Chapter 5: Metropolis Mayhem

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"How you got that uniform is obvious," I told Batman as the plane took off straight up.  I thought of all the soldiers I had seen lying still and unmoving around the Capitol and on the National Mall.  "But how did you find a major's insignia and where did you get those orders?  Did you use the 'bat forgery kit' from your utility belt?"

The approaching soldiers could not see the plane, but they could hear it and started firing in our general direction.  I didn't think their weapons were powerful enough to seriously damage the invisible plane, but they were likely to draw the attention of tanks and heavy weapons which could.

Batman clearly understood what I had been thinking, for he told me, "Few of those soldiers were dead; most were just unconscious.  As for the orders, that was Gypsy's doing.  I just made sure she knew what was needed."

 I remembered the half-wink he had given us.  It had not been intended for me, but for Gypsy.  The tanks on the streets bordering the National Mall opened fire on us and, as we rose above the height of the surrounding museums, the anti-aircraft guns around the Capitol building joined in.

"The major's insignia came from my utility belt.  I'm carrying a variety of insignia."

A gout of flame engulfed the right wing.  The plane shuddered and began to tilt to the right.  I brought it back under control mentally and visualized the wing intact.  Immediately, the plane changed to conform to the image.

"Lucky hit," I commented, trying to ignore the sick feeling in the pit of my stomach.  We were high enough now to clear any obstacle.  "Plane, full speed towards..." I glanced at Batman.

"Metropolis," he replied.  The plane's engines roared to full life, pinning us back in our seats.

"You were expecting Luthor to use the HDC against us?" I asked.

"It's obviously why he created it.  If he were really interested in stopping alien invasions, he would have formed a space force, not a high-tech ground combat force."

We had outraced the hostile fire.  I looked at the screen showing all the 'pick ups' we needed to make.  Fear filled me.  How could we possibly manage all of them?

Batman must have been thinking the same thing, for he said, "This is taking too long.  We have to split up."

He produced a gadget out of his belt and handed it to me.

"This will guide you to the pick up.  The screen shows you where the target is relative to you.  These buttons can page forward and back through the list of pick ups.  This button will activate the GPS locator in the signaler.  It will pinpoint the location of your pick up.  Don't use it until you are close.  The other side could use it to home in on them as well, if they realize what's going on.

"Which reminds me..." He turned towards the back of the plane, "…Gypsy, your comlink."

With an effort, Gypsy pulled the comlink out of a pocket in her jumpsuit and handed it to Batman.  He held it up.

"This button deactivates the emergency signal."

He pressed the button and the blinking red dot over Washington, D.C. disappeared.

"Your target is Lois Lane.  We'll meet back up at Keystone City.  Jay Garrick's house."

"And where will you be?"

"New York City.  JSA Headquarters."

He looked away.  "If, for any reason, we miss each other in Keystone City, take everyone to Atlantis.  That's where we'll assemble the survivors and plan our counterattack."

"Atlantis?" I asked incredulously.  "After the way they treated Arthur?"

"They feel grateful for our help during the 'Obsidian Age'," he replied curtly, "and they are one of the few places Luthor has to treat with kid gloves."

"Arthur always liked to remind us that he ruled over three-quarters of the World's surface," I mused.

Batman snorted.  "Their technology is the equal of any nation on Earth," he added.  "Also, Mera has promised us the communications and transportation we will need."

"I see Luthor isn't the only one to do his planning."

He nodded.

"All right, Atlantis it is.  The Gods be with you."

I leapt from the plane.

The flight was a short one.  As I approached Metropolis, I activated the GPS locator.  I took a bearing off of it and adjusted my path.  I rechecked the gadget half a minute later and found that, instead of ahead of me, Lois' location was off to the right.  Annoyed at having drifted off course, I adjusted my flight.  When I checked again a few seconds later, I found her location had drifted slightly to the right again.  I realized that Lois was moving.

Although it might be voluntary, I was very afraid she was a prisoner and being carted away.  I was entering the downtown area now.  Darting between skyscrapers, I found a street leading off to my right and flew down it at top speed.  Only when Batman's device showed that Lois was well behind me did I veer down the next street to my left.

I expected to come out ahead of the vehicle carrying Lois and I did.  I did not expect the scene confronting me when I darted past the last skyscraper.

The street was a broad boulevard, lined with department stores and old brownstones intermixed with skyscrapers.  A convoy of armored hover vans sped along it towards me, pursued by a single flying figure.  Most of the hover vans had a small turret on top and they were firing back at their pursuer with energy weapons, no doubt similar to the ones I had already encountered, but without much success.  I could see two wrecked hovercraft back along the boulevard and as I watched the figure caught up with the tail-end vehicle.  He swung a hammer up and then down and the hull of the hovercraft shattered beneath the blow.

