(-Unknown Area-)
In an unknown area, there's nothing but darkness that continues to hold dominance over the light darkening the empty room. it remains to be dormant, just as it always has been in the past years. And because in its current state, it also remains to be undiscovered by the many prying eyes of the outside world. But that's how it was designed to do to protect the secrets it holds.
But as it kept outsiders from learning its location, it didn't mean that it was not able to notice the crisis that was occurring at the moment. It can see, hear, and sense everything around it is almost like the unknown area is somehow connected to the whole planet Earth itself. Like it's a living being, trying to reach out to find and retrieve something.
Or rather, someone who is meant to discover this place. Whether on his own or a dire situation has occurred and he requires immediate aid. And it would seem that latter would be the reason for it now to be awakening.
Beep
Beep
Beep
A greenish light line begins to randomly illuminate from the ground to the walls, which can now be seen as comprised of a unique silver-ish compound of metallic and terrain rock.
"Imminent danger of Life, status detected," an unknown voice states. Once it states this, a holographic of the earth materializes in the center of the room. "Initializing locational whereabouts of the monitor,"
It performs a globalized scan of the entire holographic earth. It continues scanning the planet for the next few seconds, thoroughly inside and out, determined to find the one meant to discover this place, as well as its secrets.
Beep
The room manages to locate its destined individual and begins to pinpoint his exact location. Once it completely triangulates the monitor's whereabouts, it proceeds with its next move. "Monitor location found, initiating an immediate departure,"
Soon enough, additional greenish lines rectangularly illuminate the ceiling area above. Where it forms an opening passage to the outside world for an unknown figure, that appears from a passageway, to venture out.
And once it flies out, the figure will find the person meant to find this place.
(-Insurgent Second HQ One Hour Later-)
In one of the largest countries in South America, Brazil just so happens to be the most likely place for the Insurgents to take refuge after their intense battle against Doomsday. And it would also be the area where it would also holds another secret headquarter that is very identical to the one in Gotham.
And also, it would probably be the least likely place for Superman and his Regime to find them again. Not that they need to though, due to the current status of each member of the insurgents, especially one that requires more attention than the rest. And this helps explains why everyone is currently In the medical ward to oversee their injured allies in hopes that they recover.
Well, everyone except for Deathstroke, who Eric was unable to locate and teleport with them. But the tech genius couldn't help but guess that the old assassin wanted this so he could settle his debts with them before he immediately went into hiding right after the conflict. The same could be said for Harley as she and the rest of her joker clan so their leader can recuperate until their next assault could commence.
But back to the insurgents, the members were also in a similar position as well. And it would only be for them when they begin to process unfortunate news that was informed to them by Eric.
"Oh my god…" Betty expresses as she covers her mouth in slight distraught from what she just heard. "Are…Are you sure that he's…"
"Yeah, I'm sure," Eric grimly says as he wants to confirm without a shred of doubt in his voice. "And trust me, even I couldn't have known that was gonna happen either. But it did,"
Robin just remains silent as he looks at his father, who remains unconscious, as he too was having a hard time processing the news as well.
Lex Luthor, their ally and friend was murdered by Superman. It was hard to believe it. And it still is. And what's worse, the Kryptonite weapon that was meant to be the one thing to stop the rogue Kryptonian was destroyed in battle. This means that there is now nothing they can do now to truly defeat Superman.
But the latter of their crisis doesn't matter to them at the moment.
Right now, all they can focus on is caring for their fallen members, especially one that had a deeply concerned Betty turn her attention to the two white containment pods next to them.
"Eric, please tell me," Betty slowly says to bring the technopath genius's attention. "Will Aaron survive?"
"Yeah...," Robin also comes in speaking up as well to Eric. "Will my dad, J'onn, and Aaron be ok?"
Eric remains grimly silent as he tries to find the right words to explain the status of their allies. But the more he tried to ponder the right way to say it, the more difficult it would be to try and lessen the pain they were about to feel when he tells them.
And so, Eric's R.I.G mentally feeds him advice on the best course of action to take, which is, to begin with, slow good news. "Batman's injuries aren't too serious. So he's going to be alright," he begins to tell the others, much to Robin's sheer relief, before Eric continues. "But I can't say the same for J'onn and Aaron's condition,"
That soon puts Betty on edge as she looks at one of the two white containment pods, that's isolating her son from her.
Eric walks over to J'onn's pod to look through the window, showing the weakened Martian. "I barely managed to stabilize J'onn. But because he hasn't fully recovered all those years ago, it'll be like a day or two by my estimation before he wakes up,"
"And Aaron?" Betty repeatedly asks.
And that's when the armored insurgent member gets more serious when he moves toward the second containment pod with the severely injured Gardian inside and grimaces as he looks at the gashing wound in his chest. "His condition is a different story, Dr.Grant,"
"What are you trying to say?"
"What I'm saying is, his recovery speed might take even longer or not at all," Eric confesses to the browned hair woman. "Aaron has taken significant amounts of damage, both external and internal,"
"But he'll recover right?" Robin says in a hopeful tone. "I mean, that's what this pod is made for, right?"
"For most of his injuries, yes. But I can't say for this," Eric explains as he makes a gesture to the Gardian's noticeable gash wound. "It went right through him and near his heart. And even by that, he should've immediately died but he's not for some reason,"
"What does that mean?" Betty frantically asks.
Eric could easily see the fear and confusion in Betty as he too has no idea of the reason behind Aaron's bizarre condition. His fast healing wasn't responding and the medical liquid inside the pod isn't able to mend a wound this fatal, but Aaron's body continues to strive to stay alive. It's almost like he is fighting death.
"I honestly don't know, Dr.Grant. But Listen, I'll keep monitoring him and the others," Eric says as he shifts his gaze between Betty and Robin. "But you guys need to go and rest for now. I'll notify you of any immediate changes,"
Betty and Robin looked ready to oppose Eric's advice. But only to be met with a sudden feeling of fatigue washes over them. Though they haven't sustained any major injuries, the sheer fear, and anxiety they felt during the battle have shaken them enough to mislay their energy to stay awake for the rest of the day.
