(S1, EP:10) Marvelous DCstruction

Night One (Part II)

Doctor Fate took to the night sky, flying up as high as he could without hitting the dome-like barrier that sealed everyone inside. To the untrained eye, this forcefield would appear to be invisible. However, the Helmet of Fate allowed him to see things as they truly were.

The Barrier was created using thousands upon thousands of runes all layered over one another in a mesmerizing display of mystical prowess. Most of these appeared foreign to the good doctor, but there were a few that bore a resemblance to standard energy projection spells. Of course, creating such a thing must have required an almost inconceivable amount of power. Destroying it would be no small task, but as they say, the Devil is in the details.

Fate couldn't help noticing that the alignment of runes was just slightly askew. One of the rows had been misplaced by an inch or so. This might have seemed insignificant to anyone who had not studied the mystic arts, but to Doctor Fate, it made all the difference in the world.

Drawing power from the Lords of Order, he shot out a beam of concentrated energy at the point in the Barrier where the runes were most crooked. It had the desired effect. Slowly, bit by bit, the magic symbols that made up the Barrier began to fade away into nothingness.

This event did not go unnoticed. All across the Arena, tributes stared up at the night sky as thousands of runes suddenly became visible. While most were attempting to make sense of the strange phenomena, several of the heroes realized what was happening and quickly joined in from all corners of the battleground.

Iron Man flew up to the side of the Barrier with Thor and fired a repulsor blast from the arc reactor in his chest while the God of Thunder summoned a lightning blast strong enough to shake even the sturdiest of fortresses.

Shazam came up next. He wasn't sure what to do at first, but after a few seconds of watching the other tributes, he got the idea. Yellow electricity burst out from his fingertips and slammed into the Barrier, adding to the chaos.

Doctor Strange used the Cloak of Levitation to get level with the Barrier before blasting it with a beam of mystic power, courtesy of the Vishanti. He paid no attention to Raven, who was preforming a similar spell next to him.

"Azarath Metrion ZINTHOS!" she cried as a black swirling mass erupted from her body and crashed into the runes.

The entire Barrier shook and trembled from the force of so many continuous impacts. Just when it seemed like it was about to shatter completely, something even more bizarre happened.

Without warning, a bright white light emanated from all over the Barrier. Pillars of energy shot out at the tributes who had tried to shatter it.

Tony Stark's arc reactor was fried from the impact, causing his entire suit to lose power.

Thor absorbed the oncoming energy blast with Mjolnir before diving down to save his fellow Avenger.

The beam targeted Doctor Fate's head, shattering the Helmet of Fate and sending him falling to his doom.

Shazam was hit next. He could feel all the power leave his body as he was transformed back into Billy Batson. Panic coursed through his veins as he desperately tried to change back.

"SHAZA-" Before he could finish that cry, his body splattered into a bloody stain on the ground.

Before he could react, Doctor Strange's cloak threw itself in front of him and was promptly incinerated by the bright light.

Raven just barely managed to avoid the blast. Out the corner of her eye, she saw Strange plummeting towards the Earth. Without so much as a second's hesitation, she cast a new spell that stopped him from falling right as he was about to reach the ground.

She flew down next to him and let go of the spell. Doctor Strange looked up at her incredulously.

"You... You saved me? But why?"

Raven rolled her eyes before turning to walk away.

"Because that's what heroes do. Obviously."

She left the doctor there, confused and questioning what he thought he knew about these beings from another world.

Earlier That Night

After a long day of not being able to find any tributes, Blade and the others decided to set up camp for the night. He suggested laying a base near the bottom of the mountain since they could have an easy escape in case anybody attempted to ambush them.

Punisher, however, vetoed the idea on account that there would be no cover for them to hide behind if a firefight broke out. Daredevil agreed with him, and with a two-to-one vote, they settled down in an area of the forest densely-packed with trees.

While Punisher started to work on making a small fire, Blade kept watch near the edge of their territory. It didn't make sense to him why they couldn't find anybody else. Sure, the Arena was huge, but how did all thirty-three other tributes escape their sights?

Daredevil suddenly jumped to his feet and threw himself at Punisher, knocking them both to the ground.

"What the he-!?" Before another syllable could be uttered, there was a quiet thud. They looked up to see an arrow sticking out of a tree, right where Punisher's head was just a second ago.

Blade drew his sword and slashed at a nearby bush. Green Arrow ducked just quickly enough to avoid being decapitated. He pulled an arrow out of his quiver and stabbed the vampire hunter in the neck, causing him to howl in pain and stumble back.

Daredevil and Punisher scrambled to get up as they drew their weapons. Just as they were about to intervene, Hawkgirl and Superman landed in front of them.

Punisher pulled out an assault rifle and unloaded its magazine in Hawkgirl's direction. She took to the sky before any of the bullets could hit. A few pierced through her wings while she was airborne, causing her to stagger and almost fall. Once his gun was empty, she landed on the ground behind him. He turned around just in time to receive a spiked mace to the face. Blood splattered across the ground as his head was reduced to nothing more than a pulp.

Superman knocked Daredevil into the air before flying up and slamming him back to the ground. The Man of Steel then grabbed him by the front of his shirt and punched him with enough force to break his nose.

Bruised and bloody, Daredevil slowly crawled towards the bonfire, using its heat to guide him. He could hear Superman's footsteps approaching, but something was off. The noise stopped too abruptly. Why wasn't he coming any closer?

Everything suddenly clicked into place. Thinking on his feet, Daredevil grabbed a log from the fire and threw it behind him. There was a loud shriek that cut through the night as "Superman" revealed himself to be Martian Manhunter. The alien burned alive, screaming in agony as the flames consumed him.

Hawkgirl grimaced. She raised her mace with the intent to finish this once and for all. What she got instead was a sword stabbing her through the heart from behind.

"That's what you get for killing Frank," Blade spat as he sheathed his weapon. He walked over and helped Daredevil back to his feet.

"Where'd the other one go?" he asked while holding his still-broken nose.

"We won't need to worry about him anymore." Blade turned to look at Green Arrow's head, which was now dangling precariously off a wooden stick.

"Tonight's been a hell of a night. Let's get some re- LOOK OUT!"

Blade pushed Daredevil out of the way and unsheathed his sword, parrying an incoming attack from Robin. The two traded blows with their weapons. They battled for several minutes, neither of them seeming to gain any advantage over the other.

Robin jumped back and threw a few birdarangs at Blade, who sliced them in half midair. Just as he was pondering a tactical retreat, something caught his leg, and he tripped.

Daredevil trapped Robin in a headlock with his billy club. The young Teen Titan desperately struggled to escape, but it was no use. With a sickening crack, he was dead.

After taking a moment to catch his breath, Daredevil rose to his feet.

"Now, we're even."