Nightwing flashed a faint smile at the immobilized Flash.
"You!"
Barry collapsed to the ground, struggling to push himself up, but the paralysis and pain tearing through his body made it impossible.
"You, you guys won't succeed!"
Barry gasped, glaring at his opponent through gritted teeth.
"Sorry, Barry, that decision isn't yours to make anymore."
Nightwing shrugged casually.
Whoosh!
Before Barry could say another word, a streak of red and gold lightning tore through the battlefield.
Bang!
Nightwing had no time to react.
The incoming force slammed directly into him, sending him flying across the street.
"Hah…"
Barry looked toward the figure that had arrived and let out a long breath of relief. The tension left his body almost instantly.
Finally reassured, he passed out.
"Looks like all of you forgot I was still here."
Standing in the middle of the ruined street was Wonder Woman, gripping her sword and shield, her sharp gaze fixed on the fallen Nightwing.
Without hesitation, Diana charged.
In a single burst of speed, she closed the distance.
Her sword came down in a vicious arc aimed directly at Nightwing's head.
Bang!
Instead of flesh meeting steel, an explosion echoed through the air.
A smoke bomb detonated.
Gray smoke spread rapidly across the battlefield.
At the last second, Nightwing had thrown the smoke bomb and disappeared into the cover of the haze.
Wonder Woman narrowed her eyes.
She knew he had not escaped.
A warrior's instincts told her he was still nearby, waiting for an opening.
Eyes could be deceived.
Instincts could not.
With a sharp shout, Diana swung her sword toward the shifting movement in the smoke.
Clang!
Metal crashed against metal.
Nightwing blocked the strike with the reinforced escrima sticks in his hands, raising them across his chest.
The impact shook him instantly.
A violent tremor surged through the divine blade and into his arms.
The force nearly shattered his grip.
Using the momentum, Nightwing flipped backward, trying to regain distance.
But the power behind Diana's attack far exceeded anything he had anticipated.
Bang!
His body launched backward like a ragdoll.
He crashed violently into a parked car.
The vehicle exploded on impact.
Glass shattered.
Metal twisted.
Nightwing slammed against the wreckage, blood spilling from his mouth.
Diana did not give him time to recover.
She advanced immediately.
The moment Nightwing blocked the sword strike, warning bells had already gone off in his body.
The vibration from the divine weapon had not only damaged his escrima sticks, it had traveled through his muscles and joints, rattling his internal organs.
Pain spread through his arms and chest.
He had believed he understood Wonder Woman well enough.
Clearly, he had underestimated her.
She was not some decorative figure standing beside Homelander.
The sword in her hand carried terrifying power.
A divine weapon forged by the gods.
One exchange had already stripped away most of his fighting capability.
Still, Nightwing forced himself to stand.
Ignoring the pain tearing through him, he continued fighting.
Only now, his strategy changed.
He stopped confronting Diana directly.
Instead, he focused entirely on evasion.
Dodge.
Retreat.
Survive.
Nightwing was shocked by her strength.
Yet on the other side, Diana was equally surprised.
She had assumed he was only a modified human.
But after taking a direct strike from her blade, he still stood.
That should not have been possible.
The sword forged by Hephaestus was no ordinary weapon.
Even restrained, its destructive power was devastating.
Could it be the serum?
Did this man also inject the same super serum?
The thought flashed through her mind.
Nightwing, meanwhile, had no idea what she was thinking.
Barely avoiding another slash, he forced out a smirk despite his battered condition.
"Impressive strength, Amazon. Are all women on Themyscira this terrifying?"
Diana scoffed.
"Too much talking."
Her voice turned cold.
"I'll cut off your head. Then you won't be making jokes."
The sword swept sideways in a brutal horizontal slash.
Nightwing rolled away instantly.
The blade barely missed his nose.
But that was the limit of what he could manage.
Even with the serum enhancing him, the gap between them remained enormous.
Diana saw through his movement immediately.
As he dodged, she stepped forward and drove her knee straight into the path of his escape.
Bang!
The strike slammed into Nightwing's chest.
He flew backward and crashed to the ground.
"If this is all you have," Diana said coldly, looking down at him, "then your strength is pathetic."
Nightwing struggled for breath.
Blood stained the corner of his mouth.
A mocking smile spread across Diana's face.
"You think a group of criminals and desperate fools can threaten Homelander?"
Her tone dripped with contempt.
"You're naive."
