The Next Generation

Power Girl took a moment to examine him as he put the outfit on. She had to admit, it looked good on him. Circling around him with a hand pressed to her chin, she said, "Well... seems pretty good to me. Looks just right in every place that counts." She said that just as she was passing behind him. When she returned around front, she gave him a thumbs up. "It's perfect." She then gave him a warm smile and placed her hands on her hips. "Neal... I don't know how you came back to us, but I'm glad you did. It... it really is good to have you back here."

Neal just watched as Power Girl walked around him, taking a look over on him as she decided whether or not the outfit would work for what he needed to do. As she finally gave him the okay, Neal just smiled. Good, now he could actually go out into the field and help with the fighting. There was no way he was gonna go against those guys again without some sort of protection.

As Power Girl spoke Neal listened and gained a small smile. "Yeah......I still have no idea what's really going on here, but I'm glad that you're still around. I'll do everything I can to help. And I know it's selfish....but I'm glad you're still here"

"I wouldn't call it selfish to be happy when your friend is alive," Power Girl remarked, smiling at him. "I'd call that normal. Anyway, let's get back to the main chamber and see what the others are up to. We won't be doing much else today, but maybe you'd like to get a little training in later. And if you're a chess guy, J'onn is still undefeated around here. Personally, I think it's because he uses his telepathy to cheat, but he assures me that's not the case."

When they arrived back in the chamber, no one really paid much attention to them. It wasn't like when Neal first arrived, when all eyes were on him. Now, he was just another one of them, there to help the cause. Lex was in the middle of working on some kind of the alien technology, zapping the circuits with some sort of electrical device. No doubt, he was trying to learn more about what made it work, and how to shut it down.

In the back, near the gym area, Green Arrow, Black Canary, and Huntress were all engaged in a spar... against Deathstroke. Though the odds were three against one, he still made them look like amateurs. Granted, they were all restricting themselves to hand to hand, but it was still quite the feat, even if Deathstroke would have normally been an enemy.

"You're telegraphing," he said to them. "All of you. Clear your heads and remain calm, never make an necessary movement before you attack. Don't think, just do. If yo keep fighting like that, you'll get yourselves killed rather quickly."

"We've been fine so far," Green Arrow said, coming in with a series of punches.

Deathstroke easily avoided each one, then finally grabbed Green Arrow's fist and twisted his arm around. He finished the motion with a hard kick to his head that knocked him to the ground. "It won't work forever."

Green Arrow groaned, rubbing his head. "Or I could just put an arrow up your ass. That works just as well."

Neal smiled as Power Girl assured him that it wasn't selfish at all for Neal to be happy that she was alive. He was certain that she knew what he meant, but he was glad all the s ame. "Alright, let's head on over. Training sounds good, and I have to admit that I was never much of a chess guy......although I might be able to play quite the game after memorizing some strategies" he said jokingly. Neal did memorize things rather easily after all, so it probably wouldn't be that difficult to pick up.

As Neal and Power Girl entered back into the main room, two things caught Neal's eyes. Lex was continuing to work on several of the alien technologies in an attempt to figure out the element that would help to shut down the weapons. Neal would offer to help, but he was certain that the task was fay beyond his mind.

After seeing that, it was the spar between three of the heroes and Deathstroke that caused Neal to stop and stare. Telegraphing, it was the idea that Deathstroke was trying to teach Neal before they fell out with one another. Deathstroke could read their body language and predict what was coming, he was trying to teach them how to avoid being read. Against Deathstroke they had no chance if he could always predict what was coming. Neal learned that the hard way, even though he never finished his training.

As he walked with Power Girl, his eyes remained on Deathstroke as he kept fighting the heroes.

The three heroes continued to try and attack Deathstroke, but each time they were thrown back in one for or another. A grab, a throw, a flip, a kick, a punch, whatever. Every attempt ended in them on the ground. After several more minutes of this, Deathstroke sighed and wiped his hands off, obviously just about done for now.

"Now you're just getting frustrated and sloppy," he muttered. "Might as well stop while you're behind... we'll continue tomorrow. Until then, consider just how I'm able to counter all three of you. Yes, I have enhanced attributes and a heightened mind, but you three are hardly amateurs. You're three of the most accomplish fighters I've seen. Oliver, you even received training from Natas, the same man who trained me... with the three of you attacking together, you should at least be able to hit me."

"What does it matter?" Black Canary asked, narrowing her eyes at him. "I could just as easily knock you flat on your ass by screaming."

