Emergence 2.15b

– o – o – o – o – o – o – o –

August 20th, 2010

18:06 PM EDT

The flare of heat dissipated, leaving only scorched and burning tall grass around the team and revealing Superboy with his back to the inferno, an unconscious Miss Martian cradled in his arms. His black shirt was singed, smoke curling off his broad shoulders, but the clone was basically untouched.

"She'll be okay," he grunted back at them, muscles tensing as he prepared to run. "I'll get her to the ship!"

As soon as Conner leapt away, a wave of white streaked through the air. Zeke's heart leapt into his throat as he dove for the ground, feeling the chill of ice pass inches above his head. Too close!

The countryside transformed in an instant, patches of solid ice spreading across the field like a time-lapse of winter. Zeke scrambled to his feet, hands flaring with blue energy as his eyes darted around, searching for the source of the attack. His breath came out in visible puffs, the temperature plummeting.

"Well, lookie here, Angel," a masculine voice called out, barely audible over the crackling flames. "Are you seeing what I'm seeing?"

"I think I do, cuddle bumpkin," a feminine voice replied, her shadow dancing and flickering behind the wall of flames by the now-destroyed gas station. "Looks like Miss Nosy herself brought some backup."

Observe, Zeke thought, his blue eyes flaring as he activated his power. All at once, information flooded both his vision and his mind. Observe!

Observed: Heatstroke

> Heatstroke Lv 51Solar Delinquent

> A femme fatale that can light up your life - or end it.

> Juvenile record hotter than her flames, now warming the cold heart of her icy boyfriend.

Observed: Coldsnap

> Coldsnap Lv 45

> Frostbitten Felon

> Ex-juvie's coolest customer, turning crime scenes into winter wonderlands.

> Dating a human flamethrower proves opposites attract.

Great, Zeke thought, his stomach churning. We're fighting the evil version of a Disney Channel movie.

A figure shot down from the sky, landing with a burst of flame that sent the rest of the team scrambling. Zeke's eyes widened as he took in the young woman before them. She was hot in every sense of the word, her hands aflame with roiling balls of fire. Her black leather tube top and bright red miniskirt seemed impervious to the heat, as did her long fingerless gloves.

She grinned, her teeth gleaming in the firelight. "More fun for me," she purred, her voice dripping with malice. "Some sidekick slaughter sounds like a good way to round the day ou-"

Aqualad's enraged scream cut through her banter. The Atlantean rushed forward, water bearers drawn as gallons of swirling liquid surged around him. "Surrender n-"

Zeke's warning died in his throat as Aqualad's water instantly turned to ice, freezing him in place mid-stride. Oh, crap.

"Uh-uh, no touching my angel," another figure landed beside the pyrokinetic. A blonde young man in a white tank top, ripped jeans, and sneakers stepped forward, a tribal tattoo sleeve adorning his left arm. His right arm was coated in fractals of ice, glinting dangerously in the firelight.

Oh good, he got rid of the soul patch, Zeke thought absurdly, his mind latching onto the stupidest detail as adrenaline surged through his system.

"Or I'll have to cool you down," Bryce added with a smirk, flexing his icy fingers.

Wonder Girl slammed down between the villains and the team, her landing cracking the frozen ground. "You are murderers!" she shouted, her voice ringing with righteous fury. "And you shall face punishment for the lives you have taken!"

"Those humans were a birthday present to my girlfriend!" Bryce shouted back, sending a hail of ice shards at Wonder Girl. She deflected them with her bracers, the ping ping ping of ice on metal echoing across the field.

"Yeah," Attigan chuckled, her hands blazing brighter. "I like it when they scream."

She unleashed a wave of heat that sent Zeke, Wally, Artemis, and Robin scrambling for cover. Zeke dove behind a wall of ice, heart pounding. Please let this be a normal mission. With the Team? No way!

"So, if you're not human," Wally snarked, zipping between streams of fire and ice in a blur of yellow and red, "then what are you?"

Bryce's face contorted with rage, raising one hand up as more fractals formed across the arm without tattoos. "We're more than that!" he roared, pressing the advantage as he hurled blades of ice at the team. "We're so much more beyond human, it's not even funny."

Artemis snorted, the archer already flipping into the air with an arrow drawn. "You say that like it's a good thing!" The green arrow flew from her bow, the thing exploding as it struck the ground near the cryokinetic's feet and sending him jumping back.

