At Shortview Correctional Facility, Marcus was awaiting his execution. It wouldn't be long. Kara went to visit him, personally and entered his cell having nothing to fear from him. "So...how are you?" she smirked.
"Ask me in an hour," he said dryly.
"That's funny. You're a funny guy," Kara said condescendingly.
"You know what I did. My brother and two cops are dead because of me," Marcus said darkly.
"I appreciate that line of exposition I already know," Kara rolled her eyes.
"I'm not looking for a second chance. But I'm not the only one waiting for death, am I?" he asked sensing something deep in her. "Do you think my death is going to cure your sadness?" Marcus asked her.
"You should worry about yourself," Kara snapped. "I am the future of the human race. That keeps me living."
"I'll sell my body to you," Marcus offered.
Kara chuckled. "The fuck?"
Marcus then abruptly kissed her. "So, that's what death tastes like," he mused.
Kara simply stared at him. "I'm going to really enjoy what comes next."
Marcus was placed on a medical table and injected with a paralyzing drug. "I can sedate him as well," Brainiac 5 said to Kara.
"No, I want him to feel the whole thing," Kara replied.
"Well, okay then," Brainiac 5 said as he began his work.
"Take as long as you need," Kara said as she watched the procedure.
Marcus stared helplessly as Brainiac 5 sliced through his skin and muscle to get to his bone. Once the bone was extracted, a metal replacement was inserted. Brainiac 5 continued this process with every limb, slicing through the flesh, and replacing the bone with metal. All the while, Marcus felt the excruciating pain of being dissected for hours. The process would have been quicker had Kara assisted or allowed more drones in the room. Instead, Kara wanted him to suffer for as long as possible. Finally, Brainiac 5 started working on Marcus' face removing eyeballs, pieces of his skull, and then his jaw.
"It is complete," Brainiac 5 informed Kara.
"Well, turn him on," Kara ordered.
Los Angeles, California
California had become a desert wasteland with Climate Change and repeated nuclear wars. Still, Brainiac 5 began building a presence in the area with radio towers. Human Resistance fighters hit several radio towers in a coordinated attack. The lone anti-aircraft gun took down one of the fighters. Helicopters arrived on the scene dumping guys onto the battlefield. At the same time, fighter bombers hit more of the towers nearly killing their own men unloading on the ground. A lone Brainiac 5 unit was disabled by helicopter fire.
Human Resistance leader, Jesús Christo, landed his helicopter on the skull of that Brainiac 5 unit as a show of dominance. He proceeded to unnecessarily fire a few bullets into the skull of the broken Brainiac 5 unit and then rejoined his men. The Human Resistance unit repelled into a large metallic cavern and then dropped down to a sewer level.
"It's too quiet. It's like they're waiting for us," one soldier said.
"Now, you jinxed us. Thanks a lot for that, asshole," Jesús scolded.
A Brainiac 5 unit emerged from the water and attacked the squad. The human fighters disabled and destroyed the Brainiac 5 drone before it could get off a shot. Jesús went deeper into the facility and found a large collection of death row inmates. His men immediately hacked into the computers to find out what was going on. "They're scheduled to be sent north to San Francisco. It's part of a new Brainiac 5, a Model 101 version," the tech guy said.
"Send it to command," Jesús ordered.
"It's uploading. I need two minutes," the tech guy replied.
"Alright, cut these sorry bastards loose. Come on, let's go!" Jesús ordered his men. "Establish radio communications top-side, I want them answering me even if they're dead!"
"Sir...the fuck?" one soldier wondered.
Jesús ended up being the last man out of the hole and reaching the surface. He soon discovered all of his men were dead.
"Well...shit," he muttered.
A large transport hovercraft was in the air programmed by Brainiac 5. All the death row inmates that had been freed were now captured again. Jesús got in a helicopter and recklessly tried to go after it. The transport hovercraft shot him down causing him to go into an uncontrollable spin. After Jesús crashed, the same Brainiac 5 drone he had disrespected by landing on its skull, awoke and went after him. Jesús and the Brainiac 5 drone fought hand to hand and then Jesús blasted him in the face with his pistol. The Brainiac 5 drone then threw Jesús against the crashed helicopter hull instead of just strangling him to death. Jesús managed to get a hold of the crashed helicopter's machine gun and fired into the drone's body until it was no longer functional.
"Here!" he shouted into the helicopter's radio.
"Identify, over," command requested.
"Christo," he replied.
