Sparks Fly [Book Two in the "Fire And Lighting" Series]

Chapter Forty-Two- Triumphed

"Still you refer to us as children." Aqualad shakes his head. "No wonder our successes mount, you consistently underestimate us!"

To prove their advantage, Blue Beetle and Brass Beetle tear off the Shadow masks they disguised themselves with. Moving in sync, the two knock down rows of faceless Reach soldiers with the combined use of their sonic cannons.

The summit is thrown into chaos. As the Shadows rush to attack, three more team members tear off their disguises. Lagoon Boy attacks Ubu, while the Beast Twins morph into gorillas and rush at Monsieur Mallah.

Using the water from the pool, Waterfall forms a sword to instantly block and parry any of the Shadows blows. Guess those fencing classes weren't so useless after all.

Terra is almost sated with having taken down Deathstroke, the man who manipulated her into being captured, but she still has some fight left in her. Tearing a few stalactites from the ceiling, she pins a few more Reach soldiers to the wall.

Wildfire defends herself from Shadows with a katana made of pure fire, but a few choose to sneak up behind her. In the cacophony of the fight, not even Wildfire can pick up the sound of their feet. They are suddenly attacked by a Blur and a handful of bird-shaped projectiles. Standing over the fallen Shadows, Blur and Finch whip off their own masks, wipe the sweat from their brows, and dive right back into the action.

Savage sighs as he surveys his plans fall apart piece by piece. "It is true, the Light has always underestimated these young heroes." He narrows his eyes, glaring down the sword at Miss Martian. "But no more. It is time!"

The ring on his finger begins to glow, and Klarion the Witch Boy appears out of thin air, transforming the sword into a giant fire serpent, which turns and attacks Miss Martian.

Wildfire growls defensively. "Hey! That's my friend you childish imp!" She shouts across the room. She throws a fireball at the "childish imp" but he and Savage teleport away with the snap of a finger.

"Cowardly meat!" Black Beetle roars in outrage. The Light indeed, has no intention of honoring their arrangement with the Reach.

Ra's Al Ghul is ready to give up, or perhaps manipulate his opponents. "No! Savage has the right idea, this battle is pointless! Do not resist, the "heroes" have no jurisdiction here!" He tells Black Beetle and the Reach ambassador. Ra's backs up a pace or two, still holding on to the glamour charm he tore from Artemis's neck.

"Meaning every piece of meat on the Light is a coward!" Black snaps back. Superboy jumps in front of the warrior, but Black punches him across the face and throws him up to the ceiling. His arm morphs into a serrated blade, which he proceeds to stab into Ra's Al Ghul's back. "Such is the fate of all meat."

Grinning maliciously at his work, he moves on to do the same to the other "meat."

No one is too worried about Ra's Al Ghul's fate, anyway. As his servant escapes with his limp body, it's almost certain he will be resurrected in the Larzarus pit. 

Wildfire notices Superboy is hurt, but Miss Martian is the priority right now. Her Martian physiology can't stand the extreme heat, and the fire serpent has her trapped. Wildfire's powers make her immune to fire, so she runs up the serpent's spine as fast as she can and pushes the fire back from her friend. It may be magic, but the serpent responds to her command and dives headfirst into the pool on the other end of the cavern, filling the room with smoke for only a second.

M'gann catches her breath and accepts Willow's hand to help her stand up. 

"Thank you, Willow." She says over the mental link.