Between Alex directing operations at the DEO, Jon asking around his contacts and Jimmy reaching out to his contacts, Brainiac scouring the satellite feeds and Lena offer all assistance she could while Kara and Dreamer keep their ear to the ground, the hunt for Hank Henshaw was long and gruelling. The factor of a kryptonite powered Metallo rang so many alarm bells it was amazing the National Guard didn't get called in. no doubt Alex was tempted.
It had been almost three hours since the assault on the fusion reactor facility in Metropolis. Three hours since the last sighting of Cyborg Superman and his militia. Alex was contacted by the relevant people who wanted assurances she was utilising her people to apprehend the culprit. She assured them Hank was their top priority, neglecting to mention how she was inadvertently responsible for letting the man get away. She'd been beating herself up about it for the last three hours. She'd diverted her team to intercept and rescue Supergirl rather than apprehend his militia or track them to their base. As a sister she had no regrets, but as a director this was beyond irresponsible. She should've kept to the plan and trusted Kara to be safe, trusted their friends to protect her if needed. Instead she let an army of gunmen get away and now she's playing catch up.
Kara arrived ten minutes ago after introducing Jake to Jimmy. Alex made a promise to talk to her about how things between her and Jake were now they got over their first date, but right now her focus was on finding Hank. She double checked with Brainy, who once again reported no sighting. "I'll try and scan the city for kryptonite again" he offered.
"Widen the search radius by a few miles" Alex suggested. "Then keep going. If he has a stockpile of kryptonite, there's no way he can keep it hidden forever."
"That may be true, unless Hank Henshaw anticipated we'd be scanning for kryptonite" Brainy said analytically. "If he took suitable precautions, such as lined the building he's hiding in with lead or kept it deep underground, finding them via our satellites will be…" he stopped talking when he saw the look Alex and Kara was giving him. They didn't want to hear it would be almost impossible to find the stockpile should such precautions were taken because that'd mean they'd never find them. "I'll widen the search radius" he acknowledged, turning back to his computer inputting the commands.
Alex let out a sigh as she wiped her brow. Kara walked up to her dressed in her Supergirl costume and put a hand on her shoulder. "How are you holding up?" she asked.
Alex looked at her and chuckled. "You were the one hit by kryptonite, I asking you how you're holding up."
"I asked first" she smiled. "And you've been searching for him like this for days" she added with concern. "Maybe you should take a break?"
"I'm fine" she replied, trying to reassure her adopted sister. "I'll feel better when Hank is locked up and that army of robots he has is dismantled. Did Lena have any idea about the kryptonite?" she asked.
Kara shook her head. "She had nothing to do with it, but she's using L-Corp resources to help find it. She did find something about Kronos Limited though."
"Who?" Alex asked. But then the recollection kicked in and she nodded. "Right, Axis Environmental's secret investors. Wow, I almost forgot it all started with them."
"I know, right?" Kara chuckled. They sighed, happy to at least laugh despite how stressed they were both feeling. "It's not your fault he got away, you know" she assured her.
Alex shook her head. "I should've kept to my guns an ordered the convoy to intercept the militia" she said. "It was the smart call. If I had we'd either have them in custody or found their base by now. But the moment I heard about Metallo and the kryptonite…" she shook her head, leaning against the war table. "It's like I have two voices screaming at me at all times. One is the director of the DEO reminding me the whole world rests on my shoulders. The other is a girl terrified for her little sister. Jon warned me this job came with responsibilities, but I didn't think separating personal feelings would be so difficult."
Kara stepped forward and wrapped her arms around her, hugging her sister tightly. "I'm glad to have you as a sister" she told her. "Knowing you'll always have my back is a massive relief. We'll get Hank and we'll do it together."
Alex smiled, embracing the young woman relieved to hear how much she meant to her. It didn't quell the regret or the guilt, but it made it more bearable.
"We've got a hit!" Brainy's voice bellowed interrupting the touching family moment.
Both the Danvers sisters spun around to face the giant overhead screens and see Brainy bring up the fresh reading from a satellite. The image was flooded with radiation warnings detecting kryptonite, the scope zooming in on a small compound a few miles outside the city, a kilometre outside their initial search radius. Hank was just outside their purview this whole time.
Within minutes everyone was present in the war room either in costume or standing to attention. Nia and Jimmy arrived just in time for the briefing, visitor badges on their belts and their identities hidden behind masks or helmets. Kara stood beside Jon who was in his civilian form, who stood patiently with his arms crossed listening to Alex's briefing. Even Lena had opted to turn up upon hearing the discovery.
