Chương 48: Chapter 46
Taking stock of the situation, Kara saw that even without the demons, the overview wasn't getting much better. There were just too many people to evacuate and, although most of those that had been closest to the portal were now safely away, the fight was affecting too large an area.
Worse, Klarion, who was laughing like a maniac as he fought off Wonder Woman, still had time to harass the other heroes. Kara's drones were constantly scanning for his cat so she could end the fight, but the creature seemed to have vanished.
From the corner of her eyes, she saw the current Flash, Barry, arriving in a blur of red, but even he wasn't fast enough to save everyone. They had to finish this, fast. How much longer until her weapon was ready?
Rao, despite everything that was happening it hadn't even been five minutes!
Looking up, Kara decided that the best she could do was help delay the eldritch interloper. Attacking the being was a constructive way of releasing some of her anger and with its tentacles quickly increasing in number Kara was afraid that even her weapon wouldn't be enough to fully push it back if things continued for much longer.
Flying up, she surveyed the airspace in search of her android friend, the actual reason she had gotten directly involved in this. She eventually saw Dani, who was still fighting, and noticed the hole in her side made when she was hit with something.
Her friend seemed to have already been repaired, but the very fact she had been hurt so much… Kara growled in anger, but she didn't lose her mind again. Instead, she grit her teeth and forced herself to focus on Dani's safety above her own rage.
Dani was in a very precarious position; she still didn't have enough control to fly with her wind core and, as a result, was forced to act more like artillery from atop a shield where her lack of mobility was making her an easy target.
The android was doing her best to send blasts of fire towards the eldritch abomination, burning entire tentacles with blue flame only for new ones to take their place, several of which started gathering towards her.
Seeing the attack coming, Kara knew she didn't have time to hesitate. With a glance, she released a twin-eyed blast at an approaching tentacle, cutting it off to fall on top of another skyscraper and lay at its side, probably blocking the view from quite a few windows.
Her eyes widened in surprise and one of her hands flew up to her face, sneaking under her cracked mask to touch the newly healed eye… since when? Remembering the effect of Wrath's magic on her clothes, she could only hope that accelerating her regeneration hadn't caused any unforeseen side-effects.
Shaking her head, she put it out of her mind and again refocused on the fight, there would be time for wondering later.
One of the tentacles whipped down, cracking the air and forcing Dani to jump down as it obliterated her foot hold. The android used her fire and wind to fling herself away from another strike, but her mobility was really limited and she couldn't keep herself in the air.
Just as a feeler started to wrap itself around her, Kara arrived, destroying the limb and flying away with the woman in her arms just as three other tentacles passed through where she had been.
"Dani, I thought you were just meeting with friends," Kara quipped irately, her voice still a growl even as she did her best to calm herself.
"Well, you know how those meetings go," Dani shrugged, smiling at her. "If it wasn't for all the death and destruction, I'd even say we were having fun."
Dodging another reaching tentacle and blasting it with heat vision, Kara snorted before fully focusing on the fight, there was just so much going on that it was hard to keep track.
On the ground, civilians had stopped fighting each other, but seemed to be just… staring up at the sky, entranced like she had been when first seeing the eldritch creature. Stupid cognitohazards.
A fair number of them weren't entranced but were still restrained by her drones, both tired and still angry from being under Wrath's influence.
Checking her drones, Kara cursed when they still couldn't report the location of Klarion's cat. It seems like she wasn't going to be able to get rid of him the easy way. Looking at Dani's wound, she asked. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, at this point it's mostly cosmetic already," the android dismissed her concerns, throwing a blast of fire at another target and causing it to explode. "Damn, I don't think we're winning."
Suddenly, with a deafening explosion, another piece of the atmosphere seemed to crack, a large pillar of flesh the size of a skyscraper breaking through the walls of reality and descending upon the city. The world seemed to be trying to close the new rift back up, but the appendage was blocking any efforts.