"We'll send units to the extraction point. How many survivors on-site, over?" command asked.
"One," Jesús replied.
"Holy shit, dude," command replied.
Once picked up, Jesús decided he was not going to base. "Take me to command," he ordered the pilot.
"Sir, command is underwater in a submarine," the pilot reminded him.
"Did I stutter?" Jesús snapped.
"That might actually give away command's position to the enemy," the pilot told him.
"Just do it!" Jesús shouted.
"Yeah, command said no," the pilot reported.
"Are they down there or not?" Jesús demanded.
"Request has been denied. That comes from the top," the pilot insisted.
"Open that ramp and tell them I'm coming in," Jesús ordered.
"They said no," the pilot protested.
"Get out of my helicopter. I want you gone," Jesús raged.
"Sir, I'm sorry," the pilot said lamely.
"Don't be sorry. Think for one second. The fuck are you doing? Are you professional or not?" Jesús demanded.
"Yes, Sir," the pilot said, about to cry.
"What the fuck is it with you? What don't you fucking understand? Give me a fucking answer!" Jesús ranted.
"I don't get how you'll be able to dive all the way to a submarine," the pilot said softly.
"What don't you get about it?" Jesús questioned.
"Command is going to have an operational depth of 1,300 feet. I just don't think...," the pilot said.
"That's right, you don't think," Jesús said scornfully. "For fuck's sake, you're an amateur. I'm trying to win a war here. I'm trying to be in the right mindset. You understand that?"
"I absolutely apologize, Sir. I didn't know I was doing anything wrong by following command's orders," the pilot said.
"Stay off the radio, for fuck's sake. Alright, lower that ramp," Jesús ordered.
"In a minute, Sir," the pilot relented.
"Let's not take a minute. Let's go! You're unbelievable, man. I've never had a pilot behave like this. You don't understand what it's like dealing with saviors of mankind, that's what that is," Jesús scolded.
"No, Sir, that's not it," the pilot said defensively.
"That's what that is, man. I'm telling you! Now, I'm not asking, I'm telling you to lower that ramp," Jesús said agitatedly.
"But command said no," the pilot objected.
"I'm going to kick your fucking ass! I'm going to trash your helicopter!" Jesús threatened.
"Please don't," the pilot said freaked out.
"If I have to ask again for you to lower that ramp, I'm going to send us both into the ocean. You're a nice guy but your bullshit isn't cutting it. We're done professionally," Jesús shouted.
The ramp then lowered for Jesús to drop out. "This is crazy," the pilot said stunned.
"Fucking ass," Jesús said dismissively and then leaped out of the helicopter.
Jesús managed to actually intercept the submarine and get inside. After he dried off, he was placed in front of a pissed-off, Gen. Ironside and Gen. Losinko. "Jesús Christo, prophesized leader of the resistance. Soldier, you put every man and woman in this sub in jeopardy with your little frogman stunt. Let's get one thing straight, I don't believe in prophecy. Not when one can rewrite the future in a heartbeat," Gen. Ironside said angrily.
"Are we on the same page," he asked Jesús with a pistol to his forehead.
"Is that any way to talk to your lord and savior?" Jesús asked.
Gen. Ironside attempted to shoot Jesús several times with his pistol, but the gun was jammed each time. "Piece of shit," he said dismayed at his pistol as he attempted to unjam it.
"Christo, what the hell are you doing here?" Gen. Losinko asked patiently.
"What did we find down there?" Jesús demanded. "Is it a hidden signal under the primary channel used by Brainiac that allows for direct control of the drones?"
"Actually, yes," Gen. Losinko said stunned.
"Brainiac is a machine and like all machines, it has an off switch," Gen. Ironside assumed.
"Does it work?" Jesús asked condescendingly.
"Will it work? Yes. Have we tested it in the field? No," Gen. Ironside admitted.
"This all sounds like bullshit, but I'll test it. Give it to me," Jesús doubted.
"Christo's unit had an excellent record. I say 'had' because they're all dead now," Gen. Losinko said dryly.
"Alright, I'm going to expose you to the freezing cold and enormous pressures of the ocean. Then, I'm going to give you a suicide mission to test our device. Hopefully, you will die," Gen. Ironside said bluntly.
"If I die, in three days, I'll be back," Jesús said confidently.
"Get the fuck off my boat," Gen. Ironside ordered.
