Chapter 217: The Dangers Within Heroics Part 4

As Arias stood over Green Lantern's gory remains with the brain matter still dripping off the metallic hand of his suit, he noticed a flash of light twinkle from the large hole Green Lantern had made when he broke into the room.

Looking at it from the corner of his eye under his helm, by the time he fully turned his head, he found a figure had flashed before him with a closed fist inches away from his face.

Just as it looked like it was about to hit, Arias's hand reacted at a frightening speed and caught the fist, causing a huge shockwave to spread in all directions.

The already badly damaged facility they stood in rumbled as the lights flickered, electric sparks filled the air, and more debris began to fall, further adding to the apocalyptic scene within the now devastated S.T.A.R. Labs.

Looking at his attacker, Arias couldn't help but feel puzzled. Considering the powerful force behind the punch, he had assumed it was a formal member of the Justice League who had arrived.

Instead, the person before him was a young-looking woman wearing a cheap Superman-inspired costume, with only a ski mask hiding her identity.

"And who might you be?" Arias questioned, though it was rhetorical. In the next moment, Arias proceeded to launch a strong punch to her gut before the young woman could answer.

"Uck!!"

She suddenly felt like all the air had rushed out of her lungs as her entire body went limp. The sheer force behind the attack caused dust to rise and even tore up part of her cheap attire.

Her body slumped, and Arias casually removed the mask that hid her identity. However, upon doing so, he remained puzzled as this girl was unfamiliar to him.

The only confirmation he gained was that she was indeed a young woman, bearing unblemished Caucasian skin, bright blue eyes, and long blonde messy hair. Curious as to what her identity was, he leaned in and asked, "Your name, what is it?"

But rather than answer, the girl unexpectedly jolted her head up and quickly turned to look at Arias as her eyes flashed a bright red. In the next moment, two fierce laser beams shot out from her eyes, aimed at Arias's helm.

Unfortunately for her, they merely bounced off his figure and were reflected onto the surrounding fragile facility. But despite this, the girl's sheer determination was unfazed as she brought her lips together and blew a frosty cold wind toward Arias, forming a huge block of ice on the area she targeted.

Despite this effort, her attempts were once again squashed, quite literally, as Arias raised the hand he held her with, shattering the ice in the process before slapping her body into the rocky debris like a rag doll.

"Well, isn't this a nice surprise?" Arias wore a smile under his helm as he slammed her two more times into the rocky debris, causing tiny bits of it to fly across the room.

"Argh!" With every slam, she could feel her bones creak and her organs shake, a feeling that until now was all but unfamiliar to her.

*It hurts… how… how is he so strong?* Her spirit was more hurt than her physical body as the man before her held her like a piece of meat.

Her blurred vision began to clear, but her muscles felt weak. She herself felt weak and lacked the determination to attack again in the face of such unperturbed power.

But just when she thought she was about to meet an untimely end, a figure zipped by and snagged her from Arias's hold. This figure was none other than Kid Flash, who carried her in his arms and was about to make a speedy exit, when…

*Crack*

He too fell victim to Arias's telekinesis as its force shattered his ankle in a single swift go.

"Argh! Dammit." *Guys, I need help!* he communicated telepathically to the other members of the junior Justice League team via Miss Martian's telepathy.

Sadly for him, Arias wasn't going to just sit still and wait for them to come.

With a speed faster than what even Kid Flash could follow, Arias appeared before the young, confused hero and tilted his head ever so slightly.

"Hmm, to be young and so energetic. But I fear you don't quite understand just how dangerous petty heroics can be."

As Arias spoke, he reached forward to grab Kid Flash by the hair and raised his head up ever so slightly. While in this position, Arias suddenly raised his hand forcefully, bringing Kid Flash into the air with it as if he were weightless.

Before Kid Flash could even fully understand his unlucky predicament, he was slammed down with a force so strong, bone upon bone within his body creaked, then shattered or snapped, with some even piercing organs, causing him to cough a mouthful of blood in the next moment.

In an instant, he went numb, unable to feel a single part of his entire body. His lips trembled weakly as blood lightly ran down from them, along with his nose and even his eyes.

"I-*grk*..." His attempts to speak sounded like nothing more than gibberish as he gurgled and choked on his own blood.

Arias looked down at his pitiful figure, while the girl was frozen in shock.

"You see? How can one so fragile be allowed to fight crime?"

Arias's cold words shook the mind of the now speechless girl, who quickly took off from the ground and was about to attempt fleeing using her ability to fly.

But like the easy prey she was, Arias snagged her by the neck and slammed her body back into the ground. "Why attempt to run? Didn't you come here to save others? What kind of hero flees and abandons others? Look, he's still breathing."

Arias's words were purposefully twisted and harsh as he made the girl turn her head to look at the haggardly breathing Kid Flash, who looked more dead than alive.

"How about this? Your unique set of skills has caught my eye, so before more victims arrive here, how about I just leave with you? Hmm? You'll save so many young lives, or I could let you go now and make more look like him."

The young girl's eyes trembled with horror she had never felt before. She found herself biting her lip and shutting her eyes to avoid looking at the young man who got into this state trying to save her. Guilt naturally bubbled up, and fear that more would meet the same fate was her natural conclusion.

"Fine… please just stop."