The school had become a war zone.
Robin, Aqualad, Kid Flash, Miss Martian, and Superboy stood in a tight formation around Serling Roquette, who was desperately working on her laptop, on the rooftop Artemis and Red arrow stood guard. Her fingers flew across the keys as she tried to finish the virus that could take down The Fog.
They couldn't let her be interrupted—not even for a second.
Sportsmaster led the assault, every swing of his reinforced hockey stick a killing blow aimed straight for Superboy, who met him head-on. Each strike echoed through the school grounds like a gunshot. Superboy blocked one hit, but the force sent him staggering back. Sportsmaster wasn't pulling punches—every move was designed to kill.
Cheshire was a ghost in the chaos, her twin daggers slicing through the air with deadly precision. She closed in on Miss Martian with terrifying speed, her blade deflecting off psychic shields that shimmered with green energy.
"You're strong," Cheshire purred through her mask, "but not strong enough to stop me from cutting through that scientist."
Miss Martian gritted her teeth, pushing back with a psychic blast that sent Cheshire sliding across the pavement—but not far enough to stop her from regrouping almost instantly.
"How's that virus coming?" Robin yelled, deflecting a sudden strike from Cheshire that nearly grazed his side.
Roquette didn't even look up. "Almost there! Just buy me a few more minutes!"
"We're fresh out of minutes!" Kid Flash shouted, sprinting forward in a blur of red lightning. He targeted Sportsmaster, aiming quick jabs to distract him from Superboy—but the assassin anticipated his every move. With a vicious backhand, Sportsmaster sent him sprawling against the cold concrete.
Aqualad charged in next, water-bearers glowing as they turned into razor-sharp swords. He struck hard, forcing Sportsmaster back with heavy, disciplined strikes. But the assassin was relentless, countering every swing with brutal efficiency.
"You're good, fish boy," Sportsmaster sneered. "But you're not good enough."
Robin was everywhere at once—explosive birdarangs flew through the air, aimed precisely to intercept Cheshire's attacks.
"You're not getting near her!" Robin growled, blocking a swipe from her dagger.
Cheshire's eyes gleamed with cold amusement. "I don't need to get near her. Sooner or later, your little team will break."
Superboy lunged at Sportsmaster with raw fury, his fists slamming into the assassin's armor. The pavement cracked beneath their clash, but Sportsmaster managed to hold his ground—barely.
In the chaos, Miss Martian hovered defensively near Roquette, using her telepathy to keep a protective barrier around them both. Sweat rolled down her forehead as she struggled to maintain the shield against Cheshire's persistent strikes.
"I—can't hold this much longer!" she shouted.
"You have to," Robin barked, tossing another birdarang toward Cheshire, forcing her to dodge. "We're out of backup—it's just us!"
Roquette's fingers moved faster than ever. "Just a little more! Almost done—just hold them back!"
Kid Flash stumbled back to his feet, his vision blurry, his whole body aching from Sportsmaster's earlier hit. But he forced himself forward again, sprinting between strikes to throw Sportsmaster off-balance for just a second.
"You're not gonna win, old man!" he panted, delivering a rapid series of punches at breakneck speed.
Sportsmaster merely smirked, deflecting every blow with terrifying ease. "You're fast—but not fast enough."
Cheshire suddenly pivoted, darting past Robin's defenses, aiming straight for Roquette.
Miss Martian screamed, slamming her with a powerful telekinetic wave that sent her crashing into a wall, but it weakened her already fading barrier.
"Hurry, Roquette!"
The scientist's voice was strained and breathless. "I'm almost there—just ten more minutes!"
Robin threw himself in front of Roquette just as Cheshire recovered, engaging her blade to blade with his collapsible staff.
"You're not laying a finger on her!"
Superboy roared, grabbing Sportsmaster by the chest and hurling him into a nearby tree with enough force to splinter the trunk.
"Almost there!" Roquette shouted, her voice tight with panic and determination. "Just a little longer—I'm so close!"
The team tightened their formation, bracing for the inevitable final push from Sportsmaster and Cheshire.
Robin's voice cut through the chaos, steady and unbreakable.
"No matter what—hold the line!"
Superboy clenched his fists, the frustration of the battle boiling over. His muscles tensed as Cheshire closed in on Miss Martian once again—enough was enough.
With a growl of fury, he surged forward, moving faster than she could react. His shoulder slammed into her mid-air with devastating force, sending her flying backward like a missile.
"Not this time!" Superboy snarled.
