Phantom 31

“What the hell are you doing here?” 

“None of your business,” Bruce grunted, his eyes taking in the hulking, bipedal, talking gorilla aiming a shotgun towards them, before his eyes flicked to the man little ways down the road, twin gauntlets with glowing blue centers aimed at him, “Where are the Flash and the other Lantern?”

“The Gorilla can mind-control people, Jo-The other lantern is handling him, trying to make him snap back,” the green-clad man grunted, and Bruce watched the glowing bubble around them shudder, shotgun slugs pelting across its surface, at the same time as the other nuisance—Leonard Snart, shot the beams of the sub-zero energy at them. “Fuck, this is literally my first day on the job!”

“Get used to it,” he grunted, pressing a button on his vambrace, before picking out a batarang from his belt, his eyes flicking towards the slightly panicked intergalactic police officer beside him. “I can’t help from here, and time is running out. I need you to create a distraction, enough for me to slip to my place. Right now.”

“You got an apocalypse waiting for you in Gotham?” came the snark-filled response, as a grenade exploded right in front of them.

“I do,” he grunted, and the Lantern groaned in response, before a tiny sliver opened up in the shield before them. Catching up on the silent response, he flung the flashing batarang through the gap and instantly sprinted to the side as it went off with a bright explosion of light and sharp, loud sound, meant to scramble human senses in an instant. With how the trend of enhanced senses had been going on for the last few years, Bruce could only hope the same held true for the Gorilla, “Alfred! Now!”

“Hey now where are you going, you freaking Bat?!” Snart’s nasal voice echoed in the street, and Bruce ducked wildly as he saw the man swing his arms around, firing his beams of freezing energy everywhere in bursts. Thankfully, none came close to him, but the threat of getting hit by them even once was too much. He had seen stone break underneath the ice’s strength and weight, and he didn’t want to try that.

Ever.

Jumping into the air as his batmobile sped through the road towards him, he landed in the cockpit, the car drifting around and instantly blasting away from the scene. There was nothing he could contribute to this fight right now, and he wasn’t going to take his chances with a telepath like that gorilla at this moment. Not when Gotham was being targeted by something. Besides, the Green Lantern was an intergalactic police officer, and he had seen what that ring was capable of when the Imperium had attacked the Earth. Even on the fly, he had thought up at least six ways to disable Snart and the ape.

He was sure the Lantern could handle himself well enough.

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John stared down at the speedster before him, floating well off the ground, and away from any buildings and cars, to avoid a repeat of the earlier kick he had received. Despite there being a lack of physical wounds, and his suit having mitigated the worst of the damage along with his ring, the punch, and the way he had been shot through concrete and steel into the gas station had cracked two of his ribs, right above his left lung, and he had a terrible ache in his neck now.

And one of his teeth was broken.

Now, he was raining down constructs at the speedster, expending energy at an alarming rate—his ring informed him—worry flowing his thoughts as he watched the boxing gloves smack over every inch of available space. He needed to cause just enough injury to make his body incapable of movement, and while he wanted to avoid fractures…his options were quickly becoming limited. The next moment, he cursed the small lapse in his attention, as the gloves slowed for just a fraction due to his attention wavering, and the Flash dashed out in a blur of crimson.

He weaved through the random parked vehicles and the road with great speed, reaching just short of supersonic velocities, a streak of red being the only sign of his movement in the otherwise silent neighborhoo-’Message from Lantern Jordan. Status important.’

‘Continue’ he commanded the Power Ring, sending out a large fist at the ground, concentrating enough mass in the construct to make it heavier than a building, and he winced, feeling the ring’s energy course through his body, depleting his endurance even more. However, he was successful in his attempt, as the speedster was sent crashing through the air due to the minor quake that went through the ground. It appeared that Flash’s body was running on nothing but instinct, having no intelligence behind his actions, with the speedster trying to run towards him even as his body staggered and shook from the force and disorientation caused.

‘Stewart! There is this gorilla and human here! Batman is with me, but he won’t be here long!’

‘I will join you ASAP. Flash in under the Gorilla’s mind control—don’t panic, your ring will protect you. But tell Batman to leave right now. We don’t know the limits of Grodd’s ability! Try to hold out until I get there!’

‘Roger Cap’n!'

“Now, what to do about you?” Stewart mused, staring down at the stumbling speedster, “Fuck it, let's try this.”

