Chapter 94: Imperius Regina
Disclaimer: All things Supergirl/Superman belong to DC. No infringement is intended.
Star System Proxima Centauri
There was a bright hyper flare as an enormous Kryptonian battleship emerged from hyperspace. Kara, standing in the cockpit of a Justice League Javelin, regarded the large ship with a critical eye, her enhanced sight taking in all the details. It was quickly apparent that, unlike the ships Brainiac had sent against Earth the last time, this one was not a decoy meant to be easily destroyed by her and her allies. No, this was an actual battleship, fully armed, and ready for action. With a slight scoff she noticed the three discs arranged in a triangle that were visible on the ship's bow. Brainiac was almost as brand conscious as Batman was.
"It is hailing us," Adam told her from his place in the Javelin's pilot chair, his fingers performing a nervous drum beat on the console in front of him.
"Put it on screen," Kara responded. A moment later the image of the battleship was replaced by an empty control room.
"Greetings, Kara-El," the cold, emotionless voice of Brainiac came from the speakers.
"Hello, Brainiac," she replied calmly. "You are punctual, I see."
"I expected you to contact me earlier, Kara-El," Brainiac said. "I could have aided you when the Dominion invaded your adopted world."
"We did not need your aid then," Kara-El replied coldly. "And had you really been interested in aiding us, you would have done so without me asking for it."
"The Dominion is no longer a threat," Brainiac stated, something about his words sending a chill down Kara's spine, but she ignored it. "Why have you contacted me at this time, Kara-El?"
"I assume you are still monitoring Earth's transmissions, Brainiac. So you know that we have lost Kal-El."
"I have learned about it," Brainiac said, its voice never once changing its tone. "The passing of the last true-blooded Kryptonian male is an unfortunate event and will require adjustments to be made to all plans regarding the future of the Kryptonian Empire. "
Kara felt the rage rising within her but kept her temper. "Your information is incomplete, Brainiac. Kal-El is not dead. He was kidnapped."
Brainiac actually paused for a second or two upon hearing this statement.
"You are certain of this?" it finally asked, and Kara imagined that there was the slightest bit of… something…. in its voice. Or maybe she was just imagining it. Not that it mattered.
"Fully certain," Kara replied.
"Please elaborate, Kara-El," Brainiac asked. "Who has kidnapped the last son of Krypton?"
Superwoman's Fortress, four weeks ago
"There, can you see it?" Kona pointed towards the holographic image in front of them.
Kara, recovered from the Blood Morel and back at full strength, stared at the indicated readouts. It was true then. When Kona had told her, she had not dared to believe. She had not dared to allow hope into her heart. But there it was, clear as day.
"When Darkseid used those eye beams of his to kill Steppenwolf," Kona explained when Kara did not say anything, "the Super Wristwatch did not record anything like the signature frequency of the Boom Tubes. But when he used them on Clark..."
Kara saw it. Right there, the very same energy signature that had popped up every time a Boom Tube was opened. There seemed to be an individual component to the signatures, probably dependent on who opened them, but they were clearly all the same. And this one was utterly identical to the one recorded when Darkseid had first stepped out of his Boom Tube.
"He did not kill Clark," Kara finally said, her voice deceptively calm. "He teleported him away. The crumbling-into-ash was probably just some kind of after-image or intentionally crafted illusion."
Kona nodded. "Clark is alive," she repeated, probably for the hundredth time since Kara had woken up. "He was kidnapped."
Kara closed her eyes, even as the doubts began popping up in her mind. They only knew that Clark had been alive back then, that he had not been vaporized by those devastating energy beams. They had no idea, though, what had happened to him in the weeks since. There was still a strong possibility that he was indeed dead, had been killed at a later date by Darkseid or one of his minions. These self-styled New Gods were incredibly powerful. She did not utter any of these words, though. Clark was alive, she resolved. He had to be alive! No other option was acceptable to her.
"And we will find him," Kara told her daughter, who nodded with a look of steely resolve. Kara was so incredibly proud of her young daughter, who had managed to hold everything together even as Kara had fallen apart.
Together the two of them turned to look at the huge machine Kara had built. To tell the truth, she had no clear memory of the last day or so she had worked on this thing. Lack of sleep, emotional turmoil, and the onset of the Blood Morel had clouded her mind. Learning that this machine had gone out of control after her collapse and could have done serious damage to the planet had humbled her quite thoroughly.
Still, the machine was here, and it worked… mostly. She had cracked the energy source of the Motherboxes and while her version of it was crude in comparison, it would serve its purpose. The only thing that did not work, not yet, was the actual opening of the Boom Tube.
"You have done brilliant work here, Kara-El."
Kara looked to where Scott Free was walking around the machine. At first, she had been a bit apprehensive about allowing the two refugees from the News Gods access to her Fortress, but Kona had made a judgement call and Kara was not about to second-guess her. From what she had been told, Free had been instrumental in shutting down the machine, so clearly Kona's call had been the right one.
