"Wait, really, that was your plan?" the Question asked incredulously as the handful of dust bounced harmlessly off his mask. The one-way lenses prevented so much as a single particle from making through the artificial skin into his actual eyes. In fact, he was so flabbergasted by the ill-conceived attack that he didn't even return any of Bloodsport's punches, instead deftly parrying them all aside with expert redirections with the hands and forearms. "Tell me, which eyes were you aiming for exactly?" he said with a gesture to his blank face as his other hand intercepted yet another jab.

The swinging haymaker caught Vic off guard, though, and crashed against his jaw. He briefly saw stars, stumbled back. Dammit. He had gotten cocky, overconfident, more focused on snarking than winning. And this C-lister had gotten through to land a hit. He had to be completely sincere about even this small fight. Lives were at stake. And loss of sincerity was loss of power.

He added his own inertia to the backwards fall, turning it into a flip that put him back on his feet and out of the range of Bloodsport's swinging fists. What Bloodsport lacked in fighting technique he made up for in power. No doubt about it, he was bigger and stronger than Vic.

But he wasn't nearly as proficient. Meaning something flashy was in order. Especially with the more powerful villains beginning to make their way out of containment. In fact, the words "EVERYBODY DIES, STARTING WITH YOU FUCKING CAPES!" seemed especially galvanizing. Some of those fucking capes were his allies.

"Let's close your tab, DuBois," The Question said as he rushed Bloodsport. But instead of kicking or punching the man, The Question leaped nimbly into the air, locked his legs around the bigger man's neck, and threw him to the ground.

With Bloodsport trapped and the pressure from Vic's legs sure to choke the man unconscious in short order, The Question hurled a handful of smoke pellets at Shrapnel from his prone position. Hopefully if the metal monstrosity's vision was obscured it'd give Arsenal or Speedy or Red Arrow or whatever he was called now (The Question was much more familiar with the green one) time to get that strange-looking woman to safety.

---

---

Tokyo, Shibuya Crossing

---

---

Sea Devil was nearly helpless against Cobi, the monstrous menace from beyond. Fortunately he had allies, and he's mercifully been given the opportunity to reclaim his grapnel rod. But the tide seemed to be turning, as the creatures master zeroed in on them with its tentacles. Gigantic serpentine appendages beyond the size of any comparison were coming with the intention to hold the heroes in its grasp before euthanizing their free will and having its way with them.

Before we came here Snapper mentioned his book. A memoir of his adventures with the Justice League. The catalyst for his becoming the League's first honorary member was that his clothing was laced with something -- something that the alien conqueror to be could not contend with. I read that book, but I'm a little fuzzy.

"Snapper! You of all people should know exactly how to bring Starro down!" He barked into his intercom. "In your book you mentioned his weakness, what was it? Was it lime or clay or something? At least one of us should be able to get our hands on it?"

The tentacle was drawing nearer. Conscious of the fact that he was nowhere near fast enough to escape it's slithering charge, he requited it's approach. Nearing its tip, he ducked before front flipping on top of it and running, seeing himself without any option but to attempt to outmaneuver it. Aware of the fact he was likely to be nabbed, he activated his most unanticipatable defense.

All throughout his body, he felt like he was sweating petroleum. A thin but dense jelly pumped out of his pores and pushed through his suit. Rendering nearly all potential points of contact, save the soles of his shoes and his gloves, as slick as a frozen lake, coated with crude oil, and non-stick cooking spray.

Throughout more than 2500 years of life Donna Troy did her best to avoid injury, but despite how skilled a warrior may be, even the best relied on a certain amount of luck. Even for the best, their luck will run out from time to time. And those unlucky times add up when one has been fighting battles for more than two thousand years. Donna had been punched, kicked, choked, stabbed, slashed, trampled, crushed, bitten, smashed, bashed, pierced, pummeled, and crashed into by a variety of enemies with a variety of weapons. She had had limbs broken, ribs fractured, and her shoulder dislocated more times than she could count. And that was just training. If one collected all the blood she had lost over the years they would likely have been able to bathe in it. Donna Troy knew quite a bit about pain. She knew it in all its shapes and sizes. Pain was an old friend that was always there, a loyal companion that could be depended on, a wise mentor that reminded her of her mistakes, a reassuring presence that reminded her that she was still alive. After centuries of dealing with pain, Donna found that if something did not put her down immediately, it could not stop her.

Manchester Black may have been one of the most powerful telekinetics alive. His punch carried a lot of force behind it. But Donna had been getting punches like that long before Manchester Black's ancestors had learned to work iron. Yes it hurt, yes it stung and rocked her head back, and left her feeling disoriented for a few seconds as the punch made them fly head over teakettle across the air as Donna rode the force of the blow. But it also made her smile, because her old friend was there to tell her she was still in the fight. And because the shock of the blow had made Donna reflexively grab the offending wrist, anchoring Black to her. And because their spin through the air was a lot more jarring to Manchester than it was to her. And so as Donna spun, she smiled at pain, shook it's hand, and pushed it to the back of her mind. And then Donna twisted, the quick efficient motion greatly enhanced by her divine blood and adrenaline. If Manchester was lucky, the pain and shock of his wrist snapping so quickly and violently would make him black out. If not.... well he could use the lesson.

Wrapping her elbow around his neck as Troia righted them in mid-air, Troia waited to see if he kept screaming. If he was and was therefore conscious, Donna began to squeeze. If Manchester was smart he'd submit and go to sleep, it'd help the pain. If he didn't Donna would remind him of his snapped wrist. Then Donna would begin tying the telekinetic up with her supernatural lasso, unconscious or not, Donna doubted that Black could do much when he was trussed up with arms and legs wrapped behind him. Centuries of training allowed her to do so quickly and efficiently, securing the supervillain and twisting his wrist ever so slightly again if he continued to resist. Once that was done with, Donna drifted Black down to a secluded corner of the yard and quickly reassessed.

