Chapter 36
Sam Mokoa/Pissed-Off Beyond Belief
Kahu had fallen over the edge of the bridge he'd been on and that giant whale woman (Who was Giovanni's new scientist, something to investigate later) had jumped over to save him, joined by that blue monster.
Which meant Sam and David were alone with only the gray one to help.
Sam growled, popping out of cover to aim towards one of the Dragons.
Who screamed as a bullet slammed into his thigh, sending him to the ground. Sam stared in shock. He hadn't fired. Neither had David.
A few more shots rang out, hitting arms, legs, and chests, all coming from different angles. Supporting fire?
Sam decided not to waste it. He instead joined in, firing careful bursts from the rifle in his hands.
"Who the hell is backing us up!?" David asked, popping from cover to send another lightning bolt out.
"I'm not going to question more guns!"
"Not the guns, the telekinesis!"
Sam was about to ask what he was talking about when a chunk of stone next to him rose up and launched forward, bouncing off the head of a Silicon Dragon. He blinked at the swearing Dragon before unloading on her, sending her to the floor. "Don't question it. Just fight!"
In the distance, the gray Pokemon was fighting the warthog man, a sentence that made Sam want to shoot someone. So he did.
The Silicon Dragons armor wasn't making things easy though. It took way too many bullets to wear down the weird armor they were wearing. Enough that he had to expose himself to them for longer than he was comfortable with.
A bullet skated past his face as he ducked behind his SUV. Sam scowled, looking over at David.
"I'm rethinking my decision on getting weapons just to kill the dragons."
David opened his mouth to respond.
Then a Silicon Dragon leaped over to their platform, propelled by a jet of water from his back. He landed awkwardly, allowing Sam to shoot at him, but the Dragon pulled out a red longsword with crackling energy along the edge, stabbing forward with it.
"Damn!" David ducked, the sword impaling the SUV behind him. The gangster pulled the blade to the right, ripping through the SUV as David backpedaled away, then grabbed the guy's wrist. He kicked out at the gangster's knee, buckling him to the floor, then pressed his gun to the man's helmet.
Tough as the armor was, not much can survive a full clip of bullets at such a close range.
David took a deep breath, then grabbed the sword, pulling it from the SUV and hefting it experimentally.
Sam reloaded his own gun. He didn't waste time with quips or comments anymore. Just got ready for a fight as David twirled his new sword around.
That was when the rhino smashed into the SUV, sending it flying.
"What's up!" the rhino-man cheered, lifting his hands high and cheering with a dumb grin.
Sam unloaded on him. The bullets, to his disappointment, had almost no effect, smacking against the grey exposed skin on the rhino's chest and face like Nerf bullets on a pillow.
"Ow!" the rhino-man glared at him. "That hurt you asshole!"
"Ah, crap," David hefted his sword next to Sam as the pair faced down the charging beast.
Sam had had better days.
------
Gurdurr
Gurdurr could see, out of the corner of his eye, the soldiers rushing to attack the cop who was trying to arrest Master. He wanted to help, especially as the rhino that Master had called 'Rocksteady' loomed over the two.
But he had his hands full.
"Gurdurr!" he smacked the warthog in the belly. The hairy creature snarled in pain, but punched Gurdurr in the face in turn.
"What is that, Spanish?" Bebop asked, wincing in pain. "I don't speak anything but American, sorry."
"Gurrrrr," Gurdurr snarled as he staggered back, hands tightening around his I-Beam.
Bebop raised his fists into a fighting stance. "Ha! Yeah, get mad bro! Come on shortstuff, I want to really fight!"
Gurdurr appeared in Bebop's guard in a burst of speed. The warthog had enough time to jump in shock. Then a single fist smashed into his chin in a powerful uppercut. Bebop staggered back.
Gurdurr stepped forward into the opening provided by that, tossing his I-Beam up and moving in with his fists, eyes alight with fury. "GUUUUUUUR!"
Right cross to the belly, left jab to the knee, a Drain Punch to the belly again, then a Mach Punch to destabilize him. Gurdurr mercilessly wailed on his larger opponent, his movements part polished boxing, part construction worker brawling.
Bebop staggered. Then he roared, stepping back into the fight. Gurdurr's eyes widened. What a tough opponent!
"RAAAH!" He raised his fists and dropped them down on Gurdurr in a hammerblow, smashing the bridge instead. Gurdurr had dodged to the side, grabbing his I-Beam as it fell out of the sky. With a swing right out of a batting cage, the I-Beam hit Bebop's face. The warthog was actually lifted off the ground by the hit, twisting around before smacking into the bridge with a sound like a slab of pork hitting a counter.
Bebop rolled to his feet, laughing. "Hell yeah, brother! That's what I'm talking about!"
Gurdurr growled even as he felt a few of his bruises fade. With Drain Punch, he could absorb some of Bebop's vitality to restore his own. Problem was, Bebop apparently had massive reserves.
Before Gurdurr could consider that further, Bebop was stepping forward to fight again. Gurdurr parried a punch on his I-Beam, dropping low to block a kick, then brought his I-Beam around to attack.
Bebop blocked the attack on his arm, his forearm fat jiggling from the impact.
Gurdurr knew his fighting style was rather basic. While he did know some more impressive abilities, at heart he was a brawler with some skill, not a pure martial artist like a Hitmonlee or something.
But Bebop was even more of a brawler and a thug. He didn't dodge, blocked only rarely, and his punches were wild haymakers, rudimentary jabs. Which made it all the more annoying that it was working. He was just so damn tough!
And strong, as another blow to Gurdurr's face reminded him.
Gurdurr stepped back to reevaluate. He needed to win this. But how?
He raised one fist while resting his I-Beam on his shoulder.
Bebop grinned widely. "Ohhhh, yeah, bro. I can tell. You're loving this, aren't you?"
Gurdurr couldn't help but grin back. Well. Yeah. Just a bit.
------
Tyrunt
"Graaagh!" Tyrunt shredded apart a Mouser on the ground, roaring in rage as he looked around.
Mimikyu appeared from his shadow, looking around as well.
They stood in the middle of the street, surrounded by the mechanical replicas and Silicon Dragons alike. Tyrunt couldn't stop the smile on his face as he stared down his enemies, while Mimikyu raised a hand to grab her wooden tail, emerald energy surrounding it.
A rush of mousers attacked, a full twenty or so. Tyrunt charged into them, feeling their steel bodies smash into his stone and dragon scale. He opened his mouth and roared, spinning around to slash his tail outwards at one of the bots.
Then someone shot him a few times with a heavy set of bullets. Tyrunt grunted, tucking his head down. While bullets didn't have the same sort of power behind steel-type moves that made them really hurt him, they were still annoying! He roared up at the people behind it.
A Silicon Dragon on a roof fired down at him. 6 or so had run up there and were shooting down at him.
Tyrunt briefly thought about running up there, before he turned his focus to the robot Mousers around him. "Tyrunt!"
His call for someone to take out the rooftop shooters echoed outwards.
Behind the Silicon Dragons, the shadows answered. In the hot Hawaiian sun, as snow continued to drift down and melt on the pavement, one of the shooters didn't see their shadow grow and stretch outward behind them. Not until the shadow rose up and wrapped around his neck and arm.
