Cusp of Destiny

While it wasn't necessarily cleaning out, the new acquisitions in Luthor's grasp were certainly a haul. Combine that with the data that was constantly being downloaded into his gauntlet, and this venture may prove to be the profitable one.

Now was the time to leave while they still could.

Due to being in a hostile location, Luthor had to restrict himself in what he would be carrying back. The idea of bringing a burlap sack had not occurred to anyone until it was suddenly very relevant. That would have to be rectified so as not to cause something as embarrassing as this to happen again.

What it meant was that he could only bring five, six items tops. It was the most that could be done without compromising either his or Mercy's ability to fight back against any robots or drones they came across. Escape was the primary objective now, and being alive was crucial to completing that objective.

Making eye contact with his bodyguard, Luthor stated, "Let's make this quick. We need to get back to the ship with all acquisitions in hand. All need to be accounted for. Keep your eyes sharp for company."

Mercy gave a sharp nod. In one hand, she held up her firearm, ready to discharge it in a second's notice. With her other arm, she held a couple of Luthor's choices, one of which was the orb of nanotech. For the CEO's part, he held the rest of it, including the helmet with the Greek-esque name. He wasn't about to put it on his head anytime soon; who knew what its capabilities were? He was not about to make himself a guinea pig for science anytime soon.

That was what people were for.

"I'll lead the way," Luthor continued, glancing down at his gauntlet and the digital map that he had been able to complete of this ship. It should be able to lead them back to their exit and to friendlier skies. Hopefully, the idiots fighting outside were almost done.

That still left the question of where to go next; Metropolis for the most part was gone, annihilated in a green-colored flash of light. Yes, there were other branches and locations of LexCorp, but none were Metropolis, his crown jewel.

That would be for later, however. Now, now was all about leaving while keeping his head. Everything else could come later.

Earth was slowly becoming a distant memory, and one that would only be pushed to the back of his mind. Green Lantern needed to concentrate, and remain that way until the threat was over. The rest of the League and the Corps would have to handle Brainiac for the time being.

Brainiac's missile needed to be stopped. Who knows what it would unleash if it did reach the sun. This whole Brainiac mess kept bringing out new twist after new twist, and right now, the dark-skinned man was not about to rule out manipulation of solar energies from this thing.

Normally he would be gliding through the endless expanse of space, head first, and ignoring the stars all around him. This time was different. For one thing, his destination was a star, the sun itself, which gradually grew bigger the closer he moved to it. Second, he was aiming his ring in front of himself, constantly creating a strip of track that moved beneath him, fading away when he moved too far away.

Lastly, there was the green construct of a tether that attached him to Flash, the speedster running along the track without missing a step. He had to admit, this was faster than his trip to Oa. They may be able to catch up to that missile before it got too close.

Running in space was different than on Earth. For one thing, friction was a thing, but a blessing and a curse to any running. Friction was what allowed you to take that first step and the next while at the same time resisting your every move and slowing you down. One form of this was air resistance, a fact that slowed even the fastest of aircraft.

But up here, where there was no friction, it had to be made so that a speedster could do what they did best. At the same time, there was no other form of friction, like air resistance. This meant that Flash could run faster than he normally could on Earth, and without friction to slow him down, he could only move faster and faster.

"Hold on, GL!" Flash called back over his shoulder, the ring's power providing a glowing shell of protection from the natural forces of the universe. "I may not be able to run the speed of light, but I'm gonna get us close!"

Because light from the sun took eight minutes to reach Earth and Flash was going to try and cut it all down to thirty minutes, "tops."

Green Lantern grunted and focused, doing his best to remain tethered to Flash and giving the scarlet speedster all the friction he could. While this wasn't the hardest thing for him to do, he would rather concentrate on keeping the two of them together until they finished this.

They were heading to the sun, a well of gravity and nuclear energy. There were so many ways this could go wrong, and only one where it went right.

"You do not stand a chance against me," Brainiac warned. Even as he began to stride towards the Dark Knight, he continued his bluster. "You did not stand a chance with your more powerful allies and you certainly do not alone."

The vigilante held his ground, even as his approaching foe took a swing at him. Immediately, he shot an arm up and blocked the attack, not even flinching from the contact. The reinforced armor absorbed the impact, diffusing it, and rendering it no more powerful than a gentle tap.

There was a flicker across Brainiac's face, one of puzzlement, right before he drew his other fist back and threw it. This time Batman ducked the punch, allowing it to sail over his before he moved his blocking arm to move right behind the extended arm, preventing it from performing a backhanded blow. With his other arm, the vigilante threw a punch right into Brainiac's side, a kidney punch that reverberated through his body thanks to the kryptonite-powered suit he wore.

Instantly, Brainiac cried out, his body flinching from the blow. Batman slammed another punch into the alien's kidney, causing another flinch and cry. Then he aimed another punch that landed against his opponent's ribs, just below the armpit, which forced some air out of Brainiac's lungs, leaving him partially breathless.

Then he backed off, allowing his foe to stumble back a step as he gasped for air. This was an opening if he ever saw one. Lunging forward, the Dark Knight leaped into the air as he leaned backward, extended a leg out in front of him. His flying kick nailed Brainiac in the face, the force of his blow sending him flying backwards and crashing to the floor. Batman landed on his feet a moment later.

Moving both hands to his belt, he pulled out a couple shuriken, one in each hand. With a flick of each wrist, a second shuriken appeared out from behind each shuriken he held, making for a total of four. Red lights were already flashing from the bodies of the projectiles. Going into a spin, he stepped backwards and threw the bat-shaped shuriken, watching them fly through the air towards their target.

By then, Brainiac was getting back up, kneeling on one knee. Each shuriken struck him then, one of their sharp ends piercing into his armor, leaving four of the projectiles sticking out of him. A second later, they all exploded, Brainiac crying out as he was engulfed in flames.

