Crackgift oneshot - Light 'Em Up

Cassadi's mood was sour.  It had been since this whole trip had gone underway.  The idea had seemed so good to begin with, then Codi had mentioned inviting Nuriyah along with them to the amusement park, and Natalie had been all too eager to back up the idea.  And things only got worse when in the past half hour, Natalie had dragged Nuriyah and Anthea off and they separated from the other three, on the pretense of keeping Anthea away from Mizuki.
“Cass, you okay?” Codi asked seriously, leaning forward and looking across Mizuki at her where they sat on one of the park benches in the cool of a large, shady tree.  Cassadi glowered at a spot on the pavement, kicking one of her feet idly and listening to the sound of the soles scraping against the cement.
“Coasters aren't getting to you, are they?” Mizuki asked, arching a dark eyebrow at her, to which she shook her head defiantly, crossing her arms.
“No.” She muttered.
“Come on, Cass, talk to us.” Codi said gently, slipping into older sister mode again, as she was prone to doing so often.  “We know you're jealous of Natalie spending time with Nuriyah—“
“I am not jealous!” She protested shrilly.  At this, both of them arched their eyebrows challengingly, and she shrank back a little under their stares.  “I'm not...” She muttered stubbornly.
“LI-AR.” Mizuki erupted into singsong.
“Knock it off, Zuki,” Codi grumbled, giving the Japanese girl a small, half-hearted shove, “You've had way too much sugar.  But Cass...she's right, you know.  Denying it isn't gonna help.”
“So what?” The younger girl said, turning away again.  “Why do you care alluva sudden?”
“Because we're your friends too!  I know Nat is your best friend, but really...what's the big issue if she spends time with Riyah every now and then?  It's not like she's taking your place.”
“Sometimes it feels like that.”
Shadows shifted in the shade of the tree and a cool breeze wafted by the girls, providing a little relief from the hot day.  Codi and Mizuki exchanged a frown.  Normally Cassadi didn't act this stubborn, at least not that they knew of, and she had rarely expressed jealousy before.  And they had the sinking feeling that it was going to be more than a little difficult to talk her out of her jealousy, especially when the other three girls were still off elsewhere in the park.
“Come on, Cassadi.” Mizuki groaned.  “You know you're still Natalie's best friend too.”
“You can say that all you want,” She responded indignantly, color rising in her cheeks, “But that doesn't mean it's going to automatically change my feelings!  I don't know why we're even hanging out with Nuriyah anyway if she's such a goody-goody all the time!”
“That's your jealousy talking,” Codi said firmly, “And we've discussed this before; it's not Nuriyah's fault that she got picked to be a Blue Lantern, it just happened.”
“So you three are acquainted—heh, or should I say, affiliated—with the Blue Lantern I've been looking for.” A new voice interjected, and the three girls froze for a moment before looking behind them into the shadows of the tree.
A figure over seven feet tall leaned easily back against the trunk of the tree, massive, muscular arms crossed before his powerful form, and red eyes glittered at them in the half-light winking between the canopy of leaves.  The girls had never seen him before, but his studded purple-and-silver garb and the square set of his yellow-skinned jaw set off red flags in each of their minds.
“Mongul...” Codi said slowly, eyes narrowing as she tensed up.
“Oh, you know who I am?”
“You only haunt Nuriyah's every waking nightmare because you terrify her.”
The alien warlord grinned broadly.  “Ohh, I'm touched she remembers me so fondly!” He said mockingly.  “I never knew she held me in such high regard.  Speaking of her, where is the Blue Lantern?  I've been dying to have a little...reunion with her.”
Immediately Codi crossed her arms in angry finality, glaring up at Mongul with as much venom as she could put into a stare.
“Sorry, genius,” She snorted, her glare turning cold with icy calm that belied her fury, “But I'm not just going to stand here and let you torture Nuriyah on one of her rare days off.  Right, girls?”