Suddenly, a presence descended in the area, causing Kara to feel a pressure on her shoulders as an aura of awe radiating from the enormous limb, a sense of oppression that demanded she submit. Focusing, Kara managed to shake it off.
"That… doesn't look good," she cursed, watching as thousands of eyes opened across every inch of the pillar.
Her mind was suddenly assaulted again and she stumbled, but she actually leaned into her rage and training with Kal to fight off the psychic assault, shaking her head and refocusing faster than ever. This stupid thing constantly trying to mess with her head was really starting to tick her off.
Down below, the civilians who'd been entranced started mutating, their bodies changing into monsters or exploding into random displays of power as the eldritch eyes looked at them.
"Burn it! Burn it now!" Kara yelled, snapping Dani out of her own daze. "Close those damn eyes!"
Lifting both hands, Dani released a stream of orange fire towards the limb. At first, it seemed small but, in less than a second, the fire had enveloped a quarter of the skyscraper's sized flesh limb.
Noticing her effort, Red Tornado also recovered and flew closer, using his wind manipulation to feed the flames further. The fire caused the eyes to pop like pustules, releasing a shower of burning blood down on the city, but Dani's fire only increased in power, the temperature growing until it overcame the limb's regeneration and started consuming it.
"None of that now! Stop ruining my fun!" Klarion growled, finally turning away from Wonder Woman and Fate to focus on the both of them, his burning eyes exploding in power as he released a blast of magic large enough to fully envelop them.
Kara wasn't fast enough to dodge it, but she managed to release Dani on top of a new shield and use her Nth metal gloves to block the attack again, the ray of power parting as she braced herself against it.
The attack seemed to go on forever, a never ending stream of magic that burned her costume, destroyed chunks of her nano-robots, burned her skin where it became exposed and slowly drove her back despite Kara putting everything she had towards the fight to overcome it. With a scream, she used her heat vision, hoping the counterattack would help.
Suddenly, all sound vanished, the entire world seeming to freeze as the weapon she had left behind at the start of the fight finally activated. Klarion's spell fizzled out and even Jay, Barry and Kal, the fastest beings in the fight, seemed to be moving in slow motion.
In the blink of an eye, a pillar of bright white light covered her vision, burning a patch through all the tentacles and hitting the green portal from which they came. The entire sky around the impact point seemed to fracture as the very fabric of reality buckled under the force of the assault.
Then the shockwave hit, the energy drawn from Hell itself hitting the atmosphere and sending all fighters flying in random directions regardless of their strength. The houses closest to the impact point were obliterated but, thankfully, they had long since been empty of people.
Kara felt herself break the sound barrier as she tumbled through the air, her eyes bleeding from the bright flash of light. A terrifying screech of pain seemed to fill the world and shake its very foundations.
Finally managing to stabilize herself, she looked up to see hellfire burning the openings of the breach, the flame consuming the tentacles and seeming to burn even the edges of the portal.
Hah! She knew those pieces of Vortigar's heart would prove useful! She may have defeated Etrigan's sibling fairly easily, but he WAS incredibly powerful.
On Krypton, magic had been extremely rare, far more so than on Earth, but it hadn't been completely unheard of. And as any respectable technological civilization might do, Kryptonians had several devices capable of interacting with the exotic source of energy.
Kara herself hadn't had the chance to mess with anything magical while in Krypton —the general field of study having fallen out of favor centuries before her time— and she still hadn't found a way of channeling Vortigar's power for anything more useful but, if there was one thing she was good at, it was causing explosive failures.
For a few seconds, everyone just seemed to stare at the result of her weapon. Several burning tentacles falling down on top of buildings, having been severed by the explosion, even Klarion couldn't help but clap excitedly at the devastation.
Looking around, Kara saw Dani pushing herself out of a hole in the ground, the impact having only slightly dented her armor despite the height she had fallen from.