By nature, Batman was not one to be on the offensive unless the situation called for it. For instance, if he was in a room full of gun-toting thugs, he needed to take them out as fast as he could before they got a shot at him. He preferred waiting and counter attacking in a one-on-one battle, especially against someone with superior strength.

However, his kryptonite-powered suit closed the gap greatly. While he fully expected more physical strength on Brainiac's side, such that would be revealed eventually, he had the alien off-balanced and if he was going to pull this off, he needed to be relentless. That was why he charged towards the thick cloud of smoke rather than wait for his opponent to reveal himself.

To counter the smoke, he activated a change in sight in his cowl. A red line scrolled from the top of his sight to the bottom, revealing a room of black and purple. There was the occasional blob of red, orange, and yellow, indicating heat sources. And then he spotted a small, circular heat source in midair. That was Brainiac's head, his own armor dampening his body heat and making it appear invisible.

Clearly he forgot a spot.

As he entered the smoke cloud, Batman leaped into the air, a fist drawn back. Timing it perfectly, he threw his fist as he descended on his opponent, slamming it into his face and yet again sending him flying backwards out of the smoke. Pressing forwards, he emerged from the smoke as well, deactivating the thermal vision as he did so and the physical environment of the chamber appeared before him.

Brainiac was a few feet away, recovering from the damage he had been given. He immediately spotted the charging vigilante and reacted, throwing a punch for his head. Again, Batman blocked it, throwing his own fist simultaneously. This time his blow landed against Brainiac's throat, choking him instantly as he gagged. Immediately, the vigilante latched his hand on the side of the green-skinned alien's head, doing the same with his other before he forced the head down. Raising one leg, bending it at the knee, he slammed Brainiac's head against his knee one, twice, then pushed the alien back, putting a small space between them so that he deliver one last punch, an uppercut to his foe's chin that lifted him right off the floor, sending him flying backwards until he landed hard on the ground.

And then he held back. Though he had fought Brainiac before, he wasn't sure what the alien's next move would be. Thus far, Brainiac hadn't taken such a pummeling, so there was no telling what he would do and knowing that would help him predict further exchanges between them. He was already expecting another download of fighting skills and if that was the case, he wanted to have a counter ready.

Slowly, Brainiac began to push himself up. Roughly, he coughed, trying to clear his throat, though having some difficulty from the damage to his larynx. "You were not this strong," Brainiac accused him as he got onto his feet. "How did you increase your strength so rapidly?"

"I don't kiss and tell," the vigilante retorted.

Brainiac narrowed his eyes, the early formation of a scowl appearing. So, he could express his emotions physically. "Your insolence will not be tolerated. You will tell me what I wish to know, or I will vivisect you to learn the answer."

"I thought I was expendable; that there was nothing you could learn from me," he taunted back.

There was a twitch at the corner of the alien's mouth. "I will disassemble you not for the act of knowledge, but as an example to all who cross me. I will display your exposed body for the entire universe."

That was a quaint way to say he would mount his head as a trophy. He had to give Brainiac that. "Give it your best shot."

Brainiac reacted. The metal tentacles lunged at the vigilante, who immediately spun to one side. He felt the rush of air against the front and back of his body, and no immediate impact, indicating he had successfully dodged. However, he was trapped between the tentacles with the larger alien closing in on him. With a hand held with the fingers curled in, palm exposed, Brainiac attempted to strike, a blow that Batman blocked with hier arm, feeling the force cause his limb to tremble. Then he slipped his arm around the alien's and used it as a fulcrum to launch himself up and above his green-skinned opponent. Extending an arm out, he used his circular momentum to land a blow to the back of Brainiac's head, causing him to stumble forward a step.

Instead of continuing his attack, Batman held back, falling into familiar habits. Brainiac regained his balance quickly and spun around, tentacles retracting as he glared at the dark-clad man. Instead of continuing his offensive, he extended two of his tentacles this time, hovering them high above his head.

So that's how he wanted to play this. Alright, he could handle this. The moment the tentacles shot towards him, Batman took off running towards Brainiac instead of away. He went low, ducking his head as one tentacle damn near brushed the side of his head. Then he dropped to the floor, leading with his legs as he went into a slide. He slid across the floor, going between Brainiac's spread legs. The other tentacle hit the floor a moment after, completely missing the vigilante.

Emerging behind the alien, Batman was back on his feet, pulling out a round grenade from his belt. Spinning around, he threw the grenade, hitting the alien against his back, specifically where the tentacles emerged out of his back.

Instead of an explosion of fire, a blue cloud burst forth. Ice crystals began to form almost instantly, covering Brainiac's back and crawling up the base of the tentacles. Eventually the ice stopped perhaps a foot or two up the tentacle's bodies.

The ends of his tentacles actually spasmed, Brainiac attempting to reach behind himself and find out what had happened. One arm moved to flail over his shoulder as the other tried to reach around a side. "What did you do?!" he demanded. "What did you do?!"

"Made it a little harder for you to use those tentacle arms of yours," Batman told him. "Let's see how well they move when their base is solid ice."

The alien turned around and openly glared at him. Heh, he was getting to him. "Your persistence will not save you," he warned. "This is but a stay of execution."

"And I'd be lying if I said this was the first time anyone's said that to me. I hope this isn't all you've got, because I'm a little disappointed."

"Disappointed?" Brainiac seethed.

"You're reliance on superior strength is just like any meta-being I've ever faced," Batman told him. "I know exactly how to deal with people like you."

Brainiac narrowed his eyes. "Perhaps...I have misjudged you, Human. Your point on fighting against superior specimens has clearly influenced your abilities. It would be a mistake on my part to continue combat in this manner."