Deathstroke's eyes narrowed right back at her. "And what do you do if you find yourself without your power? Or your weapons, your gadgets, whatever." Glancing back at the piece of tech that Lex was working on, he added, "Do you know what that is? It's a power disruptor. Our enemies use it to temporarily interfere with your body's genetic structure. That means, any powers you have that you obtained through your gene pool--like your Canary Cry, Dinah--are nullified for a brief time. It's how many of you heroes were defeated. If you get hit by it, you have to be able to adapt without it."

Canary's gaze shifted, looking over at the power disruptor and then off to the side. "I'll keep that in mind."

Power Girl watched them for a moment, then back at Neal. "Dick told me about your history with that guy, you know... I get that you hate him, and you should, but believe it or not, he's been instrumental in our surviving this long. He's even been helping train some of us, as you just saw. I can't say I like him as a person... but he is good to have as an ally."

Neal continued observing, right up until the moment that Power Girl was speaking to him. He found it interesting, their enemy had a device that would nullify their powers? Neal couldn't help but wonder how badly that would affect him. Would he still remember his training and be able to perform it? Would he literally just become another human that was just in good shape? He wasn't sure, but he'd have to hope that he didn't find out.

He glanced over at Power Girl as she spoke about Deathstroke. "I blame myself more than I blame him for what happened in that month, but I still hate that he convinced me. I hate that I fell for his trap and nearly killed people I cared about," he said before realizing how easily he had said it. Probably to Power Girl's surprise, a small smile crept over Neal's face. "You know there was a time when I was scared to tell anyone about what I did with him..........guess it doesn't matter what much anymore though" he admitted.

He looked over at Power Girl once again. "I'll work with him, just don't expect me to ever like him or call him friend. Even in my anger with him, I can see that we're all going to need each other if we're to survive this thing. I just wish I didn't need him this time around" Fade added before turning away from the fight.

Power Girl rested a hand on his shoulder and gave him an understanding look. "I know. After what how he manipulated you, I wouldn't ever expect you to like him. Just as long as you understand we have to work with him, and you can do it, then everything will be fine. We can worry about bringing him down after this whole nightmare is over. Hell, we'll do it together." She smiled, then waved him over to the kitchen area. "Come on, let's see if Sarah needs any help."

Meanwhile, on the other side of the room, Lex was in the middle of melting down a small black square, inside an air tight box. The ionic battery he removed from the weapon was also inside the box, in attempts to test whether or not this particular element would neutralize it. After several moments of exposure to the radiation, the battery flickered and died.

Lex smiled. "Thorium it is."

Neal glanced over at the shoulder and listened to Power Girl speak. He was glad that despite being gone for so long, and despite the pain and loss she had gone through that she hadn't changed who she was. She was happy, supportive, and a good friend. Neal needed those kinds of people around him right now. "Thanks Power Girl, you're the best," he said with a small smile before heading off to the kitchen with her.

As they arrived in the kitchen Neal looked over to Sarah who was preparing food for everyone. His eyes once again looked at her robotic arm, wanting to ask what happened. He didn't though, she was probably struggling with the personal loss of Starfire, her wife already. Neal wasn't going to add to the burden. "Need a hand in here?" Neal asked as he approached Sarah.

Sarah looked up as Neal and Power Girl entered the kitchen. She couldn't help but smile at the outfit that Neal had picked out for himself; it really did seem to suit him well, and he looked good in it. "Hey," she said, with a small smile, while stirring the pot of boiling beans. "Well, I have most everything under control... not much to take care of really. Doesn't take a lot to cook a can of beans and stuff. But if you want to chop up some vegetables for a salad, you can go ahead and do that."

"Well, I've never been much of a chef," Power Girl said, giving Neal a pat on the back. "So you go ahead and have some fun." She gave him a wink and then walked over to the refrigerator to grab a drink.

"I'm sure that you have everything under control, but helping you out and spending time with you.....it'll be like old times," Neal said despite how strange it sounded to him. Sarah hadn't seen him in five years, and yet Neal felt like he had seen her only yesterday. It didn't make any sense, but he hoped that she'd appreciate his company all the same.

As Power Girl said that Neal could take care of helping Sarah, he just smiled back at her. "Thanks," he said before moving close to where Sarah was and grabbing some vegetables before quickly beginning to cut several of them up. As he chopped, he glanced over at Sarah and gave the tiniest of smiles. He had so many questions for her, and yet he wasn't sure if he should address any of them.

