CHAPTER 21

Nightwing ran into two more T'Shal patrols and each time he knocked them out with his mind. Like Batman, he didn't kill, even an alien race he detested for what they'd done to him and his planet. Finally he came to the room he was looking for. Surprisingly, it was unguarded, but he thought he knew why.

He opened the round door and found ten people imprisoned in ten Machines. Like he had been, they were all but devoured by the alien organic technology. In each Machine, he saw the T'Shal bred to live in symbiosis with the Machine, to devour the memories, the soul of its occupant. On the face of each human, he saw the rictus of their silent screams. He shivered a bit and gathered his power.

Controlling his own nausea, he sent his mind into the first Machine, learning it thoroughly. Touching the mind of the T'Shal who was the "soul of the machine", he took all the knowledge that the alien had ever absorbed from an unwilling victim. Unwittingly, he found its memory of himself buried inside. With a shudder, he removed that memory from the T'Shal too. He instructed the Machine to release its victim and to 'die'. As he stepped away, he watched the Machine pull away from its victim and change color, already beginning to crumble away into death and he was glad.

He went from one Machine to the next, 'killing' each, then tearing it apart to release each human trapped inside. The next held a young boy, not more than fourteen years old. Nightwing touched the child's mind as he helped him from the Machine, doing his best to repair the damage to his mind. He gave him silent instructions on where the exit lay and told him to run for it. The child nodded and ran. The team would find him and the others and take them to safety.

By the seventh Machine, Nightwing was beginning to tire. He reminded himself that Batman had taught him how to exceed his own physical limits. He just had to use the mental disciplines to work beyond them. He caught his breath and worked faster.

He found himself stumbling a bit at the tenth and final Machine. He sent its victim running for the door and leaned against the wall, feeling suddenly dizzy. He noticed that his hand was trembling; it was harder to move smoothly. He didn't think he had much time left. He searched the T'Shal memories he had absorbed suddenly knew that the "Honored Overlord"reigned over the entire invasion from here.

Controlling his breathing, Nightwing gathered up the strands of his power, building it into a solid mass again. When he began to feel energized again, he squared his shoulders and made his way deeper into the building.

::Honored (untranslatable title), I have detected an alien mind within the building/nest/place to be defended. I believe that this is the prisoner who defeated the Hunter. The soldiers I have sent to retrieve it have not returned. May I have your orders? .::

::And yourself, Honored Questioner. I am minded to take charge of this myself since this primitive has caused so much trouble among my subordinates.:: Body rising from its seat/chair/resting pad. ::Show me where this primitive is to be found. As you indicated before, Honored Questioner, dissecting its brain would be profitable. Those humans we have subdued with the Machine are powerful, but still not so powerful as the prisoner is.::

::We do have one human who has proven to be powerful. It was the driving force of the beam that destroyed the human city. It is kept caged separately; I will obtain it. Let us bring our weapon to bear on the primitive who had the audacity to escape us.::

::I perceive. Let us go and deal with this annoying human.::

Wally passed about a dozen humans who staggered down the hall in search of escape. He pointed them in the right direction and let the team know to expect them. By now the holding cell of unaltered humans had been cleared. The team had taken them in groups to a safe place miles away using the disguised bio-ship. "What about Nightwing?" M'gann asked.

"He's following procedure," Wally replied. "I've seen about ten humans taken from the Machine. They're in better shape than Nightwing was when we rescued him; I don't think they've been here long."

"All right. Keep watching Nightwing and let us know what happens," M'gann sent back.

"Will do," Wally answered and continued following Nightwing deeper into the building.

The hallway ended in a large room and, for the first time, Nightwing saw his true enemies gathered. The Chief Questioner stood next to a swaying human, a tall, brutal looking man with empty eyes. On the other side of the human stood a T'Shal that Nightwing didn't know, but who radiated a palpable menace.

The human struck first. A bolt of light shot out aimed for Nightwing's chest. He dodged it and threw his own energy bolt. The human put up a protective field surrounding himself and the two T'Shal. Somehow, Nightwing had a feeling that the human wasn't conscious, he was mindless. He saw the wicked eyes of the unnamed T'Shal and suspected that this was the mind truly wielding the human's powers.

"Did you destroy his mind and turn him into a machine?" Nightwing sent telepathically and dodged another bolt. "You think of us as primitives...farm animals to be exploited and destroyed. We aren't. We're as much people as you are!" He dodged again. "Maybe more!"

The wicked-eyed alien moved toward Nightwing and gestured toward the other T'Shal. "You claim to be sentient, primitive. You are as dust beneath our feet. You should have died in the Machine."

