Minutes earlier

Barry ran in a tight circle around Cyborg, who lay on the ground unconscious with a hole burned into his chest courtesy of Nina's Chidori. Barry's running was the only thing keeping the black flames away from Cyborg — he knew he couldn't carry him out; he'd even tried vibrating through the barrier and got burned for the effort.

Nina sat cross-legged in the far corner watching the spectacle. She'd dealt with Barry back on her world and knew the best way to neutralize him was to restrict his movement. That was why she'd spammed Amaterasu the moment the fight began. Barry was clearly tiring, though, and Nina didn't want to seriously harm them — she'd have to dispel the flames soon.

A sonic boom split the air as Superman arrived. He saw Barry and Cyborg in trouble and punched the barrier, then pulled his fist back with a hiss — the barrier burned his skin on contact. The field wobbled, then stabilized.

Clark frowned; Barry was running on fumes. He opened his eyes and fired heat vision at the barrier. The beam struck and scattered, cutting trees and punching grooves into the ground. Superman then plunged his hands into the barrier; his palms burned as he gritted his teeth and began to pry open a hole. Swiftly, he slipped inside.

Nina stood, her expression sharpening now that Superman had arrived — and he did not look pleased. Superman clapped his hands together, creating a pressure wave that blew the flames away. Barry stopped to catch his breath.

Superman's eyes glowed red as he fixed his stare on Nina. She quickly activated her stage-three Susanoo.

Superman closed the distance in a blur and punched. Nina's Susanoo shattered into fragments and she was sent flying; her clones dropped the barrier before she could collide with it.

She crashed through a stand of trees and skidded to a halt, then slammed her palms together and summoned a perfected Susanoo that drew a massive sword.

Barry scooped up Cyborg and sped away as the Susanoo swung its sword at Superman. The Man of Steel dodged, flew behind the Susanoo's knees, and punched with everything he had. The impact cracked the construct, driving the Susanoo to one knee.

Nina gritted her teeth and answered with a backhand from the Susanoo; Superman dodged, flew in, and punched the Susanoo square in the face. It collapsed with a boom.

Nina leapt free, and Superman rocketed toward her intending to knock her out — but she vanished in a blink.

Superman paused and scanned the area. Beyond the spot where the black flames were still crawling and devouring everything in their path, he saw Nina standing over Cyborg with a sword at his throat. Barry was a short distance away, a burn cutting across his shoulder where his suit had been singed.

"Let him go," Superman said.

"I'll let him go," Nina replied. "But when I do, you walk away. Don't look back. I promise you — my brother won't harm Diana."

"How can we trust you?" Barry asked.

"You have to trust me for your friend's sake," Nina said. "My brother wanted Diana dead, there wouldn't be anything you could do to stop it. What you need to do is go. Mind your own business for once."

She tightened her grip on the sword, then picked up Cyborg and threw him toward Superman.

Superman caught him. "And don't try anything stupid," Nina warned. "I can teleport to his location and follow through with my word."

Superman glared at her for a long second, then turned and flew away. Barry hung back only a moment before he, too, sped off.

Nina breathed a sigh of relief.

"Whew. That was intense. Now, time for the next phase of the plan." She said as she vanished in a swirl of leaves.

---------

"I beg your finest pardon," Max asked, leaning closer.

"I wasn't talking to you," Wonder Woman replied curtly before turning back to Thena. "Would you like to come and stay with Mom?"

Thena looked between them nervously, her lips trembling. "I… I—"

"She will be staying with me," Max interrupted firmly. "Just like how she has been. And that's non-negotiable."

"I'm her parent too!" Diana snapped, stepping forward. "I deserve a chance to play a role in her life—and that means she has to stay with me."

"Yikes," Max said dryly. "You've only just received the title and you're already abusing it."

"Um, can't I just stay with the both of you?" Thena asked hopefully.

Both Max and Wonder Woman turned toward her, then toward each other, and said at the same time, "No."

Max sighed, crouching down so he was level with Thena. He rested a hand gently on her shoulder. "Look, Thena, I love you more than anything. But I just can't stand your mother. What you're asking of me is… too much."

"And now you're putting the blame on me?" Diana snapped, crossing her arms. "You're too greedy, Max. She's been staying with you for so long—it's my turn now. In fact, she's better off with me before you corrupt her and turn her into a heartless monster."

Max's lips curved into a humorless grin. "Hohoho, now I'm the monster? Then what are you—a saint?" He straightened up, his tone dripping with mockery. "Please. There's little I've done that you haven't. And talking about bad influence—you would be the worst one of all."

He chuckled bitterly. "I can't imagine hearing her one day shout, 'I'm Thena, daughter of Diana and granddaughter of Hippolyta!'" He clutched his chest dramatically. "I'd die from the inside that day. And what would you even teach her? The Warrior's Code?" He scoffed. "I've never heard anything more stupid than that,we are in the modern age for Christ's sake."

"At least I have a code I live by. What's yours? Oh wait—you don't have one. You just do whatever you feel like doing, which will be your downfall one day. And I will not allow you to drag Thena down with you when that happens!" Diana spat.

"You should've asked, and I would've told you that I do have one," Max shot back, smirking. "But what would you expect from a brute who's just recently crawled out from under a rock?"

"I dare you to say that again," Wonder Woman warned, pulling out her lasso.

"Put that shit away before you embarrass yourself," Max said dryly.

A swirl of leaves burst between them, and Nina appeared, hands raised. "I think I may have a solution."

"Who are you?" Wonder Woman demanded.

"I'm Nina—Max's sister. And like I said, I might have a solution," she replied calmly. "Since my brother here doesn't want Thena to leave his side, how about shared custody? Thena stays with Max, and you can visit anytime you want."

Max hummed in thought,then felt a tug on his sleeve. He glanced down to see Thena looking up at him, eyes glossy, lip trembling like a kicked puppy.

'Oh no... not this,' Max thought, already defeated. 'Where the hell did she even learn that look?'

He sighed. "Fine. I agree."

Thena's face lit up as she turned to Diana, who was about to refuse,but when she met Thena's watery eyes, her words caught in her throat.

"I... fine," she said finally, crossing her arms. "But you'd better keep your word," she warned, pointing at Max.

Thena grinned and grabbed both their hands, trying to pull them together. "Now you should shake hands!" she said, gritting her teeth and pulling with all her might as the two refused to budge.

"Okay, now that's pushing it," Max muttered, deadpan.

Nina just chuckled from the sidelines, shaking her head. "God help me," she murmured, "this family's gonna be chaos."

—End of Chapter—

Ayo, what's up guys!

I hope you're all doing great. I'm finally back in control again — almost died from the flu but I'm good now! I hope my brother's been treating you well while I was gone.

Right now, I'm busy writing new chapters to upload on Patreon, so updates here might not be too consistent for a bit. Also, I could really use your help — I'm starting to run low on ideas 😭.

Drop any suggestions or plot ideas you'd like to see happen in the fanfic! If I like them, I'll definitely use them.

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Till next time!