"Dios Mio, no!" the man screeched before he was lifted up and tossed like a rag doll to smash into the wall behind him.
"Mimikyu!" the small Pokemon said, trying to make a battlecry and coming across as cute instead. That was fine. The long shadow tentacles that snapped out from under her Aquaman costume did the job of being intimidating better.
"It's the nightmare!" one of the Dragons shouted, spinning to raise her gun towards Mimikyu.
A kunai slammed into her left arm, slicing through the cloth there to impale through her forearm. "GAAAAAH!"
As she screamed in pain, a voice spoke. "Getting stabbed is a bitch, right?"
Ishido, coming out of the door to the roof, tossed another blade. "I know the feeling."
"Take them down!" the remaining Dragons as one of them ducked the tossed blade. The woman who had been stabbed struggled to join in despite the knife in her arm.
"Goddamnit, what are you, Naruto!?" she screamed, sighting on Ishido.
He shot her in the leg, sending her tumbling to the ground. "I was always more of a Rock Lee kinda guy honestly."
"Mimikyu!" The small Pokemon smashed her wooden tail into a man, the Aquaman head of her costume smiling blankly.
"TYYYYY!" with a roar right out of the movies, Tyrunt jumped on top of an SUV and smashed through a windshield to attack one of the Mousers inside.
"Move, move, move!" on the far end of the street, soldiers began rushing forward, hardened military men clashing with the robots and gangsters en masse.
Tyrunt grinned through teeth filled with steel and wires. He loved his life!
------
Kahu Kiaʻi
"Fucking damnit!" I slid across the ice, trying to regain my footing. It was so hard to balance on ice while carrying a shield and a weapon! "I wish I'd thought of grabbing snow boots."
"Slugma!" my small lava girl said, running alongside me. Well, slithering.
"Yeah, I guess no one buys snow boots in Hawaii," I mumbled. Granted, there were some snowy locations in Hawaii, but-
I turned a corner and stopped to look upwards. "Whoa."
It's easy to forget just how damn BIG a battleship is. Not in numbers, but by actually looking at the damn things. The one in front of me felt like a full-on island compared to me.
It was also covered in ice from head to toe. I mean… port to stern? Whatever, it was icy is the point.
"Sluuuuug," she said in awe.
"Come on," I ran towards the gangway of the ship (I think that's what they're called?), trepidation in every step. With Slugma next to me pumping out heat, I didn't feel the chill as much, but I was still slipping a bit on frost as I went up the long walkway.
Slugma and I stopped on the dock of the ship, looking around. Nothing. Chill fog floated in the air, the smell of the ocean filling my nose. There was the wooden planks of the ship under our feet/body, the wood steaming as Slugma passed over the icy planks.
"What happened?" I mumbled to Slugma. "Frost was supposed to be here. But where are the guards? The soldiers? Hell, where are the tourists?"
"Ma," Slugma said.
We walked slowly towards the bridge of the ship, heading for the door on the side. I reached for the door, slowly, opening it up. Slugma went to enter the door-
I felt the air to my side, part. A sound in the air, like a whistle. I twisted my shield to face my right, blindly, Amos' obsessive training activating before my brain could catch up.
A booming sound filled the air as something smacked against my shield, sending me bouncing forward.
I rolled over and raised my shield blindly in time to catch a foot that sent me sliding back. "Gah!"
"Slugma!" my small lava slug turned and blasted a burst of flame.
A wall of ice flew up to block the wave, melting apart but also preventing my assailant from getting hit.
A long and curved sword swung for my head. I raised my shield, only for the sword to do some kind of crazy twisty move that brought the blade around my shield, swiping it aside. As I staggered, shield out of place, the blade stabbed at me.
I blocked it on my war club. Based on the ancient weapons of many Polynesian islands, it was made of metal rather than wood, with raised bumps running along the edges instead of shark teeth. The club shook in my hand as I struggled against my opponent.
"Oh?" a feminine voice filled the air as I finally got a good look at the woman who attacked me. Green-black clothes obscuring her like a ninja, right down to the hood, with a wooden mask in the shape of a Chinese Dragon upon her face. "Lua? Not many practitioners worth anything nowadays."
I snarled, pushing back. She barely budged, which surprised the hell out of me. She was a little taller than me, but still thinner. Combined with my weird Poke-strength, she should have been shoved back.
Instead, she hummed. "Stronger than I thought."
Then she pulled back. I did the same, not wanting to fall off balance. As I did, ice came from behind her, where Slugma had been. I grit my teeth, keeping my eyes on the woman but using my peripherals to eye Slugma. A red glow of heat slammed into a woman as pale as snow, sending her through the wall behind before following her into the hallways of the ship.
"Focus," the woman stepped forward. I raised my war club and shield, only to blink as a fresh burst of fog blocked her from my sight. When it disappeared, she was gone too.
I raised the riot shield and scowled. "...Ninja. Or at least an assassin. Shouldn't you be bothering Batman?"
"Why?" the voice echoed in the fog. "I have no interest in Gotham. I'd much rather bother you."
"That's almost cute. I usually like forward woman, but they tend to wait a bit before trying to stab me in the heart," I scowled. I didn't like this. On any level. The only reason I was quipping was to try and get a track on her, but somehow I didn't think this would work.
The ship below me shook as Slugma let out a roar that echoed in the air, but I was alone. No Pokemon to back me up.
Against an opponent that seemed more dangerous than any other I'd fought.
A blade swung at my face. I almost shrieked in terror at the suddenness of the attack, leaning back and barely getting a scratch across my neck. Then the blade kept coming, swinging, slicing, stabbing, moving so fast I could barely breathe in the beats between the attacks.
I desperately blocked my right side with my shield, and twirled my war club about, moving as fast as I could to parry the blows, stepping back and giving ground across the ship. When my back was close to a turret behind me, I twisted around it, the woman bouncing off of it to kick my shield.
"I'll let you know when I start trying, shall I?" she said with a gentle humour even as she faded into the fog.
Fuuuuuck.
I raised my shield and grit my teeth. "Slugma, I really hope you remember what I told you about Killer Frost."
Then a blade was stabbing at my kidney, and I had no more room to talk.
------
Author's Note: Next Chapter, Slugma and Kahu vs Killer Frost and Lady Dragon, while we drop in on Orca and Mudkip fighting submarines. Fire and Ice, a clash of blades, and an ocean of madness. And a new power display from Orca, which hopefully you guys will like :D All around can't wait for the next chapter!
Chapter 37
Slugma
It all happened so fast! Master had been opening the door, about to go inside, and then a lady in black came out of nowhere and hit him. Slugma tried to help, but then that blue lady used an ice beam and blocked her path with an icewall. Slugma tried to burn through it, but the mean lady had hit her with more ice, forcing her to fight.
Now they were in the boat, facing each other. Slugma looked her up and down, mind racing.
Killer Frost, that was her name. Well, her real name was Caitlyn, but she had a bad guy name. A supervillain. Master had spoken about a lot of them, trying to cover as many as he could, showing them the ones that had been on the news. He'd focused on the Joker, Poison Ivy, Black Manta, Livewire, and a few others. Villains who were either very powerful or very dangerous in particular.
