Welcome back to Injustice Dragons Among Us 2. Last time, the adventure in Gorilla City continued, ending in Grodd's capture. But that's when things took a turn for the worst, as the Society's secret benefactor finally revealed their identity, the threat that Doctor Fate warned our heroes about, Brainiac. And as we left them, everyone is at his mercy. So what does the Coluan want? Read on to discover...
(Our scene resumes exactly where we left it, Spyro, Cynder, Black Canary, and Green Arrow bound up in the tendrils of Brainiac, who is staring intently at the two dragons)
Brainiac: Fascinating, the data I have received on this world shows no signs of sapient reptilian species. You are an anomaly.
Cynder: News flash, we're not from this world.
Brainiac: Hmm... even more fascinating. A point we will come to later.
Spyro: Probably after I torch your miserable...!
(With that, Spyro is about to unleash a fireball, but Brainiac starts choking him with a tendril before he can)
Cynder: (Seeing her beloved in distress) Stop this! Please!
Brainiac: It is simple cause and effect. Resistance begets violence.
Cynder: Then we won't resist!
(Despite knowing nothing about Cynder, Brainiac interprets she is being sincere and stops choking Spyro before the fireball he was summoning exploded in his throat, while Brainiac himself walks up to the bridge of his ship)
Green Arrow: I take it you're the grave crisis we were warned about.
Black Canary: So what is it you want?
Brainiac: (Looking towards Earth) I seek the one you call "Superman". For decades I believed I had terminated Krypton and left no survivors. Superman is a remnant oversight I must correct.
Black Canary: If you're looking for friends of Superman, you need to abduct someone else, Gort.
Brainiac: I am aware of the Kryptonian's actions. But in observing your planet, it's multitudinous contradictions piqued my interest. This world fascinates me.
Green Arrow: If you think we'll serve you, you're nuttier than Wonder Woman is!
Brainiac: Serve me? I am not the petty despot you are under the impression I am. I collect worlds by preserving their essential knowledge to enhance my own intellect. Once I have that, the remnants are discarded.
Spyro: Seems like a lot of work for something a library card could handle. Why not just do that?
(With that, Brainiac swings the tendrils on his back around to the front, so his victims are facing him)
Brainiac: Humans, and all the sapient reptilians I have encountered thus far, value precious metals as an arbitrary symbol of status. In the same way, I value knowledge. And much like those metals, knowledge is most valuable when it is rare.
Cynder: I already don't like the sound of that.
Brainiac: Now, the collection of this world's knowledge... begins.
(And just like that, we see everything unfolding on Earth. Brainiac has sent down his drones to start his fiendish collection from the minds of innocent humans across the planet. As the nightmarish armies march through the street, we transition back to the Batcave, where Lex Luthor and the rest of the faction are running around trying to figure out what's going on, when just as they're at their most stressed, a shadowy figure sneaks in and attempts to use Brother Eye, only to be stopped by Lex Luthor)
Lex Luthor: I had a feeling you'd come back here, Bruce. But you really picked a bad time.
(And now we see who the figure is, revealing himself to indeed be Batman.)
Batman: Brother Eye, engage security protocols, we have intruders in the Batcave.
Brother Eye: I cannot do that, Bruce Wayne of Earth.
Lex Luthor: Why not?
Brother Eye: Because I am not Brother Eye any longer.
(And now the system appears to short out, but before long, Brainaic's face appears on the monitor)
Brainiac: I am Brainiac.
(Seeing this, both Batman and Lex Luthor attempt to hack into the system again, but it's no use.)
Brainiac: You will not be able to regain control. Brother Eye has been fully absorbed into my neural network. It is now an extension of my will.
Lex Luthor: What do you want?!
Brainiac: You, a feeble human, were able to contain and imprison a fully grown Kryptonian. Even if it was with the help of sapient reptilians, that is quite an impressive feat. But to prevail, you needed advanced technology. Nanorobotics, satellite communications, interdimensional transit. These options are now removed from you.
Lex Luthor: That still doesn't answer my question.
Brainiac: The Kryptonian is mine. And soon, the Earth will be as well.
(And just like that, Brainiac disconnects from the monitor, but not before activating the security system, attempting to destroy everyone in the room)
Batman: I can get us out of here.