Raising his hand, he focused upon the ring, drawing upon its power once again, and for a brief moment, his vision swam, a powerful lance of pain shooting through his head as his ring flashed a warning in his brain. ‘Endurance limits triggered—Stamina at eleven percent and dropping. Continued usage of the power ring may result in injuries. Disengagement and rest is advised.’

“Can’t do that now,” he muttered, willing a completely sealed-off cube to form around the speedster, cutting off even the air from the outside world. “That ought to put you to sleep.”

As if recognizing the threat upon its very oxygen supply, Flash’s body suddenly straightened up, blurring forwards in a dash of red and streaking electricity, only to smash headfirst into the barrier. Grunting quietly as his head throbbed again, John drew upon the ring even more, reinforcing the construct and covering up the cracks that had formed, and all the while he felt Hal’s vitals too, his ring passively informing him about how his subordinate was faring.

However, before he could focus more upon his subordinate—and think about asking for backup from Oa, his eyes were drawn to the speedster below him, Flash continuously dashing around in the enclosed space and banging into the emerald barrier between him and the outside world. The Flash was shaking, in the minute pauses that he took between the sprints, and John frowned, catching the way errant bolts of electricity lanced out of his body, striking the barrier with extreme force. The speedster grabbed his head the next moment, a low groan slipping out of his mouth, the first sound he had made ever since Grodd controlled him, and John steeled his eyes, reducing the space inside the cube as he constricted the walls even more, “Ring, analyze him.”

‘Analysing. The subject is identified as the Flash, a speedster native to Earth, Third Planet in Sol System, Sector 2814. Vitals monitoring commenced…extreme metabolism and energy consumption. Oxygen intake is falling due to the blockage created, estimated time left…12 seconds…Energy fluctuations detected…caution advised.’

“Flash?” he shouted, floating a little down to get a better look, only for the speedster to suddenly erupt in a storm of pale yellow electricity and slam shoot wards the emerald walls, and John grunted, feeling blood drip down his nose as he gave it all to contain the rogue speedster, “Fucking hell. He is getting more powerful.”

‘Deduction confirmed. Subject is drawing more heavily on its inherent energy. Speed increased by 3 percent compared to previous showings in this space. 30 percent increase in electrical output detected. Lantern Stewart—your body is reaching its limit. Blood pressure and stamina have reached critical levels. Powering do-’

“NO!” he shouted, concentrating even more as he felt the ring start to break the connection between it and his body, “Stay on goddamit!”

‘Extreme willpower detected. Standby mode aborted.’

Gritting his teeth as he felt his blood pound in his ears, Stewart dredged up the last remains of power he could bear through his aching, tired body, tightening the conical prison even more as the Flash started to move faster and faster, striking against the barrier with the full weight of his body, literally throwing himself at the emerald construct.

Then, a crack formed on the surface.

Only this time, he had no more energy left to repair it.

For a moment, time slowed for him, and a part of him wondered if this was how every moment was for the speedsters across the Universe, each second stretching into dozens, as the Flash’s eyes glow a brilliant cyan, electricity lancing off his body in giant waves and striking the barrier, before the man shattered past the emerald construct in a burst of crimson and yellow.

And as the glowing blue eyes turned towards him, Stewart felt a cold shiver crawl down his spine.

“Holy shit that’s a big one,” Harry breathed out silently, staring at the large, rotten yellow eyes staring back at them from the abyss, the light he had conjured finally illuminating the Kraken—or at least some of it, he noted with equal measures of awe and shock.

“Usually I am the one getting that reaction,” Arthur slowly nodded next to him, and at the look Harry threw him, he raised his hands and nodded in the direction of Atlantis, “Hey, not me. There was a princess breeding dragons in Poseidonis, and she mistakenly saw me in the bathwaters.”

“I hope Mera knows of that incident,” he sighed back, and stared at the large iris that unblinkingly stared up at them, tentacles the size of skyscrapers languidly coiling through the waters towards them, Harry winced as he saw the size of the suckers and barbed claws writhing upon those muscled appendages. This close, the magic of the creature was saturating the waters all around him, and even without actively sensing it, Harry could feel the disturbing, wrong feel of it crawling all over his skin, settling upon his senses like a heavy, pungent blanket. And the worse part…Harry could feel a second presence, most probably that sickly glowing, viridian light upon the kraken’s back—and it was conscious, spreading out through the waters much more deliberately, weaving through the passive spread of Arthur’s magic in A familiar, graspi-”Oh fuck!”

