'Chatting up' has a certain connotation-- not that I'd mind."

“You do realize a lot of individuals have claimed the title through the span of time that was, is, and will be..” It wasn’t exactly a question, more of an observation.

"Claiming a thing doesn't make it so," she pointed out. "And all of them will come to Death by me, in the end."

“Lisa Snart?” name sounds familiar.. the Glider? Glideress? Gilden Glower? Never did get a handle on all the names everyone has been using. Far too many slang names. Why can’t they just use the old tongues, or a real name?”

"Yeah, you really should meet my brother," Death chuckled. "He has more names than a Tolkien character-- he gathers names to himself like some people gather friends. (And he has so few friends!) ...personally, I find the growth of language and neologism fascinating. Like, if we still used 'the old tongues,' we wouldn't have phrases like 'peachy keen' or 'supercalifragilisticexpialidocious' and wouldn't that be a shame?"

"Anyway, I think the press called her The Golden Glider, but now she goes by The Ebon Glider-- that's a pretty recent development, though, new look, I kind of dig it."

“Now the Endless, that name I’ve heard before. The Dreaming.. a long sought place. Never to be found, but only gifted when deserved. So, either I’m your servant/acolyte – for one day I will slay everyone I know. Destiny’s – for it is my Destiny to do such a thing. Or Destruction’s for I will destroy a great deal when it happens.”

"'There is no such thing as a one-sided coin,'" she quoted enigmatically... but somehow, reassuringly?

Pausing her steps for a moment Raven closed her eyes and gathered herself. “I did not mean to get so.. melodramatic.”

"It's easier to get to Dream than you think it is," Death replied, again mysteriously, not bothered in the slightest.

“Despair would be the realm I’d find myself in, wouldn’t it?” she asked herself softly. “But it’s location is known of, even if I’ve never been here before. I’m guessing you reside in a infinite mausoleum, endless graveyard, or a spooky old mansion on a hill?”

"Don't read too much into it," Death suggested. "When Sam Scudder-- I took him a few years ago-- invented his mirror thingamabobs-- he had no idea he was tiptoeing around the edges of The Despairing, thinking it was some disparate Mirror Dimension. Only by amplifying their power did Evan McCulloch reach this much deeper into it and get an inkling what it really was. Y'see, each of these hovering pane things looks out onto a mirror in The Waking World, so that Despair can see anyone who looks upon themselves and with an aching heart finds themselves to be not good enough."

"My realm is called The Sunless Lands," Death reflected, "but I actually live in an apartment. It's quite nice. I've got two goldfish and way too much stuff in my closet-- I'm kind of a packrat."

“And pardon my bluntness, but if you are DEATH why don’t you look like the Grim Reaper with skull, robes, and scythe? Instead you’re a rather attractive, definitely cute female?"

"Attractiveness and cuteness are in the eye of the beholder," Death winked at her. "But that's flattering, thank you. As for the other thing, well, I think your conception of what an anthropomorphic personification of Death should look like says a lot more about your culture and your Jungian collective unconscious than it says about me."

Her eyes went distant for a moment. "I used to hate my job. I used to wear this icy cold demeanor and billowy dark dresses, I hated that I was the one most feared amongst The Endless when Dream was actually way scarier when he was mad, and that the twins were always up to no good-- but after a conversation with a mortal I was escorting on, I spent a day as a mortal woman and it changed my perspective on the whole thing. (I do that once a century now, just to keep that perspective fresh.) Now I know how hard it is for a person to go through a death at the end of their life, and I try to make it easier on them instead of harder? You want a friend to walk you home at the end of the night, not some gloomy looming Ghost of Christmas Future carving your soul out with a farm implement. I'm not blessed or merciful, but I'm not accursed or vengeful, either. I'm just me. And I'm going to try and be the best me that I can be for all of you."

With that, they passed a series of funhouse mirrors all hung together, and once they came through that maze they found Lisa Snart sprawled on the ground, face covered with her hands and crying.

"I really do like the new look."

 

[Varshanka]

Renegade

Looking at Renegade she smiled. "Nice blow, but next time remember that you might not get a chance to get a second one in."

“Don’t need a second chance,” Renegade replied. “Blade is poisoned. Fast metabolism.. faster absorption. Tetrodotoxin kills everyone.”

Straightening up she smiled. “Even speedsters.”

 

[Varshanka]

A Goth, Death, and A Glider walk into a Nightmare..

"Oh, yeah, she's died a couple of times now," Death chuckled. "We usually swap fashion tips-- turns out we're both fans of Cinammon Hadley --and talk about her dad. Well, as much as I'm allowed to."