Mizuki strode forward to stand next to her taller friend, mimicking her posture.  Much as she wasn't apt to recognize the thought, Nuriyah was her friend too, and people like this alien did not stand well in her favor by any stretch of the imagination.  And at any rate, her intuition was telling her that Codi would be pulling out her hooks at any second, and Mizuki did not want to see that from the sidelines.
“Why don't you just go back to whatever asteroid crater you call home?” She growled.
Cassadi paused next to the tree.  She was fully aware, deep down, that Nuriyah did not deserve to be picked on any more than anyone else.  All she really did to Cass was make a new friend, anyway.  But a tiny part of the petite brunette just wanted to let Mongul pass, and hopefully the Lantern would get what was coming to her.
Finally, she looked up at her two good friends.  Codi and Mizuki both stared back at her expectantly with raised eyebrows, expressions on the verge of exasperation.  Her friends would never speak to her again if she just stood there, Cassadi realized.  She slipped a hand into her pocket, fingers closing tight over her infamous 'game control.'  And she didn't even want to think about how Natalie would react to that either.
She strode to Codi's other side, glaring up at Mongul.  “You better get your ugly butt out of here before we kick it, you big bully.” She declared.  Mongul raised his eyebrows sharply at them all.
“Are you actually trying to threaten me?” He asked incredulously, before suddenly grinning wickedly.  “That's adorable.”

“This is pointless.” Anthea muttered.
“Please!” Natalie snorted.  “Using my 'special talents' to help us with a water-shooting game?”
“It's cheating at a stupid game to win a pointless prize.” The younger, bespectacled girl replied.  While she was more than eager to assist in preventing the blonde cyborg from bickering with Mizuki, she had no real desire to be hanging out with her in particular.  At least Nuriyah helped to balance things out.  She turned to the Arabian girl, hoping she would back her up and get Nat to chill.  But Nuriyah had frozen in place, going completely rigid, her eyes wide with fear, and her hands were shaking violently on the water-shooting controls.  Natalie glanced over as well, and her grin faded.
“Riyah?” She asked.  “What's going on?”
“Something is wrong.” Nuriyah answered.  “Something is very, very wrong.”
She stood abruptly, a hand slipping into the small purse she wore on her hip, fingers closing over something unseen.  Natalie and Anthea exchanged an apprehensive look, getting to their feet.  Anthea lifted her messenger bag, reassuring herself when she tested its weight.
“Well, what are we waiting for?” Natalie said with a dark grin, her usual bravado showing through.  “Let's go find the others!”
As if in response, there was a tremendous crashing sound several yards off.
“Guess we won't have far to go.” Anthea muttered, opening her bag and withdrawing her twin silver sickles.  Natalie unsheathed her metallic claws, clicking them against each other rhythmically.  Only Nuriyah hesitated, fist still clenched in her small purse, as the three of them rushed toward the origin point of the crash.  But before they were more than a few feet off, they saw a small form staggering where it stood, coughing violently.  It was a smaller girl, her short brown hair coated in a thick layer of dust from the debris.  Natalie let out a cry of anguish.
“CASS!” She shrieked, darting forward.
“No, wait!” Nuriyah hissed, grabbing her blonde friend by the shoulder, just barely holding her back.  A few seconds later, another figure came into view, flying backward through the air before she righted herself and dug her feet into the ground, boots skidding, dark hair whipping around her.
“Codi!” It was Anthea's turn to cry, and it was only through reflexes Nuriyah caught her too.
“Wait, both of you!” She whispered.  “Don't show yourselves just yet.”
A split second later, another figure loomed into view, carrying a struggling third girl in a massive fist, and Nuriyah's grip on her friends tightened.
“Mongul.” She whispered, horrified.
“Really now, is that the best you can do?” The alien asked in a bored tone, flinging Mizuki at the other two and promptly examining his hands.  “I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised.  The Kryptonian cozies up to a pathetic species from a backwater planet, and they worship him as a god.  Perhaps some adults would offer more of a challenge.  I shouldn't expect anything other than disappointment from a sad handful of little girls.”
“Okay,” Nuriyah said in a decidedly tight voice, “Now you can go, and give me some cover.”
