-Underwater Cavern-
Rorshach dives in and swims past Star-Lord as he reaches Blank Manta. The man in black armor doesn't stop to look at the person holding onto his foot as he easily kicks the detective off. Spider-Man attempts to shoot webbing at the target, but realizes that it doesn't work too well under water. Deadpool wastes no time in pulling out his guns and firing in every direction. The attack manages to knick Manta's shoulder.
“Gah! You fools,” Manta says as he stops running and turns to face the eleven people who have all dove in after him. “I see that an escape is no longer an option.”
Suddenly explosions go off all around the water as men in suits similar to Manta's rush into the fight. Some of the heroes manage to slip past, but a few are caught in netting, unable to pursue.
Harley Quinn and Peter Quill are two of the heroes who manage to stay on Manta. They reach him at the same time, and both get in individual attacks. Harley gets in too close however, and takes a large headbutt to the face for her annoyance. The attack takes her out with ease.
In preparation for more attacks, Manta readies himself with PRECISION. Unknown to him, the young hero Shazam had swam at super speed and snuck up behind him, “Take this helmet head!”
The attack sends Manta back into the waiting arms of Deadpool, Rorschach, and Star-lord. They each get in attacks as Spider-Man catches up to the group and prepares a COUNTER ATTACK.
Phyla-Vell manages to break free of her restraints and rushes to her teammate's side, “Let's take this guy out quickly Quill.”
Star-Lord nods as the two rush in. Phyla manages to stab Manta in the shoulder, slowing his pace, and leaving him without any place to run. Star-lord follows up the attack by firing several shots at his newest rival. Manta's eyes begin to glow a bright red as he unleashes a huge beam of energy that connect with Quill.
“Peter!” Phyla cries out to her fallen commrad.
Magneto tries to ignore the now lifeless body of Star-Lord as he reaches out with his mind and grabs Manta's helmet, “You can't run from me fool!”
While he is distracted, Rorschach and Phyla both make SPECIAL attacks against their foe. Rorschach cusses under his breath as his attack misses, but Phyla finds yet another connecting hit.
“Not bad, but let me give it a try,” Sinestro says as he swims up beside Phyla, finally free of the nets. The Green Lantern manages to get in two solid hits with constructs made out of anchors before Manta breaks free of Magneto's grip and avoids an attack by the masked detective.
Shazam watches on, unsure of how to get into the fray, when Wolverine swims up next to him, “Hey kid, how's your pitch?”
Bubbles fly from Wolverine's body as he lunges forward in the water and right at Manta. He notices, rolling through a punch from Deadpool, and grabbing Rorschach to block the attack from Logan.
“ENOUGH!” Hulk screams as he swims through the water at an impressive rate before connecting with a powerful clothesline that nearly takes Black Manta complete out of the fight.
A sharp pain catches Manta as he feels Phyla's sword shoot through his leg, holding him in place for an assault from Spider-Man, “This is for Uncle Ben, and this one is for Star-Lord, and this one is for the crazy chick with the big hammer, and...”
Hulk interrupts the attack with a giant fist of his own. That attack completely stuns Manta as both Hulk and Spider-Man focus on their respective defenses. Magneto motions to Rorschach and the two unleash ranged attacks that somehow miss. Using the speed of Mercury, Shazam rushes past everyone and hits Manta with a powerful haymaker, before placing him into a bearhug. This allows Rorschach to try and succeed in hitting Manta.
Phyla-Vell wastes no time in cutting away at her opponent, causing the water around everyone to turn red as Manta's life begins to fade.
“Oh! My turn, my turn,” Deadpool says with joy. He pulls out his trusty katana and lunges towards Manta's heart. To everyone's surprise, Manta slips free of Shazam's clutches and counter's the attack. Deadpool feels the sharp pain of his own sword digging into his skull as it slices through his brain.
Hulk and Shazam take turns hitting the madman who had just tried to kill their friend. The water moves violently at the shockwaves from both powerhouses' attacks. By now Sinestro has moved into position, and begins firing off machine gun turrets made from green energy. The bullets coat Manta's armor, dealing damage all over. Shazam breaks away long enough to take a STALWART DEFENSE, leaving an opening for Phyla and Wolverine to get in on the action.
The three dance along the water, as Manta manages to somehow to dodge most of the attacks. Manta anticipates an attack from Wolverine, grabbing Phyla and using her as a protective shield. To his surprise, the man in black armor still feels the sting of Logan's claws. Phyla-Vell lets out a gasp as she feels the adamantium claws pull from her abdomen. The pain is too much and she quickly passes out.
“Damn you,” Logan says, saddened by the sacrifice.
Manta takes this moment to catch his breath, “You should be more careful my animalistic friend. There are things lurking in this water more powerful than even you.”
As if on que, two large sharks burst from the shadows and latch onto Wolverine, taking him momentarily out of the fight.
The other heroes look on in awe, unsure of what it will take to finish Manta off for good. Shazam looks at Magneto for help, “You're the oldest guy here. That means you have experience. Tell us what to do!”
Any other day, Erik would have cut the circulation to the boy's head, and shut him up the hard way. Unfortunately the young hero had a point. “Everyone gather on me. We need to end this quickly.”