“Sounds like Zatanna,” Raven sighed.

"Well, we're chatting," Death replied, sagely. "'Chatting up' has a certain connotation-- not that I'd mind."

‘Interesting, Death likes girls.’ Raven thought.

"My realm is called The Sunless Lands," Death reflected, "but I actually live in an apartment. It's quite nice. I've got two goldfish and way too much stuff in my closet-- I'm kind of a packrat."

“You should get a cat, or a Raven..” Raven replied, “Claim you inspired Poe, which you probably did. If you’ve ever used the name Lenore.”

"Attractiveness and cuteness are in the eye of the beholder," Death winked at her. "But that's flattering, thank you. As for the other thing, well, I think your conception of what an anthropomorphic personification of Death should look like says a lot more about your culture and your Jungian collective unconscious than it says about me." ]

“My culture? No, I was using the American Human interpretation. In My Culture, Deaths name is Trigon. He’s my father.”

Her eyes went distant for a moment. "I used to hate my job. I used to wear this icy cold demeanor and billowy dark dresses, I hated that I was the one most feared amongst The Endless when Dream was actually way scarier when he was mad, and that the twins were always up to no good-- but after a conversation with a mortal I was escorting on, I spent a day as a mortal woman and it changed my perspective on the whole thing. (I do that once a century now, just to keep that perspective fresh.) Now I know how hard it is for a person to go through a death at the end of their life, and I try to make it easier on them instead of harder? You want a friend to walk you home at the end of the night, not some gloomy looming Ghost of Christmas Future carving your soul out with a farm implement. I'm not blessed or merciful, but I'm not accursed or vengeful, either. I'm just me. And I'm going to try and be the best me that I can be for all of you."]

“I don’t have friends, and well, I’d rather have the Grim Reaper escort me than some Creeper.” Raven commented softly.

With that, they passed a series of funhouse mirrors all hung together, and once they came through that maze they found Lisa Snart sprawled on the ground, face covered with her hands and crying.

"I really do like the new look."

Sighing, Raven moved forwards, slowing lowering to floor, again. Taking the last few steps by bare foot padding on bare ‘floor’. “So.. what ‘Dream/Nightmare’ is she having? She gonna come out natural, or am I going in to drag her out?”

She didn’t look up at Death, or whatever the cute girls name really was. ‘Death’ was as good as any right now. She really hated going into other peoples heads, seeing their most private thoughts and desires. Their most intimate secrets.

 

[Varshanka]

Wondergirl v Planet Master

With a roar, he grabbed the rope with both hands and poured darkning down it-- like lightning down a lightning rod-- trying to fry the Kryptonian Amazon like a bird on a wire...

Screaming in pain as the darekning ripped through her arms and body, Wondergirl managed to get out one single word through muscled locked teeth. “Stop.”

 

[Varshanka]

Xarathos SMASH!!!

"THE BRIDGE! RIDER, ATTACK THE BRIDGE ITSELF! UNMAKE THE CREATION OF THE ARCHITECT OF THIS MASSACRE AND VENGEANCE-- JUSTICE-- WILL BE INTRINSIC!"

Smashing the ground with enough force to shake the buildings on the far side of the bridge, Xarathos sank it’s arm deep, boiling mud, rock, and tar in a flash. Chains rippled and writhed burrowing into the ground, wrapping around the framework of the bridge and disrupting tectonic plates in ways not even GOD had planned for.

Motion caught its attention once more. Motion filled with hate, anger, and evil scrolling across it’s soul. But that motion boiled with fire. Stolen fire that it wasn’t supposed to have. Wings stretched from Xarathos’ back, spanning 100 meters and dripping fire.

Flexing it’s will the Deamon called upon the fire. Commanding it to burn. Burn hotter. Hotter. HOTTER!!! “BURN WITH ME!!!” It demanded.

Demonic legs flexed, arms straining against the sunken chains, and it.. pulled.

Metal screamed in agony over the Titanic stresses the bridge was being forced to endure. The ground quaked, trembling and rumbling. The chains refused to let go. The Daemon refused to let go or stop. Steel girders began to glow from heat.

And the bridge shifted.

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

“Don’t need a second chance,” Renegade replied. “Blade is poisoned. Fast metabolism.. faster absorption. Tetrodotoxin kills everyone.”

Straightening up she smiled. “Even speedsters.”

Velocity grimaced and looked over at the speedster. She knew with their metabolisms just how fast the toxin would be absorbed into her system and just like Renegade had said, even with a super healing factor it would be no good against a poison like that. Any second now she expected her to fall to the ground, but she would hang around just to make sure.

