Chapter 41: To My, My Shadows part 2/2

10 advance chapters on My P@treon.com/Saintbarbido.

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(General P.O.V)

"I guess there's no avoiding a fight," Green Lantern said, his ring glowing.

"I was hoping for a peaceful resolution, but that is no longer an option," Wonder Woman echoed, unstrapping her lasso.

"Hawkwoman, Canary, find Speedy and Kid Flash. Leave the fighting to us. Our first priority is rescuing Robin and evacuating the three of them."

Batman informed the two.

"Sure, that makes sense."

Hawkwoman agreed, grabbing Canary under the shoulders and flying towards the sky.

"Archers,"

Lady Shiva called out.

The Shadows behind her immediately released a hail of arrows and crossbow bolts.

The projectiles sailed through the air, targeting Black Canary and Hawkwoman.

"Watch out."

Black Canary warned, preparing to unleash her Canary Cry.

She didn't need to bother.

"Esrever!"

Zatara called out from the arena, and the arrows paused in the air before flying back the way they came.

They took down their archers, the arrowheads plunging through limbs and other places that wouldn't immediately lead to death.

Shiva ducked out of the way of one, smirking down at the League, especially Zatara.

She licked her lips in anticipation, raising a hand and giving an order.

"Again."

More arrows flew, this time targeting not just the duo in the air but also Zatara, who couldn't split his attention to defend on two fronts.

A massive green dome covered the Justice League, sustained by Green Lantern.

"Leave Shiva and Ra's al Ghul to me and Green Arrow. Wonder Woman and Zatara, you're on crowd control. Superman, Hawkman... I'll leave Angel to you." Batman issued out a set of instructions.

"Don't worry."

Superman nodded, staring at Angel's group through the shield.

"He won't escape us this time."

"Hey, what about me, Bat?"

Green Lantern asked, his fist pressed on the green wall, to maintain the dome protecting them against the shower of projectiles.

"Feeling left out here."

Batman slid his hand across the device on his wrist, displaying a map of the island with a blinking icon flashing on its outskirts.

"As soon as Robin is secured, you will evacuate the three of them and rendezvous with Aquaman's Atlantean ship," The Dark Knight explained.

"I wanna fight too."

Green Lantern clicked his tongue in frustration.

"Can't we go back through Zatara's magic?"

"Unfortunately, I'm spent after teleporting such a long way. It will take some time before I recover enough magical energy for that, Green Lantern," Zatara replied.

"Attention, I've located Speedy and Wally."

Canary's voice came through their comms.

"They're close to the exit, surrounded by Shadows."

"Surrounded?"

Green Arrow repeated in concern.

"They must have been trying to escape before we got here."

Batman reasoned.

"Or hiding."

"One of them is hurt."

Canary interjected in a grave tone. "Speedy has Kid Flash on his shoulders. We're moving in."

With that revelation, the air around the League changed.

"We'll cover you."

Wonder Woman stated.

"Hal, drop the dome. Justice League, let's move out."

(Angel's P.O.V)

The Justice League had holed up under Green Lantern's shield.

"Why are they not attacking and only defending? They want to catch you, right?"

Jinx asked from the side.

I glanced at the sky, where Hawkwoman, with Canary in her arms, was circling the training ground.

"They're looking for something." I answered, making the connection. "They won't attack before locating it."

Or rather...them.

"Looking for what?"

Goku asked.

"Cheshire, Ravager... you guys already know, right?"

Instead of answering, I questioned the two.

"The two Redheads and that Blackhaired boy. They're with the Justice League."

Ravager replied, leading to a surprised yell from Goku.

"What?! Really!"

"Of course! It all makes sense now! Why didn't I see it?! Aargh."

Jinx bemoaned in frustration.

"On the bright side, now you can punch Wally in his stupid mouth if you see him, Cheshire." I added.

"Can't say I haven't been looking forward to that, boss."

Cheshire chuckled, twirling her sais.

Boss? I like that.

"So what's the plan?"

Ravager cut in.

"The Shadows have begun their attack but it's not effective at all."

