Chapter 62 : Turning tides

[Author note : New chapter. Enjoy ! And as always, come visit my Patréon page (e instead of é) by searching for Cathbel on their website. Also, please leave a comment and/or a review. I read and see all... Even if I don't always hit the like button or comment]

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The Girl of Steel was currently flying over the Atlantic ocean, coming back from her underwater base. Ever since she arrived on Earth and built it using the crystal her father left with her, she often went there. It was… A piece of home. It contained all the knowledge of Krypton, along with AIs of her father and mother. Also included were the comforts she couldn't find on this world. Or, at least, not without a substantial amount of this world's currency. Multi-function robots, synth-building facilities (3D printers, on Earth, though at this point, it was still only a restricted and secret technology of the army), a comfortable Kryptonian bedroom… But the most important aspect of it all : the quiet !

Underwater, all the incessant and deafening chatter she could never escape from, it was dulled to a manageable level. So much so, in fact, that she couldn't make out the sounds and instead of irritating her, they acted more as soothing background noise to lull her to sleep.

So, yeah… She often went there. This didn't mean that she hadn't accepted her fate on this new world. She was the Last Daughter of Krypton, survivor, immigrant… And expected Savior. She was coming along on this, as well. Even if she sometimes escaped from the noise of it all. After all, nobody could be Super a hundred percent of the time, no matter how Kal made it look like !

She knew the truth about Kal : he took breaks sometimes as well ! In fact, he was kind of forced to, since unlike her, he had a 'secret identity'. This meant that, not only was he working a real job, he nurtured relationships with friends and colleagues, his adoptive family, herself and his recent girlfriend… So, yeah. Superman wasn't 'Super' all the time.

Now, she was feeling refreshed and messing around over the ocean. She did quite a few acrobatics, dived underwater to swim with a school of fishes, got back up over the clouds before descending once more to trace her fingers on the water at her top speed.

Although her friend and roommate Siobhan was waiting for her, she had a life of her own in NY : her own punk rock band ! So, Kara knew that she wouldn't miss her for a while yet. She wasn't in a hurry. Unfortunately, her super-hearing picked up something that brought her mood down very fast. A Metahuman conflict causing havoc… In the heart of her city !

Her face settled in a grim frown and she stopped in the air to reorient herself. And then, in a purposeful manner, she pointed her fists toward New York and flew…

* * * * *

The tides had turn. For the better. At least, it was for Robin ! Kid Flash was back and was now running circles around Leash and Warblade, aided by Solstice and Superboy, while he and Wonder Girl were left fighting against Grunge and Ravager. Sure, they still couldn't do much against the wild man since Cassie didn't seem powerful enough to really inflict damage on the man. And seeing the reinforcements, Ravager had started shooting again.

At first, the boy wonder was baffled by the entire situation. Superboy and Wonder Girl were the reason why they were even here in the first place ; their fight to the death, or whatever it was, had to end ! And now, it did… In a way that no one would have expected. He wasn't sure why, or how it was even possible. Nevertheless, he wasn't gonna complain ! If he could survive, and maybe gain more allies in the fight against N.O.W.H.E.R.E., well… all the better !

He was, once again, playing cat and mouse with the female leader of this group of misfits. Actually, cat and mouse might not be the best comparison. It was more like Duck Hunt, where he was the duck. Only this particular duck was slippery like an eel and retaliated with tools. Or in this case, Batarangs.

Of course, he knew by now that he wasn't going to touch her ; she was much too skilled for that. It was just meant to disrupt her, prevent her from taking her time to align her shots. Plus, it allowed him to gain on her, slowly. Perhaps, if he kept at it, he would reach her before she put a bullet in him !

Superboy was like a wrecking ball. Taking no heed for his physical well-being, trusting in the fact that he was invulnerable. It wasn't so, just a few days ago, after his 'fight' with Silver Lad. The armored hero had somehow been able to inflict harm upon him, even without Kriptonite. The clone still wasn't sure why… However, in this case it didn't matter ! These guys couldn't hurt him. He knew, because he fought them in 'friendly spars', or what passed as such in their organization.

Leash was annoying. He could teleport himself and anything he touched with his psionic tethers, and to normal people, or at least ones without invulnerability, he could whip them with the same things. To him, it was just annoying being teleported around. So, that's the only thing he tried to avoid.

Warblade on the other hand… He was fair game. Like him, he was a close combat fighter, albeit with the ability to manipulate the bio-armor covering him through his thoughts. How satisfying it was to just bury his fist in the psycho's face ! The man was a sadistic bastard who actually chose to work for N.O.W.H.E.R.E. because he was promised he could hurt people. And that's precisely what he did.

The Ravagers, the team led by Rose Wilson and the one he was supposed to join in time, were usually sent to deal (often with prejudice) with Metahumans deemed 'critical'. Their prerogative was to capture or kill, using any and all means. They put the black in black ops… Even though they weren't under the government that he knew of.

The clone ducked under a whip strike. When he rose back up, Warblade's sharp metallic claws were closing in on his face. With a smirk, he received the attempted cut with his head, striking back with as much, if not more strength.

« Aaaaah ! » The Meta cried, the metal bending and cracking in an awful grinding noise.

What followed was a series of powerful punches : right, left, right, left hook, uppercut. He finished the combo with an overhead hammer strike, creating yet another crater at the point were Warblade's body impacted the ground.

While he was stunned, Superboy didn't let up, just like Wonder Girl had done to him moments before. Idly he wondered if he should just truly end the psychopath, then and there… He'd probably save his future victims a world of grief.

Not far from the two, another trio was engaged in their own dance of violence. Solstice, still unfamiliar with real combat, threw photon blasts while flying around. One of the few lessons Ned Stark taught her was that she had an advantage over most of her opponents : she could fly ! It was harder to shoot a moving target, but a target moving in three dimensions ? Much, much harder ! If she could remain unpredictable. Now, the problem wit that was that… her aim sucked ! If it was hard to touch her, it was just as hard for her to hit what she wanted… or what she didn't.

Kid Flash might be fast, but he still wasn't faster than light… and that's what she was blasting. Still, Bart Allen weaved between Leash's strikes and his own partner's blasts expertly. For a while now, he'd seen numerous occasions in the fight where he could have ended it… However, he didn't.

His focus wasn't just on the fight, here. For once, he was paying attention to the whole situation. Superboy was handling his opponent without trouble apparently. Though why he was suddenly turning on them, the kid didn't know. Solstice was distracting their enemy, preventing him to help his teammates and him running around him ensure he stayed distracted.

On the other hand, Robin and Wonder Girl… He wouldn't say they were in trouble exactly : the fight seemed rather even. Too even in fact. Maybe he should go over there and help ? But first, it was time to deal with this poser !

Just as he was about to burst into action in an attempt to take their opponent down, a sonic boom was heard in the distant sky. Kid Flash almost paused, looking in the direction of the sound. Although he didn't, he still slowed down enough for the whip guy to try and send him away once more. Seeing the whip coming closer, Kid Flash bent backward, his momentum pushing him forward. Once he was safe, he tried to recover his balance… Only to crash and roll a few times. He recovered almost instantly, of course.

However, the sight of the girl floating in the air stopped him.

« Super-Babe ! » He muttered dreamily.