SGPA/YJ XMAS Special~ Christmas CANCELLED! Part 3

The young heroes retreated, fearing the worst.

The world was frightened that the Justice League had fallen first.

Unsure what to should be the next move,

They attempt a plan Seiren did not approve.

Freeing a witch who courts flame.

Calling out to allies and heroes to change the game,

Yet they were unaware that Jack was doing the same.

Maddie* ran down the street of the Shibuya district, Monk Monk jumping about; dodging flying icicles. She let loose a blast of electricity causing a sign to explode as the creatures following her passed it. A giant green gorilla dropped from a rooftop and slammed into the creatures. He slammed his fist into another before his appearance changed to reveal- "Beast Boy!" Garth smiled as he ran towards her.

"Zapps, are you okay?"

"I'm fine- BB, look out!" She shouted as an ice serpent rose from the snow and hissed at them. Before he could turn around, the beast was shattered by a lightning strike. She turned to see Charlie standing behind her.

"Let's move!" he barked the order and they all followed behind him. More ice creatures were gathering and following in mass. "What're you doing here, Zapps?" he shattered a beast with a punch.

"Jack Frost has pulled a hostile takeover-"

"We know." Garth said. "There's snow piling up everywhere."

"Nightwing sent me to get ahold of you. He said you weren't answering your phone."

"Yeah... about that," he halted, pulling them down an alley. 'Light em up, beautiful.' he said telepathically.

'Right.' M'gann shifting out of the ground and with a telepathic clap, the creatures exploded into shards.

"Alright!" Maddie cheered as she ran out.

"The battle isn't over yet-" M'gann turned. A purple blast struck the ground where Maddie once stood. She suddenly realized she was in the air, an arm around her waist. She turned to see Aidan* with his arm wrapped around her waist. His other hand was clinging to the window of the building; several stories up. 

"Feedback-!"

"I really hate that woman." His voice echoed in its usual metallic twinge. She followed to where his eyes were staring.

"Twinkle, twinkle little star~ How I wonder where you are~ UP above the world so high~!" The woman was wearing black and neon colored clothing; her skin a shade of grey and her lips painted white. Her eyes set on them. "I'll make you fall out of the sky~!"

"Be ready to move." he said as he flashed to the ground in a jump, avoiding the woman's blast.

"What's North Star doing here? Isn't she with the Shadow Cabinet?"

'It seems she's thrown her hand in with Frost.' M'gann thought.

"He's got other magic on his side now." Maddie dodged the next blast and sent a lightning bolt bouncing towards North Star. "Monk Monk! Send out word! The SGPA needs to know what we're up against."

"I hope the other's realize it before its too late." Charlie said.

-MEANWHILE-

Belle Revve Penitentiary

"Get in there!" The guard shoved Cat and Natasha into the lunch room. Cat was dawning her Neon supervillain persona while Natasha's appearance was that of a different villain. Cat shot the guard a glare, making her snarl in response. Murmurs echoed through the ladies as they walked through the room.

"-They finally let Neon out of solitary."

"Who's the fresh meat?"

"I heard Neon took on Superman and Icon-"

"Yeah, and made them look like a couple of chumps."

"Hmph! I don't buy it."

"Yeah, not that scrawny stick."

'They are all incredibly hostile. I don't like this.' Seiren's voice echoed in their minds, he was across the way, under a different appearance in the men's side of the prison.

'You didn't like the plan to begin with.' Natasha thought.

'Because its suicide.' He put harshly.

'Stick to the plan and we should do fine. Scarlet Torch will have us covered if Frost catches onto us.' Cat added as some of the ladies began to crowd around.

"Well well." Killer Frost was the first to approach. "Look who's been let out to play with the other kiddies."

Poison Ivy took a step forward. "You are a pretty little flower aren't you?" She brushed her finger's through Natasha's hair but then paused. Natasha back away, almost scared that she had been recognized. "Have we met before?"

"I used to work for the Penguin, ya know, as one of his Crane girls."

"Oh, those little martial artists he brought over from Japan. Let me guess, try'd a solo heist and got caught." she cackled in a way that annoyed Natasha.

