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The Future of Justice
Chapter 53: League
The Fortress of Solitude:
Clark had just walked back into his fortress, intent on talking to his father. "Jor-El…I need to talk to you." he said loudly. "Kal-El, what is troubling you?" Jor-El asked his son. Clark looked grim for what he was about to say.
"It's my friend, Chloe. Several months ago, Brainiac attacked her and put her in a coma. She returned to normal when I destroyed him. I thought Chloe was free of him…but I was wrong." he answered, emphasizing the last word.
"What has befallen your friend?" Clark swallowed. "Somehow, Brainiac impregnated Chloe. And just now, she has given birth to a baby girl. She named her Chelsea." Clark then waited for his father's response.
What Jor-El said definitely troubled Clark. "This is very disturbing, Kal-El. The one you call Brainiac has always been unpredictable, but even I never imagined it could reproduce through an organic life form…such as a human."
"Father, why did Brainiac do this to Chloe?" Clark asked, worried. "I do not know. Brainiac has always despised the human race; it would seem extremely unlikely that he would conceive offspring through one of them."
This angered Clark. "Well, he did! And now Chloe and her parents are at risk!" "Has the child displayed any unusual activity since birth?" Jor-El asked. Clark sighed. "No, at least not yet. She seemed normal, but I don't think it will last."
Jor-El seemed to agree as he replied. "I believe you are right." Clark thought of something, desperate as it may be. "Is it possible you could suppress, or even erase, the part of Chelsea that she inherited from Brainiac? You managed to free Brainiac 5 from his ancestor's control, so this should be something similar."
His father's reply was not encouraging. "It would be unwise to bring the offspring of Brainiac into the fortress. That could very well be part of it's plan." "Good point." Clark said, remembering the damage Brainiac caused the last time he was in the fortress.
"What can I do then?" Clark asked desperately. "For now, watch over Chloe and the child. If it shows any sign of being hostile, let me know at once. While the birth of a child is often a blessing, this time…it may be a curse."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Some distance from Metropolis:
A battalion of large robots were flying back to Metropolis. This army was twice as large as the last one. Jarvis Kord was sure that this time they will not fail. It took him a while to build this new army, but he felt confident that he'll find Chloe again.
He sent his new robots from his hidden location toward Metropolis, where he was sure the pregnant girl was hiding. He was watching a monitor where he could see what the robots are seeing, thanks to a built in camera.
However, he detected an anomaly heading towards his robots...and it was approaching fast. "What the hell?" he asked himself as he had one of his robots turn it's head to see what was coming.
He barely had a glimpse of a huge man with a weird, triangle like symbol on it's forehead before his screen became filled with static. As he switched from robot to another, each one changing from the giant to static, it became clear.
That giant was destroying all the robots he sent. "No! This cannot be happening!" Jarvis yelled as he lost his 19th robot. In a matter of seconds, only one remained. This time, the giant didn't destroy it right away.
Jarvis finally got a good look at the beast, and he was in plain shock: It was Amazo. "Impossible! I thought it was somehow destroyed? Why is it attacking my robots?!" he asked incredulously.
"I do not want your primitive machines getting in my way, Mr. Kord." Amazo answered, which surprised Jarvis even more. "That's right; I'm speaking to you through your robot's visual and audio uplinks." Jarvis was outraged.
"Why are you…?" "I have plans of my own for Chloe Sullivan's baby. And just to make sure you don't send more of them after me…" Jarvis then picked up an energy surge coming through his mainframe. It began to glow and spark as the monitor flashed.
An energy burst had slammed Jarvis in the face. As he screamed in agony, for what felt like an eternity. But all too soon, the energy dissipated and Jarvis fell to the floor. His face was fried to a crisp as he lay dead in his lab.
Some security guards came in at once and found Jarvis's corpse. Horrified, one of them made a call. "Mr. Luthor, we have a major problem!"
Meanwhile, Amazo dropped the last robot into the sea along with the others. "Now nothing will get in my way." He then continued towards his destination: Metropolis.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Metropolis General Hospital:
Chloe was resting comfortably in the hospital. She was alone; her parents and Lois headed down to the lobby. Jimmy had left for the restroom. The timing couldn't be better as Clark super sped inside.
