10 advance chapters on P@treon.com/Saintbarbido.
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More powerstones more chapters. I'm very serious.
(General P.O.V)
The second after Angel had jumped into the ocean, the other fighters had stared at one another, unsure whether to follow his crazy actions.
"Crazy bastard."
Ravager sighed, walking to the edge of the ship while tightly securing her hair into a pony tail.
"Well, if you're going, I am."
Cheshire followed after her.
She stopped and looked at X-23, who was standing away from the group.
"You coming?"
The shorter girl hesitated.
"Come on."
Cheshire called her over and that decided it, as X-23 stopped leaning on the wall and joined them.
Three splashes sounded out as they copied Angel and dove into the ocean.
"You're insane! All of you!"
One guy shook his head at the rest who seemed to be considering jumping off the ship as well.
"You'll die and no one will find your bodies!"
"Everyone dies sometimes."
Speedy grunted, removing his boots.
"How fast do you think we can make it there?"
Kid Flash jokingly asked Robin, while stretching his body.
"Depends."
Robin answered, staring at the ocean and the sky above them.
"There's a storm coming. But if we leave now, and work together, we can avoid it."
"Okay then."
The other two echoed, and the three of them fist bumped.
(Angel's P.O.V)
Nothing like a dip in the cold waters of the Caribbean to get your heart racing.
The lights from the Cruise Ship were fading away at my back, casting the sea in a warm darkness under the natural light of the stars.
The habitual beat of my hands and pump of my legs had swiftly placed me at the halfway point of the 70 km distance, in a bit over 3 hours.
According to my water resistant watch at least.
And that was all without using my powers. The fastest human swimming speed averages at 7km/h. I was moving just a bit above that.
Meaning I could expect to make it to the Island at dawn instead of dusk. Nice.
And with the moon shining down at the ocean, the view was awesome.
A group of dolphins even swam to my sides. I was grateful for the brief company, even though they left soon afterwards.
Some more kilometers later, and I was beginning to wonder how the others were doing.
I did hear a few splashes as soon as I jumped off the ship and was in the water, meaning some had followed my guide.
No one wanted to be stuck in a battle royale after all. Smart.
The long gap I had established between us though, would ensure that I would reach the Island first.
As long as nothing unexpected happens.
And as if to prove me wrong, something fast moving, blasted ahead of me, leaving the water churned and roiling.
It was enough that I found myself violently pushed to the side by a tidal wave, only managing to catch a glimpse of three figures.
Robin and speedy, who were hanging onto each of Kid Flash's hands as he ran across the water.
"Too slow buddy!"
Kid's annoying voice reached my ears.
I paused in place after stabilizing myself, padding the water with my limbs.
That's how they want to play it? Fine.
I felt my face settle into a grin. Afterall, I was a villain and they were heroes. Mortal enemies and all that. And in this wide sea anything could happen.
Not to mention, this was a good chance to get one up on the Justice League.
I clicked on the watch's comms.
"Shade?"
"Yes, young master?"
A second later, my trusty minion answered.
"I have a job for you."
(General P.O.V)
The spray of water drenched the three boys as they made quick time towards Infinity Island.
With Kid's superspeed, the challenge turned out to be a cakewalk.
"You shouldn't have done that Wally."
Robin yelled over the loud air pressure as a result of the high speeds.
"That guy has a history of holding grudges!"
"Hahaha!"
Wally responded with laughter.
"So what? If he tries anything, the three of us can handle him. In fact, I'm hoping for that exact thing to happen!"
Robin shared a look with Speedy, tapping his ear piece to show he wanted to talk.
Speedy turned his on.
"Wally's normally reckless, but his actions will jeopardize the mission. You two need to turn back."
Robin immediately proposed.
"Sorry, but you're going to need back up for this."
Speedy replied with a shake of his head.
"Don't worry about Wally. He knows what's at stake. He wouldn't-"
"Whoa!"
Kid Flash jerked out of the way of a chunk of ice seconds before he could crash onto it.
"What was that?"
He yelled, looking back at the ice chunk floating on the water behind them.
"Kid! Eyes to the front!"
