Injustice: The Path To Hell (DC Comics)

Thursday, 1st October, 19:10

Arkansas,

Bayou Bartholomew.

{"Now!"}

As Esau launched himself at Black Adam, the rest of the team sprang into action, following his orders to the letter. Kid Flash was the first to move, blurring into motion as he sped off after Count Vertigo into the forest. Neutralising Vertigo was the top priority—without him, the rest of the fight would be far easier.

But Vertigo was far from foolish.

He had anticipated a follow-up attack after Aqualad's water blast and had already prepared a countermeasure. With a flick of his wrist, he unleashed a wave of disorienting vertigo in the general direction of the incoming threat.

It was the right call as Kid Flash ran straight into it.

His momentum wavered as the world spun violently around him, his sense of balance completely shattered. He cried out, his foot slipping in the mud, and skidded uncontrollably past Count Vertigo, barely managing to stay upright.

Seeing his chance, Count Vertigo rose smoothly to his feet, drawing his cane. With a sharp flick, the hidden blade unsheathed, gleaming under the dim light and he lunged forward—intending to end this quickly.

Yet an arrow shot through the air, striking the cane's hilt and knocking the blade from his grasp. Count Vertigo whirled around, already raising his hand to unleash another wave of vertigo, targeting the unseen attacker.

Before he could react further, a shadow descended from the trees above.

Robin landed lightly, his escrima sticks already swinging toward Count Vertigo's head. The villain barely managed to block with the remaining half of his cane, the impact sending jolts through his arms. Robin pressed forward, his movements relentless, forcing Count Vertigo onto the defensive. The royal scion tried to create an opening—his free hand raising slightly, fingers twitching.

But then, something struck him from behind, a sharp impact to his spine sent a jolt through his body, his muscles locking up momentarily. His breath hitched and his knees buckled beneath him. Dazed and unsure of what had hit him, he barely registered Robin's next move. A roundhouse kick snapped across his face, the sheer force of it whipping his head to the side. His body collapsed face-first into the mud, unconscious before he even hit the ground.

Robin exhaled, shaking the excess water from his gloves before glancing up.

Batgirl stood a few feet away, lowering the grapple she had used to swing kick Vertigo from behind.

{"Vertigo's down."} Batgirl's voice came over the mind link, crisp and professional.

Robin nodded, already turning toward their next target, Artemis beside him, bow at the ready. Kid Flash had already recovered and wasted no time blurring into the distance, moving toward Ultra-Humanite as planned.

With their first target eliminated, the team swiftly moved on to the next phase of the mission.

There was no time to waste.

-X-

Thursday, 1st October, 19:15

Arkansas,

Bayou Bartholomew.

"It seems we have visitors," Wotan observed, rising into the air as a group of young heroes burst through the tree line. With a flick of his wrist, he spread his arms wide, chanting in a commanding tone. "Fulmina Venite! (Lightning, come!)"

Bolts of crackling electricity erupted from his fingertips, splintering the air as they arced toward Aqualad, Kid Flash, Wolf, Robin, and Batgirl. But before they could land the lightning struck an invisible force, each bolt deflected as they sparked against some unseen barrier before fizzling out harmlessly.

Wotan's eyes narrowed.

This was not magic, that much he could tell.

But whatever it was, it was strong.

His piercing gaze swept across the battlefield, scanning for the source. No one had moved and no one had cast a spell.

Yet his attack had been stopped.

Suspicion flickered in his mind. "Rileva a Vita. (Detect Life.)" A soft glow pulsed from Wotan's outstretched fingers, spreading outward in waves of invisible energy. mmediately, his spell registered three additional life forms, two figures hidden in the trees and one floating in the sky.

Wotan smirked.

'So, that's where you are.' Without hesitation, he gathered more arcane power, his hands pulsing with crackling energy before he fired a fresh barrage of lightning straight at the airborne figure.

A gasp echoed from above and in an instant, the invisible figure of Miss Martian flickered into view. Her eyes widened in alarm, arms shooting up instinctively, forming a psychic shield around herself. The first bolt slammed into the barrier, causing it to shudder violently and the second cracked the surface, sending jagged fractures rippling across it. Then came the third and Miss Martian gritted her teeth, barely managing to hold her shield together under the relentless hailstorm of magical lightning.

From the tree line, Artemis snapped her bow up, locking onto Wotan in an instant and let the arrow fly. The projectile whistled through the air, striking Wotan's chest in a burst of smoke and fire.

