The concrete floor under us shattered as I slammed arms first into both Mammoth and Killer Croc, sending out a shockwave that sent everyone around us flying while I grunted as the clash had sent us flying backwards.
Crashing through a stack of boxes, I quickly rolled to my feet and charged back in, noting Robin and Aqualad taking on the rest of the army around us before turning my gaze as I saw Mammoth charging at me.
Accelerating while running low to the floor, I slipped through his legs while grabbing an ankle as he swung at me, jumping up and pulling his leg along before connecting a knee to his jaw.
The attack made him stumble and fall backwards before he wheezed as I crashed feet first onto his chest, but my own eyes widened as I felt something crash into me from behind and sent me skipping across the ground.
Quickly flipping over with a slight stumble, I dug my feet into the ground and stopped myself only to get another punch to the face from Mammoth that had me digging a trench in the ground.
"…Yeah, fuck holding back." I muttered and spat out a bit of blood to the side, sitting upwards and staring back at the two before shattering the ground as I blitzed towards them.
Pulling a fist back as Mammoth did the same, we clashed with another shockwave only for his eyes to widen as I stood my ground and growled.
Unclenching my fist while gripping his hand, I dodged Killer Croc trying to bite down on my shoulder while ducking under Mammoth's attempt to grab me, the guy looking surprised as I heaved and slammed him back first into his scaly partner.
Lifting him up and throwing him right up into the ceiling, I grabbed Croc's tail before headbutting him as he went to stand up, heaving and throwing him right into Mammoth as he fell down.
Their clash unleashed a boom that cracked the ceiling and brought it crumbling down, but I ignored the rubble falling onto me as Mammoth and Killer Croc crashed into the ground.
Dashing towards them before they could get a chance to recover, I grabbed both by the face before dragging them out and away from the warehouse, throwing Killer Croc through a helicopter before hissing as Mammoth bit down on my hand.
Slamming a fist into his jaw while pulling my hand away, Mammoth was sent bouncing across the ground before I frowned as he rolled over to his feet, rubbing his jaw and snapping it back into place with a smirk.
Looking over to the right as I heard metal snapping and a visceral snarl, Killer Croc didn't look impressed with what I did as he tore off the tattered remains of his shirt and snarled as I smirked and tore off my shirt as well.
Ignoring the chaos around us, a tense silence hung in the air as I looked slowly in between the two of them, who both growled before Mammoth roared and both of them dashed towards me in the blink of an eye.
With both pulling a fist back, I quickly raised my arms and gritted my teeth as I blocked their punches with my forearms, grabbing Killer Croc's arm and pulling him in before leaping upwards as Mammoth swung a punch at my legs.
His hook punch however smashed into Killer Croc's leg and made it buckle before his head snapped back from the elbow I delivered to his jaw, wrapping my leg around Mammoth's arm and pulling him into a knee to his forehead.
As I landed though, Mammoth snapped back and delivered a headbutt to my chest, nearly knocking the wind out of me before grabbing my arms right as Killer Croc bit down on my leg and they pulled in opposite directions.
Gritting my teeth with a hiss as I tensed and stopped them from ripping me in half, Mammoth looked angered while Killer Croc snarled as he bit down harder before I roared as I curled up and pulled them both towards each other.
Lifting my other leg and stomping down on Killer Croc's face, he yelped and let go before I forced myself to flip forward, hissing as my shoulders popped out right as I forced my arms free and slammed a heel kick down onto Mammoth's skull.
The attack cratered the ground below us as he slammed head first into the ground, knocking me away as well as I flipped over before falling back first with a grunt and snapping both shoulders back into place.
Rolling back to my feet, I frowned as I saw Mammoth slowly standing up with a stumble, shaking his head with a snort before his gaze focused and he glared at me.
Turning his head to Killer Croc, I did the same and smirked as I saw the crocodilian man pulling a few teeth out before giving me a bloody grin as he licked the blood.
"Not…bad." Mammoth's speech sounded broken as he spoke and I smirked as I stretched my arms behind me to make sure my shoulders were fully popped in, Croc cracking his fingers as he snarled.
"We should tear him apart slowly to make up for him taking pieces from our body."
"Buddy, you're the ones that tried to rip me in half and got a boot to the face. Don't try and make others feel sad simply because you can't get the job done." That seemed to enrage Croc as he charged towards me, but as I looked at Mammoth, I frowned as I saw him staying still with a smirk.
Turning my attention back to Croc, I lunged in as he leapt and swung at me with a downwards claw slash before grabbing his arm with both hands, making sure to move into his chest before heaving and slamming him back first into the ground.