"We've isolated the location of at least half a ton of kryptonite, judging by the radiation it's generating" Brainy explained, pointing to the map of the compound. "Our scanners are detecting it inside the largest structure here." The drone feed zoomed in on the large warehouse situated in the middle of the compound, a large wire fence circling a ten yard radius with various outbuildings scattered across the complex. It looked empty.
"According to our records this was an old airfield until several years ago. It has a fallout bunker underneath the warehouse" she reported, bringing up an army schematic and matching it to the satellite generating a three-dimensional image. "We think he's been keeping his army of robots down there where the thick walls lined with lead are obscuring the scanners. We can't get visuals on inferred or deep spectrum."
"But going back to other satellite feeds have confirmed this location has been active for the last few weeks" Brainy confirmed, playing back the footage archived across several fly overs. They saw the militia convoys come and go along with a blur of movement that must be Hank Henshaw."
"So what's the plan?" Olsen asked, his voice distorted from his helmet.
"We go in hard and fast" Alex told them. "We don't know how many men he has on site so I'm bringing in addition tactical units. We all go in together" she told the superheroes and her agents. "Primary objective is to secure the facility and lock down all escape routes. Once inside we verify the location of the Metallo drones and secure them, disable each one as a precaution. Primary target is Hank Henshaw" she reminded them, bringing up his file which almost mirrored Jon Jones. "If you find him, wait for back-up. But we cannot let him get away again."
"Yes ma'am" her agents replied in unison while the vigilantes nodded.
"Okay, when do we head out?" Supergirl asked, hopping on her feet ready to launch out and get the bad guys.
Alex hesitated before locking her attention onto her. "Supergirl, given the situation I'm going to have to request you wait here" she said reluctantly.
Kara stumbled as she turned back to lock eyes with the young redhead. "What?" she asked, looking around at the others in bewilderment. But to her surprise nobody argued with the director. "You can't be serious?"
"This is serious" Alex explained. "Until we know what we're up against we have to assume each one of those Metallo robots is operational. That means each one could be infused with kryptonite. It's too risky to send you into such a risky operation like that."
"So you're benching me?" Kara objected, staring at her almost begging. Her eyes narrowed wondering if this was Director Danvers talking or her overprotective sister.
"She's right" Jon interjected, stepping in front of Kara supporting his protégé. "The situation is too dangerous for you. Since none of us will be affected by the kryptonite it's better for you to wait here for further orders." Kara opened her mouth to argue until Jon put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, we can handle this. And if Henshaw tried to escape, then we call you in to assist once we've neutralised the kryptonite."
Kara's eyes darted between Jon and Alex, frustration wanting her to lash out. But she realised they were right and reluctantly stepped back. She didn't like it but she acknowledge the decision. Jon silently thanked her, as did Alex. "The rest of you, we leave in five minutes" she declared.
It didn't take them long to secure the compound. Within moments of arriving Alex set up a perimeter with Len and Kara watching the drone feed from the DEO notifying them of anything. Martian Manhunter was in the air scanning the compound, reporting zero activity. Dreamer and Guardian sat with Brainy in the mobile command unit waiting for the signal. Once the perimeter was locked down Alex gave the cue to advance.
The squadron of black SUV's barrelled through the rusted gates invading the facility at three different points of entry. They rocketed across the dirt roads skidding to a stop around the warehouse in the middle of the facility. Seconds later dozens of agents had boots on the ground and were sprinting with rifles drawn to secure the area. The vigilantes jumped out and advanced on the warehouse flanked by armed personnel. Dreamer kept looking at them warily. She wasn't used to such well-armed or official back-up.
Once the compound was locked down Alex scanned the area. It was suspiciously empty of militia vehicles or fortification. She signalled her men to stay on guard as Jon floated down and phased into the warehouse. Minutes later he radioed the all clear and she led the charge inside. The building was empty.
Everyone spread out and began searching while Kara watched the body camera her sister was wearing. She couldn't see any sign of Hank or the militia. Neither could they. "Brainy, are you sure this is the place?" Alex asked looking to her second in command.
Brainy double checked his wrist mounted computer, the signal beeping as he moved around. "Kryptonite signature confirmed" he said, his gaze drawn downwards. "It must be underneath us."
"I can't see inside" Jon reported, his eyes glowing as he scanned the floor below.