For a moment, the battlefield went still.

Until the smoke cleared, revealing Wotan completely unharmed.

A glowing shield shimmered around him, the remnants of the explosion harmlessly dissipating against his mystical defenses.

His smirk deepened. "Pathetic."

Meanwhile, the rest of the team continued pressing forward.

Aqualad led the charge, his Water-Bearers raised as he summoned a shield of solidified water—just in time to intercept a radioactive blast from Atomic Skull. The moment the beam collided with his shield, Aqualad felt an immediate strain as the sheer force of the attack pushed him backward, his feet digging into the mud, carving trenches beneath him. The heat from the radiation made his muscles burn, but he gritted his teeth, forcing himself to hold firm.

Then, with a grunt of effort, he pushed forward, step by agonizing step, forcing his way through the beam despite the immense pressure that weighed down on him. It was taking everything he had, but Aqualad held firm and pressed on regardless.

To Aqualad's side, Kid Flash and Wolf closed in on Ultra-Humanite.

Wolf was the first to pounce, his massive jaws snapping at the hulking gorilla's arm, but Ultra-Humanite barely reacted. With one massive backhand, he swatted Wolf away, sending the beast crashing into a nearby tree with a pained whimper.

Kid Flash barely had time to react before Ultra-Humanite turned his sights on him. With a mechanical whir, the energy cannon mounted on his arm charged up and then fired. Bright, searing plasma shots launched toward Kid Flash, who instinctively blurred into motion, dodging the deadly energy blasts by mere inches.

Each shot exploded upon impact with the ground, sending dirt and debris flying in all directions. Kid Flash zig-zagged unpredictably, weaving between the attacks, but Ultra-Humanite tracked him effortlessly, adjusting his aim with cold and calculated precision.

One mistake—one misstep—and Kid Flash was done.

Across the battlefield, Batgirl and Robin found themselves locked in a deadly game of survival against Poison Ivy.

They were outmatched in the worst possible way—fighting Ivy in her own territory.

Vines lashed out from every direction, moving with unnatural speed, attempting to ensnare them, crush them, or impale them. Batgirl flipped backward, barely dodging a thorn-covered tendril that snapped through the air like a whip.

As soon as her feet touched the ground, more vines erupted beneath her, lunging toward her like striking serpents. She rolled under them, twisting her body at the last second before launching herself into the air, twisting mid-motion. As she flipped, she hurled a handful of Batarangs—each one impaling into the vines before detonating in bursts of fire. The vines shrieked, curling away from the flames, but the attack only seemed to enrage Poison Ivy further.

Ivy's emerald eyes narrowed, and she raised her hands gracefully, her lips curling into a smirk. The trees rumbled in response as more roots and thorns burst from the ground, growing larger, thicker, more aggressive.

Robin, flipping away from another snapping vine, muttered under his breath, "Yeah… this isn't great."

Batgirl clenched her fists.

They were outnumbered, outgunned, and running out of options and somewhere in the distance Esau was still fighting Black Adam.

The battle was far from over.

{"Superboy, now!"}

Aqualad's voice rang through the comms, ensuring that every member of the Injustice League was occupied.

From the treeline, Superboy burst forward, his feet slamming into the ground beside the Joker. The Clown Prince of Crime turned, his painted face stretching into a twisted grin just before Superboy's fist smashed into his jaw. The impact snapped Joker's head sideways, his body flipping through the air before landing in an unconscious heap.

{"He's dealt with!"} Superboy called out, not sparing another glance at the fallen villain.

He immediately pivoted, sprinting toward Atomic Skull, who had been dividing his attention between keeping Aqualad at bay and powering the massive plant structure that controlled the attack. With Joker out of the equation, Atomic Skull's focus snapped entirely to Aqualad, his nuclear-powered blasts intensifying, forcing the Atlantean to retreat step by step.

Superboy landed behind him, crouching low.

Then he launched an uppercut directly into Atomic Skull's chin. The force of the punch rocketed Atomic Skull into the air, sending him spinning uncontrollably toward Aqualad. Both heroes knew that alone wouldn't be enough. After all, Atomic Skull had taken punches from Superman himself—he wouldn't go down so easily.

Aqualad's shield shifted into a massive war hammer, and he swung it in a perfect arc.

The timing was flawless as just as Atomic Skull descended toward the ground, Aqualad's hammer collided with his face, launching him sideways like a meteor crashing through the swamp.

The thunderous impact sent shockwaves through the battlefield.

