Hitting birds in flight was somewhat difficult, especially when the Phoenix was no ordinary bird but a bird-shaped mass of energy. Because it represented the fanatical love of destruction and rebirth, its outward form was a blazing inferno.
Su Ming had never tested whether something without a physical body could be frozen in time, but the Phoenix currently had a host. He just needed to aim at the host.
Cyclops was far less compatible with the Phoenix than Jean Grey. His attempt to awaken the Phoenix Egg and let the Phoenix Force possess him was more like a suicidal attack.
Grabbing Loki by the collar, Deathstroke flew up onto a rooftop and had Strangle fire a shot into the sky where the Phoenix was.
The Phoenix did dodge, as though it could sense the danger, but Cyclops lacked that ability and was struck directly in the chest.
"So time-stasis rays can pass through the energy body of the Phoenix. Make a note of that. Hmm, the Phoenix is fine. It can still fly with its host."
Deathstroke, dressed as Batman, nodded, then patted Strangle's Bean Sprout-like head in encouragement. That shot had hit the Phoenix while it was flying at supersonic speed. The prediction had been excellent.
"Eee."
Strangle was a little speechless. It and its host were one entity, so did that count as praising itself?
"Screee!"
Cyclops had stopped in midair after being hit, but the Phoenix had not. The frenzied creature seemed to have realized that the end was near; this had already been its final indulgence.
Now that it had suffered an attack on the level of the Time Concept, it became even more insane.
The bird's head tilted back slightly, as though it were taking a deep breath.
"Adjutant, short-range teleport."
Deathstroke felt as though