Of course that was when the bridge started to rock and sway and she again had to catch herself before falling over.

"Great now who's trying to destroy this thing?" she called out.

Taking her eyes off her opponent she scanned her surroundings and found the huge flaming Daemon form of the Rider ripping up the end of the bridge. Turning to Renegade she smiled. "Looks like things are going to get a little hot around here. Want a lift to someplace a little safer?" Glancing around she noticed the fighting going on and nodded her head towards it. "Looks like we are needed over there."

 

[Wyldfire]

"Those who fail in service to Naja-Naja deserve the death and pain they receive," Kobra's Lieutenant snarled, but nevertheless he bounded into Thea's path, drawing a katana in one hand and a wakizashi in the other as a main gauche.

"But you will not approach Lord Kobra!"

He slashed at her with both fury and precision, instantly showing that he was a cut (heh) above the disposable Blackadder minions-- unlike them, he was not born of shoddy programming and obsolete cloning tech. He had been preparing to be a Hand of Kobra all his life, and believed with every fiber of his being.

"FAITH TO KALI YUGA! NO GOD BUT GOD!"

Back legs down and push backwards. "Oh for fuck's sake," Thea said as she sprang backwards. "You guys really need to get a grip." She moved in a circular motion around the nut case. With the pig stickers he had a whole lot of reach on her. She was good, but so was he. With that reach this was going to get painful for her.

Her body armor/costume was a wreck so it wouldn't provide her much cover. She was faster than she'd ever been before and more agile. She realized that she was moving normally even after the shots she'd taken by Twisted. Okay so the two quick deaths had given a few upgrades. Thea knew this was just not going to be her kind of fight. So how do we make it one? Trying to get the pig stickers wasn't going to be easy unless she had a distraction.

"Umm, someone with some range wanna lend a hand here?" Thea said as she began a purely defensive fight dodging the blades.

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Green Arrow watched as the larger than life Daemon strode off towards the bridge to begin it's duty to punish the sinners it found. He smiled fondly and a little sadly. He thought he had been getting through to the Rider and maybe getting closer to getting her back, but something had definitely happened that had released the Vengeance of the Daemon upon their enemies. Maybe after the battle he could try again, or maybe she would return on her own. Whatever happened he would be there for her.

However right now he had other fish to fry. With the heavy hitters being engaged or taken care of, perhaps he could be useful again. Restarting the bike he followed the daemons footsteps and as it's wings unfurled (a truly breathtaking sight in more ways than one), he pulled up so he could see who was left.

It seemed the speedster was down and the clay woman and the witch were occupied. The one who had the whip was down, glow boy was nowhere to be seen, bubble head was fighting Wonder girl, There seemed to be someone on fire in the sky, The Zebra Dork, That crazy Cobra lieutenant was taking on Wildcat, and he was sure there was one more.

Even as he watched Nightwing took out the clay woman with what looked like a nitrogen capsule. Well he guessed it was that as the figure suddenly froze in midair. However he heard Rose scream and saw her start to plummet away from the flaming shape. Oh hell that was right, she hated flames.

He needed to pick a target and fast. If only he could take out that bloody Zebra, but each time he shot he just seemed to shrug his arrows away. He growled in frustration then suddenly he smiled as he reached over his shoulder and selected an arrow. He had remembered something that had happened earlier in the fight. He might have been able to control his arrows but not Renegades bullets.

Pulling out a pure metal arrow he notched it and let fly, sending a glass and a carbon fiber one after it. He was pretty sure the metal one would hit but he was not so sure about the other two, still it paid to know what you could use in battle and he had aimed for kill shots. No more playing around with these people, it was time to put them down.

 

[TertiusHuman]

Being repelled while biting down with mandibles which are designed to really dig wasn't fun. Even less fun was getting spread out all over the place. He remembered a plan, there had been a plan to do something to the bridge or the water or something like that.

The bridge trembled and actually shifted, the ant eyes just weren't meant for long range vision. The ants scurried together and once enough of them had reached the centre vicinity a green Peregrine appeared and it saw a huge burning demon trying to destroy the bridge, blasts hitting the side of the bridge helped the demon. That meant good guys.

Whith a shriek the Peregrine took off, flapping madly for height, it sensed the roof of the dome and turned into a steep turn, diving for the bridge and suddenly realized that this move might actually kill him...but a death which does good is better than a death in futility...or something like that. At the top of the infrastructure, a massive adult Blue Whale materialized, going at a speed which would flatten it against the bridge. Aquatic mind reached out to find Aquaman's, "Sorry if this fails."

Garfield cried out in pain as he crashed into struts and cables, the metal slicing into him, but most of it snapping and buckling under the impact.

