Worst Case Scenario

Chapter 66: Double Trouble

Superboy was not having a good night. The snarling giant magical cat pinning him down and trying to bite his head off was merely a symptom of how really, really screwed up the past 24 hours had been.

A really annoying symptom.

With tuna breath.

"Little... help...?" he grunted.

A golden lasso wrapped itself around Teekl's neck. Wonder Woman planted her feet and pulled, dragging the cat off of Superboy. He leaped to his feet and landed a set of punches on Teekl's snout. The cat responded by batting him away with its paw. Aqualad grabbed its neck in a tight hug and zapped it with electricity. This seemed to annoy Teekl, and it shook him off, sending the Atlantean crashing into a tree. Teekl turned to face Wonder Woman only to be tackled by Captain Marvel.

Several yards away, Red Arrow tried to help Superboy back up when a missile flew towards them out of nowhere.

"Look out!" Miss Martian shouted, grabbing them both with her telekinesis and throwing them away from the blast. The two boys hit the dirt hard but intact.

Not far away, Sportsmaster tossed aside the spent RPG and pulled out a rifle. Targeting the shimmer that was the camouflaged Martian, he fired. An orange beam shot out, striking her in the chest.

"M'gann!" Superboy cried out as she dropped to the ground. Wielding the weapon with one hand, Sportsmaster casually shot the Kryptonian in the shoulder, flattening him. Superboy wasn't sure what Sportsmaster was shooting, but it hurt. A lot.

"This is one of Manta's toys" the mercenary said, strolling towards the downed pair. "It fires a bolt of concentrated EM radiation. Designed to take out bullet-proof Atlanteans underwater, but it works on other hard-to-kill species as well. Not quite as lethal as I'd like, but hey, if it can hurt Superman, I can live with it."

"Glad you think so" Red Arrow said, firing an arrow. Sportsmaster dodged and shot back. The archer rolled aside and sent out another arrow which glanced against the beam rifle, knocking it out of Sportsmaster's hand.

Before either of the two could continue their fight, Superboy leaped up and charged at Sportsmaster. Like a dancer, the older man spun away and pulled out his flail, smashing it into the side of Superboy's head.

"Not so smart, are you?" he said as the clone fell to his knees, grabbing the ground to avoid falling over.

"If you say so" Superboy replied, tossing two handfuls of dirt at Sportsmaster's face. The hockey mask blocked most of it, but it still gave Superboy a momentary advantage, which he used to plant a boot in the middle of Sportsmaster's chest. The mercenary slammed into the side of the 'hill' that concealed the base with a thud.

"Nicely... done" Sportsmaster conceded, his breathing a bit heavier. Bruised ribs will do that. "For a weapon, of course."

"I don't need your approval" Superboy growled.

"That's okay" Sportsmaster said in a tone that suggested that he was smiling behind his mask. "I think we're done here anyways."

Superboy started to move forwards, only to be overcome by a searing pain in his head.

Hello, Superboy said Psimon telepathically. Would you like to play?

Nearby, Red Arrow fell to his knees, clutching his temples.

"I... won't... let... you... control me!" Conner muttered.

Silly boy Psimon laughed. It doesn't matter how much you resist, or how hard you fight. Unlike your teammates, you still have your Cadmus programming inside your mind, giving me a little button that I can press to win instantly. And your Martian... girlfriend is otherwise occupied right now, so don't expect any help on that end. Red Sun, Superboy. Red Sun.