The Pig Lantern aims a boxing glove at Mirror Master, who reflects it back, knocking Pig Lantern out. Then Mirror Master rotates his mirror ninety degrees, causing Vina's wings to bend back on themselves as though seen through a kaleidoscope.
"Aye, well, that's th'Hawk lady done," says Mirror Master. "Whence ye've fought th'Flash, nabbody else pains a dagde in June."
Atrocitus turns to Sinestro, ignoring Vina.
"Green Reject!" he jeers. "Changed your mind about our gang? Well, you didn't do any of the work, so you don't get any of the reward. In fact, we might just take you out for desertion ..."
"You're not so frightening as you appear," Sinestro sneers back. "But I think you're frightening enough for my purposes ..."
"Not in here!" snaps Libra. "Sinestro, welcome. No one wishes you harm, apart from Atrocitus, who wishes everyone harm. But leave your forcefield up, if it makes you comfortable."
Vina, meanwhile, unbuckles her weirdly warped wings and slips out of them.
"As I suspected," Libra continues, "the Superman icon is not damaged, merely .. incomplete. Some of its patterning has been imposed on someone already, but that person was not able to completely embrace the pattern. Perhaps none of us can."
He sets the Superman icon on the stage of the big machine, along with the computer-head icon and a golden lasso icon.
"So it were better," Libra continues, "if no one else made use of them, either. I was planning to wait for Scarecrow to return with the last piece, but if he doesn't arrive soon ... wait! What's this? My Facebook feed is exploding with on-scene reports of superheroes in Metropolis, fighting Scarecrow and Bizarro!"
"There's video ... it seems Scarecrow and Bizarro have won. No heroes are visible. But I can't tell if they have the icon ..."
"Hey!" bellows Atrocitus. "That Ladyhawk's gone! We tore her wings off!"
"Th'wings're just a costume, big man," says Mirror Master. "Aye many of 'em up in space, whir yir from. Dinnae ye see any, whin ye were there? They are pleece, aft'r all."
"Space is not a room we all gather in when we're not on Earth, Terran worm!" Atrocitus yells. "I have never fought the Hawk Police of Thanagar, if that's who you mean. But this is not one of them -- she wears a cowl and elf boots! They never did that."
"That's it," decides Libra. "I'm starting up the machine. Scarecrow and Bizarro will just have to catch up to the rest of us ..."
And he throws a final switch, causing the two spinning golden globes to spin much much faster, making a rising eerie engine-whine!
Vina sneaks from the shadows and grabs for the Superman icon. Mirror Master spots her (while looking in a completely different direction) and calls a warning.
ReplyDeleteVina darts forward, grabbing. The only one close enough to stop her is Libra, but he reaches out to protect his machine, so he doesn't stop her.
She has the Superman icon, which is red metal, about paperback sized, and unbelievably heavy. It's all she can do to keep it from clanging on the ground. Running back into the shadows with it would be quite difficult, and her anti-gravity wings are over there.
Atrocitus lights up the whole garage with his red fire.
"Don't shoot! You'll hit the machine!" cries Libra, turning to point at Atrocitus in outrage. Which is another word for atrocity.