Chapter 18: Sacrifice and the Moment of Vulnerability
The desert air crackled with raw, untamed power. Vandal Savage, a whirlwind of furious magic, lunged at Adam, his eyes burning with unholy fire. Adam, his telekinetic shield straining under the immense pressure of Savage's previous blast, knew he couldn't hold both. He was a human shield, but even he had limits. The ritual, the golden beam from the Waverider, pulsed behind him, agonizingly close to completion.
'This is it. This is the moment. The script. I know what's coming. I know what has to happen. But can I… can I actually let it? Can I watch it unfold? No. I can't. I won't. I'll find another way. There has to be another way.'
Adam pushed more energy into his telekinetic shield, trying to deflect Savage's physical lunge, but the immortal was too fast, too powerful in his rage. He slammed into Adam's shield, shattering it with a resounding crack, sending Adam hurtling backward, slamming into the ground near the ritual site. Pain, blinding and all-consuming, exploded through his body. His regeneration immediately kicked in, fighting the trauma, but the sheer force of the blow left him gasping, disoriented.
Savage, his eyes fixed on the golden beam, on the nearing completion of the ritual, raised his hands, preparing a final, devastating magical attack to shatter the Waverider's connection and destroy the ritual.
"NO!" Rip roared, firing his Chronos blaster, but the shots merely deflected off Savage's aura.
Sara, Mick, Ray, Firestorm – they threw themselves at Savage, but he swatted them away with contemptuous ease, focused solely on the ritual.
Then, a voice, calm and chillingly resolute, cut through the chaos. "Not today, Savage."
Adam, struggling to clear his vision, saw him. Leonard Snart. Captain Cold. He stood between Savage and the golden beam, his cold gun aimed, not at Savage, but at the ground beneath his feet. His eyes, usually filled with a calculating glint, now held a profound, almost peaceful determination.
'Snart. No. This isn't… this can't be it. Not like this. I knew it was coming, but I thought… I thought I could change it. I thought I could find a way. No. No, no, no!'
"Snart, no! Don't do it!" Adam screamed, trying to push himself up, trying to move, but his body was still reeling from Savage's attack.
Snart spared a quick glance at Adam, a faint, knowing smirk on his lips. "Someone's gotta be the hero, Anomaly. And I'm not exactly cut out for the long haul." He winked, a final, defiant gesture.
Then, with a chillingly calm voice, he uttered the words that would echo through their minds forever: "There are no strings on me."
He fired. Not a blast of ice, but a concentrated, unstable burst of absolute zero, aimed directly at the ground, at the very nexus of the temporal energy that Savage was trying to draw upon. The blast was designed not to kill Savage, but to create a localized temporal anomaly, a singularity of cold that would disrupt the flow of energy, protecting the ritual.
Savage roared in fury, realizing Snart's intent. He unleashed a massive magical blast, directly at Snart.
But it was too late.
The temporal cold singularity erupted, a blinding flash of white and blue light that momentarily consumed Snart, Savage's blast, and the immediate area. The ground vibrated violently, a deep, resonant hum filling the air.
Adam watched, his heart tearing. He saw the flash, saw Snart disappear. The pain in his chest was nothing compared to the agony in his soul. He had known. He had known this was coming. And he had been powerless to stop it.
The Cosmic Convergence, fueled by the Waverider's temporal drive and now protected by Snart's sacrifice, reached its climax. The golden beam from the Waverider intensified, slamming into the ground, into the very heart of the meteor site. The ancient runes on the ground glowed with an ethereal light, and a massive surge of pure, cosmic energy erupted, washing over the entire area.
Savage, caught in the periphery of Snart's singularity and the overwhelming power of the ritual, roared in agony. The dark magic crackling around him flickered, then died. His eyes, which had burned with unholy power, dimmed, becoming merely human again, filled with a raw, desperate fear. His movements became sluggish, his form less imposing.
The ritual had worked. Savage's connection to his immortality, to the "Osiris's Breath," was severed. He was no longer truly immortal. He was vulnerable.
He stumbled backward, clutching his head, a look of utter disbelief and terror on his face. "No! My power! It's gone! You… you fools! What have you done?!"
The Legends, stunned by Snart's sacrifice, but galvanized by Savage's sudden weakness, stared at him. The air was thick with the dust of battle, the lingering scent of ozone, and the profound silence that followed such a devastating loss.
Adam, pushing himself up, felt a cold, burning rage ignite within him. Snart was gone. His friend. His rival. The man who, despite his criminal past, had chosen to be a hero. And Savage was still standing. Weakened, but still breathing.
'You took him from me. You took him. And I knew. I knew it would happen. But I couldn't stop it. No more. No more. This ends now.'
He looked at Savage, his eyes blazing with a fierce, protective fury. The sarcastic quips, the easy humor, were gone, replaced by a grim, unwavering determination. He would make Savage pay. For Snart. For all the lives he had taken. For every moment of pain he had inflicted.
The battle wasn't over. But the rules had changed. Savage was vulnerable. And the Legends, fueled by grief and a burning desire for justice, were ready to deliver the final blow.
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