In the Sanctum of Brainiac
The battle had relaunched with renewed vigor. The arrival of the Green Lanterns had done much to improve morale, J'onn noted. Most of the fighting had moved into the air, most if not all ground forces breaking off conflict.
This meant that those who could fly were at a particular advantage when it came to fighting. Brainiac was putting more of a focus on aerial combat, and with ground forces withdrawing, it put more pressure on the defenders. Through pieces of information that John Stewart was able to explain in-between attacks, the Martian was able to piece together any withdrawals weren't what they seemed.
If anything, a withdrawal of force here was a grave matter. It meant that this Brainiac was getting closer and closer to destroying their world. It was motivation to fight harder, and push forward, getting closer and closer to the skull-shaped ship.
Allowing his body to become intangible, the Martian male phased through an incoming fighter, allowing a hand to become solid enough to grasp particular circuitry and mechanical parts at regular intervals, and seconds after the aircraft had passed through him, the vehicle began to smoke heavily before detonating. Tossing aside the items he had picked up, J'onn pressed forward.
He noticed how various Green Lanterns were firing at the skull ship, their green beams having yet to penetrate the force field that surrounded it. Somehow, Wonder Woman and Batman had to have gotten through it and were inside that ship. The how still escaped him, but if they were successful, the explanation would be forthcoming.
There were shrieks in the air, not organic in nature. This caused the Martian to glance to a side, finding military aircraft streaking by and firing off machine gun fire. A.R.G.U.S. was making itself known again. Observing them, J'onn watched as the fighter jets focused on Brainiac's forces, ignoring the Lanterns who would break off pursuits and give them the proverbial right of way. Missiles were fired, spacecraft exploded, and in turn jets were struck and sent hurtling down to the earth below.
Pilots were rescued either through League intervention or rescue from the Lanterns. In turn, jets were go after enemy planes targeting allies. The meshing of forces was inspiring, especially in the face of such a dire threat.
But it meant very little, he had to admit. So long as the force field remained impenetrable, then none could get to Brainiac himself. That their foe was an organic lifeform and not an artificial intelligence was a bit of a revelation, but not distracting enough.
Flying through the violence, J'onn made as much note of his could at his allies, a focus on the League. Flash was still on the ground, unable to contribute unless he could learn to fly. Earth's Green Lantern had been yet to be located, blending in with his fellow Corps members, but fighting just as hard if not harder. Hawkgirl, as it turned out, was easier to spot as she had gotten as close as she could to the skull ship and was whaling on the force field with her mace. She dodged strikes from the ship's tentacle-shaped appendages, not letting up on her assault for a moment.
The force field was the problem. What was its weakness? Its blind spot? Ending this threat meant getting into that ship. Anything—
It was a sharp sound, one that only attracted the Martian's attention but no more. His orange eyes were already seeking out the source of the sound, and found a small trail of smoke from the top of the invading ship and rising higher into the air.
J'onn frowned; what was this new development? Based on the sight alone, and compared to his existing knowledge, it appeared that a rocket had been launched. The thin trail of smoke left in its wake suggested that the spaceship was where it had originated. Craning his head back, the Martian tried to get a better look at the projectile only to do a few quick calculations and conclude that the missile was traveling at an extremely fast rate of speed.
What did it mean? So far, it did not appear as if the rocket would be changing course. Then again, of the type that did that, those projectiles will change course only in the higher levels of the atmosphere. Time would need to pass before it could be said that this was another means to continuing the battle.
As short burst of enemy fire passed by him, J'onn returned his attention back to the battle. The rocket would have to be addressed later.
Based off of Brainiac's earlier remarks, it was quite clear he didn't view the Dark Knight as a threat. Logically, that meant he was directing most of his attention to Diana, expecting her to be the primary threat.
This, Batman felt, was the best opportunity for them.
With a small pellet in hand, the vigilante darted to his left while throwing the pellet towards their foe's face. An instant before it hit the alien, the pellet blew apart, causing multiple smaller explosions to erupt in front of Brainiac. The sudden appearance of bright and loud sparks caused the alien to jerk his head, his attention breaking off of Diana.
The Amazon immediately took advantage, using her speed to suddenly close the distance between them, slamming a fist into her opponent's green face. Brainiac cried out as he stumbled back from the blow, being greeted by the left cross Diana threw, which snapped his head to a side. She followed that with another right hook, one that kept the alien off-balance.
Meanwhile, Batman had pulled out his grapple and was pulling out the grapple claw from the barrel along with several feet of cable. Skidding to a stop, he grabbed the cable a few feet from the end and began rotating his wrist. This caused the far end of the cable to start spinning, whirling the grapple claw in a circle. He then tossed the line at Brainiac, aiming specifically at his legs.
The cable reached its intended target, wrapping around Brainiac's armor-encased legs and then tightening down, the grapple claw attaching itself somewhere in the line's coils. Pulling on the cable, this tightened the coils, which pulled the alien's legs together. With an even harder tug, he yanked Brainiac's legs out from underneath him, causing the alien to topple over, landing on his stomach on the floor.
Diana had danced out of the way of the falling alien, but didn't go too far. Seeing an opening, she leaped into the air, leaning to one side as she extended an arm up, keeping it bent at the elbow. Gravity set in and she fell down towards her opponent, landing a pile driver as her elbow rammed into Brainiac's back. The green man cried out as his head jolted up along with his feet, making it look as if he were bending from both sides.
