Chapter 12: Brainiac

With one last punch, the final drone fell to the ground, leaving Superman and Martian Manhunter victorious.

"They continue to increase in numbers." J'onn pointed out. "I believe we are getting close to our destination."

"All the more reason to press forward." Superman declared.

"No need Kal-El." a new voice announced from all around them.

Both were instantly on edge as a hole in the ceiling opened up, allowing Brainiac to descend from it towards the two of them.

"Brainiac, I presume." Superman guessed.

"Indeed." Brainiac answered. "I was not expecting to find a remnant of Krypton, and yet, here you are. Kal-El, son of Jor-El."

"You don't get to speak my father's name." Superman told it. "Not after what you did to Krypton!"

"I am Krypton." Brainiac replied. "Everything Krypton was is now locked within my databanks."

"There is more to a planet then data and numbers." J'onn declared. "It's people, they are what give a world purpose and life!"

"An archaic ideal from a long dead society." Brainiac dismissed. "Still, the last Green Martian would fit well in my collection."

"I will not be part of any collection." J'onn swore, his form morphing into his natural Martian body.

"You are mistaken in thinking the decision was yours to make." Brainiac replied, blasting at him.

The blast knocked J'onn back and caused him to collide with the ground.

"J'onn!" Superman let out.

"We however, need not be adversaries Kal-El." Brainiac told him. "We would make a formidable team, we twin sons of Krypton."

"You can't be serious." Superman replied.

"If you were to join me, I could give you memories of your homeworld." Brainiac offered. "You would know Krypton as if you lived there yourself."

"I will never join the monster who destroyed countless civilizations." Superman swore.

"Disappointing," Brainiac admitted. "But not entirely unexpected."

Brainiac then shot at Superman, knocking him into a wall. Superman quickly shook it off and flew straight at Brainiac. Superman took hold of him and slammed him into a wall. Brainiac then grabbed hold of him and surged electricity through Superman, causing him to cry out in pain. J'onn managed to pull himself up and flew towards Brainiac, meaning to stop him from hurting Superman further. As he got close though, Brainiac turned towards him and held out his other hand, spewing fire from his wrist. The flames stopped J'onn in his tracks, much to Brainiac's pleasure.

"Fire, the greatest weakness of Green Martians." He mused. "Affects you both physically and psychologically. While I never had a chance to collect the knowledge of your planet before the martians died out, your weakness is well known by your enemies."

"J'onn!" Superman cried out.

"It seems you have an attachment to this martian." Brainiac observed.

"If you hurt him, so help me-!"

"That is entirely up to you, Kal-El." Brainiac cut off. "Surrender peacefully or the martian will suffer until either his body or his mind gives out."

Superman glared at Brainiac intensely for a few seconds, then closed his eyes and held up his hands. Brainiac smiled maliciously in response.

"A wise decision." Brainiac commended.

Later, all the captured heroes were brought to Brainiac's bridge, all of them attached to metal platforms with their arms and legs restrained. The exception to this was Victor, who was suspended above the ground, several panels across his body open for wires to be inserted.

"The integration of the Motherbox is slow going." a drone announced. "Organic interface is proving troublesome."

"Then bypass the organic material." Brainiac ordered. "By any means necessary."

"Like to see you try, mother-GYAH!" Victor's slurs were cut off when another wire was jammed into the back of his neck.

"Victor!" Flash cried out.

"Activate Boom Tube capabilities." Brainiac ordered. "Set coordinates for Earth."

"Boom tube?" Aquaman repeated. "What the hell is a Boom Tube?"

Victor's eyes suddenly shot open, his robotic eye glowing an angry red and a voice not his own coming out of his mouth.

"Unauthorized user located." He said, his voice deadpan and robotic. "Purging from system."

Electricity began surging out of Victor, flooding into Brainiac's system.

"Initiate shutdown!" Brainiac ordered.

A drone jammed one more wire into Victor's head and the electricity stopped. The light in his eye died and his human one lost focus. His head dropped and he fell unconscious.

"Victor!" Flash yelled.

"He is still alive." Brainiac told him. "Just in a temporary sleep mode. He will awaken eventually, but by then, I will have what I want.