Batman perked up at those words. Everything he had been saying to Brainiac was to get a rise out of him, to infuriate him and make him act rashly. The alien was clearly a man that worked with a computer's logic and invoking an emotional response overrided that logic. Perhaps he had gone too far with that.

Suddenly, Brainiac's armor seemed to disconnect all over his body. The vigilante could clearly see the various plates, such as the one over his chest, abdomen, arms and legs, and so on. The armor then glowed orange and red, steam escaping out from the gaps between the armor plates, a hissing sound filling the chamber.

The reason for this became obvious a moment later. The ice on Brainiac's back, broke apart, falling to the floor in blobs of water. The sudden change from solid to liquid was nearly instantaneous.

And then the steam stopped. The armor moved back into place, reconnecting with each other to reform the alien's suit. The tentacles then return to their housing on the armor's back. "Now then, let's face each other on even footing," Brainiac intoned.

Batman wasn't sure what that meant, but it seemed he was going to be finding that out sooner than later.

Ever since they had left Batman behind, Brainiac's defenses had swarmed them. While Diana was confident in her ability to fend them off, even after the fight with the alien destroyer, she had another concern. Superman was with her this time and he wasn't as well-trained as Bruce was without superpowers. It made him an easy target, one she had to defend at all cost.

At first she had put herself between the Kryptonian and the robots the first time they encountered then. Bouncing off laser beams with her bracers were child's play and she even sent their beams back at them, damaging if not destroying them.

Unfortunately, the robots had learned faster than before and were surrounding them. Even with her reflexes, she couldn't protect Superman and herself without getting both of them killed.

So she took up Bruce on his suggestion and began breaking their way out of the ship. With one hand wrapped around Kal's shoulders, pinning him to her side, she flew them up to the ceiling, leading with one fist. In this pose, she had no choice but to fly as fast as she could.

Much like the outer hull of the skull ship, the ceiling above gave into the power of her fist ramming into it, bending and then ripping apart. Instantly, she and Kal were in a different level of the ship, some corridor empty of threats.

Diana didn't bother stopping though. Keeping up her pace, she flew into the next ceiling, bursting through it much like she had the previous one. Then the next one, and the next. Though each level she rammed her way through, she lost some speed, she would urge herself forth regardless. To stop was to invite danger to them and they were in no position to fend it off.

Diana gritted her teeth as they plowed through another ceiling. Her hand was beginning to throb from the pounding she was doing to it. She had lost count of how many floors they had passed through around ten and she was willing to bet there were still double digits to go, if not triple. It was always best to assume a worst case scenario so that she wasn't caught off-guard, something she had learned from the Dark Knight since her arrival in Man's World.

As for her Amazon upbringing, she wouldn't let such assumptions deter her from carrying out her mission. As another ceiling gave away and she and Kal entered yet another floor, she could feel the dark-haired man next to her shift. "Diana, you need to slow down," he urged her.

"No, I can't," she replied back even as she closed in on another ceiling and plowed right through it.

"You're gonna get yourself hurt," he pressed. "Even you have your limits."

Though she understood Superman was only looking out for her well-being, the sentiment prickled at her. Maybe it was due to Superman being depowered that he would suggest such a thing. Maybe he didn't know what her limits were. That he suggested she couldn't do this one thing did not set well with her.

"You and I both know I can take punishment," she shot back through gritted teeth, even as they forced their way through yet another level. "I cannot and will not stop. If we stop now, we could doom Bruce and I won't let that happen."

Though the man had seemed confident in his ability to hold out, Diana had gone toe-to-toe with Brainiac and she had a pretty good idea of his capabilities. There was nothing in his utility belt that was going to give him an edge against a being like that and every second they wasted was one more second he had to survive. All it took was for one punch for Brainiac to obliterate the Dark Knight's head and that would be his end.

She would not let that happen if she could help it.

"And if you injure yourself now, then we'll never get to the surface," he pointed out. "Taking a moment to recover is nothing to be ashamed about."

It was then they reached what appeared to be a thicker wall, which Diana slowed herself until she was right next to it. This looked just like the wall that separated the loading dock from the outside. They had finally reached it. "Your concern, while appreciated, is not necessary," she told him. "We're at the hull."

Superman looked up at the ceiling. "Then you better get us through it," he relented.

Gladly. Floating before it, Diana pulled a fist back and then threw it, slamming it against the hull. A dent immediately formed from where she hit it, though it didn't give as easily as the level below them. Pulling her fist back, she began hammering blow after blow against the metal surface, enlarging the dent every time she hit it.

When it was as big as she was, the Amazon then descended downward, passing through the hole she had created in the floor below them. Stopping, she then assumed her previous pose, one fist extended above her head, gripping tightly onto Superman's body.

Then she rocketed forward, flying like a missile towards the dented hull. She hit it as hard as she could and the metal bulged outward. She pressed as hard as she could until it would not give any more, then she pulled back descending down one, and then two floors.

Last time; she had to puncture the hull this time. Anything less would be a failure. Gritting her teeth, she flew as fast as she could—no, faster. She had to hit this with maximum effort.

Her fist connected with the hull and again she felt to push outward.

And then it gave away.

There was a rush of air as Diana and Superman exploded out of the skull ship. They were on top of it, which gave them a perfect view of the sky.

A sky that was blanketed with clouds and smoke.

While sunlight could penetrate through such a screen, it would delay Superman's recovery, even if by a few seconds. That was unacceptable, and Diana continued to risk, picking up undisrupted speed until that had passed through misty barrier and had direct line of sight with the sun itself.

Almost immediately, Superman stiffened against her, his head tilting towards Helios' Chariot, his eyes shut. It was as if he were drinking in the atmosphere and perhaps he was.

Then his eyes opened and they were glowing red. Diana released her hold on him, drifting away as the Kryptonian's powers kicked in, allowing him to float in midair. He hovered, arms spread out, his hands slowly curling into fists. She wasn't sure how much sunlight he needed, but she hoped it wasn't a lot. Then again, the more exposure, the more power he had, or so the thinking went.