By this point, Batman had his hands on his grapple once more. As Diana rolled off of Brainiac, he hit the retraction button on the grapple, causing the cable to be sucked right back into the barrel. This also pulled Brainiac with it feet first towards the Dark Knight.
Pulling the grapple to a side, the vigilante began spinning around, which caused the alien to spin around with him. As he reached the one-eighty of the spin, the dark-clad man disengaged the grapple cartridge, which sent the alien flying across the room until he crashed into a wall with his back.
Once again, Diana was on him, ramming into his wide-open abdomen with her shoulder and pinning her foe against the wall. Visible cracks formed from behind Brainiac, spreading outward. Pulling back far enough for her to draw back a fist, the dark-haired woman began another onslaught of punches into the Brainiac's stomach and chest.
Right until Brainiac shot an arm up and caught one of her punches with his bare hand. For a moment, Diana hesitated, staring at the alien as he held her fist tightly. "Your teamwork is impressive," he complimented them. "I hadn't anticipated your joint efforts would be compatible. It is an error I will not be repeating."
That was when he shoved Diana's fist back, causing it to bend backwards at the wrist. The Amazon's eyes widened from the sharp stab of pain she must have felt as her body winced from it. That's when Brainiac rammed his own fist into her abdomen, causing her to double-over it, knocking the air right out of her lungs.
Pulling the same fist back, he then swung it upward, landing an uppercut to her chin, the force of the blow knocking her up into the air and away from the alien. He even released his hold on her hand to allow her to sail backwards through the air.
Batman didn't bother to watch where his comrade landed. Just watching that hit showed him Brainiac had super-strength and it would be foolish of him to leave himself open. In hand he had a bat-shaped shuriken, one he sent flying at the green-faced alien. The projectile whirled through the air, arching until it collided with Brainiac's temple. There was a slight flinch from the contact with the shuriken, but it went bouncing off, leaving the alien looking stoic before his eyes slid over to regard him.
Well, that hadn't worked.
"Your primitive weapons are of no use here," Brainiac spoke as he angled his body to face the vigilante. There was movement behind him before a metal tentacle emerged. It reached over the alien's shoulder, curving until its spiked tip was pointing towards him. "As for mine…"
Suddenly, the tentacle shot forward, racing towards the dark-clad man. Batman immediately darted to a side, dodging the impaling as the tentacle flew by him. He didn't wait to see what else it could do, opting to sprint at his opponent, cape billowing behind him.
Waiting until the last possible moment, he leapt into the air, going into a front flip in midair. With one leg extended out as far as it could go, he swung it downward, the heel of his foot slamming down onto the crown of Brainiac's head.
Though Brainiac bent over from the blow, even as Batman landed on the floor he could tell the alien wasn't fazed. There was no wince, no overt sign of pain. In fact, his foot was throbbing from where it had hit his foe.
That wasn't a good thing.
Without hesitation, Brainiac lunged at him. Before the Dark Knight could respond, a metal-encased hand grabbed around his throat, clamping down hard. Batman couldn't help gagging as he was yanked up into the air, dangling a solid foot above the ground as his hand wrapped around Brainiac's wrist in a vain attempt to dislodge it.
"As I said before, you are not exceptional," Brainiac said bluntly. The metal tentacle that extended from his back returned, though it hovered above him, the tip pointed right at the man's head. "One blow to the head should suffice."
Batman gritted his teeth. He hadn't expected Brainiac to weather his blow so well, not to mention the recovery time. It seemed he had made a wise choice in bringing the kryptonite-powered suit; however, there was a slight problem.
Diana was still here, not to mention Superman. This suit was designed to take them on and he wanted its capabilities to be a secret until he had to use it against them. Now though, he would be showing them what it could do, damn it all.
That was if he had enough time to activate it before he had a spike jammed into his brain.
Before he could act though, Diana sprung back into action. Sailing through the air, she rammed into Brainiac from the side, knocking him away as he reflexively let go of the vigilante's throat. Batman dropped to the floor, going to one knee the moment he landed as he began to cough, trying to catch his breath. With his eyes, he watched the Amazon princess pull back from her opponent, allowing him to get his feet back onto the floor and regain his balance. By then, she was throwing another haymaker, which slammed right into her foe's face.
Even as Diana began to wail on the alien again, because he had kept his attention on the two he saw Brainiac's eyes rapidly twitch. It wasn't just reflexive, but rhythmic. The eyes glazed over momentarily then sharpened, all of it lasting little more than a second.
And then Brainiac shot an arm up, blocking Diana's next blow. Undeterred, the Amazon threw another punch, again being blocked.
Just the sight of those blocks, however, sent a chill running up Batman's spine. Previously, Brainiac hadn't so much as offered a defense against either him or Diana, taking their blows head-on for better or worse. Now, he moved as if he were a practiced martial artist with those blocks. They weren't luck, or random flailing, they were purposeful.
Undeterred by this new development, Diana continued to punch at him, only for the alien to successfully block her attempt. He didn't exaggerate a single move as he merely moved, or rotated his arms to parry or block whatever was thrown at him.
As if that wasn't enough confirmation, Brainiac suddenly struck at Diana following another block, one of his blocking arms smooth darting towards her, his fingers straight and stiff, thumb curled into the palm. He delivered a chop to the dark-haired woman's neck, causing her to gag from the injury done to her throat.
Brainiac wasn't done, however. With the same hand, he grabbed Diana by her neck and lifted her off the floor, her feet dangling beneath her. With his other fist, he rammed it once, twice into her stomach, effectively knocking the wind out of her. Then he tossed her away, the Amazon hitting the floor and sliding across it until she came to a stop near the Dark Knight.