Speedy shouted.
A sudden mist had obscured their front. And suddenly more chunks of ice started emerging from the ocean depths, prompting Kid to weave through them at super speed.
"Slow down! We can swim the rest of the way."
Robin suggested.
"Screw that! I can do this!"
Kid shot back.
"Kid! This is not the time to be stubborn!"
Robin roared out in anger.
"Guys! We have another problem! Behind us."
Speedy informed them.
And sure enough, a massive tidal wave was coming from their back, cutting off any hope of slowing down.
"Shit! Kid, move faster!"
Robin changed his tune.
Only instead of moving faster, the speedster started slowing down. The reason being a wall of ice that barricaded their front.
This was not something they could avoid, it stretched too far on either side.
They were stuck between a massive wave and a massive wall.
"Dammit Kid! I told you it was a bad idea to antagonize him!"
Robin yelled.
"I can try to phase through."
Wally assured them.
"You can't phase yet!"
Robin countered.
"What if you climb over?"
Speedy put forward, the distance between them and the wall was quickly shrinking and with Wally slowing down even more, so did the distance between them and the tidal wave at their back.
"Can't! Not enough speed! And ice is too slippery, we would fall!"
Wally yelled, a note of nervousness now entering his voice.
The situation had quickly gone from favorable to bad in mere moments.
Robin cursed before saying,
"I have an idea."
There was a barely audible beep and then Kid Flash felt a tug at his arm.
"Carry me on your back and throw these at the wall once we're close enough."
Robin instructed, climbing up on Kid's back while handing him two armed explosive battarangs.
"Nice!"
Kid happily accepted, increasing his speed once more.
Barely 50 meters away from the wall, the two battarangs were launched out in superspeed.
And upon collision with the icy wall, a huge explosion occured. One that obliterated a large part of the ice, creating a hole big enough that they could pass through.
"Yes!"
Robin cheered as Kid zoomed through the opening.
Only, they didn't come out on the other side. Not immediately.
The instant Kid Flash stepped through the hole, their surroundings changed as the shadows cast by the remaining part of the icy wall, swallowed them.
One minute, they were moving at speeds of hundreds miles an hour and then the next, they were ragdolling across the ground, their momentum stopped by the wall that met them at the end of their stop.
For a minute, the three of them lay on the ground, groaning in pain. It was a testament to their training and resilience that no bones were broken.
A litany of curses escaped the three boys as they rose to their feet.
"You guys okay?"
Speedy groaned.
A couple of yeses emerged out of the other two.
"Where are we?"
And only after they had their bearing did they notice the unfamiliar environment.
Walls surrounded them on three sides. And to their front were metal bars blocking off escape. They were in a cell.
"Some place fun."
A voice answered through hidden speakers installed on the corners of the room.
"A pit stop it you will. Don't worry, this little detour won't take long."
Instantly, the three of them had their guard up, and stood facing away from each other, covering their blind spots.
"Kid, back to the phasing thing, can you get us out?"
Robin asked quietly.
Kid Flash held up his hand, staring at it intently before a shocked expression took over his face.
"What the hell?! My speed! It's gone."
The speedster exclaimed.
"Blame that on the Power dampening projecters installed on the walls."
The unknown voice snidely replied.
"Anyway, how about a face to face?It's more fun that way. I want to see the hope leaving your eyes."
There was a grinding noise and the left side wall rose up, revealing a smiling man dressed in a gray one piece jumpsuit, similar to what prisoners wear.
The most outstanding thing about him though, was his massive head, with his brain showing through a transparent cranium.
The sight of which made Robin immediately reach into his utility belt, and throw a series of battarangs Psimon's way.
The battarangs bounced of an invisible energy shield, before clattering to the floor.
"Stop."
A single word escaped Psimon's lips and instantly, the three found their bodies frozen in place.
"Rob...who is this guy?"
Speedy asked through clenched teeth.
"Psimon. He's a pyschotic Mind-reader."
Robin replied through gritted teeth.
"Now, now, settle down kids. And let's play a game."
Psimon raised a hand and the three of them lowered themselves to the floor, sitting cross legged while facing him.