Then Superman said the words she most wanted to hear. "Let's go show Brainiac what Earth's made of."

With a flick of his wrist, Batman went a smoke pellet hurling towards the floor at his feet. Instantaneously, a cloud of thick smoke enveloped him, hiding him from Brainiac's eyes. Pulling out his grapple, he fired it at the ceiling—wherever that was—and then grappled high into the air.

As the smoke thinned and then gave way to the sight of the chamber, the vigilante saw his alien foe looking intently at the smoke, not once looking up at him. Swinging his legs back and then forth, he created forward momentum before he disengaged the grapple, falling towards his opponent.

Letting go of the grapple even as the grapple claw returned to the device, Batman held both of his hands over his head, tightening them into fists. He waited until he was nearly on top of Brainiac before he swung them down, delivering a double-fisted attack on his shoulders. Instantly, Brainiac bent forward, letting out a cry of surprise from the sudden blow, the vigilante landing right in front of him.

With both fists hovering by his hips, he sent one flying upwards, landing an uppercut to Brainiac's chin, snapping his head up, the rest of his body following shortly after, leaving his torso exposed. As he drew his fist back, he sent the other one slamming into the alien's stomach, quickly followed by another and then another. Like pistons, he pounded his fists into Brainiac's gut before changing it up, backing up a step so that he could raise a leg up and kick it forward, his foot ramming into Brainiac's chest and sending him stumbling backwards.

However, as the dark-clad man lowered his leg, Brainiac suddenly righted himself. Head snapping to look right at him, the green-skinned alien suddenly lunged forward, angling himself towards the Dark Knight's side. Extending an arm at shoulder-height, he closed lined the vigilante, knocking him clear off his feet as he gave out a surprised cry.

As his world spin head-over-feet, Batman gritted his teeth, going along with the spinning as he went into a flip, somehow landing on his feet, albeit crouched. Whipping his head around, he was just in time to see Brainiac's fist rocketing towards him, slamming right into his face and sending him flying through the air.

And then abruptly stopping. As he began his unintended flight, a hand latched onto his ankle and promptly stopped him from traveling much further. Before he could react, he was whipped to one side, spinning through the air before suddenly arching upward. That was soon followed by the descent, where he crashed hard onto the floor.

The hand around his ankle vanished then, only for something else to grab onto his shoulders. The next thing Batman knew, he was hauled up into the air, finding Brainiac standing with his arms crossed, two tentacles emerging from his back, each one gripping onto his shoulders. That's when a third one emerged and came to hover in front of his face just before it suddenly smacked him, snapping his head to a side.

Back and forth his head was thrown as he was slapped over and over. Then the tentacle pulled back only shot forward, attaching itself to his chest. The restraining tentacles leg to of him, which allowed the last one to force him back down to the floor, slamming him down on it, and knocking the wind out of his lungs.

"It would seem you have no answer for my metal extensions," Brainiac observed. "All this time I had been content to show you my strength, only for you to leverage it against me. Mid-range tactics, on the other hand, gives me the clear advantage."

Was he just realizing that? So much for being an advanced alien species. Problem was, the tentacles did give him a serious disadvantage and there wasn't much he could do to counter it.

"Now then, I do have a question for you, human. The suit you are wearing, it was not until you activated it that your strength increased exponentially. Tell me how you were able to achieve this."

"I thought there was nothing you could learn from me," he countered.

"Not much, this is true, but I will only ascertain this only if I learn everything there is to know about your species."

"Then you're going to have to wait awhile. I have no intention of telling you anything."

Batman was suddenly yanked off the floor. The next thing he knew, he was slammed hard against a wall. He wasn't even sure how he got there, considering he was somewhere in the middle of the room. Gritting his teeth, he looked at the tentacle still attached to him. It had clearly extended out, so that would explain his suddenly relocation.

Walking, Brainiac approached him, his extended tentacle slowly returning to him, though its head continued to press the Dark Knight against the wall. "If you will not tell me freely what I wish to know, there are other methods," the alien warned him. As he came to a stop, his eyes seemed to glaze over.

"You are called...Batman...from a city known as Gotham." Brainiac looked pointedly at him. "The Gotham index in my database tells me as much."

The vigilante remained silent.

"I can see you have developed a reputation as some sort of hero." More silence. "And a database of your own. You've developed quite a system, Batman, one I may have used myself had I not developed it four hundred years ago."

Then Brainiac frowned. "Strange. I have found no entry about this suit you wear. There are others, but this one has only one mention." Then his eyes focused on the Dark Knight. "Time Travel. Your civilization is too primitive for such technology. You will tell me how you came about this."

Batman couldn't help but stiffen. How the hell had Brainiac been able to access that file? The only known instance was on a flash drive, separated from the computer. He had been careful to remove all traces of the file from his computer whenever he accessed it and he hadn't done that since his return.

Except...someone else had. Zatanna and Cassandra...and he hadn't cleared the database, which left a temporary copy on the hard drive, which Brainiac had gotten a hold of when he hacked into the Cave's supercomputer.

Goddamn it.

"I won't tell you a thing," he spat back.

Suddenly, he was whipped through the air, only to be slammed down on the floor. Then he was jerked to a side, skidding across the ground, only to arch upward again and be smashed down once more. Then he shot upward, being thrown as high as he could go, only for the head of a tentacle to ram itself right into his stomach. Gasping, he then fell to the floor, only to be caught at the last second, a hand wrapping around his throat, his feet left dangling above the floor.

"I will learn of this knowledge one way or another," Brainiac suddenly warned him. "I do not need your cooperation."

"Go...to hell."