"Sarah, I know I'm several years too late and all, but I hope that you know how important you were to me and my life. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have made the difference and become a hero. I just wanted to let you know that I appreciate it, and I'm sorry that I never said it before"

Sarah stopped stirring the pot in front of her as Neal spoke. She bowed her head slightly, listening carefully and forming a small smile. "Late? No... I think you're right on time," she said, turning to him. Her eyes were starting to water. "After everything that's happened... that's exactly what something needed to hear. I've been... sad, for a long time. It's nice to hear something good for a change." She blinked back a few tears and then reached out to hug him, just holding him for several moments. "But hey, what are friends for right? To be there for you when they need you. Thank you, too, Neal. I mean heck, if it hadn't been for you, I don't think I ever could have brought myself to go with the Titans that day.

Neal glanced up as Sarah mentioned about how he was right on time rather than late. He could see the tears in her eyes, and it made his heart drop as he worried that he touched some sort of nerve. As she spoke though he began to regain his smile, despite how close to tears Sarah had become. He returned the hug and held her for as long as she wanted. He nodded as she spoke about how friends were there for one another. "I've apparently been gone for quite some time.....but I'm here now right?" Neal asked as he shot her another smile. As she mentioned that first day with the Titans Neal couldn't help but laugh. "Think about how I felt! You at least had powers. When you asked me to come along I still thought that I was some nobody," he added with a laugh on his words.

"All the same, it was by far one of the best days of my life"

"You weren't nobody," Sarah assured, still smiling. "You were my new friend. Heck, we'd just survived a bank robbery together! And besides, you had still grown up in the same city as the Titans, it had to be thrilling regardless, going along with the Titans, right?" She chuckled softly, then stepped back and folded her arms over chest. "It's strange, you know, how far we've come since then... everything that's happened..."

A small sigh escaped her lips and she looked down at the ground. "I still can't believe she's gone, you know? Ever day, I expect her to come running in, all excited with that smile on her face, you know the one she always has. But... she never does. It... it feels like a dream. A bad dream I can't wake up from. It's why I keep fighting, instead of giving up... If I can prevent just one person from having to go through that kind of loss, then it's worth it." Leaning forward against the counter, she stared into the pot of boiling soup.

Neal smiled as Sarah encouraged him that he wasn't a nobody back then, that even if they had gotten out of that situation there was a chance they would have stayed in contact. "Yeah, it is really strange to think about how long ago it was. Hard to believe how much we've really accomplished," he said before looking over at Sarah as she began to gain a somber look. It was obvious what she was starting to think about, but he stayed quiet and allowed her to continue to speak.

"Yeah, Starfire always was good at lightning up the mood of a room. It was one of her talents, one that she always made good use of no matter what happened," Neal admitted as he thought back to Starfire. It was hard to imagine that she was really dead, to think that so many had fallen and been lost. Neal turned his gaze to Sarah once again. "And I'll be right next to you from now on, we're here for the long haul and we will win this fight," Neal said encouragingly as he placed a hand on Sarah's shoulder as she stared into the soup.

After saying those things, Neal began to really miss Raven.

"Thanks," Sarah replied, holding a hand to the same shoulder as Neal. Knowing he had her back made her regain a tiny smile, though the tears didn't go away. "So, anyway, dinner should be ready soon. How's that salad coming?"

Before she could get an answer, though, they were interrupted by Lex. "Change of plans, everyone," he announced, walking into the middle of the room. "I've just discovered the proper element radiation to deactivate the enemy weapons. It's called Thorium. Problem is, we're going to need very large quantities of it, and this isn't something you can find at the local hardware store."

"So then where exactly are we supposed to get this Thorium?" Huntress asked, folding her arms.

"Fortunately, I kept a large store of natural elements in my laboratory at my old Lexcorp building, in Metropolis. Thorium is one of them. It should be enough for what we need. All we need to do is head there and take it."

"Excuse me," Green Arrow said, raising an eyebrow. "But last I checked, we're in New York, not Metro."

Lex glared over at him. "Which is why we would have to fly there. We have two people who are capable of flight, three including me with my battle suit. We can take a small team to Metropolis to retrieve the Thorium and be back before morning."

"We'd really only me to fly us," Sarah said, holding up her glowing power ring. "I can carry however many we take with this."

Lex considered her statement, eventually nodding. "That would be better, actually. Power Girl can remain behind, then, so we don't have to take all of our flying allies, in case we run into trouble. The team should be small, though, and stealth based. We won't be looking to head into a fight, but get in and get out without being seen. If the Lantern is coming for transport, and I have to go since I know the layout of the building, then we'll need two or three more, preferably no more."