My chance! Zeke rolled out from behind his cover, hands glowing blue as he fired off rapid bursts of energy at Bryce. Most missed, but one clipped the distracted villain's shoulder, earning a hiss of pain. Yes!

His victory was short-lived as Attigan turned her attention to him, her eyes blazing like twin infernos. "Oh, the kid wants to play?" she cooed, her voice sickly sweet. "Let's see how well you dance, shorty!"

Zeke yelped as the ground beneath his feet burst into a wall of flames. He leapt back, the heat searing his face even through his goggles.

Robin's voice cut through the chaos. "Team, regroup! We need a plan!"

Zeke scrambled towards the sound of Robin's voice, narrowly avoiding another blast of ice from Bryce. He skidded to a stop beside Artemis, who was notching another arrow.

"Any bright ideas, Boy Wonder?" she growled, letting the arrow fly. It exploded in a cloud of foam near Attigan's feet, but the villainess just melted through it with a laugh.

"Working on it," Robin muttered, his fingers flying over his holo-computer. "Their powers seem to cancel each other out. If we can get them to hit each other..."

"Easier said than done," Zeke panted, his hands still glowing with energy. "They're kind of in sync, if you hadn't noticed."

Wally zipped up to them, his hair singed and smoking slightly. "Yeah, it's like they can read each other's minds or something."

"Or they're just really good at teamwork," Artemis shot back, drawing another arrow.

With a powerful landing, Superboy leapt back into the field, his boots leaving a small crater in the frozen ground as it shook beneath them. "M'gann's fine," he growled, eyes focused and furious. "Let's take these weirdos down."

"Oh, you're back?" Bryce smirked, a small hill of compacted white ice forming above his raised hands. With a grunt, he hurled it at Superboy, the massive projectile hurtling through the air like a frozen comet.

The clone's eyes narrowed, his muscles tensing. In one fluid motion, he smashed the ice aside with a single backfist, turning the massive projectile into nothing more harmful than a snow shower.

"You're weak!" Superboy snarled, staring daggers at the murderous couple. "Next!"

Coldsnap's eyes widened, and he leapt back like a spooked cat, sneakered feet skidding on the icy ground. "Shut this loser up, sweets. Fry him!"

A dark grin spread across Superboy's face, teeth bared. "Yeah, sweets. Fry me."

Heatstroke rushed forward, her hands blazing like twin suns, the air around her shimmering with the intense heat. She hurled flares of fire that exploded the ground like mortars, each blast sending her higher into the air, her fiery hair trailing behind her like a comet's tail. Superboy and Wonder Girl leapt up to meet her, their bodies cutting through the air like rockets, but a sudden bright blast of fire slammed Superboy back to earth, the force of the impact shaking the ground and sending a plume of dirt and debris into the air.

The impact shook the ground, leaving a Superboy-shaped crater, the edges still smoking from the heat of the blast.

Zeke winced, his teeth rattling from the force. Ouch.

But Superboy was already back on his feet, shaking his head like he'd just been splashed with water. "I got my feet dipped in magma last night," he taunted, only a slight stumble betraying his dizziness. "Not enough!"

"Good news!" Zeke yelled to his team, blurring away from a beam of ice that froze the ground where he'd been standing just a moment before, the cold air biting at his skin. "They pissed off Superboy!"

"Nice!" Robin's voice cut through the chaos as he leapt over a wall of ice Coldsnap sent his way, his cape fluttering behind him. "Wally, I'm gonna need you to get Aqualad into the ship and then run diversions on Jersey Shore Mr. Freeze."

"On it!" Wally took off in a blur of red and yellow, grabbing the frozen Aqualad by a leg and dragging him at highway speeds across the field.

Robin turned to Artemis, his mouth in a tight but focused line. "Artemis, you have knockout gas arrows on you?"

The archer shook her head, already nocking another arrow. "All out, tiny bat."

"Don't call me that," Robin sang back, forced to dive out of the way of shards of ice that whistled through the air like deadly darts, each and every one of them embedding themselves in the ground where he'd been standing. "I'm gonna need bola arrows, impact arrows, and exploding arrows in that order."

Artemis's lips quirked into a smirk as she found herself copying Robin's movements, dodging and weaving as a snarling Bryce turned his attention her way, his hands glowing with an icy blue light. "I can do two out of three," she called back, her voice barely audible over the roar of the ice. "Plus smokescreens, if that works."

"That's fine," Robin nodded, his fingers flying over his holo-computer. "Just stagger them on that jerkwad. Never let him guess what's coming next."

