Avoiding Past And Future

(40) Failsafe 2

WARNING FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER: THIS CONTAINS CHARACTER DEATHS

October 16

"I knew it! Look! It's giving off Zeta beams! The same stuff that powers our Zeta tubes. This thing doesn't disintegrate, it-it teleports!" Kid Flash excitedly announced over the mind link for all to hear. "Artemis is alive!" That somehow didn't sit right with Phantom. Why was it only Artemis he cared for and not his aunt, uncle or any other family? Was he missing something here?

Robin didn't look too sure either. Sure the data was there, but Zeta radiation can come from many things and not just the teleportation. The scientists on Rann are far from done with their research and only so little is known about how it all works or what the limits to the zeta radiation really is. If they really teleported, why couldn't he find Zatanna's signal. Or anybody's signal for that matter. Zeta doesn't mess with tech the way ecto does so it shouldn't have caused issues. "Maybe, but-"

"No maybes. They're all alive!" Kid Flash cut in again, leaning over Robin's shoulder to point at the selective parts of the data he wanted to see. Perhaps it was just desperation that made him sure of it but with a lack of clear evidence, neither boy knew what to think of it.

Before they could discuss it any more, a new wave of alien ships arrived. The ships immediately started aiming for Robin and Kid Flash as they ducked behind the Humvee with another soldier.

Phantom was stuck on top of Bioship, trying hard to aim for the ships but they were moving too fast. Panicking, he threw out a few batarangs but missed all as the aliens dodged them just in time. They were too far away for him to get a good shot as they had all the room to evade. Phantom flew up in the air, switching to ectoblasts as Bioship tried to provide him with cover fire.

"We are on our way!" Aqualad alerted through the mind link. Phantom wanted to sigh in relief but he knew they didn't stand a chance against a fleet this big. He finally managed to get close enough to them to land his shots. Too close for them to keep dodging yet just far enough to be at a safe distance.

He shot out an ice covered batarang, letting it hit right in the gun. The batarang exploded, sending shards of ghostly ice into the ship and forcing it to crash down. Like a hydra's head, with one down, two more ships came to take its place. Now with double the fire focused on him, he was getting outmatched and fast.

"Negative! We can't win this." Robin retorted, looking over the edge of the vehicle at Phantom. Offensive attacks weren't doing much as they seemed to have learned how he attacks. That was a massive problem for all of them. If they could learn how to counter their attacks this fast, who knows how long it will take before they learn how to do worse.

"Miss Martian, camo the Bioship-" His call got cut short. Bioship had seen the shot coming before Phantom did. Reaching out with a tendril, she pulled Phantom out of the air and took the hit meant for him. "NO!" Phantom yelled out, dual screams echoing his from inside as the other Martians felt the pain of Bioship's loss physically.

Shooting back up, Phantom charged in with ice. Going intangible to fly through the ship and freeze them from the inside, he took down the closest aircrafts. The ones who shot Bioship. Landing his shots perfectly on the others, he let the ice spread across the ships until he let it all implode, crushing everything inside. It did almost nothing as more ships kept arriving. All he could manage was keep the ships at a distance but even that was becoming hard.

This wasn't a battle he could win on his own and neither could the others provide back up without putting themselves in more danger than worth it.

Giving up on the offensive, he switched over to defense. Doing his best to concentrate, he created a shield big enough to cover the front line of Humvees all the way until the entrance of the Hall.