That meant the pursuer must be Steel.  I prepared to join the attack when I heard a soft humming noise above me, almost like the sound of bees swarming.  I looked up and saw flying armored figures swooping down to intercept Steel.  I recognized them as Team Lex, LexCorp's high-tech goon squad.  They had apparently not seen me yet.

I instantly changed direction and zoomed straight up at them.  I flew up between two of them, grabbing an arm of each, and smashed them against each other.  They made a very satisfying crunch when they collided.

I paused a half second to make sure they could make it safely down without crashing.  That was a mistake.  The energy blast smashed into my back with a force that staggered me.

I recovered almost instantly and dodged the blasts that followed, deflecting several with my bracelets.  I grabbed one of the men as I passed and swung him in front of me as a shield.  He jerked as he was hit repeatedly by the energy blasts.

I had grabbed his arms to keep him from using the blasters built into his gauntlets.  With both hands full, I used my head.  One head butt smashed his visor; a second knocked him unconscious.  I swung him around and threw him into another.

Then I had to dodge energy blasts from the remaining men.  I lashed out as I passed one of the men, connecting with his upper arm.  I did not hold back and I felt metal and bone snap under the blow.

I swerved and dodged and came up behind another one.  I ripped the power pack from his back and watched as he spiraled down slowly towards the ground, smoke pouring from the wrecked suit.

Suddenly, I was alone as the survivors fled.  I looked down and gasped.  One of the men had ignored my attack and was swooping down on Steel.  Steel seemed completely unaware of him as he smashed yet another hover van.  Only one remained intact.

I called on all the speed Hermes had granted me and dove after him.  But even as I did, the man fired his energy blasters, catching Steel squarely and knocking him out of the sky.  Steel hit the ground and bounced, crashing into a parked car.  The Team Lex soldier fired again and the car exploded.

My heart jumped into my throat and I strained to go faster and still faster.  Steel stumbled out of the flames.  The man fired again, knocking Steel to his knees, and then went into a power dive straight at him.  He would hit like a bomb and I could not possibly reach him in time.

Then Steel stood and swung his hammer.  He connected with a shattering crash, knocking the Team Lex man off course and into a building.  He smashed through the wall and, from the sound of it, into the rear wall.

I had barely time and sense to stop myself from crashing into the ground.

I hovered above Steel and said, "I guess you didn't need my help after all."  Then I finally got a good look at him.  The armor, although obviously derived from Steel's armor, was different and the figure was smaller than the one I was used to.

"You aren't the Steel I know," I said, frowning.

"I'm Natasha, his niece," she replied cheerfully.  "But no time to discuss that now.  We still have to save Lois."

She took off after the hover van and I followed.  The occupants started firing again. As well as the turret, two men were firing from the open doors at the back of the van.  The volume of fire was impressive but the accuracy was nonexistent.  They were firing wildly, doing far more damage to the buildings lining the boulevard than to us.  This had to stop before innocent bystanders were killed.

I zoomed past Steel, straight for the car.  I used my bracelets to deflect the few blasts that came near me, then flew through the opened back doors with my arms spread.  I swept the two men in the door off their feet and threw them at the other soldier inside.

The battle was quickly over.  I heard a crash from the front of the van and it started slowing.  I knew that Steel had joined the fight.  I left the driver to her and, since there were no soldiers still conscious inside the van, I turned to Lois.  She had sensibly stayed in a corner of the van, out of the way.  Now she stood and handed me her handcuffs.

"I've picked up a few tricks," she smirked.  I nodded and helped her out the back of the van.

Steel flew over the van to join us.  Lois turned to me and asked, "Do you know what's going on?"

I shook my head.  "Luthor has moved against the superheroes.  Batman and I are rescuing those we can.  That's all I know."

"What about..."

"We don't have time for questions, Lois.  We have to get you to safety before more soldiers show up."

"We've got that covered," Steel piped up.  "We made our plans when Batman sent the original warning.  Everyone else is safe and under cover.  Lois was the last."

I nodded.  "Then I will leave her to you."

I leapt into the air.

"Wait!" Lois called out.  "I need to...."

I did not hear the rest.  It's hard to hear much at supersonic speed.

Keystone City next, I thought, and headed west.

Author's Notes:  Sorry for the longer than anticipated delay between postings.  I think I'm back on track now, so there shouldn't be any more long delays, at least for the next few chapters.  The Human Defense Corps (HDC) was introduced in the Human Defense Corps miniseries in 2003.  The JLA saved Atlantis in "The Obsidian Age", recently reprinted in trade paperback.  Natasha replaced her uncle as Steel not long ago; I don't know if Diana has met her in that role as yet.  I'm assuming she has not.