The energy beam grazed Hawkgirl, the deadly heat washing over her armor. She executed a tight aerial spin before landing heavily near her teammates.
"What's the plan now?" she asked, her breath slightly short.
Utopian never took his eyes off Ocean Master. The giant of steel and coral was already aiming his trident at them for another volley.
"I'll handle him," Utopian declared, his voice dropping to a low rumble. "You and Wonder Woman, destroy the machine. Find a weak point, bypass the shield."
A flash of excitement crossed Hawkgirl's eyes, quickly replaced by mock indignation. "That's not fair! You get to have all the fun!"
Wonder Woman, her lasso already in hand, shot them a look that brooked no argument. "That's enough, you two!" Her tone was that of a general on the battlefield, cutting short any quarrel. "We don't have time for this. Utopian, keep him occupied. Shayera, with me. We need to bring this thing down before it unleashes hell on the surface."
Without waiting, Utopian charged. He didn't bother flying. He leaped, propelled by the pure power in his legs, crossing the cavern like a missile. His fist smashed into the chest of Ocean Master's armor with the sound of a giant gong.
CLANG!
Ocean Master was thrown backward several meters, his boots gouging trenches in the cavern floor. Surprise was evident on his face, visible behind his armor's helmet. He hadn't anticipated such raw physical force.
"You dare?!" he roared.
Utopian landed solidly, his fists clenched, a red glow beginning to illuminate his eyes. "We're not going to debate philosophy, Orm. We're going to fight."
Meanwhile, Wonder Woman and Hawkgirl got to work. Diana focused her attention on the energy shield, her golden lasso glowing with increasing intensity. "The shield is maintained by a power source. If I can find the frequency..."
Hawkgirl, meanwhile, flew in a circle around the machine, striking the shield at different points with her mace, testing its resilience. "It's uniform! No obvious weak spot!"
Behind them, the battle between the titan and the fallen king raged. Ocean Master, regaining his balance, swept his trident. Utopian dodged narrowly, the weapon's blade nearly cutting him in two. He countered with a punch to Orm's armored arm, cracking the metal.
"You're just a spoiled child with new powers!" Orm spat.
"And you're a jealous brother with a god complex!" Utopian retorted, blocking a punch from the armor that would have pulverized a tank.
The battle was now split on two fronts: a titanic struggle of pure power, and a race against time to disarm a planetary bomb. And time itself was their common enemy.