Something about this wasn't right. Reaching to his belt, Batman pulled out a couple of shuriken and immediately sent them flying. He watched intently as the projectiles flew towards Brainiac.
Who promptly struck each shuriken out of the air, using his metal-encased arm to block them. One arm moved up and outward, hitting the first shuriken and ricocheting it away. With the same arm, he rotated it until it was horizontal to the ground, allowing him to hit the second shuriken and redirect it right into the floor.
Oh yeah, something had changed alright; those were martial artist moves.
"You seem to have noticed," Brainiac remarked as he began to saunter towards them. Diana was beginning to push herself up, her dark hair falling over her face and hiding it from sight. "How observant of you."
"Are you just playing with us?" Batman ventured. "Your skills have improved remarkably if not."
"The answer is a simple one. I have downloaded the various styles of martial arts and hand-to-hand combat that inhabit your planet into my frontal cortex. I am now at the level of an advanced practitioner. I must admit it is quite enlightening."
That was not what the vigilante had expected; however, if Brainiac thought putting a literal file into his brain suddenly made him competent, then he was sorely mistaken. Diana had a level of competency that she rarely used against super-powered threats and he was a master of his own. Between the two of them, they'd show Brainiac just because he knew the moves didn't mean he knew how to implement them.
It had been clever, really. When guns and weaponry failed, it always fell back onto what you knew and your knowledge on how to use it. For Luthor, it was to hack into the robots' programming and make them "forget" about a pair of intruders.
While Mercy had held them off, the CEO had accessed his gauntlet and the hacking program, adding another feature that included the mechanical marvels' visual processing. From there, it was creating the image of an empty hallway, overriding other cyber security measures, then implanting the new data while recording it over the old.
To the bald man's satisfaction, the hack had worked, and if he hadn't known any better, he would have sworn that there was uncertainty among the metal rank and file. However, once they had been left in peace, another disturbance further in the ship calling for their attention, the pair had been left to their own devices.
That did not mean Luthor was arrogant enough to believe they were safe. The hack could only account for those models. Were they to be found again, another hack would have to be made, but this time, no protracted firefight would be needed.
That left some time for further exploration, one done cautiously with many halts to make sure they were not discovered a second time.
Eventually, Mercy spotted a door, and between the two it was agreed to check it out, maybe use it to rest and assess their current status. A quick check of their gear and ammunition, especially after that skirmish was needed.
So far, the hacking program was paying off dividends. Getting it to open the door, which happened to have a remarkable firewall, happened to be the strongest challenge of this venture thus far.
The time it took to hack the door was several seconds longer than Luthor preferred. There was an extra encryption that was proving stubborn. A translation was needed, followed by a second hacking, but the door was opened, and a sanctuary was found.
It wasn't the kind of sanctuary that either of them had been expecting.
The room itself was expansive, but that was a minor detail. Once the CEO took a better look, he saw numerous stands, small, but each with a different object placed on top. There was an impression of looking at a set of displays, and that had the bald man's curiosity piqued First thing was first, a quick inventory of what they had on them was needed, then exploration could begin.
"I'm about half," Mercy reported when she completed her check. "I'm reloaded with a new clip, but if everything continues as it is, I may have to use my bare hands."
Which would be highly ineffective against machine-based opponents. Human muscle could only do so much against metal.
As for himself, Luthor grimaced as he noted that his ammunition was much lower than he wanted. "You're in better shape that I am. We'll need to take a different approach leaving. Hopefully, if any of the Justice League was able to get through, they'll provide a decent distraction. The hacking program is only capable of so much, and it is only a matter of time until the security catches up with it."
Now was not the time to engage in bravado. This was all business, and sometimes that meant admitting shortcomings. However, it was in Luthor's nature to always correct shortcomings, which was the whole purpose of this venture. Turning his attention back to the room, the business tycoon began to truly look at everything here.
The feeling he experienced was as if he was in a museum. Every little stand and podium held a single object on them. Each held their own shape and form, mostly metal in nature. What could all this be?
Well, let's see about finding out.
Coming up to a stand, one that held a black and yellow-colored headset, Luthor held his gauntlet-wearing arm at the artifact and risked another hack. This time, it was for something at a lower priority, solely information gathering in this room specifically. The translation program was hard at work, and as minutes ticked by, the CEO found his patience wearing thin.
Then the small screen was able to meet his curiosity. According to the information he had just retrieved, what he was looking at was an Absorbascon. That was a unique name, but more than likely a mistranslation. Still, the description reported that this device had been retrieved from a Thanagarian outpost centuries ago, and that its purpose was to allow telepathic reading. Basically, when worn, you could read another person's mind as well as conceal yours. Very interesting.
This was definitely something to be interested in.
Hmm, there was something else. A label, to be more specific. Incorporated? What could that mean? Unless the owner of this ship had somehow incorporated this technology into it...
Picking up the Absorbascon, Luthor handed it to Mercy. "Keep it safe," was all he said, his bodyguard accepting the responsibility before he moved on.
The next object was called the Gamma Gong, a bronze and circulate disc, and its description was that it generated high intensity frequencies when struck. Promising, but its size was not feasible to hold onto. It looked like it would require the use of two hands to hold, and that was a liability currently. Onto the next one then.