Cat stopped her from stepping forward. "I'd step off Ivy if you don't wanna get burned." Even Cat's manner of speaking changed. "This Crane's specialty was explosives."

"Don't try to act so superior, Neon." 

"You're stuck in here just like the rest of us." The other ladies said.

"No," Killer Frost chuckled. "She's stuck in here with the rest of us." they all laughed as they took steps towards them.

'What do we do?' Natasha asked.

"That's enough." A voice echoed. They all turned to see two girls standing a short distance away. One of them was easily recognized as Sonya aka Menagerie, a former member of the Justice League Elite. The other had short brown hair, one grey eye and one green- it was Emily Nash aka Ember. "You ladies have had your fun now go back to your lunches."

"If it isn't Ember and her little anti-heroes club." Ivy grumbled.

"Don't make me repeat myself."

"Puh-lease. You're all out of lighter fluid, honey." she got in Emily's face.

"Try me." A golden gleam seemed to appear in her eyes for a second, making Ivy think twice.

"Come on, ladies." Killer Frost said. "These little girls aren't worth our time." they all mumbled angrily and scattered.

They walked up to Cat and Natasha. There was a bit of tension until- "Sonya." Cat nodded.

"Neon." She chuckled.

'Inside contact for the women's quarter met.'

'Good. Who am I meeting over here-' his thought was interrupted by a man in a fedora approaching him. 

"Hello, mon ami." the man appeared of Asian descent. "You're standing over here with such an ugly scowl on your face. It gives me a feeling that you've run into a bit of bad luck." he smiled. It only took Seiren a moment to realize who this man was. The Hat, former master of mysticism and conjuring for the Elite. "Would you like to talk about it?"

-MEANWHILE-

Haven Outskirts, the Dimensional Rift

Crystal* dodged a glittery whip from a giant creature. Azure* slashed one with her keyblade as it wrapped around a strange, blond child. Lydia* flew by on her dragon, Amethyst. "Go on. She'll get you to safety." He nodded and took Lydia's hand. "Is it just me or does that thing look a lot like a Christmas tree?"

"I can see how'd you think that." Skyla* jumped back as a shimmering red ball came flying at her. It exploded as it hit the ground. "This thing is dangerous! Don't let it get anywhere near the capital."

Azure dodged as Crystal blitzed past the whips and slashed the beast. 'Pine needles?' She thought as her clothes were covered in them. "I can't move-!" The creature roared as it branch like arm came swinging at her.

A fireball suddenly came flying out of nowhere and lit the creature ablaze. She turned to see Gynx* standing a short distance away. The creature lurched backwards with a shriek. A beam of purple energy appeared in Lydia's hand, creating a whip as she flew back around and looped it around the burning tree. With one swift pull, it tumbled over. "Timber." she smirked. 

Riza* floated over to Crystal, her hand glowed as she waved it over her body. "It's needles cause paralysis. You should be able to move now."

"Where did that creature come from?" Crystal rose to her feet.

"The Devil's Botanist." Ilen* spoke as he walked up. "He's a druid who works for the Shadow Cabinet."

"I guess he thought it was funny to send a Christmas tree to attack Haven." Gynx said.

"Or he's taken the side of Jack Frost." Skyla said.

"So you've heard as well?" Riza asked.

She nodded. "Zapps just sent me an encrypted message. They Grand Shaman has been lending out his sorcerers to Frost."

"The Shadow Cabinet runs their factions separately but even if just the 'Monarch of Magicka' has sided with Frost, we're in for a real fight." Ilen said.

"In the message we received from the Keepers, the Black Cat mentioned that Frost's creatures have been scouring magic shops for a book that makes nightmares reality." Skyla mentioned.

"Could such a horrible thing really exist?" Azure asked.

"Unfortunately, it does. It would explain why the Botanist sent that monster to attack the capital." Gynx sighed. 

"Though he did not know that you and Synergy were studying at Haven's temple of mysticism." Ilen said. "We may be at an advantage if we can discover what he's looking for."