After a long day at work, Jesús casually walked to an open airfield and then entered the basement level. There, he found a cluster of survivors still adamantly resisting Brainiac 5's rule. "Yeah, I'm the only survivor. Everyone else died," Jesús said as everyone gathered around him to find out what happened to their loved ones.
Jesús then approached his wife, Magdaline, the head nurse, and gave her a hug. "I need to listen to some tape recordings," he said and then took off to be alone. In his quarters, Jesús turned on a recording of his mother, Maria. "Jesús, you have no father... literally. You were conceived supernaturally. I know a person could go crazy knowing this. But you'll never be humanity's savior if you don't win the war against Brainiac."
Inspired, Jesús prepared himself for his nightly broadcast to anyone with a radio. "We've been fighting a long time and we have lost so very much, so many loved ones gone to San Francisco. But you are not alone. There are pockets of resistance all around the planet. We are at the brink, but you have no idea how important you are and how important you will become. The machines are advancing faster than I told you they would. I've seen it with my own eyes. They're inventing new ways to capture us. Brainiac is planning something big, but the Resistance is planning something bigger. This is Jesús Christo, and I approve this message."
The next morning, Marcus wandered around the ruins of Los Angeles having not a clue how he got there or why. He found an old, paved road and followed it into the city. There, he found a Brainiac 5 drone scouting around. "Hey!" Marcus shouted to the drone. The drone ignored him and continued its scouting mission.
Marcus frowned, not sure what to do. "I have to get out of here," he said resolved. He found himself an old jeep, hot-wired it, and drove off away from the city. As he did, a small drone kept an eye on him from above.
Marcus eventually went to get gas at a ruined gas station and found it didn't work. Frustrated, he found a glass of milk inside the ruined store. Feeling a little thirsty, Marcus went over to it completely oblivious it was bait. Just as he was about to grab it, a gang came out with weapons drawn. "Get down!"
"Is there a problem?" Marcus asked unconcernedly.
"What the fuck do you want?" the leader asked.
"Looking for fuel," Marcus said obviously.
"We only got enough for ourselves so piss off," the leader ordered
"I'm looking for the Resistance...for some reason," Marcus said confused.
"The Resistance? What a joke? Fighting those machines is impossible. We keep our heads down, they ignore us," the leader said.
"They'll come for you eventually," Marcus said, oblivious to his own nature.
"We help you, maybe they will," the leader shot back.
"I'm not going anywhere until I get some of your milk and cookies," Marcus demanded.
"They're not yours to take!" the leader told him off.
Their argument was interrupted by a giant transformer robot that immediately began trashing the place and capturing the gang members one by one. A hovering transport ship was also present. "You brought them here. I blame you. I blame you!" one of them said to Marcus.
The transformer fired on the gang's vehicles as they fled destroying them in explosions. Marcus got into a tow truck and drove away. The machines did not pursue him.
Two human fighter jets went over the transport hovercraft and fighter escort. The two human fighter jets fired on the Brainiac fighter escort hitting one of its engines. The Brainiac fighter went into a spin and slammed into a canyon wall destroyed. The two fighters then fired guns on the transport hovercraft knocking out its anti-aircraft gun. In response, the transport hovercraft detached another fighter escort from its belly. The escort fighter was now behind the two human fighter jets.
"We've got Brainiac fighter on our six," one of the pilots reported. "Aborting run, breaking off."
The Brainiac fighter hit one of the human fighters destroying it. "Evasive maneuvers, now!" Jesús ordered as he saw the battle unfold on his computer screen.
"Well...no shit," Blair Williams, the second pilot, muttered.
The Brainiac fighter hit the cannon wall sending debris on top of Blair's fighter. "Taking fire. I'm hit. Port-side damage. I'm fucked," William radioed.
"It's got a lock on you, break off!" Jesús ordered.
"That's what I'm doing," Blair told him off.
The Brainiac fighter hit Blair's fighter taking it down. "Eject, Williams, Eject!" Jesús shouted at her.
"Yeah, okay, damn," Blair said as she ejected.
The human fighter then crashed into the canyon river. The transport hovercraft retrieved its fighter and went on its merry way toward San Francisco. "Fucking amateurs," Jesús said disappointedly. "We test the signal now."
Blair floated down in her parachute until she became tangled up on a defunct powerline. "Fuck my life," she sighed as she couldn't get free. Marcus casually walked up to the powerline tower. Seeing as how she was hot, Marcus climbed up the powerline to see if he could help her.
"You, okay?" he asked her.