"Cool!" the Lord of Chaos yelled and then started looking for the source of the attack. "There you are! Mine now!"
In a burst of magic, he flew towards the weapon and Kara's armor, his hands extended as greed filled his eyes. Unfortunately for him, he had let his guard down and Wonder Woman attacked.
Intercepting the abomination, Wonder Woman used her lasso to envelop Klarion's neck, stopping him in the air before kicking his body away and decapitating him.
Grabbing the head, she started wrapping it with her lasso, trying to see if the artifact could contain his magic if she fully enveloped him. Unfortunately, she had chosen the wrong target, Klarion's head just smiled and whispered. "Boom."
The decapitated head exploded in a blast of chaotic magic, sending Wonder Woman flying back and burning her arms and chest with magical fire, causing her to cry out in pain.
Seeing as Wonder Woman was already intercepting the Lord of Chaos, Kara checked on Dani and Kal one last time. Once she saw they were both alive and well, she refocused on the eldritch god above.
The hellfire had destroyed most of the green portal and eliminated the tentacles, allowing Fate to approach and start to close the main breach, but the flesh pillar was still mostly intact and, without Dani's fire, the eyes had started to regenerate.
Gathering herself, Kara sent the strongest blast of heat vision she could at the base of what she now realized was a single finger. The attack burned through the flesh, but not nearly as fast or deep as she would have wished.
Before the damage could heal, she smashed into the very tip as fast as she could, actually breaking the finger and sending a shower of blood down upon the city. Digging into the flesh, she screamed and strained her body, ripping the entire thing off, the skyscraper sized phalange weighing heavily on her back.
There was another deafening roar of pain as the owner of the amputated appendage retreated, the dimensional tear healing as soon as it was no longer being forced to remain open.
Around the main portal, Fate had finally finished getting rid of the tumorous growths that formed the connection and was about to fully close it, but Wrath had managed to recover from Kal's blow and was flying back into the city, releasing blasts of magic at the Lord of Order's back.
Focusing fully on the demon, Kara channeled all her power, all her feelings of rage and anger, releasing the strongest blast of heat vision she had ever managed, a visible crimson beam of power that smashed into the demon with so much power it cut off his attack and stunned him for a second.
Adjusting her grip on the digit, Kara swung it around in a circle, gaining speed before releasing it towards Wrath. The phalange smashed into the demon and created a shockwave as they both went flying right back towards the sea.
Wrath flew for a few kilometers, but he finally managed to recover. Without a Kryptonian's bioelectrical field, he couldn't fully stop the finger, but he managed to push the limb aside and free himself, narrowing all four regenerated eyes at her.
Kara hadn't been idle, using the distraction to get within range and slammed into him once again. This time, she was able to feel his power trying to feed on her rage but, somehow, she resisted, her anger focused and under control so that his power couldn't find any purchase into her mind.
Unable to draw on her strength, the demon wasn't a match for her. More than that, Kara realized this was not what she should be doing. She didn't need to waste time on him.
Oh, she still wanted to restart their fight, to destroy him and wipe the smile from his face, but Kal was right, in the face of what was happening, Wrath was unimportant. Not insignificant, not really, but so far below her priorities it barely registered.
Snorting, she punched him in the throat, her Nth metal gloves bypassing some of his magical protections and leaving him gasping for air.
Wrath tried to flail at her with one arm while grabbing his throat with the other, he got her once, the punch hitting her face, but Kara recovered quickly and managed to grab his arm, breaking it at the elbow.
The demon roared, striking out with a blast of magic aimed at Kara, but twisted aside and hit his temple with an elbow, causing him to stumble in the air. He was left disoriented, weak, unlikely to recover fast.
She wanted to continue, but honestly, she had more important things to do. Instead, she kicked him away, content to emulate her cousin and just send him flying away while she took care of more urgent matters.