“That seems accurate!” Arthur grunted, as in an instant, the waters around them swirled with violent intensity, crushing upon them from all sides as the pressure seemed to double instantly, “Holy fuck, who the fuck is this? Trying to control my waters…and actually doing it!”

“You tell me! How many people fit the bill of having this much power?!”

“Not anyone I would like to fight!”

“Doesn’t seem like we have a choice!” Harry shouted back, pointing his palm at the Kraken, who was almost fully out of the darkness by now. For a moment, he just took in the sheer size of the bloody thing. The Giant Squid was nothing more than a newly hatched chicken in front of the monstrosity before him, he thought with awe-filled eyes. However, the next second, the cold rationality and the killing instinct that had personified Tom Riddle swept away his thoughts, and poisonous emerald magic coalesced at the front of his palm, “Avada Kedavra!”

The Silent Death shot towards the Kraken, even as he felt Arthur battle away the swirling whirlpools around them, the King of Atlantis challenging the foreign entity’s presence in his own turf—and from what he could sense…Arthur was not winning. Well, at least the killing curse would kill the Kraken and then he could help out his fri-what.

His eyes blanked, and the world stopped for him as Harry saw the emerald bolt of magic; one of the most powerful magicks in his world…just splashed harmlessly against the Kraken’s hide.

For fucks sake, it didn’t even hurt the barnacle stuck to the dull grey skin.

For the second time in as many weeks, the Killing Curse had yet again failed to perform. And Harry knew that it was not his fault, for he was no longer incapable of summoning that cold, unfeeling sense of mind needed to impart the deathly intent to his magic. As he had reminded himself a dozen times…He was all that Voldemort had been, only to be summed with and tempered by his own personality and traits.

But yet, the Killing Curse had failed yet again.

And it was not due to some highly esoteric, divine shield for some sorcerer.

A scream of rage and frustration left him, as he unconsciously tore past the physical limits he was used to setting upon himself, and the water around him blasted out in all directions from the force of his voice alone, temporarily leaving him in a void. Dimly, he was aware of how Arthur turned towards him from the side, the King of Atlantis glowing a bright sea green as he spun his trident expertly, weaving torrents of pressurized water as whips towards the giant Kraken. However, before the water even had the moment to come back crashing into him, Harry created a foothold behind him with magic, and pushed towards the Kraken. With how volatile the energies around him already were, he didn’t want to use any of his more destructive spells, especially since he didn’t know how they would function underwater, let alone in a magically rich kingdom like Atlantis—plus, there was the matter of this Kraken somehow being immune to magic.

Therefore, it was time to get physical.

Instantly, his sight got a lot better, Kryptonian physiology shifting g spectrums and the strength of his retinas as the murky, underwater world turned a couple of shades brighter and clearer, allowing him to see much more of the beast, as well as the depths of the abyss it had crawled up from. Cutting through the water with ease that would have shamed a sailfish, Harry reared his hand back as the Kraken opened its mouth, displaying thousands of gleaming, sharp teeth and roaring loudly. WIncing as his much more sensitive hearing was assaulted by the infrasonic waves, Harry watched the beast become much more active in an eyeblink.

Half a dozen tentacles suddenly shot towards him, clearing hundreds of feet within moments, and the very water around him seemed to become heavy, the density increasing magically to slow his approach. His own magic rose to counter the entity upon the Kraken’s back, but that brief slowing had been enough for the Kraken’s appendages to slam into him. He grunted as a massive tentacle slammed into him, the large barbs trying to find purchase upon him even as the creature carried him through the water toward the rocks below. Gagging at the wrinkled sucker wiggling in front of his face, Harry apparated away to his original spot, watching the massive arm slam into the seafloor with explosive force.

“Oh, holy mother of God,” Arthur breathed out, and it was the faint note of terror in his voice that caught his attention, making him look at the King of Atlantis, who was staring at the glowing entity that rode up the Kraken, “It's impossible.”

“What is?” he asked, conjuring a shackle made of iron, as thick as a dragon around the arm that had struck the seafloor, and he winced as it was ripped apart like wet paper by the monstrous strength wielded by the Kraken, the iron rusting away instantly as if a decaying curse had struck it. “This is going to be a tough one.”

“That is Atlan.”

“...I am taking the Kraken, you handle your ancestor.”

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“It's marvelous.”