Cheshire's body crashed directly into Sportsmaster just as he lunged for Robin, sending both assassins tumbling across the pavement in a heap of limbs and weapons. They slammed against the side of a wall with a heavy thud, leaving a spiderweb of cracks across the surface.
Kid Flash grinned, panting heavily. "Okay, that's what I'm talking about!"
But Superboy wasn't done. His eyes burned with raw determination. He focused on the tangled heap of villains, narrowing his gaze as a strange heat built behind his eyes.
A sharp hum echoed through the courtyard, and suddenly—green light surged forward from his vision, sharp and wild, crackling with unstable energy.
"What the—?!" Robin's eyes widened as the beam fired straight at the downed assassins.
The laser wasn't the warm red glow of Superman's heat vision—it pulsed with a sickly green hue, toxic and alien. The blast struck the wall behind Sportsmaster and Cheshire, detonating in a violent explosion of green energy that sent chunks of debris raining down across the courtyard.
Miss Martian threw up a psychic shield just in time to block the fallout, her eyes wide with shock. "That—wasn't normal heat vision…"
Superboy staggered, gripping his head for a moment as a wave of dizziness hit him.
"What… was that?" His voice was strained, confusion clouding his expression.
Robin didn't have time to answer.
Cheshire and Sportsmaster lay sprawled across the ground, unconscious and broken by the overwhelming force of the young heroes.
Kid Flash doubled over, panting and clutching his side. "We… we actually did it!"
Robin allowed himself a breath of relief, lowering his staff. "Nice work, everyone. We held the line—just like we planned."
Superboy stared at his hands, the faint memory of that sickly green glow still lingering in his vision, but before he could speak—
Pop.
The sharp, bubble noise echoed through the air, cutting through their relief like a razor.
The team's heads snapped toward the source.
Sitting casually on one of the overturned tables, legs crossed as if she were relaxing at a café, was a woman. Blonde, shoulder-length hair fell perfectly around her face—every feature looked like it had been sculpted by someone obsessed with perfection, her mouth chewing bubblegum.
She wore a sleek, form-fitting bodysuit layered beneath a heavy, reinforced jacket. The collar pulsed with faint, glowing orange neon light, casting subtle reflections on her unnervingly flawless skin.
But it wasn't the outfit that sent a chill down their spines—it was her eyes.
There was something off about them. Too sharp. Too calculating. They gleamed like polished glass, staring through them like she already knew everything they were going to do.
And then—clap… clap… clap…
Slow applause echoed through the room.
"Well, well, well… look at you all. Little heroes, saving the day," she said, voice smooth as silk, but with a serrated undertone that made their skin crawl. "Such… determination. Such grit."
The team instinctively fell back into a defensive formation, every muscle on edge.
Robin stepped forward, narrowing his eyes. "Who are you?"
The woman smiled—a perfect, manufactured smile that didn't reach those unsettling eyes.
"Oh, just a fan," she purred. "And I must say… you all exceeded my expectations."
Miss Martian's voice echoed through the mental link, "Robin… something's wrong. Her mind, it's chaotic, wild, she is blasting music directly into her mind.... she's insane."
Superboy clenched his fists. "You're with them?" He nodded toward the unconscious assassins.
The woman chuckled softly, shaking her head. "Them? Please. Those two are… amateurs."
The tension in the air grew thick—every instinct screamed danger.
"No," she continued, standing slowly, her voice dropping into something almost affectionate. "I'm here for something... much bigger."
The neon glow on her collar pulsed brighter, and the room suddenly felt too cold.
"Let's see how long you can keep playing hero before you break."
The unsettling smile never left her face.
Her eyes suddenly flared—a violent, burning red that lit up the dim room like twin infernos.
BANG!
The sound was deafening. Every screen, every computer in the school exploded simultaneously in a storm of sparks and smoke. Shattered glass rained down like deadly confetti, the force of the blast sending metal casings flying across the room.
Roquette screamed as the monitor she had been working on detonated just inches from her face, sending a jagged storm of glass shards hurtling toward her.
"Roquette!" Kid Flash shouted, already moving—
But Miss Martian was faster.
With a surge of will, her telekinesis snapped into action, forming a glowing barrier just in time. The shards slammed into her psychic shield and fell harmlessly to the ground.
"I've got her!" Miss Martian called out, though the strain was clear in her voice.
The air was thick with smoke and the sharp scent of burning plastic. Sparks still crackled from the ruined consoles, their circuits fried beyond recognition.
Robin stared at the wreckage in disbelief. "The virus…" His voice was tight. "It's gone."
Across the room, she stood perfectly still—untouched by the chaos she had just unleashed.