A small red ring called the Bio-Genetic Ring was dismissed altogether. While its function to manipulate the physical form of the wearer was promising, its restriction to becoming an insectoid of some kind, and only for a twenty-four hour period was more than enough to turn it down. There was also a lack of "incorporated" in its description as well.
Next was a small orb with a silver-colored substance held within it. Dilustel was what the translation named it, and it was a metallic substance with an extremely high melting point and held some quantum-based qualities. The fact that it was portable was all the reason needed for Luthor to snatch it up. Certain militaries would be more than interested in this.
Several other items were passed by, though the label of "Incorporated" appeared on many of them. Stopping in front of one, Luthor eyed what appeared to be a medieval-appearing helmet, one with the upper part of the visor and two oblong extensions on either side of it. There seemed to be another translation error, because the best the translation program could name it was Promethelon. Regardless, the helmet could connect directly to the brain of the individual wearing it, and apparently download information straight into the organ.
Immediate learning that happened in seconds. Skills that could take years to master were yours for the taking in a fraction of the time. And it was also "incorporated."
He might as well take it and see what could be done with it.
The next item of interest was another clear orb, only this time the substance inside of it was black. There was no name for it, but the description revealed that it wasn't some unknown element or substance, but technology. Specifically, it was nanotechnology, and learning was it primary programed function. Well, it was small as well, might as well take that one too.
This whole trip was starting to become profitable. What else would he be able to find here?
With almost an absurd predictability, Brainiac blocked a high kick from Diana, his body shifting slightly to a side from the power of the blow, allowing him to better absorb it. Immediately, the Amazon pulled away, allowing Batman to fly in and throw a palm strike, one aimed right for the alien's chest.
With the same blocking arm, Brainiac rotated it to allow him to block the vigilante's blow. Considering the previous clash, it was a wasted move in Batman's opinion. His attacks had shown little damage in comparison to Diana's, yet their foe went to the effort to block him. It must have been the martial artist program he had downloaded into his brain forcing him to keep his defense up at all times.
Immediately, Batman spun to his right, Brainiac's left, which incidentally was the same side as his raised arm. Swinging his foot up, he timed his next move perfectly as the heel of his foot collided with the back of the alien's knee.
For once, he had actually forced Brainiac to move a step. Though physically tougher, he still had the same structural weaknesses as any human being, that being his body's construction of his knee. Due to the kick, Brainiac's knee buckles and he stumbled forward a step to rebalance himself.
Quickly raising up his left arm, keeping it bent at the elbow, he them jerked it backwards, his elbow ramming into the back of Brainiac's head. Unlike the knee, there was minimal movement caused by the blow and he chose that moment to relent his advantage and darted away.
"Your feeble tactics will not prevail you," Brainiac intoned as he turned his head to regard the vigilante. That turned into a mistake on his part as Diana came flying back in from his blindside, going in low this time. Going into a slide, she kept her legs spread apart as she closed in on her opponent, scissoring them at the last moment. Her legs collided with Brainiac's and kicked them out from underneath him, causing the alien to topple over onto his back.
Immediately, Batman charged forward. Pulling out what appeared to be two mounds of grey clay with a small timer device stuck into them, he held one in each hand as he rushed towards his fallen foe. Jumping at the last second, he went into a flip, extending his arms out in front of him to press the clay-like substance onto Brainiac's chest. He released his hold an instant later as he went into his flip, completing it a moment later and took off running. Diana was at his side almost instantly.
Seconds later and an explosion erupted on Brainiac. The force of the explosions raced outwards, Diana purposefully placing herself between the dark-clad man and it and weathering the force that hit her. Batman crouched behind her, feeling a tugging at his body, but otherwise no further force.
"Plastic explosive?" Diana questioned once the flames died down and there was only smoke where there foe had lay.
"With a ten second timer," he confirmed as he straightened out his posture, moving to stand at her side. "Though I doubt that'll be enough to take him down."
"Hopefully he's a step slower now."
Predictably, a silhouette formed within the slowly dissipating smoke. Soon, Brainiac appeared, two singe marks on his metal suit, but otherwise appearing no worse for wear. "Your tactics are beginning to bore me," he said to them. "I believe I have learned everything I can from you."
"I think not," Diana spat back as she assumed another fighting stance.
"I think so."
Suddenly, Brainiac lunged towards the two of them. With incredible speed, he closed in on them, swinging a kick right for the Dark Knight.
In response, Batman darted to one side even as Diana moved in front of him with her arms raised. Brainiac's kick slammed right into her arms and incredibly sent her flying backwards immediately.
Batman's eyes widened at the sight even as he saw Brainiac keeping his eyes on him. It occurred to him that the alien had deliberately gone at him not to attack, but to draw Diana to him so that he could knock her away.
Planting his kicking leg on the floor, Brainiac smoothly continued his offensive as he threw a punch, one Batman dodged by jumping backwards. Undeterred, the alien bent his punching arm and lunged forward, ramming his forearm into the dark-clad man, the hit sending him flying backward much like it had Diana.
Grunting as he sailed through the air, Batman began to lean backwards, swinging his feet up. Going into a flip, he completed the maneuver without even touching the ground until his feet landed on it. Skidding a few feet still, he finally came to a stop, both of his hands grasping at his utility belt.
Before he could grab something, anything, to counter, Brainiac was upon him. Throwing a fist, he slammed a punch across the Dark Knight's face, pain exploding throughout his skull as he was sent wildly flying through the air. This time, he crashed down on the floor, bouncing across it until he came to a stop.
