The Crime Lords

Chapter 17- Wrath of the shadows

Objects smashed, screams pierced the air, Shadow Knight stood triumphantly in the middle of it all. I could just make out Joel's figure on the ground next to me through the blazing red light. The heat was intense, I felt like my eyebrows were searing off. It wasn't a pleasant feeling.

After what seemed like a few minutes of Shadow Knight's supernova, the light died down and the heat fizzled out. Joel was out cold and for a terrible moment I thought he was dead. Then he mumbled "food" and I relaxed.

Kira and Ella were knocked out too. That meant that only three members of The Crime Lords were left conscious. I stood up, ignoring the pain in my leg, and ran over to Estella. She wasn't in too much pain (that was a relief) so she got up without difficulty.

"Where's MadMex?" She asked. "And what happened to Green Arrow?"

I turned around and saw Wills duelling Shadow Knight shotgun to axe. He dodged Shadow Knight's attacks with ease and responded with a kick or a shoulder barge. His expression was one of pure determination, nothing was going to stop him. He kept looking for an opportunity to shoot but Shadow Knight was moving too quick.

"MadMex is over there." I said, pointing to the duel. "Hang on, what did you say about Green Arrow?"

Estella nodded to a puddle of blood now surrounding Joel. He was still only half-conscious, but that wouldn't stay last for long. I started sprinting over to him, Estella at my side. Please be alright, please be alright, I repeated in my head.

"Not so fast!" I felt something hard whack me in the head.

My vision went blurry for a second and when it stopped, Black Jack stood between Joel and I. He raised his staff, which crackled with electric energy, and took a few steps towards me.

"You both need a reality check." Catgirl snapped, placing a clawed boot on Estella's chest. "Because everyone knows that cats prey on birds."

Estella groaned from down on the ground as catgirl's claws dug into her costume. She hissed through her teeth and struggled to get a quill from her belt. Black Jack on the other hand struck the ground in front of me, sending electric sparks flying up at me. They stung like wasp stings and I put my hands up to block them. Unfortunately, that gave Black Jack an opportunity to sweep my legs out from underneath me and send me crashing down next to Estella. Jack pressed his staff, electric side down, into my chest and I arched my back in pain. It was like being thrown into a boiling hot bath without getting used to it first, only the water was acid and I was slowly disintegrating. Next to me, Estella screamed and then winced in pain. The claws must've dug deeper.

"That's a good bird." Catgirl crooned in a voice you could only describe as bitchy. "Stay in your nest and wait to by fried."

The electricity stopped but the burning remained. I could only see red when I opened my eyes, which was funny because I was expecting black. I heard metal clashing with metal and my heart skipped a beat. I had gone and left Estella facing Black Jack and Catgirl on her own!

I pushed myself into a crouch, relieved that the two enemies had turned their attention to Estella instead of me, but frightened of the same fact. Estella was holding her own though. She dodged Catgirl's claws and slashed back with a quill in each hand. Black Jack advanced from the back with his staff raised like a spear but Estella was ready. She dodged a dangerous swipe from Catgirl and locked her arm in a hold. Then she shoved her straight into Black Jack's staff and the cat flailed helplessly as the metal in her claws and boots amplified the shock. Black Jack jumped three feet back in alarm as his teammate collapsed in a heap in front of him.