"And what happens then?" Flash asked. "You get rid of him just like all the other beings on all those other worlds you destroyed?!"

"Incorrect." Brainiac informed him. "Motherbox technology will take time to fully break down and analyse. His continued existence will ensure I have full knowledge of its strengths and weaknesses. I have no intention of eliminating such a prospective subject."

"So it's just the rest of us you're gonna get rid of." Aquaman remarked.

"Your forms will be recorded for the databanks, and then you will be digitized." Brainiac told him. "However, I may keep Kal-El and the Green Martian intact. The last of their kind, the perfect specimens."

"Why?" Wonder Woman suddenly called out. "Why do you destroy everything once you have your information? What purpose does that slaughter serve?!"

"My initial programing was to collect and protect all knowledge regarding Krypton," Brainiac shared. "It was through completing this task that I came to realize a single truth. The fewer beings that have the knowledge, the more precious it becomes."

Wonder Woman began thrashing violently in her bonds screaming at Brainiac. He remained unphased by her antics, turning his attention back on Victor.

"Bring him online." He ordered.

The drones did so, his robotic eye lighting up while his human one remained out of focus.

"Systems online." Victor's robotic voice let out.

"Initiate Boom Tube." Brainiac ordered.

His arm lifted up like a puppet's arm, transforming into a cannon.

"Input coordinates." Victor's robotic voice requested.

Brainiac held out a hand and his fingers stretched out into Victor's systems, inputting the coordinates into his processor. The cannon powered up and a massive wormhole suddenly opened up in front of Brainiac's ship. The ship went through the wormhole, emerging just shy of earth's moon.

At the Daily Planet, Perry White was getting some coffee when he caught sight of something out the window. The cup fell out of his hand as he stared, the shattering mug drawing the attention of Lois and Jimmy.

"Great Caesar's Ghost!" Perry declared as the two came into see what he saw.

The three all stared up in shock, their jaws dropping at the sight of Brainiac's massive skull ship looming overhead.

"My God…" Lois let out.

"What is that?" Jimmy asked nervously.

"Trouble..." Perry answered.

In Gotham, Tim was packing the last few books into his backpack, stumbling down the stairs of Wayne Manor as Alfred met him at the base.

"Breakfast is on the table." he informed the boy. "Scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast with strawberry marmalade."

"Thanks Al." Tim said, making a beeline for the kitchen. "Did you happen to find my algebra textbook? It wasn't on my desk."

"Right here." Alfred replied, handing it to him. "You left it in the cave last night."

"Right." Time recalled, taking the book. "I swear, your super power is keeping me and Bruce in check."

"Years of practice, Master Tim." Alfred answered. "Now, eat quickly. You'll miss your-"

He cut off, gasping as his eyes drifted out the window.

"Good heavens!" He exclaimed.

Tim looked out the window, his backpack dropping out of his hand as he saw what Alfred did.

"Oh no..." he let out.

At Ferris Air, Carol was in the middle of a meeting with several investors. However, their presentations were all forgotten, everyone just staring at the sky and the foreboding ship closing in.

In Central City, the ship in the sky sent just about everyone in a panic. Iris just looked up in horror, holding her father close.

"Barry…" She muttered.

At S.T.A.R. Labs, Silas and the others had their eyes on their screens, each showing images of Brainiac's ship.

"He's gonna be ok, Silas." Wells reassured. "I'm certain Victor will be alright."

"He has to be…" Silas replied. "Because I don't know what I'm gonna do if he isn't."

At the hospital in Maine, Faraday held Kari's hand as he watched a TV news report on what was happening. His grip tightened on her hand as the screen zoomed in on the ship.

"Come on, J'onn." Faraday let out. "Come on…"

Back on the ship, Brainiac looked down at the Earth, examining it with a small twinkle of lust in his optic sensors."

"Prepare the drones for final data extraction and digitalization." Brainiac ordered. "Designated cities: Metropolis, Gotham City, and Central City."

"No!" Superman shouted.

"There is no way to resist what is about to happen, Kal-El." Brainiac told him. "The end is here."

"Not entirely, Brainiac." Batman told him. "You missed one of us."