Hulk, Sinestro, Rorschach, and Spider-Man all move into position and listen closely, “He's weak, but somehow manages to find friends in the depths below us. We have to make an all out assault on this guy, and take him out in one big swing. It's the only way we can be assured that he will go down and stay down. If it works, he will be unable to call for anymore back up.”
“A solid theory, flawed only by it's simplicity,” Sinestro retorts.
“Alright, five-head, how do we make it better,” Spider-Man shouts out of frustration.
A roar echoes through the water as Hulk yells, “Hulk make better!”
The green ogre runs out of patience as he makes a solo attack on Manta, who is in waiting.
“Damn it, that's not what I meant you oaf,” Sinestro sighs as he begins to unleash more constructs around Manta to help the mindless beast.
Magneto turns back to Spider-Man, Rorschach, and Shazam, “Plan B.”
“Great! What is it,” Parker asks.
“It involves Rorschach, you, and I playing decoys while the big guy here finishes this, once and for all.”
“Oh, great,” Parker says sarcastically. “This is much better than the first plan. Care to add anything ink-face?”
The detective merely shrugs, “I like it.”
“You just lost major cool points with me...”
Magneto ignore the banter from his teammates and rushes in to assist Hulk and Sinestro who continue to fight their common enemy. Spider-Man nods to Shazam as he too swims in to keep Mantra busy from all sides. Rorschach falls into place, making a cage of people around the man in black armor.
“You think you can corner me so easily,” Mantra says, noticing the formation of heroes around him. “Never underestimate a man in his own environment.”
Suddenly, a roar louder than even the Hulk's erupts from below, as a giant whale bursts through the mob of heroes, and swallows the Hulk in the process. Manta grabs ahold of the giant monster and proceeds to run.
Spider-Man's jaw visibly drops from within his mask, “Did that thing just eat the Hulk? Anyone else see that? I mean, it's been a long day and all, and I'm sure I've got some major concussion going on, but that just happened, right?”
“Shut up and grab him,” Sinestro instructs as he swims after the whale.
Rorschach shoots his grapple gun and hits the whale, gaining a ride of his own. Magneto reaches out across the ocean for any traces of metal he can find, before releasing it as a rain of shards. Sinestro takes a moment to concentrate before projecting a massive bubble around the whale, halting it all-together.
The group rushes into battle once more, tossing everything they have at their enemy. Manta and the whale are hit by a barrage of webbing, energy blasts, and gun shots. Just as things begin to look grim for Mantra, the assault stops. Through his blurred vision, the man in black armor wonders what has happened to his opponents, “Where...?”
Then, without notice, he feels a pair of large arms wrap around him, and hold onto him tight, “They are trying to steer clear.”
“From what,” Manta inquires.
The dark haired hero in red smiles for the first time since his arrival to the underwater base, “From me. SHAZAM!”
A giant bolt of lightning bursts through the water, striking the two men and sending electricity throughout the surrounding area. The attack works, knocking Manta completely out, and taking out the whale in the process.
“Ok, you win,” Parker interrupts the silence. “It was actually a pretty good plan.”
Magneto manages to smirk at the compliment before moving to check on the others. Rorschach and Sinestro swim towards Shazam, both wanting answers. As they draw near, a beam of light comes from the sky above, enveloping Manta and Shazam. It dissipates quickly, leaving only the hero in red floating in the spot where there were formerly two people. He looks around, completely dumbfounded at what had just happened.
“What did you do,” Rorschach snaps at Shazam.
“It wasn't him,” Sinestro corrects him. “My ring tells me that that was the same energy signature from before. It's the teleporation device they used to move around during the initial attack.”
Spider-Man overhears the conversation as he swims up, “Which means the bad guy still got away?”
“Which means there is someone else calling the shots,” Rorschach speaks as though he is only thinking aloud, raising a more important question.
Shazam frowns, “Yeah, but who?”
“Look at the guys who came after us,” Spider-Man quizes his friends. “It could literally be anyone. There is no way to really tell. But you can bet one one thing. Whoever it is, isn't finished with us. I'd bet my monthly salary that we haven't seen the last of these attacks.”
“This isn't over,” Sinestro says with newfound determination. “Not by a long shot.”
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Check out the Masters of Doom page to find out what happens next!
Rewards:
Wolverine - 6 Stats, 30 Influence, and 0 ATP
Harley Quinn - 7 Stats, 25 Influence, and 1 ATP
Hulk - 6 Stats, 30 Influence, and 0 ATP
Magneto - 8 Stats, 20 Influence, and 2 ATP
Phyla-Vell - 7 Stats, 25 Influence, and 1 ATP
Star-Lord - 7 Stats, 25 Influence, and 1 ATP
Shazam - 8 Stats, 20 Influence, and 2 ATP
Spider-Man - 8 Stats, 20 Influence, and 2 ATP
Deadpool - 6 Stats, 30 Influence, and 0 ATP
Sinestro - 8 Stats, 20 Influence, and 2 ATP
Rorschach - 8 Stats, 20 Influence, and 2 ATP