A punch to the face was the response and Batman went flying through the air, only for yet another tentacle to wrap around his ankle and stop him, forcing him back to the floor. "Why do you continue to resist?" Brainiac seethed.

Pushing himself with one hand, the other going to his belt, Batman looked over his shoulder at his foe. "It's like you said, I'm persistent."

Then he whipped his arm out, a shuriken in hand. Almost immediately, electricity began to dance over it and he sent whirling not for Brainiac, but at the tentacle that held him. The moment it collided with the tentacle, it blasted out a bolt of electricity, which ran down the metal body to Brainiac.

Only for it to do nothing. Crap, he had been betting on the electrical conduction of the metal to score a hit. Apparently Brainiac had already taken steps against that. He would have struck the floor out of frustration if he hadn't felt a slight tremor. "Your resistance is futile. Why do you persist in this endeavor? You cannot win."

"I'm not trying to win."

Brainiac frowned. "Then what possible reason do you have for resistance?"

Another tremor. "I'm trying to stall you."

"Stall? Stall for what?"

As if in answer, the ceiling to the chamber burst apart. All Batman saw then was a red-and-blue blur that flew down to the floor, then angled itself right at Brainiac. There was a loud crash and Brainiac cried out as he was sent hurling into a wall, bursting through it. The cables that had attached to the alien's head either disconnected or were ripped off their extensions, leaving their ends dangling in the air.

Immediately, Batman deactivated the kryptonite power source, the green light of his suit dimming. Returning his attention, he saw Superman floating in the middle of the room, a stern look on his face.

"Took you long enough," the Dark Knight grunted.

"Just catching my second wind," Superman replied mildly. "Now, I'm going to finish this."

Dashing through the hallways, Luthor led the way with Mercy covering him. Any security details encountered were brief, luck having it that neither were spotted. Typically, they would come up from behind or just be turning a corner when a patrol was spotted, thus evasive action was taken before it became engagement.

This was going so well, better than the tycoon had hoped. It wouldn't be long now; they were getting to their entry point, now the extraction point. Just a couple hundred feet, and they would be out of here. If all went well, there would be no interference or combat; the ill-gotten goods were too restrictive for action and too important to be dropped or lost.

Coming to a corner, Luthor stopped only to do a quick check, looking left then right, up and down the intersecting hallway, searching for any mechanical guards that may be in the vicinity. Nothing was spotted, no sounds were picked up, which meant they were golden.

Further down to his right, he spotted the area where the prototype was still docked, the hatch it was connected to shut so as to preserve its integrity. There was no sense leaving it wide open and allowing a patrol to stumble across it. An awkward shuffling of his arms allowed the entrepreneur to press a finger to the keypad on his gauntlet, opening up the hatch so that there was no further need to stop.

All they had to do was use the exit and they were through.

"Keep me covered," he told Mercy, beginning a sprint towards the proverbial finish line. He was close, so close to a consolation of a victory. His city may be gone, but he was still going to profit from this mess one way or another.

Naturally, as seemed to be a peculiar pattern, an unexpected...occurrence had to happen

Luthor had been about to reboard the prototype, his foot taking its first step through the threshold of the hatch when a violent tremor rocked the docking bay. A wall erupted into debris and shrapnel, a dull-colored blur colliding into the next and breaking through that. That second wall had been the spaceship's hull, and now a clear view of Metropolis' remains could be seen, flashes of green light and shrieks of F-18s no longer silenced or hidden.

The suddenness, combined with how the ship shook from the force involved, caused the bald man to lose his footing, stumbling as he fought to regain his balance. This also jostled the item he still held in his arms, and automatically he adjusted to try to hold them all. Unfortunately, he was unable to keep his hold on one of them, the helmet specifically. The quick actions to try and retained his ill-gotten goods had inadvertently thrown it away from him.

As the helmet bounced off the metal floor, Luthor's green eyes zeroed in on it, watching as the alien device continued forward towards the large hole in the alien ship's hold. By luck, the helmet caught on to a side of the newly formed exit, and the businessman bent low, tossing the stolen goods through the open hatch and into the prototype, before leaping forward to try and reclaim the escaping tech.

His leap did not take him far enough, but the following skid moved him closer. Stretching out a hand, Luthor made an attempt to grab the helmet, but the desperate grasp ended up pushing the helmet further outside the ship.

To his horror and his fury, Luthor could only watch as the helmet fell out of the ship, descending down into the remains of Metropolis.

"No!" he shouted, furious at the misfortune and ready to tear apart the first thing that captured his rage's attention.

"Lex! We need to go!" Mercy called out from behind him. Though infuriated, Luthor had enough of mind not to send any of it his bodyguard's way. At least, not yet. Fortunately, when you ran one of the largest corporations in the world, there was at least one or a hundred idiots doing something worthy of being torn to shreds for. They would have to bear the brunt of his rage instead.

Nonetheless, the remains of his city seemed to taunt him, mocking the CEO for the loss of his city and now the loss of that helmet. Luthor gave in to emotion for but an instant, balling a hand into a fist and slamming it against the metal floor he was sprawled on.

Then, he regrouped and pushed himself back onto his feet, moving away from the hole. He practically stomped his way back to the open hatch and back into the prototype, Mercy covering him until he was on board.

She was right, they did need to go. As for where, there were a few facilities just outside of Metropolis he could go and deposit his loot. Then he could begin work on reverse engineering this alien technology and analyzing the data his gauntlet had been downloading throughout this venture.

Something would come of this, something that would place him back into prominence in a way no other person on Earth was. He would not stop until he ushered in a new era, one of his making.

One where heroes would no longer be needed.

They had passed Venus some time ago and if one were to squint their eyes and peer ahead, they would just be able to make out a growing pinpoint that was Mercury.