“Eh…it is?” Hermes blinked, walking along the cloudy path that led towards the large hall above them, its marble pillar and slanted roof gleaming in the heavenly light that seemed to encompass all of Olympus. “Too gaudy for my tastes, but well, Father likes the marble.”

“Hermes, I see you are back from Themyscira,” a regal, powerful voice echoed around them, and Diana froze midstep, as a powerful presence, far dwarfing that of the God leading her appeared before them. The clouds before them swirled, and with a smell reminding her of the salt of the sea, a tall, white-haired man appeared. She didn’t even need to look at the large, imposing trident, or the circlet of sea-weed and pearls that sat upon the God’s brow to know who was standing before her, as she instantly dropped into the position of fealty, her eyes lowered to the floor.

“Lord Poseidon, humble greetings and many prayers to you.”

“Ah, the latest daughter of Zeus,” Poseidon’s smooth voice came down to her, and she felt walk closer, his sandaled feet entering her vision. “Arise, daughter of Themyscira. You did me a great service, bringing one of my conches back from the ruins of Ancient Greece.”

“It was duty and honor to do so,” she shook her head, her eyes taking in the sea God. Built powerfully, and much more…muscular in stature than Hermes, Poseidon looked at her with critical, azure eyes, his eyes lingering on her sword and Lasso, before he met her gaze. “I wanted to thank you personally, M’Lord, for the pegasi you have deigned fit to gift to us Amazons.”

“No worries about that. Poor things had no place to go after Ancient Greece fell anyways,” Poseidon waved off her words, before turning towards Hermes. “Go on to the Council. Zeus was talking about some message he wanted you to deliver personally. I will escort my niece here onwards.”

Hermes nodded at his words, and disappeared in a muted golden flash and Poseidon offered her his arm. Taking it with all the grace her mother had drilled into her head since she could walk, Diana took in the splendor of the city around her, noting the lack of residents—something which must have caught Poseidon’s eye, as the Sea God chuckled, “Most of the Nymphs and such have long since passed into the void, Diana of the Amazons. On Olympus, there are few beings left besides the Gods themselves.”

“That sounds…lonely,” she muttered, remembering Hippolyta’s tales of a much livelier, bustling city filled with all manners of beings and sights. From Satyrs to Nymphs to demigods, several had called Olympus its home according to her mother. But to hear and see what had befallen the city of Olympus, she couldn’t help but feel sadness wash through her thoughts. “Might I have some insight on what Lord Zeus wishes to say to me? I am not sure on how long the Apokoliptian forces will stay at bay.”

“Oh the Motherboxes shall be inert for a while,” he waved off her worries, ”My brothers and I are stopping them from opening the rifts in this world. As for what your father wants to talk about? My best guess is how you are to defeat that upstart this time around.”

“The Amazons alone can’t stand against such a threat,” Diana shook her head, biting her lip as she remembered the picture her mother had painted, of the cruel God that was Darkseid, and his pantheon of raging, twisted monsters, “and neither does the man’s world stand ready and united like last time. We need to establish contact with Atlantis.”

“Atlantis is going to be busy for a while,” Poseidon sighed, and at her questioning look, he waved his hand, creating a shimmering surface of the water before them, which suddenly shifted to display a scene that seemed to be straight out of the tales of Ancient Greece. A trident clashed against another, both of intricate yet simple make, green auras struggling against each other, and Diana gasped, recognizing one of the men as the Atlantean humans had dubbed Aquaman, who was most probably the current King of Atlantis…while the other, it was a rotten, decrepit skeleton, with patchy grey skin, stretched over the bones. But yet, despite that, the undead man wielded his trident with true strength and skill, matching Aquaman blow for blow with an ease that showed his kill and power, as the very ocean around them churned with the intensity of their fight. “Hades’ power over the dead…it has interacted with mine own over the creation of life due to some otherworldly interference we have not yet been able to identify. As a result, Atlan, the ancient King of Atlantis, and one of my progeny has been re-animated with his full power restored…along with one of his pets.”

“Will he prevail?

“He might; he has help,” Poseidon laughed away her worries, and she watched the projection shift slightly, capturing the sight of a robed individual punching the large Kraken in its eye, making it moan and sink slightly as its eye burst apart in an explosion of dark blue blood, that flooded the water around it as its giant tentacles trashed about. Her eyes focused upon the man, familiarity rising through her the bare hints of the attire that was visible, as he sawm upwards and grabbed one of the appendages, before his right palm lit up a brilliant blow, throwing light upon his face—and her eyes widened as she realized just why he had been looking so familiar to her, “That’s Harry!”

