Author's Note: I need allll the ideasssss... I NEED TO WRITE MORE BRAINIA!
I hope ya'll realize that that ship name is totally sticking :))
Summary: Brainy rescues Nia from a hostage situation
Spoilers: whatever episode Nia accepts her destiny in, if ya know what I mean (and no, I don't mean Brainy lol)
It wasn't a total surprise that the gunmen chose to come to the top floor of CatCo and take everyone hostage. James was in a seat of power. He was a good bargaining tool. And, while the gunmen couldn't possibly know that they were actually trapping two superheroes on the top floor, they did know they were taking Guardian hostage.
The aforementioned superheroes couldn't do much to help. James and Nia, who had recently become the superhero Dreamer, were both shoved to the side of the room like every other non-hero person. They were asked to take off their shoes and hand over their cellphones, and then were patted down for any extra weapons or methods of communication. The gunmen were even smart enough to confiscate James' watch before he could contact Supergirl. Nia had to admit it. They had done their research.
That didn't change her opinion on any sort of non-meta or special-tech-carrying bad guys in National City. With Supergirl around, and the rest of the Superfriends (when they weren't tied up along with everyone else), how did normal, human criminals think they were going to get away with anything? They may of had some luck if Kara had been inside CatCo (that would have actually worked out rather well in their favor), but she was out doing something, running a story or getting coffee or who knew what.
Nia, sitting with her back against the wall, tried to get a look around without attracting too much attention. There were at least twenty gunmen in the room: one stationed by each window, which were now locked, two guarding the stairway, and numerous others keeping watch over the hostages. The elevators had been put out of commission after the lead gunman had used them to make his way up to the top floor. He had fired his gun up in the air to get everyone's attention, making people scatter and shriek with fear. There was still probably a hole in the ceiling from the bullet.
Nia's thoughts abruptly trailed off as her eyes landed on one of the gunmen. He moved his gun, and the sunlight hit it in just the right way. Something inside it glowed green.
Nia let out a gasp, and the man looked over and glared at her. She swallowed and sucked in her lips, heart thudding rapidly.
There was no doubt in her mind that the gun held kryptonite.
Everything made sense now! The gunmen knew that Supergirl would show up to fight them. Nia was surprised they hadn't let James call her, just to get her there faster. When Supergirl did show up, the gunman would shoot her with kryptonite. It was a good plan.
Nia bit her lip, mind racing. She had to do something. Something to warn Supergirl, or-
Brainy!
Nia felt a grin spread over her face. There was, maybe, just maybe, something she could try. It was a new technique that she and Brainy had been working on in their spare time; a different way to use her powers. She could tap into other people's subconscious using her dream powers in the same way that the dream powers tapped into hers.
For most people, unless they were listening specially for Nia's dream-voice in their head, they ignored her or didn't hear her. But Brainy, who's AI Plate made him the smartest of all of them and also the most able to multitask, she could usually get through to.
Nia tilted her head back against the wall and shut her eyes. She had to focus only on what she was doing for this to work, and the process sometimes sent her into a semi-trance like state. She just had to hope that if anything happened, James would be able to protect the civilians in the room.
The first step was to access her powers. Nia's hands, conveniently, were already tied behind her back and out of sight. She hoped the glow wouldn't attract any attention, but she couldn't help it very much. Soon, her hands began to tingle with her blue Dream Energy. She could feel the soft wisps of power slithering against her skin, sending goosebumps up her arms.
Next step. She pictured Brainy in her mind (shoulder length, dark, wavy hair, green eyes that looked brown in some lights, nose with a small bump in the center, eyebrows that liked to wrinkle downward when he was confused) and then she pictured his Dream Aura. The biggest problem with Nia's new ability was that she had trouble seeing people's Dream Auras without knowing them. If she needed to get a message to someone she didn't know, she wasn't sure if she could.
That wasn't a problem for right now, though. Nia squeezed her eyes tight and imaged Brainy's Dream Aura glowing a pale blue around him, like the AI globes stuck into his forehead when his image inducer wasn't activated.
In seconds, she felt like she was flying through a tunnel. Her vision and her mind were surrounded with swirling blue tendrils. Brainy? she thought-spoke into the emptiness. Are you there?
Time in a Dream Scape was hard to count. Nia could have been waiting for ten minutes, or it could have been only a few seconds; she had no way of knowing. But she got her response.
Nia Nal? Brainy's voice was clear in her head. If she had had a physical form in the Dream Scape, she would have smiled. Is that you?
Yeah Brainy, it's me, Nia replied. I've connected to your Dream Aura.
Remarkable! Brainy proclaimed. Good work.
Thanks. Look- we don't have much time. I'm stuck in CatCo right now with the rest of the employees on the top floor. We're being held hostage.
Brainy cut her off, and she could feel his Dream Aura darken from proud to frantic. What?! Are you alright?
Yeah, we're all fine, they haven't shot us yet, Nia assured him. But Brainy, you need to tell Supergirl-
I'll inform her immediately of your situation-
No! Nia interrupted quickly. No, you need to tell her not to come.
