Swampfire stepped into the hallway, his green form radiated heat. He saw Lois, Jasmine, Saya, Shizuka, Saeko, and Yuriko emerging from their rooms. They looked alarmed.
Then he saw Lefi, Miia, Papi, Cera, Mero, Suu, Rachnera, and Illuna coming through the corridor. They were dressed as they had been the day before. They had barely woken.
Shizuka yawned, rubbing her temple. "This alarm again," she remarked.
"We have intruders," Jasmine responded. She thought back to hearing it before.
Papi flapped her wings, tilting her head in confusion. "Are they bad people?" she asked.
Lefi's vertical pupils flickered sharply as she looked above. "Thou are many," she replied.
"How many, Lefi?" Swampfire responded as he turned to her.
Mero looked at the green creature. "Who are you?" she asked.
"That's James," Lois responded as she crossed her arms.
"Darling?" Miia asked as she looked at the green-skinned figure before her.
"He does possess the ability to transform into different beings," Yuriko responded.
"Lefi, how many did you say there were?" Saya responded as she narrowed her eyes.
"A great many. Yet some draw breath no longer," Lefi responded as she stood firm.
"Zombies? Undead?" Saeko asked as she looked up.
Lefi shook her head. "Nay, these creatures differ," she responded.
Swampfire thought who could this be. He thought they were not zombies or the undead but they were not alive. "Me and Lefi will check this out," he announced.
"Darling, we want to help," Miia said as she moved forward.
Cera straightened. "Master, I wouldst die for thee," she added.
"Papi will fight," Papi said as she fluttered her wings eagerly.
"Danna-sama, my sword is yours," Saeko added.
Swampfire looked at them. He thought they would not want to sit back on the side lines. He nodded. "Alright. Prepare yourselves, but don't take any unnecessary risks," he said.
He looked up. "Rei is getting changed, make sure she knows," he added.
Then he looked at Lefi ."Let's go," he added.
Lefi gave a knowing nod.
Swampfire summoned the elevator. Lefi and Swampfire entered the lift. He saw the girls looking at him. Swampfire pressed the First Floor button. The door closed and the lift moved.
"What do you think is there?" Swampfire asked.
Lefi smiled. "Nothing, thou can beat," she responded.
The lift door opened and they saw the labyrinth made of dark stone corridors, the walls lined with jagged edges that seemed to stretch endlessly.
Swampfire and Lefi stepped forward and looked around. Then, they saw several figures emerging from the shifting shadows, their black skin glistened, their red claws twitched, and their faces reduced to nothing but bone-white skulls.
The moment their hollow eyes landed on Swampfire and Lefi, they charged towards them. Their movements were unnaturally fast and their footsteps echoed like thunder in the narrow corridors.
Swampfire looked at them. "Dead Water," he muttered, instantly recognizing the creatures from the DC series.
Without hesitation, he raised his hand, flames igniting at his fingertips. "Fireball," he said as blazing orbs of molten fire erupted from his palms. He threw them at the Dead Water. They streaked through the air like comets, their heat warping the space around them.
The fireballs struck the Dead Water. The flames licked across their skin, but the creatures barely slowed, their twisted forms pushing forward, unrelenting.
Lefi stepped forward. There was energy pulsing at her fingertips. She raised her hand, the ground trembling beneath her as hidden fissures cracked open.
"Lefi try not to destroy everyone here," Swampfire remarked.
She controlled her power. "Fireblast," Lefi said as a massive beam of pure fire tore through the air, its heat blinding, its force making the walls shudder.
The Dead Water got hit. Their bodies twisting under the impact before disintegrating into nothingness, reduced to mere embers in the void of the maze.
"Good work, Lefi," Swampfire responded.
Lefi walked front. "Knowest thou what manner of creatures these be?" she asked.
Swampfire exhaled, scanning the fading remnants of their defeated foes. "They are just as you said, neither alive nor truly dead," he responded. "Constructs, created by someone from a not so good place," he added.
Then, the shadows shifted. A new wave of Dead Water surged forward, their clawed hands scraping the maze's walls, their hollow skull-like faces twisted with malice.
Swampfire looked at them. "Mud Blast," he said as a torrent of thick mud burst from his palms, surging forward with explosive force. The projectile slammed into the charging Dead Water, sending them flying backward, crashing against the stone walls, their limbs twitching as the sticky mud hardened and immobilizing them instantly.
The creatures growled, their forms writhing against their earth-bound prison.
Then they heard footsteps clicking. From the twisting corridor ahead, a figure emerged, stepping into the dim torchlight.
They saw a woman with long, dark hair. She had pale skin, eerily smooth. She had a bat-shaped mask. She had a menacing smile. She wore a dark brown and green armored corset. She had black armored pants and knee-high boots. She approached them with a jagged trident in her hand.
"You are a wanted man," she announced as she looked at the creature. He had a symbol on the chest. "I can tell you are that man with that power," she said. "And you are standing between me and my goal," she added as she slammed the trident on the ground.
Swampfire felt his pulse steady. He thought she was from the Dark Multiverse. He thought her goal was to retrieve her lost universe which was being consumed by the dark multiverse. Then she joined the Dark Knights, led by the Batman Who Laughs. He thought he was dangerous.
"Why are you here?" Swampfire asked. "And how did you get here?" he asked.
Drowned's lips curled into a grin. She looked towards the green symbol glowing at the center of his chest. "I will take you back and answer all your questions," she responded.
Lefi stepped forward, her tail shifting ever so slightly. "Thou art bound for nowhere," she said.
Drowned's smirk widened. "Do you truly wish to fight me, little girl?" she taunted. "You dealt with them swiftly, but can you say the same for your friends who will deal with them?" she asked.
Her laughter was sharp, cutting through the maze. "Besides, I did not come alone," she said.
Swampfire's thoughts raced. The other Dark Knights.If even one were present, it could be catastrophic."Lefi, go back and help the others." Swampfire said.
Swampfire grinned slightly. "I will give you lots of biscuits," he added.
A flicker of amusement crossed Lefi's expression. "See that thou dost keep thy word." She turned and shot through the air.
Drowned smiled. "Was that wise?" she asked.
Swampfire's stance tightened, his fingers flexing as he raised his hand going towards the Ultimatrix symbol.
"You'll be telling me that," Swampfire said.