"The Lantern was without power." Brainiac dismissed. "He was of no threat."

"Check your numbers again, GLaDos!" Hal's voice called out.

As Brainiac turned, Batman continued to twist his wrist, allowing Green Lantern's ring to fall out. Before it hit the ground, it glowed green and darted across the room, returning to Hal's hand and returning his Green Lantern uniform.

"Beware my power, asshole!" GL remarked before blasting at Brainiac.

The blast sent Brainiac flying across the room, making him crash into a wall. With Brainiac temporarily incopasitated, GL flew over and proceeded to cut everyone free.

"Looks like you called it Batman." GL replied, freeing him. "To him, no ring means no threat."

"Good thing too." Batman agreed.

The second Flash was free, he rushed over to Victor, yanking the wires out of him.

"Come on, Vic." Flash told him. "Be ok."

"Reboot in Progress." Victor said in a deadpan. "Upgrades available. Accessing Upgrades."

"Uh… okay, just make it quick!" Flash let out.

After a few more seconds, Victor's head snapped back, his human eye focused once more.

"Woo!" he let out, shaking his head. "That felt weird!"

"You alright?" Flash asked, helping him down.

Victor flexed his fingers.

"Actually, I feel better than alright." he answered. "I feel… awesome."

"I hope that's awesome enough to fight." Aquaman replied, grabbing his trident. "Cause we're about to have company!"

As Aquaman said that, several drones, both info gatherers and security, began pouring out towards them.

"Here they come!" Batman yelled, taking out an explosive batarang and throwing it at one.

The batarang hit one of the info drones, blowing its head off upon impact. The other heroes than began darting forward towards the drones, ready to end this once and for all. Green Lantern shot out a beam of energy, which split out into four other beams that tore through numerous drones with ease.

"Stop them!" Brainiac demanded. "Destroy them!"

Aquaman swung his trident around with graceful precision, slicing through one oncoming drone after the next. As an info drone came up to him, he stabbed it in the head and flung it into a security drone, causing it to crash towards him. Before it hit though, J'onn came up and made them both intangible, allowing the drone to pass right through them before exploding.

"Thanks." Aquaman commended.

"Do not mention it." J'onn replied before flying off.

Victor, now newly invigorated with his new upgrades, began wailing on every info drone he could come into contact with. One tried to get at him from behind, but Victor turned and readied a punch. Much to his surprise, his fist transformed into a cannon, allowing him to utterly destroy the drone with one hit.

"Ok… that is cool!" Victor declare before turning around and blasting another drone.

Wonder Woman threw out her lasso, wrapping it around one of the drones and swinging it around to an oncoming set, knocking them all down easily. As she saw some more approaching from the rear, even opening fire on her, she used her bracelets to block the shots before throwing her sword forward at them. The second it was out of her hands, Flash ran up from behind her along the walls and gave the sword a speed shove, sending it rocketing through the drones and destroying them instantaneously.

As Flash came to a stop to admire his and Wonder Woman's handy work, one of the tentacles for the info drones shot out and wrapped around his arm. Thinking fast, Flash mimicked one of Superman's moves and spun around at breakneck speed, flinging the drone into several others.

Batman took out two shock gauntlets for either hand and began punching at one info drone after another, knocking them to the ground. As he punched out another, a security drone came up and tried to bring its hand down on him. Batman leapt over it and landed on the arm itself. He ran up it until he was at the top, before placing an explosive device on it and leaping off. The device exploded and blew off a huge chunk of the drone, causing it to fall to the ground.

Superman flew through one security drone after another, decimating them completely. As he flew through one more, his eyes turned to Brainiac, intent on ending him. He flew straight towards him, only for Brainiac to blast at him. The blast sent Superman tumbling through the air before falling to the ground.

"This display is futile, Kal-El." Brainiac declared as he closed in on Superman. "Your adopted world with fall, just as Krypton did."

Superman slowly pulled himself back up, prompting Brainiac to blast at him again. This time, Wonder Woman landed in front of him and used her bracelets to block the blast. Taking advantage of the opening, Superman flew past her and punched Brainiac in the face, cracking his faceplate and revealing his more robotic interior.