"But where do we investigate? The Keepers have closed all of the gates between dimensions to keep Frost contained."

"That's where you come in, Aqua Knight." Ilen stated as he tossed something to her. "A gift from his Majesty, the Lord of Order Orca."

"Is this..." she looked at it. "A rift key?! Are you sure, Haven? Only gatekeepers can have these."

"I know. That's why I'm giving you mine. Open the way back to Earth, I'm going to help the frontal assault."

"Okay." The key glowed and turned into keyblade. She pointed it straight out and as she turned it, a doorway appeared. The doors opened, a blinding light shone through and then cold air and snow blew in. 

"What do you want us to do?" Riza asked. 

"His Majesty said that it took both Order and Chaos to stop the Harold of Winter the first time. His instructions were to 'Find where the the Light and the Dark meet but never touch.'"

"How are you going to resist Frost's magic?" Gynx asked. 

"I'm not." he smirked as he walked through the doorway and it vanished.

"Where the light and the dark meet..." Skyla thought.

"There's always a trick answer to these sorts of riddles." Lydia sighed.

"Alright, team. Options." Skyla started.

"According to the message I received from the Keepers, when Frost's tomb was opened he sent out ice golems to ransack magic shops." Gynx explained. "If we investigate discretely, we may be able to uncover what he was after."

"But he's already in control of the Earth, does that really hold any importance now?" Azure asked.

"I see." Crystal spoke. "Since he was nearly gone, you think that whatever he was wasting the last of his magic to attempt to find must be something crucial to his plans."

"Then I know where we need to go." Riza said. "It's gonna be a huge risk but we need to talk to Madame Xanadu."

-MEANWHILE-

Belle Revve Penitentiary

"Chester sent me a telepathic message when things started getting frosty outside." The Hat said as he leaned against the window. 

'You are a master of conjuration and magical melee. Surely you know something of it.' Seiren thought.

"Haha, flattery will get you everywhere." he chuckled. "I can only tell you the stories I've heard. When Frost made his first attempt at world domination, he was stopped by Doctor Fate and Klarion the Witch Boy."

'That much I have heard.'

"Oh really now? Do you know why?" this peeked Seiren's interest. "It wasn't that either of them weren't strong enough to face him, they are lords of magic after all. They just couldn't face him alone." 

'Of course!' Cat thought. 'Balance! When light and dark work together, it creates a balance seal that is impossible to break.'

'The seal must have waned after so long.' Emily* thought.

'The boy's pure heart balanced out Jack's darkness and set him free. How sweet.' Sonya thought as she rolled her eyes.

'If we can seal him again- balancing dark and light-' Natasha thought.

"It'd only stop him until some other numskull touches the staff." The Hat and Seiren looked up to see a blonde man standing in front of them. "Oh, I'm sorry. Was I not supposed to eavesdrop?"

"Lull.*" The Hat glared. "What do you want?"

"To help, of course. I don't want to become a Popsicle and the idea of winter lasting forever doesn't appeal to me much, at all."

"What do you propose?"

"When it comes to Chaos magic, I believe I have a few associates that'd be willing to lend you a hand."

'At what cost?'

"Simple. My partner Quetzal is on the ladies side." Addison began. "If I secure us an escape and convince a few dark wizards to aid you; you accidentally let us escape. Sound fair?"

'No.' Seiren glared.

"Oh? And you have another means of escape?"

'We are already breaking that fire breathing troll out. I refuse to let a criminal mastermind and an enchantress on the loose as well... even if he has a cute smile.'

'I heard that, gills.' Emily growled. 'I never asked you to break me out. I turned myself in, remember?'

"Let's just hear what he's suggesting." The Hat set his hand on Seiren's shoulder.

"Simple. I assume that 'Neon' has noticed that the prison walls are lined with Nth metal. The magical metal prevents any other magic from effecting it and is rather effective against someone who can teleport. However, what if there was a room that wasn't lined with the malicious metal?"

"Impossible."

"Highly possible. I may have taken a peek at the expense report from Belle Revve's construction and noticed that the warden cheaped out and didn't line the pantry."