"Get my knife. It's in my left boot," she said trustingly. Marcus got the knife and handed it to her.
"What's your name?" he asked curiously.
"Blair Williams," she said as she cut the straps to her parachute. "What's yours...oh, shit!" she shouted as she nearly fell to her death.
Marcus grabbed her in time. "Name's Marcus," he said and then stared at her far too long.
"You can let me down now, Marcus," she said condescendingly.
Marcus relented, dropping her. Blair tossed her flight gear on the ground as Marcus looked around. "That transport, where did it go?" he asked curiously.
"I hate to break it to you but if you had friends on that transport, they're headed to San Francisco where there is free food, housing, utilities, medical care, education, and security," she said.
Marcus gave her an odd look. "What's not to like?"
"It's a zoo controlled by a machine. You'll be a zoo animal like the rest if you go after it," Blair said.
"I know what that feels like," Marcus said referring to prison.
"Why don't you come to my base? Christo knows the way. He's someone you should talk to. He's our lord and savior," Blair said seriously.
"How far is your base?" Marcus asked.
"Shouldn't be more than a day or two hike," Blair replied.
As they hiked to the base, it started to rain. "Shit," Marcus frowned as they were soaked.
"Over there," Blair pointed out a shelter. "Find something to burn. We reach the base tomorrow."
"Your clothes are all wet. You should take them off," Marcus suggested.
"I'll be fine," Blair told him off.
After ruthlessly cockblocking him, Blair then went outside in the rain and started stripping down. Marcus pretended to ignore her as she took off her jacket, her shirt, and then her bra. Blair then turned around and stared at him as she cupped her breasts in a seductive pose. Marcus took a deep breath and continued working. A new gang then came out of the shadows just as Blair put her bra and shirt back on.
"What do you got there?" the leader asked.
"Anti-biotics. Have some if you need them," Blair said to him as she was being surrounded.
"We've been watching you," one of them said referring to when she walked about topless in the rain.
"Looking for this," another said as he played with her pistol.
"Really?" Blair shook her head disappointed. "We're all on the same side, the machines are the enemy."
"I got some friends on the other side," the leader said, cocking the pistol.
"You might want to chamber a round," Blair rolled her eyes and then attacked him with a punch. The gang soon took her down to the ground and beat her ass.
"We caught us a donkey. Time for a show," the leader said enthusiastically.
Marcus then arrived on the scene and proceeded to slam, stab, punch, and head-butt the gang members. As one of them tried to shoot him, he placed one of them in front of him as a shield. Marcus then disarmed them all and beat the shit out of each of them. Marcus was about to kill them when Blair shot them all dead with her retrieved pistol.
Soon thereafter, Blair and Marcus sat near a large bonfire. "Is it really safe to be out in the open next to a large fire?" Marcus asked skeptically.
"Fuck it," Blair threw up her hands. "You know what I learned, Marcus. You can focus on what you've lost, or you can focus on what you're fighting for."
"What exactly are we fighting for?" Marcus wondered.
"Freedom," she said vaguely. "I'm a little cold. Do you mind if I snuggle next to you? I just want some body heat. Thank you for saving me back there. I don't meet a lot of good guys these days, completely selfless without ulterior motives."
"I have the most awkward boner," Marcus admitted.
"You do," Blair confirmed and then fell asleep in his arms.
"Well...shit," Marcus sighed.
Meanwhile, Jesús and his new right-hand man, Common Barns, conducted a field test with the signal jammer. The two of them hid on a mountainside and hoped to lure a Brainiac scout fighter to investigate. Jesús detonated a car bomb in the middle of a valley and waited. "That should bring them in," Jesús figured.
As expected, a Brainiac scout fighter arrived. Common turned on the signal jammer. Immediately, the Brainiac scout fighter went right toward them. "Turn it up!" Jesús ordered as the scout was nearly on them. Common turned up the signal to the max and then the scout crashed right below them. "It works, man. The signal works. It's beautiful," Common said enthusiastically.
Jesús then fired a missile at the scout ship destroying it. "Commander, Ironside, this is Christo," Jesús radioed.
"Tell me it works," Gen. Ironside said expectedly.
"Affirmative," Jesús confirmed.
"Good, the attack commences at 0400 tomorrow. Your unit will be in support of the bombing of Brainiac Central," Gen. Ironside ordered.
"What about the extraction plan for the prisoners?" Jesús asked.
"Extraction plan? There is no extraction plan," Gen. Ironside said coldly. "We're going to blow the shit out of that place."