Killer Frost was both.
Slugma opened her mouth and unleashed a stream of fire. Killer Frost… laughed.
"Oh… oh you are delicious," the fire died out almost instantly. Slugma winced at the wide grin on Killer Frost's face.
Oh… right. She had a hidden ability. Flash Fire on an Ice Type!? That made no sense!
Slugma's own body was making her stronger. That was… bad.
Slugma opened her mouth. This time, she spat out a single hardened stone, created by rapidly forming and cooling the lava within her. The rock was thrown with tremendous force, whistling through the air before it slammed into a wall of ice that sprouted up in front of Killer Frost.
"Not bad!" Killer Frost raised a hand and shards of ice flew out, turning into spikes that smashed into Slugma. The small Pokemon was sent flying with a squeal of pain as the spikes ripped through a wall behind her, her form falling into the hole.
Killer Frost smirked. "Awww. Did that hurt?"
A stream of molten fire exploded from the hole, turning the metal into dripping red liquid the almost immediately began to cool. Killer Frost's smile widened at the sight of the small lava slug staring at her with eyes alight in rage.
"There you go… burn for me."
Slugma sped forward instead. Killer Frost had enough time to be shocked at the sight of a creature the size of a cat rushing towards her before the small Pokemon hit her in the stomach.
And sent her flying ten feet back. Killer Frost crashed through a window behind her, screaming in pain, then unleashed a wave of ice as she landed on the floor. Slugma burned through the waves of chilled spikes, speeding up as the ice chopped at her hardened armor.
Killer Frost was up in time to unleash a beam that lifted Slugma upwards, snarling. The white-silver beam froze the steel rooms around them, before Slugma countered with a flamethrower. The combination of immense cold followed by extreme heat cracked the military grade steel around them, the ship shaking with the force of their clash.
When it was over, steam rose about the area, evaporating as it neared Slugma or turning into droplets of ice as it floated towards Killer Frost. The two women stared at each other, Slugma determined as Killer Frost's face was filled with a strange horrifying kind of ecstasy. Like the drug addicts Slugma had sometimes seen while helping Master.
Slugma took the breather for a moment. Then raised her body before smashing it into the floor. Cracks spread across the floor. Killer Frost's ecstasy disappeared in favor of shock.
"Wai-"
Slugma struck the floor again. The metal, already weakened, fell apart, sending the two tumbling down to the next floor, where shadows filled the space. From above, white and blue glows of light blinked into existence as red flames and brown stone clashed with them, and the entire ship began to shake once more.
——
Grace Balin/Orca
Underwater, just below the ice, Grace and Mudkip sped under the water, moving gracefully, no pun intended.
Grace, for a moment, thought on the way that Mudkip was able to swim so easily despite the immense cold. It made sense for her. Orca's were well known to frequent extremely cold waters. But Mudkip was closer to amphibians like salamanders than anything else she could think of and on Earth those tended not to deal with the cold very well.
What sort of environment did his species evolve in, to create such a hardy creature? On a team with a lava monster, rock dinosaur and ghost girl? Mudkip seemed almost normal at first.
Grace pulled back her thoughts to the battle at hand when she saw the submarine. She gaped at the size of it. She'd never seen one before. It was as big as the blimps that floated over Gotham back when she'd lived there. Similar in shape and size, with the same ponderous way of moving. Ponderous because of perspective though. It was still moving pretty damn fast.
As they approached, the sub was moving in towards the harbor. A hatch in the side opened. Grace hesitated at the sight. Was that a normal thing, for submarines?
Then three men in red armor came rocketing out into the water, streams of bubbles following them. They sped through the water like living torpedoes, their eyes hard under their helmets. Orca hesitated.
Mudkip didn't.
He rocketed towards them in turn. The water 'folded' around him, surrounding him with a swirling tornado before he slammed into one of the men. Another one turned to follow, and Mudkip let out a defiant and prideful shout as he began to battle them.
The other one moved towards Orca as she raised her hands up into a rough fighting stance.
Then she gasped as he pulled out a sword. Red swords glowing with some sort of blue energy.
Only raw animal instinct kept her from getting decapitated. Instead, the man's slashing attack cut across her shoulder, a line of red splitting her white and black skin before blood began to swirl into the water.
The pain that followed made Grace roar in pain and a slight red haze descended over her vision as she lashed out, smacking the man across the face. His helmet dented as he went spinning back, but he managed to right himself and move back in to attack.
Grace tried her best to maintain control, but couldn't help but let out a sound that reverberated through the water. The noise seemed to echo out in the direction of the red armored man, and he staggered, shouting in pain.
In an instant, several papers ran through her mind. Theories on dolphins and orcas, on sperm whales, some marine biologists suggesting that those three were among a few oceanic mammals that hunted by using sound. Emitting brief bursts of noise not just to detect prey and predator, but to attack, disorient. Even kill.
Fairy tales. But… the men were in suits of metal, filled with air. And if she hit them with enough sound, it would probably have some sort of effect right? Like a bell over your head being rung?
Grace focused as best she could. She knew that she had several new organs within her body. Some within her head. But trying to force the one that let her emit sonic blasts felt like a kid trying to shoot laser beams. A stupid childish endeavor.
So she was shocked when the water itself vibrated in rhythm with her clicking roar. The blast left her mouth, bouncing off everything around her and returning back to her. Mudkip and his opponents took it with little effect. The man attacking her screamed in pain clutching his right ear and waving his sword with his other hand, his voice echoing in the water. He desperately swung his sword at her with desperation, but she dodged the clumsy attack, desperately punching him in the gut.
The man gasped in pain, but managed to slice at her shoulder, blood spilling forth. Grace shouted directly in his face, then grabbed his arms. Whatever strength he was getting from that strange red suit, it was no match for her unnatural mutant strength. She pulled his arms apart, opening up his chest to a powerful double kick. The man's eyes bugged out under his helmet, then he passed out, floating listlessly in the water.
Mudkip suddenly let out a cry. "Mudkip!!!"
Grace looked over at him. "Oh shit!"
She got scraped by a torpedo that went flying past her, sending her spinning to the side before it exploded behind her. For a disorienting, painful moment she was spinning and screaming. Then a tiny blue body caught hold of her. She heard Mudkip shouting as he pulled her along, then another missile erupted.
Grace forced her eyes open. She instinctively let out a sonic burst, the sound bouncing off the area, then coming back to her. She could 'read' the sounds like a mental map of the landscape. The men Mudkip had been fighting were floating upwards along with the one she'd knocked out. But the submarine was turning to face them, and was firing torpedoes again and again. They exploded behind them as Mudkip swam, sending them bucking. Grace twisted out of Mudkip's grip to swim as fast as she could. The explosions around them buffeted the water, sending waves of force and noise echoing through the water.
God. It was horrifying. She knew the science of how different explosions underwater were from ones in the air, but that was nothing compared to the experience. The bursts of force were like something from hell, round globes of vacuum as the torpedoes exploded.
Desperate to find a way out, Grace let out another sonic burst. The mental map that returned was… confusing. The submarine. The harbor around them. The three men. Mudkip. The ice above. And, far off a pair of… missiles?