There was a silence. Brainy's Aura shifted to confused. Not to come? But Nia, you need to be rescued.
Supergirl can't come, Nia reiterated. At least one of these guns holds Kryptonite.
Confusion turned to shock. Kryptonite? Hold on, Nia, I will tell her right away and make sure she does not come.
Wait- Brainy. Nia could feel her concentration starting to slip. Tapping into someone else's Dream Aura, even Brainy's, which was the easiest, was challenging. She was either getting tired, or there was something going on around her that required her attention. I can't keep this connection any longer. We're going to need some rescuing, but Supergirl can't come. You got all that?
Indeed, Brainy assured her. Be safe, Nia Nal. I will see you so-
The connection abruptly let go and Nia opened her eyes with a gasp. Her cheek was stinging, and she found herself behind held in the air by her neck, the beady eyes of one of the gunman staring at her from two inches away.
Nia immediately began to choke, woozy from being in her Dream Scape for so long. She struggled feebly as she dangled in the air, legs kicking and hands scrabbling to free themselves from the zip-tie holding them behind her back.
"You wanna answer the question, girlie?" the gunman asked, breathing heavily into her face.
Nia coughed. Her head swam. What question? What question could he have possibly asked?
"Stop!" James suddenly yelled from the side of the room. He lurched to his feet, hands still tied behind his back. "She was unconscious. She has narcolepsy."
"Narco- what?" the gunman asked, wrinkling his nose.
"It means she falls asleep at random intervals," James explained hurriedly. His eyes were locked on Nia, who had a strange fuzziness inside of her ears. She gasped again, trying to find more breath. There wasn't much to find. "She couldn't have possibly heard your question about where Supergirl was because she'd fallen asleep."
Hazily, Nia realized James was giving her a cue. "She's-" she choked, still trying to free herself from her bonds. "She's- Supergirl- I'm sure she's- coming- to save us-"
It wasn't true, but she supposed it was probably the answer the gunman wanted. He dropped her to the ground and her legs, numb, failed her. She crumbled like a piece of tissue paper, landing on her shoulder and choking for breath. Someone, one of her work-mates, reached out and pulled her back into the line up.
"Mr. Olsen..." the gunman said slowly. "You spoke when we didn't want you to speak. We told you what would happen if you did that."
James' jaw tightened and he slowly sank back into a seated position. His hands were tied- literally. There wasn't much he could do as the gunman raised his weapon and cocked it.
There was a sudden shattering of glass. Nia looked up, still coughing, to see none other than Brainy bursting through a window, flying at top speed with the use of his Legion ring.
"I believe," he said, once he had landed. "That you are looking for Supergirl?"
"Yeah," the gunman spat. "And she's sure not you."
Brainy made a face. "I would hope not," he said, lacing his hands behind his back and straightening his spine. "Now, would you rather release your hostages, or get your butts... kicked?"
Nia snorted, but she immediately stopped laughing when twenty or so guns were raised and pointed directly at Brainy. She watched him take a deep breath, eyes fluttering for a moment before everyone fired.
She wasn't sure if she had ever seen him move so quickly or fluidly before. Bullets rained down on him as he ducked, dodged, and weaved in a series of unpredictable movements, all in the air, all with his hands still primly laced behind his back.
In a matter of moments, the guns stopped firing. All the of windows were shattered, and the hostages were curled on the floor, hands above their heads and curled in on themselves in terror. Nia peeped up at Brainy. "That was easily the hottest thing I've ever seen," she muttered, eyes wide.
Brainy floated towards the ground, wary of the ceasefire. The lead gunman locked eyes with him and walked slowly over to the line of hostages. He reached Nia, grabbed her by her bicep, and stuck a gun at her temple. Nia felt all the blood drain from her face as the cold metal grazed the skin right under her hair.
"No- no!" Brainy held up his hands. "What're you doing? This is between us. Put her- put her down." His hands were shaking, Nia realized. He was really, truly scared.
The gunman rolled his eyes. "We want Supergirl," he said, shoving the gun a little harder against Nia's head. Her eyes fluttered shut, heart pounding. "Get her over here, or I'll shoot her."
"Shoot me," James called, standing up again. "I'm the Guardian. Shoot me and leave her alone."
The gunman spun around, annoyance scrawled on his face. "You know what?" he said to James. "I think I'm going to, just because you're being incredibly irritating. And then I'm going to shoot this girl."
He cocked his gun, barely hesitated, then fired. James dove to the side, rolling onto his shoulder and then back to his feet. He bent his knees, ready for the next shot.
He forgot about the other twenty gunmen located around the room. They raised their weapons in unison and James froze, trapped.
Brainy looked desperately between Nia and James, his plan unraveling. "I will get Supergirl!" he cried out, raising his hands before any more shots could be fired. "I'll bring her here."
"Brainy!" Nia gasped. "Don't!"
"I thought you two knew each other," the gunman smirked. He pressed the gun to Nia's head again. "Go on, little worker bee. Bring back your Queen."
"I'm not even going to go into how much that didn't make sense," Brainy muttered as he took off into the air once again.