She released her friends, and Natalie charged forward, expression twisting with rage, and Anthea rushed toward Codi, looking more than a little afraid.  Mongul glanced up as they came into view, and lazily avoided a swipe from Natalie's claws.
“Leave my friends alone, you over-sized dickwad!” She shrieked, taking several more swipes at him, none of which made contact, and a second following that, he backhanded her across her face, and she went flying towards the other girls, skidding roughly against the ground.
“Nat!” Cassidi cried, shakily moving to her friend's side.  Natalie pushed herself up on her arm, cybernetic implants clicking and whirring loudly as she bared her teeth angrily up at the alien.  He in turn offered an overly-smarmy smile at her, before his red eyes studied the girls carefully.
“Hmph.  Didn't think you would all turn out to be literally a handful.  But no matter.  Perhaps you're feeling a bit more cooperative and pliable now.” His voice took on a low, dangerous cadence as he approached them again, fists curling at his sides.  “I'm inclined to be generous when the occasion calls for it.  Tell me where Nuriyah is, and you can live.  With...most of your bones intact.”
The girls looked up, ready to spit defiance in his face, then stopped, eyes going wide.  Something tapped his shoulder, and he spun around just in time to catch a huge tarp with his face as it was flung over him.  Nuriyah hopped higher into the air as he let out a huge bellow and swung his arms wildly, and flew to her friends, her aura of blue light snatching them up as she passed overhead, pulling them up into the air.
“I am sorry Mongul, but I do not want to fight you today!” She cried, flying over several nearby buildings, her friends in tow.  They heard a loud snarl, followed by a tearing sound, and Nuriyah increased her speed, finally landing in a nearby guest locker room, doing her best to set her friends down gently when she released her power.  “This is bad.  This is very, very bad.”
“Thanks for the assist, Riyah.” Mizuki sighed, getting to her feet, only to recoil in shock with the other girls when the young Lantern turned on all of them, her aura-touched blue eyes blazing.
“What were you thinking?” She cried.  “You all could have been killed!  You do not fight Mongul and win!”
“You did.” Codi shot back, getting to her feet and retrieving her hooks, a familiar, conniving glint in her eyes.  “So there's got to be a trick to it.”
“I was lucky.” Nuriyah answered, crossing her arms and drumming her now-gloved fingers.  “You cannot fight him and just win.  You have to outsmart him.  And that won't be easy either.  He is the ruler of War World.  He can out-strategize most of the Green Lantern Corps.  He is not as stupid as he looks.”
“More's the pity.” Anthea sighed.
“No, wait.  This can work to our advantage,” Codi said quickly, “Nuriyah, you just bought us a few minutes of time.  Think you can buy us some more?”
“Well yes, but—“
“Good!  Hotwire, Anthea, you're with me.  We've got a roller-coaster to catch.  Gamer, Mage, go with Nuriyah and lead that blabbermouth fudgesicle on a wild goose chase.”
“He is not a fudgesicle.” Nuriyah muttered.  “He is not a frozen dessert of any kind.”
“I think she meant that as an insult.” Mizuki whispered to her.  “Come on, I've got an idea...”

Within minutes, Codi and Natalie had found a roller-coaster suited to their plan, and Anthea had been able to lure the guards away and lock up the entrance to the place.  Not that that had proved difficult; after all, with Mongul wreaking havoc as he chased after the other girls, it was hard not to persuade the people in charge to focus on something else.
“You sure you can do this, Hotwire?” Codi asked, pacing anxiously before the gate that led into the ride.  She was waiting for the others to show up at any second, and it was like waiting for a panic attack to end.  Her heart was pounding and her adrenaline was going to kick in again the second the alien warlord reared his ugly head.  They only had one shot with this plan, and it had to work.
“Hey, are you forgetting who you're talking to?” Natalie snapped from her spot at the coaster controls, barely able to move for all the cables running from her arms to the feedback panels.  “My brother can reconfigure a Volkswagen in two-point-six seconds.  I should be able to get a coaster hacked in about three minutes!”
The sky lit up with a sudden streak of blue-white light and the ground began to shake violently.