"Schematics say the entrance is this way" Brainy told them, leading the ground to the far end of the warehouse where they found a large hatch leading to a stairwell. Alex ordered some men to stay up here while the rest followed her and her friends down into the bunker.
The hallway was dark as they climbed downstairs. Alex and her agents turned on their flashlights while Dreamer summoned a glowing blue light to emit from her costume. Brainy looked at her new power and smiled. She beamed with pride, her training progressing ever further. They stalked slowly into the darkness listening to the slightest sound, turning right into a large open space cloaked in shadow. Their beams of light failed to illuminate more than a few paces in front of them, forcing them to huddle into a circle as they stepped into the room. After a minute of nervous silence they were met with the echoing sound of slow clapping.
"Report!" Alex whispered into her earpiece as her attention turned to the sound, her beam of light shining into the darkness.
"There's nobody here director" a voice from upstairs called back, the same from several other sources.
Then Lena's voice interrupted telling her "we're detecting one life form from the bunker, one life sign apart from you guys."
Alex glanced to her allies as the clapping grew louder, all their torches trained into the darkness as the shape of a large black man stepped into the light, his hands coming together theatrically with each step. As he come closer the light reflected off his metal face plate and arm and Cyborg Superman revealed himself to the DEO.
"You took your time" he said, his voice echoing across the dark cavern.
"Hank Henshaw, you are under arrest" Alex bellowed, training her gun on the man. Her agents did the same as the other stood prepared for resistance. She cast a glance around the room. "Where are the rest of your men?" she asked.
"Laying low" he replied dismissively. "They played their part, now I have little need of them."
She tightened the grip on her handgun. "You really think I'm going to believe you told your men to go home?" she asked suspiciously. When he stepped closer she aimed her pistol at his forehead. "Hands where I can see them!"
He kept his hands at his side, a cocky smirk on his face. His eyes scanned the ground illuminated by Dreamer's light. "Martian" he growled looking at Jon.
Jon didn't respond, his expression tensing, his thoughts cast out trying to locate the rest of the militia. Except he couldn't sense anybody else. "There's no one else here" he told Alex telepathically.
Hank looked around at the group again, lifting his gaze to peer through the ceiling. "Where's Supergirl?" he asked curiously. "I'd have thought she'd want to be here for this."
"She's close by" Alex bluffed. "But I think we can handle you ourselves."
"Pity" he sighed sadly. "I was hoping to settle a score before I moved onto his cousin. But I guess she'll have to wait till after I kill the rest of them" he scowled, his cybernetic eye suddenly glowing red.
At his mental signal, curtesy of the implant in his skull, the dark room suddenly vibrated as forty-three kryptonite hearts lit up revealing a chrome robot attached to it, their green eyes illuminating their heads as they all stared at the group of heroes. Alex spun in a circle along with their others realising they were surrounded, the robots blocking the way they came in somehow managing to move silently in the darkness. Now the large space was cast in a sickly green haze and they realised they'd walked into a trap.
Hank stood in front of his new army, rolling his shoulders as the thick jacket fell away to reveal the battle suit custom fitted to highlight and augment his cybernetics. He fixed his gaze on the superheroes watching their trepidation as they prepared to fight. "As I said, I don't need my men for what comes next."
"Where did you get so much kryptonite?" Brainy queried, staring at the glowing minerals emitting the radiation they tracked. This was more than they thought. He took some quick readings and was concerned to find each crystal was generating almost three times the amount of energy it was ordinarily supposed to.
"Consider him a wealthy benefactor" Hank replied, not interested in giving further details. He looked around at the group and considered his next action, coming to the conclusion he had more pressing tasks than settling scores. "Luckily for you, I have bigger plans in mind. But if you want to try your luck in stopping me, be prepared for a fight" he warned.
Before anyone could do anything, the metallo army all engaged their booster rockets from their backs and jumped up towards the ceiling. At the same instant Cyborg Superman leapt up and crashed through the concrete above him the drones engaged their flight systems and followed him through the ceiling, rocketing out of the ground startling the agents standing guard as they lifted into the ducky air. Alex, Jon, Dreamer, Guardian and Brainy all covered their heads with arms or shields as rubble and concrete rained over them while the dim sunlight lit up their room.
High above the compound in the sky, Hank hovered alongside his metal army and scanned the horizon. National City rose several miles away glistening in the orange sunlight. He cocked a smile as he signalled the drones to follow, rocketed through the air towards the city.