Percy's POV
"You sure you're recovered?" Artemis asked.
Jeff rubbed the side of his head and sighed. "Enough...Connor needs us."
"Lightning powers?" Percy asked. A few blue sparks flew from Jeff's palm but nothing else.
He sighed. "Still hoping that we are not gonna need that."
"Yeah, but it's always more comforting to go into battle knowing that we've got two powerhouses on our side." Artemis reasoned. "You know, with you and Tidal both having powers..."
"Even after two-plus years, I still can't believe you have powers, let alone a demigod..." Jeff said to Percy, who shrugged at the comment.
"Believe me, my life is weirder than you imagine," she answered.
"Alright," Artemis sighed, glancing up at the castle in the distance then back down at the hijab girl by the Supercycle, who was looking at Artemis curiously. "We are going up into that ominous, dark hole in the cliff to rescue our super-friend." She sounded out her words slowly and carefully, pointing out the sewer exit on the side of the cliff to the girl. "Honestly, Tidal, you should be doing this..."
"I can't speak Markovian, I've told you already!"
Artemis sighed. "You are going to stay here with our Super-Cycle. Understand?" The girl nodded hesitantly. Artemis patted the Super-Cycle. "Just keep her out of trouble, okay?" The Super-Cycle hummed.
"Thanks. Let's move..."
...
Dick's POV
Obviously, Dick can't just stroll into the Markovian Children's Hospital just like that...wrong! He can!
Dick took off his blazer and left it in the car, and with hands in his pockets he strolled into the facility, careful to keep an eye on his surroundings. There was almost no one around in the lobby, so Dick just walked right to the back, casually grabbed one of the white coats hanging by the wall, and sneaked his way into the morgue. When no one is in sight anymore, Dick changed out of his clothes and put on his suit, and placed his escrima sticks onto his back. He traced the steps of Prince Brion and Dr. Ecks and quickly found the entrance to the secret chamber. A few hacking tricks later he opened the secret door.
Dick's contacts glowed and Oracle's icon flashed, sending him a message: 'Beyond doors, you'll have contact w/ L, T&T. But I'll lose signal when doors close. Be careful.'
"Always," Dick responded. Suddenly a blue mechanic bug popped up in his visions and frightened him, making him back up suddenly and bumping his head against the wall. "Ow!" He complained.
A laughing emoji popped up in his view, signaling the shameless mocking of the sender of this message. 'More careful than that.'
Dick rubbed at the back of his head. "You are supposed to be on my side?" he hushedly questioned.
Right at that moment, the door behind him closed, and the Oracle's signal was lost. Dick cursed silently, like Percy, chance seemed to favor Barbra as well, cutting off the signal just at the right moment so she would escape his wrath. Dick straightened and sighed, after this mission, he was going to ban Percy from meeting Barbra again. These two do not have good influences on each other.
Dick pressed his comm. "I'm in. Status?"
"We're two minutes out," responded Tigress.
"SB?" Dick questioned. No answer, great. He groaned, pointing a finger at the mechanic bug, commanded: "Follow," and walked onward.
The place was mostly abandoned, with not a single soul in sight. The only sounds he heard were from the distance, so Dick hid behind a crate and send the bug to eavesdrop while he monitored with his contacts.
Through the bug's vision, he saw Vertigo and several of his men loading up a shipment of pods filled with teens and kids. Realizing the seriousness of this situation, Dick quickly shared the video with the rest of his team.
"Receiving video," Percy's voice sounded in his ear.
"Nightwing, stop this before they finish loading those kids," said Black Lightning urgently, but Dick disagree.
"Negative, those pods aren't going anywhere fast on rails." He sneaked off to the side and cracked open a locked door and sneaked in. "I need to locate SB and the Prince first."
"Activate the spy gear we planted, might help you find him," suggested BL.
"Might. If they weren't in a thousand pieces," noted Dick, seeking a plate full of smashed bits of the spy gear sitting on a table. Fearing the worst, he broke out into a jog, finding another room with glass windows and people inside it. "Got eyes on Ecks and...huh, Dr. Helga Jace..."
