I held onto Lois' waist as I flew us through the storm. Lois and myself were soaked at this point but neither of us cared. A little bit of water was the least of our concerns. With how often it rained in Gotham, I had found out how to get around from rain shorting me out. Clear protective metal coating. It's intended to stop metal from rusting but it also makes metal a water repellent. I could use my powers now in the rain but I'd still short out if I fell in a decent amount of water.
"Look!" Lois yelled and pointed down. I looked below and my eyes widened behind my mask seeing the fire by an abandoned building. They already started.
"Hang on!" I felt Lois tighten her grip around my neck. I flew down to the abandoned building. I hovered my board just above the floor. I let Lois down before I got off myself. I let my mask recede to my neck as the building provided shelter from the rain.
"They could be anywhere." Lois noted as he walked through the hall.
"If they're fighting then we should be able to hea-" I was interrupted hearing a man wail in pain.
"Clark." Lois muttered with dread in her voice.
"It came from this way! Come on!" I yelled and sprinted off in the direction I heard the cry.
I could hear the distant sounds of fighting and things breaking as I turned down the hall. As I turned the corner I could see Bruce in a different Batman suit. He was approaching Superman with a spear. The spear had the green rock from before shaped into a spearhead.
Blue electricity crackled from my hand as I sent a stream at Batman as he tried to plunge the spear downward. My stream connected and Batman's movement's immediately halted.
"That is enough!" I yelled out and pulled back my hand. Batman was flung backwards and he let go of the deadly spear. Lois ran by me and threw the spear further away before cradling Superman.
I canceled my electricity as Batman slid against the floor. I stepped toward him as his attention was currently on Lois. My shadow covered Batman's face which caused him to look up. Part of his cowl had broken on the left side, exposing part of his face. My frown deepened as I glared at the man at my feet.
"Mel." Bruce's unaltered voice came through.
"Don't start." I warned him. I watched him as he rolled to his side and rose to his feet. The new armor looked clunky and had several dents and scratches in it. He had taken a beating.
Bruce opened his mouth to speak but I held up my hand, "I said don't start! You are going to let me say my peace without you storming off or I will magnetize you to the damn wall if I have to!" I snapped at him. All of the pent up anger from his refusal to listen the past few days finally boiled over. Bruce's mouth immediately closed and he gave a slight nod.
"This has been a set up created by Lex Luthor. He created the scandal out in the desert for Superman. He's the one that wrote those messages on the checks and he's the one that blew up the capitol. Luthor did all of this to pit you against him." I pointed to Superman.
"Luthor wanted Batman and Superman to destroy each other and you played right into his hand! Luthor has his mother held captive! Her life's in danger and Superman tried to get your help but you're still blinded by your anger! Open your damn eyes, Bruce! What happened that day was not Superman's fault! If you want to blame somebody then blame Zod!" I took a step forward and placed the side of my fist against his chest armor.
"Superman did his best to protect his home and the people that reside in it! I know it all too well! Have you ever asked yourself why I stopped that building from falling? I'll tell you why. Sokovia 2015. Ultron, a being that I helped create, chose that city as his destination to wipe out the human race. He used anti-gravity technology to lift up the city to be used as an asteroid to wipe away all life from earth. The Avengers responded to the threat and we won. We beat Ultron. We did our best at beating the enemy and saving as many lives as we could…but according to the world it wasn't enough. It's never enough. No matter how many thousands we saved, the thousands that were lost stand out much taller." Bruce stared at me with his mouth slightly agape. I continued.
"A year later Tony and I get confronted by a woman that worked for the state department. A single mother whose son was in Sokovia in 2015 when Ultron attacked. We dropped a damn building on him while fighting Ultron. His name was Charlie Spencer and that is a name that has haunted my conscience for eight years now! I stopped that building because I didn't need another Charlie Spencer to happen! I didn't need another single mother to come up to me, look me in the eyes and tell me that I killed her only son." My chest began to heave as I took deep breaths.