"I didn't," Nightwing panted and threw another bolt at the trio, which was countered. He had already used much of his power freeing the captives; he didn't know if he'd have enough for what he had to do. Didn't matter. He didn't have to worry about holding anything in reserve. "You are the ones who are turning humans into weapons, aren't you?"

"My Chief Questioner had the idea, based on your surprising transformation," the elder T'Shal said triumphantly. "I implemented it. Your planet is providing a large supply of riches, especially this new weapon your people's minds represent. We will utilize this resource for years to come."

"Those you torture will die slow, agonizing deaths," Nightwing shouted mentally. "We aren't cattle for your use!" He focused his mind on a fine, narrow beam aimed for the human, blanking all thought from his own mind that might give warning of what he was planning. He was glad to see the human's eyes glaze over and the man topple over in a heap.

Grinning dangerously, Nightwing walked closer to the undismayed T'Shal left standing. "Aren't you afraid of what I can do to you?"

"No," said the Chief Questioner. "You are a primitive after all." He gestured and twin paralyzer beams shot out from the walls, hitting Nightwing broadside. He felt his body give way and drop to the floor. The Chief Questioner came over and nudged his prisoner's body with a toe. "You will return to the scientists and we will discover why you are more powerful than the others. This knowledge will spread among our people and we will be able to take planets at will. I will enjoy observing when they take you apart, screaming."

The second T'Shal came to stand next to the Chief Questioner while a pair of T'Shal guards ran into the room and began to tie Nightwing's wrists and ankles. Now, Nightwing realized. The time was now. Everything he had, he poured into the power.

Nightwing's face moved into a long, slow smile and his eyes began to glow. Brighter and brighter, his blue eyes shifted to glowing red, to yellow then to a white so bright that the T'Shal had to look away. The guards began to back away when Nightwing's body started glowing. The ties at his wrists and ankles burned away. His uniform melted off and the floor scorched beneath his prone body, but still he smiled.

"You have been judged and found wanting, T'Shal," Nightwing said softly into the mind of every T'Shal on Earth. "You will leave this planet and never return or you will face this!" He released a brilliant ball of energy which overwhelmed the thousand minds he touched and made them cry out in fear and pain. "This is what your Machine does," Nightwing whispered into their minds. "This is what it's like. Experience it." After an eternity of helplessness and pain, the T'Shal begged him for mercy.

"Go from this planet and never return," Nightwing's voice rang through their minds. "I have set this into your minds. If you so much as think about this planet again, you will feel the Machine in your minds and this time it will not release you. Leave my planet NOW!" A final burst of agony swept through the T'Shal. The Chief Questioner and the Honored Overlord found themselves on the floor clutching their heads in agony. First the Chief Questioner, then the Honored Overlord scuttled away from the glowing figure on the floor.

The Honored Overlord gave the order. ::All bases, retreat! Evacuate this deathly place. Take NOTHING of this planet with you! Go NOW!::

In the hallway, Wally stood indecisively. He sensed that something was happening but couldn't put a finger on it. Suddenly, all the alarms and klaxons in the building started going off simultaneously. He ducked into a side room and watched through the crack as T'Shal began running down the halls. He heard the rumbling of powerful engines outside that signalled rockets taking off. He finally dared to send a message to the team.

"M'gann? What's going on? They're fleeing the building from this end!"

Artemis responded. "We've been holding position outside. The last of the humans left ten minutes ago. Five minutes ago, M'gann just clutched her head and passed out, then we saw the T'Shal running out of the building. They're loading themselves into their space craft and just taking off! They aren't even loading supplies, they're just going! What's Nightwing's status? We've been trying to call him."

"I don't know," Wally admitted. "When the T'Shal started running, I went for cover. I'll go see, now." He crept into the now echoing building and rounded the corner. There were no T'Shal left, just the crumpled figure of Nightwing on the floor. Nightwing's uniform had all but disintegrated and was still smoking gently. His body luminesced in the semi-darkness of the hallway. "Nightwing?" Wally called in a low voice as he scrambled over to kneel next to his friend. "Dick? Are you okay?" He leaned over and saw that Nightwing's eyes were open and his blue eyes were glowing a soft sapphire.

Nightwing made eye contact with Wally and smiled. "I did it," he rasped and visibly let go. His eyes rolled up into his head and his body started shaking with convulsions. When the convulsing didn't stop after a minute or two, Wally did the only thing he could think of and threw Dick over his shoulder and bolted for the door.

He ran the empty hallways at his top speed and skidded to a stop at the bio-ship. He pounded on the side until it opened. Artemis leaned out the door, "Wally! What the..."

"No time. Get us to the nearest zeta tube as fast as you can!" Wally rushed Nightwing over to the ship's tiny medbay. "Go!"