As the closest planet to the sun drew near, Green Lantern and Flash moved ever closer to the sun itself, and from this close up, it did look like a giant fireball. Such a sight did not stop the two superpowered humans from racing closer and closer to it, trying to stop the missile that would bring about the end of the world.

Now if only they could find it.

It was as the pair were passing the small, meteor-pocked planet that the speedster managed to pick out their quarry. "I see it!" Flash called out. "Crap, that thing's moving faster than I thought!"

Green Lantern held back a grimace. "Do you think you can catch up to it?"

"Who do you think you're talking to? Just keep giving me something to run on!"

If he hadn't thought Flash could move any faster, the Lantern was proven wrong as the Scarlet Speedster picked up his pace, moving the fastest he had ever witnessed the immature man moving.

Through the glare of the sun itself, the dark-skinned man kept concentrating as he finally spotted the missile. Due to their angle, all that could really be seen of it was its back, specifically the flames propelling it dead ahead. It had blended in with the star it was rocketing towards, but now seen, it could hide no more.

Flash began winding an arm, spinning it faster and faster until it appeared there was a small whirlwind instead of an arm. They were closing in on the missile, moving closer and closer. This also meant that they were moving closer to the sun as well, and if it weren't for the protection from his ring, both of them would have been blinded by now. So long as John kept up the concentration, they would be safe.

As they were moving parallel with missile, Flash threw his fist at it, the one that he had building up so much speed and force with, and struck the weapon in its side, forcing it off course. It was veering away from its target, heading off into space where it would hopefully do no harm.

"And score one for the...what the!" Flash had already begun to congratulate himself when the missile suddenly corrected itself, its head returning in the direction of the sun and continuing on its suicidal course. "Oh come on! What gives!"

"It probably can correct itself. We're going to need to do more to stop it," Green Lantern called out.

"Oh yeah? Well, let's see it correct this!" Flash was not about to give up without a fight. The speedster angled himself towards and missile and the Lantern did the same with his construct of a track. As their paths intersected, Flash lashed out with a flurry of punches, striking all over the side of the missile closest to him. Some hits managed to slightly knock the rocket off course but it would always self-correct.

"Okay, this is just getting ridiculous!" the speedster growled after one particularly harsh blow. By now, the side of the explosive was dented in all along its side but still it would not stop. "I bet Big Blue doesn't have this kind of trouble."

Glancing towards the sun and how he could see the sunspots on it, Lantern snapped, "We still need to stop it. Any bright ideas?"

For once, Flash was silent, even as he kept up with the missile. The seconds ticking by with the man's almost unnatural silence disturbed John slightly, but he remained focused on the task at hand.

Then, "Hey, you think you can grab it?"

"What do you mean grab it?"

"Can't you make another green thing and grab it? If you can, then maybe this will work. So can or can't you?"

He had been told that the ring was capable of a lot of things, and was only limited by the bearer themself. Whereas the ring held infinite potential, a person had limited concentration, and more importantly attention. You could only do a few things at a time, even with multitasking, and quality always dropped when you divided your attention more and more. Yes, he had served in the military and had to develop his multitasking skills, but many of these skills were unconscious; he wasn't actively paying attention to everything he did.

Right now, John was doing three things at once, and a fourth thing was going to be more taxing than that. Yet, there was no other choice, so he would do what he did best, and suck it up.

"We're gonna find out," the Lantern stated. Between constantly making a frictionless track, tethering himself to the fastest man alive, and shielding their bodies from the power of the sun itself and the natural cosmic radiation of the universe, now the dark-skinned man was projecting one more construct from this ring. As he did so, his other constructs weakened slightly, and he did his best to focus harder so as not to break any of them.

The end of this construct took the form of a clamp, one he whipped out quickly to grab the missile next to them. That was the most solid part of the construct as the rest appeared more flimsy.

"Alright, give us a U-turn!" Flash shouted.

Exerting more concentration, Green Lantern obeyed the request. The track construct began to turn sharply, almost going vertically as it made the turn. Flash followed it easily, but John found himself still moving forward for less than a second before he was yanked back and pulled along his teammate's wake. His hand jerked as well as the clamp construct reached the peak of its length.

Then it was the missile that jerked around into its own U-turn.

Immediately, the weapon's course correcting program kicked in and a new struggle was added to the equation. The missile moved all about behind the two of them, trying to return to is course. Sweat now was beading on John's forehead as the mental strain was really making itself known.

"Angle us to the right a bit!" Flash called back.

Whatever this plan was, it had better work.

Seconds seemed to stretch out, and the strain he was feeling in his head only grew. His discipline fought to maintain control, but it was getting harder and harder.

"We're almost there, GL!" Flash shouted. "Just a few more seconds. Hold it together!"

He didn't bother grunting or retorting "easy for you to say." For half a second, all of his constructs weakened, and the missile almost tore itself loose. A quick reassertion solidified them all. How much longer was this going to take? Like trying to hold up more weight than was reasonable or medically recommended, the same could be said for this battle of mental power.

Suddenly, something big, right in front of them, and growing bigger was noticed.

"Flash?" Green Lantern grunted.

"Not until I say!" Flash stated.

But...but they were heading straight towards the surface of a planet.

They were on a collision course with Mercury,

Not most knew this, but there was a side to the small planet that was practically smooth, escaping all sorts of cosmic objects. That was the side they were heading right for. Small geographic features were starting to become more and more obvious with each second.

"To the left! And throw it!" Flash roared.

It was practically instinctive. The track construct veered to the left of the planet and the clamp construct elongated before it finally broke. As the speeding pair parted ways with the weapon, the missile attempted to correct its course. However, the speed that had been picked up with Flash's assistance had it moving faster than the program could respond to. Even as it began to turn, it wasn't fast enough to complete it as the head of the missile collided with the surface of Mercury.

The massive explosion was much bigger than either of them could have anticipated, swarming over an enormous area of the first planet from the sun.