They needed to tend to themselves first before others. Otherwise, they will be of no help to anyone in the state, they're in.
With a reluctant sigh, Robin tiredly concedes. "Ok, fine," he says as he exits the medical room so he could rest up.
And soon Betty slowly begins to leave as well. But not before she turns to look at Aaron one last time. She gently places her hand on the circular glass as a way to comfort both herself and him.
"Aaron, if you can hear me, listen to me," Betty begins to gently say before she continues. She wanted to say one last desperate to encourage her son in hopes he could survive this.
"Please don't die," Once Betty said what she needed to say, she slowly removes her hand from the glass window and makes her way out of the room.
And almost as if he heard her words, the motionless Aaron makes an inaudible shift in response that went unnoticed by Eric as he was too occupied in checking Batman and J'onn's status.
But what truly went unnoticed by everyone was the Gardian necklace around Aaron's neck. And it continued to go unnoticed as it continues to emit a slight green glow, fading on and off like it is trying to signal something.
(-Fortress Of Solitude One Day Later-)
(Entering Experia: OST: Smoke And Ashes)
A whole day has now passed and things are turning extraordinarily worse for the One Earth Regime, and most specifically for Superman.
The day that he publicly killed Lex Luthor, and the day that his ultimate weapon Doomsday managed to kill off Aaron, he would've assumed that the people would immediately cease all acts of protesting and resistance against him.
But he could never have been so wrong before.
No. Instead, They didn't just see Aaron and Luthor's death as tragic. But they saw their deaths as martyrs, heroes that were willing to fight their oppressors even to the very end of their lives. And they utilized their deaths as the ignition to continue their bold ambition to protest the regime worldwide, especially in cities like Gotham and Metropolis.
The whole day, Superman stayed isolated in his fortress. And the whole day, He listened to the various live news feeds around the world, all harshly condemning him for murdering Luthor and recklessly sending Doomsday as a personal vendetta against Aaron. They blame him for all of that and continue to do so in their march across the streets as they speak.
And how does Superman respond to this? Not so good.
This is why he has called a special meeting for all remaining members of the Regime to meet with him in the fortress.
In a meeting room, everyone such as Flash, Shazam, Cyborg, Raven, and even Wonder Woman, Black Adam, Sinestro, and Yellow Lantern is seen gathered together to discuss the current movements that are happening against them.
"This isn't good," Wonder Woman states with displeasure in her voice. "Aaron and Luthor's death has incited insurrection against us,"
"We must suppress this filth," Sinestro expresses similarly.
"Willfulness leads to anarchy," Black Adam says in agreement. "It cannot be allowed to spread any further,"
The other members of the regime look ready to fall in and agree with what the amazon and the others are proposing. All but Shazam and Flash, who both looked to have second thoughts about this uneasy plan of theirs.
As they continue to discuss with one another, Superman continues to remain bitterly silent as he ponders his ideas on what to do with the people. "I made them," he begins to hardly say which was loud enough to get his comrade's undivided attention. "Shielded them. But are they grateful? Do they appreciate my protection?"
His hands greatly shake in sheer anger as continues to express his disapproval while the other regime members just listen. "No…they whine. Complain. Side with those criminals," as he said the word criminals, images of Batman, Luthor, and mostly Aaron come popping into the Kryptonian's mind, greatly angering him in the process.
And the anger only becomes more intense when his thoughts came to the people. The same people that he protected for years from the greatest worldwide disasters in history, but only to be met with a large number of backlash and disapproval in the end. And their only response is resistance against his protection, preferring to defy him in every corner. Well no more.
Superman suddenly stands up from his chair before he turns to others with a rather fierce look on his face. "If they prefer chaos, then I'll give it to them," he harshly declares as he approaches them. "Metropolis and Gotham. I'll flatten 'em. Set an example," his eyes then begin to harden as he continues. "Then I'm finding Batman and what's left of his insurgents. They'll pay for interfering for the last time even if I have to burn this whole planet just to find them,"
Flash becomes horrified by what he just heard from his leader. And what makes it worse is that almost everyone around him seems to agree and support Superman's declaration.
All but one.
"Wait," Shazam objectively calls out to everyone in the room. "We're wiping out whole cities? Executing civilians now?"
"You have a problem with that, Billy?" Superman openly threatens as he disapproves of the Greek Mortal Champion's objection.
Despite the many glares he received from the others, Shazam continued to voice in. "Well, yeah… it's crazy. It's going too far,"
"Man's world is incapable of self-rule," Wonder Woman arrogantly proclaims, defending Superman's determination unquestionably. "We will preserve order,"
"No…No…" Shazam now openly protests as he goes to confront Superman to try and peacefully reason with him. Seeing this, Flash tries to intervene to save him, but only to be held back by Yellow Lantern. "There have to be limits. Even on us. Especially on us!"
"That's enough!" Superman angrily yells.
"No! We can't do this!" Shazam now heroically declares. "Have you gone nuts?! Lois would never want-"
At the mention of his dead wife, Superman finally snaps. He harshly grabs Shazam by the throat, abruptly cutting his sentence off, the young mortal champion struggles to free himself from the Kryptonian's tight grasp before he's left with no other choice but to fight.
"SHAZ-"
But Superman quickly uses his ice breath to freeze the young mortal champion's mouth shut in ice, preventing him from shouting his signature move. Shazam's struggles intensify as he now hopelessly muffles out his name.
And before long, Superman makes his next unfortunate move.
Superman unhesitantly releases a low-level heat vision, firing right into Shazam's head. The red beams continue to sizzle their way into the mortal champion's skull for the next second or two until there were two deep burn holes at the back of his head. And soon Shazam's whole body becomes immobile which prompts Superman to carelessly release him from his grip.
Thud
With a dramatic thud, Shazam motionlessly falls to the floor. And thus ends the life of Billy Baston, murdered by Superman.
Once he got rid of the vexation, The said Kryptonian turns threateningly glaring at the other members. "Anyone else?"