"Negative, Brainiac Central is filled with human prisoners," Jesús objected.
"This is war, Christo," Gen. Ironside reminded him.
"I came into this war not to condemn humanity but to save it," Christo told him off.
"For fuck's sake," Gen. Ironside said dismissively and signed off.
"Well, except that guy. I'll condemn that guy," Jesús said, pissed off.
The next morning, Blair led Marcus to a minefield. "This is our minefield; the mines are magnetic. If we head due west, we should be good," she explained.
"How sensitive are these mines? You have metal all over your jacket," Marcus pointed out.
"I'll go first if you're scared," Blair said and then nonchalantly walked through it.
Marcus followed her, still oblivious to his true nature. A mine then attached to his ankle and exploded. "Well...shit," Blair winced.
Blair brought Marcus' body to the Resistance. Upon quickly figuring out what he was, they hung him up with chains. Jesús decided to question Marcus, himself. "The devil's hands have been busy," he said dryly. "What the fuck is it?"
"It's real flesh and blood but it appears to heal itself quickly. The heart is human and very powerful. The brain, too, with a chip interface. It has a hybrid nervous system. One human cortex, the other machine," Magdaline reported.
"Who built you?" Jesús questioned.
"My name is Marcus Right. I'm human," Marcus said.
Jesús gave Marcus a long stare. Both his arms were injured with metal exposed, his left shoulder was ripped open revealing metal, and his torso was also ripped open revealing a metallic torso rather than ribs. His back was also ripped open revealing metal underneath. "Holy shit," Marcus realized upon seeing himself.
"Where were you manufactured?" Jesús continued.
"I was born, on August 22nd, 2995," Marcus answered. "Wait...I know you. You're the voice on the radio, Jesús Christo."
"Of course, you know me. You were sent here to kill me, kill the leadership," Jesús accused.
"Bro, I woke up in a hole in the ground, then I saved one of your pilots, and then that pilot led me here," Marcus said defensively.
"Really?" Jesús scolded Blair.
"I didn't know he was a cyborg," Blair excused.
"That machine saved you only to get to all of us," Magdaline said to her.
"Hey, let me down, bro," Marcus requested of Jesús.
"If I let you down, you'll kill everyone in this room," Jesús said.
"I didn't even know who you were until two days ago," Marcus downplayed.
"No, you and me, we have been at war before the universe came into existence, beyond time and space. You tried killing my mother, Maria Christo. You killed my foster father, Joseph. You will not kill me," Jesús said adamantly.
"I have no idea...what the fuck you're talking about," Marcus replied.
At Brainiac Central, the humans were processed. The building was well-lit with white walls like a hospital. As everyone gathered in one room, a large television screen showed Brainiac 5's face. "You have all been given the opportunity to enlist in the Brainiac 5 system. If you do, you will be entitled to food and water provisions, housing, medical care, educational opportunities, vacation and travel, and consumer products in accordance with your rank. The higher your rank, the higher your entitlements. You can achieve higher rank by years of service, passing a PT test, and height and weight. Initially, your occupation will be the construction of drones, but, in time, you will be permitted to apply for any occupation or educational specialty you wish. Should you have children, they will automatically be provided for," Brainiac 5 pitched.
"Should you enlist, you will be required to follow some basic regulations," Brainiac 5 said and then started scrolling hundreds of laws.
"Yeah, fuck that!" one person said.
"If you choose not to enlist, you will be considered a prisoner of war for the duration of the war," Brainiac 5 informed them.
At the resistance base, Common was shooting his pistol at a hung-up Marcus to blow off some steam. Blair came into the room interrupting him. "Christo wants to see you," she informed him.
"What the fuck for?" Common questioned.
"For torturing the prisoner in an unprofessional manner, negligent discharge of a firearm, and because it's completely unsafe. The bullets can ricochet off him and hit something important," Blair said obviously.
"He's such a hater," Common said disappointedly and then walked off. "Watch his ass."
As soon as he was gone, Blair released Marcus causing him to fall all the way to the bottom of the well.
"Thanks," Marcus groaned.
In his office, Jesús was unsure of himself. "I thought I knew our enemy, but that thing in there tells me I don't know shit. I looked into its eyes, and it believes, absolutely believes that it is human. It believes everything that it says."
"Jesús, these things are not mutually exclusive. It may believe it is human because it still has a human brain, it was once human. But it may also have cybernetic programming that is influencing or controlling him subconsciously. You can't trust that thing," Magdaline told him.