"That's a Green Lantern for you."

I sighed, walking forward and passing Sensei, who had taken a position guarding my front.

"You're still here? Stupid pupil, leave while you have the chance!" Sensei admonished.

"Leaving is not an option. The League of Shadows is now my property, and I'm responsible for it."

I responded in a serious tone.

I couldn't leave without protecting my assets.

Whether he liked it or not, they were mine now.

Sensei sighed in resignation.

"Stubborn as always."

I turned to the others behind me. There was no time to discuss everything, so it had to be concise and brief.

"As for the plan, I won't lie, we can't win."

A varying degree of expressions stared back at me, but no surprise. Everyone knew who the Justice League was.

"So we'll make sure not to lose. For that to work, there are two things we need to ensure. The first, Superman is mine. Secondly, before I'm done with him, keep everyone else away from me. And when I give the signal, drop everything and gather around me. No matter what."

I stared at Goku.

"Even if you have to show your back to the enemy, just fall back. The others will cover you. We clear?"

The others nodded, but my eyes were still fixed on Goku. Out of everyone else here, he was the most battle-hungry.

"I don't like it, but fine." The Saiyan agreed unwillingly.

"Good. Because now it begins."

I turned to the front, just in time to see the barrier break, and the Justice League come swarming out.

With my heart pumping vigorously, I stomped on the arena, unleashing the full power of my cryokinesis forward.

(General P.O.V)

A wave of cold air was expelled outwards, followed by an outcrop of ice crystals that swept across the arena, immediately flash-freezing everything in its path.

When the cold air plummeted to the ground, an unbelievable scene was left behind. The ice had frozen the entire back half of the training grounds, including a section of the building complex.

"Whoa..."

Jinx muttered from Angel's back.

"You... took out the Justice League with one shot..."

"Not really."

Angel shook his head just as the ice structure, glinting in the sun, rumbled with a loud crack!

The crack ran up the structure, caused by one of the shadowy figures frozen at its center.

Superman was coming.

"Jinx, you're up."

Angel said.

The pink-haired girl giggled as she bent down and slapped the arena.

"Everyone hold on, this will be a big one."

A shroud of pink energy covered her body, bleeding onto the wooden floor and spreading across the ice crystals.

Superman burst out of the ice, shattering the massive structure and expelling shards with his sheer strength alone.

"Everyone okay?"

He tapped his comms and asked, not removing his sight from Angel.

"Yes. Focus on the task!"

Batman said back, he and Green Arrow running across a green construct in the shape of a ramp, headed for the second-floor balcony.

Down on the arena, a split on the wooden floor ran between Green Lantern's feet, destabilizing his footing and causing the construct to dissolve under Batman and Green Arrow's feet.

The two fell toward the ground, but a zip-line shot by the Dark Knight secured them to the building's wall.

They swung the rest of the way and began climbing up.

Jinx's bad luck didn't just affect Green Lantern.

The arena shattered apart, dropping five of them to the ground as shattered pieces of the ice structure and debris collapsed over them.

Superman's eyes lit up from the sky.

And two beams of heat thrummed out of them, turning the bigger chunks of ice into smaller shards that melted into a very wet steam, saving his colleagues.

"LlepxE!" Zatara declared, producing an invisible force that threw every piece of debris away from them.

"Here they come!"

Hawkman breathed, hoisting his hammer up as Shadows fell upon them from everywhere.

"Out of my way!"

Wonder Woman roared, rushing headfirst to meet them, her lasso twirling.

Her first swing of the divine relic swatted more than a dozen Shadows away, keeping their attention on her as the rest of the League moved in to cover her flanks.

Satisfied they were holding out, Superman set his sights back on Angel, who was yet to make his move.

"Hawkman!"

Superman called out, diving toward their target.

Hawkman joined him, flapping his wings while flying low to the ground, using the opening created by Wonder Woman and the others.

"Here he comes!"

Angel said with an intense look of focus, eyes following Superman.

Without hesitation, he immediately unsheathed both Blaze and Frost, gripping Blaze with his right and Frost with his left.