Wincing even as he growled, Batman couldn't help but berate himself. Of course Brainiac would have come up with a strategy to take them on. He and Diana had been on the offensive for so long, he had momentarily forgotten Brainiac would eventually do the same. So far he was targeting him, no doubt trying to dispose of him quickly so that he could put all of his attention on Diana.
Glancing up, the thought was confirmed as the alien marched towards him. That was until a war cry sounded off and Diana came rushing in.
Immediately, Brainiac stopped his walking and twisted his body around, getting an arm up just in time to block Diana's attack, which turned out to be her ramming her shoulder. It was an odd move until the Dark Knight saw the Amazon throw a punch, one he realized was closer due to her shoulder being up against her foe. She was trying to reduce the distance she needed to hit the alien.
Unfortunately, Brainiac was able to defend still, moving his other arm up and catching the dark-haired woman's punch, her knuckles pressed against his palm, though his fingers remained extended instead of wrapping around her hand.
That was when Diana swung a leg up and forced her knee into Brainiac's abdomen. Immediately, the green-skinned alien doubled over from the blow. Pulling her fist back, she crossed over her body before swinging it back out, landing a backhand blow to the back of Brainiac's head, the force of the hit sending him face first into the floor.
This left the alien's legs sticking up into the air before gravity set in and forced them down. In an instant, Diana grabbed one of the legs and pulled as hard as she could, hauling Brainiac off the floor and throwing him across the chamber with a yell.
Batman watched as the alien careened through the air. Unfortunately, he was able to recover himself, maneuvering his body until he was looking in Diana's direction. A moment later and his feet struck the wall, his legs bending and coiling beneath him.
Then Brainiac sprung right off the wall, flying like a missile back at Diana. In response, the Amazon shot both of her arms up, crossing them in front of her. Brainiac reached her an instant later, his head slamming right into her silver bracers. Diana was suddenly pushed backwards, her feet skidding across the floor due to the force she had been hit with.
Hauling himself onto his feet, Batman began running towards the two combatants, even as Brainiac pulled himself away from the dark-haired woman. Setting himself down on the floor, he then deliberately turned away from Diana, keeping his profile to her even as he did the same to the running vigilante. He crossed his arms over his chest, looking impassively away from either of them.
That's when multiple metal tentacles slide out from his back. Batman's immediately tried to stop his charge, skidding across the floor until he came to a stop. As if they had a mind of their own, the tentacles lashed out at the two fighters.
Batman found himself blocking the first tentacle that whipped at him, feeling its impact before it bounced away. He had to move his arms to his other side in order to block another tentacle attacking him. On the opposite side, Diana was fighting them off the best she could, actively punching at them even as they blocked her blows.
Seeing another tentacle coming at him, Batman decided to change the script, swinging a kick, which resulted in said tentacle to bend itself and block his blow. Planting his kicking leg down, and subsequently drawing him closer to his opponent, Batman continued his offensive and threw a punch, one that was predictable blocked by a tentacle as well.
But then one came flying it and its long metal body rammed right into the vigilante's chest. The force of the blow sent him sailing backwards, a pained cry escaping his lips until he hit the floor, skidding across it until he came to a stop.
Meanwhile, the tentacles countered Diana as well. As she threw her own punch, a tentacle wrapped around her extended arm, and was quickly followed up by one coiling around her waist. She was then yanked high into the air, Brainiac turning his body so that he could arc her through the air and then swinging her down to the floor, slamming her down hard.
Damn it, this was getting them nowhere.
A soft groan reached his ears then, drawing his attention to a restrained Superman. He hadn't realized he had landed so close to the hero, but that gave him an idea. If he could free the Man of Steel, they could turn this battle around. Though he had martial arts knowledge downloaded, even a computerized alien would have trouble against three fighters.
Hauling himself up, Batman immediately attacked the restraints, feeling at the smooth yet plated sides and searching around as best as he could for anything that might be a gap. "Hold on, Superman, I'll get you out of this," he said.
"Don't think I'll be much help," the Kryptonian remarked.
Batman ignored that comment even as he continued to search for some kind of access; at least he would have had he not noticed Superman's parlor. It was terrible and pale, making the dark-haired man appear sick even. What the hell had Brainiac done to him?
His search became more urgent Though the sounds of battle raged behind him, Batman blatantly ignored them until he finally found some kind of port, perhaps an emergency release? He slipped his fingers into it, searching further until he heard a loud hissing. The cocoon opening with a loud squelch, and Batman moved quickly to grab hold of Superman, pulling him out of the cocoon-like apparatus he had been held in. The Kryptonian stumbled and slumped against him, nearly throwing him off balanced.
"I've got you," he said soothingly, even as he began lowering his comrade to the floor. "Why are you so weak?"
"Brainiac," Superman answered him simply. "He drained my powers with red sunlight. I'm about as helpful as a newborn puppy right now."
Well that was terrific. They only had a depowered Superman, not exactly a game-changer. "That doesn't matter now," the dark-haired man continued. He then pointed at the flask containing Metropolis. "We have to save Metropolis. Get it out of here."
"We can once we beat down Brainiac," Batman told him. "With him still a threat, we won't have the time to figure out how to reverse it."
Superman nodded his acceptance of this before his head jolted upward. "The missile! I'd forgotten!"
Missile? "What missile?"
"The Green Lanterns came in force," Superman told him, something the vigilante was rather happy to hear. "They've managed to stop Brainiac from drilling to the Earth's core. But then he fired a missile to the sun. If it reaches it, it'll cause a solar flare to be fired right at Earth."