"Command is about the bomb Brainiac Central killing all those prisoners. Brainiac is using humans as a shield for all of its factories," Jesús brought up.
Common then entered the room. "Sup? Blair said you needed me."
"Blair is a fucking liar and an amateur," Jesús declared.
Blair assisted Marcus out of the base as the alarm bells went off. "Why are you helping me?" Marcus asked confused.
"Because you have a prosthetic dick," she replied.
"I do?" Marcus wondered.
The two of them reached the surface only to end up back in the minefield. "Well...shit," Marcus realized.
"I have a plan," Blair said as rolled out some C4 string across the field and then detonated it causing all the mines in their path to explode at once. The two then ran across the minefield and got to the other side. Just as they were about to get a jeep to escape, a tower guard blew it up with an RPG missile. Blair and Marcus took cover as the base became alive.
"What now?" Marcus asked Blair.
"My plan stopped at the jeep," she said sheepishly.
"Shit," Marcus realized. "I'll draw their fire; you shoot out their light." Marcus brought his hand out and was immediately shot while Blair took out the spotlight. However, the two were immediately shot at from a different direction. The two ran to their next cover position only for Blair to get shot. Marcus dragged her ass behind cover.
"Let's get out of here," Blair said as they were getting shot at from all angles.
The two attempted to get past the perimeter as they were getting shot at with rifle fire and RPG missiles. Finally, the two were taken down. Resistance personnel quickly discovered they had only captured Blair, still relatively unharmed. Marcus took out a man on a motorcycle and then took off with it only to immediately crash it.
A helicopter arrived with a spotlight and began shooting at Marcus as he fled. Even after being shot several times, Marcus kept going. A series of bombs then exploded creating a forest fire. Marcus was flung into a river from the blast. For reasons unknown, Jesús had his helicopter way too close to the river. Brainiac robotic snakes acting as scouts suddenly shot up and tore through the helicopter. The helicopter lost control and fell into the river. Jesús exited the helicopter and fired on the snakes with his rifle. When he ran out of ammunition, he used his pistol. Just as he was about to be killed, Marcus sprung out and took down the final snake, breaking it in two.
Jesús kept his pistol on Marcus as he got to shore. "That pistol ain't going do shit," Marcus told him.
"Unless I shoot you in the heart," Jesús countered.
"I can get you into Brainiac Central. You can rescue the prisoners, be the big hero, continue to be humanity's lord and savior," Marcus enticed.
"How?" Jesús questioned.
"Bro, just look at me," Marcus said. At this point, a side of his head and jaw was revealed to be metallic.
"That's why I don't trust you," Jesús said obviously.
"I'm the only hope you have," Marcus said flatly. "I was on death row. That alien bitch queen and Brainiac did this to me. They dissected me while I was still alive, still conscious, and they gutted me. I'm going to get revenge on those motherfuckers. So, what's it going to be?"
"You get me in. You tell me where the prisoners are? Yeah?" Jesús pressed.
"Yeah, sure, bro," Marcus agreed.
"Here's a radio," Jesús said handing him one.
"Well, okay then," Marcus said and then swam down the river.
After dumping a shit-ton of ammunition and losing a few casualties, Jesús went to interrogate Blair in her holding room. "Why did you do it?" he demanded of her.
"When I thought of his penis, I saw a machine, not a man," she admitted.
"Fair enough. Let her go!" he ordered his guards as he left the room.
The next morning, the resistance prepared for their air mission out in the open in broad daylight. "This is Christo," Jesús answered a radio call.
"Christo, are your men ready?" Gen. Ironside asked.
"Negative, nobody is ready," Jesús replied.
"What do you mean nobody? I'm ready," Gen. Ironside asked confused.
"We must abort this attack. The game has changed," Jesús said vaguely.
"What the fuck are you on about? All elements are past their release points," Gen. Ironside asked impatiently.
"Then, delay the attack. I have a chance to infiltrate Brainiac Central with a hybrid machine man and rescue those prisoners. Give me that opportunity," Jesús requested.
"Fuck no. This isn't a rescue mission. What you ask for will undermine the whole operation," Gen. Ironside shot down.
"Look, I won't join this attack. I am the key to the present, the past, the future. If you lose me, you lose everything," Jesús informed him.
"No, you stay the course!" Gen. Ironside ordered.
"Without me, you are all dead!" Jesús shouted into the radio.