"People die when heroes save the day from catastrophic events. We can't save everyone but we try to minimize the destruction and the casualties as much as we can. Going based on your logic from earlier today that means I too am a danger to the world's safety." I opened my palm and electricity shot the spear Lois had thrown away.
The weapon shot into my hand and I took a step back. I forced the handle into Bruce's hand and my Voltess suit retreated back to my bracelet. I pointed the sharp tip of the spearhead at my chest where my heart was located.
"You say Superman and I are not the same but I bid to differ. We are the same. So, if you're going to kill him…then you'll have to kill me too." Bruce looked at me in horror and shock at the words I just spoke to him.
A tense silence filled the air. Bruce and I stared intently in each other's eyes. Lois and Superman watched on in their own shock and disbelief.
Bruce suddenly threw the spear away from us. His gloved hand grabbed my arm and he pulled me to him. I wrapped my arms around the bulky suit as he put one arm around my waist and the other hand cupped the back of my head.
"I would never do that to you, Mel. Don't ever say that again." He whispered. His voice was strained and I felt him hold onto me tighter.
"Then next time, actually listen to me rather than shutting me out. We're a team, Bruce." I reminded him as I muttered against his chest.
Bruce pulled back and moved his hand from the back of my hand to cup my cheek. His eyes met mine. They were full of regret and guilt.
"I'm sorry. I should have listened to you. This could have been avoided if I did." I lifted my arms and placed my hands on either side of the metal helmet. I pulled back and the cowl piece separated from the rest of the suit. I held the helmet in one hand and gestured over to Superman and then to him.
"You two, apologize, shake hands and move on. We're on a timer, remember? Martha Kent doesn't have long." I could see Bruce's eyes visibly widened. He looked at me then turned to face Superman.
Clark had already walked forward and had his hand out, "I'm sorry, Bruce. If I could go back and change what happened I would." Bruce stared at Clark's outstretched hand before back at the man's face.
Bruce walked over and removed his glove from his right hand. He looked Clark in the eye before grabbing the man's hand.
"Sorry for almost killing you." I rolled my eyes at Bruce's attempt at an apology. I guess those heartfelt ones were only for me.
Clark grinned and let out a small laugh, "You put up one hell of a fight." Bruce smirked in response.
"Yeah, you did too." Bruce responded. The two men broke the handshake. Clark turned his head to me.
"Melody, thank you." I activated the Voltess suit on me once more.
"Don't thank me yet. We still need to get to your mom but there's a bigger issue going on." I turned my head to Lois as she approached.
"The scout ship back in Metropolis. It's drawing power from the city. It's got to be Lex." Lois informed us.
"Luthor told me that this was only half of his plan. Something tells me whatever is happening on that ship is the other half. Whatever it is," I shook my head, "I can feel the energy it's gathering from here. It's getting stronger." I advised.
"They need you at that ship." Bruce told Clark, "Mel and I will find your mother."
"About that." Everyone turned to me as a hologram image popped up on my control panel, "I already got the location from Luthor's chopper when I zapped it. We'll save her, Clark." I assured him.
Clark nodded and began to back away. Lois held onto his hand as the couple exchanged a look. Superman backed away from us and shot through the glass above.
I turned to Bruce now, "Please tell me you have your other suit with you." Bruce gave me an amused smirk.
"What? You don't like this one? I made this one myself." I gave him a deadpan stare.
"I can tell. If you wanted an Iron Bat suit you should have told me. I could make one ten times better than that. Now, do you have your other suit?" Bruce rolled his eyes.
"Yes. I'll be right back." He turned around left in a direction.
"Time is of the essence, hurry it up!" I yelled after him. I could see Bruce shake his head as he turned a corner.
"Thank you, Mel." I turned to Lois, "For saving Clark." I gave her a smile.
"Don't mention it. Do you need a ride back?" Lois shook her head.
"Don't worry about me. You and Batman need to get to Clark's mother." I nodded.
"I thought time was of the essence, Mel? Let's go!" I heard Bruce shout from behind me.
I gave a huff, "If Clark ever pops the question, think twice before saying yes." I told her. I walked backwards to show Lois my playful grin on my face.