Batman wasn't sure how that was possible, but he wasn't going to question it. If Superman had brought it up, then it was clearly a threat and a dire one too.
So he needed to get the word out fast.
"J'onn, can you hear me?" he called out with his mind.
It took a while—way too long in his opinion-for the Martian to answer. "I he—r you, Ba—an."
He held back a grimace. Somehow the telepathic communication was being disrupted, but there was no time to try and find a way around it.
"Listen up, we've got a problem."
An enhanced Martian fist slammed into the front of an enemy fighter, the spacecraft flipping over the owner of the fist instead of crumpling in as most Earth-based aircraft would have. The enemy fighter collided with another one, ricocheting off its ally and tumbling down to the planet below.
Quickly scanning the skies, J'onn searched for an area where his aid would be most beneficial. The skull ship was under attack itself, a large green construct trying to wrap around it but impeded by the force field that never seemed to falter in a way anyone could recognize. Most and more reinforcement would pour out of the ship, easily slipping through the barrier and continuing the protracted battle.
Beams of green energy, flashes of gun fire, and loud booms of detonating missiles filled the air. The sky itself had clouded over due in part to natural clouds as well as the smoke that continually rose up. From all appearances, this was a stalemate as the combined forces of the Justice League, the Green Lantern Corps, and A.R.G.U.S. held Brainiac and his forces at bay.
"—nn, can you—ear me?"
The Manhunter frowned imperceptibly. Had that been Batman? If so, the connection was not quite complete. Nevertheless, in the off chance, he responded as quickly as he could. "I hear you Batman."
Seconds ticked by. "Listen up—ve got a pro—em."
J'onn's frown deepened, more due to the fact that the telepathic transmission itself was cutting out, as if due to interference. It took precious seconds to put together what the dark-colored vigilante was trying to say. "What is the problem?" he said, his tone urgent. The sooner he could get this information, the sooner he could act on it.
"—ainiac launched—missile. It's—ing for—sun. If it—contact, it'll—ause a—flare—des—oy the planet. You need—stop it—fore it does!"
It took some concentration, and while doing so, the Martian turned intangible, allowing an enemy fighter to fly through him. Based on what he was able to make out, a missile had been fired and it was heading to the sun…
Suddenly, J'onn's eyes widened as he recalled the plume of smoke that had risen from the top of the skull ship. That must have been the missile! And if what Batman was trying to say was what he thought it was, they were all still in grave danger. No, not just that. This battle was not continuing due to Brainiac trying to fight his way out, but to delay. A solar flare with the power to destroy a planet, could any of them survive such a thing?
"Hawkgirl! Green Lantern! Flash! We have an emergency!" J'onn shouted into his comm link, allowing his normally stoic facade to fall if only this once.
"What do you mean by emergency?" Hawkgirl responded immediately.
"I just received word from Batman," the Martian Manhunter spoke immediately, not waiting for any other replies. "Brainiac has fired off a missile, one heading for the sun." Someone tried to speak up, by J'onn pressed on. "If it reaches the sun, it will trigger a solar flare, one with the capability of destroying Earth. We need to stop it immediately!"
"How long do we have?" Flash asked.
J'onn paused, then tried to hail Batman for the relevant information. Unfortunately the vigilante was not responding, meaning he was either occupied with something more immediate or the transmission was not getting through. Then, to the others, "I do not know. It could be minutes. It could be hours. But if Brainiac has weaponry capable of accomplishing such a feat, we cannot' assume we have time."
"Then we need to catch up with the missile." Green Lantern's tone brooked no argument. "I'll go after it; I'm the only one who can handle what space can dish out."
"Do you think you can make it in time?" J'onn found himself asking. As a plan was being developed, other details began to weigh on his mind. He had observed the plume of smoke earlier, but had since lost track of time. He had no idea how fast the missile was or how close it was to reaching its target. "I witnessed the missile being fired some time ago and had assumed it had been meant for the battle. I cannot say how fast it is travelling or how far along it is to its destination. A miscalculation right now could result with the end of this planet."
"We can't keep wasting time. Someone has to go after it," Hawkgirl argued.
"Uh, guys?"
"Green Lantern is indeed the only one who has the capabilities," J'onn spoke. "His ring does allow interstellar travel—"
"And if I go now, I should be able to catch up," Green Lantern stated.
"Yo, guys."
"Then—"
"Everyone! Listen to me for a second!"
"What is it Flash?" Green Lantern demanded.
"Listen, we need to catch up to that missile fast, right? You got the fastest guy in the world on your side." The speedster was insistent, and J'onn wondered curiously if this was not the Central City's native's way of trying to make himself useful.
"Flash, you can't run in space," Hawkgirl retorted.
"True, but that hasn't stopped me from coming up with ways to do it," Flash remarked. "I got a plan. Gonna need your help GL, but since you were going up there anyway, this will make it easier. Now…"
Even as Diana swung her fist, Brainiac was already blocking it. This didn't deter the Amazon in the slightest as she threw her other fist, aiming for an uppercut, but it too was also blocked with the same arm no less. She tried again with her first fist, but the moment her foe blocked, he was swinging his other hand up, landing a blow to her face. Stunned, she was left helpless as Brainiac drew his previously defensive arm, and then threw another punch, one that sent her flying backwards.