Nobody says a word. Though some of them didn't need to as it didn't affect their resolve. But the others, like Flash and Yellow Lantern, were but they also didn't speak up out of fear of further angering the Kryptonian.
Satisfied by the lack of objections, Superman proceeds with his plan. "Cyborg. Raven. Take control of all media broadcasts. I want everyone to see this," He then turns to his other allies. "Wonder Woman. Adam, you're with me. Sinestro, prepare your ground forces. And Hal, Flash, contact Aquaman, and tell him to have his army ready,"
And with his orders said, everyone, proceeds to carry out their assignments. But Superman takes a second to look down at Shazam's body without a shred of remorse in his eyes before he proceeds to leave along with others, leaving only Flash and Yellow Lantern alone in the room.
(Ending Experia: OST: Smoke And Ashes)
(Entering Michael Broom: OST: Redemption)
No words are said as they slowly walk toward the deceased Shazam. But feelings of remorse and regret soon flow through them as they gaze down at the body. It truly was a surprise to them both. They never thought that Superman would resort to such extremism toward anyone among their ranks for speaking up, Let alone Shazam of all people.
"I was wondering what the commotion was about in here," hearing a voice behind them, they turn to see Derek and Grundy make their way toward them with the usual neutral expression on the doctor's face.
"No good comes from hero worship, a lesson our dear Billy has failed to learn at the end of his journey," he simply states, startling the Flash from his casual remark as even Derek wasn't deterred by seeing Shazam's body when he turns over to the grayish zombie. "Grundy, would you take him to my quarter,"
Grundy nods as he looks at the fallen hero with a sad look on his face. "Grundy help doctor. Grundy helps bury," He solemnly responds as he gently picks the body up. Flash soon comes in to want to give final respects and prayers to Shazam before Grundy proceeds to follow Derek outside the room.
Once they left, Flash begins to think. On all the things he's done over the past five years. All those times when he tried to rationalize his reasons for siding with Superman and the things he did to protect the world. But it only became more and more difficult for him to explain to Iris, the others, and even himself.
And then Eric's sudden appearance changed everything. Despite the envy and mistrust, the armored Insurgent had about him and the other heroes, he still held onto the hope that he would come to their senses and fight the regime. And Flash just let him and the other kids locked in correctional facilities down.
They all knew the true reason why Flash didn't stop this. He failed at being a hero to all the people that looked up to him. And most of all, he was a coward who failed to do the right thing. And his cowardice act had cost the life of a young hero to die in front of him.
And now it is time to stop running away.
"He was right," Flash suddenly asserts, referring to what Shazam said as he turns to Hal. "This isn't what we signed up for,"
Yellow Lantern grimaces at that for a second before he refocuses and proceeds to contact Atlantis. "We did our job. We eliminated crime," he quickly says as he tries to justify this.
But that same excuse wasn't gonna fly with the crimson speedster anymore. "Billy wasn't a criminal. He was-"
"A casualty of war. Acceptable Losses." Yellow Lantern quickly justifies again with slight hesitation in his voice.
"ACCEPTABLE?!" Flash angrily snaps as he couldn't believe what he is hearing right now until he takes a deep breath for a second to calm himself before continuing. "I let myself believe we were making things better. But we're not," And soon his voice becomes firm with his next words. "I can't do this anymore. I'm done,"
With that said, Flash makes for the exit. But only to be stopped by Yellow Lantern. "What, Do you have a death wish?! There is no done!"
"Maybe not for you," Flash firmly counters as small electricity emits from his body. "Goodbye. Hal," With that, Flash makes a super dash toward the room exit. But a yellow barrier quickly conjured by Yellow Lantern comes in the way between Flash and his escape.
"You can't leave," he firmly says, refusing to let Flash go.
But Flash wasn't gonna let up his attempts and runs towards the barrier. Adding more power to his effort, Flash begins vibrating his whole body to help him slip through the yellow barrier. With that obstacle gone, Flash proceeds to escape from the fortress.
But he is forced to halt his pace to avoid a yellow cage falling from above him. Turning around, Flash now gets ready to confront Yellow Lantern, who aims his power ring at the crimson speedster.
"Barry, don't make me do this," the said Yellow ring wielder warns, truly not wanting to fight him.
With no other options left, Flash has no choice but to engage his friend if he was to escape.
Using his super speed, Flash dashes around the yellow ring wielder. But Yellow Lantern sees this and quickly utilizes his ring to fire multiple construct chains after the rubbing man in an attempt to bind him. Easily seeing this, Flash swifts and swerves around the chains as the lighting around him intensifies as he increases both his speed and movement.
"Barry, Come on. You're not thinking straight! " Yellow Lantern exclaims, questioning his friend's sudden change of decision. Changing his tactic, Yellow Lantern tries to get ahead of the Flash and constructs a wall in front of him to block his path. "You think you can just run away from this?!"
But instead of stopping, Flash jumps onto the yellow-constructed wall and dashes straight toward Yellow Lantern. "That's just the thing, Hal," The Flash begins to clarify as he channels his lightning to his arm while increasing his speed further. "I'm done running away!"
And soon, everything around him slows down.
With that exclamation, Flash flings his arm toward, and when he did, the fundamental lighting directly jumps right out of the speedster and heads straight for Yellow Lantern. And due to its increased speed, Yellow Lantern fails to react in time.
BZZZT
The lighting directly strikes Hal in the chest, greatly electrocuting him and distorting his focus on his ring construct.
And that gave Flash the open opportunity he needs. Flash continues to sprint toward Yellow Lantern, building up more momentum at his pace. Reeling his arm back, Flash delivers a strong uppercut right at his foe's chin, which strikes him in mid-air. Following it up, Flash quickly turns and leaps behind him and strongly strikes Yellow Lantern to the ground, hard, effectively knocking him out in the process.
Landing back down, Flash turns to look down at Yellow Lantern with some regret written on his face. "You didn't give me much of a choice, Hal," he says to his unconscious friend before he quickly runs out of the fortress.