Livewire, King Shark, and Metallo had all entered the chaos. The first two were making good on their escape. Troia could pursue but there were much more pressing concerns. Shrapnel had broken free and was bearing down on Red Arrow and the strange woman. Question was still embattled with Bloodsport. And Metallo had his eyes set on Jon. Troia processed this quickly, her warrior's mind making a snap decision. Livewire and King Shark were dangerous, but pursuing a fleeing supervillain was clearly of lesser importance than a teammate's life. Question seemed about to finish Bloodsport off and seemed to be attempting to help Red Arrow and the woman escape Shrapnel's path. Roy was clever, he could certainly evade for quite a while. The woman also seemed capable, and her safety was not terribly high on Donna's priority list either. In any case, they would all have to fend for themselves for the moment, so would the guards. Metallo was one of the most dangerous active supervillains, he had almost killed Kal'El on multiple occasions. And Jon was not nearly so experienced as his father.

Leaving the hogtied Manchester Black behind, Donna flew across the battlefield to Metallo and Jon's position. She caught the falling Comet on the way and dove low to the ground, shedding speed to gently lay Comet on the ground, as far away from the fighting as was possible before picking up speed again and flying at Metallo's back as he tried to choke Jon. Donna could not be sure how severely the kryptonite would be affecting Jon, but the priority was to get Corben off of her friend. Donna went for a rear naked choke on the cyborg villain, wrapping her legs around his torso as her elbow wrapped around his neck. She flew backward and pushed Jon away with her foot, "Jon! Get out of here!" There was no special weakness that Metallo could exploit but he was powerful on his own. Donna had to try and end it quickly, as she tried to hold the villain in her grasp, Donna quickly removed one hand to try and draw her dagger, aiming to claw out Metallo's kryptonite core.

---

Courtney spun the pen in her hand as she gazed absentmindedly down at her tablet as her English teacher droned on and on. Her tablet was a blank black screen, sleep mode. Just a few moments ago she had given up on taking notes. Ms. Ellis never had much to say this time of day anyways. The whole rest of the day promised to be just as boring as the lecture.

Or it had been a promise. Instead one of the kids in the back let out a loud gasp. Instantly all the students, Courtney included, turned around to stare. The teen was gaping at his tablet. One of his friends grabbed said tablet and turned up the volume.

Oh My God! Someone could be heard screaming. There was more screaming in the background. Courtney's head whipped back around and she began tapping at her own tablet frantically. It was all over social media. The young woman pulled up the first video titled "Strykers Breakout". What Courtney saw made her sweep everything she brought with her to class into her back pack.

"I gotta go Ms. Ellis." Courtney told the stunned teacher as she was already half way through the door. She could hear the woman yell at her to get back. Her voice fading the further away Courtney got.

It was a five minute run from the school to Pat's house. She burst through the door, tossed her book bag on the ground and hightailed it to her room. She ignored her mother who was fussing with Patricia.

Courtney slammed her room's door behind her and pulled out her Stargirl costume.

Pat Dugan couldn't have a more enjoyable morning. Despite waking early after a nearly sleepless night of coddling a rowdy Patricia, he found profound relaxation in his garage while working on his latest project and listening to his favorite Jazz music on the radio. Courtney's 18th birthday was only a few months away and after a a few discussions with Barbara, they decided to buy a car for the oldest daughter of the family. Not only that, but Pat would get to choose the vehicle and even tinker it for her, making the mornings she was away to school the only viable time to work in order to keep it a surprise....

You can only imagine his heart jumping out of its place and his head nearly hitting a pipe from underneath when he heard the front door opening and quick steps rushing up the stairs. Pats initial relief would then be interrupted by the radios sound as the regular program was halted to announce the breaking news regarding the state of Stryker's at Metropolis. And Barbara's yell from the kitchen only reassured his suspicions.

"Relax Honey. We will handle this. And the school later." he said after a brief exit from his man-cave and with a sigh he headed towards a panel of buttons at the wall. After pushing an exact pattern, the floor seemed to moved underneath the car and take the shape of a platform that switched the car and revealing on its place the metallic casing that surrounded the S.T.R.I.P.E armor, with various wires connected to from its base to the various crevices of the massive metallic exoskeleton.....

---

---

Chaos was a nice word for the sight that greeted the seventeen year old at Stryker's Island. From her view high in the sky she could see Police trying to contain what they could. Which wasn't much despite their best efforts. Just minutes ago Courtney had been on the phone with the JSA trying to coordinate something, anything, but the Society was firm in their retirement. They even pointed out that there were already heroes on the scene.

Courtney was not placated. The only thing she could talk them into was was that they'd aid in the effort with civilians. It wasn't want the girl wanted, but it was better than nothing. Courtney stood up on her Cosmic Staff as she noticed a blue haired woman in prison garb heading past the containment line the rag-tag group of heroes tried to maintain.

"Oh no you don't." The teen said, the sound of her voice torn from her lips by the wind, but she wasn't speaking to the villainess.

"Courtney wait!" Pat tried to warn his daughter, although it was too late. The eager heroine was already off, going head on against a super-villain she had never encountered before, without even coming up with the semblance of a plan. After letting out another sigh, he refired the armors thrusters and flew past with speed greater than the cosmic staff, while lowering his altitude in order to get some better aim.

Target Locked

The computer announced as S.T.R.I.P.E extended his metallic arm to produce its Lazer cannon, before firing a barrage of concussive Lazer shots against Livewire.

Stryker's Island, Metropolis

"I don't miss." Roy gloated as his arrow hit its target, freeing Captain Comet from Starro's telepathic grasp. The two superhuman telekinetics started to plummet toward the earth below, much to Speedy's annoyance. He went for the set of grapple arrows attached to his hip, placing one such projectile on his string. Luckily for the archer, Jon and Donna were already on the case, the former catching the unconscious superhero before he went splat and the latter lassoing Manchester. "Nice of you to join us, Wonder Bra!" Harper rather cheekily called to his former teammate. Despite his mocking sarcasm and insincerity, Roy was glad the Amazon and the Kryptonian had shown up. Things were looking quite bleak a moment ago when their only heavy hitter was a Luthor. A quick look around the battlefield revealed that the heroes seemed to be victorious. Shrapnel was being held captive inside a force field of some sort, Black was seconds from getting his clock cleaned by Wonder Woman's kin, and Bloodsport was...well, Bloodsport. All that was left was to clean up the rest of the escaped prisoners and infected civilians. "A job well done, I'd say."