Nightwing coughed violently before speaking through clenched teeth.
"You're the naive one."
He forced himself upright, clutching his chest.
"Your opponent…"
He inhaled sharply.
"…isn't me."
Diana frowned.
"Not you?"
Her eyes drifted toward the distant battlefield where Gordon and Harley Quinn were struggling against enhanced soldiers.
A faint smirk appeared.
"You mean those unstable humans?"
Her expression turned dismissive.
"If I wanted to, I could deal with them whenever I pleased."
Nightwing shook his head.
"Not them."
His breathing turned ragged.
"The monster inside you."
Diana's expression changed.
Before she could respond, she heard footsteps behind her.
Slow.
Measured.
Then a familiar voice.
"Long time no see, Mud Doll."
Diana turned instantly.
Standing behind her was an Amazon warrior dressed similarly to her.
The woman carried herself with confidence, a knowing grin stretched across her face.
The sight of her made Diana's blood boil.
Her grip tightened around her sword.
Rage surged through her chest.
"Alika!"
The name came out like venom.
Her emotions flared uncontrollably.
Without hesitation, Diana charged.
In that moment, she made up her mind.
She would capture Alika alive.
Bring her back to Themyscira.
Offer her before Hera as proof of victory.
Because this woman represented something Diana hated more than anything.
Humiliation.
A memory she never wanted to face.
Years ago, on Themyscira.
During Diana's thirteenth birthday celebration, the Amazons held a grand combat tournament.
Warriors filled the arena.
Torches illuminated smiling faces.
The atmosphere brimmed with excitement.
Then a request changed everything.
"My Queen," Alika said, bowing before Queen Hippolyta, "may the Princess and I demonstrate the results of our years of training?"
Although Diana was still young, Hippolyta allowed it.
"I think everyone would enjoy that," the Queen said.
"But only wooden swords. No one is to be harmed."
A faint smile appeared on Alika's face.
Quietly, she muttered to herself,
"That's unfortunate."
"Because someone's getting hurt."
The words were soft.
But Diana heard them clearly.
So she held nothing back.
The duel began.
Wooden swords clashed repeatedly.
But Diana proved superior.
In the end, she struck Alika's wrist and knocked the weapon from her hand.
Standing proudly over her fallen opponent, Diana asked,
"Do you surrender?"
Alika gritted her teeth.
"Never. I am a true Amazon warrior."
Diana shook her head.
"Not yet."
The response carried an edge of pride.
An edge Alika hated.
Jealousy twisted across her face.
Without warning, she grabbed mud from the ground and threw it into Diana's face.
"Mud doll!"
The insult hit harder than the mud itself.
Diana froze.
Humiliation burned through her.
Anger followed immediately.
She grabbed Alika by the throat.
"Take it back!"
The entire arena fell silent.
The look in Diana's eyes frightened everyone.
It felt as though she might crush Alika's throat if she refused.
Alika began coughing violently.
"I surrender!"
"Daughter, stop!"
Queen Hippolyta rushed through the crowd.
"You're hurting her!"
Diana finally snapped out of it.
She released Alika immediately.
The strange looks from the surrounding Amazons hit harder than any wound.
Her mother's expression hurt even more.
Mud still covered her face.
Tears welled in her eyes.
"I…"
But she could not finish.
Turning away, Diana ran.
"I'm sorry!"
The apology barely escaped before she disappeared into the darkness.
Back in the present, fury consumed her.
Alika was the person Diana hated most.
The scar she never truly moved past.
Dropping her shield, Diana charged recklessly.
Sword raised, she attacked again and again.
Slash after slash.
Bang!
Alika narrowly dodged.
Wonder Woman pressed harder.
Her focus narrowed completely.
She forgot her surroundings.
Forgot her objective.
Forgot to question why an Amazon warrior had suddenly appeared here.
Then came a sharp sound.
Whoosh!
Something tightened around her legs.
Diana looked down.
Ropes.
Hidden beneath the battlefield.
Wrapped around her ankles.
Before she could react, Alika yanked hard.
Diana lost her footing instantly.
Her body lurched forward.
She crashed toward the ground.
"Remember this?"
Alika sneered.
"This is how Amazons hunt wild beasts on Themyscira."
She pulled the rope tighter.
"After all these years, Mud Doll, you still haven't changed."
Her expression turned mocking.
"You rely on brute force just like the beasts in the forests."
"You haven't grown at all."
===
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