He needs to find and warn Batman and his insurgent. Though they might not welcome him as an ally again, he has to try so they can try and stop Superman's plan. And hopefully, he can make up for all the crimes and sins he has done to them and the world.
But unknown to both Flash and Yellow Lantern during their battle, there was a spectator that witnessed the whole event happening. And that spectator happens to be none other than Derek, who calmly walks up to the unconscious Lantern with a solemn expression on his face.
"So, he chooses now to betray us," He simply remarks as he views the direction where flash went. Though in Derek's voice, it sounded as if he expected this to happen.
(Ending Michael Broom: OST: Redemption)
(-Insurgent Old HQ Ten Minutes Later-)
Not letting up a single ounce of his speed, Flash continues to run across the planet from the Fortress Of Solitude to Gotham City.
He figured that the best place to help him find the Insurgent's whereabouts would be to search the old headquarter. Though the place was personally trashed by Doomsday and Superman, Flash still hopes that there might be something there that might give him a hint about their current location.
Making his way into the command room, Flash soon begins to go through each monitor and computer, which was fortunately left undamaged, and he skims through in seconds to find them.
"Come on, come on, they must be somewhere out there," Flash says to himself as he continues to go through each file in seconds.
"You're wasting your time looking through those old files, Flash," Flash is quickly startled when he hears a familiar voice speaking into his comm. "All the important files are automatically copied and sent to me for safekeeping while the original ones are deleted from the systems,"
"Eric?!" Flash incredulously asks as he recognized the young technopath's voice. "How did you get this…"
"As I said before, even speedsters can't think fast with their brains," Eric easily quips. "I easily hacked into your comm while you were still trapped in my stasis field. I even installed a micro camera into your suit," he informs which greatly surprises the crimson speedster even further.
"Wait, you mean you saw everything?"
"Yeah, that's right I did," then Eric's voice becomes seriously grim. "I saw and heard everything that happened at the Fortress,"
This then brings Flash to form a similar expression from being reminded about Shazam. "Which is why I need to see you guys right away. Warn you, Batman, and the others about what Superman is going to do,"
"I'll tell you the coordinates. Get here fast,"
(-Insurgent New HQ-)
Back in the medical bay of the Insurgents, Robin would be the one to take the next shift in watching over his recuperating allies.
Five minutes ago, Eric informed him that he had to go and take care of something real quick for some reason. But Robin didn't question it. After all, it did allow him to spend some time with Batman, who looks about ready to wake up due to all the groaning he makes from time to time.
He took off his mask, revealing the emerald-green eyes that he inherited from mother Catwoman as he sits next to his father's side on the bed, pondering what he wanted to say to him.
"Dad…" Robin begins to say to his unconscious Father. "Do you remember those lessons you taught me about not letting my emotions interfere with our mission?" Henry knows that Bruce couldn't respond to his son's question. But he continued anyway. "I don't think I ever engraved them in my head, especially after what happened yesterday,"
He was referring to what happened during a one-on-one confrontation with Doomsday the other day. "I…I…just froze up," The ten-year-old boy confesses as new sets of tears begin to form in his eyes. "It was my fault. And now one of our own is in one of those pods, fighting to stay alive because of my hesitation," he quickly wipes the teardrops away before they fell on his face. "I don't know if I'll ever be better than Dick, Jason, Tim, or even Damian,"
That's because the four Robins before him never showed fear, even against their most dangerous adversaries. And after what Joker did that led to their whole family being torn apart, Henry had thought that this would be his chance to show his father what he was made of. But when things were getting tough, Henry just couldn't do it, he just froze, letting the fear take control of him, and begged for him or his mother to come and save him.
Henry closes his eyes as he tries to collect himself. "I just want to be better. I don't wanna fail you again," he expresses as his eyes are enveloped with more tears.
"You never failed me, son,"
The said boy suddenly reopens his eyes again in surprise as he turns to the familiar voice that just addressed him. "Dad…"
Shifting his position to sit up on the bed, Batman is seen now fully awake. With a quick look at his new surroundings, and noticing the pods as well, The Dark Knight can tell where he was before looking toward his son with concern. "Henry…" His words suddenly cease when the said son unhesitantly engulfs him in a tight hug.
"Thank god, you're ok!" Henry tearfully expresses. And as soon as he regains his posture, Batman immediately responds with a hug of his own.
And the two remain silent, not saying a single word to one another. All that mattered right now to them is their well-being. At this moment, this wasn't about a hero and his sidekick or two allies fighting the same enemy. It's just about a father and son, trying to comfort one another from an event that would've taken one of their lives or worse both.
And that small moment had to end when Batman gently pulls away from his son and looks at him with a concerned look. "How long was I out?"
Wiping his eyes away from any tears, Robin answers Batman's question. "You were out for a whole day. And a lot has happened since then too,"
"What kind of changes?"
"Big ones…" A second familiar voice comes in to say to the two caped crusaders from the entrance of the medical ward. Bruce and Henry turn to see it to be none other than Eric, who enters the room to meet them with both a relieved and serious look on his face. "Glad to see you up and about, Bruce,"
Batman acknowledges that comment with a nod before he decides to get to the point. "You mention big things are happening right now? Mind filling me in on them?" he requests as he also makes a gesture to the two occupied pods as well.
"No problem there," the armored genius says. "I'll fill in my part while the other guy helps fill in the rest on what Superman has next on his agenda,"
"Other guy?" Robin curiously questions as he raises an eyebrow.
"Yup," Eric quickly says, confirming his last statement before he quickly continues further. "And before you guys do anything that I wouldn't do, I need you to trust me in this person. Cause I just already convinced Betty in the other room to even let him in here,"
"Who is it, Eric?" Batman asks.
Seeing this as the go-ahead, Eric uses his R.I.G to contact the others. And a second later, two people come into the room, the first person happens to be Betty, who made a quick pause to relatively address the caped crusaders before immediately going to check on Aaron's condition. The second person is the person that Eric was referring to, and they, mostly Batman, were greatly surprised by who he is.