"Oh and shut up."
He coldly added before Robin could say anything else.
"Now, the name of the game is, who wants to be my puppet."
The three of them felt their hands rise up to the air, unwillingly. A sinking feeling gripped all three sidekicks.
The reality of their situation had just hit them. He was mentally controlling them. And could make them do anything. Even killing each other, or themselves.
Psimon clapped his hands in glee. The hopelessness he was expecting had finally appeared.
"Would you look at that. All of you volunteered."
A dark chuckle escaped him.
"Now don't worry. As soon as we're done here, you can go back to doing...whatever it is you were doing. Afterall, I did say this was only a pit stop."
-0-
-A few hours later-
The morning sun cast rays of light across the water. It was already dawn and the team of Ravager and two others were past the halfway point.
At this pace, they would reach the Island before noon.
"Huh? Where did all this Ice come from?"
Cheshire asked, slowing down and as a result, the other two with her did the same.
Before them was a massive ice wall blocking the way.
"Maybe it's part of the test?"
She added when the other two remained silent.
"Yeah. Maybe."
Ravager eventually spoke up, a skeptical note in her voice. She had her own suspicions.
X-23 who was in between the two, her hands placed on their shoulders, tiredly looked up at the Ice but remained silent.
While she was a trained killer, she was also the youngest Fighter in the tournament and lacked the stamina to swim across that whole distance.
Her budding kin-ship with the two older girls was the only thing that had helped her reach this far.
Cheshire shrugged,
"I guess it doesn't matter. At least there's an opening we can swim through."
The three continued on.
Behind them, scattered across various distances were the other fighters, all of them doing their best to reach the Island first. Or at least, not last.
-0-
-a few minutes later-
"I see something!"
Kid Flash added, increasing his running speed across the water.
The form of an Island shrouded in mist was drawing closer.
"If only we didn't go around that stupid ice wall, we could have made good time."
The speedster complained.
"We didn't have a choice Kid."
Robin sighed.
"You couldn't climb over it with the two of us and the explosion from my battarangs wasn't strong enough to break through. We should count ourselves lucky we escaped the tidal wave."
"I guess you're right."
Kid replied with a grumble.
"I'm just so exhausted."
Robin turned to Speedy.
"You've been awfully quiet."
The archer shook his head.
"Just have a headache that's all."
Robin frowned as he stared at the approaching shore. He too had a headache. A persistent one at that. But that could be blamed on the high speeds they were moving at.
Shaking his head, he tapped Wally on the shoulder.
"Let's swim the rest of the way. We don't want them thinking we cheated."
A few minutes later, the three of them, drenched to the bone and tired as hell, dragged themselves to the shores of the Island, where they promptly fell on the sandy beach.
"Oh god. Land, thank you!"
Wally dramatically kissed the ground.
"You guys look like shit."
A voice chuckled from the jungle behind them.
Turning to the source, Wally's entire mood changed. Angel was sat ontop of a big collection of boulders closer to the beach, a coconut in his hands.
"You..."
Kid Flash growled, needing Speedy and Robin to hold him back.
"You set up that ice wall! Didn't you? I oughta-"
"Calm down!"
Robin tugged Wally's shoulder.
"Remember what Shiva did on the ship!"
"But Rob! This guy deliberately..."
Angel unworriedly brought the coconut to his lips, ignoring the discussion before gulping down the coconut water and then sighing in contentment.
"Aah, so refreshing."
He jumped to his feet, bringing their attention back to him.
A cold look passed over his eyes as he gazed down at the three of them.
"That was a warning. Next time...well, there won't be a next time, if you're smart."
With those ominous words, he jumped off the boulder.
"And if that's not enough to stop you from getting in my way, I hope for the sake of Cave-dude, Robin Hood and the one minute man, that you heed my words."
He added in a hard tone.
Then smiled in good nature, his serious mood shifting unexpectedly.
"Again, that's if you're smart. Oh and I wish you good luck in the tournament. You're gonna need it."
With that he quietly disappeared into the woods, leaving three flabbergasted sidekicks behind.
"He knows our secret identities."
Robin gulped.