"Next time, could you knock?" Chloe asked, startled. Clark smiled. "Sorry. How are you?" Chloe sat up. "I'm still tired, but definitely glad not being pregnant anymore." "And Chelsea?" Clark asked, concern in his voice.
"In a nursery in the hospital. She seems to be fine." Chloe replied, smiling. "For now, maybe." Clark said. Chloe looked concerned now. "What exactly did Jor-El say about Chelsea?" Her friend hesitated, but answered.
"He doesn't know why Brainiac impregnated you, but is very surprised that it did at all. He has no idea what to expect from her. He told me to keep an eye on her." he explained. Chloe's eyes widened with fear.
"So my baby could be an instrument of chaos?!" she panicked. Clark looked stern. "It's too soon to tell, but it's what Jor-El believes." He then turned to the door. "I'm going to meet up with the team at Oliver's. We'll discuss how to save the others. You should be safe here."
Chloe nodded. "Do what you need to do Clark. I'll be fine." she said with a smile. Clark smiled back as he super sped out. As Chloe laid back down, she failed to notice a monstrous form floating outside her window.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Oliver's Apartment:
After dressing into his costume (minus the shades), he entered the apartment. He smiled to see all of his new allies together. Everyone saw him and walked toward him, even Blue Beetle, whom Clark noticed.
"I'm glad to see you all again. But even more so, to see you all together." Clark said as the group gathered around. The team shook hands with Clark, glad to see him again.
"We were beginning to wonder if you were going to show up at all." Green Lantern said. Clark still smiled. "Very funny." He then turned to Blue Beetle. "You must be the Blue Beetle, right?" The young hero nodded.
"Yeah, that's me." he said, nervous. Clark shook his armored hand. "Thanks for saving Chloe and her family. They mean a lot to me." Blue Beetle chuckled. "All in a days work." Clark then turned to Batman.
"And I want to thank you for…" but Batman cut him off. "Arthur gave me your message. I'm sure you're appreciative about it." Clark nodded. "I am." He then looked at everyone. "So, has everyone got acquainted?"
AC answered. "Yeah, but…not everybody's being nice." Clark raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" "Batman and Green Lantern aren't getting along so well." Flash answered. Clark turned to Batman and Green Lantern, eyes narrowed.
"Did you two have a fight?" Neither of them answered, refusing to meet each other's eyes. Diana told him of what happened, or rather what almost happened. Clark nodded, not pleased.
"I'm not happy about this. I've chosen you two to be a part of my team because I know I can trust and rely on you. Fighting among ourselves won't be helping anyone. I expect better from now on." he said firmly.
Batman said nothing, while Green Lantern merely grunted. Before Clark could continue, Batman interrupted. "Before you tell us why we're here, I need to discuss something urgent." he said in his growl like voice.
Clark nodded. "You said something like that on the phone. Besides, I wanted to ask you what you used to cure Moira Sullivan." Batman nodded. But Clark interrupted him. "But first, how come I've shown my identity to the others, but you haven't?"
"You expect me to show my face to people I only just met?" he answered. Thinking about it, Clark understood. "Alright, suit yourself. Now tell me about the cure you gave Moira."
"First I have to tell you what I've learned since our first chat on the phone." Batman replied. Clark nodded. Batman then told him of everything that he went through since meeting Talia, right up to his discovery of the poison's back up purpose.
Clark was surprised by Talia's behavior, but Clark was downright shocked about hearing about Ra's' back up plan. "You knew most of this already, didn't you?" Batman accused. Clark confessed.
"I did, but I didn't know about putting the poison in the rain clouds. I can't believe how insane that man is." Batman couldn't agree more, but still pressed the point. "If you knew Ra's al Gul's plan, why didn't you just tell me?"
"I wanted you to find out for yourself. That way, you can understand exactly what you were up against. And more importantly, how much it is part of a much bigger plan." Clark explained. Batman seemed to have understood.
"What bigger plan?" Blue Beetle asked. The others were curious also. "I'll explain it. The reason I had you all come here…" but before he could begin, his cell phone rang. It was Chloe.
"Clark! Are you there?!" she shouted. She sounded frightened. "Chloe, I'm here! What's wrong?" "It's Amazo…he's back!" Clark felt like an anvil just landed in his stomach.
