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I'm Energy In DC: 57. Paralyzed, Superboy's Death
🕑 Added 2024-03-16 06:43:05 +0000 UTC“They need help!” Kara said as she watched the scene unfold.
“As a citizen of the United States, I have the freedom of choice in deciding whether I want to render help to another or not”.
Amari responded indifferently, his eyes still watching the good show in the distance.
Kara frowned.
“If you're not going to do something, then I will”.
She stood up as her words fell.
“I wouldn't do that if I were you”. Amari shook his head nonchalantly.
“You may not know who he is, but I do. And I speak with all seriousness when I say that the current you..... Is no match for him. Your overall ability can't match up to a quarter of his speed”.
Amari spoke the truth with no other intentions, but the plain tone entering Kara's ears made it seem like something else.
Disdain?
The Young Kryptonian frowned with displeasure.
“But I'm kryptonian. You said it yourself, under a yellow sun, we're almost indestructible. Even if I can't beat him, he can't do anything to me either”.
“A kryptonian with only a few hours of sunlight absorbed into your cells. I also said that the accumulation of solar energy takes time. And the majority of your time since you left the Phantom Zone was spent in the Axiom. A separate dimension where your cells can't absorb solar radiation. You are Kryptonian, not invincible. You jump in there right now, not only will you be of no help, you could, no scratch that. You will get yourself killed”.
Hearing his words, Kara felt mildly uncomfortable.
“Why?”
“Huh?” Amari raised an eyebrow.
“Why do you choose to sit back and watch?”
Amari was silent for a few seconds before replying.
“Because I'm the neutral party”. Turning his head to watch the scene, he continued.
“Unlike your cousin, I'm not a hero. I have no overwhelming sense of Human Justice to speak of, nor do I have the urge to commit what the humans deem evil. I guess you can say I'm in the gray area. I'm not one of them, so I have no desire to try to act like them. Furthermore, I won't cause them any trouble, but I won't put on a cape, tights, go around saving people I've never even met before and protecting a world I'm not from. It's a thankless task, one which humans show very little gratitude. For now, I'm nothing more than an observer trying to satisfy my curiosity as best as I can. I think it's best it remains that way because I doubt my “Sense Of Justice” will get along with your cousin's”.
Kara opened her mouth, wanting to say something but finding it difficult to refute.
Amari paid her no attention. Looking at the Black Flash from another earth, his thoughts roamed a bit.
Superman's motto was basically the same as the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man in the Marvel Universe next door. Morals instilled into him by his father figure.
With great power, comes great responsibility.
And that great responsibility involved the no kill rule. He had nothing against Superman.
From certain points of view, his determination to stick with his principles even after seeing the amount of death and destruction those villains he caught on a monthly basis brought to society, abstaining from turning into a murderer and a dictator, was in a way, quite admirable.
However, for him?
As the humans say...... What a bunch of horse crap.
Why would he join in the cat and mouse game of catching, caging and breaking out only to repeat the same process over and over for years?
That was seriously demoralizing, inefficient and a complete waste of time.
Amari was sure that if he choose to become a hero, the first thing he would do was wipe out all those he himself deemed unredeemable.
Use the chicken to warn the monkeys. That was something the League could never accept, and he didn't care.
It's not like he wanted to.
I won't, go against them, neither will I help them, but it should be no problem to add a little unwanted chaos to the equation right?
Just to get rid of my boredom for a while.
Then sit back, relax, and watch the show unfold.
...........
“Arghh!” A loud roar escaped from the slitted area on his mask that represented his mouth.
It carried not just pain, though, but also hate and fury.
Mad!
Ever since he became one of the rulers of Earth [-1], Zoom had never been injured. Hell, he hadn't even been hit ever since the first flash disappeared.
Outraged.
However, no matter how murderous he was, Zoom couldn't do anything about it. That Goddamn Canary cry was effective.
The Black Flash felt completely disoriented as dizziness assaulted him. His ears hurt badly, and his body coordination was out of balance.
The body of the speedster landed at the edge of the beach as water rushed up to wash over him.
Dinah looked at the figure in black tights, fallen at the end of the beach, and released another Canary cry.
She had seen enough on the quick rush over here. She didn't know who Zoom was, but the fact that he was a speedster said it all.
Just Like Barry, all speedsters were not to be underestimated, and one controlled Canary Cry wasn't enough to knock one out.
Against someone faster than sound, negligence meant possible death. And she didn't dare to bet on the fact that this scary looking speedster would stay his hand if he had the chance.
Kree!
Sonic waves blasted out from her mouth, heading towards its target.
The sound of crackling electricity could be heard followed by a streak of blue lightning.
Zoom!
Blast!
The sonic scream missed and smashed against a rising wave in the distance, causing a large splash.
Black Canary's eyes widened as she tried to adjust herself, but her body wasn't able to respond fast enough to match her instincts.