"Tsk, tsk," she said mockingly, her voice like velvet over steel. "You worked so hard… and for what?"
Superboy stepped forward, fists clenched, jaw tight. His voice was low and dangerous. "You're going to regret that."
The woman tilted her head slightly, that same eerie smile still cutting across her face. The red glow of her eyes dimmed—just a little.
"Oh, I doubt that."
The woman's smile didn't waver as she reached behind her back with fluid precision.
Schlick.
The metallic hiss of a blade leaving its sheath cut through the thick air. A katana, sleek and polished to perfection, reflected the shattered lights of the ruined school. As she gripped the hilt, veins of soft blue light pulsed beneath her bodysuit—her cybernetics coming to life. The faint hum of machinery echoed from beneath her skin, like a predator awakening from a long sleep.
"Let's make this interesting," she whispered, her voice low and dangerous.
Kid Flash didn't wait for an invitation.
"Bad idea, lady."
He was gone in a blur—connection to the Speed Force igniting his body like a live wire. The wind screamed behind him as he darted forward, faster than the eye could track, fist drawn back to land a blow that could break bone.
But she moved.
Faster than she should have.
Her Sandevistan kicked in—time seemed to slow around her as her enhanced reflexes pushed her body beyond human limits. The air felt thick, as if she was moving through syrup, but she sliced through it like a scalpel through flesh.
In a split-second, she barely sidestepped the speeding blur of Kid Flash.
WHAM!
Her fist collided with his diaphragm—a devastating strike fueled by cybernetic strength. His momentum worked against him, amplifying the force of the hit tenfold.
Kid Flash's eyes widened as the air violently ripped from his lungs.
CRACK!
The impact echoed through the room like a gunshot. He flew backward, crashing into the remnants of a shattered desk, clutching his stomach and gasping for air.
"Wally!" Miss Martian's voice echoed in the team's mental link, laced with panic.
The woman turned back toward the others, blade glinting ominously under the broken light.
"Need to work on those instincts kid," she taunted, her voice laced with cold amusement. The faint hum of her cybernetics pulsed through the air like the beat of an unstoppable war drum.
Superboy stepped forward, rage simmering beneath the surface. His fists clenched so hard the knuckles cracked, his eyes glowing faintly with that sickly green light.
Robin narrowed his eyes, drawing a fresh birdarang from his belt.
"Alright," he muttered under his breath. "Time to step it up."
The predator smiled wider, blade ready, cybernetics humming—
"Good," she said. "Let's see if you can keep up."
The faint hum of her cybernetics resonated through the air, each pulse like a heartbeat of cold, synthetic precision. The soft blue glow under her skin danced in rhythm with every step she took toward the young heroes—each movement calculated, predatory, and disturbingly graceful.
Her mission was already complete.
The virus—that precious little pet project—was already nestled deep within LexCorp's servers, being finished by minds far more capable than the team she was currently toying with. Soon, it would devour the core of the WayneTech building, hollowing out its secrets and leaving nothing but ashes in the digital wind. The cherry on top? The data siphoned from S.T.A.R. Labs was already streaking across cyberspace toward LexCorp's servers like a comet, far beyond the reach of the Light's so-called "elite" cybersecurity, after that Eve commanded for the virus to leak just in time to stop it from devouring a Lexcorp compound, nothing sensitive there just in case.
But this?
This wasn't about the mission anymore, It was done after all.
This was about the thrill. The sport, The love of the game.
Superboy charged first, fists clenched, rage boiling beneath his skin like molten lead. His eyes, that eerie green glow burning bright, locked on her like a predator who thought he was the apex of the food chain.
How cute.
He threw a punch—a strike meant to end the fight. But the moment his fist surged forward—her Sandevistan flared to life.
Time slowed.
She danced around his swing with lazy elegance, sliding past him like a shadow. Her hand brushed against his arm—an almost affectionate gesture—before she delivered a devastating elbow straight to his back.
THWACK!
Superboy stumbled forward, crashing into a table, splinters flying in every direction.
Robin leapt next, twin birdarangs slicing through the air like twin comets. She twisted, letting the blades whistle past her head with millimeters to spare.
"Try harder, little bird."
Robin didn't hesitate. A smoke pellet burst in his hand, flooding the room with a thick, dark cloud. A distraction—classic move.
Her cybernetic eyes sliced through the darkness effortlessly. The moment Robin's silhouette cut through the smoke, his staff raised—
CRACK!
Her foot lashed out, catching him in the side of his ribs. He crashed to the ground, rolling back, groaning but determined.
Miss Martian's telekinetic grip flared next, trying to pin her in place—but that was just cute.