She released another burst. And the image that came was far more clear.
A pair of men, moving even faster than Mudkip and her. She twisted to look towards the submarine.
BOOM BOOM!!!
A pair of explosive noises echoed, steel on steel. The submarine listed to the side. Grace saw a flash of orange next to red, then blue light. Then the two disappeared into the submarine.
The vessel began to shake, sounds of fighting echoing in the water.
"Mudkip!" with that excited cry, the blue Pokemon turned and swam towards the sub. Grace quickly followed.
As they approached, she saw a large hole in the metal wall of the sub. Water was pouring into it, making it easy for Mudkip and her to get sucked in. She landed next to him on a metal floor, Mudkip swimming through the now knee-height water. She looked around.
Men and women, Silicon Dragon's most likely, were strewn about the ship like broken dolls. Some were floating face up in the water, gasping in pain, while others were laying on consoles. Apparently, they were on the bridge of the ship.
A loud shout followed by a man flying back to land in the water drew her attention.
Standing there in his iconic orange and green uniform, Aquaman smiled at the sight of Grace and Mudkip. "Hey. Kaldur, look who it is."
Turning from the woman he was choking unconscious, Kaldur, otherwise known as the Aqualad, smiled. "Grace. Mudkip. It is good to see you well."
"Uh… hi?"
Were all superheroes so casual in the middle of a fight?
Aquaman's smile faded. "We came when the US Military sent us the call. What's the situation?"
Grace hurriedly got her thoughts together, but before she could speak, Mudkip held a hand up, silencing her.
Aquaman and Mudkip met eyes. "Mudkip."
"Understood," Aquaman said immediately. "Kaldur, you, Mudkip, and Grace should head back to shore to aid the Military and civilian forces with the Dragons. There are two superhumans aiding them, hybrids like Grace, but combined with a Warthog and a Rhino, respectively. I'll head to aid Kahu and Slugma. If they're fighting Killer Frost, they'll need me. She's no pushover, and Slugma's presence might be increasing her power."
"You got all that from a single word!?" Grace asked in fascination.
"You get used to it," Kaldur noted calmly as he rushed past. "Come on. We have work to do."
—---
Kahu Kiaʻi
A sword sliced deep into my shoulder. I screamed, kicking out at the ninja chick. She dodged back, but I hadn't expected to hit her. The real reason for the kick was just to create more distance, to give me a breath.
This woman was better than me. The small cuts across my body told that clearly, but it was more than that.
Amos, while training me how to use the warclub being clenched in my sweaty hand, had shouted it again and again.
"Control the distance you retard!" he'd say as he smacked me across my arms, legs, and cheeks. "See that you little fuck? That's your shoulder meat hanging off. That's your chest stabbed. Your asshole cut down the middle. You wanna win a weapon fight? Then CONTROL the distance. Tighten it when you're ready, widen it when your bitch ass needs a minute. Distance, distance, distance."
I'd learned a lot. But this chick had clearly learned for a lot longer.
A piece of my thigh was hanging loose, spilling blood across the ice, the cold stinging my open wound. I had a hole in my abdomen that felt like it had been made with fire. My hat was gone, blood from a cut above my eye spilling down my cheek.
I raised my shield in front of me, panting heavily. We circled each other slowly. I looked her over one more time.
I'd made a mental comment earlier that she was a ninja, but that wasn't really it, was it? She was covered head to toe in clothes that hid her figure, build, and features. Only her height, taller than most women and some men, shone out to me, and she could have been wearing heels.
Which would be embarrassing, but I wouldn't be the first person in comic-bookdom to get their ass kicked by someone in impractical heels.
Point was, she was dressed in dark garb, but she was otherwise more akin to a samurai. Direct conflict the whole time, facing me equally. Sometimes disappearing, but always striking me somewhat directly.
"You're losing, Kahu Kiaʻi," the woman said calmly. Her long curved blade was still pointed at me.
I frowned. "Yeah."
She stepped forward and testingly chopped down at me. I parried it away and felt a bit of ferocious pride when my timing was perfect. She didn't seem to mind.
"But you aren't losing as badly as my tacticians suggested. Enhanced strength was a given. Your durability was accounted for. But they believed you depended on those traits to defend you until one of your spiritual creatures could aid you. Instead, you're fighting on the level of a League of Assassin member who has been in training for a full year."
What, so I was fighting on the level of a teenage cult warrior? A shitty one, considering what badasses Damien and Cassandra had been in the comics.
A gust of frost passed my vision. She disappeared in that instant.
"You got a name at least?" I mumbled. "Because I usually don't let a woman stab me so much without a first date."
A blade bounced off my shield. I still couldn't see her face, but her eyes seemed to smile. "You let women stab you?"
"You judging my kinks?" Goddamnit, was I bantering again?
"Not at all," she twisted away from my club, then spun back to slice at me again. I felt the flat of her blade smack my head, ringing my bell, then I went back to attack. "And you may call me Drakaina."
What, the female dragon-esque creatures from Greek myth?
Suddenly the entire ship shook again. I slipped.
That was the big moment of weakness she needed.
She slid past my guard. She sliced through the straps tying the shield to my arm in a quick move. I fell back as the massive shield bounced across the ice.
"Fuc-!" I didn't have time to finish my exclamation before she kicked me in the solar plexus. I felt like my heart exploded in my chest.
As I fell back on my back to slide across the ice, I felt like my whole body was wrapped in barbed wire and tossed into a cement mixer. Everything fucking… hurt. I got up slowly, only to stop when she began to approach me.
"You are somehow both more and less than I hoped for," she said slowly.
"I didn't come here to impress you," I grunted. "I came here to try and stop assholes from hurting people. And now I'm getting my ass kicked by a crazy ninja bitch."
She laughed. A genuine soft laugh that echoed in the cold air as the ship continued to bounce under us. I reached out mentally, trying to get a sense for how everyone was doing through the link Alakazam had built. After a quick update, I got to my knees.
"...Drakaina. Why are you even doing this shit?"
Her sword twirled briefly. "Honor."
"Hurting innocent people, killing people, torturing and experimenting on them!?"
"Oh no. I'm afraid that's all either a simple part of war or the actions of men and women I've already reprimanded," she kneeled down to meet my gaze. "In fact, I do have a solution. Would you like to work for-"
"Lady, seriously? Come on," I gasped out between pants for air.
She smirked. "Ah… yes, it is a bit cliche. I suppose I should just kill you."
I smirked back with a confidence I didn't feel. "Think you can?"
Come on. Come on. Keep focused on me. Focus on the big dumb guy in front of you…
She looked me over. Blood from the open wound in my thigh sizzled as it landed on the ice. My breath left in big bursts of steam as I tried to get as much air as I could. When she spoke again, she sounded almost lazy. "I believe I can. Despite your gifts… you are outmatched."
A nudge from the direction of the water behind her, a mental call. I felt like laughing but didn't have the energy. "Yeah… well. I don't doubt that. Because if you're outmatched? You can always…"
My voice lowered. I whispered slowly. She leaned in to hear. "...cheat."