She hit the floor, bouncing off of it once, twice, and then rolled to a stop. For a moment, she just laid there until she began pushing herself back up. Her hair was messy, strand of it falling in front of her face. There were a few noticeable bruises too, one prominent on her left check, a few others along the exposed areas of her shoulders and chest.
And still, she did not let this stop her as she climbed back onto her feet, facing Brainiac again. She would not stop, not until one of them admitted defeat or were killed.
Batman was not naive to this. This competitive nature was his first real breakthrough when he created a countermeasure against her so long ago. She would fight and fight until she had literally nothing left and her body collapsed from exhaustion. Whether Brainiac knew this or not, he seemed quite content with allowing herself to do so.
Diana charged once again, closing in on Brainiac. However, instead of leading with a punch, she chose at the last moment to leap into the air, using her power of flight to sail up above Brainiac's head. The alien tilted his head back so that he could continue to follow her movements.
And then the dark-haired woman lashed out, going into a flip, she was hanging upside down, head-to-floor with both of her hands clasped behind her head. Swinging them over, she smashed her jackhammer blow on the back of Brainiac's skull, causing him to cry out as it was his turn to be flung through the air. Completing her flip, the Amazon landed on her feet, but then leaned backwards and rocketed into the air, giving chase with her back to the ground. By then, Brainiac had somehow gotten his feet to touch the floor, skipping over it before landing upright.
Crossing her arms over her head, she rammed right her arms right into the middle of the alien's back, once again knocking him off the ground. This time, she flew the both of them into the wall, which caused the metal to dent and then surprisingly give away, bursting apart as a hole formed. It was then that Diana pulled back, hovering before the hole that Brainiac had vanished through.
"Do you think she got him?" Superman asked as he stared at their companion.
Batman wasn't one to be overly optimistic. He didn't even respond as he highly suspected the fight wouldn't end this easily, not after everything he and Diana had thrown at him already. As if to confirm this, the sound of footsteps on metal reached their ears. Slowly, the Amazon princess began to drift away from the hole, keeping her blue eyes focused on it.
As expected, Brainiac reemerged, stepping through the hole, though he looked slightly worse for wear. There was a darkened spot to one side of his face, perhaps the early formation of a bruise that had not been there before. Regardless, Brainiac didn't look the least bit perturbed. "I grow tired of your resistance," he intoned as he came to a stop. "I cannot learn any more from you and that has made you expendable."
"I will not go down so easily," Diana warned him.
"Of that I have no doubt." Suddenly, his eyes rapidly twtiched, something that put the Dark Knight on edge. "Having experienced your fighting style, I believe I have found one that will dominate you in every facet."
And then he lunged at her. With an arm raised up, he led with an elbow strike, one that Diana defended against by shooting up both of her arms, her forearms clashing against Brainiac's and stopping him in his tracks.
That was when the green-skinned alien held his other hand back and threw a punch at her face. In response, Diana slid one of her blocking hands up, knocking the incoming fist away.
Suddenly, Brainiac shot a leg up, his knee ramming right into the Amazon's abdomen, knocking the wind out of her as she began to bend over, her chest pressing against her opponent's still-raised forearm.
Then Brainiac reared backwards before throwing his head forward, slamming his forehead against Diana's. Crying out, she stumbled backwards, her hands shooting up to her face. That was when two metal tentacles slid out of the alien's back and arched over him, rushing to grab her by her left arm.
Immediately, the tentacles flew upwards, hauling Diana off of the ground. He swung her up into the air before swinging her back down, slamming her hard on the floor. Then he yanked her back up, arching her through the air before slamming her back down again. Then with a twist of his body, his tentacles going along with his motion, he dragged her back into the air and threw her, sending her flying across the chamber and into another wall. This one dented so largely, it looked as if an imprint of her body surrounded her.
Bouncing off the wall, Diana fell to the floor, only to not reach it. Brainiac's tentacles had reached her again, one of them grabbing her by the throat. Instantly, it began to retract, pulling the Amazon towards the armored-encased alien. Before she reached him, the tentacle relinquished its hold, allowing momentum to carry her the rest of the way to her foe, only for Brainiac to throw another fist, one so powerful that her course was immediately diverted and she slammed down hard on the floor. A tremor ran throughout the room, causing even the collection bottles to rattle.
Superman stiffened next to Batman. "He's going to kill her," he hissed, even going so far as to lunge forward. He didn't get far as his weakened body barely supported him.
"Don't be a fool, Kent," Batman hissed at him, grabbing the Kryptonian by the shoulder and pulling him back. "He'll kill you, perhaps even faster than what he's doing to Diana. She can take the punishment, but you can't, not in your current state."
Superman growled, but he didn't make any other stupid move, like trying to fight Brainiac. "If only I had some sunlight," he groused.
"And what makes you think he wouldn't be able to adapt to you like he is Diana?" Batman countered. "He has every known fighting style in his database and can download them to...to…"
It was a credit to Superman that he noticed the Dark Knight trailing off. "What is it?" he demanded.
The vigilante didn't respond, instead reaching to his belt and pulling out a palm pilot. Activating it, he pulled up a program and got to work. "Diana just needs to hold on. I think I know how to beat Brainiac."
"Then you better do it fast. I don't think she can take much more."
As a touchpad keyboard appeared on the screen of the palm pilot, Batman began tapping his fingers. He wasn't well-versed in the program, but he was going to have to learn on the fly. As far as he knew, this was their best—and last—chance at winning.
In the meantime, Diana stirred, though she didn't get up off the floor. "You are beaten, Amazon," Brainiac gloated blandly. "Surrender yourself and I promise you a swift death."