Bolts of lightning appeared by her right side followed by emergence of the black flash who mercilessly struck at her back
Crack!
The sound of something snapping could be heard.
Argh!" Dinah let out a pained yell from her vocal cords.
Her slender body that took on a bent shape due to the last hit on her spinal cord fell downwards as she lost all feeling in her lower limbs.
However, her voice was quickly gagged as Zoom grabbed her by the throat, lifting her up with inhuman strength.
“So the Black Siren is still alive in this universe”.
His fingers on her throat tightened, cutting off her air supply and preventing her from releasing her Canary cry.
“Ack!”. Dinah gasped for air in panic. The suffocation brought about by the demonic hand on her throat made her breathless.
“I never did like that voice of yours”. The distorted voice sounded as zoom raised his arm, vibrating with blue arcs of lightning, for a fatal blow.
Due-ok!
The wind split apart as a fast-moving object cut through the air.
The arm that was about to strike, changed its motive and reached behind in a grabbing posture.
Turning around to see the arrow firmly held in his grasp, the speedster raised his gaze up towards the mountain.
Looking into the far distance, nothing could be made out from the darkness that surrounded the back mountain. The high grass, trees, and plants gave perfect cover for whoever was ambushing due to the darkness of night.
His black eyes peering into the distance failed to notice the movement from the ground beneath him.
“Allies of yours?” Zoom asked sarcastically. At that moment, however, the figure of Miss Martian rose from the ground, gaining a firm grip on Black Canary and activating density shifting.
Dinah, whose body was in the state of density shifting, escaped Zoom's grasp and was pulled into the floor.
“Megan?” Black Canary's eyes widened, wandering when the former had reached underneath her.
Miss Martian didn't respond, but sank deeper into the ground and fled.
Seeing Black Canary being rescued, Artemis, who was hiding under the cover of a tree in the far distance, pressed a button on her bow.
The arrow within Zoom's grasp suddenly lit up with an orange color, and then.....
BANG!
The arrow exploded, but it didn't release any fire. Instead, a large amount of glue-like substance burst out from the arrow tip and multiplied at a rapid pace.
The substance first covered Zoom's hand before spreading, and less than three seconds later, the black speedster was covered in the substance.
Seeing him submerged in hardened glue, Artemis shouted through the mind link.
“Now!”
“Bait? Clever” Looking at his empty hand, Zoom with only his head out in the open narrowed his eyes.
His eyes fell on the floor through which Black Canary had escaped, and his gaze froze when he saw his shadow being covered by another shadow under the moonlight.
A second later.....
BOOM.
The area surrounding several meters suddenly caved in as someone crashed with immense force.
Crack appeared on the ground and the vegetation in a few meters distance was uprooted.
Artemis looked at the dust cloud with a bit of uneasiness in her heart.
“Did it work?” She questioned uncertainly without her lips moving.
A few inches away from her, Megan rose from the floor beside the female Archer, her hands supporting Black Canary.
Disabling density shifting, Miss Martian suddenly fell to her knees as fine drops of sweat adorned her face.
“Gasp...... Gasp!” Panting heavily, the Martian felt a wave of dizziness and exhaustion overwhelm her. Density shifting was a hard technique to master.
Activating it for herself alone would put heavy strain on her body and mind, much less with someone else.
“I....... I don't know”. She replied with heavy breathing.
“Who is this guy?” Artemis couldn't help but ask with a frown, her gaze peering into the distance.
“I.....”
“Ugh..... No…" Dinah groaned in pain.
“Are you ok?” Seeing their currently limp fighting instructor and League guardian, Artemis's face changed as she asked worriedly.
“No… Ugh..... I..... I can't feel my legs”.
Dinah's facial expressions portrayed how much pain she was in. Her chest heaved dramatically, and her nose wrinkled as she uttered with gritted teeth.
The pupils of the two Proteges widened inexplicably, their bodies trembling slightly.
“We need to get you out of here. Where's Wally!”
“No, you don't understand. You need to leave now. This is not something you can handle….”
Dinah cut in with an anxious tone.
“... Contact the League immediately”.
......
The dust cleared quickly, revealing the face of a young man with black hair, blue eyes and a black T-shirt that sported the classic “S” symbol that was so popular in Metropolis.
Observing his surroundings, Superboy's face morphed to form a slight frown. He knew that his attack had missed, as he didn't find the feeling of colliding with someone else.
Straightening his body from his crouching position, his gaze scanned the area around him, and Superboy's vigilance shot up.
“Huh..... Where did he….?” Looking left and right, his target was nowhere to be seen.
“He's gone”. Miss Martian heard Superboy's message.
“Gone?” She turned her to look in that direction.
At that moment.
Zoom!
A flash of blue lightning streaked throughout the back mountain, speeding through every nook and cranny..... as if searching for something.