I was not done as I flipped with the throw and delivered an elbow drop to his throat, making him gag before I swung and landed a powerful hook right to his chest that cracked the ground below us.
"And stay down!" I grunted as I leapt into the air and finished him off with a double stomp to the chest that cracked and caved in most of the scales on his chest.
"You may regret not helping him." I spoke as I climbed off of him and Mammoth simply scoffed while bouncing from foot to foot.
"Let's…s-see…" He growled as he hopped from foot to foot and I frowned at that before quickly glancing to the side as I heard a grunt from Aqualad.
Catching sight of him barely being able to keep the bullets from grazing him, I quickly turned back as I saw Mammoth charging at me and smirked before rushing towards Aqualad with a grin.
"Aqua! Switch!" I shouted as I charged towards the gun men and Aqualad's eyes widened before he nodded as he raised his swords and swung them towards Mammoth.
The gunmen on the other hand went to keep firing at him only for their eyes to widen as I appeared in front of them with a stomp, shattering the ground below us while also sending out a shockwave that sent rubble flying everywhere.
"Gah!" A grunt of surprise escaped my lips as I felt a sharp pain in my side, frowning at the small bruise forming before hissing as another one came from the other side and impacted my left thigh.
Falling with the blast and rolling forward to dodge the one following up, I rushed towards Sportsmaster as he continued to fire blast after blast at me, spinning and flipping around them before stomping down and unleashing a shockwave that shook the ground below us.
Despite this, though, I had to admit that I was impressed when the guy just readjusted his aim and nearly landed a shot that would have hit my chest had I not dodged to the side.
However, I was close enough and swung at him, Sportsmaster quickly letting the gun drop and rolling out of the way before grunting as I spun and landed a kick to his arms.
A loud snap echoed in the air and I winced as Sportsmaster was sent blasting across the battlefield and into a tree, his arms hanging loosely while all fighting ceased as Aqualad gave me a shocked look.
"…Sorry?"
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"You broke Sportsmaster's arms, destroyed a factory along with any tunnels it had that could have had valuable information and evidence inside of them, shattered Killer Croc's ribs and broke Mammoth's collarbone." Batman listed off and Wally and Richard winced with each one while Kaldur sighed and Megan gave me a pat on the back.
"I did apologize for them, did I not?"
"Sorry isn't going to heal them, cover their hospital bills nor magically let us know why Kobra wished to meet up with someone like Sportsmaster." Batman spoke with a frown and I sighed and nodded.
"I understand. It's just…The only combat I've had other than Mister Twister and these guys are simulations of facing off against a Superman that's destroyed the planet and was trying his best to kill me. Forgive me if I don't exactly know how to hold back."
"Then learn to do so."
"Do you tell yourself that when you break criminals' bones on a daily basis?" I asked, the others' eyes widening as Batman's narrowed in turn.
"Careful of your tone, Superboy."
"I'm just saying. You can't tell someone to hold back when you try your best to break your opponents both physically and mentally. That's like the teapot calling the kettle black."
"Then I'm doing so right now. What I do in Gotham is far different than the missions you all are doing. I do those to inspire fear and panic to the name Batman. You on the other hand are on covert missions and we don't need others to hear of the cruelties you deliver upon others."
"I know, okay? Fucking hell. Just give me some time to understand that someone's not going to counter my slow punches and rip my heart out with their bare hands." I answered with a frown before walking away, Connor leaping onto my shoulder as I felt his comforting presence enter my mind.
"Are you okay, Chris?"
"I'm okay, Connor. I just wish Batman gave me some chance to figure out what I'm doing instead of forcing me to improve as fast as possible."
"I believe he does it because he knows you can be better." Megan spoke up and I turned to her as she floated besides me before she giggled as I snorted and shook my head.
"Batman believing that others can do better? I'd like to see him admit it. Hah, how are the others doing?"
"Kaldur's still a bit on edge by what happened, but all three are more concerned about you."
"Really? I thought Kaldur would at least more than just a bit on edge about what he saw."
"He is, but I believe he's more concerned about how you are feeling especially after you looked so guilty of what you did according to him. Did you…mean it?" My eyes widened at her question before I quickly shook my head and spoke.
"Not in the slightest! I simply forgot to hold back because his bullets, which were bullets lined with kryptonite on the inside by the way, were actually bruising my body and my mind just went back to a dark place. Before I knew it, I was standing there and he was across the battlefield with his arms broken and blood seeping from the wound on his head."