"You need stealth, you got it," Dick said, walking out from the shadows.

"I might as well come along," Deathstroke added, loading his pistols and slipping them into their holsters. "It's getting boring around here."

"And we should take Neal," Sarah said, glancing over at him. "If we do run into trouble, his power could be vital to our escaping."

Neal was about to respond to Sarah when Lex suddenly came in and began to speak. Neal turned to him and gave him his full attention, knowing that it must have been important if he was going to make this sort of a grand announcement. Neal listened curiously, hearing about how he had discovered the element that was going to neutralize the weapons of the enemy. So he had figured it out? This seemed like it was going to be quite a good start.

As Lex continued to speak, Neal heard how bad the situation was. They had to head to Metropolis in order to claim the amount of the element that they needed? Last Neal checked the entire planet had been taken over, it wasn't going to be easy for them to get there, steal a large number of this element, and get back unnoticed. As Lex continued to speak he addressed these points though, going as far as to suggest that Sarah transport everyone while taking stealth-based teammates.

Dick and Deathstroke offered to go, and Sarah quickly volunteered for him to go. Neal had to admit that it was a logical choice. He had been trained in stealth by Talia and Lady Shiva, and along with that his illusions could provide them a few moments to escape or divert attention away from them. He gave a small nod and looked over to Lex. "I'll go along, Sarah's right about how my power could prove useful," he said. Though Neal didn't voice it, he was glad that there would be three heroes accompanying Lex and Deathstroke. He still didn't trust either of them.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Lex said, motioning for them all to follow. "We have a job to do."

As the team began to follow, Sarah looked over at Neal and shrugged. "Well, I guess we won't be eating dinner for a while, huh?" She laughed quietly, then started to head after the others.

"Remember, if you get back after midnight," Huntress called after them, "the password is 'turtle soup'."

Once they were outside, Sarah ordered them all to gather closely, so she could transport them with as small a construct as possible. The less green glow that the enemy could see from the ground, the better. Though, to be fair, at the speed she'd be going, she'd probably appear to be no more than a shooting star, but better safe than sorry. When they were all ready, Sarah formed a green sphere around them and then lifted up off the ground. In the next instant, they zipped away from the city and through the sky so fast that the ground was nothing more than a swirling blur beneath them.

It only took them about three minutes to reach Metropolis, pretty good time considering the distance. Had she needed to go farther, she would have gone much faster, but they didn't, so three minutes was the time.

"Take us to the Lexcorp rooftop," Lex said. "We'll enter from there and work our way down. Less of a chance of being seen than if we try to go through the front door."

"I'm on it," Sarah said, adjusting the flight path to head straight for the top of the tall skyscraper, which was as much of a shell of a structure as everything else around now. They were on the roof a moment later, and she set them all down gently, then dispersed the light construct.

Lex started towards the rooftop door. "Follow me, and stay close."

Neal glanced over at Sarah as she looked towards him and mentioned that they weren't going to be eating dinner soon. "Shame that is, it was looking like it was going to be pretty good actually," he said honestly as they started to walk off. Neal had simple tastes, sometimes something like flavored broth was enough for him.

Neal glanced over as Huntress mentioned the password. "Turtle soup, got it," he said to make sure that it stayed in his mind. He was the new guy after all, so she was probably saying it for his own benefit.

As they exited, Sarah was quick to construct a circle around everyone so that they could all travel together. The smaller they were the better, if the enemy knew about their abilities they might be looking for anything that seemed suspicious. The less obvious they were the better, that was the basic definition of stealth after all.

As they finally arrived, and in record time, Neal stepped out of the construct. It didn't do his mind good to know that he was only about a foot away from Deathstroke. Neal just wanted to make some distance between him and that guy. Neal checked his suit, making sure that nothing was loose that would make a large amount of noise whenever he stepped or had to move quickly. Upon making sure, he quickly turned to Lex who told everyone to follow and stay close.

Neal glanced back at Dick and Sarah once before turning and moving after Lex. He wasn't sure what kind of resistance they would find in this place, but they needed to prepare for anything that might come at them next.

If they were lucky, they wouldn't find any resistance. Most of the invaders continued to live in their ships, which they were better familiar with, and were likely in much better condition than any remaining human structures. The only thing that they would have to worry about is somehow triggering something that caused nearby patrols to learn of their presence there. If that happened, they should still be able to get away just fine. Most patrols consisted of only five squad members, and given their firepower, they should be able to handle a mere five no problem. But accidents still happened, of course, and no one really wanted to find out the hard way.