'That's perfect. Now all we need is a distraction.' Natasha thought. 'Should I start a riot?' Suddenly, there was a rumble as the whole prison shook.

"That may not be necessary." Addison said as he turned. 

"This prison was built to be completely impact proof. What could have done that?" 

'Not what. Who.' Cat stood up from the table they were sitting at. Her eyes glowed. "We've got company!" There was another rumble and then suddenly everyone noticed ice crystals forming on the ceiling. They could see their breath as the air became frigid. The doors on the men's side burst open to reveal two slender women, a man and a yeti. 

"Permafrost," the man spoke.

"Yes, brother dear?" one of the women spoke. 

"These prisoners look rather bored."

"Then let's play with them, Frostbite."

"Do not forget why we are here, imp." the other woman spoke.

"I would never, Tinsel. Come along now, Douglas." She turned to the yeti. "Let's show the inmates how to celebrate a snow day." The yeti roared.

"Freeze!" The guards pointed their guns at the intruders. 

"Alrighty then!" She blasted them with ice, freezing them in their tracks. Panic had set in as the inmates scattered.

'Frost's power has grown. His golems have begun to deviate from their generics.' Seiren thought as he shoved the Hat out of the way of several ice shards that pierced the window. 'Be careful, if you use your powers my disguises will fade and our cover is blown.'

'Go ahead and blow your cover, Seiren. Get the Hat to safety.' Cat thought.

"Separating the ladies from the men? How old school." Tinsel snapped her fingers as she slid across the ice towards the window, there was a spark like fireworks as it blasted through. "That's more like it. Yeti, lets party."

"His name is Douglas." Permafrost snapped. 

"I don't care what it is. Find the Red Sage. NOW." she barked the order and the yeti lunged forward, sniffing around at first and then wildly lashing out at the female inmates. 

"This is less fun than I had anticipated." Frostbite waved his hand, sending ice spikes ascending from the ground. 

'Then it's a good thing I'm here.' Seiren dissolved the ice and twirled a wave of water around him. It took the shape of a dragon as it slammed into Permafrost. 

"Funny. The Master never mentioned that inmates could be so handsome." He blasted more ice, Seiren rolled out of the way- dissolving it and sending it blasting towards Frostbite. He quickly put up an ice wall. Steam rose off of it. While he was distracted, Seiren's form changed into that of a serpent. He wrapped himself around Frostbite who attempted to freeze him. 

'I have swam with this majestic creature along the Marianas Trench as it spewed magma. My scales are as hot as volcanic rock in this form.' he hissed as a glittery blast hit his head. 

"I told you not to fool around!" Tinsel growled as she dodged Seiren's tail. 

The Hat and Addison dove behind a table. "I'm useless like this." he frowned.

"I can fix that." Addison held up a fedora. "Funny little thing I stole from lock up. Now I know a thing or two about enchanted items thanks to my partner but this is just a dusty old hat."

"It's not the hat that's magic." he placed it on his head and his eyes glowed for a moment. "It's me." He jumped over the table and charged towards Seiren. 

"Ah, how fools rush in." Addison smirked as he ran towards Missy,* "Good to see your face, pretty bird." he turned to Emily, Cat and Natasha. "I believe its time we make our exit."

"What about Seiren?" Natasha asked.

"Isn't it obvious?"

'Get out of here! I'll buy you what time I can!' His grip on Frostbite loosened as he slithered out of the way of the yeti as it slammed on the ground. 

"Like hell!" Emily snapped. "If I'm being busted out of prison..." she walked forward.

"Wait, the collars are still on-!" Sonya started. 

Emily's eyes glowed as she grabbed the collar and it melted between her fingers. Her hair set ablaze as magic symbols appeared below her feet. "They want the Red Sage, let's give them what they want." 

Seiren retreated as he was blasted with another firework. 'That's North Star's sorcery-!'

"It was a gift to our master." she smirked. "You'll make a nice gift for him as well. I'm sure he'd love an exotic pet."