Aqualad didn't stop to watch the aftermath—he had more pressing matters to consider. Taking a brief second to assess the battlefield, he quickly evaluated their situation.

Esau was still fighting Black Adam.

They needed to finish the fight here fast because there was no way Esau could win that battle. He would need their help and that meant they couldn't afford to make any mistakes. Even if it meant taking a few seconds to strategise mid-combat, Aqualad had to ensure every move counted.

"Superboy, give me a lift." Superboy nodded, clasping his hands together to form a foothold. Aqualad ran forward, planting one foot into Superboy's hands and Superboy hurled him into the air like a projectile.

His target?

Wotan.

{"Artemis, Miss Martian—keep Wotan occupied!"} The moment the words echoed through the mind link, Artemis unleashed a barrage of arrows, each one explosive-tipped, forcing Wotan to defend himself. At the same time, Miss Martian darted through the sky, her telekinetic force pressing against the sorcerer, demanding his attention.

It worked.

Wotan turned midair, focusing on Miss Martian's telekinetic pressure, his hands glowing with mystical energy.

That was the moment Aqualad struck.

Moving like a missile, he collided into Wotan's back, locking his arms around the sorcerer's torso in an iron grip. Wotan snarled, struggling against him, but Aqualad's tattoos flared, glowing with intense blue energy.

Then electricity erupted from his body, surging directly into Wotan.

The ancient sorcerer gritted his teeth, his body convulsing violently, arcs of blue lightning dancing over his skin.

But it wasn't enough to knock him out.

With a furious snarl, Wotan gathered his magic and unleashed a massive concussive blast, the force of it ripping Aqualad off him and sending him plummeting to the ground. Aqualad slammed into the earth hard, a crater forming beneath him from the sheer force of the impact.

But the attack had done its job.

Wotan was vulnerable.

Miss Martian's eyes flashed white, and with a mighty push, she hurled a wave of telekinetic force that blasted Wotan out of the sky, sending him crashing down. His landing was brutal, the ground beneath him collapsing in a deep impact crater.

Wotan pushed himself up to all fours, dazed, his head shaking from the force of the fall.

An arrow struck his shield.

Then another and another.

Three explosive arrows detonated in succession, collapsing his magical defenses entirely.

The moment his shield fell Aqualad was on him as the Atlantean warrior swung his mace, the weapon smashing into Wotan's jaw, sending the sorcerer sprawling. Before Wotan could recover, Miss Martian reached out, wrapping him in an invisible telekinetic grip, holding him completely still.

Aqualad took a steadying breath, gripping his mace tightly and with one final, powerful swing, he cracked it against Wotan's skull.

The sorcerer went limp, collapsing unconscious into the mud.

Aqualad exhaled, stepping back over the defeated foe before turning his attention to the remaining battlefield.

Nearby, Superboy delivered a devastating punch to Ultra-Humanite, the impact sending the gorilla flying through the air, his massive form landing beside Poison Ivy.

The two remaining members of the Injustice League exchanged glances having both looked around the battlefield. Count Vertigo, Wotan, Atomic Skull and Joker all lay defeated and unconscious, leaving just them and Black Adam, the latter nowhere in sight.

Poison Ivy's eyes darted to the distant tree line, where the sound of violent, earth-shaking explosions had gone silent.

For a moment there was nothing but eerie stillness.

As soon as the explosions stopped they returned.

But something was different.

The locations of the blasts were erratic, scattered, as if the battle had become even more chaotic than before. Black Adam hadn't returned yet and that meant he was still occupied. If Black Adam didn't return soon they were finished.

Aqualad knew it too. {"Miss Martian, come with me. We'll help Maelstrom. Robin, take out the central control system."} He turned toward Ultra-Humanite and Poison Ivy, his eyes narrowing. {"The rest of you—take them out. Quick and fast."}

The team tensed, ready to move but before anyone could attack a sonic boom shattered the air. Everyone on the team froze, their heads snapping toward the treeline just in time to see a body burst through the trees, smashing through the ground, bouncing and skidding across the dirt before coming to a violent stop.

Esau.

His body twitched, his muscles bulging unnaturally, two whipping tails of power snapping behind him, one of which was slowly beginning to dissipate in flecks of energy.

Following Esau's path of destruction came Black Adam, floating through the air calmly and confidently. Unperturbed by the sight that greeted him as he looked around, his lips twisting in displeasure as he looked upon the beaten villains and regarding the young heroes with something akin to curiosity and bemusement.

This fight had shifted once more.