InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Tell us your thoughts on yaoi."

The Professor lands on the roof of a house, inside Phoenix's city limits. He can plainly see Mr. Terrific's dome has disappeared, and that causes him great alarm. If the dome is gone, that could mean the android has someone been destroyed! ANd most importantly, that means he'll never see his singularity cortex go boom!

In range now, his best chance is to press the remote detonator and hope for the best -- the best being the destruction of Phoenix. But first, he quickly doublechecks his headband is on to ensure that he survives the EMP blast.

Everything is a go, so the Professor holds out the detonator and moves to depress his thumb over the button -- only something keeps his thumb back. He looks at his hand and sees Gulliver wrestling his thumb away from the button! Screeching angrily, he waves his hand trying to shake Gulliver off, but the tiny hero keeps fighting.

It's a thumb war for the sake of the city.

When the Professor tries to use his other hand, Gulliver grows to his regular height. They struggle for the detonator with the Professor dangling from Gulliver's wrists, kicking wildly at his face. Gulliver loses his balance, and both of them roll down the sloped roof, wrestling for control.

The detonator slips away from both of them as they go over the edge.

------

Mr. Terrific and Artemis are in the process of putting their clothes back on when it happens. There is a flash of energy, and seven individuals materialize in the penthouse. Each are completely concealed in black bodysuits. One -- with boomerangs holstered all over him -- moves incredibly fast, hurling two boomerangs at Mr. Terrific. That would be it right there, but Artemis kicks over the bed and knocks Mr. Terrific out of the way.

Doing that instead of going for her bow costs her. One of the other members of the Squad -- obviously some kind of reptile man from his body's shape -- crawls along the wall and grabs her from behind, restraining her.

The only female in the group ignites green flame from her hands and projects it at Mr. Terrific. The stream collides with an invisible barrier a foot away from him and is unable to penetrate his telekinetic shield. He pushes it outward in a wave of force and deflected green flame at the Squad, throwing them back except for the large, hulking member. That one charges through and slams into Mr. Terrific, plowing them both through the outer wall and plummeting to street level.

Artemis uses the chaos to slip from the distracted snake-man's grip and drop to the floor, where her bow is waiting.

------

On the lawn of an apartment complex, the Professor pummels away at Gulliver with a skateboard that had been left lying around. He spots where the detonator fell to out of the corner of his eye and gives Gulliver another couple whacks before taking off in that direction. He hops on the board and goes rolling down a walkway towards it.

Before he gets there, Gulliver's giant boot stomps down, hitting the back of the skateboard and catapulting the Professor away.

------

At the mountainside rubble that used to be the Brain Trust's lab, Supergirl shoves a large boulder away and coughs on all the dust that overwhelms her as a result. There's an opening now, at least. A green glow comes from behind here, where Green Lantern has been keeping everything from caving in on them with what little charge is left in her ring.

Lady Steel exits first, carrying the container with Tomorrow Woman's remains inside. She had her wits about her when the unstable black hole was sucking everything into it to rescue Tomorrow Woman's body, so at least that part of their job has been completed.

As they all gather outside, Phoenix is in direct view. Any one of them can plainly see that Mr. Terrific's dome is no longer there.

They're missing something, aren't they?

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Gulliver tries to get to the detonator in the grass, but the Professor has latched onto his leg, and it's almost all he can do to stay upright. If he grows or shrinks to get free, that just means the damn chimp will take off for the detonator instead and get it first.

So Gulliver swivels towards a stone post and decides to see how the ape likes being slammed int-- AH.

The Professor is biting him!

------

The reptilian Squad member falls on the bed with two energy arrows in his back. The woman ignites her whole body in green flame, only to take an arrow in the chest and fall to the floor -- her flames flickering out.

But then the whole penthouse seems to move unsteadily all around Artemis, and she's overwhelmed by a sense of vertigo that seems to be coming from one of the other attackers. She takes a shot at him, but her arrow doesn't even come close. One of the others takes advantage of the situation, blasting her with bolts from his hands. Luckily, she's wearing enough of her costume to insulate her from taking the full blast. But that isn't going to do much good if the guy decides to do it again.

Apparently, the dog doesn't like the vertigo effect either but isn't so disoriented by it. The one responsible gets a whole set of dog teeth sunk into his leg, causing enough pain and surprise to stop the attack. Artemis quickly gets her head together again and launches an arrow through the energy blaster before he gets his shot off on her. Rising to her feet, she sends another arrow through the head of the vertigo person before he dares hurt that dog.

