The previous and following chapters correlate at the same time as this one.
~ At London, England ~
"Javelin 067, this is Wing Commander Knox. We're sending two fighter combat squadrons and a rescue squadron to assist you. What's your status? Over."
"Wing Commander, this is Javelin 067. We have entered British-controlled airspace. We need a threat assessment of the city. Over."
"It's not looking good. Three warships are hovering above London and the rest are holding positions in the Hackney, Lambeth and Ealing boroughs, cutting off all access for reinforcements to enter the city. We need you to take out these ships so we can secure the region. Over."
"Copy that, Wing Commander. Javelin 067 out."
Wonder Woman sighed deeply at the information she received. She looked at her team and frowned worryingly at how everyone was handling the situation.
The Javelin was currently occupied by said heroine, both Superboys (Conner and John Kent), Robin, Red Tornado, Static and Stargirl. To say that the mood was anxious would be an understatement. Everybody knew the possibility of civilian and military casualties would surpass in the hundreds of thousands with every second they took to reach the city. Static, Stargirl and the older Superboy tried to talk amongst themselves while Robin tried, and failed, to distract the younger Superboy, all in the hopes to avoid thinking of the situation that was at hand.
Wonder Woman pondered on the state of the city when Red Tornado spoke to her, "We're now 10 kilometers outside of London. The squadrons should be able to rendezvous with us in a few minutes."
"That's good to hear," she replied dejectedly at him, "Maybe we'll quickly put a stop to this before it gets worse."
"I cannot imagine what you must be feeling right now," Red Tornado put a hand on her shoulder and added with conviction, "We will do everything we can to stop this enemy. "
"Thank you. I appreciate that," Wonder Woman responded, offering her robotic companion a smile of gratitude.
"All units, this is CAVALIER I," a transmission from a British reconnaissance plane had been picked up on the Javelin's console, catching everyone's attention, "Be advised, we're detecting major electromagnetic interference throughout Greater London. All communication links are down. Repeat, all communication links are down. Restoring all broadcast outposts in the city has been marked as top priority by Command. Over."
"CAVALIER I, this is Javelin 067. We've picked up your transmission and we will send one of our people to help the engineers while the rest take on the warships. Over and out," Red Tornado spoke, tapping the console to send the transmission while Wonder Woman cleared her throat and began to address the others, "Alright everyone, listen up. We'll be reaching London in a matter of minutes alongside three squadrons backing us up. Our top priorities at the moment are the evacuation of all civilians, the restoration of communication links throughout the city and the removal of hostile warships. Static and Stargirl will handle the evacuation process, Red Tornado will provide cover support for the engineers while the rest of us will direct the attack on the enemy. Any questions?"
Everyone shook their heads and Wonder Woman smiled, "Very well. Robin, I'll need you to pilot the Javelin and assist all fighter squadrons in repelling any fighters you encounter."
"Got it," Robin answered and sat in the empty pilot seat.
The sound of several engines coupled with the gust of wind prompted Wonder Woman to look at the window to her right. The fighter squadrons have reached their meeting coordinates and were currently aligning themselves in formation. Robin spoke to the squadron leaders and informed them of the situation regarding the communications blackout as well as devising a plan of attack. A few minutes later, they reached London through the Redbridge borough and everyone stood by as the hatch door opened swiftly. One by one, the heroes jumped to sky and used their flight abilities/apparatus to reach their assigned areas. John, the younger Superboy, stood back and walked to the pilot's seat.
"Hey," John spoke, looking at his friend with a smile on his face, "Stay safe out there."
"Speak for yourself, Corncob," Robin replied nonchalantly. John smiled softly, knowing this was Robin's way of reassuring him that he'll be fine. He walked up to the hatch door and jumped forward, floating in the sky as he flew towards his brother and Wonder Woman's position.
And so, the battle began. Stargirl and Static escorted the rescue ships to the designated landing zones while Robin led the attack against the incoming wave of alien shuttles. The fighter jets broke formation and began to pursue each shuttle individually, shooting at their engines or their armaments in an attempt to disable them. Wonder Woman flew towards the warship above the Hackney borough and landed on what she assumed was a hangar, equipping her sword and shield in hand as she fought off the creatures that guarded the area. One by one she cut them down until she was the only one standing in the room, prompting to move towards the bridge.
