156 Red Fury #156

Gray slowly raised his head to look at the red ring floating in front of his face, immediately recognizing it. A brief flash of clarity flashed on his face before catching a glimpse of Mark's body made it disappear instantly.

Gritting his teeth, Gray snatched the ring and put it on his left hand's index finger without hesitation. He immediately fell to his knees as the power ring went to work, transforming his body.

His arteries expanded, slowly changing color as his blood evaporated, replaced by a scorching hot plasma that raced towards his heart, ripping it to shreds.

Gray violently coughed, vomiting out a mouthful of blood plasma that melted the asphalt as the ring replaced his heart with a construct double the size.

He heard a gruff voice whispering in his ear as the image of an alien, almost demonic bull with an overwhelming presence that radiated violence, hate and rage appeared in his mind.

It was transparent red, almost like an energy construct.

"I feel your pain, child..." the bull remarked, its voice booming in Gray's mind. "You have suffered, but no more..." the creature added as it radiated a blinding red light that infected the background.

"With this ring, with me, you will know no pain. Only rage..." the bull said, showing an expression that almost seemed like a grin. "Because hate creates more hate. And that is true power..." the creature added as it shrunk in size and floated in front of Gray's face.

"YOUR POWER!" the bull exclaimed as it flew towards Gray, disappearing as it touched his forehead. "Do not delay, child... it is yours to grasp... to unleash...' the creature whispered, its voice echoing in Gray's mindscape that had already turned red fully.

...

"This thing is tireless...!" Wonder Woman said as she flew to Brimstone's head, clasping her two bracelets together to create a loud shockwave that disoriented the flaming giant, forcing him to let go of Hawkman.

"Are you alright, Hawkman?" she shouted as she watched the alien hero fall to the ground, his feathers and skin scorched black, and received no reply, much to her concern.

Wonder Woman's concern distracted her and gave Brimstone the opportunity to attack her. The flaming giant didn't fail to capitalize as he punched at her.

Too late to react after realizing the danger, Wonder Woman's eyes widened as she crossed her arms before her face to absorb as much of the impact as possible with the bracelets.

However, the attack never connected as a giant, bull-like creature, roughly the same size as Brimstone, came charging at the flaming giant out of nowhere.

The creature impaled Brimstone's stomach with its horns and tackled him into one of the few still-standing buildings in the area. Standing on its hind legs as it stepped back, the bull dropped down, trampling the flaming giant's face.

And before Brimstone could even process the situation, the bull opened its mouth, unleashing a torrent of red, transparent liquid that evaporated even the flaming giant's plasma skin, re-enforced with the mega effect as it was.

Brimstone howled in agony before gripping the bull's horns and prying it away. He stood up and elbowed the creature on its neck, causing it to collapse on the ground.

"You stand before a son of Darkseid, creature..." Brimstone remarked as he looked down on the bull, his tone full of disgust. "Know your place," he added, raising his gigantic foot to return the favor and trample the bull's head.

However, before he could deliver his revenge, the bull dissipated into light particles as another red, albeit much smaller, figure appeared from nowhere, flying towards the flaming giant.

It was a man clad in red armor that seemed to be an energy construct. He quickly reached Brimstone and punched at his chest with a fist that radiated a golden-red hue.

Surprisingly, the man's fist, despite its minuscule size compared to Brimstone, swept the flaming giant off his feet and into the ground, much to everyone's shock.

The man hovered over Brimstone, peering into the flaming giant's eyes with two shining orbs that promised violence. He opened his mouth and unleashed a beam of bright red energy, heading straight for the latter's chest.

Clearly not done, the man extended his hands, and a rifle, somewhat similar to the experimental weapon, appeared in his hand, albeit a construct and not the real deal.

Taking aim, he fired without stopping the red energy beam corroding Brimstone's chest. The projectile connected, creating a black-hole-like phenomenon that further eroded the flaming giant's plasma skin.

The projectile and energy beam seemed to work well together as they melted Brimstone's skin. However, the omega effect Darkseid had imbued into his self-proclaimed son undid the damage, as it reversed the very time.

Brimstone's vitality and persistence seemed to anger the man, the flaming giant's howls of agony doing nothing to quell the burning fire within his veins, despite his calm appearance.

Everyone present clearly heard the sound of shattering teeth as the man gnashed his teeth in frustration that fueled his anger, giving life to many constructs that materialized behind his back.

Meteors, missiles, jets, spaceships, and many more energy constructs appeared behind the man, casting a shadow that engulfed even the flaming giant's 50-foot frame before crashing down on him.

Several more experimental rifles appeared beside the man, firing on their own as the energy constructs crashed into Brimstone, creating a massive explosion that engulfed even the heroes, forcing The Flash to get everyone out of there.

...

"Look what you've done, you animal...!" Ivy exclaimed, gritting her teeth and giving The Riddler a loathing look as more and more plants withered and died behind her.

"You know it's nothing personal, Ivy..." The Riddler replied as he grinned, unbothered by the vines embedded into his skin, crawling all over his body and pinning him to a wall.

"The games must go on...!" he added, laughing loudly and only going quiet as one of the vines inside his body violently jerked up, taking out a chunk of his flesh.

"I should kill you now... no, better yet... I should merely expose you and watch you get ripped to shreds...!" Ivy remarked, gritting her teeth as she hatefully stared into The Riddler's eyes.

"What's stopping you, then?" The Riddler said as he regained his smug grin. "But you won't do anything, will you?" he added, speaking matter-of-factly despite his questioning tone as he shook his head.

"Because you know I'd win if you did..." he concluded with the most obnoxious, self-assured expression a human being could have, despite his current circumstances.

"Save your breath, Nigma. Your mind games won't work on me," Ivy replied, seething as she ordered her plants to gouge another patch of The Riddler's flesh.

"You can't do it..." The Riddler said through labored breaths, briefly looking at his gouged shoulder before turning to Ivy with the same victorious smile.

"You kill me, and the bat will be all over your ass," Nigma said, raising an eyebrow at the botanist. "You expose me, and the other one kills me... you and I know both know he would..." he added, shaking his head.

"What do you think would happen then? You know how bat daddy thinks he's responsible for us..." The Riddler mockingly said. "Batman would finally have an enemy he could never defeat, and that's a win in my book," he added with a content expression.

"Well, you won't be alive to enjoy it," Ivy said as she created a vine in her hand and used it to stab The Riddler while avoiding his vitals, clearly intent on torturing him rather than taking his life.

"Maybe, but what about your grand scheme...?" Nigma said, still grinning as blood leaked from between his teeth. "How far do you think he would go with Batman breathing down his neck...?" he asked, clearly amused by Ivy's frustrated expression.

"How long do you think he would last... if he killed Batman too?" The Riddler asked, his tone growing faint as he began losing blood. "I've had my fun... I don't mind going out now..." he continued, putting on a savage smirk.

"But there's always more fun to be had, Ivy, there always is," Nigma stated, struggling to keep his eyes open. "So how about we strike a deal, eh...? I help you with your plan, and you let me keep having fun...?" he asked as he finally began losing consciousness.

Ivy said nothing as she watched Nigma's eyelids slowly fall down, only to suddenly curse and stab him with another vine, injecting him with a pheromone that immediately awakened him.

"I'll think about it... once I've had my fun," Ivy said, her expression darkening as she summoned a dozen barbed vines and extended her arm, causing them to creep toward The Riddler.

...

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