"I heard that!" I chuckled hearing Bruce's voice shout. Lois gave a grateful smile before I turned around and sprinted after Batman. Leaving Lois alone in the abandoned building with the spear.
I flew next to the Batplane as we neared the coordinates I got from Luthor's chopper. We were coming up to an abandoned warehouse with three stories. I heard gunfire come from below and I dodged as a rain of bullets fired where I was. I continued to take defensive maneuvers from the bullets being aimed at me.
"I'm taking heavy fire!" I exclaimed into my comms.
"I got it." I heard Batman's altered voice in my ear. The Batplanes gun popped out in the front and fired at the machine gun below.
"Thank you." I said as the Batplane took a U-turn back, "Athena, I need thermal vision. How many guys are we looking at?" My lenses turned to their thermal setting.
"There appears to be at least a dozen of them. All located on the third floor." Athena responded.
"Looks like we're going in on the second floor then." I said.
"Alfred, take over. Mel, fly over me." Batman instructed.
"Commencing drone mode. I have control now, Master Wayne." Alfred's voice said in my ear.
I shifted my weight to make my board start to ascend over the Batplane. I could see the hatch to the aircraft opened up as I neared the plane. I flew over Batman and I heard the familiar sound of his grappling gun firing. I felt the extra weight add to my board as the grapple magnetized to the bottom.
"Ready?" I asked as we neared the building.
"Ready." I sent a sudden burst of power to my board to increase speed. I then snapped my board back and canceled the electricity on the underside of my board. The momentum launched Batman forward to the glass of the second floor.
He flared out his cape to catch the wind before diving through the glass. At the same time I reignited my electricity under the board as I did an aviation roll and flew through the broken glass. I hovered on the ground and looked up.
"They're getting ready. All guns are aimed at the door." I said seeing the men through my thermal vision.
"Won't they be disappointed when we don't bust down the doors." Batman said sarcastically with a smirk. He pulled a small circular device that contained a small explosive inside.
"Our usual plan then?" I asked.
Batman nodded, "You disarm and I'll take care of the rest." He gave a smile, "You got my back?"
"As long as you got mine." I replied with a smile of my own under my mask.
"Always." He answered with his smile growing. Batman threw the device up onto the ceiling. I hovered directly under it and waited for the timer.
The device went off and I sent a pulse of electricity to my board. I launched up through the hole and immediately sent a stream of blue electricity to the guns. Batman used his grapple gun to pull himself up shortly after I went through. He landed perched on the support beams above me.
I moved my hand and the guns were ripped away from the men's hands. I clenched my hand into a fist the guns were crushed and melded into a large ball of metal. I canceled the stream and the metal ball fell through the hole in the floor.
"Oh, sorry, were those yours? My bad. Looks like I melted them." I quipped.
"You can't take all of us on, Voltess. There's one of you and more of us." I gave a blank stare from my mask.
"I think you might want to retake kindergarten to learn how to count. I count two." The man furrowed his brows.
Batman took that as his queue and grappled one of the men's legs and pulled him to the beam. He jumped down with his cape flaring behind him. He landed on top of one of the men. Batman stood up from his crouch position to catch one of the men throwing a punch at him. He caught his arm and sent a punch to the man's elbow. A sickening crunch was heard as he broke the man's arm.
Another man brandished a knife and charged at Batman's back. I launched my board and the metal knocked the man in his jaw. The impact caused the man to roll backwards. Batman threw the man caught in his hold to the side. I landed crouched on the floor as two men came at me from either side.
Electricity sparked from both of my hands. I sent the streams at either of the men to stop them. I motioned my hands together and the two men were flung into each other. I canceled the stream and the two fell to the floor.
I heard the click of a pistol come from behind me. I turned my head behind me as Batman shot his grapple through the gunman's shoulder. He screamed in pain as the grapple suddenly pulled him past me. Batman reeled back his fist and landed a heavy blow as the gunman came in contact with his fist.