"Sorry, but I set eyes on him first." The Hat flipped his fedora off of his head. As he held it out, the opening glowed and a giant centipede monster crawled out. It slither around, knocking Tinsel away and bucking the yeti into the air. It swallowed it whole as it came falling back down. "Seiren, revert to your normal form now!"

'But-!'

"Trust me!" Seiren hesitated but a moment before his form changed into that of a shimmering black fish. The Hat held out his fedora and it glowed as Seiren fell inside. The centipede wrestled with Tinsel as she blasted fireworks at it. "It feeds off of magic. Naturally, you'd be a grand banquet to it. You'll be safe in here until its finished with Frost's minions."

'You saved me... how did you know about my true form?'

"Rampotatek." he stated. "That's my real name."

'The Dragon-!' 

"I haven't been called that in a long time. It's in your nature to run away or to switch sides whenever it suited you. Why are you fighting?"

'I don't understand-'

"I'm immortal so any way this ends, I'll still be alive. If your body is destroyed, a new one will form eventually; you're a spirit after all. But human beings on the other hand, they don't come back. The cold is unforgiving."

'...which is why this is the season for forgiveness. The cold, harsh nature is balanced by the warmth in people's hearts-that's it!'

Permafrost came flying at Emily. "Found you, Sage-gak!" her ice was melted in an instant through up a fire wall and caugh Permafrost by her throat.

"Yes. Hello, golem. And now, goodbye-"

'Stop.' Seiren was now standing in front of her. 

"Isn't this what you're freeing me to do? Melt Frost and his minions out of existence?" 

'I thought that's what I wanted. I told myself that I was only freeing you because it was necessary but- I agreed because I was selfish. I wanted to look into the eyes of the monster who attempted to destroy the ocean capital. But... I didn't know. I didn't expect to see a girl. Just a girl. Nothing else. I wanted you to be a monster so that I could be angry with you. I'm... sorry.'

Emily dropped Permafrost to the ground. "Why are you apologizing?" he shrugged and she smiled. "Merry freakin' Christmas." There was a gust of wind and then Frost's minions glowed. 

"What's happening?" Natasha took a defensive stance.Their skin seemed to crack and chip away; then they suddenly shattered. "Well, that was weird..."

"No time to question it! Frost's on his way, I can feel it." Cat said as they started running for the door. 

Seiren paused when he realized that the Hat was still standing there. 'You're not coming?'

"Eh. Whats a little jail time? My parole hearing is tomorrow anyways. Maybe I'll get out for good behavior if I stop a jail break." he smiled. 

'Thank you.'

"If you really want to thank me, take me to dinner." he laughed as he walked away.

Seiren caught up with the group as they piled into the pantry. Cat felt the back wall. "Ah ha. He was telling the truth."

"Why wouldn't I?" Addison smirked. 

Cat's eyes glowed purple as her disguise vanished. "Everyone hold on to me." After a moment, they vanished and reappeared several miles outside of the prison. She let out a breath. "Nth metal or not, there was enough of it around to make that harder than it needed to be."

"We don't have time to rest, look!" Missy pointed to the sky.

The icy superheroes were now specs in the skyline. 'Let's not linger any longer.' Seiren's form changed to a dragon and they climbed onto his back before he took off. 

-MEANWHILE-

Metropolis

Kana's skin glowed blue as a tower of ice rose under her feet. With a wave of her hand, a cascading wall of ice slammed down on the golems. "Impressive." Jack said. 

She smirked. "What? Seeing a real ice demi-god at work?" he grimaced and sent a blast of ice towards her- which she dodged by sliding down the tower. 

Molly slammed into him with an explosive blast of radiation. As the smoke began clearing, he latched onto her hair and threw her into Quincy as she flew towards him. "Is that all you've got-" he was interrupting by an enormous ball of fire flying past him.

Kelsie* stood on top of a car, the ground rising up around her as fire danced in her hands. "Not even close!" She threw another fireball. Jack dodged it only to be blasted in the back by Roquel. 

Black Lightning tackled Roquel but she quickly recovered, putting a force field between her and the frozen hero. "Lightning, please tell me you and Zatanna have moved Madame Xanadu." she said through her communicator. 