"SHAZAM!" a huge bolt of lightning struck Wrath as he was flying away, causing him to scream out. Captain Marvel had arrived.
The hero had a serious look on his face and struck at the demon, carrying the both of them into the sea. Kara considered if she should follow but, at this point, Billy was actually stronger than her and she trusted him not to succumb to Wrath's influence, it wasn't in his nature.
Down on the streets, the amputated tentacles seemed to reanimate, turning into unspeakable horrors that grew hundreds of mouths screaming in pain and horror. But the portal was almost completely neutralized.
Down on the streets, Dani rained fireballs down on the newly created abominations, incinerating a few of them while Kal fought others. Thankfully, after so long, Jay, Barry and the drones had managed to evacuate all of the civilians close to the fight.
"Heh, I guess it was fun while it lasted… and to think I had such hopes for the brothers," Klarion sighed, having re-grown his head. Snapping his fingers, he created a portal behind him and saluted a wounded Wonder Woman, taking the time to laugh in her face. "See ya, losers!"
Still feeling the effects of her rage, Kara flew towards the bastard, but she knew she wouldn't make it, she was too far away.
Just as he was about to step back, a green sword slashed the portal in half, causing the Lord of Chaos to frown and float back as Alan Scott floated in front of him. The man looked tired, but his face seemed actually younger than before the fight started.
"Whoa," Klarion floated away from the Green Lantern, both arms raised as if in surrender, but he still had a smirk on his face.
"No, you have done enough damage," Alan growled, his armor almost pulsating like a beating heart. "No escape for you. No coming back later. No trial. No mercy."
"Awww, what are you gonna do, hit me with your sword?" Klarion mocked, but there was a hint of something strange in his voice. "Piss off old man!"
From his raised palms, two blasts of magic flew towards Alan as Klarion attempted to flee again, but Wonder Woman snared his feet with her lasso and smashed him against the top of the building they were on.
"I'm the Green Lantern! Whatever I envision happens!" Alan shouted, waving his sword and cutting through both blasts. Flashing forward, he pierced the Lord of Chaos heart, pinning him to the floor and leaning forward. "And right now, you insufferable twat, all I'm seeing is your death!"
Emerald green flames burst from Klarion's wounds causing the old monster to scream in pain for the first time in the fight. His hands grabbed the sword in a desperate attempt to push it out of his chest, but Alan just gripped the handle harder and pushed the weapon down to the hilt, generating another wave of fire that covered the entire top of the building.
Struggling like mad, Klarion's body started morphing, changing from a child into a shapeless mass of darkness and crimson light that was slowly being consumed by green flames.
Suddenly, a mammoth sized cat appeared from nowhere, his form breaking a spell of invisibility as it slashed at Alan's unprotected back. Wonder Woman reacted so fast she almost teleported in front of her friend, using her bracelets to block the claw strike, but it still drew a line of blood from Alan's shoulder blade.
Using all his magically enhanced strength, the cat pressed Wonder Woman down and opened his mouth wide, forcing Alan to lean away lest the beast bite his head off.
Now arriving, Kara smashed feet first into the cat, her eyes blasting his head with heat vision. The feline twisted around with unnatural grace, leaving several deep gashes in her real leg before pouncing on Wonder Woman again, but Kara grabbed him by the tail, briefly halting his movements.
Unfortunately, when Alan had leaned back, Klarion got just enough space to move. Grabbing the sword by the blade again, he pushed it sideways through his body, roaring in a demonic voice as it cut its way out of his chest.
Alan slashed after him and cut off one of his arms, but Klarion still got some distance, opening his mouth impossibly wide and releasing a wave of chaos magic that obliterated the entire top of the building.
Grabbing the cat by the neck, Kara managed to use his body to block the blast. Twisting around, Teekl hissed at her, all four limbs slashing towards her chest and neck. With lightning fast reflexes, Kara leaned back and blasted him away with heat vision before he could hurt her.