The water exploded. Drakaina's eyes widened. She spun around, sword lifted. Perfect pose, ready to block anything that came her way.
A pale white hand grabbed the blade and pulled it from her hand like he was taking a stick from a baby. The other hand punched her across the face, sending her flying to her right. She landed on her back. To her credit, she immediately twisted to face us.
"Kahu," my savior, all 6-plus feet of him, said without taking his eyes off Drakaina. "Are you okay?"
Aquaman, his orange and green body suit shining in the light, blonde hair and beard glimmering with moisture from the ocean, moved over to block me from her.
"No, but that's to be expected," I stumbled up to my feet, Aquaman holding a hand out for me to grab and pull myself up.
"The Aquaman," Drakaina said calmly, looking me over. "Now that is interesting. Tell me. Was it our use of Atlantean technology that brought you here, or should I consider the Justice League a member of Kahu Kiaʻi's allies?"
My mind raced at that. I knew what she wasn't saying. If she considered the League part of this war… Well. We were fucked. I sent that message through to Aquaman. The older man, more used to mental communication than even me, spoke out loud while still mentally speaking with me.
"You used the stolen technology of my people, and you have to even ask that? Killer Frost alone would have brought my attention. This blatant attack in combination with that?"
Drakaina shrugged. "Fair enough. I suppose, then, that my part in this play is over."
"Play?" I asked. For some reason, that word stood out to me.
She smiled. "I'm sure you will find out. When we meet again."
"You believe you'll escape me?" Aquaman spat out.
"I do. And Kahu. The next time we fight, I'll need to remember your propensity for cheating."
Aquaman leapt forward. She flicked a finger outwards, and a light as bright as the sun burst from her feet. I screamed in pain at the same time as Aquaman. Blinking quickly, I tried to readjust my vision, barely doing so in time to see Aquaman clutching his own eyes while raising his other hand in a defensive stance. And no sign of Drakaina.
"...fucking ninja bitch," I mumbled as white spots continued to fill my vision.
"Gah!" Aquaman continued clutching his eyes. "Damn!"
"You okay?" I asked, stumbling over to him as my body continued to burn with pain.
"Yeah. Just… lights like that hurt. Adapted for the bottom of the ocean, you know?" he blinked quickly. "I wish you'd mentioned she was a 'ninja bitch' earlier."
"Thought the clothes would have clued you in," I mumbled as he moved over to help me stand. "And are you even allowed to cuss?"
"I'll worry about my brand later," Aquaman said, pulling me along. "I need to get you to a hospital."
"Not now."
"Kahu…"
"Slugma is fighting Killer Frost. We need to help."
"You can't even stand!"
I scowled. "Then you help! I'm not going to die this instant."
"If I leave you, she might come back to finish the job."
I laughed. "So now what?"
The ship shook again. Aquaman scowled. "Just as stubborn as the other grumpy asshole I know. Okay, come on."
Lifting me into his arms, ignoring my squawk of disapproval, he moved to enter the ship.
As he did, worry filled me. Slugma vs Killer Frost. Was Slugma okay? Alakazam couldn't seem to connect with her. And the others were still fighting out there. The Sub was taken care of. But this fight wasn't over just yet.
Almost. We were almost done. I could feel it. Just needed one more big push.
—---
Author's Note: It has been… rough. But then, it's been rough for all of us, right?
I've had a lot of 18 hour shifts lately, so less time to write.
Thankfully, that complaint aside, I have one big thing to come.
The next chapter of any of my stories is Dial. The second book of it, to be exact. Look forward to Laura, the X-Men, and the beginnings of the next big stage of the story :D After that, more Eggman.
In the meantime, I hope you all enjoy. Let me know if I have anything to fix for this chapter, and have a great night!
Chapter 38
Kaldur'ahm/Aqualad
Swimming next to Orca and Mudkip, Kaldur felt a mental message from Aquaman. He frowned a bit at the sensation of Alakazam's mind pressing against his. A mind-link, he'd called it. Psychic communication that allowed for instant and silent transference of words, images, and even emotions. It would take some getting used to, however.
"By the Visitor Center," the psychic Pokemon thought to them. "Sam Mokoa has gathered his forces there. Rocksteady, the rhino-hybrid, is engaging them."
Kaldur nodded, turning with Orca and Mudkip to aid one of the other groups fighting in this small war.
A war, of all things. Somehow, until now, Kaldur hadn't understood just how serious things had gotten for Kahu. Now he was beginning to gain some small understanding of what he was up against.
Swimming for the beach, the trio of aquatic heroes leapt out of the water and into the chill air, landing on the shore. Silicon Dragons turned to look at them from where they had been fighting the police and military, a Hawaiian man and black man leading the charge.
They'd holed up within the Visitor Center, taking positions at the windows while shooting at the Silicon Dragons outside. There was no sign of Rocksteady, but there were plenty of Dragons.
Kaldur snapped out his water bearers, the ocean behind him rising up to flow into the handles in accordance with his will. Mudkip blasted out scalding hot water, sending two men bouncing across the ground.
"GRAAAAGH!" Orca roared, arms outstretched in challenge. Kaldur had never heard an Orca make that noise before, and hoped never to hear anything like it again. She rushed forward, punching one man in the chest and sending him flying, then snapping a hand out to lift another and throw him into the water.
Kaldur moved in, his water bearers pulling the oceans waves out and sending them forth. The water crashed bodily into the Silicon Dragons before him, before Kaldur put away one of his water bearers. His bare hand touched the waves and electricity flowed through the water, electrocuting them.
"Aqualad!" the Hawaiian man shouted, drawing his attention to the inside of the building.
Kaldur quickly took stock of the situation and extended his mind outwards.
"Mudkip, cut a path to the building! Use water, I'll manipulate it to widen the gap, then you freeze it when I tell you! Orca, on my six!"
Mudkip, to his credit, barely hesitated. He let loose another large wave of water. Kaldur grabbed hold of the surf and focused it, pushing away the Silocon Dragon blocking them. The water formed the shape of a dragon, the rush of water stimulating a fearsome roar. The water crashed into the floor just before the Visitor Center, exploding outwards, then upwards into a wall of water controlled by Kaldur.
"Now!"
An Ice Beam, as Kahu had called it, smashed into the wall of water just as Kaldur, Mudkip, and Orca went through it, clear waves going white. Kaldur joined Sam and the Black man, who handed a woman in US military gear a clip.
"What's the situation?" Kaldur asked Sam, not wasting time on pleasantries.
"Not as bad as it was before," Sam said grimly over the sound of the Silicon Dragons shooting the wall of ice now defending them. "The Dragons are gonna start backing off in a bit, and that fucking rhino left. Unless he shows up again."
"Why did he leave?" Orca asked.
David scoffed. "He said he got bored."
Kaldur took a second to gape at that before moving on. "Any dead or wounded?"
"Two dead soldiers, eight police. Two civvies," Sam growled. When he noted Kaldur's surprise at the low count, he seemed angrier. "The civvies fought back. Made them fair game."
That was horrific.
"We'll help you drive them off them-"
A massive shadow appeared behind the ice. They all looked up at it. Sam's eyes widened. "Move!"