That had been a poor choice of words. Diana's eyes snapped open wide before she lashed out with one of her hands, aiming to knock Brainiac's legs out from under him. Unfortunately, he merely raised a foot, one that took the full brunt of her blow, and stopped it in its tracks. He then deliberately stepped down, his foot forcing her arm to the floor and pinning it there. Then he put his entire weight on that foot as he raised the other, then slammed a kick into her side. She cried out, even as her body jolted from the blow.
The palm pilot's screen was flashing, different images appearing and disappearing across it. Batman largely ignored them until a window appeared much sooner than he had expected. He was in the mainframe. Now he just needed…
Again and again, Brainiac kicked Diana, each time the dark-haired woman crying out. Then he backed away from her, stepping off of her arm, only for his tentacles to return and latch onto her, lifting her up into the air before him. "You have nothing left," he spoke.
"Bruce, hurry up," Superman pressed.
"I'm almost there," he replied, fingers dancing more intently on the screen.
Another tentacle appeared, this one with a spiked tip. "Rest assured that I will do my due diligence and study your anatomy and physiology thoroughly. I do not presume to learn much, but to borrow a colloquialism from your world, I am not one to leave any stone unturned."
"Whatever you're doing, do it now!" Superman shouted.
Batman hit one final key and looked up. "It's done."
Brainiac paused as he held Diana, then his eyes twitching rapidly once again.
And then the changes presented themselves.
Brainiac's normally stoic face went slack, his mouth opening as drool began to leak out of the corner of his mouth. His arms and legs began to spasm, random muscles twitching underneath his armor, though not visible. For a moment it looked as if the alien would collapse, but his suit kept him upright.
However, his tentacles went slack and released Diana, who somehow managed to land on her feet. One eye was swollen shut, but the other was open wide as she stared. Garbled noises came out of Brainiac's mouth, unable to create formed words.
"Diana! Do it now!" Batman barked.
Without needing further prompting, the Amazon drew a fist back and swung it, hitting Brainiac as hard as she could. The blow rang out throughout the room as Brainiac was lifted off the floor, flying backwards before landing hard on the floor. He didn't so much as twitch from where he landed.
The three comrades stared at their fallen foe. "What did you do to him?" Superman asked after awhile.
"I realized that Brainiac's mind was connected to his ship's mainframe," the vigilante explained, even as the three of them began to gather around each other. "Luthor had mentioned creating a hacking program and I looked into it. The program you saw me used allowed me to hack into Brainiac's mainframe and download a file directly into his brain, which left him with the physical capabilities of one man."
"And which man was that?"
A smirk appeared on the dark-clad man's lips. "Professor Stephen Hawkings."
There was a silence before Diana actually chuckled. "I've never hit someone with a neurodegenerative disorder before."
"I'd be surprised if you had," Superman said. "So now what?"
"First thing's first, we get you into sunlight," Batman responded. "The sooner we have you back at one hundred percent, the better. I've contacted J'onn about that missile, but there's no telling where they are with stopping it."
Diana frowned. "What missile?"
"Not a good one," the Kryptonian told her. "So what's the best way to—"
There was a sound, like creaking metal. Immediately, all three of them looked to Brainiac and saw he was beginning to move. "He's still not down!" Superman exclaimed.
Damn it, he hadn't expected this. "Brainiac's undoing the programming." Taking into account the alien lived and breathed through technology, it was likely he'd be at full capacity within a minute.
They needed to act now.
"Diana, get Superman out of here," he ordered. "I'll try to hold him off."
"What?!" the both of them shouted, which was followed by:
"You can't fight him on your own!"
"He'll kill you!"
Batman hardened his expression. "Diana, you're the only one that can get Superman out of here and into sunlight as fast as possible. I don't care if you have to rip a hole through every floor, every wall, every ceiling, just do it. I can hang on long enough for you to get back. Now go!"
The two heroes looked to each other, defiant looks on their faces. It was clear they didn't want to go, but he wouldn't give them the option. "It's either me, or the world, and this is the best plan we have. Now get out of here before we don't have that choice."
"You better not die," Superman warned him before he held an arm out to Diana, who merely moved to place it over her shoulders her own arm wrapping around the dark-haired man's back. "We'll be back," the Kryptonian said before the two of them lifted into the air and flew towards the door.
Batman didn't watch then, only keeping his eyes on Brainiac as his body began to spasm and jerk around until it settled again. Then he began to climb onto his feet. "You dare tamper with my programming," he hissed, anger evident in his voice.
Reaching up to his gauntlet, Batman tapped a couple buttons. In response, a green light began to glow around the Bat Symbol on his chest. More light appeared on the back of either hand, running up his arms to the shoulders. The edges of his triangle blades lit up with the same green light. "Before this is over, Brainiac, you're going to find that I can do more than just tamper with your mind.
"Starting now, I'm going to show you how a real martial arts expert fights."
FlackAttack: Life happens, what can you do? You make a very good point about the Metropolis perspective, and I knew I was forgetting something. That's a fault of mine, unfortunately; I sometimes put too many characters into a story, then forget about them until it's too late.
The comics have never gone that far into detail about how Brainiac supports the cities he's taken. There's nothing ever mentioned about issues you've brought up, and as best as I can tell, it's close to some kind of stasis. Like the people are frozen in time but they can move about and continued whatever lives they have under the new circumstances. Again, nothing I've found has mentioned anything about support systems. Thanks for coming back and reviewing.