Chapter 90: 90

Words : 806 Updated : Oct 3rd, 2025

| Happy Harbor - August 8 The bickering was getting unbearable. [The virus won't do much if we can't find the Fog. Roquette, can you track it?] Kori asked. [Of course I can track it, but I'd have to go online. It's a two-way link, so I might as well be sending the League of Shadows my location on a silver platter,] Roquette grumbled. [We are more than capable of protecting you. You have nothing to fear,] Kori reassured her. [Fine. Tracking it now,] Roquette muttered, tapping at the keyboard. A few moments later, a location popped up on the screen. [Miss Martian, reconfigure the Bio-Ship so that Robin and Superboy can go after it. We can't let the League of Shadows rack up more victims.] [I'll go,] Nova cut in, eager to escape the mental link. [Time is of the essence, and I can get there faster.] [Okay then,] Kori agreed. [You can go first but Robin and Superboy will still need to follow to upload the virus. Stay safe.] [Ok. You too.] Nova replied. Nova glanced at the screen—Philadelphia. [Kaldur, keep me updated if the location changes.] [Sure,] Kaldur confirmed. Without another word, Nova stepped outside and took off. At his speed, he'd reach Philly in ten minutes. ** | Philadelphia - August 8 Nova arrived just in time to see the Fog ripping through the STAR Labs building, consuming everything in its path. It looked like gray smoke, moving fast and fluidly. It left the STAR Labs building which started collapsing before flowing down a bridge toward a parked van. Oh no, you don't. Nova surged forward, expanding his localized anti-gravity field until it engulfed the entire swarm. Then, with precision, he compressed it—shrinking it down to the size of a beach ball. Even this small amount had toppled buildings and could shred flesh and bone? Roquette hadn't been exaggerating. The world really was at stake. If AI Nova were still with him, he might've been able to control any of the nanites that entered his body instead of just destroying them. But AI Nova was gone. So destruction it was. Just as he was about to fire a Nova bolt, he sensed an energy beam incoming. Not again. Nova had been sniped too many times—Atomic Skull twice, Wotan, Shrapnel, and now this guy? He was sick of it. The moment he felt the energy approaching, Nova dodged, the red beam slicing through the air where he'd been standing. He followed the trajectory back to a man standing near a van. His helmet was mostly blue, with a black forehead piece and a red circle in the center. Probably the controller of the Fog. Not anymore. Nova clenched his fist, compressing the nanites further—from a beach ball to a golf ball. The man fired another red beam. Nova dodged again, shoving the tiny Fog sphere into the beam's path. The nanites disintegrated on contact. The man's eyes widened in shock. Too late. Nova blitzed forward, driving a punch into his helmet. The man staggered back, but the helmet wouldn't come off—it was attached to his skull. Fine. Nova would just beat him unconscious. Another red beam fired at close range, but Nova responded in kind—his golden Nova beams coming out of his eyes clashing against red energy. For a moment, they struggled for dominance—then Nova's energy overpowered the man's, slamming into his helmet and melting it. The man collapsed, unconscious. 'Not sure how he saw through that thing, but wherever he's going, sight won't matter much.' Nova turned back to the remaining nanites and fired a final beam, erasing the last of them. "Nova to Team. The Fog's been destroyed." [We came all this way for nothing?] Superboy's voice came through, clearly annoyed. The Bio-Ship appeared overhead, hatch opening as Superboy and Robin emerged. Nova floated up, the unconscious man in tow. "Well, I captured this guy. He needs to be restrained. And maybe you two can help clear the debris—see if anything can be salvaged from STAR Labs." He handed the man over to Superboy. "Dude! You caught Professor Ojo?" Robin said, eyes widening. Nova raised an eyebrow. "That his name? Huh. Well—yeah, I did. I'll head back first." Then he turned and rocketed off—back to Happy Harbor. ** | Happy Harbor - August 8 Nova landed at the high school, stepping inside just in time to see two very familiar faces. Other than M'gann and Wally, the prisoners were faces from his Flux days. Black Spider, whom he'd humiliated and stripped of his gear. And Captain Hook, a mid-tier merc he'd steamrolled on that Leviathan job alongside Catwoman. Both were tied up and looked absolutely pathetic. Joseph burst into laughter.

Chapter 90: 90

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