The shadow smashed through the ice wall. Ice chips bounced off of them in a spray of white chill. Kaldur snapped his water bearers up in time to form a shield before a gray fist hit it like a hammer, throwing him back. Orca took a horned head to the chest, rolling back to hit a pillar behind her, while Mudkip was lifted up and held in another gray hand.
Kaldur skidded across the floor on his heels, stopping to raise a shield in one hand while his other hand snapped out a sword of water.
A large rhino-man stood there, holding Mudkip in his hand. Rocksteady, Kaldur presumed. He was staring at him, squeezing hard around the blue Pokemon. Pokemon pushed back against the fingers surrounding him, struggling desperately.
"A… fish?" the rhino-man blinked.
"Mud…kip," the small Pokemon struggled to say as he fought the pressure on him.
"Strong though."
"Let him go!" Kaldur snapped, raising his weapons.
The rhino-man looked over, then smirked. Mudkip seemed ready to explode with rage as he struggled. A feeling of warning entered Kaldur's mind, the Atlantean hero tensing.
"Ha!" Rocksteady squeezed harder. "Why should-AAAAAAAA-!?"
Just like that, everyone was clenching their ears.
It was quick. Mudkip's eyes snapped into a rage. His mouth opened. And an unholy noise without description left his lungs. Kaldur had felt sonic waves hit him before, from sperm whales or dolphins. This was thousands of times worse.
Rocksteady threw Mudkip away. Sam and the other humans staggered in confusion. Kaldur could barely focus, but forced himself to rush forward, swinging a water bearer in the form of a mace.
His mace barely budged the rhino-man. Despite his confusion from the supersonic attack, the hybrid was still tough as stone. Kaldur barely ducked under an unwieldy punch, changing one mace to a blade and slicing it across the hybrids belly in a squealing sound as hardened water clashed with layer upon layer of collagen.
Kaldur switched from his usual balanced style for one that offered more mobility and offense. Rocksteady was slow, but it wasn't worth blocking his blows. They clashed for a brief moment.
Mudkip joined in a swirl of water, smashing into the belly of the monster in a twisting waterfall of power. The rhino-man grunted, then grinned. "Thanks! That cleared my sinuses!"
Then he kicked for Mudkip, sending him flying back. Orca entered the fight by catching Mudkip, dropping the small Pokemon and rushing forward with him. Grace, even taller than Rocksteady, punched for his face.
And Kaldur winced internally at the sight of the punch. Her form was horrible.
Rocksteady, on the other hand, ducked the punch with a boxer's grace and returned it with an uppercut to the stomach that lifted Grace off her feet. She gasped in pain before a right hook sent her rolling to the floor.
Then Kaldur hit him across the face with a massive mace. He struck at just the right moment, when the rhino was unsteady from hitting Orca, and sent him down to one knee. The large man coughed out a tooth.
"Agh! You hit hard for a little guy."
"Thank you," Kaldur said politely.
Mudkip, less politely, smashed into the rhino's belly like a living missile, then hit him in the face with a blast of scalding hot water.
"GAAAH!" the boiling water drove the rhino back. Kaldur capitalized on that by taking control of the water and sending it forward with more force, circling it back and hit him again.
The rhino screamed again. While the superhumans were fighting, Sam slid behind Rocksteady, tossing something small then rolling away quickly. Kaldur had enough time to recognize the sight of an explosive before the black man working with Sam hit a detonator.
The rhino was sent flying forward by an explosion, screaming.
Then Orca's fist smashed into his stomach in mid-air. The pair of hybrids screamed, one in pain, the other in rage, before Rocksteady was sent rocketing back into a back room.
Outside, a call came from the Silicon Dragons.
"Retreat!" One of them shouted, waving a hand in the air. "Delta 24, now, now, now!"
Smoke and tear grenades started getting tossed into the room. The soldiers began to cough and choke, one getting hit in the shoulder by a bullet.
"Soak them!" Kaldur shouted to Mudkip.
The pair covered the smoking grenades in water as they came in, while outside flashbangs went off, disorienting the soldiers. Sam fired a couple of shots out the window at them, while Kaldur finished up the last of the smoke grenades, moving to join him. "If they're in full retreat-"
"There isn't much we can do," Sam growled, a manic look in his eyes. "Goddamnit! What are they doing?"
The question sounded like it had multiple layers. Kaldur put it aside for now to turn and look at Grace as the Orca woman walked up to them.
She was clenching the side of her face where she'd been punched, a large bruise growing there, and looked angry. "He's gone," when Kaldur gestured for her to elaborate, she continued. "Rocksteady. I went to chase him, but he disappeared."
"Both of those fucking monsters are gone?" Sam asked, eyes snapping with rage. "So the Dragons still have them."
Mudkip hopped over to join them, looking disgruntled as well.
"Fine," Sam looked around. "I want everyone here to arrest who you can! If you have to choose between a Dragon and a civilian, get the civilian out first! Move!"
The soldiers, officers, and superheroes began moving instinctively to follow his orders. As they did, Kaldur's thoughts extended to Aquaman and Kahu. Were they okay?
The thought was pushed back as he helped a woman to her feet, but it remained.
Slugma
Slugma breathed out a blast of steam. Killer Frost wiped away a bead of sweat. The two elemental forces stared at each other across a battlefield of shattered and melted steel, the humidity in the room beading the walls in droplets of water.
The small lava slug held herself high, even when she wanted to simply soak into the ground and rest. She'd been pushing herself. Killer Frost kept on absorbing and absorbing her heat, forcing Slugma to raise her own temperature higher and higher. If she didn't, the loss of warmth would have left her as near-solid rock.
Killer Frost, on the other hand, was smiling. Almost chuckling. "Hmmm. Delicious," she licked her lips just a bit. "Gotta say. When I got hired for this, I didn't think it'd be too fun. But this is the best I've felt in years. I've been near nuclear reactors that haven't given me this much food."
Slugma snarled, a burbling sound. She crouched down, then sped forward. Killer Frost dodged aside, letting a wave of chill smack into Slugma. The small Pokemon squeaked in pain, but forced a rock throw, tossing a quickly solidifying piece of herself at Killer Frost. The heat vampire barely blocked it on a wall of ice, the sound of cracking filling the air.
Slugma landed hard, rolling to face Killer Frost before a foot crashed into her, sending her spinning into the air with a cry.
"Awww, what's wrong!? Not feeling it sweetheart?" Killer Frost gloated, the temperature dropping slowly. "Come on! Show me that fire you had before!"
Another ice beam, which Slugma took full on this time. She felt parts of her cool to stone before she could stop it. A shot of shame filled her.
A fire-type, being overwhelmed by ice? How disgraceful was that?
Slugma smashed through a wall behind her, the steel weakened by the immense temperature shifts, and landed heavily. She breathed for a moment, trying to get over her weariness. More shame filled her.
Slugma tiredly began to stand, only to stumble. Her mind was racing, reaching for any option she could. But nothing was coming.
She was always the weakest of her masters Pokemon. Always. The thought had always been in the back of her mind. It was why she worked so hard to catch up. She was always training on her own. To keep from disappointing him.
