"The Kryptonian has unearthed the Infernal Shrine, Raven," Wonder Woman spoke in a deep voice.
"The who to the what?" Blue Beetle blurted out.
"It's an ancient shrine built by Satanists," Raven said grimly. "It possesses immense magical properties. Used as a conduit… it could bring my father fully into this dimension."
"You are the final final missing piece," Flash said.
"You will come with us willingly," Martian Manhunter added, "or you will be taken by force."
"Ain't happening," Robin said coldly, stepping forward without hesitation.
"You would dare challenge us?" Wonder Woman asked as she advanced, unsheathing her sword.
The moment Wonder Woman's sword cleared its sheath, Nina was already in motion.
She vanished in a burst of speed and reappeared directly in front of the Amazon, launching a brutal uppercut. Wonder Woman barely managed to block in time,the impact shattered the ground beneath her feet, a violent shockwave rippling outward and forcing her teammates to leap away to avoid being caught in it.
For a few seconds, Wonder Woman held her ground.
Then she was launched skyward.
Nina bent her legs and jumped after her, the air cracking beneath her feet. Mid-air, Wonder Woman twisted gracefully, sheathing her sword in a single fluid motion. She ducked under Nina's spinning kick, caught her leg, and hurled her toward the distant sea.
Nina hit the water with a massive splash, skidding across the surface for several meters before coming to a stop. She straightened, standing effortlessly atop the water, a smirk tugging at her lips.
It really had been a while since she'd sparred with her mother,especially without her holding back.
That was exactly why Nina had chosen her first.
A sonic boom echoed as Wonder Woman closed the distance in an instant. She threw a punch the moment she entered striking range.
Nina met it head-on.
Their fists collided with a thunderous boom, displacing the water beneath them and sending towering waves rolling outward. They pulled back simultaneously and followed with kicks.Bang.
The clash sent both of them skidding backward. Nina backflipped cleanly, landing lightly on the water's surface and immediately dashed aside as twin red beams tore through the spot she'd been standing on, boiling the water on contact.
Nina followed the scorched trail with her eyes while sprinting across the sea until she spotted it.
Martian Manhunter.
He cut off the beams and surged forward, Wonder Woman flanking him from the side.
Nina's hands blurred through seals.
Two massive water dragons erupted from the ocean, roaring as they surged forward,one aimed at Wonder Woman, the other at Martian Manhunter.
Wonder Woman shot upward to evade, while Martian Manhunter turned intangible, phasing straight through the dragon as he continued toward Nina.
She pulled out a Thunder God kunai and flashed toward him,then released the weapon mid-flight and threw a punch straight at his face.
Martian Manhunter turned intangible just in time.
Nina passed straight through him.
The instant she fully phased through, Martian Manhunter spun around, turning tangible mid-punch but before it could land Nina vanished.
She reappeared behind him, catching her kunai and launching a devastating kick before he could react.
Bang.
Martian Manhunter was sent crashing toward the beach, carving a deep trench through the sand.
Nina puffed her cheeks and spat out a massive fireball that roared through the air.
Martian Manhunter shook his head as he lay in the trench, his clarity returning just in time to see the inferno bearing down on him. His body seized in pure horror.
The fireball engulfed him in a violent explosion.
A moment later, he stumbled out of the flames, groaning in agony,then dropped to his knees as dark, inky smoke poured from his mouth. He collapsed face-first into the sand, unconscious.
Nina turned back just in time to see Wonder Woman evade the remaining water dragon. The Amazon plunged her sword into its neck and dragged the blade down its length, dispersing it back into harmless water.
Nina bit her finger, unfurled a small scroll, and smeared blood across it.
Smoke erupted as her Gunbai appeared in her hand.
She gripped it tightly,then she charged straight at Wonder Woman.
Minutes earlier
All Thena saw was a blur,and a thunderous boom.
In the next heartbeat, her mother and aunt were already fighting far out in the ocean, shockwaves rippling across the water with every collision. The sheer scale of it made it clear that she still had a long way to go before reaching that level of power.
Thena barely had time to process the thought before her instincts screamed.
She crossed her arms just in time.
Boom.
A punch slammed into her guard, launching her backward across the ground. She skidded to a stop, boots carving trenches through concrete as she caught only a glimpse of a red blur streaking past.
'Man… this guy is fast', Thena thought.
Her eyes snapped around, tracking the movement just as it vanished,then reappeared right in front of her. She swung, but the figure slipped past her punch effortlessly.
Pain exploded across her back.
She was sent flying, crashing straight into Titans Tower. Concrete shattered on impact, dust and debris erupting outward.
Where she had stood moments ago now stood Flash, lightning crackling across his body as sparks danced along his limbs as he vanished.
A massive boulder came hurtling down, smashing into the ground where Flash had been a split second earlier. He skidded to a stop and looked up.
Terra hovered above on a platform of stone, her hands glowing yellow as chunks of rock and concrete tore free from the ground around her. With a sharp motion, she hurled them all at once.
Flash blurred, weaving between the projectiles as they obliterated the street behind him. He accelerated straight toward her.
Terra clenched her teeth.
The ground beneath Flash fractured violently, splitting and buckling as she tried to trap him mid-stride. He stumbled but didn't stop.
Instead, he kicked off the very rocks she had thrown, using them as footholds. In a flash of red and lightning, he launched upward and drove a punch square into Terra's jaw.
Her eyes went wide as she was sent plummeting toward the ground.
Thena burst out of the rubble, chunks of concrete sliding off her shoulders as she straightened. She rubbed her back where Flash's punch had landed, feeling a sharp sting flare across her skin.
"Tch…" she muttered under her breath, teeth grinding.
She raised one hand and formed a single seal.
"Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu."
Smoke detonated outward in a violent rush. When it cleared, twenty identical Thenas stood in a wide circle around her, each one wearing the same fierce expression.
They all let out a unified war cry and charged Flash at once.
End of Chapter
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