The eyes of the three women widened.
“Found You”. There was a blue flash of light, followed by a distorted voice sounding from behind them, causing their hair to stand on end.
Artemis quickly reached towards her quiver to pick out a bow. However, she wasn't fast enough.
The bow was knocked out of her hand, followed by a heavy lightning fist.
Blood flowed from her mouth followed by a slight cracking sound as the attack hit her face, near the neck area.
Thud!
The archer's body fell face-first into the dirt.
“Artemis!” M'gann screamed, Her mind went blank and her eyes wide with shock and anger.
The sound reached Superboy's ears, causing his face to change.
He exerted force through his legs and pushed off the ground, causing the already large crater caused by his descent to enlarge.
For Miss Martian's scream, Zoom couldn't give a damn. He vibrated his hand at intense speed before thrusting it towards Megan.
The Black Speedster didn't want to waste time entangling himself with these ....... children.
Like “The Flash” said, this wasn't his universe. There were too many things he didn't know about, and spending more time than he should, could get him into potentially serious trouble.
For now, it wasn't worth the risk, especially if the Justice League was still a thing on this universe.
If he was surrounded, who knew how many enemies he would have to face.
Even with his level of speed, he was far from invincible.
The hand vibrating with electric arcs moved at a speed unseen by human eyes, straight at Megan's chest.
Superboy's expression changed drastically. However, the Kryptonian clone was too far away to stop it.
At that moment, however, Miss Martian, whose eyes had turned white, opened her mouth and screamed.
A vast amount of telekinetic force, pushed forward.
Zoom felt that tremendous force slam him straight on his torso, sending him flying.
The black speedster was pushed a considerable distance away, falling to the ground and rolling on the floor.
Bang!
Zoom's back slammed onto a large Boulder.
“Ugh….”. He let out a pained groan. Telekinesis? Looks like these..... kids weren't as easy to deal with as he thought.
He thought to himself as he raised his head up, the first thing coming to view was a fist rushing towards him at remarkable speed, close to breaking the sound barrier.
Of course, to others, it could be considered Super speed.
For him, it was simply moving faster than the others.
“Raar!” The Kryptonian clone let out an angry roar as he dashed forward with his fist punching forwards.
The black speedster was covered in blue lightning, simply sidestepping away from the attack.
The punch missed, Zoom was unhurt. The same couldn't be said for the boulder.
The human sized fist smashed against the goat rock, pulverizing it to pieces
Seeing his attack miss, Conner immediately adjusted his body, taken from the lessons black Canary had given to him on actual combat.
His legs braked sharply on the ground, causing his feet to sink into the soil several inches.
Transferring force, he twisted his waist from his left to the right, swinging his fist back towards his size.
The attack was textbook, the swinging fist pushed forward with remarkable skill and power, but unfortunately, the finishing touch couldn't make it.
Zoom disappeared from his position again, appearing a distance away, leaving Conner's attack hitting nothing but empty air.
“You look just like he does”. Zoom tilted his head slightly, As if examining Conner's features.
“Unfortunately...... Much weaker”.
The words reached Conner's ears, making him grit his teeth in frustration and anger.
He knew the person who he was referring to.
“It's enough to beat you”. He dashed forwards as his words dropped, throwing yet again another punch.
Lightning flashed and Superboy felt nothing.
“That fact, will be your undoing”.
“Shut Up!” Superboy roared and attacked frenziedly yet again.
Entirely ignoring Zoom's right hand that was vibrating at extreme speeds.
“Superboy, Stop!” Megan, who noticed something, was wrong, screamed anxiously.
However, it was too late.
Time slowed down to the extreme.
Looking at the Kryptonian clone who was less than a few inches away from him, Zoom easily moved to the side, dodging the attack yet again and thrust his hand forward.
“Ugh….!” A heavy grunt escaped into the air.
Time resumed its regular pace.
Looking at the man in black standing less than a meter away, the distance between them as close as he needed. Superboy's eyes widened.
“Conner." Megan screamed in fright.
Superboy lowered his head and looked downwards. The sight of his opponent's arm, piercing straight through his chest, was particularly eye-catching.
The outstretched arm, set in a punching motion, slowly fell to his sides, losing its strength.
“Just like I thought. Your cells aren't as dense as his”. With a lightning arc, Zoom pulled his hand out of Superboy's chest.
The latter had his mouth open, wanting to say something, but ultimately couldn't as his body obeyed gravity and fell to the floor.
Standing over the body of the fallen Kryptonian, Zoom frowned under the mask. His gaze turned towards the body of Earth -1 Flash that was still laying in its position before turning towards Black Canary and Miss Martian, who both had eyes filled with horror.
“Next time...... You're next”.
And with that, his body turned into flashes of lightning, speeding away from the scene. The body of the Earth -1 Flash was taken with him.
..............