Some part of her felt that, if some other fire-type had come along first. He never would have chosen her. Or worse. If one had come later, he would abandon her. Some trainers were like that. Her master wasn't, but she couldn't help but worry.
And now, facing this woman, she could feel that fear. And a worse one. That she was going to die.
A wave of ice surrounded her in a flash. "Slugma!"
Slugma hurriedly tried to melt it, but all her heat was stolen. More ice crepts around her, Killer Frost entering the room with a wide grin. All the heat around them was sucked in towards her, like a black hole absorbing light. Slugma breathed out waves of heat, trying to keep herself fluid, but the war of attrition wasn't in her favor.
"Ahhh," Killer Frost took a flamethrower to the face with little trouble, only smiling wider. "That's too bad sweetheart. You not feeling too good?"
A blue hand wrapped around Slugma's throat. Slugma choked as the sections around Killer Frost's hand solidified. Killer Frost chuckled. "Ohhh. Look at you. So cute," Slugma bit at the air, wiggling, trying to do something, anything. A cold finger rubbed along her cheek, leaving stone in it's wake, a scorching pain.
"I wish I could keep you. Let you feed me forever. But orders," the hand squeezed. Killer Frost's eyes narrowed and her smile widened. "Are orders."
Slugma's heat began to leave her at a faster pace. She squeaked in pain. "Slu-Slu…g…"
Then her masters voice filled her mind. "Slugma? You there? You beat her ass yet?"
His mental voice was harsh as always. An inability to think clearly, Alakazam called it. But more than that. He sounded confident. He sounded unworried. Like he knew she had it.
The thought of that burned. She didn't have it. She was losing. She was dying.
"On my way girl. Love ya, all right? Kick her ass."
Something snapped in Slugma's mind. He knew she had it.
The thought of that burned. Burned and scorched her.
And around her neck, the small necklace came alight with gold fire. Gifted by her friend, from her hair, her tear. Pele's hair and tear.
"What the-" Killer Frost said at the sudden blinding light.
Then Slugma exploded.
Killer Frost was sent flying back, smacking into the wall behind her. She stayed on her feet, blocking her eyes as best she could.
Slugma glowed. Golden fire scorched the ice around her, melted steel, turned the air to steam. Slugma roared.
"MAAAA!" She reared. "MAAA…CAAAAR-"
The golden fire exploded again. Killer Frost staggered. The ship shook.
Sam Mokoa
The ground shuddered and bucked under their feet. Sam looked around, surprised. Kaldur froze while helping a civilian into an ambulance. Donald blinked.
"The hell was that!?" Sam barked.
Mudkip barked excitedly, giving Sam a significant look while grinning dopely.
Alakazam
On a rooftop, Alakazam knocked out another Silicon Dragon with a simple hypnosis attack, smiling just a bit. "About time, little one…"
Pelehonuamea/She Who Shapes The Sacred Land
Eyes snapped open. A goddess looked upwards. She reached for the land above, with her hand and her power. And pressed upon her sister.
Magcargo
"GOOOOO!" Slug-no. Magcargo released a final cry as she landed heavily on the floor. She couldn't see all of herself. But she felt the power. The hardened shell on her back, with a spire of stone on either side of her, scales of magma along her sides. A single trail of scales along her head, her eye stalks replaced by the eyes of a predator, with a new pair of stalks just under her cheeks. She stood taller and heavier than ever before. She could feel the earth below her, down under the waters depths.
And on her side, just within her sight, was a symbol carved in molten red on her shield. The symbol of a flower.
"Uh…" Killer Frost's voice drew her attention from her inspection of herself. "Is this normal or-"
Magcargo opened her mouth, and a magma stone the size of her head issued forth. At bullet speeds.
"FUCK!" Killer Frost, her instincts honed by a lifetime of superhuman combat, was already ducking before the projectile blew a hole into the wall behind her.
Then a train smashed into her.
"Yaaaa!" Killer Frost screamed in pain as Magcargo wrapped her jaws around the supervillainess' arm, bucking wildly and bouncing her against the walls and floor. Killer Frost unleashed waves of ice and dipped into Magcargo's heat.
She might as well have stolen warmth from the sun. Magcargo had been hot as Slugma. Now she was far beyond that. Killer Frost was tossed back into a wall, then blasted with a beam of molten rock.
Killer Frost screamed. "YEAAAAA!"
Magcargo roared in answer. And below them, the ocean floor exploded upwards. Spires of stone and bubbling magma parted the waves, ripping into the ship above. Up through the ship they rose, burning and screeching.
Sensing the danger, Killer Frost surrounded herself in waves of ice. The floor under her tore apart, revealing a small volcano before magma erupted in her face.
A magma storm, hotter than Killer Frost had ever felt, surrounding her, smashing into her with physical and elemental force.
Killer Frost's ice began to melt. Heat soaked into her, absorbed by her unique biology, but the magma only cooled into stone as more was poured over her. Killer Frost poured out more ice, stole more heat.
Golden fire blew from Magcargo's eyes. The two elementals screamed in unison. The ship shook. Magcargo's eyes narrowed.
And she cut off the heat. In a display of new control, she pulled back all her power at once. Killer Frost felt shock fill her when her powers continued. She absorbed all the heat around her and continued to blast out ice. Only, all the heat disappeared. And suddenly the entire area around them became colder than the Antarctic. All of her powers flew outwards, chilling everything, and removing the sources of her own power.
"No!" covered in solid stone frozen against her, Killer Frost desperately reached out for more energy, trying to steal more heat. Like fingers clawing at diamond, she found no purchase. That was when she realized what happened.
Magcargo had tricked her. Forced her to focus on expelling her powers while stealing heat at the same time. And at a critical moment, tricked her into releasing all her power at once.
The heat vampire screamed within a tomb of stone. She tried to move, to pull more heat out. The harsh stone around her scratching at her. Killer Frost's rage turned to panic and desperation. She was running out of air, and shook within her confines desperately as she began to black out.
Something cracked in front of her. She breathed desperately. Then a 'gentle' punch knocked her out.
Aquaman tossed aside the stone he'd ripped off Killer Frost's face, cocking an eyebrow at Magcargo. "I'm assuming you were planning on doing that yourself?"
Magcargo nodded, seeing no reason to lie. "Mag, Magcargo!"
Aquaman looked over at Kahu, who chuckled from where he was resting against a pillar of stone. The whole room looked more like a cave than a room within a ship, with water and stone covering every surface. "Yeah, she was. She's a softie… although less than before it looks like."
The Pokemon trainer grinned at his Pokemon. "Looks like your fight ended better than mine did."
Magcargo wiggled in place, her stone shell grinding as she did. "Magcargo!"
Kahu stared at her, noting her spines and the flower symbol carved into her before focusing on Killer Frost. "Let's take her in, shall we?"
Kahu Kia'i
Slugma evolved. Holy… I mean, I'd only caught the tail end of it. The emotions pouring through her with our mental link. I'd tried to send something back, a measure of just how much faith I had in her. I know some people considered the Slugma line useless. But my Slugma wasn't some digital gathering of numbers. She was something special. Stronger than even she believed.