["A little harder than I expected."]

"Running? Like children?" Jack laughed. 

"The only child here is you!" Molly punched him, sending him flying back. 

"I am not a child!" he sent ice flying at them, knocking them all back. "Do you really think you stand a chance? There's already proof that there is no future. You. Rocket. You married a time traveler. And where is he now?"

"Dunno." she smirked. "But he always shows up where he needs to be."

Skyla dodged an ice golem and shattered it with a kick as it lunged at Madame Xanadu. "Don't let them anywhere near- aaaah!" she shrieked suddenly as her appearance seemed to glitch. "Wha- I'm being hacked-?!"

"Yes, my dear Lightning. You are." a cloaked man spoke as he sat atop a bus, his hands glowing blue. 

"Technomancer!" Lydia turned her back for a moment and a vine wrapped around her. Riza tried blasting it but it sent the energy blasting back at her. 

"Foolish little heroes." The Devil's Botanist laughed as his plants broke through the asphalt. "These plants can survive even the harshest conditions."

-MEANWHILE-

Shibuya District, Tokyo.

Maddie dodged another energy blast and sent cascading waves of lightning at North Star. "I'm kicking myself for suggesting but can't you fry her brain or something? She never runs out of magic!"

"The entire Shadow Cabinet has some kind of immunity to my telepathy." M'gann said as she telekinetically blasted the ice creatures as they began to surround her. 

"This is the crazy interdimensional sorceress who picked a fight with Doctor Fate and almost won. Don't take her lightly!" Surge said as Garth turned into a jaguar and charged towards her. 

"I just have to get close enough to touch her!" Aidan said.

"I think we can make that opening!" Maddie sent a shockwave towards North Star. As she went to blast Garth, Monk Monk latched onto her face.

"Get off, you little-" Suddenly an explosion of magically energy blasted them all back. "Pest!" She stepped towards Maddie as she sat up. "I was going to give your powers to Frost as a gift but then again, you're better off dead. Merry Christmas-" she was interrupted by a boom-tube opening above them. Aidan flew past, grabbing Maddie out of the way as a rocket flew out and exploded in North Star's face. Suddenly, Alexia's* boot slammed into her face; bouncing off of her head like a springboard. As soon as she opened her eyes, it was too late.

"Lights out!" Lea* hit her with an electrified suckerpunch to the face. 

She wobbled back as Aidan grabbed ahold of her. "Your power is mine!" he began siphoning the energy out of her and she was out.

"Arsenal-! Nocturne and Lea!" Garth smiled as he changed back to normal.

"Good to see you're all still warm blooded." Alexia sighed.

"We need to go now." Arsenal commanded, paranoid. "Before Frost finds out we knocked out one of his cronies."

"With Feedback in possession of North Star's power, he can't augment his own with it. There's no doubt he's noticed it already though." Alexia said.

"Solar Cat sent us to bring you back. I think she's getting antsy about not being out in the fight." Lea said. 

"How did you get here?" Aidan asked. "Lightning sent me a message that the Keepers shut down interdimensional travel."

"My mother box." Lea held it up. "Stole it off of Desaad a while back. Boom-tubes don't go through the gates, they shortcut and rip open their own doors."

"Hello, M'gann! Then we have an advantage. Feedback has North Star's powers! We can get the drop on Frost!"

"That might work. If we can knock out the other sorcerers feeding him power, he might be just vulnerable enough for us to contain him." Charlie said.

"What about Orca's riddle?" Aidan asked but then paused. "Something's wrong. I've lost Lightning's signal."

"What?! That could only mean-" M'gann started.

"She's being hacked. Let's move." Aidan said. "I want to hit something before this power runs out."

-MEANWHILE-

Outside of Belle Revve

"They're gaining on us!" Natasha flung another fireball, knocking an icy hero out of the sky.

"I'll stall them. Get everyone else out of here!" Cat stated.