"Hey, Bruce," Flash nervously greets while receiving glares from both Batman and Robin. "Can..we talk?"
(-Brazil Five minutes later -)
In the dark sewers of Brazil, there was nothing out of the ordinary that would be out of the ordinary. But if you can get a closer look, you'll be able to see the unknown familiar figure continues to hover ahead of the tunnel.
From the day it was sent from its abode, the floating figure had managed to pinpoint the location of the one it was meant to find and made an immediate departure to help him. But it would've been a lot sooner had it not been for the continuous intense riots that are happening above it. The figure wasn't programmed to fight anything or anyone so it wisely resorted to limitings it's speed and relying on stealth to avoid any confrontation it might occur in its travel.
Then it abruptly halts its forward movement as if it made to it's destination. It let out a small robotic chirping noise as looks down at the sewage ground. And soon enough, it begins to emit a green glow from its six eyes as if it was surveying a place it believes to be where it is searching for.
Beep
Beep
Beep
The figure rapidly blinks in and out as it makes another chirping noise like it is verifying that it has found its destined mark, right below the sewer. Once it officially confirms its whereabouts, its whole body seems to be fading until it looks slightly visible, looking almost like a ghost version of itself. And like a ghost, the figure begins to descend to the ground, easily phasing through the ground and continuing to do so.
(-Insurgent second HQ-)
Not stopping its phasing descent to the bottom, the figure finds itself in the middle of the insurgent's medical ward, where the room is illuminated with bright light to help with giving the full description of the floating figure now.
And it was not something that can be easily identified on earth.
It appears to be a small drone comprised of mostly inorganic material. Its robotic roundish bodywork is covered in a silverish metallic skin graph as It almost shines from the light. It has no face other than the six green glowing eyes on a small triangular-like helmet for a head. But the part that stood out the most was the metallic-like bumps on its back that seem to inhale and exhale oxygen.
The drone lets out another chirping noise before it quickly scans the new surrounding environment. The rooms appear to be empty, but the drone can comprehend that it was recently occupied by a small group of people when it detected traces of their energy signatures. But it was only focused on finding one particular energy signature, which it soon located in one of the sealed white pods that are both filled with bluish liquid inside.
Approaching the pod window, the drone sticks its triangular head to see and scans both pods. And it soon chirps out to confirm that it has found its destined target, which just so happens to be Aaron.
Once the drone finished examining the Gardian's severe condition and the function of the pods, it knew exactly what it must do. Letting out another chirp, the drone's bumps begin to emit a greenish glow as their size slowly increases. And soon, metallic-like tendrils sprouts from the bottom of the drone with each tip having tiny numerous green tendrils, that seem to slightly trickle with greenish liquid.
Without any hesitation, the drone's tendrils launch themselves toward the white pods. Each tendril vigorously wraps around the containment pods in an almost cocoon-like form, leaving only the circular windows exposed, and The smaller green tendrils follow when they inject themselves into the pods soon after.
And now The inflated bumps on the drone's back initiate a pumping motion that sends an unknown substance from the drone, through the tendrils, and into pods.
For the next few seconds, the drone continues to pump more of its substance into the healing pod. And soon, the liquid seems to slowly transition from its usual bluish substance to a more greenish tone.
(-Inside Aaron's chamber-)
(Entering Henry Jackman: Kong Skull Island OST: Kong The Protector)
"Please don't die,"
Numerous words continue to repeat in Aaron's head as he floats in the pod. His mother wants him to live and that's what he has been doing for so long. He continued to fight off the hands of death that creep up in both his mind and spirit. Somehow, he's been utilizing the bluish liquid around him as a source to empower his will to press on the fight to stay alive.
But in doing so, he doesn't leave his body the time to nourish the medical substance to rectify his gashing wound.
But he still fights so to live.
"Don't lose sight of who you are,"
Flashes of recent memories soon play through again in the Gardian's mind, images of his mother being ominously towered by a bone-pronged monster before it raises its long claw arm over her which causes Aaron to twitch from that fearful memory.
But he can't lose sight of who he is.
At the same time, however, the surrounding bluish liquid slowly transitions to a more greenish fluid as it seems to have a dramatic effect on Aaron who twitches even more. And now a new sensation takes hold of him.
"Fight and live,"
Another flash takes over, showing Aaron making one last charge toward the monster to save his mother from imminent death before the next memory of him being viciously stabbed in the chest.
He has to fight, so he can live.
And said chest, the now green liquid seems to be surrounding the wounded area as if it sees it as the most fatal one. Before long, the unique sensation that Aaron feels becomes greater.
"Be better than them,"
Yeah, he has to be better and stronger, to protect the people he loves. To physically respond to this, Aaron's body twitches again, but this time, putting more force into it.
He needs to be better than them.
"Give them the courage to fight,"
It's not that Aaron never cared about the people, It's just that he never understood from the beginning. This was their world, but they let Superman and his so-called heroes take control of them. They couldn't fight back because they were afraid, afraid that they would die or suffer a terrible fate. But now in a way, he helped alter their anxieties into the strength so to fight back.
But he can give them much more courage to continue to fight.
Whatever was in this newly formed liquid, it seems to be working its way all around him. Soon enough, the gash wound on Aaron's chest now starts to slowly close up.
"Lead them to a better place,"
He will lead them to a better place.
"As a King,"
And he will lead them. But Not as a person, an alien, or even a God. He will accomplish this like his father, King Soran would, a courageous king.
As quick as a second, Aaron's chest completely heals, leaving only a thin scar to be served as a reminder to him of his near-death experience. And again, The young Gardian's natural reactive adaptations kick in. Like before, Aaron's body bulks out for a few seconds as each new muscle grows, amplifying to greater levels than before. Once his whole body has fully healed and adapted to its new potency echelon, he downsizes back to normal.
The body, mind, and spirit are pushed past their limits once again.
He has successfully defeated the hands of death. And now Aaron will awaken soon.
Perhaps sooner than you think.