"I can feel your hesitance to ask, Chris. Do not worry as Sportsmaster survived his injuries and is on his way to make a good recovery." Connor spoke out and I let out a relieved sigh before looking at Megan as she spoke.
"All things aside, you guys did a pretty good job."
"Not as good as you, Wally and Connor here apparently." I spoke and chuckled as she groaned while Connor snorted.
"We did not need to do anything. Wally defeated the villains on his own."
"And then bragged to me about how he could have gone faster but didn't want to break the sound barrier."
"Sounds like you hated it."
"I did! How am I going to show the team that I'm a valuable asset when the fight finishes before I can help?"
"Well, we can always add physical training to your usual to make sure you can help next time?" I proposed with a smirk and chuckled as she rolled her eyes and shook her head.
"Nope, Martians aren't the best physical fighters against the real fighters of the world."
"I never got to ask. Are yo a Green Martian like your uncle too or what?"
"Yep! Green Martian here!" She nodded with a happy smile, but I simply rose an eyebrow at her as I felt her fear and unease through Connor.
"You realize that your emotions is broadcasted to us all the moment I connected our minds together, yes?"
"I-I know. It's just…I don't like talking about my life on Mars and…"
"We understand." I spoke with a smile before she could panic and she let out a relieved sigh before glaring at me as I chuckled and Connor gave a wave of amusement through his connection. I knew that she didn't feel as proud of her White Martian form as she should and while I would want to help her work through it, you can't force someone to do something that they don't want to.
"Did you do that just to make fun of me?"
"I was truly curious, but then I felt like teasing you."
"Ha! Fine! See who is going to make you those extra-sweet mint chocolate cookies you like."
"Me. I'm the one who taught you the recipe, remember?" I spoke with a smirk and couldn't help my laughter as she froze for a brief moment with a blush.
"…I hate you."
"No you don't." I spoke with a smile as we walked towards my room and Connor simply felt amused as Megan said something right as she cut the telepathic link between us.
"So, what are we doing in your room?" Megan asked even as she blushed bright red and I smirked while laying down as Connor hopped onto the bed besides me.
"Remember how I wanted to unlock my Meta-Gene and asked Connor if he could help?"
"Wait, you're doing that now?" She asked with a surprised look and I nodded as I made myself comfortable before Connor's horn glowed as she sat down besides me.
"W-What if something happens and I-I can't stop you?"
"Then just come into my mind and pull me out. You're the strongest telepath I know so that should be more than easy for you."
"A-And what if I do something wrong?"
"Are you saying that the M'gann, Ms. Martian herself, is capable of making mistakes?"
"Of course, I'm not foolish enough to believe I'm perfect." She answered with a raised eyebrow before giving a sheepish smile as I pinched the bridge of my nose.
"You were trying to make me feel more pumped, weren't you?"
"Was it working at least?"
"A bit since you were the one saying it." She answered with a shrug and I couldn't help raising an eyebrow at that before shaking my head as I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.
Moments later, I felt Connor's telepathic link connecting with my mind before I opened them only to frown at the vast foggy area in front of me.
The fog was just dense enough to where one couldn't see the ground at all yet it was also light enough to where I could look around and see the familiar buildings of Metropolis around me.
'Ah, crap, please tell me this isn't going to be what I think it is.' I thought with a frown before groaning as I heard a familiar figure blasting through the air.
Steadying and readying myself as I saw the figure rushing towards me, my eyes widened as the red, blue and yellow of Superman in his hero outfit was replaced by a bald, well-built man in an armoured suit that was lined with something that made me sick the moment its light touched me.
"Hmm, it appears that you believe yourself to be worthy of my power?"
'Of course, fighting Lex Luthor is needed to unlock his Meta-Gene and as if that was not enough, he also has a kryptonite suit. Urgh, why is life this bad for me?'
A/N: And we end this chapter on a cliffhanger as Chris is now stuck fighting Lex Luthor?
But is it simply an apparition made by Connor…or is it actually him? Or perhaps there's something else amok here.
Who knows? We'll have to find out in the next chapter.
Also, Chris did a bit of bonding/ banter with Megan and a bit of arguing with Batman(Not a fan of him, but I'm not hating on him in this story even though it looks like it), but don't worry. The two won't be arguing every second of every day.
Also, like with every other chapter, let me know if it's too short and we'll go about making it longer.
Like always, you can go to my Pat-reon-.-com-/-KingCrimsonNova to read ahead on this as well as many other stories & even some that haven't been released out to this site yet. If you want to, you are free to, but if you don't want, all's good as I will still be uploading here. This is just me trying to get some extra cash.
As always, read, enjoy, review and until next week...
Ba-Bye~!