'What are you-'

"Haven't you noticed? Lightning's signal is gone. Without her frequency, Solar Cat and the other's will be in the dark. I'm gonna buy what time I can for everyone to regroup and come up with an actual plan." She vanished. She reappeared above Superman, slamming her foot down on his head. He crashed into a mound of snow. She did the same to the Green Lanterns. "That wasn't too hard." She reappeared on the ground. Guy came flying at her. She dodged his constructs. "C'mon, Guy! Don't do this! We're family, remember? Family!" he paused suddenly. She smiled for a moment- relaxing her guard was a mistake. She was telepathically slammed. Manchester was floating right behind her, hitting her with wave after wave of telekinetic and telepathic bursts. "Ches- stop-!" She shrieked, writhing on the ground. "Stop-!" black, magical energy surged around her as she attempted to push back to no avail. "Manchester- you're-" Blood began running from her eyes. "Stop..."

Suddenly Ilen came flying out of a portal, slamming into Superman. He knocked him back as he made a charge for Manchester. He slashed through his telekinetic waves. "Stop! Don't you see that you're killing her!"

As those words were spoken, the ice covering Manchester shattered. "Wha-!" he looked around. "I'm back!"

"You monster!" he rammed into him as he grabbed him by his coat. "You might've killed her!"

"Listen, you-" he saw Cat out of the corner of his eye. "What-! But I didn't..."

-MEANWHILE-

Metropolis

Zatanna's chant was cut off by a vine wrapping around her face. Azure cut through the vines that began to tangle around her. Kelsie ripped up the ground around them, attempting to uproot them. "We need a new strategy!"

"Then it's a good thing I have one!" Crystal drew her sword. "Kurotori no kagidzume." As she swung her sword, a blast of energy annihilated the plants. As soon as she thought they were gone, one lunged out of the ground and snagged her leg, flinging her into the air. 

Captain Atom was slammed into a building by Jack. He turned and slammed his staff into Quincy's head, smashing her into Rocket. "This little farce is over."

"You're right." Roquel gave him a smile that made him pause. A large glowing portal opened up behind him and Christian* flew out followed by Mera. 

"Honey, I'm home." He blasted Frost out of the way and swooped up Roquel. 

Mera dodged the plants, dropping grenades all over that spewed out gas. "Hold your breath."

"What took you so long?" Lydia's hands glowed as a sword formed. 

"We were aiding the Legion of Superheroes in the 31st century when we were suddenly flung into the time stream. It took us a while to get back on track." The plants began dying from the gas. 

"Technomancer is hacking Lightning." Kelsie said as she blasted the ice creatures with a fireball.

"Not for long." Mera's clothes glowed as her armor appeared. She dodged the golems swiftly; flipping over one and smashing another. She made a line straight for Lightning.

"In moments, your code will be rewritten and you shall serve me."

"Not if I can help it." Mera chucked a grenade. 

Technomancer stopped it in the air in front of him. "A grenade? You think I can be bested by simple grenade?!"

"Nein, not a frag grenade. A warp grenade, maybe." she smiled as the grenade exploded into a wormhole. "Auf wiedersehen." He was sucked into it as it vanished. She rushed over to Skyla and brought up a holo-screen. She typed furiously. "You look awful. Hold on, I'm reloading your last codes."

"I wasn't expecting the Technomancer to be here... I guess in a world where everyone is frozen, he's pretty useless. Probably just wanted to be on the winning side." She chuckled lightly.

"Don't relax just yet. We need you." She gave her a sly smile. "We've already put the pieces together und have come up with a plan."

Watchtower

THE NEXUS

"It all makes sense now." Phuong frowned, in thought. "A combination of both light and dark magic sealed him in the first place, then that's what we need to do again." she turned to Dysta who was sitting right next to the exam table where Cat was now laying. Veronica's hands glowed as she waved them over Cat's body. Across from her was the villainous sorcerer Neophyte, stars shone in his cloak. His hands glowed almost dark purple as he did the same. Seiren's hand was placed on Cat's forehead. "How's she doing?"

'Her brain is scrambled but her memory palace is intact. She will regenerate eventually but not in time for the oncoming battle.' Seiren's thought had a glum tone to it.