(Ending Henry Jackman: Kong Skull Island OST: Kong The Protector)
(-With Batman and the Insurgents-)
Despite regaining consciousness for only a few moments, Batman wasn't willing to waste any more time in getting back to the fight.
Especially after when he was unfortunately informed about what happened to both Luthor and Shazam being brutally murdered by Superman's own hands.
This is why he wanted to take this meeting to the command center, where he, Robin, Eric, Betty, and their unexpected guest the Flash proceed to discuss with one another what to do to stop Superman.
"I'm telling you guys," Flash seriously speaks as he finished explaining his former regime leader's insane idea. "Gotham and Metropolis will be the first to be history. And Superman won't just stop there, he'll flip this entire planet if he has to find you guys too,"
"Oh my god…" Betty fearfully expresses what she and the others have just listened to with their very ears.
"This is… this is just crazy," Robin says with a similar tone.
Eric grimly crosses his arms. "At least you guys didn't predict this scenario happening," the armored technopath mutters to himself but it is easily heard by the others.
Batman just stays silent as he processes the new information given to him. He couldn't believe that his friend would go this far. First, Superman carelessly sends Doomsday out to personally execute an assassination against Aaron, he murders both Luthor out of blind anger and Shazam just because he disagreed with him. And now this? Just when will this madness stop? When will Superman be appeased?
"We have to stop him," The Redeeming speedster firmly declares.
"Yeah, but it's gonna be one helluva fight," Eric seriously states as he already runs through multiple scenarios in his head while his R.I.G helps categorize the ones with the best adequate outcomes. "Maybe we can-"
"No,"
Batman's voice suddenly Interrupts the conversation that causes Eric and the others to look at him.
"No? No what, Dad?" Robin questions his father in confusion.
But Batman ignored his son as he proceeds with his explanation to Betty. "I agreed with Luthor to bring you and your son here to get the Kryptonite weapon. And that plan failed," Though he remains to be firm in his voice, the small deject couldn't avoid being detected by the others. "I'll keep my word in getting you and Aaron to a secure place. Then we work on a plan to stop Superman,"
"But how?" Flash asks his friend. "Do we even know where to start?"
Those question only makes Batman have a grim look as he comprehends the situation they are in. The weapon that was meant to stop Superman was destroyed, two of their allies are left in critical condition, and one was murdered. They're both outnumbered and outgunned, Superman has too much of a step ahead of them. And despite his unwillingness to give up, Batman has no idea how to approach this now. For the first time, Batman has run out of ideas.
Boom
Boom
Everyone is suddenly caught off guard when their ears pick up loud explosions that seem to have originated from the other room. Which didn't take a genius to realize that the referred room is the medical ward.
"Aaron!" Betty panicky exclaims before she makes an immediate sprint to the medical room. Soon the others followed as well to find out about the commission.
And what they see in the medical ward, surprises them all.
Both of the containment pods were destroyed which left tons of strange greenish liquid spilled everywhere. But what's even more surprising was that the one responsible for that was an unrecognizable floating drone with roundish bumps while it finished rescinding its unusual dripping tentacles back into itself. It lets out a robotic chirping sound before it turns to notice the four shocked onlookers at the entrance.
"Uh, guys, what is that thing?" a shocked Robin asks the others.
"A drone. I think," Flash bewilderedly answers before he turns to armored genius. "Is that one of yours?"
"Nu-uh," Eric responds in a similar tone as he has never seen a drone like this one in front of them before. Although he did try to use his technopathic to hack into the floating drone.
But only for the young genius to surprisingly encounter blockages. Whatever or whoever design this unique drone, it was strong enough to counter him.
But sudden sounds of movement from below bring the attention of everyone as two familiar individuals slowly emerge from the green liquid floor. The first person to be recognized by Batman and the other insurgents was Martian Manhunter and the second person to be recognized by Betty was Aaron, who is completely enveloped in the green energy that flares around him, showing new signs of his power increasing by the second before it finally fades away. Both of whom were severely injured from their previous battle, now surprisingly healed.
The others, especially Betty, are left speechless. But they didn't have the time to question it when they audibly groan before dropping down to one knee.
With that in mind, Batman and the others immediately rush on over to tend to their healed allies.
"Aaron, are you ok?" Betty frantically asks her son as she helps him up to his feet.
Aaron continues to cough out the green liquid from his mouth before he manages to slowly open his eyes. "Wha…" he barely whispers as holds onto his healed chest, which now portrays a thin scar as a reminder of his near death from his last battle. Once he regains his breathing, Aaron turns to look at his mother, who looks back at him as he can easily sense her emotions. "Mom,"
With no words to say back, Betty simply just brings Aaron into a tight hug. "Thank god, you're ok,"
"How are you feeling?" Batman asks as he helps his martian friend up.
"I'm alright," Martian answers in an incredible tone as he makes a gesture to the floating drone. "It is thanks to our unexpected friend that we did make a surprising recovery,"
The said friend chirps almost like it was agreeing with J'onn's words. And it is true, the old damages that Martian Manhunter received from Superman years ago seem to have miraculously vanished along with his recent ones from earlier. Whatever that droid did to the pod's liquid, it seems to have worked its way around, and he feels to be back in his normal state again.
"That's great and all, but where did it come from?" Flash curiously asks, bringing the attention of both recovered individuals to look at him, which made him shrink back a bit.
While the martian was looking at him with his usual solemn expression, it was Aaron's glaring expression that made Flash concerned when he sees the gardian's eyes glow green.
Thankfully Batman quickly steps in on Flash's behalf. "He's with us now. I'll explain later," Though the assurance from him would secure J'onn's skepticism, it wouldn't for Aaron. But it is only for Betty to help assure the Gardian of any doubts to not trust the crimson speedster.
With her assurance, Aaron disengaged his glare and turns to the others. "What's going on then?" and then he notices that someone was missing from the group and he can't sense his energy signature anywhere near him. And it makes him serious when he asks the next question. "And where's Mr.Luthor?"
And that's when some of the members of the insurgents become a bit tense as they look at each other, silently trying to find a way to tell Aaron what happened then and what's gonna happen now.