Still, I hadn't expected a sudden evolution. The sensation of her being filled with power had surprised the hell out of me. Now I had a Magcargo. Not into a normal Magcargo, but some kind of, I don't know, SUPER Magcargo. How in the hel-
Didn't matter. We had bigger things to worry about. Clean-up, mostly.
Aquaman took in Killer Frost, which mostly meant wrapping some steel around her wrists and carrying her unconscious body over a shoulder. I pulled Magcargo into her pokeball. Together, we headed out to the island. Alakazam kept me apprised of everything.
We joined the others in front of the Visitor Center. Gurdurr, Tyrunt, and Mimikyu were there with Ishido. Donald and Sam stood with Kaldur, Orca, and Mudkip.
As I approached, some of the cops on the scene eyed me. Then let me pass when Aquaman gave them a look.
Sam looked up at the sight of me and Aquaman. He looked troubled, then shook it off. "You got the bitch?"
Aquaman laid down the unconscious Killer Frost on the floor. I saw a few soldiers around us glaring at her. One thumbed at his gun. "One ice queen, served up."
"Aquaman knocked her out," I said carefully, feeling the eyes on us. "Good thing he was passing by. Too bad you can't always be here to help."
Aquaman chuckled. "Well, a one-time thing isn't so bad."
Sam seemed to understand what we were implying to listening ears, and let it go. Last thing we wanted was the Silicon Dragons accounting for Aquaman in their future plans. Better to make this a one-time thing.
"Killer Frost," Donald mumbled, staring down at her. "You think she would have shown up if the Dragons hadn't been here."
"Other way around," I said. "I think someone hired her and the Silicon Dragons."
"What makes you say that?" Sam asked.
In answer, Aquaman stepped forward. "She isn't the only ice villain that's popped up. Mr. Freeze, Captain Cold, and Icicle Jr. have all been apprehended."
Sam's suspicious glare hardened. "...And she was the only one with help?"
"Two birds," I said softly.
Sam, Aquaman, and I all shared a small look. Sam continued. "By the way. A few vans of escaping Silicon Dragons were found knocked out. Each of them had a single tranquilizer in their neck. And all of them were a couple of miles apart. You know anything about that?"
Deadshot.
"Hell if I know," I said simply, leaning into how exhausted I felt to sell my lie a bit. "How many Dragons we got, anyway?"
"More than we thought existed," Sam's eyes panned the lawn in front of the Visitor Center. "...What a goddamned mess."
"...What's next?" I asked.
Sam and I looked each other in the eyes. Donald and Aquaman watched quietly. Kaldur, Orca, and Mudkip came over, but held back when they saw us.
The older man was carrying a rifle. He thumbed the trigger briefly before slinging it over his back. "Rocksteady and Bebop got away. They'll probably operate alongside the Dragons."
"I'm working on a cure for them," Orca said, drawing attention to herself. She fidgeted cutely but persevered. "I'll give it to you when I have it."
"I won't be able to help, sadly," Aquaman said. "My kingdom needs me."
Before Kaldur could speak, Aquaman pushed through instructions with Alakazam's help, the rest of us overhearing it through the link. Or overthinking, I guess. "The Justice League will collect information and give it to Kahu or Sam if necessary. But we can't let the Silicon Dragon know we'll help. They may suspect, but that's better than them being certain."
"Yes, my king," Kaldur returned silently, his voice even rougher than mine through the link.
"Gonna need to take in Killer Frost ourselves," Donald noted, looking around the various soldiers. "And I imagine a few of the Dragons might end up in 'accidents' on the way to prison."
"They attacked Pearl Harbor," I said grimly. "I'm all for fair trail, but this is goddamn sacred ground."
"That's not-" Sam bit his tongue, then shook his head.
I decided to change the subject.
"There was a woman on the boat," I said to Sam. "She was way more skilled than I believed. Almost killed me. Acted like she was in charge."
Sam frowned. "A woman… I heard rumors that their leadership had moved to a daughter of the former boss. But the Dragons don't reveal leadership. Not easily, at least."
"She could just be a badass ninja chick."
"...Maybe," Sam scowled, looking around. Gurdurr, Tyrunt, Ishido, and Mimikyu came over to join us. "We'll find out then… This level of escalation. The government is going to be pushing me for results. I…"
He finally reached into a pocket and grabbed something. I stiffened before he took out a card and handed it to me. "We need to talk. In private. Call this number in one hour. Understood?"
I didn't push my luck. Just nodded. "Guys. Return."
My Pokemon didn't complain. Just flashed into red lights one by one, returning to their Pokeball's. Mudkip gave me a reassuring look before he disappeared. Orca awkwardly walked over to join me. I began walking away, Aquaman and Aqualad joining us.
"By the way," Sam called out. I looked back at the enraged-looking man. "This isn't over. You'll need to answer for a few things soon."
"After."
"After," he agreed, looking like the word hurt.
I turned away again. Aquaman chuckled. "Does that mean you're friends now?"
"No. It means the Silicon Dragons made a mistake. They gave him a reason to stop worrying they'd escalate."
We left the dead and the broken behind us.
Further down the beach, Kaldur and Aquaman looked apologetic. "Sorry to help and run like this," Aquaman said. "We have an appointment. A big one."
"It's cool man," I sighed. "We'll all need a break after this. Hopefully you guys have fun wherever you're going."
"We will," Kaldur smiled a bit excitedly. "It's a big day for me and the others. Today is the day."
The last was said with a sort of gravitas I didn't expect. Orca scratched at a cut on her cheek. "Uh, is that important."
"Very much so," Kaldur said with that same bit of excitement. Then he chuckled. "Though I doubt it will be anywhere as exciting as this."
"You jinxed yourself," I pointed out with a chuckle. "Don't blame me when your night ends even weirder than this mess."
"I'll keep that in mind," Kaldur returned with a grin of his own.
Both Atlanteans shook our hands before diving under the waves.
Orca and I watched them go off. Then I sat in the sand, breathing deeply.
"You okay?" Orca asked me, sitting down as well.
"No," I just stared out into the ocean. "You?"
"...That rhino broke a rib, I think," she said in answer.
"We'd better fix it."
"Later," she grunted in pain. "Just… let me rest."
"...I think my bike is destroyed."
"Sorry."
We didn't say anything else. Just sat for a moment, breathing and resting. Later, we'd plan. Train. Go over the consequences of what happened. Find out that my joke to Kaldur had been oddly prophetic. For now, we simply rested.
July 4th was a hell of a day. For all of us.
Author's Note: So yeah. Slugma evolved. Into a Magcargo. A SUPER one.
If anything, ya'll should have seen it coming. Jokes aside, there is precedent for this kind of thing. Tons of Pokemon have different forms based on environmental factors. In this case, Slugma was in close contact to a Goddess. There's more, but that's the main one.
And yes, I based her new form of a fanart of Mega Magcargo. It was so metal looking that when a friend showed it to me, no other form would do.
Other things. Sam is still iffy on Kahu, but enough shit has happened that he's now willing to actually TALK to Kahu. Blame the dickheads that are the Dragons.
Killer Frost is headed to the worse place anyone can think of, Belle Reve!
Kaldur is headed out to a normal meeting. Should be fairly boring.