The psychic wave barely touched her before she broke free with a simple surge of will. Her mind was fortified by layers of synthetic firewalls and cybernetic dampeners, streaming 0's and 1's and Harsh punk rock music straight to the Martian's mind.
"You're going to have to try harder than that, sweetheart."
Kid Flash, still wheezing from their earlier clash, forced himself back onto his feet. His hands shook as he clenched his fists, determination burning through the pain.
"Okay… round two, metal witch!"
She smiled.
"Oh, I don't look that old, do I?"
Every nerve in her body buzzed with pure ecstasy. The fight wasn't just about survival—it was about feeling alive. Her blade twirled in her hand, the hum of sharpened metal singing her anticipation.
The team regrouped, eyes burning with desperation and resolve. They weren't giving up. They were heroes—they didn't know how.
But they didn't realize yet—
This was her playground.
"....Hear my call. I'm chippin' in
Total war, I'm chippin' in..." The music roared, electric guitars roaring in her mind.
Victoria moved like a phantom, weaving through the young heroes with terrifying precision. Her laughter—a cruel, sharp melody—bounced off the walls, taunting them with every movement.
Kid Flash darted in again, his figure blurring with speed, but she didn't even blink. Her sandevistan activated, slowing the world to a crawl from her perspective. With surgical precision, she sidestepped his charge and lashed out—the blade of her katana slicing cleanly across his Achilles tendon.
"Ah, poor boy scrapped his knees," she cooed mockingly as Kid Flash crumpled mid-run, skidding across the floor with a cry of agony. Blood smeared the tile where his foot dragged behind him uselessly.
But there was no time to revel in the pain—Miss Martian lunged at her with a psychic blast, while Superboy closed in from the side. Victoria spun on her heel, her eyes alive with glee, easily dodging Superboy's punch.
"Come on, try to impress me," she taunted.
Suddenly, two sharp twangs cut through the chaos—Artemis and Red arrow fired in perfect unison, their arrows cutting through the air with deadly intent.
But Victoria? She was already moving.
In an elegant blur, she twisted, deflecting Red arrow arrow with her katana in a flash of steel and sending the projectile whipping back toward him with terrifying force.
Speedy barely managed to duck—his breath caught in his throat as the arrow shredded through the fabric of his hood, close enough to draw blood from his cheek.
Victoria paused just long enough to laugh. A dark, mocking sound—pure entertainment.
"Really? That's your best shot?" she grinned, eyes glinting with a wicked fire. She reached into her jacket and pulled out a monstrous hand cannon, thick and industrial—glowing with faint neon circuitry that pulsed with power.
Without hesitation, she fired.
BOOM. BOOM.
The concussive blasts echoed like thunder. In an instant, both archers' bows shattered in their hands, ripped apart by the sheer force of the high-caliber rounds.
"No ranged," she said playfully, spinning the heavy pistol in her hand before holstering it with a click. "Where's the art in that?"
The room fell into stunned silence for a beat—Victoria standing tall, surrounded by her handiwork, completely unbothered.
"Come on," she purred, "make this fun."
Victoria stalked forward, each step echoing through the wreckage of the ruined school. The air was thick with tension and the sharp, metallic scent of blood. Her smile—wide, razor-edged, and hungry—grew bigger with every strike that landed.
Superboy rushed in with raw, furious energy, throwing a powerful punch aimed straight for her chest.
CRACK.
The blow connected—hard—but instead of stumbling back, she laughed. Her grin split even wider, eyes burning with sheer delight.
"That's it," she whispered, her voice vibrating with thrill. "Hit me again."
Superboy recoiled slightly, shaking out his hand. "What the hell?" His knuckles ached. Hitting her felt like punching solid steel—no, worse. It was like hitting a wall of titanium wrapped in muscle. Every blow reverberated through his bones, leaving an unsettling sting.
Robin dove in next, striking with precision and speed, his fists darting toward pressure points—but every hit only made her smile wider.
"You're doing great, little bird," she taunted. "Come on—give me something real."
Suddenly, she disappeared.
In a blink, she reappeared by Kid Flash, still dragging his injured leg behind him. Before he could react, her hand shot out, gripping his shoulder like a vice.
Hiss.
A needle shot out from her cybernetic wrist, plunging straight into the back of his neck. His eyes widened in horror—then… relief.
His torn tendon—it was mending. The tissue regenerated in real time, stitching itself back together like magic… or something terrifyingly close to it.
"We can't have my favorite runner sitting out, can we?" she cooed, voice dripping with mock sweetness.