Thankfully, Betty is the one to speak out. "Let's get you some fresh clothes first, Aaron. And I'll explain everything to you," this got a surprise from Batman as he wanted to intervene to not burden her with that responsibility. But Betty quickly refute. "You've done enough for us, Mr.Wayne. Let me take the responsibility for this. You all need to focus on other matters right now,"
"She's right," Martian Manhunter says in agreement as he stands up on his own before he morphs into his usual form. "I would like to know what is going on as well,"
(Five minutes Laters-)
By the next five minutes, Batman and the other insurgents went back to the command room to inform Martian Manhunter of the situation while Betty brought Aaron to a private room where she could tell him the truth.
But for some reason, the mysterious drone seems to follow them as well. And to Betty's confusion, It seems to be monitoring approximately Aaron, especially when Aaron's expression became completely distraught when Betty told him about what happened to Luthor.
"What…" A deeply surprised Aaron expresses. "No, that can't be. Luthor's dead?"
Betty grimaces as she hears the distraught in Aaron's voice."I'm sorry, Aaron. But it's true. Luthor sacrificed himself so that the rest of us could escape from Superman," It was even harder for her too as she couldn't believe it herself when she learned. Nonetheless, it's their reality.
Aaron just looks down at his hands as he tries to comprehend all of this. Luthor, one of the first few people he's ever met on the island years ago, someone he considered to be a great friend, and ally to him, and his mother was gone.
And he was mercilessly murdered by Superman. And what's worse, Superman plans on doing the same thing to the whole world.
This makes Aaron angrily clench his teeth as he grips his hands into tight fists as a small amount of green energy envelops him in response to his anger. Superman is gonna pay for what he did and for what's he gonna do next. This, Aaron vows to do.
The drone chirps to the teen Gardian as if it's trying to speak to him. "Huh…" Aaron enunciates confusingly, having no idea what the drone is saying. And before he knew it, the unidentified drone sprouts two tentacles that make their way toward the Gardian. "What is it doing?"
Beep
Beep
A sudden beeping noise coming from Betty's gardian tablet comes off that brings the attention of the two. Bringing it out, Betty is taken aback when she sees the screen uncharacteristically blink in and out, and it seems to have gotten the bumpy drone's attention as well as it turns it chirps at Betty while gazing down at the tablet.
"Does it want the tablet?" Aaron asks his mother.
"Possibly…" Betty answers in a slow realization as the drone chirps out again to her for the tablet.
She begins to put the pieces together. Whatever the reason, it seems that both devices are connected, and Aaron is their main functional priority, which means this drone must've been sent to save Aaron from his near demise. This also means it knows where the exact location of the place they've been trying to search for that might keep Aaron safe for good.
But it requires the tablet as a means for something.
With that in mind, Betty hands the blinking/beeping tablet over to the drone, which chirps out in gratitude as it wraps the Gardian device within its tendrils before it inserts it inside itself.
BZZZT
As soon as it did that, the drone stiffens up as its bumps slowly swells. Its whole body strips itself up with green lights as it now lets out a deep humming sound. Aaron and Betty are astonished by this as they continue to witness how the drone is processing from the insertion.
Ding
The bumps on the drone's back now begin to recede as its glowing outer lined body fades away as well. The drone becomes motionless for a few seconds before its head looks up at the two.
"Greetings, Dr.Grant. Greetings, Prince Aaron," The drone's surprising intellectual salutations completely catch both Aaron and Betty off guard, and even more so when the drone motion a bow toward Aaron. "How may I be of service to you, my prince?"
"Say what?" a now-flabbergasted Aaron speaks out.
(-With Batman-)
Martian Manhunters remain silent as he continues to listen to this argument. The argument began when Batman announced his plan to the insurgents. The plan of turning himself over to Superman and his regime in hopes of him easing the Kryptonian's tension long enough for the others to escape, and prepare to continue the fight. But that plan didn't sit well with the others
"This isn't up for debate. You all need to stay hidden," Batman firmly commands his allies as they continued their argument.
"Uh, yeah, That's not your decision to make though," Eric argues back, rejecting Batman's impetuous decision.
"And You know that's not gonna stop him from destroying the world to find us," Flash also comes against Batman as well.
"It'll buy you all time to prepare," the Dark Knight continues to push back.
"But not enough time for you to be rescued," Robin interjects in. "Dad, please, let's look through our options more,"
But despite hearing his son's pleas, Batman is still reluctant to change his mind about this. "We don't have any alternative options right now,"
"Yes, we do," J'onn finally comes in abruptly to declare. Everyone turns to him as the Martian looks at Batman with a solemn look. "We do have an alternative. It was suggested to you by Luthor before his sacrifice,"
And that's when Batman instantly knew what the alternative option J'onn was referring to was. "No, Aaron has already risked enough of his life, fighting our war,"
"Perhaps…" the Martian calmly states. "But you made it his when you brought him in,"
"It was a mistake!" Bruce dramatically exclaims.
"No, it wasn't a mistake," J'onn calmly counters. The Martian could easily read Batman's mind to know that he is lying to himself, but he didn't need to as he can hear the uncertainty in his voice. "When you brought Aaron here and witnessed his efforts to clash against Superman, you started to have faith in him as well. Faith that he can bring everyone to stand together and uphold the values you've given everything to defend," J'onn's eyes then soften as he looks towards the entrance. "As Luthor has placed his trust in the boy, we all must do so as well,"
And as soon as J'onn finishes his speech, the doors slide open, and Aaron, Betty, and the drone come in to join the others in their debate.
"I detect increasing levels of anxiety within the enclosure," The drone announces, surprising everyone except for Aaron and Betty. "Do you all require assistance?"
"So, it can talk?" Robin inquires as he and the other insurgent sees the drone confirm him with a nod.
"Please pardon my lack of response to you all from our previous encounter," the drone sincerely states before it continues. "For I have not comprehended this world's language until recently,"
Everyone seems to comprehend the drone's statements as Eric decides to ask his question. "Who or what are you?"
