"Superman!" J'onn cried, watching his friend sail backwards into the railing, which bent ominously but miraculously didn't break. Breaking away from the robot with which he was grappling, J'onn dove in and grabbed the ankles of android that was now throttling Superman, flipping it over the rail. Quickly, he glanced down at Superman, who was coughing, clutching his throat. He winced as he looked up, and his eyes widened.
"Look out…" He gasped.
J'onn turned in time to see a metal fist flying at his face. He barely sidestepped, then grabbed the limb at the socket and pulled with all his might. The tendons stretched and then broke, and J'onn quickly used his new-found weapon to beat back the weakened robot.
Until just now, J'onn's lack of both power and combat training meant that he was faring the worst, though Superman's injury almost levelled their chances. The pair of androids that had finally found them behind the computer banks had apparently called their friends before J'onn had pushed the machines on top of them, so while Superman had tackled an injured android, J'onn had had to deal with four fresh units.
A high-pitched screeching reached him from his right. He turned, and saw a third robot slowly dragging itself towards him, one of its legs missing. He used the previous assailant's arm to bat it away, then looked up as the fallen computer bank on his left scraped along the floor. A skeletal metal hand punched through the tangled wiring, then flung the pieces away, uncovering one of the first robots that J'onn had rather hoped had been crushed.
Backing away, J'onn held the weapon out in front of him as the two fully functional robots advanced, driving him back until his heels hit the wall.
One lashed out, and he swung back, but the blow glanced uselessly off the silver armour, and the robot immediately grabbed the arm in an iron grip and twisted it out of J'onn's hands. The second robot used the opportunity to strike at his stomach. J'onn doubled over, feeling sick, and the first android slammed an iron fist into his head. He staggered back, and fell against the wall, the strength suddenly draining out of his limbs. He looked up, helpless, as they continued to advance, and then stopped in front of him, gazing down with cold, emotionless eyes.
He had just consigned himself to a brutal and painful death, when a metallic whistling, like a batarang, sang through the room, and both androids jerked forwards. A black shape somersaulted through the air between them, twin crimson blades slicing outwards and instantly severing their heads from their shoulders.
X2 landed in a crouch in front of J'onn as the robots toppled backwards, the explosive throwing stars in their backs detonating as they hit the ground. She stood, and looked back at the Martian.
"You don't need to tell me how much you appreciate my innate sense of timing." She said, snapping the blades into place on her belt so she could offer a hand to help him up.
"Superman…" mumbled J'onn, swaying slightly. X2 steadied him.
"Out for the count, I'm afraid."
"No – look."
Taryn glanced over to see three robotic guards advancing on the fallen Man of Steel, and swore under her breath.
"Stay here." She said firmly as J'onn staggered forwards, pulling him back.
"Why are you helping?" He asked as she laid him against the wall.
"Can we go through the difficult moral questions after we escape?" Retorted X2 evasively, charging towards Superman and the androids, blades in hand.
Taryn yelled as she ran at the robots, as much for effect as to distract them from Superman. She leapt into the air, kicking out and spinning one blade behind her as her boot impacted on the lead robot, creating a sizable dent in its chest plate. She pushed off as soon as she made contact, spinning around with her weapons outstretched to slice into the other two's heads. Snapping out her legs in a mid-air split, she shoved their convulsing metal forms away, and then angled her blades downwards to plunge into the body of the dented android.
She stood, surveying the carnage around her, and then turned to Superman, throwing the crimson metal aside. She bent down to hook her arms underneath him, and then grunted with the effort of lifting him.
"Geeeez!" She groaned, dragging him jerkily away. "'Man of Steel' is right, how much does this guy weigh?"
She pulled him around the corner, and glanced over her shoulder to check the way.
"You might want to tell your friend to lay off the Super-burgers…" She called, waiting for a response. "J'onn?"
Turning around properly, she saw J'onn slumped against the wall, obviously having just lost consciousness.
"Oh, that's just perfect."
She set Superman down by his friend, and for a second considered just leaving them there. She had no reason to stay, after all; they weren't exactly on the same side. But, thinking about it, she felt her insides twist with unnecessary guilt. Sighing, and making a mental note to give herself a smack in the face later, she set about sealing the door and kicking the sparking remnants of the robots off the platform.