“Your paramour.” the Sea God nodded, looking as the said man cut off one of the large tentacles with some kind of magical blade protruding from his fingers, before grabbing and whipping it around the through the water as he pivoted, using the tentacle as a whip to bash it against the dazed, screeching Kraken’s head. “We were aware that you had taken a man for yourself, but I admit. I find myself surprised by his strength, and the magic he wields. Zeus however, was not pleased with how the man arrived upon Themyscira—and he might take it up once again.”

“I see.” She nodded slowly, wondering just what her godly father might have to say about her life. Diana might worship Zeus like all Amazons, but she would not give up on her love if that's what he was going to demand of her—that too after only remembering her only because his ancient foes had returned, and came knocking upon Themyscira.

“You don’t,” Poseidon laughed, slamming his trident upon the floor, and the force of it blew away the lingering clouds from around their feet, as well as the shimmering scrying surface before them, before his tone turned solemn, and he looked back at the giant hall before them. “But you will. Welcome to the throne room of Olympus, Diana of Themyscira.”

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“Holy fuck,” Flash breathed in deeply through his nose, finally realizing how disconcerting it was to not have even a moment of willful access and control any of his body, Wiggling his tongue around in his mouth and swallowing the saliva, Barry patted down his body, wincing at the various bruises he could feel, swelling up against his suit, as well as his groaning ribs, repeating his disbelieving exclamation “Holy fuck.”

“There was nothing holy about that fuck,” a pained gasp came from his left and Barry’s eyes snapped to John only to widen as he saw the Green Lantern bend over, clutching at his stomach as the man vomited out his guts, and his alarm grew at the sight of the blood mixed in with the puke. John heaved, retching up another bout of vomit, and Barry instantly appeared by his side, rubbing his back as he saw the vomit mix with the melting water from Snart’s ice, before shivering with disgust and looking away. Breathing heavily, John gasped and leaned back, wiping his face with a towel made of green energy and sitting back on his haunches, “Wa-Water.”

“Right, water,” Barry nodded, his eyes flicking across the buildings around him, before he saw a juice station, and in an eyeblink, he was back with a water bottle and a mango juice-box, “Here. and uh—do you need anything else?”

“J-ugh, Just a bloody moment,” John answered, practically tearing the cap of the bottle open before rinsing his mouth, “Gah! I hate vomiting.”

“Me too,” Barry muttered, standing awkwardly by his side. While he knew that technically, it wasn’t him who had made a wreck of the Green Lantern, he still couldn’t help but feel responsible for it. Slightly. Hoping to steer the conversation away from his own shame and regret, Barry turned towards the STAR Labs, and even from this distance, he could see the brief flash of emerald light that shone between the buildings, “Hey, will you be fine resting here? I think I should go and help your junior.”

“Not yet, not for Grodd to take over your mind again,” John shook his head firmly, his eyes boring into Barry’s with a commanding intensity he had not yet seen anywhere—except for Batman, to be honest. “You don’t realize how bad it was, trying to contain you while preventing you from turning me into mincemeat.”

“Grodd won’t be able to do it again,” he crossed his arms, his eyes narrowing as he remembered the way the Gorilla had taken away his control, his will from his body, and he shuddered at the feeling of his mind being disconnected from his physical form.

“How are you so sure he won’t be able to do it again? He didn’t have a single bit of problem the last time he forced you into submission,” John scowled, pointing at the various bruises and bloodied injuries upon his body. “I am drained out of stamina, and my ring is almost discharged. And I can’t let you near Cyborg or my partner only for you to be another problem added into the mix with Snart and Grodd.”

“He won’t control me again,” Barry repeated, frustration welling up inside him as he saw the uncertainty, the lack of trust in John’s eyes. “Trust me, please. You know your partner can’t defeat both of them alone. And Batman was there too, at the building! He won’t be able to do anything if they decide to target him!”

“And why won’t he be able to control you?!” John reiterated more forcefully, his eyes glowing a faint green as his fleeting bit of energy flared up at his emotions.

Taking a deep breath, Barry calmed himself down, reminding himself that John was right to be wary of him being susceptible to Grodd’s mind control and telepathy, before he looked the Green lantern in his eyes, faint arcs of electricity beginning to jump between the plates of his suit. “Because…I am now much faster than what that monkey can handle. Now trust me, and well, let me make up for those broken bones.”