“We may not have three minutes!” Codi yelled, running up to her friend.  “Get us up there on that coaster, now!”
Above them, Nuriyah was flying wildly without any true idea of what she was doing.  She held onto Mizuki and Cassadi, both suspended in a sphere of her ring's power, who were supposed to be keeping an eye out for the other girls.  And her greatest enemy was right on their tail and gaining.  She knew that taunting was only making him more angry, and that only made him even more dangerous.
“There they are!” Cass yelled, and Nuriyah looked over her shoulder to the coaster behind them.  The double-coasters were already moving, and she thought she caught a glimpse of long blonde hair in one of the cars.
Abruptly she was slammed out of the air and went flying backward, tumbling head-over-heels at breakneck speed.  She was just able to gasp and cushion the impact with her ring's aura, but she nonetheless crashed into one of the moving roller-coaster cars as it began to ascend a hill slowly.  Half a second later, Cassadi and Mizuki also crashed into the car with her, a tangle of limbs.
“Get your butt outta my face, Mizuki!” Cass shrieked.
“I'm not on your face, nerd!” She snapped back.
“Uh-oh.” Nuriyah whimpered as she sat up somewhat, seeing Mongul on the ground, glaring up at the moving cars.  “Uh, girls?  Hold on to something.”
At that moment, the alien jumped and landed in the last car on that coaster, shaking the entire ride on impact.
“Okay, that's not fair.” Cassadi said.  “He's totally cheating.”
Slowly, he started to haul himself up, car by car as the coaster slowly continued up the steep incline of the hill, eyes blazing with hate.
“Uh, Riyah?” Mizuki asked.  “Any ideas?  I'm not exactly good with evocation spells.”
“I'm thinking, I'm thinking!” The Blue Lantern squeaked, looking around wildly.
“You're beginning to try my patience.” Mongul snarled as he drew closer.  “I'll snap each of your pretty necks one by one, and I'll save you for last, Nuriyah.  You can watch.”
The coaster reached the apex of the hill, and flew downward.  The sudden g-force caught Mongul by surprise and slowed his progress, but he barely seemed to budge from where he stood.
“HE'S A FREAKIN' TANK!” Cass screamed, her breath catching.
“WHAT?” Mizuki screamed back at her.  “CAN'T HEAR YOU!”
The coaster went into a sharp turn that twisted into a corkscrew, and the girls clung to the safety bar in front of them, shrieking as the coaster shook with indication that Mongul had jumped into another part of the train-cars. Nuriyah twisted in her seat above the waist, glancing behind them, and a huge shape loomed over them all.  Mongul bared his teeth in a snarl as he raised his arms.
Suddenly Mizuki and Cassadi both seized Nuriyah around her middle and began screaming bloody murder, and even Mongul's eyes widened for a second.  Heart pounding, she turned and faced forward, and her stomach seemed to vanish.  An entire section of the coaster track that rose up another incline was missing, the broken beams trembling violently under the weight of the moving coaster.  The splintered ends of the track rose into the air, ending in jagged spikes of metal, and dangling off the broken end of the opposite side of the gap, holding onto the end of her question mark staff, was Codi, kicking her legs idly, her face ghost-white.
“NO!” Nuriyah cried, throwing up her right hand, a tongue of blue energy erupting from her power ring.  The light engulfed the coaster train, and it rose sharply above the tracks, the girls beginning to float out of their seat.
“HOTWIRE!” They heard Codi scream.  “NOW!”
Wire supports of the coaster suddenly lunged up toward the cars, whipping through the air wildly, and they began to wrap around Mongul.  He let out a wordless shout of shock and the wires began to snap completely taut as they pulled him off the train.  Nuriyah didn't have time to stop and wonder how it was happening; she looked to Codi and aimed her ring, snatching her in up the blue aura with the rest of them, and she pulled them high into the air, forming a protective shield as she freed the coaster from her power.  The train of cars crashed to the ground with a tremendous cacophony of noise and after a moment, the dust started to settle.  Nuriyah slowly lowered the sphere, her friends clinging to one another, and floated them down level with the broken part of the tracks.