Lex Luthor: You really think we're going to trust you that easily?
Batman: It's that or die.
(Begrudgingly, Lex Luthor acquiesces that Batman has a point and instructs his team to follow Batman out, and soon, the Batwing flies over the streets of Gotham City, streaking towards parts unknown. Meanwhile, we transition to Kahndaq, where Black Adam and Wonder Woman are seeing what is happening.)
Wonder Woman: Great Hera. Where else are they striking besides Metropolis?
Black Adam: Gotham, Beijing, Moscow, and at least 15 other cities all at once.
Wonder Woman: We need to strike against this.
Black Adam: The two of us are hardly strong enough to defeat this.
Wonder Woman: That's why we need Kal. Now.
(And just like that, we're brought back to Brainiac's ship, where our initial group stands, watching this happen. But with a moment of opportunity having opened, Cynder manages to stab the tendril holding her, before leaning the flailing thing into the other three, knocking everyone free.)
Spyro: Nice timing, Cynder.
Cynder: It won't be worth anything if we can't get out of here.
Green Arrow: And how exactly are we supposed to do that?
Spyro: I've rediscovered my old Dragon Time abilities. If I move fast enough, it'll look like we teleported. Just stay close to me when I activate it.
Brainiac: What did I tell you before, resistance will only lead to further violence.
(As Brainiac attempts to ensnare the group again, Spyro starts powering up. But only Cynder is able to get close to him in time, as Black Canary and Green Arrow are snared. Spyro attempts to extend his field of influence, but ultimately can't)
Green Arrow: Go! Lex needs to know about this!
Black Canary: We'll find a way back!
(Thus, begrudgingly, Spyro extends the energy, bringing only himself and Cynder to and unfamiliar, red lit location)
Cynder: Any idea where we are?
Spyro: No idea, but I get the feeling it's not much better.
?: And you'd be right.
(Just like that, the two dragons realize where they are. They're in Superman's prison, confronting the Man of Steel himself)
Superman: For some reason, you came straight to me.
(But just as Superman says this, two other figures enter, both very familiar to the group in the room)
Lex Luthor: As much as I don't like it, I had the same idea. What's less clear is how you two got here.
Cynder: It's a long story, but it'll have to wait. We've got bigger threats to worry about.
Batman: We ran into them on the way out.
Spyro: Wait, when did Bruce get involved?
Lex Luthor: When he helped my team evacuate the occupied Batcave.
Superman: (Noticing Lex Luthor is in his armor) The Warsuit? Is there some sort of trouble?
Cynder: There is. And he calls himself Brainiac.
Lex Luthor: Know anything about it?
Superman: (Clearly intimidated) How do you know that name?
Batman: You're afraid of him, I see.
Spyro: Now's really not the time for mind games Bruce.
Lex Luthor: He says you "belong" to him, Clark.
Superman: Brainiac killed my parents, destroyed Krypton, and countless other worlds while he was at it.
Lex Luthor: Wait, how'd this never come up before now?
Batman: Just like I figured, always hiding something.
Cynder: Real ironic coming from you, Bruce.
Spyro: Either way, how do we beat him?
Superman: Without me, you can't.
Batman: That's not happening. Not on my watch. We'll find a way.
Cynder: Bruce, be reasonable. Clark's had five years to think over what's happened. And we all know Diana was really the one pulling most of the strings.
Lex Luthor: For once, I have to agree with Batman. It's too much of a risk to let Clark out. As anything but a last resort.
Superman: (Hitting the glass) This is my fight, Lex! You need me out there!
Lex Luthor: If we can't find another way, we'll be back. In the meantime, we need a plan. The team's evacuated to somewhere safe, we'll discuss things further there.
(With that, Lex Luthor and Brainiac leave the room, with Spyro and Cynder begrudgingly following, each knowing they'll be back here sooner than expected, as our tale ends for today)
And that looks like a good spot to wrap up. Now we're finally done with Chapter 3! We can finally move on to the next part of the story! Man this one took forever. But it's going to be good to get on with the story. So, it looks like there's a tenuous alliance with Batman going on here, and Superman has become Lex Luthor's last resort. But will they need to call on him? Tune in next time to start finding out! Same time... same channel!