"Can do!" Artemis flipped away, another arrow already ready to fly.

Zeke dashed over to the Boy Wonder, his feet kicking up a spray of snow and ice as he skidded to a stop. "And me?"

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Robin's mask lenses narrowed as he looked at Zeke. "How hard can you hit?"

Zeke's mind flashed back to the monstrous ten-foot-tall form of the General, remembering the raw power that surged through him that night, tearing through and apart the transformed villain's arm. A dark grin spread across his face. "... pretty hard!"

Robin's tone sharpened, a bit of warning in his voice. "...without killing."

Zeke's grin faltered slightly. "...probably?"

The Boy Wonder stared at him for a good few seconds, lenses of his mask narrowing alongside his eyes before he let out a sigh. "Good enough!" Robin nodded, giving him the go-ahead "Break!"

The team sprang into action, a well-oiled machine despite the chaos. Artemis unleashed a barrage of arrows one after another, each one forcing Bryce to dodge or defend. Robin darted in and out, his Rob-a-rangs exploding around the icy murderer and keeping the villain off balance as he laughed like a maniac.

"Is that all you got, Frosty?" Robin taunted, flipping over a blast of ice that froze the ground where he'd been standing just a moment before. "I've seen snowmen with better aim!"

Zeke charged forward, his hands glowing with blue energy, the power thrumming through his veins like a live wire. He fired off rapid bursts, the bursts of mana streaking through the air like comets, keeping Bryce off-balance and forcing him to constantly shift his focus. Just like target practice, he thought, a grin spreading across his face, if the targets were trying to turn me into a popsicle.

Wally zipped around the battlefield, a red and yellow streak that left Bryce constantly turning, never sure where the next attack would come from. "Wait, are you dressed like Vanilla Ice on purpose?" he taunted.

"Oh my God, he is!" Artemis laughed.

Meanwhile, Wonder Girl and Superboy tag-teamed Attigan, their combined strength and speed keeping the pyrokinetic on the defensive. Fire and fists clashed in midair, each impact sending shockwaves across the field.

Bryce snarled in frustration, ice crystals forming around his fists, the air temperature dropping even further as he channeled his power. "Stand still, you little-" His words were cut off as one of Artemis's arrows exploded at his feet, enveloping him in thick, choking smoke.

Zeke saw his chance, his heart pounding in his chest as he gathered his power. Energy surged through his body, pooling in his hands as he cupped them at his side, the blue glow casting an eerie light on his face. Now or never. Let's make it count.

"Hey, Iceman!" he shouted, his voice cracking slightly with the effort. "Chill out!"

Bryce turned, his eyes widening as he saw the pulsing blue energy in Zeke's hands. Before he could react, before he could even think to dodge, Zeke thrust his palms forward, unleashing a thick beam of blue energy. "MANA WAVE!"

The wave tore across the battlefield, digging furrows into the frozen ground as it streaked towards its target. Bryce tried to dodge, tried to throw up a wall of ice to shield himself, but he was too slow, too clumsy. The energy slammed into him with the force of a truck, sending him flying backwards, his body ragdolling through the air like a discarded toy. He hit the ground hard, skidding to a stop in a heap of limbs and shattered ice.

For a moment, everything was silent. Then Attigan's voice cut through the air, tinged with panic. "S-sweetie, is he...?"

> * 3000 XP

> * $10000

> * Cryo-Kinetic Energy Crystal

> * Frozen Delinquent's Lighter (Junk)

> * Superconducting Wire Spool

> * Bleached Hair Dye

> * Frost-Resistant Jeans

Zeke watched as the pyrokinetic's composure crumbled as she continued to mutter wildly to herself, her hands trembling as flames licked up her arms, the fire dancing across her skin like a living thing. Why do I feel like this is gonna be really bad? The heat around the young woman intensified, waves of it distorting the air like a mirage on steroids and the ground beneath her feet beginning to smoke and smolder.

"Guys," Zeke called out, his voice tight with anxiety, "I think we might have a problem."

Robin's eyes narrowed behind his mask. "What kind of problem?"

Before Zeke could answer, Wally's panicked shout cut through the air. "She's gonna blow!"

The warning came just in time.

Zeke dove for cover behind a frozen mound, feeling the intense heat at his back as Attigan's powers surged out of control, the air shimmering with the force of it. The ground beneath her feet began to glow, grass and soil turning to ash in an ever-expanding circle.