One of the others doesn't prove so easy to hit. The one with tiger stripes on his suit comes at her, gracefully evading every energy arrow until he closes the distance. His foot lashes out, then his fist and his elbow. Artemis quickly finds herself beaten to the floor and her bow lost. The man comes at her again, so she defends herself with all she still has -- her glider chariot. She unfolds it and uses it as a shield, blocking a punch. When the man grabs it, she activates its thruster and lets go, launching it out of the window with her attacker.

Grabbing her bow, she tries to take aim on the last remaining one -- the one with the boomerangs. But he speeds from side to side, moving to quick for her to nail him in transit. Focusing on him, she doesn't notice the thrown boomerang that arches through the kitchen and back into the room behind her. It stabs into her upper back and almost drops her.

Instead of falling, she stumbles forward and fires a highly charged arrow into the floor between her and the boomerang guy. After a second, the arrow explodes and throws the both of them. Artemis is prepared for that and rolls with it the best she can. The same can't be said for the other guy, who slams harshly against a wall.

It would be so much easier to get down to the street and help Mr. Terrific if she still had her glider -- or without the boomerang in her back. Left with no other choise, she and the dog take the stairwell.

------

Holding the Professor over his head, Gulliver shouts, running forward and throwing the chimp into the side of a parked van with a whump.

Take that, monkey.

Gulliver turns away and heads for the detonator -- once he reminds himself of where exactly it is again. Spotting it in the grass, he jogs for it, knowing all he really has to do is get it then keep it away from the damn chimp.

But that chimp flies screeching through the air, landing on Gulliver's back before he gets to the detonator and tackling him off to the side.

------

Mr. Terrific tumbles across the street. As he comes to a stop, he looks up to see a vehicle sailing through the air at him. His yellow eyes flash, and the vehicle is telekinetically hurled away from him. From behind that vehicle rushes the huge man who was a part of that Squad who appeared in the penthouse. He punts Mr. Terrific in the chest, and all the android can do is concentrate on keeping himself in on piece as he smashes into a wall.

Mr. Terrific drops to the sidewalk, and his attacker stands over him with enormous fists raised. A barrier is erected just in time as those fists come down, stopping the blow just inches away from his body. But the man doesn't relent, continuing to push down on the barrier with the intent of crushing Mr. Terrific. There's no enough buffer room to do anything but focus on the barrier's strength. Even a slight distraction would be enough for the man to bear down on him.

So he puts more and more of his power into the barrier, pushing upward against the man's incredible physical strength. The sidewalk begins to crumble beneath them.

Finally, Mr. Terrific releases so much power that the barrier simply explodes upward as pure force. Cars flip over and windows shatter. But the man -- he is blasted into the sky so high that he disappears into it.

Mr. Terrific is found resting right in that same spot when Artemis and the dog come out onto the street in search of him.

------

The Professor snatches the detonator up from the grass and whirls around to face Gulliver victoriously. He holds it up for the man to see, waggling his thumb over the button. Look what he has!

Gulliver stands opposite of the Professor, holding something else -- that headband. Look what he has!

The Professor screeches and hops up and down. That's his only protection from not dying in the android's blast himself. He stops hopping and holds the detonator out threateningly when Gulliver budges towards him. He might still do it! He might!

Gulliver and the Professor begin circling in their little stand-off.

------

The Justice League arrive back inside the Phoenix city limits and first come across Gulliver and the Professor still circling each other. That situation is quickly resolved once Gulliver has back-up. Hourman and Supergirl quickly restrain and rob the chimp from the detonator, and Green Lantern locks him away in a little monkey cage.

They next come across the curious sight of Artemis, Mr. Terrific and a stray dog sitting together on the side of a devastated street. Artemis is quick -- especially for someone with a boomerang in her back -- to explain the situation, and much to Mr. Terrific's pleasure, she is able to prevent further conflict between them. But she is interrupted by a sudden explosion from above as the penthouse she and Mr. Terrific had been in earlier bursts outward into flame.

Nightstar picks off a few chunks of debris with her starbolts before they come close to reaching any of the League. And at Aquagirl's request, she is lifted high enough by Green Lantern to see the burning penthouse and extinguish the flames by rerouting and bursting several water pipes.

There is no sign anywhere of those who are said to have attacked Artemis and Mr. Terrific.

The Justice League call up a Slideways gate, escorting Mr. Terrific to the Watchtower.

The dog comes as well.