“A dirty, under-handed little trick.” Mongul said tightly somewhere inside the settling dust clouds, held fast by dozens upon dozens of cables, suspended in the air.  As the air began to clear, the girls could see him giving them a look of begrudging respect, hardly amused, his muscles bulging when he tried to strain under the wires.
“You've got Natalie to thank for that.” Codi said with a shaky chuckle, grinning triumphantly.
“Clever.” Mongul spat in a sarcastic growl.  “Forgive me if I'm not pleased.”
“Kiss it, big boy!” Natalie called up, and the girls in the blue sphere of energy turned at that moment to see the blonde cyborg and Anthea rising on one of Cassadi's Cosmo-Flyer discs, Nat smacking her backside rapidly as she stuck out her tongue at the warlord.
“How tawdry.” He muttered before glaring back at Nuriyah.  “Gloat while you can, little Lantern.  One day you'll lie in the grave you dig for yourself.  I'll see to that personally.”
“What exactly,” a new voice interrupted behind the girls, “Is going on here?”
“Kryptonian.” Mongul remarked, his face going carefully neutral.  “I am surprised you're here.”
The girls slowly turned around, facing a towering man in blue, a crimson cape billowing in the air behind him.  Superman looked from his enemy to the girls in surprise.
“You girls did this?” He asked slowly.
“As a team, yes.” Nuriyah answered, fidgeting nervously under the blue gaze of the hero.
“Luck.” Mongul muttered bitterly.  “This was nothing but dumb luck.”
Natalie glared back at him and promptly smacked her butt again and stuck out her tongue.
“Do you have any idea what could have happened, girls?” Superman said in a voice that was both gentle and firm.  “You all could have been killed or worse.  Much as I hate agreeing with a tyrant, on some level he is right.  You six were very lucky that you were able to pull this off.”
“I wouldn't say luck has everything to do with it, Superman.” Another voice jumped in, and they spun around again, finding a tall, dark-skinned man in a black and green uniform hovering in the air near Mongul, examining the latticework trap of cables.  “After all, Nuriyah's my student, and she's pretty good about picking friends with dead useful talents.”
Nuriyah beamed, pleased at John Stewart's small praise of her.
“Still,” the Green Lantern continued, “It's stupid of you girls to try taking on this idiot.”
“I'm losing blood circulation, little man, not my hearing.” Mongul said in a low, quiet voice.
“Oh, right, right.” Natalie said.  “Gamer, would you do the honors?  Blue button?”
Cassadi immediately whipped out her controller and pressed one of the buttons, and with a noise like several bullwhips cracking at once, the cables released Mongul, and he was caught in a sphere of green energy before he hit the ground.
“You think this pathetic bubble will hold me?” He growled up at John, when another figure rose up and clapped a pair of gauntlets onto his wrists before rising higher in the air.  Hawkgirl beamed down at him as she drew level with the teenage girls, crossing her arms.
“Nth metal prisoner cuffs.  Try busting through those.” She taunted, and Mongul went silent once more, glaring death up at them all.
“We've got it from here, girls.” Superman addressed them all, flying over to hover level with the green sphere, so as to discourage the alien from trying anything.  “You should all probably head back home, where it's safe.”
“Yeah, before Batman decides we need to stick around for a police investigation.” Anthea muttered as the girls watched the Lantern and the Kryptonian fly off.  Hawkgirl lingered a moment longer, then looked back at them.
“So you girls managed to outsmart the ruler of War World.” She remarked, sounding a little surprised and very impressed.  “Not bad...for a handful of rookies.”
And a moment later, she flew off, pounding her wings hard to catch up with her fellow Leaguers.  The girls turned and grinned at one another.
“Well I for one, suggest we celebrate with ice cream.” Codi said.  “I think we've earned a reward.”
“Can it please not be here?” Nuriyah asked.  “I want to go someplace a little more...quiet.”
“Yeah,” Cass said, smiling over at her, “I'm with Riyah.  I've had enough roller-coasters for one day.”