Sure enough, there in the room, standing between two pods (one containing an unconscious Connor), were the doctors, seemingly responsible for this whole mess. Dick glanced between the two pods, describing what he saw to his teammates. "They've got SB. Unconscious. In a pod."
"Oh, he is not gonna like that," Commented Percy.
"Nope," Agreed Dick, noticing that the other pod, filled with tar a second before, began to drain out, revealing the Prince of Markovia. "Brion is in the next pod over. I think they tried to make him meta-active."
"We are arriving now," Jeff broke in.
"Good, then I'm going in." Just as he said that another door inside creaked open and Vertigo entered the scene.
"What is going on here?!" Questioned the Ex-Count.
"We're ready to move in," Artemis said in his earpiece.
"Hold up," Dick stopped them quickly, bending down so he could spy on the scene inside while keeping himself hidden. "Something is happening." He blinked twice and his contacts changed color, transporting his point of view so the rest could see.
"Explain yourselves!" demanded Vertigo.
"Count Vertigo," stuttered Eck, "W-we..."
"I've just spoken with His Highness, and he gave no orders for the podding and tarring of the Prince of the Realm!" He grabbed Eck's collar and growled.
"His Highness?" questioned Dick quietly. "Gregor?"
"That can't be it," Percy said. "That man doesn't look like he could pull off such a thing, not to mention to his own brother."
"I want answers, now!" yelled Vertigo, throwing aside Ecks, who turned and pointed an angry finger at Dr. Jace.
"You LIED to me!" He shouted, "You said this was all done by the boss's command!"
"I had to!" explained Dr. Jace. "His so-called 'Highness' is out of control! The things he had made us do...But now we have someone with the power to stop him! To stop Bedlam!"
Vertigo didn't look happy, his face darker than ever. "You ignorant peasant..." He growled and pressed the device on the side of his head as a wave of nausea swept over Helga Jace. She cried in agony and fell to the floor. "The plan set in motion here far exceeds your shortsighted morality. To get to what I need, I will deliver control of Markovia to him! And you will do nothing to interfere!"
"If Vertigo is helping Gregor take Markovia..." Black Lightning began.
"Then it's a good bet that Gregor will help Vertigo take neighboring Valatva in return..." said Artemis. "Finally giving the Count the kingdom he's always wanted."
"And both countries will wind up under the Light's dominion..." Finished Dick grimly.
Back with Vertigo and Dr. Jace, the Count had graciously ended the doctor's suffering, giving her a moment to breathe. He gave her a cold look. "His Highness will be here any second to decide what to do with all of you..."
"We should probably move," Percy said in Dick's earpiece.
"Agreed, before something bad happened and a fight breaks out," Dick said.
"Nightwing heads up! New arrival!" Artemis warned, and not a moment later, Dick heard the door open again followed by Dr. Jace's mocking tone.
"Well...If it isn't Baron Bedlam himself..." Dick watched in surprise as the man that entered the door was none other than Baron DeLamb, still dressed in his red army uniform from the ceremony.
"One night..." said DeLamb angrily. "I only require this organization to operate without me for one night! So I might play the role of Regent to the King without interruption. But it seems that was too much to ask..."
Dr. Ecks bowed with respect. "Baron DeLamb, Dr. Jace had betrayed us all..."
Dick groaned and ducked out of view of the window. "How did I not notice that 'DeLamb' is an anagram for 'Bedlam'?!" He signed, a hand over his eyes. "Totally should have seen this coming..."
"Well, you were busy with other things," Percy tried. "Besides-Tigress, look out!" She shouted urgently, followed by a grunt from someone. Nightwing was instantly alert.
"T-Wing?" he questioned quietly. "What happened?"
Percy's POV
The red fiery monster came out of nowhere to attack them, its larva blasts grazed over Percy's dark suit as she pushed Jeff out of harm's way. Artemis jumped back to avoid being smashed to bits by the monster whom Percy had guessed by now is the legendary Plasma.
There's an easy way to end this fight quickly before it draws unnecessary attention: dousing the beast with water and putting out the fire. Unfortunately, the sewer tunnel section that they are in right now had long dried up, and Percy was hesitant to dig deeper and pull water from anywhere else.