"You are your father's son, Kal-El." Brainiac commended, blasting him point blank. "Headstrong, easily defeated, and ultimately forgotten."

"Except he's not alone!" Green Lantern cried out.

He then formed a massive drill with his ring, bringing it down on Brainiac. The robot struggled to hold off the drill, but GL kept pressing. Brainac then fired a blast at GL himself, knocking him out of the air and dissipating his construct. Flash then sped towards Brainiac and managed to hit him. He then continued to run around Brainiac, punching him repeatedly and even cracking his body a little. Brainiac managed to trip up the speedster, sending him rolling across the room and into another drone. As Brainiac aimed his hands at him ready to blast, a rope wrapped around them. Brainiac turned to see Batman holding the rope and gave it a yank, pulling Batman off his feet. As Batman came close to him, Brainiac smacked him across the face, sending him flying across the room.

Aquaman threw his trident at Brainiac, stabbing him in the chest and causing him to skid back. Brainiac then pulled it out and throw it right back. Aquaman caught it, skidding across the floor from the force of the throw. J'onn flew towards Brainiac, but the robot activated the flame throwers on his wrist, sending a stream right past him that made him feel uneasy. Brainiac smiled at the development with malicious intent, before Superman flew back in and let out a massive breath, dissipating the fire.

J'onn took this chance to dart towards him and phase an arm into his chest, scrambling his circuits a bit. Brainiac tried to blast him with his flame thrower, but Wonder Woman dashed forward and used her sword to cut Brainiac's arm clean off. She then threw her lasso around his other arm, trying to hold him back. Aquaman went at him and brought his fists down on his shoulders, causing him to drop to one knee.

"Foolish creatures!" Brainiac let out. "I have laid waste to countless systems! You stand no chance to-"

Just then, a blast came out of nowhere and went clean through Brainiac's chest, much to his surprise. He turned around, seeing Victor aiming his smoking gun arm at him.

"I know I'm gonna sound juvenile for saying this, but… Booyah!" Victor cheered.

As Brainiac began to topple over, the ship began blaring with several alarms. Red lights were going up everywhere, and the entire base began to shake.

"What's going on?" Flash questioned, struggling to maintain balance.

"Brainiac was the core of the ship!" Superman realized. "Without him to monitor everything, the ship's going haywire!"

"Then we gotta get out of here!" Aquaman yelled.

"The Javelin's still in the docking bay." Victor reported

"And the engine's were shot when Brainiac brought us on board." Lantern reminded.

"If we get onboard, can you pull us to safety?" Batman asked him.

"No, I don't have enough charge." GL explained.

"Don't worry." Victor insisted. "Leave the escape plan to me. Let's just make sure this Death Star doesn't see the light of day again."

GL nodded as they all took off. As they made their way through the ships corridors, GL stopped short, noticing one room in particular. It contained several holograms of different cities.

"These must be the cities Brainiac's digitized." GL deduced.

As he scanned over them, the ring notified them that the one in the center of the room was none other than Kandor, the capital of Krypton.

"Can't leave without this." GL declared, picking it up with his ring and flying off.

The heroes made their way to the Javelin, climbing in one after the other.

"Hope you got a plan, kid." GL told him.

"That 'Boom Tube' Brainiac made me do." Victor told him. "If I can figure out how he did it, I should be able to port us out of here."

"You better make it fast." Superman warned. "Time's running out."

Victor shook his arm, turning it into a cannon again. He aimed it at the ground, typing frantically on a small holographic keyboard that popped up.

"This better work." He said as he fired.

A boom tube opened up right underneath the Javelin, swallowing it up just as Brainiac's ship went up.

The entire world rejoiced when Brainiac's ship suddenly exploded, the massive fireball tearing it to pieces. Shouts of joy could be heard in every street as people celebrated their newfound safety. However, not everyone shared in their reverie. Across the country, Lois, Iris, Faraday, the S.T.A.R. Labs team, Aquaman's father, and the Kents all waited with bated breath for any sign of the heroes return.

Suddenly, the S.T.A.R. Labs team heard a loud boom go off over the building, then the sound of something landing hard on the roof. Everyone rushed outside and saw the Javelin crashed on top of the roof. The gangplank lowered, and all eight heroes descended. They were all a bit beaten up, both from the fight, and from the crash, but they were alright.