As an off-color fire engulfed much of Mercury, there was a sense of accomplishment. The missile could no longer impact the sun, which meant for now, Earth was safe.

Earth was not going into that long night today.

Not many knew of the swamp located to the north and west of Metropolis. For the most part, the area had been calm, serene in spite of what was happening nearby. The wildlife was acting cautious, as was its nature, and life proceeded at its normal pace.

It was all interrupted as an object landed in the muddy waters, sending a splash several feet up into the air. The wildlife scattered, and the waters rippled furiously until gradually calming down. Quiet resumed, retaking its reign over the land.

Then Brainiac tore himself out of the waters, coated with algae, and mud, and other various biological materials. The Coluan gasped, coughing out water and anything else that had managed to get into his mouth. His mobile bio-shell had protected him from much of the brunt of his landing, and as he recovered from the bodily trauma, his green eyes spotted his less than sterile and pristine condition.

Then they widened in absolute horror.

"Get off," he spoke, his voice uncharacteristically quiet. Then louder and less hinged, "Get off!" His hands began wiping at his arms and torso, and then to his head and face. "Get off! GET OFF!"

Brainiac was becoming more desperate and more frantic as he began to scrape at every available surface of his body that he could find. His eyes were wide with panicked mania as he struggled with an old foe, one that terrified him more than any other creature in the known universe. To his own eyes, phantom images of single-celled organisms that now sought ways to enter his body were a terror that was unknown after so long being safe in his ship.

There was no safety now. There was no control now. There was no—

A blow to his back, one delivered by Superman sent the alien down into the shallow parts of the swamp, his body digging a trench into the mud. "Welcome to Earth, Brainiac," the Kryptonian stated coldly. "Welcome to a place you can't control."

Shoving himself back up, Brainiac glared wildly at the Man of Steel. "You do not know what you've done! What you've done to me!" Metal tentacles charged out from his suit, lashing out at the hovering Kryptonian.

Superman snatched them all in one hand, moving quickly enough to do so in one action. Tightening his grip to an extreme, he crushed the artificial appendages, the clawed ends spasming as they opened to their fullest extent and moved no more. Not yet done, the Man of Steel pulled harshly on the extensions, in effect yanking Brainiac off his feet and flinging the alien towards him.

Pulling his free hand back, Superman balled it into a fist then threw it forward, striking the green-skinned menace in the chest. The force was more than enough to damage the futuristic armor, denting, cracking and fracturing it. Brainiac's momentum carried him past the dark-haired Kryptonian, his body flipping back and causing the most ungraceful landing into the muddy earth ever seen. Jolted loose, alien-based armor fell off the alien, exposing the black and white jumpsuit underneath it, creating a new entrance for Brainiac's deepest fear to gain access.

Pulling back again on the tentacles, Brainiac was pulled off of the earth once more and struck again, only this time it was back down to the watery ground. Superman hovered over him now, glancing at the ends of the tentacles still clenched in his hand. This latest blow had been enough to sever them, rendering them worthless to their master.

"You can't take it, can you?" he spoke calmly. "You can't handle what you can't control, can you? All the knowledge you've gained, and you haven't learned that life can't be controlled. It can't be bottled up and hidden away. All this time and all the suffering you've caused, and you don't know a thing about life."

Brainiac was slowly picking himself up, but it was a struggle for him now. He did have the benefit of his ship and its resources. He had no means in which to weaken his quarry. He could not plan or control for any variables now.

"You are so short-sighted. Life must be managed," the alien growled, getting up onto his knees. "Knowledge must be...belong to one who understands its importance. What do you think you are accomplishing?"

"A lot more than you are," Superman retorted.

With a snarl, Brainiac spun on his heels, throwing a punch that struck the Kryptonian in his chest. Superman didn't give a grunt, but he gave another blow of his own, one that flung the alien backwards and into a tree. Bark exploded off of it as Brainiac collided with it, and its roots were strong enough to keep it standing tall. Not so much for Brainiac who slumped down to the muddy, sloppy, and disease-ridden swamp.

Tossing aside the remains of the tentacles, Superman made his way to the beaten menace, stretching out a hand to snatch the green-skinned alien by his jumpsuit and raise him up into the air. Height no longer mattered, and Brainiac dangled in the Kryptonian's grip. He took in the defeated sight, noticed the damage to the space armor, the few cables that remained attached to the ports in the aliens head, but were severed much like his tentacles. He saw how gunk from the swamp were gumming up empty ports, how water was wrinkling the green skin, all of which increased the scene of defeat.

But what to do with him now.

So many lives lost. Metropolis shrunk and with no way he knew of to reverse it. Brainiac would not do anything to help, because it was knowledge he had sampled and was determined to keep. Maybe the computers at the Fortress might be able to help. That still left the threat that this alien represented.

It was a threat he could end right here and now.

"Superman!"

There was a splash a distance away, but he recognized the voice. Batman had shown up. There was another splash; someone else was here and a quick look over his shoulder allowed him to see Wonder Woman. They weren't threats, and so he returned his attention to the one that was.

"Superman, what are you doing?" Batman demanded as he took a step closer to them.

He didn't answer. All he could do was glare at the bastard that had stolen a life, a family, one that had been his before he had ever known it, and would never know what it could be. A life amongst other Kryptonians, where he wouldn't feel alone, or different, and raised with his parents, ones he only knew from holograms and data files and nothing more.

Brainiac stole it all before he could ever value any of it.

"You're...you're thinking about killing him. Aren't you."

Surprisingly, Superman did not feel an icy jolt or even a reactionary jerk. Batman had just put into words what he was feeling right now, feelings he hadn't been able to describe just yet.

"Superman. Kal, he is beaten," Wonder Woman stated. "There is no need to fight him anymore."