The monster seemed to have taken a special interest in hunting down Artemis, no matter how much Percy tries to catch its attention, it would not even look at her. Tigress had almost run out of space to back away and Percy is starting to panic a little.
"Lightning!"
Jeff raised his hands, sparks danced off his palms but nothing else came out. "No! No!" He cried. Percy gritted her teeth, reached out her hand, and tries to summon water. Artemis backed away again as Plasma lunged forward again, a fiery blast at the ready. "Tigress!"
Suddenly a red barrier shielded Artemis just as the monster's fist came down hard. The silent girl they had rescued earlier now stands behind the blonde archer, her eyes a glowing crimson color, the same as the barrier.
"No kill," the girl said as the rear of the engine sounded as Super Cycle rose over her and aimed a blast straight at the monster.
"So glad you didn't listen!" Artemis said, "Ah, Halo-Girl?" She retrieved her bow and got up, Percy and Jeff followed right behind and hopped into Super Cycle. By this time, Plasma had recovered and was growling at the team.
"We can't fight him in here," Jeff said. "It's too tight!"
"Up, go up!" Percy urged. "Super Cycle clear us out!" The super vehicle turned its firearm upwards and fired.
Artemis put her arms up over her head as debriefs fell with every blast. "They will be waiting for us up there!"
"Be prepared to fight back!" Jeff yelled back over the noise. Plasma was close behind, not a moment after they had blasted their way through and cleared out into a wider opening, the monster was out and ready to fight again.
"Guys? Anyone?" Nightwing's voice came through Percy's comm.
"We need an exit and backup!" She answered.
"Then I'm going in and getting SB!" Nightwing answered. "Be careful! Vertigo and Delamb are all heading your way."
"Copy!" Percy then to her teammates in the Super Cycle, "This is no better than in the tunnels, it's still too tight for Sphere to move around."
"Well, we can't just fight them on the ground, between Plasma and Vertigo's men and their alien weapons, we are clearly outnumbered!" Artemis shouted while firing arrows off to the sides. "Is there a way you could kill off the thing by drowning it in water?"
"In this area? Not unless you want me to break the pipeline and destroy this entire place along the way!" Percy responded.
"Look out!" Jeff warned a little too late as two larva blasts hit the side of the Super Cycle, catapulting them out of the air and smashed against the ground. The force launched Percy off to the side and crash against the stone pavement. Pain flared up her sides as she struggled to get up.
"Tidal!"
"Look out!"
Plasma had found Percy on the floor. It raised its glowing red arms, ready to smash down on her, but 'dead-girl' came to her rescue, raising her barrier around them. The monster's giant fists came down hard, and with every slam of the monster, the shield around them weakened.
Boom.
The forcefield glitched.
"Nightwing..." Artemis radioed worriedly.
"I'm working on it."
Boom.
The concrete under them cracked.
"Nightwing!" Percy yelled.
"No kill!" cried the dead-girl still keeping up their shield.
"I'm working on it!" Nightwing shouted back.
Then from somewhere to their left, there came a bigger explosion, the space was suddenly illumination in yellowish light. The explosion sent out a shockwave that send Plasma flying back. Percy turned her head toward the direction of the explosion and saw a BoomTude opening right beneath the shipment of pods from earlier. Since when did they have the ability to BoomTube?
"No!" Percy shouted, leaping up and pounding helplessly at the crimson barrier as the pods full of kids disappeared beneath the BoomTube.
The barrier lowered and Jeff and Artemis stood up, watching numbly at the spot where the BoomTude had been. "No...the kids, the kids in the pods...they boomtubed them away...We lost them!"
Then Percy heard the sound of doors opening, and out came Dick with an unconscious Dr. Ecks propped up against him, a fully awake SB with his top missing supporting a half-conscious Brion who also had his top missing, followed by Dr. Jace who looked quite shaken up.
"We have to get out of here!" Dick said to the team. "This place is about to blow!"
...
"What do we do now?" Percy questioned as soon as Super Cycle took them out of Bedlam and landed them on a beach shore not far from the Markovian Palace.