It was at that moment that the entirety of Superman's rogues gallery decided to make their escape. The gaping hole in the prison's wall turned out to be directly connected to the maximum security wing, which housed the most dangerous individuals in Metropolis. Harper's frustration built as he watched Livewire, King Shark and Metallo enter the main yard. "Me and my big mouth." He grumbled. It looked as if Livewire and King Shark had no intention of sticking around and killing their captors. Metallo, however, set his cybernetic eyes on Superboy. None of them presented the most pressing issue to the red-clan vigilante, however. No, his biggest threat came in the form of Shrapnel tearing his bubble prison to shreds and shouting, "EVERYBODY DIES, STARTING WITH YOU FUCKING CAPES!" Ugh. This guy was a pain in the ass. A very deadly, exploding living metal pain in the ass. Roy quick grabbed a handful of his own razor sharp arrows and took a step forward, taking aim at the incoming shrapnel (sorry not sorry.) He managed to pin two of the oncoming projectiles before finding himself being grabbed by the quiver and thrown to the ground. "Agh!" Roy's attempts to ignore the completely insane umbrella wielding crazy person seemed to have backfired, because now she was trying to save his life with an umbrella. Granted, the thing was capable of sustained flight, which in itself was extremely interesting. But he doubted it could stand up to a barrage of explosions from the rapidly approaching bits of razor sharp metal.

Without warning, Red Arrow tackled his savior over the railing of the guard tower, causing the two of them to free fall. "Fly!" He ordered a bit too harshly. He wrapped his legs around the woman's waist and bent backward to get a look at their attacker. Thankfully, the Question had used one of his smoke pellets to blind Shrapnel, keeping the two powerless 'heroes' safe. For the moment, anyway. "I appreciate the shield, Alice, but I don't think your contraption can block Mr. Explodey over there. And I don't like taking chances." He yelled up to her. "Just try to keep steady and avoid any more of his surprises, kay?"

Harper had to take a moment to silently thank Oliver for the special quiver as he racked his brain for a way to take down Shrapnel. Each arrow was held in its own designated compartment within the quiver, and wouldn't come out (even when flying upside down attached to a nutty scientist) unless it registered the touch from the sensors in Roy's gloves. "How to stop a metal man from blowing himself up..." He muttered, running his fingers over his many different trick arrows. "I've got it! An explosion needs flammable material, oxygen and sufficient ignition energy, right? Hatter, you see where Luthor's forcefield shorted out? Can you try and get a hold of those drones and get them working again? We need to create a vacuum around Shrapnel." With that, Red Arrow strung up one of his grapple arrows and fired it at the opposite prison wall. "I'll try and get his attention while you do your thing!" He let go of her waist and soared across the prison yard, landing two dozen yards in front of Shrapnel. "Hey, ugly!" He called. "Your mom's a toaster!" The archer fired a pair of explosive arrows at the metal man before turning tail and running in the opposite direction, hopefully having his full attention.

Julian felt the cold skinny hands wrap around him, as Mercy's words rang in his ears warning him of the dangers spotted by his two drones still hovering around him, they fired at the power-absorbator, Julian began rerouting the quickly draining power of his suit, within seconds his suit was down to 90% efficieny. "Mercy, restart Drone One through Four. Full Reboot, nanite regeneration." Was his last command to the suit, as the four broken drones - the ones that had held Shrapnel, began repairing themselves.

Julian's suit rerouted all of it's power, the forcefield that surrounded him began failing as Parasite drained it's energy, the pink mutant gaining more and more power. Using all of the remaining 85% power in his suit, Julian expanded the forcefield as quickly as possible, creating an unstable field that pushed the Parasite off of the new man of steel, rendering his suit powerless, but it began recharging immediately with what solar energy was inside of the prison. Julian's drones targeted Parasite, about to fire, but he quickly waved them off, knowing that their lasers and electric charges would do nothing but power the energy thief further.

"I heard you gave the old Superman a run for his money! Let's see what you got, Bubblegum!" Julian postured, analyzing his surroundings - he needed to find some kind of restraints for the pink meta, or he wouldn't be Superman for much longer - as much as that would amuse Jon, it wasn't an acceptable outcome. Parasite fidgeted. "Hungry.. Soo.. Hungry!" He lunged at Julian, using the tactile telekinetic powers that Julian's suit had given him, Julian was barely capable of dodging under the lunge of the Parasite as he flew over him, Julian grabbing him by the ankle with his robotic arm, the arm fueled by an independent power source - One isolated well enough that Parasite couldn't drain it, unless he tore the arm open, anyway.

He hurled Parasite into the concrete floor, spinning around, the monster's face tearing up the floor, Julian kept his robotic grip around the beast's foot, releasing him with enough force to send him into a reinforced steel beam, which Parasite would hit with enough force to knock the wind out of him, despite his enhanced properties. "Insolent little.. Must feed!" Parasite shouted, charging at Julian, little more than a feral animal, the two traded blows, Julian's small forcefield from his arm allowing him to keep the meta at a distance, what little martial arts training he had was certain to keep him alive in this fight, luckily for him, Parasite hadn't come in physical contact with him, only his suit, so the meta had none of his intellect.

Julian's suit had recharged one percent, the hud in his left eye coming back online - his drones outside were now fully rebooted. He instructed them to assist with fighting Metallo - feeding Julian video. The four drones would fire their lasers at Metallo as Donna attacked him, giving Kent enough room to escape the Kryptonite. Julian projected his voice through the four of the drones.

"Superman here, fighting Parasite inside of the prison. I see several wounded. Require assistance! Kent, save the civilians and guards. But STAY AWAY FROM HIM. He gets his hands on you and we're all doomed. Superman out" Julian instructed, in between dodging blows from Parasite, blocking a jab and sending one back at him going mechanical fist to meta-psychopath-killer-vampire fist with him, but his arm was running out of power - quicker than Parasite's powers would vain. Relying on the Kryptonian to come and get out the guards, Julian was not willing to risk all these guards and inmates alike getting absorbed by Parasite.

Parasite caught him in the chest with a fist, sending Julian flying five meters backwards, the wind out of him - feeling like he had been hit by that train, all over again, two ribs were cracked, at least. He figured, each breath got harsher. Parasite stood over him and was reaching down to his unprotected face, Julian managed to put his open fist onto Parasite's chest, just as the meta was about to touch him - the meta touching his skin for but a nanosecond, before the blue pulse laser was sent from Julian's arm, the kinetic energy sent from the arm sent Parasite flying into the ceiling, which he fell out of landing on the floor, laying still for a momen. Parasite would have sustained serious damage, if the young Luthor's calculations was correct.

And they were always correct.

