(Mirage)

"Whoever has done that should prepare for what's coming to them." I said standing straight, with the team advancing towards me, ready to attack.

The rooftop was surrounded by Lex Luthor's team, their high-tech armor glinting in the moonlight. They were clearly well-trained and well-armed, but I was the master of the mystic arts, and they were about to find out just what that meant.

I equipped the Circles of Cyttorak as the first wave of Lex's team charged forward, firing advanced energy weapons.

I blocked the beams of energy with my defense circles dispersing them harmlessly into sparks and smoke, in swift combat moves.

I then summoned the Winds of Watoomb, creating a swirling vortex of air that sent the attackers tumbling backward. They struggled to regain their footing, disoriented by the sudden change in air pressure.

As they scrambled to recover, I unleashed the Flames of the Faltine once again, surrounding them in my form ready to attack.

Suddenly, a swift movement from behind me caught my attention and I managed to dodge the attack in the nick of time.

I turned around in mid-air, to confront the unexpected assailant who had managed to sneak up on me. It was one of Lex Luthor's team members, a woman in a sleek, high-tech suit that allowed her to move with incredible speed and agility.

I hadn't noticed her before as part of the team, but she was good at maintaining her incognito status.

She wore a helmet with a reflective visor that obscured her face, making it impossible to discern her identity. Without a word, she lunged at me with lightning-fast strikes, her movements a blur of precision and power.

She managed to get close enough to me to relay her attack, but I set up a shield around me just in time for contact. This she passed with ease and managed to lay a hit on my stomach, sending me off balance.

There was no denying the fact that she had been the one who had layed that first strike on me. But how did she manage to pass my barrier that had never failed before?

I managed to take a stance as I hit the surface of the rooftop, ready for a counterattack, my eyes glowing with some mystical light, and a bruised ego.

She was relentless, and she moved with a combination of martial arts and advanced technology, somersaulting to where I had landed.

With a quick incantation, I attempted to bind her in the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak, but she effortlessly slipped out of their grasp, her suit's mobility enhancing her agility, proceeding towards me with a clear intention of striking hard.

We clashed in a flurry of blows and strikes, our battle becoming a dance of martial arts and combat, leaving me on the defensive and her on the offensive.

Her movements were precise and calculated, and it was clear that she had been trained to be the best.

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Breaking free from a streak of combos, I summoned the Images of Ikonn, creating illusory duplicates of myself that scattered across the rooftop.

The illusions moved in sync with me, mirroring my every action, confusing my opponent momentarily and buying me a moment to assess the situation.

The illusions and I engaged in a coordinated attack against her. She had to contend with multiple Doctor Strange figures, each one launching spells in her direction.

As she defended against the illusory onslaught, I realized that her helmet visor and high-tech suit provided her with impressive combat data analysis.

She adapted quickly, evading my illusions' attacks and even managing to deflect some of my mystic attacks with well-timed counterattacks.

But what was intriguing the most was how she managed to easily wand off magic. As soon as she came close to an illusion of myself, she dispersed of it with a single blow, and it was as if it never existed in the first place. She did the same against my multitude of spells, and soon enough, it was just one me against her like before.

It was clear that I couldn't rely solely on magic to defeat her. I needed to outsmart her in combat and find the source of this unique ability she possessed.

Lex Luthor had also showed a certain invulnerability to my magic too when he broke free from the Crimson bands of Cyttorak and the Flames of Faltine.

As she circled me as if announcing her victory I could sense the pride and focus in her movements. She was here to take me down, and she was proving capable of doing so.

I closed my eyes briefly and let a short sigh as I re-harmonized the energy within me. And then I focused my senses to my surroundings, registering her every movements.

It wasn't like me to engage in combat, but the nature of this fight demanded it so that I could disarm her. I however still had an advantage with magic, something I rarely used.

To counter her speed and agility, I tapped into the Time Stone's power, briefly slowing down time around me. It gave me the precious moments I needed to analyze her suit and find its weaknesses.

Lex pressed a button from his belt, and if her suit was created using Lexcorp's technology, that would be the case for her too.

Her movement slowed down significantly and I noticed a small exposed port on the back, similar to what Lex Luthor's suit had.

It was likely a vulnerability that could be exploited, and I sabotaged it as quickly as I could.

I then released the time manipulation spell and returned to normal speed, ready to savor my victory.

As she resumed her lightning-fast attacks, I re-focused on my use of magic, creating a portal below that absorbed her and opening another just a few meters away that ensnared her into the grips of the Crimson bands of Cyttorak.

Unaware of the sabotage in her suit, she tried to use her anti-magic abilities, only to be met with sparks and malfunction within her suit's systems.

Her movements became erratic, and she struggled to maintain control, but her movement was restrained.

I approached cautiously, my eyes locking onto her helmet's visor, as I split myself once more into illusions to round up the other members.

Her head remained still and it looked as if she was staring back at me with an expression of mockery.

"What should I call you?" I asked.

She just stared back at me as if contemplating her next move. Clearly, she didn't acknowledge having lost the fight.

"Never mind. I think Mirage is suiting." I said.

"What is Lex Luthor's ultimate goal, and why is he suddenly interested in the arcane and protecting himself from magic?" I demanded, my voice firm.

She coughed. "You won't get answers from me," she replied, her voice strained.

Reading her mind would get me the answers I needed, including how Lex Luthor had managed to create a way of repelling spells, but that wouldn't be right.

Besides, where was the fun in that?

However, I had other means at my disposal. I focused my magic to transport her, still ensnared in the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak, to a secure location where she could be detained; the mirror dimension.

But before I could cast the spell, she had one last trick up her sleeve. The floor below her dissolved into a puddle of mud and before I knew it, Mirage had teleported away from the scene.

That was one more reason I needed to keep Lex Luthor from advancing his exploits in the mystic arts. His reach was limitless.

(Supergirl)

The response time for superheroes and the cops in this town was unbelievably slow, but that would make sense if Lex had them occupied somewhere else.

I however managed to wrap up all the members of Lex's team, tying them together using the Crimson bands of Cyttorak.

The artifact they had come to steal wasn't the book I sought, and it was becoming painfully clear where I could find it without much of a hassle. It somehow had to be in possession of Doctor Fate, since he knew of my destiny.

Hopefully, he would give it up willingly (even throwing in a couple of gifts) just to show how much he accepted my existence in this realm.

I didn't know what the crystal sphere could do, but I knew it was safer and out of reach from Lex Luthor if I decided to keep it, so I kept it.

From a distance, I saw a soaring figure towards the bank, and immediately knew who it was.

Supergirl had finally been alerted to the situation at the bank and she was coming in hot to the rescue.

Recalling my supposed encounter with Clark, her cousin, I couldn't risk leading yet another Kryptonian to a comma with my magic.

So, I opened a portal back to the sanctum, but it would be rude to go without leaving a message, especially while taking a prized object with me.

"Regards. The Sorcerer Supreme." The letters formed using the bands that bound the culprits.