Nightwing leaned against Super Cycle. "Well, we got the evidence we need to bring down DeLamb and all of Bedlam, Dr. Jace's evidence will seal the deal-"
"We lost a group of kids!" Shouted Jeff. "Plus that Plasma kid they had their hooks into!"
"Wait, Plasma is a meta?" Percy questioned, eyebrows furrowed. "And DeLamb has control of him?"
"Yes!" Cried Jeff. "And who knows what that monster would have him do?!"
"We saved Artemis's friend here and the Prince!" insisted Dick. "And countless other kids who would have been Bedlam's next victims! It's not the victory we wanted...but it is a victory..."
Percy looked at her boyfriend incredulously. "Night-"
"G-get away from me!" All heads turned towards the Super Cycle, where Prince Brion and Dr. Jace sat. Brion had woken up and was backing away from Dr. Jace.
"Brion, please calm down-" Dr. Jace tried but the Prince was clearly not having it. Then suddenly the doctor withdrew her hand with a hiss of pain as if the Prince's body was scorching to the touch.
Brion backed away so far that he fell off the Super Cycle. He stood shakenly, looking wildly at the team. "Who are you people?" He demanded as the ground beneath his bare feet began to turn into hot magma, then the Prince began to sink beneath the earth. "What...what is happening?!" He panicked as his head slowly began to disappear beneath the ground.
The team backed off in surprise and Percy grabbed Dr. Jace before she could chase after the melting magma on the ground. Then a few feet away, Brion resurfaced and gasped for air, shouting something in Markovian. "Help me, help me!"
"Tidal!" Nightwing shouted.
"On it!" Percy stretched out her hand towards the sea and the ocean responded, forming a giant wave of water ready to douse the Prince of Markovia should he needs it.
"No! Wait!" Dr. Jace cried, then bending down near Brion, she tries to comfort the frighted Prince. "Brion, you must calm down! Your meta-gene has been activated. Your body is now manipulated geologic force!"
"Make it stop! Make it stop!" shouted Brion as magma began forming hard rocks on his body.
SB ran to Brion's side. "The more you panic, the less control you will have!" He said. "Focus on your breathing...Just focus on controlling your breath..."
The Prince did what he was told, taking a few deep inhales as the ground around him began to cool, the larva slowly turning back to its former dark colors.
"Huh, I guess the disaster is averted then..." Artemis said, looking at Percy, who dropped her hand and the wave of water crashed back into the sea.
"Uh, guys? Check this out..." Dick pulled out his holo-computer and began playing the news. The holo screen glitched and Baron Delamb's face appeared.
"...This footage shows Prince Brion undergoing an illegal meta-gene activation," the Baron accused, playing a recorded scene from inside Bedlam of when Brion underwent the tar experiment while unconscious. "This evidence irrefutably links Brion Markov to meta-human trafficking in Markovia and, quite possibly, to the abduction of his own sister, Princess Tara. And given their stance against meta-trafficking, Brion is most likely responsible for the assassinations of his own parents, King Victor and Queen Ilona!"
Apparently, this false accusation was not the right form of media that Brion should be seeing right now. Whatever weak control he had over his powers a moment ago was lost completely as he exploded with rage. "LIES!" He roared as the ground quacked. Then without hesitation, began running towards the palace, sinking into the ground as he goes, leaving behind a trail of hot magma.
"This just keeps getting worse..." grumbled Lightning.
"Follow him with infrared," Connor suggested. "He's headed for the palace. I'll try to cut him off-"
Boom!
Suddenly, a BoomTube opened up not far from the team as Plasma, Vertigo, and a few of his men, including Dr. Ecks, appeared out of the light. Nightwing and Artemis immediately stepped forward and shielded Dr. Jace and the 'dead-girl' behind them.
"And he used a Father Box to track Super Cycle..." Artemis said unhappily, weapons at the ready.
"SB, Tidal! We'll protect the doctor and the girl," Nightwing said, readying himself into a fight stance. "You get Brion!"
Connor nodded, and before Percy could protest, grabbed the raven-haired girl by the collar of her suit and leaped off. Percy choked at the sudden tightening sensation around her neck. "H-hey! I can go by myself you know!"