The doors burst open and a man holding a grenade came in. He unclipped the grenade and threw it. I pointed two fingers and a small bolt shot to the explosive. In a quick motion I flung the grenade back through the door and canceled the stream.
I dodged to the side as a fist was aimed to my head. The grenade went off behind us as I grabbed the man's wrist and elbowed him in the chin. I flipped him over my shoulder and followed up with a punch to his head. I looked up to see Batman elbow a man in the throat and punched another in the jaw.
He glanced at where I was and he grabbed a batarang from his belt and threw it in my direction. The batarang flew above my head and hit whoever it was behind me. I looked behind me to see a man holding his shoulder where the batarang stuck out from his flesh.
I quickly sent a backwards kick to the man's shin which made him kneel forward. I heard the grapple go off again and Batman launched himself over my head and kicked the man in the chest. I stood back up by Batman's side. He glanced at me from the corner of his eye and I could see the smirk on his face. I had the same one under my mask.
A man gave a battle cry causing us to turn our heads. The man wielded a long bladed knife. Batman and I stepped apart as the man charged forward. Batman gripped the man by his left arm that wielded the knife. He placed the man's arm on top of his shoulder and flung him over onto the ground. I kicked off the ground and tucked my arms in as I spun in the air. I delivered a kick to the man's head and landed back in a crouched position.
I looked back to see another man charging at Batman, who currently had his head turned away from. I sprinted forward and jumped. I rested my hand on top of Batman's shoulder as I swung my body around. I felt Batman go rigid under my hand to keep himself and me balanced.
My legs locked around the charging man's neck. I twisted my body and made the man fall down. I did a half spin as the momentum brought my leg sliding against the ground. I stood tall once again only to have my arm grabbed by Batman. He pulled me to him with his left and his right fist made contact with another mans' jaw. He then banged his forearm against the man's chest and sent him sprawling on the floor.
Batman and I breathed heavily as that was finally the last of them. He still had me close to his chest. The two of us looked up at each other. He gave a proud open smile as he tried to catch his breath.
"God I love you." He whispered.
"We've always made a great team." I added through heavy breaths of my own. Batman stepped back and looked at the closed off room where Martha Kent was being held.
"How many?" He asked.
"Two." I answered by seeing the heat signatures, "One of them has a big weapon on his back. I can't tell what bu-" I stopped as I could see warm orange and hot red on the object strapped to the man. You've got to be kidding me. Is that what I think it is?
"But what?" Batman urged me to continue.
"Never mind, I know what it is. It's a flamethrower and it's pointed right at Martha." Batman's jaw clenched as he stared at the wall of the room.
"Can you stop him with your powers?" He asked as he looked back at me.
"Not unless you want to blow ourselves up. That's gas that gets emitted from the end of the nozzle. One spark and the place will light up." Batman had a look as if something I just said struck a chord with him.
"That's it. Blow ourselves up."
"Uhhh…" Was all I could stammer out hearing his idea.
"Not us, him."
"I don't follow." I shook my head.
Batman huffed, "The blast would only shoot forward if his finger is on the trigger right?" I nodded, "Then, we just need to ignite the small amount of gas leaking from the nozzle before he pulls it. The blast would be small enough to protect Martha from it but-"
"-big enough to send him back." I finished his sentence. Batman nodded signaling I understood his plan.
"Okay, so we need to time this then. The second guy is by the wall over there." I pointed my finger and Batman followed it, "He has a gun pointed to the door. You take him out and I can go through the front door and zap the nozzle. Your cape is fire resistant so you need to get to Martha and cover her."
"Sounds good." Batman stated.
We both quietly walked across the floor boards. Batman went around to the wall I had pointed out to him. I hovered my hand over the door knob. I slightly turned my head to Batman and nodded. He nodded back and reeled back his arm.
I heard the sound of his arm going through the wall. I quickly opened the door and had two of my fingers pointed at the man with the flamethrower at the ready. Batman punched the guy with the gun and threw him to the ground.