Last time he fought that android, it nearly killed him and Kara. Clark thought someone, maybe Lucas, found and reactivated him somehow. Chloe continued. "He was just floating right outside my window, staring at me!" "What did he do?"
"After he shattered the window and flew in, he gave me a message to pass on to you. He wants you to face him in the Arctic right now. He wants to…settle the score with you." Clark nodded. "I'll take care of him Chloe. Are you or anybody else hurt?"
"I'm fine; after he gave me the message he flew off. But Clark, something's different about him." Clark didn't like the sound of that. "Different? How?"
"He had a strange symbol on his forehead. It looked like three circles connected by lines, in the shape of an upside down triangle. And his eyes…they were black." This alarmed Clark. While the symbol was unfamiliar, the black eyes certainly lit a bulb in his head. He did not like it at all.
"Thanks for telling me Chloe. I'll stop him once and for all." he said with conviction. "Clark, last time you and that tin plated brute fought he came close to killing you…and that was with Kara helping you. You can't beat him alone!"
Clark smiled. "I won't be alone." he answered, looking over at his teammates. "Stay safe Chloe. Bye." he said before hanging up. He then faced his team. "What was all that about?" AC asked. Clark looked serious.
"Okay, there's been a slight change of plans. Before we start on the mission I called you for, we have something else to do…"
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
The Arctic, near the Fortress:
Amazo stood on the frozen lands of the Arctic with his arms crossed, waiting. He knew that Kal-El would accept his challenge and come to him. He then saw a red and blue man flying towards his position. Amazo smiled; everything was going as planned.
But as Steel landed, Amazo saw that he did not come alone. Behind him, five more costumed people had appeared and landed beside their comrade. Amazo smirked. "I see you brought some friends with you. Where's your cousin at?" he asked arrogantly.
"Never mind her; it's us you need to be worried about…Brainiac." Amazo widened his eyes in surprise. Steel's friends looked puzzled. "Brainiac?" Wonder Woman asked. The android's smile returned.
"Saw through my disguise, Kal-El?" Steel did nothing but stare. "When you possessed Brian and attacked Amazo, you downloaded a part of yourself inside him. Am I right?" Brainiac gave a not so friendly chuckle.
"Correct, Kal-El. Just another way of "insuring" my survival." "Tell me why you impregnated Chloe!!" Steel shouted angrily. Brainiac continued to stare at his enemy.
"To be honest, it was never my intention to conceive through your pathetic human friend." "Liar!" Clark yelled, outraged. 'Yeesh, and people call me a hot head.' Green Lantern thought as he watched the argument.
"It is the truth. My goal that night was to leave a part of my programming in her mind so that, one day, I would use her as a vessel. But something happened when I breached her mind; a bright glow surrounded her and drained me of most of my power."
Clark remembered how drained Brainiac was when he fought him at the power plant he destroyed him at. "Not only that, but when I was around her, possessing your hacker friend, I sensed my nanites in her were reprogrammed. Instead of storing themselves in her mind, they produced a child."
The Kryptonian and his friends were feeling more surprised as Brainiac continued. "I then deduced that the meteor rock radiation within her must've tampered with my nanites. Whatever the reason, I intend to take the child…after I kill you and your pals of course." The evil machine finished as he uncrossed his arms.
Steel balled his fists with hatred. "That won't happen. We won't allow it!" he shouted. Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, and Aquaman stood ready with their friend for the huge battle.
"Do you believe your "team" can beat me?" Brainiac taunted, smirking. Steel smiled back. "I sure do!" he shouted, and the battle began.
Immediately, it became clear that Brainiac would have the upper hand as he made the first move. During their chat, he used Amazo's absorption cells to take in each of Steel's teammate's powers and planned to use every single one of them to his advantage.
He used Flash's speed to ram into the group, but Wonder Woman and Aquaman held on to his arms and caused him to slow down. Steel then punched Brainiac in the face and stomach, but all the android did was smirk.
"Not good enough!" he shouted as he slammed Wonder Woman and Aquaman into Steel, knocking them all down. He then felt a powerful burn on his back and turned around. Green Lantern smiled as he launched a valley of green energy fists.
