Thank you everyone for your reviews. I started grad school last month and OMG I thought getting my BS was hard! Your patience as I juggle the stories with my schedule is truly appreciated.
Warnings: Slash and sad things, but not on-screen. Also, Hotstreak has a few choice words.
Disclaimer - I don't own anything here (and isn't that the truth!) except the naughty bits.
Hotstreak hated guard duty. It sucked, but anything was better than watching Brainiac torture Richie again. And it was torture, no matter what anyone else thought. They called the blonde boy 'Brainiac's Whore.' They were wrong about him.
They didn't know Richie before the computer program came along. They didn't know that Virgil was Richie's best friend, so Richie couldn't really fight back without hurting his buddy. Besides, how was one kid supposed to fight off five members of the Justice League?
Hotstreak stomped his feet and rubbed his arms with his hands. Goddamn but he hated the cold! And why the fuck was it twenty degrees in May? He could ask Superman, but Clark was being all pissy right now. Jeez! You blow up one alien and suddenly you're a leper.
Hotstreak figured it would be in the nineties before noon tomorrow. The freaky temperature fluctuations were due to that fucking machine and its assault on the planet.
Brainiac.
Oh, how he hated that thing. In the beginning, he really didn't give a shit, not even when the virus wormed its way onto the Internet and from there into the various computer defense systems around the world. So what if a bunch of cities got nuked and some people died? It wasn't any of his business, except it did interrupt his porn flow.
He was a little concerned when the nerve agents were released; the chems never came near Dakota, so that fear passed. A bunch more people died. He didn't care.
He began to care when Dakota was blockaded because it was Brainiac's command center. The siege cut off the food and water supply not only to Brainiac's slaves but also to those free humans who hadn't gotten out of the city in time. The constant battles among the scavengers for food were worse than the original Dakota riots. Brainiac's retaliation stunned the planet.
He brought down the Watchtower.
No one could figure out how he had done it. Hotstreak knew that Superman and Wonder Woman had an idea, but they weren't sharing. They had escaped the destruction of the space station because they were in Dakota.
The people lost their faith in their heroes when the Watchtower fell.
Empty gazes now followed Brainiac's troops as food and medicine stores were raided all over the world. Hotstreak could understand the food; slaves had to eat. But why the medicine? If someone died, Brainiac could just slap a control disc on the nearest human and replace the missing worker.
He figured it out the first time he had seen Richie after the downing of the station. The blonde was being held possessively by Virgil, held tightly against the other boy's body. That was why Brainiac wanted the supplies. So that Richie would be taken care of.
Hotstreak watched from his favorite hidey-hole as Static Shock's powers guided the boys over a desolate Dakota. The Green Lantern had flown point, while the Martian Manhunter had been on the left and Hawkgirl on the right. The Batplane soared overhead, and the Flash could occasionally be seen on the ground below.
The Justice Leaguers were obviously under the power of Brainiac's control discs, as was Virgil. Richie, however, was not.
The othersresistance fighters took Richie's apparent freedom and favor with Brainiac as a sign that the boy was collaborating; that he was enjoying the computer's attentions. No matter how many times Hotstreak tried to convince them otherwise, they still believed Richie was a traitor to humanity.
Hotstreak shook himself from his reflective mood. He needed to stay alert. The cold was starting to get to him, but he couldn't light up and warm himself with his powers. It was too dangerous to do so at night; he might be seen even at this distance. He was a knownguerillafighter now, having taken part in numerous raids for supplies and to free slaves. He had also been personally responsible for capturing one of Brainiac's most powerful guardians. Hotstreak was actually kind of proud that he was number two on Brainiac's hit list, right after Superman.
He paced the rooftop for a few more minutes, his gaze focused on the distant outline of Brainiac's headquarters, the old Alva Industries. So intent was he on the far off building where Richie lay pinned under a panting, sweating Brainiac that he didn't notice the intruder until a hand grasped his shoulder and spun him around.
"Jesus! Diana! What are you doing out here?"
The black-haired warrior replied, "Looking for you. You were supposed to have control room duty tonight."
Hotstreak's expression grew as chilly as the evening air. "I couldn't watch it anymore. I got one of the newbies to trade."
Wonder Woman pulled her cloak closer to ward off the cold and gazed at the boy, no, the young man before her. She was aware of Hotstreak's distress at seeing what Brainiac was doing to Static and Gear. She didn't believe, however, that Hotstreak fully understood why he was so upset by Richie's particular pain and humiliation. Maybe someday he would have a chance to explore his feelings. Speaking of which…
"They're beautiful, aren't they?" Her head titled upward to gaze at the stars twinkling down at them.
"They're also a long way off. We're not getting any help from out there."
"No. We're not." So much for easing into the conversation. She gripped Hotstreak's elbow and pulled him towards the roof exit. "There's a reason I came looking for you," she said. "He's awake."
"Seriously?"
Wonder Woman nodded. "He came to about an hour ago. With his information, we might be able to turn things around. We have to help ourselves, and we have to do it before it's too late."
Hotstreak's brows drew together in confusion. "What do you mean, 'too late'?"
Wonder Woman signaled to the young woman standing quietly behind them. "Tasha will finish the watch. Let's talk inside." She had things to tell him, things that those less experienced in the harsh realities of life should not have to hear just yet.
Hotstreak followed Diana into the supposedly abandoned building and down to the medical level in the basement. Before they arrived at the ICU where their newest arrival was recovering, she guided him into one of the empty lounges. She took a seat on one side of the table and motioned for him to sit down.
"Before Brainiac began his attacks, how many human beings lived on this planet?"
"A lot."
"Take a guess wise-ass."
"42." It was, after all, the answer.
"…"
A stern look was sent and received.
Hotstreak huffed and said, "I really don't know. I never thought about it."
"More than six and a half billion. The nukes didn't do too much damage to the populace, but the chemical weapons knocked us to our knees. Do you know how many people are still alive?"
"What does that have to do with anything?" Hotstreak squirmed in his chair. He hated it when Diana got all morbid on him. She seemed to be doing that a lot lately. Wasn't somebody around here supposed to be all sunshiny and optimistic and shit? It sure wasn't going to be him.
"The survivors are starting to succumb to starvation and disease. Even depression is deadly; they just choose not to live any more. Not to mention that Brainiac is picking them off by the thousands every day. We don't have much time."
"Time for what?" He hated feeling stupid, but he just wasn't following Diana very well.
"Time to live."
A frustrated Hotstreak slammed his hands on the table, careful not to ignite it, and shouted, "What the hell are you talking about?"
Diana gave a heavy sigh. "Clark and I have run the calculations over and over again. It's always the same. At the rate people are dying and Brainiac is exterminating the survivors, humanity as a viable species will soon cease to exist."
Now that he understood.
"How soon is soon?"
"Ten months. Sixteen at the outside. If we can't stop Brainiac before then, and if we can't get the survivors to a place of safety where they can heal, regroup, and rebuild, the human species will simply…die out."
"Fuck."
Diana allowed herself a small smile. Big Red certainly had a way with words.
"We do have a plan."
Hotstreak was thankful for the reprieve from the grim prediction. "This have anything to do with the Jolly Green Giant?"
"Yes. He told us something about Brainiac. I really think we've got a chance to end this before we're wiped out."
"So what's the plan?"
Hotstreak listened to Diana's scheme and added his own touches here and there. They discussed strategy for nearly an hour until both were satisfied. They would have to have everything ready to go at a moment's notice. One wrong move and the world's last hope for survival would disappear.
Guess now Clark wouldn't be nearly as angry that Hotstreak had almost flash-fried the Martian.