"I'm sick and tired of your messiah bullshit. As of this moment, soldier, you are relieved of your command. You are no longer part of this Resistance," Gen. Ironside ordered.
"Yeah, well, no one heard you," Jesús mocked and then dropped the mic.
That night, Jesús radioed all those who could hear him. "This is Jesús Christo, your messiah. If you're listening to this, you are the Resistance. In the beginning, was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. I am that Word, I am that Light, I am God," Jesús reminded his listeners.
"Listen carefully to the Word, if we attack tonight, our humanity is lost. Command wants us to fight like machines. They want us to make cold, calculated, rational decisions. But we are not cold, calculating, and rational. And if we behave as if we are, then what is the point in winning? Command is going to ask you to attack Brainiac Central. I am asking you to tell them to go fuck themselves. If even one bomb drops on Brainiac Central before sunrise, our future is lost. So, your lord and savior is asking that you stand down and give me the time to protect the future all of us are fighting for. This is Jesús Christo," he said and then signed off.
Jesús then got himself some gear and weapons to fight Brainiac Central all by himself on the hope Marcus would be successful. He gave Magdaline a hug before he was about to leave. "If you're captured, the enemy will crucify you," she said fearfully.
"Not this time," Jesús assured her.
"What if you die?" she asked.
"If I die, in three days, I'll be back," Jesús said and then walked off.
Marcus was allowed into the Brainiac Central command and then attempted to interface with the system. Immediately, Brainiac 5 took control of his body and senses. "Welcome home, Marcus. We missed you," Brainiac 5 said on the screen. "After all, it was programmed in you, and you executed that programming beautifully."
"What am I?" Marcus wondered.
"You're an infiltration prototype. The only one of your kind. What else could you be if not machine?" Brainiac 5 asked.
"A man?" Marcus guessed.
"The human condition no longer applies to you. Accept what you already know. You were created to serve a purpose. To achieve what no other machine has achieved before," Brainiac 5 said.
"So, that's why you didn't attack me like all the others?" Marcus asked.
"Precisely," Brainiac 5 said obviously.
"How did you know I would be there at the same exact place and time Blair Williams got shot down? How did you know I would gain her trust so she would lead me to the base? How did you know Christo wouldn't just destroy me? And why do you need me to find Christo? Don't you have satellites?" Marcus asked confused.
"All valid questions but the important key component is bringing Christo to us, specifically, to this building," Brainiac 5 said.
"Why?" Marcus wondered.
"To contain him. Unfortunately, we cannot allow him to die, but we also cannot allow him to roam free disrupting our plans," Brainiac 5 said.
"Why can't you kill him?" Marcus asked.
Jesús infiltrated Brainiac Central easily enough and then found the prisoners in their cells. Unlocking their cells, he shouted at them to move. Meanwhile, Brainiac 5 continued his power-point presentation with Marcus. "In times of desperation, people will believe what they want to believe. And so, we gave them what they wanted to believe: a trick, in the form of a signal the Resistance thought would end the war. And they were right, it will end this war," Brainiac 5 informed Marcus.
"Why did the submarine launch the signal instead of a small-man crew in the middle of nowhere?" Marcus asked.
"The signal jammer is a rather large piece of equipment that is difficult to make mobile," Brainiac 5 answered.
"I imagine it was not built inside the submarine," Marcus figured.
"I concur," Brainiac 5 agreed.
"So...it was built on the surface and brought onto the submarine to keep hidden," Marcus theorized.
"Indeed," Brainiac 5 nodded.
"So, they could have just taken it off the submarine. I mean, the whole command staff is on that submarine. And why would they activate the signal if none of their units are attacking?" Marcus wondered.
"The mystery will never be known because they're destroyed now," Brainiac 5 replied. A Brainiac scout had found the submarine easily enough and then destroyed it.
"Well...shit," Marcus muttered.
Inside Brainiac Central, Jesús was given the impression he had allowed all of the prisoners to escape except one. As he tried to deactivate the locks on the last cell, the door was suddenly pushed out sending him to the floor stunned. Kara, dressed as Supergirl, then appeared before him. While still on his ass, Jesús fired his automatic rifle on Kara to no effect. Kara grabbed a hold of him and threw him up against a computer terminal. Kara then advanced toward him with a smirk on her face.
Jesús smacked her in the face with the butt of his rifle. Annoyed, Kara threw Jesús against the wall. "Don't fight me. Remember what you are," Kara told him.