Brainiac was at first stunned by Green Lantern's power, but he caught him off guard by putting up a green energy shield around himself. He then used his own attack against him, with twice the power. He barely managed to dodge it in time by flying upwards.
"Damn, and I thought this going to be a piece of cake!" he shouted to himself. "You thought wrong!" Brainiac shouted as he appeared behind Green Lantern and shot him with the heat vision he copied from Steel.
It sent him spiraling to the icy ground. Flash came to Green Lantern and helped him up. "You okay?" he asked. "Ask me that when that garbage can is recycled." he said as Brainiac sent another green blast at the pair.
Thankfully, Green Lantern put up a shield around the two. But Lantern knew it wouldn't hold for long. With each blast the shield cracked, little by little. Before Brainiac could deliver another blow, Wonder Women flew up and tackled him.
"Thanks gorgeous!" Green Lantern shouted in gratitude. Snarling, Wonder Woman punched and kicked the android as fast and hard as she could. But her fists were caught and Brainiac delivered a head butt.
Dazed from the blow, Wonder Woman barely blocked Brainiac's heat vision with her bracelets. Each blast bounced off of them, thanks to Wonder Woman's amazing reflexes.
While he was blasting her, Brainiac felt something wrap around his leg. He saw a cable, along with the man being pulled up by it. When he was close enough, Batman threw small black ball at him.
He then let go of the cable and glided down with Wonder Woman. A few seconds after the ball had stuck to Brainiac's chest, it shocked him immensely. Electricity was circling all around him, and he was screaming from the pain.
But with effort, he grabbed the ball and crushed it. With that, the electric attacks stopped. Batman snarled. "He's stronger than I thought…to able to remove the shock ball and destroy it with his bare hands."
"I warned you about his power copy ability." Steel said as he walked over to him and Wonder Woman. "His power is great. Will your plan still work?" Wonder Woman asked.
As Brainiac flew towards Flash, Steel smiled. "Just a little more time." On the ground, Flash and Brainiac raced super fast. Each blow could be felt at different parts of the area.
Flash barely ducked under Brainiac's fist as he ran past him. He then came back with another punch, but it vibrated. When he hit Brainiac in the chest, it paralyzed the android. Flash grinded his teeth as he continued.
But a surprise attack from Brainiac's copy ring sent Flash into the snow, several yards away. Brainiac smiled. "Your allies are pathetic, Kal-El! In this android's body, and their powers, I cannot even be scratched!"
'We'll see about that.' thought Steel as he flew at Brainiac. But instead of punching him, he grabbed his arm. Aquaman grabbed his other arm, while Wonder Woman wrapped her lasso around his chest.
Flash came around and helped her pull the lasso, keeping the android in place. Batman wrapped another cable around Brainiac's neck, while Green Lantern used his ring to hold his legs.
Brainiac now was being held in place by Steel's team. Though he was strong, the combined efforts of his enemies somehow held him. It frustrated him. "That's it! Hold him tight!" Steel shouted to his teammates.
Brainiac snarled as he struggled. "You cannot hold me for long!" "Not long…just for a few moments. Blue Beetle, NOW!!!" Steel shouted.
Just then, Blue Beetle had popped out of a mound of snow and flew towards Brainiac with full speed. He then stabbed the android in the throat and chest with his energy blades, and then sent a powerful surge through them.
Brainiac then felt as if an intruder had invaded his systems and began destabilizing everything. The new cybernetic entity could not be stopped. "Kaji, you doing alright?" Blue Beetle asked his insect ally.
"Everything is proceeding as planned." said the bug, confident. Brainiac was screaming and shaking madly. It felt as though he was falling apart from the inside. Moments later, he stopped. Blue Beetle extracted his blades.
"Did it work?" Batman asked, uncertain. The hero nodded. "Definitely. I broke into his systems and initiated a self destruct program. He'll blow in 20 seconds." he said proudly.
"I'll take it from here." Steel said as he took Brainiac and, with all his might, threw him into outer space. The giant machine exploded as it past Mars. It's explosion was huge, but a mere blink in Earth's sky.
Proud, but tired, Steel and his team took a breather. "Good work, all of you. This is exactly what I expect from you on our next mission." Steel said, smiling at them all. They all smiled back, a few even gave a thumbs up.