 

[ChasNicollette]

Unwhirling the Dervish.

“Don’t need a second chance,” Renegade replied. “Blade is poisoned. Fast metabolism.. faster absorption. Tetrodotoxin kills everyone.”

Straightening up she smiled. “Even speedsters.”

Velocity grimaced and looked over at the speedster. She knew with their metabolisms just how fast the toxin would be absorbed into her system and just like Renegade had said, even with a super healing factor it would be no good against a poison like that. Any second now she expected her to fall to the ground, but she would hang around just to make sure.

Dervish opened her mouth to fire off a retort, but no sound came out. She wheezed, a hand going to her throat, clutching, unable to breathe...

...tetrodotoxin inhibited specific neural activity, and the hyper-neurokinetic nervous system of a superspeedster only broke down all the faster, her brain was unable to talk to her muscles, paralysis took over, lungs and diaphragm seizing...

...she only survived as long as she did because as a speedster she had better cellular respiration and oxygen efficiency than any long-distance runner on Earth...

...she toppled onto her side, eyes wide, twitching spasmodically, seizures going off in her lightning-storm brain, drool pooling beside her head and sweat drenching every inch of her skin.

And she was gone.

 

[Varshanka]

"Looks like things are going to get a little hot around here. Want a lift to someplace a little safer?" Glancing around she noticed the fighting going on and nodded her head towards it. "Looks like we are needed over there."

Looking at the collapsing Dervish Renegade shook her head. "That will be fine. I can run by myself, not as fast as you, I am just human after all." Renegade replied. "Unless you want to carry me. After I cut off her head. I hate superhuman regeneration."

 

[ChasNicollette]

Arrow Earns his Stripes.

Pulling out a pure metal arrow he notched it and let fly, sending a glass and a carbon fiber one after it. He was pretty sure the metal one would hit but he was not so sure about the other two, still it paid to know what you could use in battle and he had aimed for kill shots. No more playing around with these people, it was time to put them down.

Zebra-Man's eyes widened as he saw those arrows coming. He flung out his hand--

--the carbon-fiber and the glass arrow fell away like they'd hit a gale-force headwind and could fly no further.

...but the metal arrow thudded straight into his heart, slipping through the grasp of his diamagnetic powers like wet soap through fingers.

He gurgled, tumbled backwards, staring up at the sky.

He had maybe seconds of life left.

 

[ChasNicollette]

Defying Gurabiti Sūtsu.

However he heard Rose scream and saw her start to plummet away from the flaming shape. Oh hell that was right, she hated flames.

Elemental Woman whooped with laughter as her blazing magnesium form fell alongside Martian Manhuntress, keeping up the pressure, keeping up the pain...

Milton!

"I see her!" G.R.I.D. blurted a reply-- his super-soldier senses and the Scan Visor's powerful HUD feeding him rapid realtime battlefield updates...

Speed Booster was still broken from his faceplant on the force-dome earlier.

But the Space Jump still worked!

Without hesitation he launched from the side of the river, bounding furiously again and again in the air, tucking into flips and corkscrewing, defying gravity as he double-jumped repeatedly without fear of falling...

"Charge Beam lock to target!"

Scan Visor locked. Beam charging.

Rose fell like a pale angel from Heaven, and Elemental Woman burned like a Tunguskan meteor.

And with one last antigravity bound, G.R.I.D. swept his one arm up under Rose and caught her with a grunt, and his unwavering arm cannon leveled at Elemental Woman.

"Shit," Elemental Woman hissed.

G.R.I.D. fired, and the concussive burst of charged plasma blasted Elemental Woman away, screaming and cursing...

...she shifted to tungsten before she hit the water, the metal ringing with the impact before she plunged beneath the surface.

But G.R.I.D. wasn't done yet.

"Umm, someone with some range wanna lend a hand here?" Thea said as she began a purely defensive fight dodging the blades.

Still in mid-air, still jumping like a jackrabbit off of nothing at all, G.R.I.D. heard Wildcat's call for fire support and he twisted...

"Wave Beam lock to target!"

Scan Visor locked. Beam selected.

And again, he fired!

The undulating coruscating beam of zig-zagging energy slithered across the intervening space between Milton's cannon and the bridge...

...phasing effortlessly through the construction of the bridge and zeroing in on The Lieutenant...

...with reflexes like an eponymous cobra, The Lieutenant swept up his katana to parry the blast but it phased, too, through the blocking blade and poured into him, staggering him with a massive neural shock...

"AHHHHH!"

...giving Wildcat precious instants to react, the perfect opening for claws and fangs and cobra-punches...