Usually, it was the other way around, but he only did that when he wanted to produce Red Ice or Invisible Flames.

This time, it was for pure Firepower.

Just like intended for the weapons.

Frost and Blaze's original purpose was to bolster his pyrokinesis and cryokinesis, allowing him to create bigger, hotter bursts of flames and larger, colder constructs of ice.

Both blades now pulsed intensely due to the mana being poured in them by Angel.

Ravager and Cheshire sped past him, on either side, running forward to intercept Hawkman, who had drawn closer due to being nearer the ground than Superman.

The three of them met in a clash of sais, katana, and nth metal war hammer.

That only left Superman, hurtling down like a comet.

"My turn. " Angel said, swinging the fuy charged Blaze and producing a slash of bright yellow flames, hotter than anything he had ever created before.

Superman's chest ballooned, breathing out a large volume of freeze breath that contested Angel's flames.

More mist was produced, the Man of Steel winning out before landing on the portion of the arena left standing.

Right across his target.

"It's over,"

he told Angel, straightening up from his crouch.

"Not on our watch!"

Jinx and Goku jumped from Angel's back before he could stop them.

"Wait!"

Angel called.

He lightly stomped the floor with his foot, producing two lanes of ice that converged in front of Goku and Jinx, stopping their advance.

"Were both listening? You can't beat him. You'd only hurt yourself trying to."

Angel sighed in exasperation, calmly walking forward, the tip of Frost and Blaze pointed to the ground on either side of him.

Jinx and Goku sheepishly looked away as he passed them.

"Sorry..."

'They still need refinement to truly be of use. A good minion listens,' Angel complained to himself. But he understood they were looking out for him.

"Well, up then," he told the two in a light tone.

"Yeah!"

Fired up, Goku jumped to his feet, pulling up Jinx with him.

The two fell in step behind Angel, flanking him once they stopped, a distance from the Mn of Steel.

Looking at the interaction, Superman frowned. Maybe Angel wasn't a lost cause if he was showing compassion to his allies.

"Besides, this was never your fight. Superman... is mine," Angel growled, eyes glinting with madness, showing he was still intent on fighting.

"I see,"

Superman shook his head in disappointment. A steely resolve appeared in his eyes.

"Then you leave me no choice."

His eyes began glowing red.

Angel immediately aimed Blaze at the Man of Steel and unleashed a barrage of highly compressed fireballs, which Superman sidestepped with his super speed, moving so fast that copies of himself appeared.

The scarlet glow of his eyes left a red trail in the air.

'The bastard's fast enough to leave behind afterimages...'

Angel thought.

He raised Frost and began shooting blue-colored spikes of ice along with the fireballs.

Using the Speed Force to increase his reaction speeds, he aimed better despite the fast rate his weapons were shooting out elemental attacks.

'Crude way to use Blaze and Frost, but holding them like guns is faster than swinging. If I could use my nanites to enhance the conversion rate of Blaze and Frost, I could shoot even faster and nail him. But... too bad most of the nanomachines are occupied...'

They were fusing with the mist and steam that he had been creating from the start... among other things.

The fireballs and ice spikes clashing in midair created even more.

An eruption of steam that covered the front.

Angel dropped his hands but kept a critical eye on Superman's position, which had been obscured by the steam.

He activated heat sense, finding his range severely limited due to the temperature of the steam in the air.

'Stupid. I got too impatient and overdid it, hoping I could kill him fast... am I that afraid of him..?'

He considered lightly, staring at his shaking hand.

His father's face flashed through his mind. No, even with all his terrifying power, Superman was not scary. Not like him.

His boots disappeared as he sent his last portion of nanites within him to release neurotransmitters like serotonin and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), calming him down.

He was now only wearing real pants. The plan had required all his nanites. Luckily, a prompt came through his watch.

Angel stared at his wrist and smirked.

There was a loud exhale from Superman that pushed the steam away, revealing his body, unharmed.

The red in his eyes stayed prominent. The heat radiating off them was hot enough to give even Angel pause.

"Is this a game to you?"

Superman demanded.