Aqualad took his chance. His water whips lashed forward, trying to ensnare her limbs—bind her down before she could move again.
But Victoria welcomed it.
With fluid, practiced grace, she caught the whips mid-air and yanked him toward her. Aqualad stumbled, but before he could recover, she spun, locking his arms with inhuman precision and pinning him in a hold he couldn't escape.
"Nice try," she murmured, pressing a cold, futuristic injector against his neck.
Click.
Aqualad's eyes widened as a sharp pain lanced through him—he felt a pull, like something tugging at his very life force. He watched, horrified, as his blood siphoned through the needle, disappearing into the device in her hand.
"You've got strong blood, Atlantean. Let's see what makes you so... special," she whispered near his ear, her breath icy against his skin.
Miss Martian screamed, launching a psychic wave that shattered the windows—but Victoria didn't even flinch.
Her eyes glowed a deeper red, that sadistic grin never faltering.
"You're all just so much fun."
Superboy's eyes ignited.
The green glow surged forward, raw power crackling behind his gaze. His heart pounded with fury, desperation, and pain—this needed to end.
With a primal roar, he unleashed it.
The heat vision—tinged sickly green by his who knows what—lanced through the air, slicing forward like a scalpel made of pure destruction.
The beam hit dead center.
Victoria didn't dodge this time. She wanted it.
The energy struck her square in the chest, and for the first time… she screamed.
But it wasn't fear.
It wasn't agony.
It was bliss.
The light faded, and when the smoke cleared, the team's stomachs churned at the sight.
There was a hole—straight through her torso. A gaping wound, burned clean through her flesh and armor. Blood poured from the edges, staining her sleek suit in deep crimson.
And yet… she was laughing.
Wild, unhinged, ecstatic laughter erupted from her throat. Her eyes—those glowing red cybernetic eyes—sparkled with delight.
"Ahahahaha! YES! That's what I'm talking about!"
Her body twitched unnaturally as she steadied herself, her smile stretching impossibly wide before it suddenly snapped into a pout.
"No, no, no, no… No, Father—things just got interesting! You can't take this away from me yet! Just—just a little more!"
She was talking to herself—no, not herself.
To someone else.
Before the team could react, she moved—too fast.
Artemis threw one of her explosive arrowhead like a baseball, but Victoria was already there. She swept her legs out from under her, sending her crashing to the floor with a thud.
Robin rushed in next, but she caught him mid-strike. A swift stomp crushed his knee into the ground with precision, leaving him gasping in pain.
Superboy charged, fury blazing behind every step.
But Victoria? She met him head-on.
A sharp twist of her body—a perfect judo throw—and Superboy was slammed into the concrete with terrifying ease, the ground cracking beneath the impact.
"More! Give me more!"
Miss Martian tried to pull her back psychically, but Victoria shrugged off the mental pressure, her laugh rising again—manic, high-pitched, and hungry.
Aqualad stumbled back to his feet, clutching his side, but one glance was enough to see the team couldn't last much longer.
Wally surged forward, the hum of the Speed Force crackling around him, electricity dancing across his form. His eyes locked onto Victoria—his plan was simple: shoulder tackle her into the pavement, end this fight before it escalated any further.
But before he could make contact, something unexpected happened.
A pulse of green energy erupted in his wake, trailing behind him like an afterimage—except it wasn't just an afterimage. The energy solidified into walls of glowing light, barriers forming mid-air, radiating an intense power that neither he nor his team had ever seen before.
Victoria's Sandevistan flared to life, time seeming to slow as she dodged the incoming strike with razor-sharp precision. But while she avoided Wally himself, she wasn't fast enough to escape the energy he left behind.
Her hand brushed against the green field.
Pain exploded through her nerves.
Her flesh bubbled, the synthetic compounds in her cybernetic limb twisting under an unseen force. The metal plating hissed as it began to melt, turning into liquid rivulets that dripped to the ground with an eerie sizzle.
The geiger counter in her cybernetic was clicking with wild abandoned.
Victoria's eyes widened, staring at her own hand as it corroded before her very eyes. Not from heat. Not from an external force.
And then—
BZZZMMM!
A flash of blinding blue light exploded around her.
Victoria froze mid-swing, the chaotic joy draining from her face as the light consumed her.
"No—NO! Not now, Father! Not yet! I wasn't done—AHHHHHHHHH—"
And then she was gone.
The room fell into silence, the only sound the team's heavy, ragged breathing.
Blood, shattered glass, and fractured concrete surrounded them.
But the worst part wasn't the damage she'd caused.
It was the echo of her laughter—still ringing in their ears.