Julian crawled back onto his feet, his body hurting, partly from the punch, but also from the contact, his head felt jumbled, and his skin felt sore, like he was running a fever, he stumbled. His hud reacting to his thought showed the bluepritns of the prison - showing him the info of each area, he began walking - slowly, limping, towards the first aid station, ten meters away from him. He heard Parasite getting back up and getting on him, his arm was just about out of charge. His two remaining drones emerged around him, setting up a forcefield that Parasite began clawing at, absorbing trace amounts of energy from them - healing his injuries with each punch against the field. Julian got out a needle from the first aid box, and turned to Parasite.

He only had one shot here.

The drones let the Forcefield go down, Parasite charging at Luthor. "LUTHOR!" Parasite shouted, having learned his name from his brief moment of contact Julian jerked forward, instinctively, using what little power his suit had recharged his flew forward, meeting Parasite halfway, catching the monster by surprise - Superman had never recharged that quickly Then again, Superman never expended all of his own energy, either. Julian grabbed Parasite by the throat with his mechanical arm, forcing the meta onto the floor with a loud thud, cracking the concrete, jamming the needle into the meta's chest - right into his heart. The Tranq dart was meant to tranqulize BlockBuster, but hopefully Parasite still had enough energy left in him to not die from the dart, once the dart penetrated his body, and the drug was pumped into his system, the meta flailing helplessly against Julian's grip on his throat, till he shrunk down into his thin form again.

Julian let go of his throat, and collapsed backwards, leaning against the wall, sweat streaming down his face - his hair had gotten messy, falling over his face, his nose was bleeding and adrenaline was pumping all through his body. Not to mention the headache. I might've had a stroke. But I think I won.. Julian mentioned, one of the drones analyzing him - he hadn't had a stroke, he was just exhausted, running a fever, a cracked rib, a bruised neck and a few bopped blood vessels in his nose. Recommended bed rest, 3 days.

The other analyzing Joshua Allen - Parasite. He was alive. Unconcious - his body had metabolized enough of the drug that he was a stage above being in a coma. Joshua had a four broken ribs and several injuries to his throat and hands, as well as a concussion. Recommended bed rest, 2 weeks.

He would be knocked out for the next six hours, at least. More then enough for them to imprison him. Provided they could get ahold of the situation on the outside.
There was a holding facility at Lexcorp Julian could put him in until Belle Rev was capable of taking him in.

Strykers Island, Metropolis ||| The Imp

As a large force hit her from behind, tackling the Imp to the ground, she lost hold of the switch to the spiders, ending any chance of launching more for that same purpose till she either retrieved it or replaced it. Neither seemed like they were likely to happen. Her hat falling fast towards the earth as well, she did managed to grab. Crushing it in a grip of iron. With the ground coming at them quickly, she jerked herself into the handle of the umbrella, the blades already collapsing and spinning as she hit a hidden panel on the contraption. It was instinct more than reaction to the Huntsman shouting "Fly!"

Then again, raising a brow at the man who hung upside down by her waist, nearly pulling her from the flying device and most certainly making the poor Impness use every bit of calculation to steer the device and not into a wall. The Umbrella rising with haste, though limited by the two people on it and one of them a tad over it's weight limit. Nearly missing his thankless seeming thanks, a red brow was raised as she "The Lackwit, Metal brain, explodes?!" Lindy cursed internally, though a involentary lecture came out with a cackle. "And It's not Alice, nor Hatter. Though appropriate they both were taken by- I ramble." She looked towards the drone. They were not hers and it would be rude to work with them, but considering the circumstances she doubted she could afford her code on conduct and survive. "I shall see what I can do, but I- OI! I'm flyin' here!" As he grappled away she manhandled the panels of the contraption as the Umbrella shot higher into the air, faster without the extra weight. Steadying she made a be line for the fallen contraptions that had once imprisoned the Shrapnel.

Hitting the ground she whipped the umbrella onto her back and bolted for the contraptions dodging the fighting and giving a hard and slicing whack to those who got in her way. Snatching one up, and a screwdriver from her coat the Imp set to work. Electrical shortages were hardly the hardest thing to fix, and something she had fixed often enough to be sick of them. But the power for them was the issue. The best option was something the Imp didn't want to think about. A Tesla coil. A massive Tesla coil on each corner of the area where Shrapnel would be trapped. Each having their own pulse for electric and the drones providing the continuous output with a easier load. It would hurt the Lackwith of metal twice as much, and would be all the worse if she was able to get them to time a strike at once, every so often. It would be a electrical force field. With the plan hatching she began to rewrite the drone's circuits in a flurry of clever hands and quick thinking. The sheer power would have to come from some where, but there was a ocean and a city grid to draw from. If one didn't work, the other would. Best of all, if all held well it would keep most of the criminals in check, if they weren't immune to electricity.

"Power sources, Four tall poles with conductors wrapped around them..." Rubbing her forehead, her hat knocked askew as she muttered madly to herself. Speeding for the other drones with a intent and a process, even as she stopped by every electric box and rewired it as well. Drawing more power into the prison. "Too much for one person. I need someone stronger than me, I don't have tools or time, although... MADDENING!" She roared as the drones began repairing themselves, Snagging one she rerouted it to receive voice and transfer over. Making sure a painful squeal would erupt in the suit's communications. "Who makes drones that do not repair automatically first! Turn them off later, repair first! For the love of Madness! Yes, I know you have a giant suit and I just hijacked several drones. I. Don't. Care. I have nothing to lose, though I suppose that is arguable, now is most certainly not the time for tomfoolery. Tell me how many of these folks are able to defy electricity? Get a Tesla field about them and that will stop your drones for faulting again. Heck. I did that to my home to help with the inventions." She paused, halting the rambling and yanking a inmate to her before striking him upside the head with the umbrella. "No time for tea! We're late! Get talking, to the contrary wise I will hijack that lovely, handsome armor. You don't happen to have the specifics for it handy, such a beautiful piece of work." She chided Luthor while herself went off tangent. Leaning against the building she whack another inmate who came about the corner in the knees, then the back of the neck. "Oh, do hurry with a reply. I'm not a patient woman and a mad woman is never a patient woman." Moving once more she bludgeoned and sliced her way through a group of inmates, the drone hostage in tow.