"My old lab is in the sub basement levels," Lex explained. "Considering that I doubt the back up generators lasted five years, we'll have to take the stairs. I hope you all brought your walking shoes."

Sarah merely scoffed. "Please, you forget who you're working with," she said, marching over to the nearest elevator shaft. Forcing the doors open, she reached out with her fist and formed a giant fist that went down the length of the shaft, ripped out the old elevator, and placed it down next to them. She then formed an identical elevator out of green light in the shaft. "All aboard."

Lex raised an eyebrow. "I stand corrected."

Dick couldn't help but smile as he walked past her into the elevator. "Not too shabby."

Neal continued to move along with everyone, looking around the abandoned building. These enemies were trying to stay in control, so apparently they didn't have much desire for monitoring places like this. That was perfect for them, they just had to avoid doing anything disastrous and hopefully they'd be able to move in and out of this facility with no problem. Neal continued to look around though, not wanting to lower down his guard. As much as Neal hated to think about it, Deatstroke had a point when he taught Neal to never lower his guard.

Neal was getting ready to head towards the stairs when Sarah decided that she was going to intervene and use her power to help them out once again. Neal watched as the elevator was replaced with one of green energy, setting itself right into the groove of where the old elevator was. Neal just shook his head and held back a laugh.

Neal glanced over at Sarah as he moved past her. "The things that you're able to do with that thing continue to amaze me," he said before stepping in and waiting for Sarah to lower them down several levels.

Sarah chuckled. "Funny, Kori used to say the same thing all the time." When everyone suddenly stopped and stared back at her, she lifted an eyebrow at them. "Not remotely what I meant. We should keep moving now."

When they were all in the elevator, Sarah shut the artificial doors and down they went. It took only a few minutes to reach the sub basement levels, deep below the foundations of the building. It was a restricted and highly confidential area, when it was in use. Now, it was just an old, empty facility. Lex led them forward down a long hallway, the only source of light coming from Sarah's glowing ring. Several moments later, they arrived at a large, heavy security door, one that could withstand powerful explosives and come away without a scratch.

"Normally, I'd simply enter a passcode and use the retinal scanner to get through," Lex explained. "But with no power... Lantern, if you'd please."

Sarah stepped forward and pointed her ring forward. A thin beam erupted from it, slicing through the metal door like butter. She carved out a smaller entrance that they could pass through, the cut away piece falling to the ground with a loud thud.

"The lab is at the end of this hall," Lex continued. "Once we're inside, we'll have to enter the storage chamber. The elements are contained within a series of metal drawers along the back wall. I haven't been in here in a while, so I don't remember exactly where the Thorium is. Just look them all; they're labeled."

As the continued down the corridor, Sarah turned briefly behind them and held her ring forward. A full light construct resembling a person formed and remained behind. "A guard to act as our look out," she said.

As Sarah spoke Neal had to look back at the others and raise an eyebrow. He was certain that it wasn't what Sarah meant, but what kind of friend would he be if he didn't give her some sort of a hard time right? Sometimes that was the only way to make sure you were good friends, if you were able to make fun of one another without actually hurting their feelings.

As they descended down the elevator, Neal just kept to himself until they all exited and made their way down the hallway. So far things seemed to appear empty, with luck they wouldn't be attacked at all while they were here. They were going to gather some element that would deal a significant blow to their enemy, and their adversary didn't even have a clue what they were up to. Things were going well so far.

Neal continued to move forward through the entrance that Sarah made, even glancing back and watching as she made a guard act as if he was on duty in case anyone was coming up from behind. It was brilliant. Neal continued to move forward with the others, waiting as Lex lead the way and allowed them to enter into the next room where his lab was.

As soon as Neal was able, he looked around the room to try to find the storage chamber. The sooner they could all start looking for the Thorium the better after all.

"Samariam, no," Lex muttered, going through the storage drawers. "Terbium, no. Thallium, no. This would be so much easier if my scientists had sorted them by periodic number, like I told them to do dozens of times."

Sarah moved from drawer to drawer as well, pulling each one open and reading the label. She spotted Magnesium, Dubnium, Platinum, Tungsten, Radium, and Promethium, but no Thorium. There was still plenty of spots to look, though. She was just worried about how much time it was going to take. The sooner they finished the job, the better.

Five minutes. Ten minutes. Fifteen minutes. Then, finally, they had it. Deathstroke pulled open a drawer and reached inside, lifting out a rather large cube of... well, it wasn't metal. Metal-ish? Something. More like lead than anything, though. "Got it," he said, shoving the drawer closed again. "Now, let's get out of here."