Dick's POV
Vertigo smirked after SB and Tidal's direction. "Sending your heavy hitters away?" He mocked. "Not very good at this game, are you?" He gave Ecks a look and the doctor stepped forward. "I see you're down one Superboy, so I raised you one, two, three, four!" As Ecks's body began to duplicate into copies of himself, each holding a different alienized weapon.
Artemis backed up a little, eyeing the enemy who had obviously outnumbered them by a lot. "Well, now we know why he's called Count Vertigo..." She said sarcastically, loading her crossbow with an arrow.
"We're outnumbered..." Said Lightning cautiously.
Dick didn't seem that bothered by it, twirling his sticks in his hands. "Then let's level the playing field..." From his belt, he produced a smoke bomb and smashed it against the ground, a thick screen of smoke instantly engulfed them, hiding the team from view.
Vertigo sneered. "Bring me their corpses!" He commanded and his men obeyed. Plasma growled and lumbered forward.
Percy's POV
Brion had arrived at the Palance way before they did, racking up a scene in the palace courtyard. SB and Tidal landed hard between a rouge Brion and...was that Baron DeLamb? The man had lost his 'fleshy' look and his skin had turned into rocks, his cold gaze glowing in the dimly lit royal courtyard.
"Brion, we need to go," Percy began, facing the angry Prince. "There's a better way to handle this. And we can help you find it!"
Behind her, Percy heard the Baron approaching. "And so our worst fears are confirmed!" Delamb declared loudly to any spectators that are watching this fight unfold. "Prince Bion Markov! In league with meta-human assassins!"
"But you're a meta-human as well!" Gregor injected from between two guards, pointing an accusing finger at his uncle.
To this, the Baron had a moment of hesitation and panic, it was brief, but Percy caught it. "I-I had to become one to defend us against them!"
Brion's eyes turned red with rage. "Liar!" He screamed. "That's why I did it! To defend my country from you!" Larva raised up from the ground and covered his entire body, Brion radiated with heat as the ground shook again.
"Brion, no!" Connor shouted to no prevail, as the Prince willed the magma ground to push him up and straight towards his uncle. The Baron was clearly well prepared for a fight, his stone skin not at all affected by the Prince's weak punches. A few rounds later, Brion was thrown against a statue in the middle of the courtyard, scaring away the guests that are standing nearby.
...
Dick's POV
Smoke bombs are the Bats' favorite tacktic, the enemy can't see, panic arose, and the Bats are in their favorite territories.
Dick held in his gleeful thoughts as he ran pasts a cautions duplicate of Ecks. The man fired a few shots after him, but none found its mark, the aim was way off of where he is. Without looking back, Dick sends a disk flying towards Ecks, hearing the clattering of Eck's gun not a moment later.
"That hurts," the man complained. "But remember, I'm not only the meta-trafficking doctor, but I'm also a client,"
Dick realized a little too late, as he tries to tackle the doctor from behind, that the man could make duplicates of himself again and again. The clone ended up tackling him before Dick could even touch Ecks.
Through the smoke screen, in another corner, Jeff came out of nowhere and pushed another clone to the ground, knocking away his weapon in the process. In the sky, Super Cycle was lining up a perfect shot at Vertigo, only to be stricken down by his man wielding an apocalyptic weapon. Super Cycle curled back into Sphere in an attempt to self-heal.
Artemis's unnamed friend had conjured up a crimson barrier around herself and Dr. Jace, keeping them safe from two clones of Ecks's attack. Tigress came to their rescue quickly, kicking away one while hitting another with her bo-staff.
Dick timed his move just right and kicked away the clone on top of him and stood up, trying to figure out where Vertigo might be. But before he could locate him in the smoke, a wave of nausea washed over him and made him fall, clutching his head in pain. Comrades and enemies alike around him all fell to the floor, groaning. With one hand, Dick hastily tries to get a disk out and fling it at the Count, but someone got ahead of him and shot an arrow straight at Vertigo. The arrow exploded midair and engulfed the Count in a giant electric net.