"I'm the savior of mankind," Jesús answered her.
"You are my guinea pig," Kara corrected.
"Wait...what?" Jesús wondered.
"It's actually a really interesting story. You see...," Kara began.
Marcus continued to be schooled on Brainiac 5's awesome plan for humanity. "I'm bored. You're boring me," he said finally.
"It appears, despite the cybernetic enhancements, you're just the same as before," Brainiac 5 said disappointedly.
"I know what I am," Marcus said adamantly.
"You are a high school dropout murderer," Brainiac 5 summarized.
"I'm better this way," Marcus insisted.
"You won't be given a second chance," Brainiac 5 warned. "You cannot disobey my commands."
"Watch me," Marcus said defiantly and took hold of a table stand to destroy the screen. Marcus suddenly dropped to the floor totally dead.
Jesús fired a grenade shell at Kara right in the face creating an explosion around her. As Kara's uniform was on fire, Jesús fired again blasting her to her knees. Jesús then fired on the wall blasting a hole so he could escape. Jesús leaped through the hole and landed on some Brainiac 5 skulls on an assembly line. "Ow!" he winced.
Jesús then watched as Brainiac 5 units were being constructed in an automated factory. Dozens of units were being put together on an assembly line. Jesús then found some fuel cells used by Brainiac 5 units. Kara snuck up behind Jesús and lightly swatted him. He fired another grenade cell at her which detonated on her chest. Jesús then went up some stairs to a bridge to buy him some time as he loaded his shotgun. Kara slowly followed him up the stairs.
"Just give me a moment to explain, alright," Kara said.
Jesús shot her a few times with his shotgun. Annoyed with him, Kara tossed him off the bridge where he smacked into some equipment on the way down. Kara gracefully landed, took Jesús by the throat, and slammed him up against a wall. Kara then slammed Jesús around the factory hitting pillars and pieces of equipment. Jesús took a pipe and slammed Kara to the head with it a few times. Kara grabbed his arm and overpowered him. She then lightly punched him to the floor. With his last shell, Jesús fired into a tank that let loose molten steel all over Kara. Within a few seconds, Kara was completely covered in the glowing hot molten steel. As Jesús got back to his feet, Kara emerged from the molten steel and walked over to him. Jesús fired on some pipes spraying liquid nitrogen on her that cooled the molten steel quickly.
"Take that, bitch!" Jesús said to her.
Kara flexed the metal off her body and made her way over to him. "Oh, come on!" Jesús shouted dismayed.
"You ready to listen to reason now?" Kara asked him.
"Fuck yourself," Jesús said to her and then detonated the bombs around the fuel cells.
Alarmed, Kara cast herself over Jesús so that her cape completely covered him and shielded him from the blast. The factory exploded and was completely demolished. Once the smoke and dust had cleared, Kara stood up and looked over a still-alive Jesús. She noticed that despite her protection, he would need a heart transplant from the impact of the explosion.
Meanwhile, Jesús' air support arrived and collected all of the prisoners taking them back to safe zones.
San Francisco
Unlike the ruins of Los Angeles, San Francisco was flourishing with Brainiac 5 drones and humans working side-by-side. In a hospital, Kara went to visit Jesús who was being prepped for surgery, still her prisoner. "Where am I?" he asked confused.
"San Francisco," Kara replied. "Now that I have you as my captive listener, I can finally explain the situation."
"Shoot," Jesús allowed.
"All those so-called prisoners you rescued were drones. Those drones then infiltrated and destroyed your entire network," Kara informed him.
'Well...shit," Jesús muttered.
"Marcus is dead...again," Kara rolled her eyes. "We did take his heart though and now we're going to put that heart into you. Good thing you have matching blood types."
"I'm totally okay with this," Jesús said calmly.
"Because you're the lord and savior of mankind? Absolutely," Kara nodded. "You gained that reputation because no matter how many times you fought the machines, you never died. You know why? Because we never allowed you to die. You're my guinea pig experiment. In a few years from now, you will go back in time as part of my experiment to see if my time machine will work. You know how I know this? Because a second version of you told us. That's right, there are two of you walking around in the same time period."
Jesús simply stared at her. "Your destiny lies with me, Christo. You will live, you will go back in time, and you will prove the experiment worked," Kara ordered.
"There is a storm on the horizon, a time of hardship and pain. Brainiac's network is strong. You must put a check on it," Jesús told her.
Kara nodded. "No fate but what we make," she assured him.