"Is that going to be enough?" Dick asked, inspecting the hunk of Thorium. Sure, it was a large piece, but they had a whole planet to take back.

Lex walked over and pulled out a small knife, then shaved a tiny sliver of the Thorium off. Holding up the sample, he said, "This is enough to create a device that will end its radiation throughout the entire city, rendering their technology useless. Add to the fact that most of the alien scum are still holed up in their ships, and not spread out across the entire globe as we humans were, this will be more than enough. I'll need time to work on it, of course, but it shouldn't be long. I can have five of said devices ready by tomorrow evening, if I work through the night."

"Right, well let's worry about that later," Sarah said, leading the way back to the hallway with her ring. "We still have to get out of here and back to base." Making their way to the elevator shaft, Sarah again formed a construct to transport them back up to the top floor, from where they exited onto the room. "Alright, everyone get close together again and we'll-"

She never got to finish her sentence, before a hot energy beam sliced through her left shoulder. Screaming out in pain, she dropped to the ground, clutching her wound and shuddering partially in shock. Fighting the pain, she reached down to a small device on her belt and clicked it. Hopefully that would be enough. In moments, though, the roof was surrounded by ten of those alien officers on hover bikes.

"Looks like your thermal readings were correct, Captain," one of them said. All ten then pointed their weapons straight at the group.

Deathstroke narrowed his eye, while slowly reaching for one of his automatic pistols. "We're outnumbered. Not good odds."

"Yeah..." Dick muttered, pulling out a batarang. But he was smirking. "They don't stand a chance."

"Fade, tend to the Lantern," Lex ordered, raising an arm and firing an energy blast from his battle suit. The blast struck one of the officers and sent him plummeting down the side of the building. "She's our ticket out of here; if she dies, we won't be getting back to New York!"

Periodic number? Whatever happened to just alphabetizing things like this? They would have found the T's ages ago if they were just in the correct letter order. Still, Neal made sure to hold his tongue since they weren't there to start a fight. They kept searching in silence, trying to find the correct element before someone finally found it.

Deathstroke help up the cube while Lex said that only a small amount would be plenty in order to shut down the weapons of their enemy. That was good at least, Neal wasn't sure why they didn't take the whole thing anyway. Course, Neal never really was the scientific type anyway. Perhaps there was a reason why they only wanted to use a small amount. He was just glad that they were able to find it.

As they made their way back to the roof, none of them saw the attack coming as a laser ripped through part of Sarah's shoulder. Shit! As they quickly became outnumbered, Neal looked around to see that there were ten enemies, and Sarah probably wasn't going to be able to focus well after that wound.

Neal heard Lex's order, and was about to contradict him before deciding that it wasn't the right time. Neal would make sure that Sarah was alright, but he would do it because she was his friend. Neal quickly moved over to her, crouching down on his knee. "Sarah, are you alright?", he asked before looking over to the aliens. If he was going to get shot at, he'd have to be ready to create a shield or grab Sarah and move away in time.

"I'm okay," Sarah muttered, rolling over onto her back. "The heat from the laser cauterized the wound, so at least it's not bleeding." But it still hurt like a bitch, and she couldn't lift her right arm very well. And her right arm was her normal one. At least she didn't need to lift her ring in order to form constructs with it. It meant she wouldn't be able to aim it to fire any normal blasts from it, though, unless she used her robotic arm to manually point her limp arm.

"Look out!" she called suddenly, as the surrounding alien officers began to fire at the group. Lex, Deathstroke, and Batman scattered, avoiding the incoming blasts relatively easily. Dick threw a couple of batarangs at two nearby enemies. They exploded upon impact, sending them falling over 100 stories to the ground. Times had changed since the old days... there was no holding back with an intent not to kill anymore. How could there be? They'd never take the planet back that way.

Deathstroke fired his automatic pistols with lethal accuracy, ripping through several of the officers' heads, while Lex continued to fire his energy beams, exploding hover bikes. It looked like they'd be able to overcome this obstacle easily... that is, if it weren't for the fact that two more seemed to show up on scene for every one they took out. Sarah created a bubble of green light around herself, which managed to deflect any incoming shots fired. As more of the officers showed up, though, evading each shot on the small footop was beginning to grow increasingly more challenging. At one point, Dick received a shot in the left leg, and Lex one on the left shoulder, which caused his battle suit to start sparking with damage.