The man with the flamethrower pointed it at Martha. She was tied to the chair, her hair disheveled, and her face gleaming with sweat. She looked at me and Batman with frantic eyes.
"One move and I'll kill her!" The man yelled out. Batman and I stayed still, "Believe me, I'll do it!" He yelled again.
"We believe you." I answered. A spark shot from my fingers and Batman lunged towards Martha at the same time. I put my arm in front of my face as the small blast boomed in the air.
I put my arm down as the initial blast subsided. Flames licked the floorboards and the man was against the corner of the room with burns on him. I looked to Batman to see he knocked Martha to the ground with the chair and had his cape draped over her.
"It's okay. We're friends of your son." Batman assured her.
"I figured." She nodded, "The cape." She gestured to Batman's cape. I frowned under my mask and looked behind my shoulder.
"I don't have one." I mentioned and pointed to myself. Batman helped Martha get back up and used a batarang to cut the ropes. Martha stood up from the chair and Batman backed up.
"Well, you're wearing a costume." I deadpan under my mask.
"Suit. It's a suit. I don't wear this for Halloween." I corrected her with a monotone voice. Martha grimaced as she stared at me. Her eyes said she didn't buy it.
I held my arms up, "Suits are meant to be functional. Costumes are not. Can I do this with a costume?" I let my hologram image pop up on my left wrist, "I think not." Martha stared at the image in astoundment.
Batman chuckled, "I think you made your point, hun." He stated. He began to move over to a desk that had a cell phone on it. Martha's brows furrowed as she looked between Batman and I.
I pointed at him, "You know I hate it when people call our suits, costumes. I don't design and make these for costume conte-what are you doing?" I interrupted myself from my rant as Batman picked up the cell phone.
"Making a call. There's only one number in the contacts." Batman stated and pressed his gloved finger on the call button. He put the cell phone on speaker as I walked closer to him. The other line picked up after a single ring
"Hello. Break the bad news." I heard Lex Luthor's voice on speaker.
Batman smirked, "I'd rather do the breaking in person." He quipped. Oh I just had a proud wife moment. Bruce rarely jokes, or not at all, around with enemies as Batman. I'm rubbing off on him.
"Tick tock, Lex. That's the sound of your time as a free man is running out." I taunted the man with the same verbiage he has used on me. Dial tone could be heard as Luthor ended the call on his end.
"I love it when villains realize their plans got foiled by the heroes." I said with clear joy in my synthesized voice.
"It is a good feeling." Batman agreed with a fond smile directed at me.
"You two," We both turned to Martha who spoke, "Are husband and wife aren't you?" Batman and I both looked at each other in slight shock.
"Yeah…how'd you know? The rings are covered up." I asked genuinely curious.
Martha smiled, "From the way you two talk to the other. I was married to my late husband for twenty-four years. I recognize a married couple when I see one. How long?"
"Five years." Batman answered. His eyes glanced at me under his cowl and a smile on his lips.
Martha nodded, "Kids?" Batman's smile slowly faded while I shook my head.
"Trying to." I whispered sadly. Martha stepped forward and she placed a hand on my shoulder. She had a sympathetic smile on her face.
"I know what that's like. Trying everything you can to have a chance of having a child of your own. It's heartbreaking when it doesn't happen. I went through the same thing. I found I couldn't have any children the natural way so Jonathan and I gave up. We went child free for years until Clark showed up out of the sky. Clark may not have my blood running in his veins but he is my son. Adoption is always a wonderful option if you want to start a family together." Martha comforted me.
"Apologies for interrupting this touching moment, but there is currently a situation happening in Metropolis, Master Wayne." I heard Alfred's voice speak through the comms.
"What situation, Alfred?" Batman asked as he turned his head away.
"Athena, if you could please broadcast the station." I heard Alfred's voice say. In an instant the news broadcast appeared on my hologram. I stared at a creature standing atop of LexCorp in horror. The creature looked massive.
"What in the hell is that thing?" Batman whispered.
"The other half of Luthor's plan." I muttered under my breath. This is what Lex Luthor meant. This just went zero to a hundred, real quick.