---

Mark smiled at his and Red Arrow's success at freeing Captain Comet from Starro's control. Not only that, Donna Troy also showed up and was able to get her lasso around Black as well. His smile turned to a frown when Chester landed a telekinetic powered punch to the Amazon and he was going go on the attack, but then three more criminals from the prison started making their escape. This time it was King Shark, Metallo and Livewire. The situation was getting out of hand and they needed to get it back under control.

"Uh, hate to interrupt guys, but I think your problems are just starting." Mark heard Snapper say over his communicator.

"We already have problems down" he said to himself and now Mark had to make a very quick decision. He needed to choose, which villain to go after. Both Livewire and Metallo were engaged with his teammates in combat, but King Shark was making a getaway. Also Shrapnel had gone on a crazed rampage and was targeting Red Arrow and the Imp. Even though he wanted to go and aid his teammates against the dangerous villain, Mark decided to try and go after King Shark.

Mark commanded his Mother Box to find out which direction King Shark was going and then had it open a boom tube and the glowing portal appeared before him. He jumped into the Boom Tube and immediately found himself underwater. Thankfully his Mother Box was able to surround him in a field of oxygen that allowed him to breath while he was below the surface. He quickly looked around for his target and saw King Shark only about fifteen feet away from him. Mark took off at incredible towards the shark-man, thanks to his New God physiology Mark was able to swim at extremely fast speeds and he closed the distance between them in a second.

He body slammed right into his foe with a great amount of force and was intending to knock the water out of his gills and halt him in his escape attempt. While he was underwater Mark was not going to be able to use his megaton touch out of fear of it back firing and injuring himself instead of King Shark. This would be a physical battle and that meant that Mark would have to avoid his enemy's deadly teeth.

Tokyo
Shibuya Crossing

Billy had been stunned and stupefied as he stood on the fabled Watchtower, staring down at the surface of the earth. Oh, he had seen the Earth from space a time or two before and it had been breathtaking then. But this...this was different. He was walking in the footsteps of Earth's greatest heroes, staring down at the world from the same point of view, joining their team along with so many other great heroes...

If he didn't have the Courage of Achilles, he might have just fainted!

The scene unfolding in Tokyo prompted that reaction for entirely different reasons. A viking behemoth who could take a Kryptonian level punch and barely stumble, hordes of alien-starfish-zombies attacking a crowd of civilians and now a giant telepathic starfish kaijuu straight out of the worst old B-movies brought to horrifying life, speaking directly into his head?

"HOLY...MOLY!"

The others had already sprung to work in the blink of an eye, but things seemed to have mostly gone from bad to worse. Billy itched to fly up there and prevent his newfound friends from becoming the tentacled creature's newest minions and join the fight himself, but there was something he knew needed to be done first. Despite others best efforts the crossing was stilled filled with screaming, panicking civilians. Both Billy's own heart and the Wisdom of Solomon were urging him to get them out of the way and he knew the fight would go easier if they didn't have to worry about innocents in harm's way. The streets had become a thronging mass of people with only the purple starfishes denoting attackers from victims and most of the heroes there were busy fighting or avoiding Starro. carrying out A 100% safe, coordinated evacuation in time would take a miracle or else more manpower than the League and Tokyo combined possessed.

Well, unless you were Earth's Mightiest Mortal.

Time seemed to slow down to a crawl if not stop outright from Billy's perspective as he walked through the crowd identifying those without Starfish aliens attached to them, picked them up in ones, twos or occasional threes and carried them clear of the fighting. For Captain Marvel this took a decent amount of effort and time, carefully picking up innocent lives, consulting the Wisdom of Solomon for directions to the nearest likely safe place in the area to deposit a large number of people and bringing them over in small groups. The majority of others there would probably just see a red-white-and-gold blur zooming around along with occasional flickers of gold lightning as nearly all civilians without a miniature Starro attached were suddenly deposited safe and sound some distance away in one of Tokyo's many Disaster Preparation Parks. Captain Marvel might not be the Flash, but the Speed of Mercury made for a pretty good imitation.

The pre-prepared safe zones within Tokyo had been built to handle widespread disruption and serve as a temporary safe haven for large crowds in situations...well, not exactly like these, but close enough anyways. The park would have been just a lovely local feature at any other time, green and serene and full of life as a refuge of nature in the bustling city. But now it was suddenly filled with a frightened, confused throng of formerly threatened bystanders. Captain Marvel hovered before the massive crowd, using his super strong lungs to be heard as he spoke in nearly perfect and incredibly polite Japanese.

<<"Everyone, please listen up! The Justice League is here for your protection, but the resulting battle may make the city unsafe. For your own safety please stay in this designated safe area free of falling buildings, debris, and giant alien starfish kaijuu. It's my understanding that the park is equipped with emergency supplies, toilets and solar powered chargers and WiFi to enable you to contact your loved ones. Please, tell them to either stay indoors or proceed to other similar parks like this closest to their locations depending on their needs and current level of safety. If the League fails-which is unlikely-or once we have defeated the monster, the news should arrive to you via the emergency information networks established by the local authorities. We will keep you safe! The League thanks you for your continued cooperation!">>

With that he sped back to Shibuya Crossing and Starro, stopping once he was facing Starro eye to unblinking, giant red eye. Captain Marvel grinned up at Starro as he ran through scenarios on how to defeat the Lovecraftian looking entity before it mind controlled them all. He briefly considered trying to talk him down, but even if he could the tentacles were threatening his fellow League-members. Well, there was one hopefully sure-fire way to damage the creature given their position.

"I've got just one word for you: SHAZAM!"

A giant bolt of magical golden lightning worked on most foes...

he hoped.

Tokyo, Shibuya Crossing

The giant tentacle swung towards her like an angry wave, engulfing everything in its path; even the starfish underlings weren't spared. Starling leapt into a dirty gutter, taking refuge in the engraved surface while the limb narrowly scraped over her. A crowd of brainwashed drones was one thing, she's dealt with that before. But when the giant one showed up it became a whole different game. The colourful masks flying around with thunder bolts shooting from their fingertips, who was she to compare?

The mob appeared to grow more excited when big guy showed up. Navigating it became nearly impossible when they shifted their focus on the so called "heroes." Starling had no choice but to retreat to a convenience store where the mass of the mob overlooked. She crouched behind a shelf of potato chips to catch her breath when she saw a cop laying in a pool of blood with a gun in his hand and a dead starfish close by. Did the starfish make him do it? Or was he trying to save himself? Regardless, Starling searched him and found bullets, cigarettes, flashlight, handcuffs, and a stun gun. The stun gun reminded her of the shock she felt when her mind was freed from the starfish. Electricity seemed to be effective. Cobi and the big guy was a little out of her league, but Mr. Unknown needed to be taught a lesson.