"Okay, we are not doing that again." Aquaman declared.

"Agreed." GL concurred.

Green Lantern then formed a staircase for everyone to walk down to ground level. As Victor got down, Silas ran straight towards him, hugging him tightly.

"Victor!" He cried out, holding him tightly. "You're safe!"

"Yeah dad." Victor reassured. "I'm alright. Look… I'm sorry about everything. I shouldn't have said those things."

"No, I'm the one that's sorry." Silas told him. "I should have put you first from the very beginning. I never should have belittled you, or your dreams. I'm also sorry it took… This… for me to realize that."

"Well in all fairness, 'this' helped save the world." Victor replied. "I think I can learn to live with it."

"I'll help you in any way I can." Silas promised. "If you'll let me."

"Of course." Victor allowed, hugging his dad again. "That's what family does after all. We help each other."

Flash couldn't help but smile as Wells wheeled up.

"I must say Barry, I am impressed." Wells commended.

"Thanks, Dr. Wells." Barry replied. "But it was a team effort. None of us could have done it without the other."

"Of that… I have no doubt." Wells replied. "And I get the feeling that this is only the beginning."

At the hospital, Faraday jerked up when he heard the door open. He turned to see J'onn entering the room, giving Faraday a smile.

"I hope you do not mind the intrusion." He said.

"I hardly consider it an intrusion for someone wanting to see a friend." Faraday answered.

J'onn sat down opposite of Faraday, taking Kari's other hand. As he did, she let out a soft groan, her fingers closing around his hand.

"J'onn…?" she let out weakly.

"Hello, Kari." J'onn greeted smiling.

She saw the way he looked and chuckled.

"I guess you liked my design." she quipped.

"I did." J'onn replied. "And my new friends liked it too."

"Friends?" she repeated. "What did I miss?"

"I'll tell you all about it." J'onn promised.

At the Daily Planet, Superman wasted no time rushing over and donning his Clark Kent persona. He emerged from his usual broom closet, coming over to Lois. When she saw his reflection in the glass, she gasped, turning around and grabbing him in a hug.

"Sorry to make you worry." Clark told her.

"Shut up and hold me, Smallville." she told him.

"You got it." Clark promised, kissing her hair.

Flash sped through the streets of Central City, intent on getting to Iris and letting her know he was ok. Finally, he reached Iris' apartment and knocked on the door. The door opened and Barry was greeted by Iris gasping at the sight of him, throwing her arms around him.

"Barry..." she whispered. "Thank God."

"Sorry to keep worrying you like this." Barry told her.

"I'm just glad you came back." she told him, gripping onto him.

"I'm not going anywhere." He reassured. "Not when I have you to come back to."

At Ferris Air, Hal made his way to Carol's office to make sure she was alright. She looked over at him, giving him a smile.

"Hal, there you are!" she called out. "I was calling you all afternoon! Did you forget to charge your phone again?"

"Something like that." Hal replied. "I'm just glad you're alright. When I saw that thing on the news…"

"I'm just glad someone was there to stop it." Carol told him. "I wonder if it was Green Lantern. Or Superman."

"Maybe both?" Hal suggested.

"Maybe." Carol allowed. "With how crazy our world keeps getting, we need more heroes like them."

"Can't argue with that." Hal agreed.

At Wayne Manor, Bruce emerged from the cave, and was almost immediately tackled by Tim. The boy grabbed him around the waist, refusing to let go. Alfred came walking over, letting out a small sigh of relief.

"Welcome home, sir." he greeted.

"Thanks, Alfred." Bruce replied, wrapping an arm around Tim.

"I skipped school because I was worried about you." Tim confessed. "Please don't be mad at me."

"I'm not mad." Bruce told him, cracking a tiny smile.

"I can have lunch ready in a matter of moments, if that pleases you, Master Bruce." Alfred offered.

"It does." Bruce replied.

At S.T.A.R. Labs, the heroes got together to celebrate their victory. Some of their friends and loved ones were present as well, such as Iris, Lois, Tim in his Robin costume, and Alfred in a mask and driving cap. Cisco had just popped a bottle of champagne and began pouring glasses.

