Injustice 3: The Might of Magic (Book 3)

Harleen:

"Could you please not put that down?"

Jason backs away as I find a place to put my new sawed-off shotgun.

"What," I say with a laugh. "Are you scared?"

"A little bit. Yeah."

"Come on," I say, hitting the kid on his arm. "You're a thousand times scarier than this little piece."

Looking at the pocket behind the front passenger's seat, I pull it back and gently place the shotgun inside it.

"I'm not a thousand times scarier," Jason says. "Firestorm is."

"Either way, don't worry. The safety is on. It won't fire."

"Still."

Jason backs up as much as he can until he's squeezing against the door. Frankly, I'm surprised he didn't fall right out of the car.

"Congratulation on stopping that robbery," Professor Stein says from the driver's seat.

"What? Surprise I did actually stop a robbery?"

"What? No! No! No. No. A little. Yes."

I roll my eyes, shake my head, and cross my arms.

"You know," I say, pointing a finger at the Professor. "Just because I have white make-up on doesn't mean I'm crazy."

"Understood."

The Professor nods his head and I fall back into my seat.

"Besides," I say, "We're supposed to be patrolling. You know, keeping an eye out for trouble."

"I don't think we need to keep an eye out," Cheetah says. Sitting in the front passenger seat, she leans forward before turning around.

"What," I ask, feeling my face. "Do I have something on my face?"

"I'm not looking at you," Cheetah shouts. "We're being followed."

"What," the Professor, Jason, and I shout. We all turn around and see three black SUVs directly behind us.

"Wait, wait, wait," Cheetah says, grabbing Jason and me. "Don't all turn around at once! They'll see!"

Unfortunately, Cheetah's warning came too late. Whoever they are, the moment they see our heads, the headlights go from low to high. A few seconds after that, the car in the lead starts to speed up. It then hit us.

We all scream as the car jumps up and shakes. Thankfully, the Professor is able to save us in time.

"Hold on," he screams as the SUV rams us again. Kicking us forward and onto a sidewalk, the Professor manages to get us back on the road.

"Way to go," I shout, watching as the Professor knocks down a streetlight and the streetlight falls onto one of the SUVs. I lend forward and hit the Professor on the shoulders. "That's how you drive! Smart thinking there!"

"Uhh, of course," the Professor says. "I did that on purpose."

Despite having a whole streetlight fall on it, the SUV kept on driving. They chase us down every street and follow us after every turn.

"Who are these guys," Cheetah shouts. "Why are they chasing us?"

"No clue," I answer. I take another look at the SUV but their windows are tinted. "Tinted windows. Always a bad sign."

"We need to call for help," Jason says. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a radio but before he could say a word, I see a person in a suit and mask climbing out of the window. He reaches in and pulls out a machine gun.

"Duck!"

I scream as loud as I could before grabbing and pushing Jason down. Cheetah does the exact same. She grabs and pushes the Professor down as gunfire echoes throughout. The windows all around us shatter and I feel the shards fall onto me. Jason screams as he covers his ears.

"Everyone, hold on," Cheetah says, turning to look at me. I look up and see Cheetah's face but only a few seconds. The whole car then crashes and Cheetah's face vanishes as the window in front breaks apart and broken glass flies everywhere.

Lady Shiva:

I watch as the car crashes through a wall and into an abandoned building.

"Stop here," I order. The driver stops the SUV and I, along with my men, quickly get out. I survey the scene, waiting for anyone to try and get out of the car. After a minute or two, I shoot out my hand and my men all rush forward.

While my men rush ahead, I stay behind and call Black Mask.

"Black Mask," I say, speaking into my cell phone.

"What is it, Lady Shiva," Black Mask answers. "Did you get them?"

"I believe so. We chased them down and made them crash into a wall. We're checking the car now."

"Alright. Be careful though. If what we heard is true, then this 'man in the sunglasses' won't go down easy."

"Will do."

I end the call and look back at the crash. By now, the car is completely surrounded, and since the dust is gone and we can see everything clearly, there will be no surprise attack.

One of my men, armed with a machine gun, grabs the door handle. He looks at me and waits for my approval. I nod my head, and he opens the door.

The Man:

With my legs crossed and my hand resting on my knees, I focus on my breathing.

"In," I repeat. "Out. In. Out. In. Out. Remember. Everything starts with a breath."

I inhale deeply before exhaling. I can still feel the energy pulsing throughout me but luckily, it seems to have died down a little.

"In. Out. In. Out. In. Ou--"

While exhaling, I start to sense something. My eyes snap open and I look around. I'm still alone in the room, trapped in the glass box. However, I'm still sensing something.

"You know I can see you. Right? The others can't see you but I can. What do you want? Can't you see I'm meditating?"

I listen to his answer for a bit.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Don't remind me."

I walk up to one of the walls of the glass box and tap it.

"This box can't hold back all my power," I say, "Despite all my modifications. Still, it's enough for the time being."

As I examine the glass box, he tells me what he sees.

"The others are in trouble," I repeat, my hand freezing in mid-air. "Who exactly? What team? Harleen's team? She, Cheetah, Professor Stein, and Jason are all in trouble. They need help. What happened? Was it One Earth's soldiers? No? Lady Shiva? There's a name I haven't heard in a while."

I listen closely as he keeps on explaining to me what he heard between Doc and Higgins.

"Their suits' readings are showing bad colors. Oh boy. Can any of the others arrive in time to help them?"

He shakes his head.

"They're busy in their own cities. Aren't they?"

This time, he nods his head. He then points at himself.

"You. You want to help them? Are you sure? It had been a while since you last fought anymore."

He explains to me it's his time. That he's done hiding and he needs to go outside.

"Besides," he goes on. "Oliver is still recovering, and with all due respect to Iris, Kent, and Scarecrow--"

"I think he prefers to go by Dr. Crane nowadays," I interrupt.

"With all due respect," he starts over. "They're not fighters. I am. Just give me what I need and open a portal for me."

I put my hand to my chin and think it over.

"Fine," I say after only a few seconds. "But you need to be careful. Remember. This isn't yours. It's mine."

I reach into one of my jacket pockets and pull out a small necklace. At the end of the necklace is a small, red gemstone. Holding it in the air for a bit, I then tap the glass wall.

The black energy moves from my finger onto the glass wall. It spreads throughout the wall before breaking off a very, very small section.

"Catch," I say, throwing the gemstone through the tiny opening. It flies through the air before he catches it. From anyone else's perspective, it would look like the gemstone is floating in mid-air.

"You can use the teleporter built into the wall," I say. Looking down, I use telekinesis power to restore and seal the opening in the glass wall. While I do this, he nods his head and runs toward the teleporter.

"Remember," I shout, watching from afar. "You need to time everything just right. I know you can do it."