Batman and Green Lantern merely nodded at one another. "You ah…did good out there." Green Lantern said after a while. "You weren't bad either…for a man that's full of himself." he said with a smirk.
Green Lantern chuckled a bit. Steel was pleased that those two were starting to get along. "Come on…let's get back to Metropolis."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Metropolis General Hospital:
After leaving the team at Oliver's (promising them he won't be gone long), and changing back into his normal clothes, Clark walked back into the hospital to tell Chloe of their victory.
But when he arrived outside Chloe's room, he heard crying. He opened the door, and found that it was Chloe, with the others with her. Her eyes were puffy and red; she must've been crying for a while. Clark was shocked to see her like this.
"My god Chloe, what happened?" he asked tenderly. Chloe saw Clark and tried to smile, but it faltered. "Clark, she's gone…she's gone…" she muttered. Clark looked confused.
"Who's gone?" he asked, fearing what the answer would be. It was Jimmy who answered. "Chelsea. Someone took her." Clark was wide-eyed by the news. "What? Who did this?!" he asked, not believing this had happened.
"Jimmy went to check on her a little bit ago, but her crib was empty." Moira said. "A nurse told him that a doctor had authorization to take her for a check up. Only problem was, when he asked for that doctor, there was no one with that name at this hospital." Gabe concluded.
"That nurse seemed a little rattled when we told her later that doctor didn't work here. She looked horrified." Lois added, depressed.
"That was when we learned Chelsea had been kidnapped." Jimmy said softly, holding Chloe. Clark saw how devastated Chloe was. Losing Chelsea must've affected her more than he had ever imagined.
Despite her being Brainiac's child, Chloe was upset of losing her. It wasn't hard to see that becoming a mother made Chloe attached to her daughter. None of this made sense, unless…
Clark hoped beyond hope that he was wrong…but he usually turned out to be right about things like this. "This doctor that took Chelsea…did the nurse say what his name was?" he asked slowly. Jimmy answered instantly.
"She said it was Dr. Fine." That was all Clark needed to hear as he began to walk out. "I'm so sorry Chloe." he said before giving her a look that said "I'll fix this, I promise." "Where the hell are you going?" Lois asked angrily.
"To the Daily Planet to find leads." Clark said as he left, leaving the others confused by his sudden departure. Chloe knew the truth of course, because she saw his look.
As stood in front of the door to Chloe's room, anger boiled inside of him. He knew precisely who took Chelsea…and that same someone pulled one over on him.
'He tricked me. The whole fight was just a diversion! And my team and I fell for it! What does he want with her?!' Clark thought as he headed back to Oliver's to rendezvous with the team.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
The Moon:
Brainiac had just landed on the moon carrying a small chrysalis. He looked into it, feeling immensely proud.
While he was in the hospital, he leaked out while leaving a copy of himself within Amazo. Chloe was so frightened, she failed to notice a black mass moving out through the front door, moved to a nearby restroom, and took human form.
Brainiac made himself look like a doctor and had no trouble blending in. He found the cribs where all the newborns are. He immediately recognized Chelsea because of his connection with her.
When he stepped inside and took her, a nurse came and asked where he was taking the baby. He merely told her his name was Dr. Milton Fine and that he was taking the baby to get a check up. And that gullible human fell for it.
Once he walked into a deserted room, he opened the window and floated into the air. Before he flew into space, he covered Chelsea in a chrysalis of his own metal. He knew it would protect her from the vacuum of space.
And then there they were, on the far side of the moon. The perfect place for his "daughter" to hide where no one could find her. "Now then, no one will disturb you all the way out here." Brainiac said, placing the chrysalis down on the moon's surface. He smiled coldly.
"You don't know it yet, my daughter, but I have big plans for you. One month in that chrysalis, and you will be mature enough to fulfill your destiny. Oh, and you won't be alone; I will educate you on what you must do when the time comes…"
He then resumed his liquid metal form and merged with the chrysalis that contained Chelsea. And as he did, the chrysalis grew in size. Seconds later, it was the size of Amazo himself. It resembled a dark crystal tree.
'By the time Kal-El and his pals find her, it will be too late…'
To be continued.