The gunman threw Nia back on the floor. She landed with a thump, and, sick of being tossed around, glared at the gunman. "Okay, would you cut it out?"
The gunman gave her a warning look. "I think I'd watch your mouth if I were you."
"If you were me, you wouldn't be doing this," Nia snapped.
The warning look increased and Nia bit her tongue, slouching backwards against the wall.
They waited, and soon Brainy was flying back through the window holding a small disk. "Where's Supergirl?!" the gunman demanded, growling with anger.
Brainy floated gently down to the ground and held out the silver plate. The gunman raised his weapon. "Don't you dare touch that thing," he said. "I will shoot."
"It's a message," Brainy told him patiently. "From Supergirl."
Without waiting for permission, he pressed the center button of the disk. The gunman flinched back, clearly expecting there to be some sort of explosion. Instead, the holographic of Supergirl shivered into focus.
"I'm sorry I can't come to the crime scene right now," the holograph said, Kara's voice sounding a little robotic through the speakers. "At the moment, I am tied up with business on another planet. Please accept my offering of Brainy to deliver you to justice."
Nia's lips twitched. Kara was not on another Earth, and even if she was, this sounded way to much like a phone answering machine message to have been made in any seriousness. The gunmen seemed to think so as well, and there was a mixture between slightly amused and steadily angering faces in the group.
Brainy didn't wait for anyone else's reaction. As the finished message flickered in the air, nearly see-through, he pressed another button on the silver disk. A blinding flash went off, followed by thick, green smoke.
Nia tugged her shirt over her mouth and held her breath as the gunmen began to yell and fire their guns in confusion.
"Stop it, you idiots!" their leader bellowed. "You could hit me!"
The gunfire ceased, and soon there was only the sound of coughing filling the air. Nia was getting lightheaded from holding her breath when a figure crouched beside her. She tumbled back, waiting for a gun to press into a head again, but Brainy's face appeared through the haze. She turned pink when she realized how close he was.
"Here," he whispered, pressing a gas mask to her face. She inhaled greedily, glad to be able to breathe.
A couple seconds later, bodies began dropping. Nia heard the metallic sound of guns skittering across floors. Unfortunately, the hostages were passed out too, unable to stand the gas. Soon, only Nia and Brainy were left conscious.
The gas began to filter. It couldn't stay long in a room with eight broken windows, and Nia could soon see the aftermath of Brainy coming to save the day. Everyone in the room was out cold, sprawled across the floor.
"You could have brought a few more gas masks," Nia smirked as Brainy helped her unclasp her own mask from around her head.
"So ungrateful," Brainy huffed, smiling. He reached up and moved his fingers in a brusk, careful way along her hairline. "He didn't shoot you, correct?"
"No, no, I'm fine," Nia assured him. "Thank you for coming."
Brainy dipped his chin into a nod. "I must admit to... wanting to save you, at least once, in my time as hero."
The sentiment was a little anti-feminist, but Nia thought it was sweet. "You're my hero," she told Brainy, then looked a little closer as he coughed and shuffled his feet. "Brainy... are you blushing?"
"I-" Brainy looked taken aback and quickly raised a hand to touch his cheek. "It appears that I am. How... odd."
Nia snickered, then looked around. "Hey, we should probably disarm these guys and tie them up before they wake up," she said.
"Yes, of course," Brainy agreed, hurrying around and breaking her zip ties so she'd have use of her hands. As Nia stretched out her arms and shoulders and inspected her swollen, red wrists, Brainy picked up all the guns, put them in a corner, and tied up the bad guys.
"Now, how about I take you home?" Brainy suggested.
Nia hadn't realized how tired she was until he said that. "That would be lovely," she said, and followed Brainy over to the window. He glanced over at her, took a quick side step closer, and then hastily put his arm around her waist. Nia raised her eyebrows and gave him a quizzical smile. "Hold on, Nia Nal," Brainy instructed. "It's time to go for a ride."
Then, as the people still lying on the floor began to groan and come-to, Brainy and Nia lifted through the window and out into the air.
He landed on the balcony of her apartment. "This is your home, correct?" he asked, taking a respectful step back from her and lacing his fingers behind his back.
Nia's legs felt jello-y from the flight, but she nodded. "Uh... I don't mean to be picky, but... if my roommate is home, she's going to be very suspicious when I walk into the room from the balcony after not being here all day."
"Hmmm, yes," Brainy agreed, contemplating that. "I'll take you down to the front, then."
When they had re-landed in an unpeopled area, Brainy once again stepped away from Nia. She reached out and grabbed his arm before he could walk away. "Hey, Brainy? Thank you, again, for saving me. I appreciate it."
He bowed his head. "It was no trouble at all, Nia. In fact, I think I could even say that it was... my pleasure."
Nia smiled and rubbed his arm once before letting it drop. "I'm glad to hear that."
Author's Note: I promiseeee I will get a kiss scene for y'all soon! It just hasn't quite fit right yet. But it will, soon, hopefully!
Thank you sooo much for the prompts! Here's what we've got so far:
1: Celebrating each other's birthdays/ getting each other gifts
2: A picnic date
3: Nia missing her sister
I'm looking forward to more! :)