"That's one big gun down." Dysta frowned. "I don't think we'll have enough magical power to push back Frost even if we take out the other sorcerers helping him." 

"Can't you demi-sync with Cat?"

She shook her head. "I can but it doesn't give me access to her powers as a dimensional guardian because even she can't use those."

'What if...' Seiren started. 'I know where we can get that kind of power.' he smiled. 'So don't fret. It doesn't suit you.'

Veronica attempted to stay focused on healing but her eyes kept wandering to Neophyte. "Is my presence bothering you, dear Veronica?"

She jumped a little, she knew that he knew her name but it still bugged her. "Yes, it does." 

"Quite the blunt statement." he seemed to smile for just a moment but it was gone just as quick. "The Black Cat as you call her is pure, obsidian magic. Without my aid, you would not have the right instruction on how to heal her. Without Nyx,* Argine* and myself you would not be able to complete the circle to seal away the Harold of Winter. Remember that."

"Your magic is so potent, it'll push the circle out of balance."

"Then I expect you to push back."

"Why do you put so much faith in me?"

"I am dark magic, not evil. You know this and yet you still make those faces at me. Find where the Light and the Dark meet but never touch. He was speaking of the heart."

"The heart?"

"Where light and darkness meet. Good and evil. What is considered right and wrong. The more we bicker, the stronger evil gets. That is why this season of good will and kindness exists. I admit, I'm rather fond of it."

"Oh really?" she tried not to smile.

"I have even purchased a small tree and decorated it with white stars I have collected."

'You literally mean white stars, don't you?' Seiren asked.

"Would I mean anything else?" he shifted his stance. "It is a nice sentiment. That even something dead and ripped away from where it belongs can still find beauty." he glanced at Veronica. "Much like yourself." 

'I would love to be in the middle of this but we kind of have a half dead Celestian to finish healing so if you two could keep the magical, tension-y word play to a minimum; I'd much appreciate it. Trying to concentrate on a mind built like a labyrinth. Thank you.'

"Wha- word play?!" she tried to hide the blush on her cheeks but quickly went back to concentrating.

Manchester sat against the wall, thinking. Hank and Konner sat next to him. "Oh, sod off the both of you."

"Quit your grumbling." Hank said.

"We've both been where you're at." Konner said. "You should see what red Kryptonite does."

"I'm the Avatar of War. I've lost my control of my powers around Cat a few times."

"I know all about your destructive habits, remember? I'm the one who warned her in the first place." he sighed. "I just... di'nt think it'd ever be me on the other side of her, is all. I don' mind killin' people; come on. Been there, done that. I've always killed people to protect the ones I care about. I messed up and now I'm gonna take it outta Frost's hide."

"Agreed." Hank said.

"That's still Aletheia's brother." Dawn crossed her arms as she glared at them.

"Exactly." Manchester smiled deviously.

Kyte stood in front of Nyx and Argine while the Keepers hovered behind them. "This is boring~" Argine whined.

"I don't like it either. Personally, I think it'd be much more fun to drop you two off of the edge of existence while we have you here but then that'd just be plain selfish~" she gave them a sickening sweet smile that was emanating with an incredibly hostile aura. 

Nyx rolled his eyes but then he noticed something. "Hey. The foxy lady doesn't have a shadow." he felt a sharp sense of tension, like he was being stabbed by knives all over as Kyte looked at him.

"Yes, well, I've never had one. The one who was acting at my shadow was hit by Frost earlier though I doubt he even noticed it."

"Frost froze your shadow? Haha, yeah right."

"She's talking about Creep." Argine rolled over, now interested. 

"I'm glad Skeets and I were able to find Aderasteia and Twitch before it was too late." Booster Gold said.

"If Mera wasn't his ancestor from this timeline, they would never had found a path back. You can see where he gets his intellect." Skeets said.

"Nightwing has the teams ready in position." Kaldur said. "We shall join them soon."

Booster set a hand on Phuong's shoulder. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine. No. Better than fine. I am about nine hundred percent done with Frost. This ends now." 

To Be Continued...(NEXT IS THE FINALE!!!!)