Meanwhile, Red Tornado summoned strong gusts of winds against the incoming shuttles as Static provided technical support for the engineers. Stargirl slammed her staff to the ground and distorted gravity around her, making the creatures drift in the air with no balance whatsoever. The soldiers accompanying the engineers wasted no time in loading the rifles and shooting at the incapacitated enemy, killing them with minimal difficulty. Once the shuttles were successfully routed, Red Tornado summoned wind vortex around his waist and moved to the next outpost, where he rescued a few civilians from being crushed by a collapsing building.
In the sky, both Superboys were running interference against the shuttles pursuing the fighter jets, employing superspeed and heat vision to aid them in the fight. After destroying a dozen of air squadrons above Westminster, they both flew back towards the warship Wonder Woman had boarded in and reached the upper side of the hull, where they proceeded to dismantle its entire batteries. Once they disabled the ship's weaponry installments, they looked at what they assumed was the bridge and saw Wonder Woman fighting a large group of the invading creatures and their leader, who threw its weapon (which resembled a rocket launcher) at her and unsheathed four blades charged with electricity from inside its robes.
"I'm going in there! You take out the other guns!", Connor shouted to Jon.
"Okay!" Jon shouted back, "Watch your back!"
Connor nodded and proceeded to burst through the upper windows of the room, surprising the enemy as he began to the attack the leader with his fists. With the leader distracted by Superboy, Wonder Woman took the opportunity to attack the machine that hanged in the back of the room, cutting down every creature in her path with her sword. Unlike the machine encountered in Switzerland, this one had a few metallic ridges around its spherical unit and displayed a blue hue; however, it still retained the same abilities as its counterpart. Once the heroine reached its anchor, the machine teleported behind her and syphoned a mass of purple energy towards her. Wonder Woman turned around swiftly and blocked the energy with her shield, only to jump back in the air as another creature slashed her in the arm. Disgruntled at this, Wonder Woman threw her shield at the creature's neck and her sword at the machine's eye-like compartment, giving it a powerful kick in the hilt, thrusting the blade deep enough that the machine exploded in pieces.
Meanwhile, Connor kept throwing punches at the tall creature, attempting to break its blue shield. The creature kept dodging most of the punches and tried to exhaust the hero at the same, waiting for a perfect chance to attack. With one powerful punch, Superboy broke the shield and staggered the creature as the force of the impact pushed it a few feet apart from him. Smiling to himself, he lifted one of his arms and approached the creature to land final hit on its head; however, as he stood two feet away, the creature turned around and delivered a strong hook kick towards the hero's face. Connor stumbled onto the ground, hitting the metallic railing hard as the creature began to thrash its blade erratically at him, prompting him to now be on the defensive. A few more swings in, the creature finally slashed Connor in the chest, the blades breaking in pieces upon impact. The creature looked at his weapons in bewilderment and Connor punched it hard in the face, knocking the creature unconscious
Back in the sky, Jon flew towards the next warship and began dismantling the cannons nearest to him. He bent the barrel of one and pulled it off its installment, then he swung it at another one, rendering it useless. He flew to the other side of the vessel and punched the cannon below him, breaking it in half and throwing the loose piece towards the one below the bridge. Once the warship was left defenseless, he began to fly towards another warship when, suddenly, he was shot by a projectile. The younger Superboy tumbled in the air for a bit and managed to regain his balance just in time to dodge another projectile headed his way. He looked up and saw three shuttles flying towards him with their guns aimed at him. Jon flew high above and descended quickly, using heat vision and superspeed to counterattack. He managed to hit two shuttles but the third one dodged the lasers and fired a few more rounds at him.
John avoided the projectiles but soon realized, to his horror, that the Javelin was struck in one of its wings while coursing behind him. He watched the ship whirl uncontrollably towards the Hackney Marshes Park until it crashed near a residential complex. By the time he reached the crash site, the Javelin was engulfed in flames before it exploded, most of its wreckage remaining in place while some parts scattered around. Superboy landed near the downed Javelin and began to search for his partner, but he couldn't find Robin amidst the wreckage or around the site.
Then he found Robin's tattered cape beneath the rubble of the cockpit area and feared the worst.
"ROBIN!"
To be continued...
A/N: Hello, everyone! I'd like to apologize for not updating this story in a long time. This chapter proved to be longer than what I had anticipated, so it will be divided in two. The next part will be out sooner than March 1. Until then, stay safe! See ya!