"After giving you multiple chances to surrender, you still insist on violence!"

Angel snickered.

"He looks... mad," Jinx said nervously.

"Mmh," even Goku looked wary of him. He felt cornered, like prey.

They say eyes are windows to your soul; Superman's just pulsed with too much power and alot of anger.

And with every inch he closed between them, his entire being seemed to take up all space until he was barely a few feet from Angel.

A snicker escaped the latter.

"Not mad... he's only just annoyed. Superman wouldn't kill. Ain't that right, Farmboy?"

A look of shock came upon Superman's face.

He closed his eyes, the glow in them fading away, as did the rage.

When he opened them, they were calm as he considered Angel.

"You know you cannot beat me. We both know this. Your best chance was to escape as soon as possible. So why did you stay behind? And what are you stalling for? Your side has already lost."

Using his super senses, Superman already knew the general situation. And the Justice League had the upper hand.

Green Arrow and Canary had tied down Ra's and released Robin, who had immediately started covering them from the Shadows.

Batman was in a fight with Shiva, holding his own with a blend of martial arts and gadgets—a combination that even gave Lady Shiva's superior martial arts trouble.

Green Lantern was flying Wally and Speedy towards Robin, where he would grab him too and then evacuate the three.

Zatara and Wonder Woman were covering his path with magic and Wonder Woman's lasso.

Hawkwoman was using her flight to take out unseen sneak attackers. In essence, she was covering them.

And Hawkman was fighting behind Superman, against the duo of Ravager and Cheshire, but it was only a matter of time before they lost.

As the number of Shadows dwindled, the other League members would converge on Angel's allies and it would be over.

This was team work and strategy.

This was the Justice League.

In fact, Superman had been hoping for that. He didn't want to fight kids.

And that's exactly what Angel had expected.

"My side has lost?"

Angel muttered impassively, looking unbothered.

Slowly, he sheathed his weapons.

"Oh well..."

Superman started getting a bad feeling as the boy looked up, revealing a downright evil smirk. "Look again."

That's when Superman realized...the silence.

Everyone in the training ground was stuck immobile and quiet.

No one said anything. No one moved.

Batman was stuck in the middle of a punch, after ducking Shiva's kick.

Arrow, Robin, and Canary were in various fighting poses, surrounded by similarly immobile assassins.

Hawkman had his warhammer raised above his head, and Cheshire was in the motion of pushing Ravager away from the hammer's path.

Zatara and Wonder Woman were in the same situation.

Even Green Lantern and Hawkwoman, who had been flying across the sky, stayed stuck there, the green glow of the former intact, and the beat of the latter's wings constant.

Behind Angel, Jinx, Goku, and Sensei did not escape a similar state.

They could all think, they could all breathe, but no one in the entire compound could move.

Except for two.

"What did you do?"

Superman asked, swinging his head around the silent compound.

What had happened to hus teammates? And why was he the only exception?

He didn't understand it, but he knew it had to be Angel's doing.

He turned to him, his tone growing shocked and graver by each question,

"Was this your plan? To target the League again? Did you set this up to bring us here? Why?"

In response, Angel held up a single finger.

"I'll do you a better question, Did you know there's a cluster of nerves connected to the brainstem that, when hijacked by sophisticated systems, can let you control someone's body? Now, don't misunderstand, it's not a power, so taking me out won't reverse the issue. They will be locked that way, paralyzed forever. It would take technology that doesn't exist yet to perform a very sophisticated surgical operation to remove them."

"Nanites?" Superman repeated in confusion.

"Yup. I'm using nanomachines to control everyone here from the inside. Except for you, of course; your bio-aura was hard to get through. But I also wanted to chat with you, alone. So, why don't we sit?"

Angel offered, sitting down and patting the arena.

For a minute, it looked as if Superman would refuse.

But another sweep of his eyes, using his X-ray vision to try and detect the nanites but failing, made him decide to humor Angel.

So that he could figure out how to handle the nanites.

"Fine. I'll hear you out,"

the Man of Steel agreed, copying Angel and sitting cross-legged across from him.