Starling peeked over the counter to scout the situation. It was unlikely but she kept one eye out for her friend Aiko. That was when she saw a girl in fishnets going towards the danger. "Oh wow, who's this random magician lady here?" Whoever she was, Starling hoped she had the arsenal to deal with the big one. With the stun gun in hand, Starling worked her way thru the crowd, shocking every drone that got in her way. She must've gotten 12 of them before all the surrounding ones started swarming and clawing at her. The more they focused on her, the less the seemed to focus on the other heroes. Starling kicked and climbed to the top of a car where they had trouble following her. Their hand eye coordination was similar to that of a zombie. "Come at me!" she shouted, firing her gun in the air to get their attention.

---

---

Tokyo, Shibuya Crossing

---

---

She bit off more than she could chew, that was for sure. Here she was, in some random part of Tokyo, facing off against a monstrous being with a GIANT sword that seemed to have the ability to make his own minions using those star things. And there were tentacles. Well only in Japan....

"No time for jokes," she thought. Now was the time for action.

The tentacles came up surprisingly, and she and the other heroes had very little time to react. A few of them ran off, one woman zapping the pedestrians with a stun gun, she assumed. "Nice work," she thought. It would keep them out of harm's way. Another man shouted a phrase she was almost positive she heard before when lighting came out. She would have marveled at that, but the tentacles weren't just there for show as they lunged for them.

Reacting quickly, Felicity threw her arms out, "Now now, hold on there boys." At that instant, her force field appeared surrounding her and the remaining heroes on the ground. The big Starro would be pushed back and couldn't get through. Each hit or attempt at them would be costly, but she held it up as much as she could"I can't hold this out for long, figure out a way to stop the tentacles and we can focus on ugly guy over there."

Sea Devil imagined how he might address his mother if he had the time to write a letter.

Dear Mother,

It's funny how these little moments can change your entire worldview. When you're clinging for dear life to the appendage of a flailing starfish monster while he seems to do the Harlem Shake, you begin to realize how abstract the world you live in is. You realize just how imaginary the concept of safety is. There is no safe zone in this world, no matter what your parents or your government tells you.

No police man can protect you when death comes. No amount of ointment can extract the suffering from your soul. One thing in life is certain for most, and that is pain. Even death has proven to be a revolving door. Mama, we all go to hell. Actually, hell comes to all. There is no safe zone free of danger. But you could get by a lot easier if you become the danger that dominates the once safe zone.

---

Shibuyu Crossing, Tokyo Japan

---

He'd been afraid of death for so long that it no longer mattered. As a younger man, he avoided high risk confrontations. But now, Jack lived for them. He considered himself the guardian of Gotham's bay. Despite the time and place, this very much seemed like the sort of beast that he would be required to face off against. An aquatic type monster for the amphibious vigilante. A very appropriate way to die if he had to go.

Starro raised the tentacle that Jack stood on. He imagined the acceleration was something like what a fighter pilot might experience. And his feet departed from the tentacles surface. Many of the other heroes were shielded by some sort of force field. With them temporarily inaccessible, that attracted the tentacles that had been designated for the others to an all out assault on Sea Devil.

So, while seemingly suspended in the air, he watched another of the tentacles launching towards him like a fly swatter,"Here we go."

^CH-EENK

His grapnel line fired perpendicular to another tentacles path, the appendage that seemed poised to swat at him next. It was impossible for him to dodge the one immediately rushing him , so instead he bent his knees and leaned back before feeling the serpentine arm strike him like a tidal wave made of concrete. As expected, it threw him across the sky, like a birdie being struck by a racquet. That was, until his line was intercepted by the tentacle it had been shot in front of.

Without being wrapped around it at all, the steel line was yanked. And so Sea Devil was yo-yoed into the distance. Soaring with his grapnel's handle between all of his fingers and his palms. With aching knees, he assessed his trajectory. It seemed he was destined to land directly on top of a mob of enslaved citizens, right outside of a convenience store. Consequently, he almost wished that he would simply land on the blacktop.

Without the ability to reel his line in quickly enough, he was stuck. But when he was beginning to descend above the crowd, his line snagged on something. By some miracle he'd managed to maintain his grip before swinging into the side of a building.

His body ached. With the sort of pain that filled his spine and stung in his lungs. This was the way he imagined that Dr. Mid Nite must feel. Wonder what the old timer is doing right now?

More time for that later, but Sea Devil now had the opportunity to pause for a moment. At a distance from the Conqueror that deceptively suggested itself to be safe.

Then he heard a gunshot before a bullet landed next to him. "Come at me!" A woman shouted. I really don't have time for this. The woman was surrounded by Starfish-lings. Was she in league with them? He couldn't be sure. Only one way to find out.

"As you wish!"

Tokyo, Shibuya Crossing

Then he heard a gunshot before a bullet landed next to him. "Come at me!" A woman shouted. I really don't have time for this. The woman was surrounded by Starfish-lings. Was she in league with them? He couldn't be sure. Only one way to find out.

"As you wish!"

Before her stood a metahuman who was apparently itching for a fight. He didn't have a starfish on him, but judging from his aquatic theme Starling guessed he was with Starro. This wouldn't be the first time she has faced down a metahuman. A few years ago she was part of a task force along side five other operatives. They were well armed and well funded but that didn't mean much when their enemy could shoot lasers out of his eyes. After a month of chasing him thru the jungle they finally got him, by burning it down.

Now Starling had a fight on her hands, except this time she was poorly armed and had zero prep-time. Good thing there were superheroes around. Before Sea Devil could come any closer she unloaded her pistol into him, fully expecting him to brush it off or dodge it. Next she dove away, dodging his first attack while closing the distance between herself and the other heroes.

"I could use some backup!" she shouted. She didn't like asking for help but it was the only option she had.

Sea Devil felt several violent breezes fly over him. Bullets passing by in a burning flash like comets. Fortunately he'd simply fallen to the ground after coming off the buildings side rather than landing on his feet. If it weren't for his aching knees causing him to immediately collapse, he'd likely be a dead man.