"I am among the many synthetic systems of Gardia technology. I am known as the scout revitalizer," the now-named revitalizer drone introduces, surprising everyone in the room, especially Aaron as the revitalizer turns to him. "I have arrived here on specific orders to find and revitalize and preserve prince Aaron's life and provide him an immediate escort to the Inner Sanctum,"
"Prince Aaron?!" Robin/Flash surprisingly say as they look at the said prince, who is unaware of the small attention he received as he is more focused on the drone's statement.
"The Inner Sanctum…" Aaron says before he realizes what the med drone means as he looks toward his mother. "Does it mean that same place you and Luthor were talking about?"
Betty smiles as she looks at her son's hopeful expression. "I believe it so," with what she has concluded earlier, Betty shouldn't have any reason to deject Aaron of any uncertainty or doubt.
But there was still one question that comes to her mind.
"Who authorized you to come?" And of course, Batman would be the one to ask it.
And the drone had the perfect answer to that question. "Your Father. King Soran,"
Though the name didn't register with the other insurgents. It did register to both Aaron and Betty, but most specifically Aaron as he looks at the floating drone with a much more optimistic expression.
"My…my Father?" the young Gardian incredulously asks. "He…He's alive?"
"Affirmative. He is at the Sanctum right now, awaiting your arrival as we continue to speak,"
This brings up so many things within the young Gardian. He was happy, sad, and relieved now knowing that there is another like him that made it here on Earth. And best of all, it would be his father of all people he'll get to meet. All Aaron had of him were just faint memories and an image of them together with his biological mother in the necklace that he twirls around within his hand in comfort. And if his father is waiting for him, then he shouldn't waste any more time standing here than when he should be there.
The others can see the determined look on Aaron's face as they already realize what he wants to do. "Batman…" the Gardian calls out as he turns to the Dark Knight. "I know this is a lot to ask for but, do you think maybe we check this place out real quick?"
Batman remains silent as he ponders over the choices placed on him. There was too much going on out there that they can't just put everything on hold right now. But looking at the thin scar on Aaron's chest makes him reconsider that option.
After all, that scar wouldn't have been there if it wasn't for his slow reaction to seal Doomsday away on the first attempt. And Aaron almost died fighting that monster to the end, all while saving tons of innocent people from the crossfire as well. And from that bitter victory, he has brought the whole world to turn against Superman and his regime, which Luthor also helped strengthen as well with his sacrifice.
From all that has happened to them, Batman couldn't refuse Aaron's request to meet his father.
With a reluctant sigh, Batman does so when he walks up to the two people, who turn their attention to him. "I promised Luthor that I would help you after we secured the kryptonite," he explains to them. "It's only right that I return the favor for what you have done for us,"
This makes Aaron smile at the consent as he turns to Betty, who returns the gesture before she turns to Batman. "Thank you, Mr.Wayne,"
Nodding in acceptance, Batman turns his gaze toward the other insurgents, who only listened to the made exchanges.
"So, uh, what's the plan now, Bruce?" Flash asks.
"And please say it doesn't involve us in surrendering over to Superman," Eric casually quips.
"No, it doesn't," Batman states with new resolve now. "While I'm gone with them, you all need slow Superman's army down,"
Martian Manhunter nods in agreement. "What do you propose?" The Martian's question is soon answered when Batman turns his sight over to Eric.
"Are you still hacked into the Regime's communications?"
The armored genius smirks at the question as if Batman thought he wouldn't already have thought of that. "Yup, despite the Watchtower being destroyed, my R.I.G managed to retain the exact comm-link frequency they are using. I'll know their next move before they do it,"
That should make things a lot easier for them now with what Batman is about to propose. "Head over to Gotham first, do whatever you have to do to slow Superman's army down and protect the people,"
"But what about Metropolis?" Robin asks.
"I wouldn't worry about Metropolis," Eric replies as he uses the hacked comms to listen in on Superman's strategy. "Right now, Aquaman and Wonder Woman are gathering their armies to attack the city, they won't be ready until then,"
They still have a little bit of time left before everything goes south. So they need to focus their efforts on protecting Gotham for the time being.
"J'onn, can I leave this to you?" Batman asks the Martian if he could lead this mission. Despite J'onn's earlier statement about his positive well-being, The Dark Knight just wants to be sure if his Martian friend is up to the task.
Which J'onn unhesitantly answers. "I stood too long on the sidelines while the person I once considered a friend voluntarily reigns his words on the world," He then turns to Aaron. "But now, I will defend the earth with my life,"
That speech no longer surprises Aaron as he now understands everyone's position on this fight, what's their stakes, and the people they're protecting as well.
"Shall we now commence on our travel, my Prince?" The Scout revitalizer drone inquires for permission to head out.
Looking at the floating drone, Aaron makes a determined nod. "You bet," the Gardian confirms his approval to go before he turns to the others. "I'll be right back you guys. And I'll bring back help,"
And that seems to have concluded their decisions on what to do.
With agreeable nods from everyone, the Insurgents went their separate paths. One team heads to Gotham to combat the gathering forces of Superman's army, while the other head over to the hidden Gardian home, where they can hopefully assemble reinforcements that may remain dormant for so long.
And they just hope it's not too late.
To be continued…
And another chapter is finished!
Well, it looks like Things aren't looking to be getting any better. Now Superman is readying to declare an all-out attack on the world and he's not looking to be stopping anytime soon, even to go far as killing one of his own for questioning his extremist motive.
And yeah. I was tempted in keeping Shazam alive in the story so he could have the chance correct what he did with Superman. But I had to do it. Otherwise, it wouldn't be considered injustice now, would it?
But aside from that, with the Insurgents now split up on separate paths, will they succeed in stopping Superman's all-out attack on the world? Will Aaron find his father alive or will he find something else that will help him tip the battle in his favor against Superman and his Regime?
Only the next chapter will tell, which I'm working on right now!
As usual, I don't own anything in this story except for the OC characters. The rest belongs to the respective owners. I'll see you guys in the next chapter.
Goodbye, for now.