The warehouse shook as Zane absorbed another devastating hammer swing. Sparks flew, concrete cracked, and splintered wood cascaded around him, but his Echo Form held, muscles coiling like living steel. The poison still gnawed at his metabolism, slowing reflexes, combined with the ongoing sonic attack made him almost defenseless.
Almost...
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Every swing of Sportsmaster's Olympic hammer was calculated to overwhelm. Yet Zane channeled the kinetic energy through his body and into the environment, sending vibrations into the floor, beams, and crates. The metallic clangs echoed through the warehouse, a cacophony that would have shattered anyone else.
He felt the weight of each strike, measured it, redirected it. Even though he was severely suppressed, his instincts was holding him afloat.
"You really are like a Master Martial Artist in that form," Sportsmaster said, voice calm, edged with grudging respect. "Judging every move im about to make before I make it, its different from when your in your Human form. But its not enough, kid!"
Zane inhaled, forcing oxygen through burning lungs. He had no time to focus on Sportsmasters words, he was in the zone.
He tried to duck under the horizontal swing, but was a heartbeat too slow.
BANG!
The weapon smashed into his side, blasting him off his feet. His body tore through the air like a ragdoll fired from a cannon, slamming into a steel support beam with a shriek of metal. The column split in half, fragments scattering across the floor.
And yet… he rose without injury.
Sportsmasters brows furrowed as he saw the uninjured Zane.
'I know his hide is very tough, but that amount of force, combined with my Poison that breaking down the cells of his body should've atleast brocken a few bones! How did he do that!?'
It was very simple actually.
Because in the moment of contact, Zane had executed something that bordered on the impossible.
Most fighters, when struck, tense their muscles—instinctively trying to resist. That rigidity turns their own body into a wall, forcing them to absorb the full brunt of the impact. Bones splinter. Organs rattle. Flesh tears.
But he had done the opposite.
The instant the strike touched his skin, he let his body collapse. Muscles slackened, joints loosened. He became soft—pliant.
At the same time, his legs pushed off the ground, propelling him in the same direction as the blow.
The result was a phenomenon combat science rarely witnesses: total transmission.
Instead of the energy stopping inside his body, it traveled clean through, like a river rushing downstream. His body was no longer an obstacle, but a conduit. The force flowed from weapon → body → wall, leaving him almost untouched while the steel behind him carried the punishment.
To the untrained eye, it looked like he had been crushed and thrown.
In reality, he had transformed lethal force into nothing more than transportation.
He straightened, exhaling sharply, and rolled his shoulders. A faint grin touched his lips.
'I'm sure starting to realize just how powerful this Form actually is.....' Zane realized.
He knew top fighters in this Universe could propably do something similar, but he's willing to bet his was on a whole nother level.
This Echo Form had so much potential....
The sonic pucks screamed again, but Zane had begun to map their pattern in milliseconds. The vibrations didn't stagger him now; instead, he let them ripple through his form, energy dissipating harmlessly into his surroundings.
He wasn't adapting like Doomsday could, more like figuring out ways to counter...if that makes sense.
He closed his eyes for a fraction of a second, letting his instincts paint the battlefield.
He didn't need to see; he could feel every movement of his opponent, every shift in momentum, every pulse of the warehouse itself.
Sportsmaster's grin faded just a little. "Impressive. You can survive what would kill most. But even masters have limits. You're not invincible."
Zane's mind sharpened. He felt the lingering effect of the poison, the slowing, the ache in his muscles. He let each movement flow from calculated adaptation. Hammer swings were redirected, pucks neutralized by environmental absorption, and every momentum shift became a tool rather than a threat.
...
Across the Warehouse, Artemis moved with renewed clarity. She'd been pushed to her limits by Cheshire, but now she flowed with lethal precision. The initial struggle, the shock of the mask reveal, faded into calculated rhythm. Every arrow fired was no longer reactive but anticipatory, every dodge informed by muscle memory honed through countless hours sparring with Zane.
Cheshire lunged again, blade flashing, but Artemis met her with an elegant sidestep. Momentum shifted; the assassin's strikes were deflected, her balance broken.
Artemis's bow struck with lethal precision, a strike that pushed Cheshire back into the debris of broken crates. Jade-green eyes glimmered with surprise, but Artemis's resolve remained unbroken.
"Your skills aren't enough," Cheshire hissed, blade aimed to recover advantage.
"I've learned more than you realize," Artemis said, voice steady. Her movements were fluid, a combination of speed and strategic foresight.
She pressed forward, forcing Cheshire into a defensive rhythm. Each feint and strike reflected everything she had absorbed from past training sessions with Zane—timing, misdirection, anticipation.
She was winning...
....
Back at the center of chaos, Zane's battle intensified. Sportsmaster flicked the hammer in new arcs, chaining attacks together with subtle feints designed to exploit any hesitation. Each blow sent shockwaves through the warehouse floor. Zane shifted, letting kinetic energy cascade into surrounding debris. He turned every potential punishment into a controlled flow of motion, hammer swings redirected into support beams, walls, and scattered crates.
"Your doing better than I thought," Sportsmaster said, tone measured but sharp. "Far better than I expected. That's what makes you dangerous."
Sportsmaster's expression flickered. A twitch of surprise, a micro-adjustment of stance. He spun the hammer in tight, controlled arcs, the air whistling with kinetic energy. "But even so… you're human enough to feel fatigue, enough to make mistakes."
Zane inhaled, muscles trembling but steady. He felt the poison's lingering grip, but he had reached a point where it was manageable, predictable.
But...
'He's right, I still get tired. At this rate, I won't be able to hold this form for longer than a minute or two. I need to end this, fast!'
.....
CLANG!
Artemis's fight reached a decisive beat. Cheshire attempted a wide slash, but Artemis's bow intercepted, knocking the blade aside, leaving her open for a kick to the gut!
With a swift movement, she forced Cheshire against the far wall, disarming her blade, an arrow placed right at her neck.
"It's over, give up!" Artemis glared into her sisters shocked eyes, buring with determination.
The fight was over. Artemis's chest rose and fell, but she was steady, unbroken.
...
The warehouse itself bore witness to their battles. Support beams bent, concrete splintered, steel groaned, crates shattered into fragments, and dust spiraled in ghostly columns. Purple light shimmered over Zane's frame, weaker than before.
Sportsmaster stepped back, surveying the battlefield, eyes flickering. 'I underestimated you, and that nearly cost me. But that's what it means to survive… as a human, against forces stronger than yourself. You don't just fight—you use everything around you. That's real skill."
Zanes danger sense flared to life as he saw Sportsmaster take out a remote with a red button.
BEEP!
Not giving Zane a chance to do anything, Sportsmaster pressed the button with a Crazy look in his eyes!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
...
Patreaon
/Williamstewart
Thank you guys for the support so far!!!!😁😁