Doing some quick math, he estimated that her clip was probably empty. Seeing no need or benefit to taking this target down, he tested her response to a forward rush before deciding he'd simply had a lapse in judgement by attacking her. This was certainly a very special woman, whether she was with Starro or not.

"I'm guessing you're either special or not with them. Based on the fact you're using a pistol, I'd say it's probably the latter. That and the fact I imagined your help would be right there."

The starfish mob was not being patient for the amphibious adventurer, though, so he began to put some vertical distance between himself and the crowd. With effort, he threw one hand onto his dangling grapnel, "I suggest you take my hand, madam. The elevator will be going up in a moment. You'll be safer up here."

At that moment he used his super senses to reassess the situation, fortunately he was a safe distance from Cobi. Even though he'd only asked a few seconds before, he was becoming impatient with the League's middle man, Snapper Carr. "Make it snappy, Snapper."

He couldn't help but feel slightly useless in this particular situation.

---

“Hahaha!”

Just like he had predicted.

Static let out a few simple chuckles before he shook his head in the ridiculousness of the former Boy Wonder’s quips as his hands became energized in a vibrant display of electrical energy. Joke-after-Joke. It was like being back with the Titans again— probably his most prominent point in his life, though he was hardly a sit in member due to his responsibilities back in Dakota City and the time constraints being a hero in several places at once. But his cape-wearing friends always understood and that made a difference from the guys he used to hang around with in Dakota. Despite having a whole lot of responsibility, Static wouldn’t have preferred it any other way. Had he not got gassed all those years ago he would probably be dealing drugs on some street corner or kicking down some guys door because he decided to snitch on the gangs— in some alternate universe he would be on a BET special about the hood of Dakota or going the way of Jay-Z.

Actually that last one didn’t seem too bad.

Static flung some electricity out as Nightwing jumped around the rooftops and streets like a monkey on some kind of drugs Virgil wasn’t sure existed— but he had always moved like that. Static didn’t know how people without powers could even do what they did without flinching. That kind of courage and gall wasn’t even in his zip-code. But then again, Nightwing was from New Jersey and he was from Indiana so it was obvious that they had different zip-code’s as a rule.

"I seem to have an unwanted pest, care to zap it for me?"

“Yeah man, let’s make this a good one for the bloopers reel!”

Virgil’s lips curled and formed a wide grin as he pushed his hands together before throwing them out towards the incoming enemy.

“SHAKA BAM!”

"I'm guessing you're either special or not with them. Based on the fact you're using a pistol, I'd say it's probably the latter. That and the fact I imagined your help would be right there."

The starfish mob was not being patient for the amphibious adventurer, though, so he began to put some vertical distance between himself and the crowd. With effort, he threw one hand onto his dangling grapnel, "I suggest you take my hand, madam. The elevator will be going up in a moment. You'll be safer up here."

It appeared that the villain Starling was facing was in fact a would-be hero who was a little too eager. She usually didn't trust people she'd just shot at, but given the situation she didn't have much choice. Reluctantly she took his and they zipped upwards to a place far out of the reach of the horde of zombies below. "You might wanna watch the friendly fire, buddy." Taking a moment to catch her breath, Starling took in the view of the massive starfish menacingly floating above its army of mind controlled civilians. What could she do in a situation like this? She didn't have any powers, not super strength or speed. Maybe if she had a rocket launcher, but all she had was a pea shooter and taser. Peering into the crowd below, she tried to spot her friend Aiko. If she couldn't save everyone, at least she could save one.

Shibuya Crossing, Tokyo

_{Interacting with: @Lord Wraith@Nightrunner@Gowi@Konica@FantasyChic@King Kindred}

---

---

Starro swung and lashed out at the assembled heroes, heedless of the collateral damage he caused in the process, smashing lights, buildings and tarmac into dust, the force of his blows colossal. Miss Appear's hastily constructed forcefield managed to protect her new allies, as well as the bystanders that Captain Marvel was still rushing to evacuate, her bulwark infuriating the giant alien. In his fury he struck harder, pushing the magician to the limit.

"SHAZAM!"

Mystical lightning burst from the sky with all the sound and fury of God's own judgement. . . which, in this case, it pretty much was. Nightwing had already revealed Starro's weakness towards electricty, and while his size was now increased tenfold it appeared that the galactic conqueror had become no fonder of the phenomena. The eldritch horror's arms seized in upon itself, convulsing in pain, a psionic scream tearing from it's tortured mind. Like the puppets of a puppeteer suffering a fit, the starfish controlled hordes followed suite, shuddering and howling like men and women possessed. Even the mighty Cobi couldn't help but succumb to the same fate, grizzly axe falling from nerveless fingers as the giant warrior fell to his knees in wordless agony.

Tongue's of lightning still danced upon Starro's flesh as it began to tumble from the skies. The vast majority of the creature's enthralled hordes had already fallen unconscious by the time it's bloated body had struck the tarmac, Mr Unknown among them, victim to Static's electrifying attack. Only a hardy few and Cobi himself still stood to continue the battle, though even the mighty axe-wielder seemed like he had very little taste left for the fight.

_{"You did it. . . ,"} Snapper gasped down the comm-lines.

Suddenly Starro's eye opened wide, bloody iris full of rage and fury. A tendril of alien power snaked out from the Conqueror, and in the space between seconds it spreads outwards, penetrating deep into the minds of all nearby, seeping black despair deep into their psyches.

Virulent images of death and decay, an earth in tattered ruins, humanity brought to heel under the might of the Conquerer, filled the minds-eye of the League Members in Tokyo. It would take a mighty display of willpower to dispel the telepathically summoned funk, but the team would have to act quick, as Starro was already using the brief lull to hover back into the air, readying himself to continue the fight.

Strykers Island, Metropolis

_{Interacting with: @Hillan@GreenGrenade@Polyphemus@MrDidact@Blue Demon@Nightwing95@Weird Tales@FacePunch@LadyRunic}

---

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Shrapnel released a barrage of colorful curses upon being jolted by The Imp's spider, though in truth it was nothing but a minor annoyance to the villain. He'd taken worse than a little electrical shock and come out laughing. He swore even louder when Question's smoke pellets exploded all around him. He was struggling to keep up with so many different attacks, even if they were feebler than he was used to. He fixed his attention of Red Arrow and the Imp, adding the Question to his list to kill later.