"You accursed bastards!" Klarion roared, his voice filled with utter hate. "I will tear out your hearts! I will hunt down your families and skin them alive! I will…"
"You talk too much," Alan said, a green flaming spear flying towards the Lord of Chaos heart.
Teekl roared, jumping on top of his owner and pushing him out of the way but getting a cut all the way through his body.
"NOOOOOOOOOO!" With another roar of pain and rage, Klarion exploded into power, sending thousands of crimson beams towards them.
Without a convenient shield nearby, Kara had to fly closer to Alan, allowing the Green Lantern to protect her with a shield large enough to cover all three of them.
Flying back, Klarion cradled the bleeding and quickly shrinking cat to his chest with only one hand and, this time, didn't waste time jumping through a portal, disappearing before any of them could do anything else.
Alan dismissed his shield and the three of them stared at the pieces the Lord of Chaos had left behind.
"FUCK!" Kara yelled, utterly frustrated at the fact he had escaped, even if she had no way of permanently dealing with the creature at the moment.
And to think that, if she had been just a few seconds faster or managed to delay his escape a little longer, her armor would have managed to get the perfect shot on the cat, banishing the Lord of Chaos from the mortal plane.
With barely contained rage, Kara screamed, striking out at the building below her and destroying its roof while sending shards of Red Light in random directions. Finally, she was left panting, exhausted.
"You get used to it, kid," Alan patted her back, his hair slowly turning back into its gray color as he gave her an understanding look. "Villains are slippery like that."
Throwing her head back, Wonder Woman adjusted her disheveled hair and wiped the blood away from her face to reveal some of Teekl's scratches still hadn't healed. Stepping besides her old companion, she asked. "Can you deal with the remnants?"
"Not in a single attack, protecting the city took a lot out of me," the Green Lantern sighed, his light dimming as the exhaustion became obvious for all to see.
Looking down at the city, Kara saw her drones working overtime to contain the eldritch beings, locking them in barriers while harassing those too strong to be restricted and keeping them away from everyone.
From the sky, Captain Marvel fell on top of one of the tentacle monsters, a discharge of electricity turning the creature into a charred mess before he threw it aside and flew towards a second one, an unconscious Wrath held in his other hand.
Looking at her Armor who was already packing away his weapon, Alan lifted an eyebrow and Wonder Woman cracked her neck. "I appreciate the help, fella, you gonna stay for the aftermath?"
"No," the forge armor replied, emulating her voice while wearing it. "Our interests aligned today, but I have no interest in being a hero, only hunting down the abomination."
"Fair enough," Alan shrugged. "Just don't cause trouble and we won't have a problem."
The armor didn't answer, but that seemed to satisfy both Wonder Woman and the Green Lantern enough to dismiss its presence from their minds.
"Well, my friend, it seems like the easy part is over," Wonder Woman commented towards Alan. Floating away from the building, she looked around for where she was most needed. "Now for the harder part."
"Oh joy… if only it wasn't also the most important," Alan sighed, watching the woman fly and starting to fly himself. "Good job, kid. Thanks for the help. Come look for me once this is over, we can talk about what just happened."
As Alan flew towards the remains of the fight, Kara considered what to do next but, as several other heroes started arriving and things weren't moving as fast, she found that the best way to help was no longer to get directly involved, but coordinate the rescue and containment.
Using her computer, she ordered the armor to collect Klarion's amputated arm and the blood he had spilled, having it give her a nod as if it was a stranger before teleporting it away for safekeeping.
Sitting down, she pulled out a holographic projector from inside her costume, creating a display in front of her face. Briefly closing her eyes, she took a few breaths to calm herself further and accelerated her thoughts as fast as she could.
Then she opened her eyes again and started working, furiously manipulating the drones to coordinate with the working heroes. Wonder Woman was right, seeing the result of the fight was much harder than participating in it.
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Thanks to Eric Faust for helping out with the chapter.
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