"No," Zeke breathed, sudden realization hitting him like a truck as he recalled her title. Solar Delinquent… oh no… "She's going nova!"

Robin's voice cracked, fear audible in his tone. "E-everyone, fall back! Now!"

Zeke didn't need to be told twice. He scrambled backwards, his sneakers slipping on the mix of melting ice and scorched earth. Artemis landed beside him, her bow at the ready despite looking unsure as to what she was supposed to do with it.

Even Donna, with all her Amazonian might, was forced to retreat, her bracelets glowing with the heat of Attigan's flames. "Great Hera!" she exclaimed, shielding her eyes from the blinding light, her voice strained with the effort of maintaining her footing.

The only one who didn't seem to get the memo was Superboy. The clone stood his ground, one hand raised to shield his face from the intense heat, his jaw set in a stubborn line. "I can handle it!" he shouted, his voice barely audible over the roar of Attigan's flames, the air shimmering around him like a heat haze.

"Superboy, don't do it!" Robin yelled, but his words fell on deaf ears.

"I. CAN. HANDLE. IT!" Superboy growled, each word punctuated by a step towards the human inferno, his boots already melted for the second time in as many days.

"Superboy, I beg of you, you must retreat!" Wonder Girl pleaded, her voice ringing with authority. "This is not a battle you can win alone!"

"Watch me," Superboy snarled, his eyes never leaving Attigan's glowing form.

Zeke watched in horror as Superboy approached Attigan. The pyrokinetic's confidence seemed to waver, fear flashing across her face as she realized she couldn't control the power she'd unleashed. Her leather gloves disintegrated, revealing skin that glowed like molten metal.

"Holy shi-" Zeke's curse was cut short as the ground beneath Attigan began to give way, melting into a bubbling pool of liquefied rock.

Attigan's panic was palpable now, her breath coming in short, sharp gasps as she pawed at the miniature sun in her hands, trying desperately to extinguish it, to regain control. The ball of energy pulsed violently, sending out waves of heat that made Zeke's skin feel like it was about to blister even from this distance, his eyes watering from looking at it. It's like a second sun.

"We gotta do something!" Zeke shouted, his mind racing for a solution. "If that thing goes off-"

But it was too late. As Superboy reached out to grab Attigan, the energy surged back into her body. For a split second, she glowed like a star.

Then, everything went white.

The explosion ripped through the air with a force that knocked Zeke off his feet, sending him tumbling head over heels across the scorched earth. He hit the ground hard, spots dancing in his vision as he struggled to blink away the afterimage burned into his retinas, his ears ringing with the force of the blast. Am I deaf? Or is everything just... quiet?

Slowly, agonizingly, the world came back into focus, the ringing in his ears fading to a dull roar. The thirteen-year-old pushed himself up on shaky arms, his eyes struggling to make sense of the scene in front of him.

- 70

- 30

Where Attigan had stood was now a smoking crater, the edges still glowing with residual heat, the ground around it cracked and blackened. And at its center...

Zeke blinked, his eyes widening in disbelief.

...lay Attigan, unconscious. Her fiery hair was gone and her clothes had been completely incinerated, leaving her as naked as the day he was born.

> Mission Success!

>

> Disastrous Duo

>

> Kendall and Hunter, AKA Heatstroke and Coldsnap—the couple that slays together. They're turning New Jersey into their personal sauna and ice bar, murdering at least a dozen people in their wake. Time to crash their disaster date—bring mittens and sunscreen.

>

> Objective: Assist Wonder Girl in defeating Heatstroke and Coldsnap. [✓]

>

> Success: $50,000,15000 XP, +2 to Resistance: Cold, +2 to Resistance: Heat, Increased reputation with Wonder Girl.

> Level Up!

>

> You are Level 20

>

> + 5 Stat Points

On the other hand, Superboy stood in place, his back to the team. From what they could see, he had his hands over his face and his clothes were in tatters, the fabric hanging off him in charred strips. Still, he seemed seemingly fine, unharmed apart from some reddened skin.

Then he turned around.

And the team gasped all at once.

His skin looked like it had almost completely been replaced with something else—something stiff, white, and waxy.. Patches of blackened char dotted across the clone's chest, right beneath where the red shield was. It didn't even look like it hurt; the nerve endings had to be gone, dead to any sensation.

Despite it all, his face was almost untouched, and he smiled at them.

"...S-supey?" Zeke's voice cracked.

Without saying a word, Superboy dropped to the ground, body hitting the earth with a dull thud.