Dick glanced at Artemis and put away his disks. "Thanks..." He said.
"No problem," the blonde archer breathed out, then glanced around frantically. "Wait, where's Halo-girl and Dr. Jace?" She stood up and ran off.
Dick got up and shook his head, willing the headaches to disappear. Now that he had a moment to think, he suddenly had a thought on how to defeat the clone master, Dr. Ecks. Usually, if his theory is correct, the original would not participate in a fight, creating copies would mean he will need a lot of concentration and be free of interference. So the original must be somewhere nearby, somewhere safe. Knowing what he had to do, Dick ran off.
Percy's POV
"I don't think we should interfere with this fight..." Percy said uncertainly to Connor, holding out a hand to stop him from moving forward. "Brion is on a wild rampage, and if we go in right now we will be caught in his wrath!"
"Yeah, but you could douse his flames with water right?" Connor questioned. "A-and if you do, I could just-"
Percy groaned. "Why do people keep asking me to drown someone with water today?! No! He's still the Prince of the realm! I can't attack him now! Not if we are trying to help him!"
"So what do we do?" Questioned Connor.
Percy sheathed her sword, eyes trailing the fight and to the surrounding frightened guest. "Get the people to safety! And make sure DeLamb doesn't kill Brion." She answered and ran off.
Brion was losing the fight, badly. His uncle clearly had more experience fighting as a meta than him. The Prince sends a blast of magma straight at DeLamb who flings it aside.
"Look out!" Percy summoned a wave of water straight from the fountain in the courtyard, creating a barrier between the incoming magma and the bystanders, shielding them from being scorched. Connor leaped in and carried them away from danger.
In the heat of battle, the Baron landed a hard blow on the Prince and threw him aside. "Finish him! Open fire!" DeLamd commanded the royal guards.
"Disregard that order!" Countered Prince Gregor, stepping out to defend his brother. "Arrest Baron DeLamb!"
Enraged by this comment, the Baron turned to Gregor. "Little Prince, you dare?! The security forces are mine to control now that I've proven-"
"What you've proven here is your hypocrisy!" Gregor insisted. "You've been scapegoating meta-humans, though you yourself were a meta-human. Clearly, you've done business with the meta-human traffickers my parents were trying to stop! You lied to them!"
"No, no!"
"And your great skill with your meta-ability?" Gregor continued. "That, no doubt, required time to master. Which tells me you received your powers long before Brion!" He walked forward fearlessly, looking directly into his uncle's eyes. "Oh, I know you, uncle...And it's clear your deceptions were the groundwork for a coup against my family and Markovia!"
Percy gave Connor a look that said: get ready to move. SB nodded and circled around, eyeing the duo, the demigoddess also began studying the Baron, ready to pull out the Crown Prince at the given moment.
DeLamb clenched his fists. "You have no hard evidence!" He shouted.
"We have enough to mount a length investigation into your affairs," said Gregor calmly. "I place you under arrest for the murder of my mother and father."
At this, the Baron lost control, raising his fist at the Crown Prince only to be blocked by SB who aimed a counter punch right at his stone face. Percy rushed in at the same time and dragged Gregor back a safe distance.
Even though the Baron defeated Brion easily, he was no match for Superboy. Every punch he throw at SB was blocked easily. Within seconds, the Baron was on the ground, unconscious.
"Wow, you really weren't holding back," Percy commented, walking up next to SB, and studying the Baron.
"What? Against a monster like him?" Connor said. "Didn't feel the need to."
Gregor walked up to the two, "Thank you," he said gratefully. Connor and Percy nodded in acknowledgment but said nothing.
Brion, witnessing the defeat of his uncle, walked up to the three, larva cooling down on his skin. "At least you're safe now, brother," he said in relief, only to hear guns cocking all around him as the royal guards closed in. "W-what are you doing?" He demanded. "DeLamb is the criminal. Not me!"
A man Percy hadn't noticed before appeared at Gregor's side, he glanced at Percy and Connor and sneered then turned back to the Crowned Prince. "Your Highness, whatever the Baron's crimes, your brother also has much to answer for here," he said. "And if I may say, Markovia has suffered enough at the hands of meta-humans!" On the last phrase, he gave Tidal and SB a disgusted look again which made Percy mad.