Manchester Black had traded blows with Superman, but Donna Troy was several degrees more vicious than the Man of Steel had ever been. The telekinetic squealed like a stuck pig at his broken wrist, the pain so intense that there was no room left for thought in his head, and so he couldn't even begin to mount a defense in the face of her submissive grab. Within a minute Black was unconscious, trundled up in a length of magical lasso, and safely deposited in a quiet corner of the prison.

Metallo didn't prove as susceptible to Donna's attack as Black however. The metal man twisted his limbs at grotesque angles, feats of flexibility that no normal flesh-and-blood human could ever hope to achieve, until he had managed to reverse the hold. Now it was the Amazons turn to find herself ensnared in another's hold, with Metallo torso to torso with her, his legs wrapped tight around her waist, and arms around her neck and arms, holding her limbs tight to her sides. With inexorable force the kryptonite powered cyborg began to squeeze, powerful enough to even break the Princess of Themiscyra.

Livewire caught sight of Stargirl's approach, and wasted no time in firing off a barrage of blue bolts, all the while pouring on more speed to facilitate her escape. It was obvious the electrokinitec was aiming to 'live to fight another day'.

Meanwhile Shrapnel tanked both of Red Arrow's explosives with little difficulty, and was preparing to tear the archer apart with a bombardment of metal when S.T.R.I.P.E's attacks crashed into him. The villain was knocked from his feet, but wasted no time in rolling back to his knees. With an angry snort he hurled an attack at Pat's armored form, yet wasted no time in seeing if it collided before chasing Harper across the yard, aiming to now tear Green Arrow's former-ward apart with his bare hands.

Moonrider's surprise attack on King Shark sent the metahuman careening wildly through the water, though the aquatic villain quickly managed to arrest his own momentum and right himself. Without checking his pace he dove deeper into the inky waters, so quick that the New God struggled to follow his movements. It was near instantly apparent that the shark was the faster here, under the waves. Nanaue came up from underneath Moonrider, swimming faster than any torpedo, one hand outstretched to reach for his enemies ankle, his mouth wide open and baring rows of yellowed, razor sharp teeth, eager to mulch Mark into chum.

Bloodsport finally stopped struggling and went limp in The Question's grasp. Grumbling, the man with no face tore off his necktie and quickly bound the mercenary's hands behind his back- a strong man like DuBois would recover before too long and there was no sense in letting him get up and make trouble. Myra had given him the tie a few Christmases ago. He was going to want it back.

With Bloodsport restrained, The Question stood and scanned the situation. It had not improved measurably in the last minute or so. More supervillains were busting out of captivity, and he saw his allies locked in combat. He had to do something, but what could a man do with only his fists and a handful of smoke bombs.

The line between courage and stupidity is a thin one. But sometimes, that line must be crossed for noble reasons.

He spied Red Arrow and the strange woman fleeing from a visibly enraged Shrapnel. They were obviously less evenly matched than say, Wonder Girl and Metallo. Maybe that was the best place for him.

Coattails flapping, The Question sprinted towards the fray with no real plan, lungs burning from exertion. Maybe Tot was right, maybe he should lay off the smokes. Bad for his lungs.

Wait. . .

He fumbled in one of his hidden pockets, came up with twenty or so smoke pellets. The Question made a habit of reading up on supervillains whenever he could. Not that he had many to fight in Hub City, but chance favors the prepared mind, as Pastuer said. Shrapnel had inhuman strength, nigh invulnerability. His entire body was made out of living metal.

But Shrapnel still needed to breathe.

The Question stripped off his long overcoat, stretched it out like a hammock, dropped his arsenal of smoke pellets onto the taut surface. Right behind Shrapnel, The Question leaped into the air, pulling the coat tight over Shrapnel's head- and crushing all the smoke pellets against his face. Shrapnel would have no choice but to breathe in the choking, noxious smoke- at last until he crushed The Question to death with his metal body. But at least he could buy some time for Red Arrow. And who knows, maybe Shrapnel wouldn't crush him to death. Unlikely, but possible.

"I must really like you!" The Question yelled to Red Arrow. "Because I hate Metropolis, I hate supervillains, I hate the thought of getting killed, and I hate doing stupid things like this!" Wrapping his legs around the metal man's torso, he held on for dear life as the blinded, coughing Shrapnel thrashed about.

Donna took some solace in the fact that she had probably saved Jon's life. She just hoped that didn't mean yielding her own. Metallo was far more agile than she gave him credit for, a fact that made her curse herself mentally. Son of a Sire. I should have seen that one coming. There's a reason this creature can hold his own against Kal-El. Donna's training kept her mind analyzing, working through the problem as Metallo started to squeeze the life out of her. Anyone with less force of will or discipline would have started panicking. But Donna had been taught by the best. She did not panic. But her options were limited. She couldn't reach any of her weapons, her dagger was uselessly locked in her hand and against her side as Metallo squeezed. She couldn't strike with her knees. There was no point in wasting precious air by flailing around. It was getting harder and harder to keep her head clear as the pain built up. But as she had learned to hold her breath quite longer than any normal man could, she had at least a little time. Think, Donna, think. What would Diana do?

Donna realized she had one advantage over Metallo. Flight. Troia had honed her senses and situational awareness to razor sharpness. As such, she was reasonably sure of her position in the air relative to the walls and floor of the prison, despite being unable to confirm visually. And so Troia, used her mystical sandals to propel the locked pair towards the nearest wall, letting out a mighty war cry and repeatedly headbutting the metallic skull of her foe. It hurt to strike Metallo in such a manner, but the pain was barely tolerable as she kept ramming her hard forehead into him, hoping to disorient him. As she flew into the wall and knocked her head against his, Troia strained and pulled with her arms, grunting with effort as her demigod muscles burned and pushed against Metallo's robotic strength. If she could just get him to ease off just a little bit, she had a chance.

Donna braced herself, mentally counting down the moments before they hit the wall. The impact made her grit her teeth as she rammed Metallo into the wall at high speed. With one burst of mighty effort, she headbutted him again and tried to break free. Hopefully the force of her blows and strain of her muscles was enough to allow her to disentangle herself from Metallo. If she got free, she would adjust her strategy and pull out her scimitar to fight Metallo at mid-range. If not, Donna would use the last of her breath to push away from the wall with her legs and slam Metallo back first into the ground and pray she got lucky.