"Why? Why should he get to live after everything he's done?" His voice came out surprisingly hoarse, a rasp that held back strong emotions. "How many people has he hurt? How many killed? How many more if I let him live? He's taken so much...from everyone. From me."

"You can't kill him. You'll just—"

Superman interrupted the vigilante. "I'll be like him? Is that what you're trying to say? That if I put an end to him right here, right now, I'll be just like him?"

"And give people like Luthor exactly what they want to discredit you?" Batman demanded. "You're better than that, Kent. You're better than Luthor, and Brainiac, and whatever else you've had to fight. Not because you're Superman, but because you stand for something more. You don't kill, not because it makes you better than them, but because that's the right thing."

"This isn't your fight. Just look away." Superman found himself clenching his teeth tightly, not wanting to heat some spiel about morality. For a man who beat people with his bare fists, that was a lot coming from him.

"What you're thinking of is revenge," Wonder Woman cut in. "We fight for justice, do we not? Sometimes that means we do things that go against our wants. We are seen as heroes not because we're able to do things that most cannot, but because we don't give in to our dark urges. Where I come from, justice is more...exacting, but I have learned much coming here to Man's world. I have learned that there are other ways, and execution does not need to be the answer. This is true when answers are what we need. How will we restore Metropolis? The other cities he's taken? Only Brainiac knows those answers."

They were answers that the alien would not give up. Knowledge was for him to keep, because it was only valuable if only one person had it. Why didn't they understand that? What, in all they have seen, would make them think that Brainiac would willingly give up his knowledge?

"Do...it."

That caught the Kryptonian off guard. The big reason was that those two words came right from the alien he held up in the air.

"Go on. Kill me," Brainiac croaked out. "Do it...before I am wasted away by this planet's contaminations. Its diseases. It's what would be done...on Krypton. In that regard...your home world...and this world...are much alike."

"Don't listen to him," Batman requested urgently. Something about his tone was off. It was as if he sounded...desperate? But why?

"They call it...avenging, don't they?" Brainiac continued haltingly. "Then...avenge your father. Avenge Krypton. Avenge every world...I've ever destroyed. You have the power—"

"Shut up!" Batman snapped at the broken alien. "Superman—Clark! Listen to me. Don't listen to him! Don't give him what he wants!"

"He's trying to manipulate you!" Wonder Woman added. "He wants you to kill him!"

"—all the power you need...to end me. To end my...reign of terror. To save the universe from me," Brainiac continued heedlessly. "So use it. Use that brutish strength. You'll be avenging them...all. Life...for a life."

"Shut. Up," Superman growled, tightening his grip on the jumpsuit.

Water sloshed against booted feet, someone, or someones, were fidgeting or getting ready to move. But really, would they be fast enough? Despite it all, the Kryptonian was the fastest here; he could have already snapped Brainiac's neck by now and no one would have been able to stop him.

"Clark. You're not a killer."

"I said shut up!" Superman snarled. The muscles in his arm was starting to cramp and when had he pulled it back, ready to punch forward with it? His whole body was tense and felt like it would start trembling at any minute from the strain. He didn't even know who had spoken last.

"Do you think Lois would want you to do this?"

That had to be Batman, and that was a low blow. To bring in his affection for the headstrong reporter was manipulative too. Yet he could see her face in his head, could remember all the expressions he had seen her with, from skeptical to awed, from fear to determined, from wonder to smug, and everything else in between.

What were the odds she too was bottled up in Brainiac's ship? Would he ever get to see her again? His anger towards this bastard was growing more.

It wasn't just his past that was ruined; his future too was on the brink of being lost, if it hadn't already. Lois, his father, his mother, and who knows what else, it was all being taken away and they all were connected to this alien, to Brainiac, the architect of his very life.

"Nothing but contaminated," Brainiac spat out. "Prove to me...that you are the brute you were...when I captured you. Take your vengeance. Avenge your people. Avenge your father. Make him proud."

Avenge the father he had never truly known. Avenge the man whom only an extraterrestrial computer could tell him anything about. It never had to be that way, if only it weren't for Brainiac. And if it weren't for him, he would never be here, be on Earth, had ever met Lois or any of the others or...or…

It ended here, didn't it? It ended right here with this intergalactic menace. This bastard who had stolen so much, taken away a future and a life from him. He would never grow up under Jor-El's care. He would never...never make his father...proud.

...that made me proud to be your father.

Kal-El took a deep breath in.

Though, there is one thing I am thankful for this Brainiac for. I was able to be your Pa, and there is nothing I would trade the world for if it meant losing that.

Kal-El opened eyes he hadn't known he had closed.

No matter what, you can always count that I'll be there, always at your side. That's what a father does for his child.

Clark Kent felt clarity.

"My father's name is Jonathan Kent. A farmer in Kansas. He raised me right, and there's nothing I won't do to make him proud of me, you son of a bitch."

He dropped genocidal alien into the mud, where he belonged. Brainiac had a look of incomprehension and shock, doing nothing as he sank further down into the swamp.

Turning away, Superman faced the other two, Wonder Woman and Batman. Wonder Woman had a look of approval on her face, her lips curled upwards into a smile. That was nothing new, not after such a tense moment.

Batman, though, appeared relieved, but it was only for a moment, hidden away as his cape closed off the vigilante's body to the world. And he looked like the dark figure everyone knew him to be once more. Still, the Kryptonian wondered if he had seen what he thought he had seen.

Nonetheless, he floated by the two, exhaustion beginning to take hold. In the distance, he could see smoke rising from what was left of his city, as well as a green glow surrounding the skull-shaped ship that hovered over it. Rays of light from the sun itself made it look picturesque.

But their work was not yet done. Now was the time to start rebuilding again. Repairing the damages. Pointing the fingers at who was responsible. Returning to normalcy.

Yet he felt nothing but the exhaustion.