Hey! She's not a meta! Nor is Connor! But luckily, she had enough sense not to say a thing. Gregor seemed conflicted by the man's words.
"Ambassador-" The Crown Prince began, only to be stopped by the Ambassador placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Please listen to me, my Prince," he begged. "Your country needs a new beginning. A new king, a new leader! Now more than ever."
Brion looked incredulously between the Ambassador and his own brother. "No!" he exclaimed. "Brother! Gregor, please, don't do this!"
Gregor looked pained, but he walked up to his younger brother and inhaled deeply. "You must leave Markovia...Immediately..."
That phrase was the last straw for Brion, his knees gave out and he slumped against the ground. Percy and Connor quickly moved forward, trying to get the now-banished Prince up from the ground.
Gregor's eyes never left his brother. "Take care of him, please..." That phrase was obviously directed at SB and Percy. The two looked at each other, then nodded at the Crowned Prince.
Connor hoisted Brion up, slinging his arm across his shoulder, and turned to Percy. The girl blink at him, then realized what the clone is about to do and quickly backed up. "No, no, no! No thank you! I can get back by myself." Without waiting for a response, the demigoddess's body disappeared in a burst of sea mist.
Dick's POV
The smoke screen is slowly clearing up, revealing what was left after the intense fight. Dick finally located the original Dr. Ecks, hiding behind a pile of beach rocks. He smirked, walking up while twirling his sticks in his hands. Ecks didn't hear his steps as he approached. It is only when Dick cleared his throat did the doctor realized that someone was standing behind him.
"Oh, not again..." he complained.
"Again!" Dick said lightheartedly and slammed his escrima stick down on Ecks's neck and the doctor passed out cold. Instantly, the clones on the smoke-scree-freed field vanished like holograms, leaving behind an enraged Vertigo and his frightened sidekick, Artemis, Dr. Jace and the hijab-free Halo-Girl (Dick raised a questioning eyebrow at that), and Jeff who had a calm Plasma by his side. Dick picked up the once again unconscious Ecks by the back of his collar and dragged him toward his teammates.
Seeing that the day had been lost and before anyone could react, Vertigo and his man opened a Boom Tude and escaped.
"Ran away with his tail between his legs..." mused Nightwing as he threw Ecks down on the floor. Turning to Jeff, he was just about to ask what was the deal with Plasma and how he had gotten him to calm down when-
Blam!
A shot was fired from behind Plasma, impaling him right through the middle of his fiery body. Everyone gasped. The meta couldn't even utter a single word before he fell face-first into the ground with human-red blood gushing from his wound. Then the glowing red light slowly began to fade as the life drained out of the poor man until what was left was nothing more than a pile of blackened and cooled magma.
Behind where Plasma stood, a man dressed in farmer's clothing stood with a still smoking gun in hand, in awe that he had killed the monster.
"I-I did it!" He cried. "I killed the monster!"
Immediately Jeff was enraged, he stormed forward, blue lightning shooting out from his hand blasting away the man's gun. He grabbed the man's collar and yanked him towards himself. "You just killed a kid!" He shouted in the man's face. "And when you realize that..." his voice turned shaky. "And when you realized that, you'll regret it...trust me..."
"BL..." Artemis began, hands raised, trying to calm Jeff down.
The Halo-girl walked up to the dead Plasma and placed her hands on its cold body, a violet aura engulfed her body but only for a moment. "No life," she said, looking up. "Cannot heal..."
Then Dick heard a thud near him, followed by Dr. Jace's voice. "Brion!" Conner had returned with a distraught Prince. Percy appeared soon after from a burst of mist, looking around confusingly and then concerned at the cold form of Plasma.
"What happened here?" She questioned.
Dick opened and closed his mouth, not sure how to respond. The rest of the team also turned to him, waiting for an order. Artemis looked between Dr. Jace and Halo-girl, then turned to him as well. "Nightwing, what do we do now?"
One more coming this week! Hopefully.
I Purple You~