"To the most badass team up anyone has ever seen." Cisco celebrated.

"Cheers!" Everyone called out, clinking glasses ringing through the lab.

"Got anything kid friendly?" Robin asked.

"Sparkling Apple Cider for the Boy Wonder." Caitlin offered.

Robin took it and took a sip, smiling happily. Batman gave an approving nod at his honesty. As they continued, J'onn finally arrived, pushing in Kari, who was now in a wheelchair.

"I apologized for being late." J'onn told them. "I had to check Kari out of the hospital."

"Hey everyone." she greeted. "I wanted to thank you all for saving my life."

"Of course." Superman replied.

"All part of the job." Flash told her.

"Even so, what all of you did, not just for us but for the entire world, was something that we will never forget." Faraday insisted as he too joined the party.

"Nor should it." Cisco added. "I mean, sure no one got to see it, but it had to be awesome!"

"Beyond awesome." Flash reassured.

"I gotta admit, we make a pretty good team." Superman admitted.

"Indeed." Wonder Woman concurred. "It was nice to be a part of something like this again."

"I agree." Aquaman said, lifting his glass. "I can't remember the last time I felt so… alive."

"It's almost sad that it was a one time thing." GL replied.

"Maybe it doesn't have to be." Superman proposed.

All the heroes turned towards Superman out of curiosity.

"What do you mean?" Flash asked.

"Look what happened." Superman said. "Working together, we saved the planet. And I believe that if we stay together, as a team, we could truly be a force of peace and justice."

"What, like a bunch of Super Friends?" Aquaman remarked.

"More like a… Justice League." Superman corrected.

"That… has got to be… the corniest name I have ever heard." Aquaman remarked before grinning widely. "I'm in."

"Me too." Flash chimed in. "I mean, with all of us backing him, it could work."

"I'm in too." Green Lantern agreed. "It'll be nice having people here on the home front I can rely on."

"I will stand with you as well." Wonder Woman agreed. "It has been some time since I have had someone to fight alongside me. I will relish this opportunity."

"How about you, Vic?" Flash asked. "Willing to stand with a few fellow freaks?"

Victor glanced at Silas, who gave him a small nod.

"I'm in." Victor agreed. "But one little thing. Call me… Cyborg."

"Cool name." Cisco commended.

"How about you, Batman?" Superman asked. "You were pretty good out there."

"I'm not really a… people person." Batman told him. "But if you need help, and you will, call me."

"Fair enough." Superman relented. "And you J'onn?"

J'onn looked at the heroes, then at Kari and Faraday. Kari gave him a thumbs up, shaking her head enthusiastically.

"I would be honored." J'onn answered.

"Even with this team, you're going to need a base of operations." Faraday pointed out. "A way of monitoring for threats both on the homefront, and out there."

"Then perhaps we could help each other out." Batman proposed. "The Department of Extraterrestrial Operations will need time and resources to rebuild. Something we can offer in exchange for a few favors."

"What did you have in mind?" Faraday asked.

A few weeks later, a large space station we being constructed in Earth's atmosphere. Inside, Batman and Faraday oversaw the construction while Cyborg worked on the computers. The other heroes were spread out, offering help where they could. Superman welded some panels into place with heat vision while Flash ran around delivering supplies and providing quick installation for various things. Everyone was working as hard as they could to get the entire base operational.

"It's coming along well." Faraday admitted. "What will you call it?

Batman looked around at the facility and the heroes hard at work making it a reality. In response, he just smiled.

"Justice League Watchtower Operational."

Wells read the headline as he wheeled through the halls of S.T.A.R. Labs. Once he reached a certain part of the wall, he reached his hand out and placed it on the wall, causing the wall to open up. Wells wheeled inside, entering a white room with a strange podium set up along one of the walls. Upon turning towards it, Wells stood up from his wheelchair and discarded his glasses in the chair. He then walked over to the podium and placed his hand on it. The podium then displayed a holographic image of a newspaper that read "Flash Vanishes In Crisis."

"Let's hope this doesn't complicate things." Wells said.