"Thank you," she said. "It is still not working as it should, though."
Free nodded. "I went over the design specs Kona showed me. Sadly, I have no Motherbox of my own to compare it to, just my memories of fixing the one I had. I think you are pretty close, but I am not sure I can help you get it to work. I like to think I'm a pretty smart guy but breaking the boundaries of spacetime is not my area of expertise."
Kara nodded, though she could not help but feel disappointed. The door to finding Clark was directly in front of them, but they could not open it.
"Maybe we can talk to the Guardians of the Universe?" Kona proposed. "I mean, the Green Lantern rings can bridge intergalactic distances in a matter of hours, right?"
"We can try it," Kara nodded. "But I am not terribly optimistic. Gardner's ring was incapable of analyzing the Boom Tubes I opened back when I still had Steppenwolf's Motherbox. I have also contacted Adam's father-in-law, Sardath, on Rann."
"He invented the Zeta Beam, right?" Kona asked.
"Yes, so maybe he can give us some pointers how to get this to work. The Rannians are almost as scientifically advanced as Krypton was at its peak."
Kara looked at the design specs and the frequencies recorded during their confrontation with Darkseid. She was sure that she was holding the key to finding Clark right here, but she still did not know how to use it. And she had the terrible feeling that time was rapidly running out on them.
Star System Proxima Centauri, the Present
"I concur with your analysis that Kal-El was indeed kidnapped instead of killed, Kara-El," Brainiac said after having listened to Kara's summary of events. "What is it you are asking of me?"
"I am not asking anything, Brainiac," Kara said, straightening up to her full height. "I am ordering you."
"Ordering me, Kara-El?" Brainiac asked, the cold voice almost managing to sound amused at the prospect.
Aware that everything depended on the next minute or so, Kara pushed all doubts and concerns aside, focusing completely on the words she was speaking next.
"I am Kara-El, head of the House of El, and by virtue of survival and in accordance with the terms laid down in the Imperial Charta of Rao, I hereby claim the full authority of Bythgar of Krypton, supreme ruler of the Kryptonian Empire. Darkseid of Apokolips has declared war on our people by kidnapping Kal-El, last son of Krypton, and we will bring him to justice for his deeds. Your orders, Brainiac, are to provide us with any and all information and assistance necessary to find Darkseid, rescue Kal-El, and deliver justice.
"Confirm your understanding of and compliance with these orders, Brainiac!"
For a long moment there was but silence, but then Brainiac spoke. "By your command, Bythgar Kara-El. I exist only to serve the Empire."
A second later a huge hyper flare lit up half the star system and something incredibly large emerged from hyper space.
"Great Rao," Kara muttered.
Justice League Watchtower, three weeks ago
Sardath, chief scientist of the planet Rann, father-in-law of Adam Strange, and one of the smartest men Kara had ever met, sat down in his chair and sighed.
"I am truly sorry, Kara-El," he began, "but I fear I cannot help you."
Kara closed her eyes, having feared as much.
"While the Zeta Beam and these Boom Tubes both create a similar effect in enabling instant travel across vast distances," Sardath elaborated, "the underlying principles are entirely different. My study of the calculations you have extrapolated from the Motherbox shows that the Boom Tubes clearly have a pan-dimensional aspect to them that the Zeta Beam simply cannot duplicate."
"Sardath is correct," a new voice added.
Kara looked over to the far corner of the conference room they had gathered in, where pale green images projected by Guy Gardner's power ring took on the form of the Guardians of the Universe.
"During the recent crisis caused by these self-styled New Gods," one of the Guardians explained, "we have extensively analyzed the Boom Tubes they used to travel from place to place. We believe the reason that we have been unable to locate the home planets of these New Gods is that they are situated on a different dimensional plain, possibly in some kind of pocket dimension, or permanently folded space. Sadly we, too, have so far been unable to replicate their method of travel."
The second Guardian looked at Kara.
"We have two dozen of our most combat-experienced Lanterns on standby, Kara-El," she said. "Should you find a way to our common enemy, the Green Lantern Corps shall stand with you."
"Thank you, Guardians," she replied. The Guardians nodded, then their images faded out.
"And you better believe I'll be one of those GLs, goldielocks," Gardner told her. "I missed out too much of the big stuff lately."
"Thank you, Guy," she simply replied and, for once, there was no sarcastic remark. Gardner merely gave her a jaunty salute and left.
"It still amazes me that this design is capable of bending space the way these Boom Tubes do," Sardath said, his eyes still on Kara's notes on the Motherboxes. "There seem to be no actual mechanisms for inducing gravity wells or similar effects."
Kara sat down beside him. "I have thought the same. At first, I believed that they operated similarly to the Green Lantern rings, basically creating the necessary hardware on the fly by way of shaped energy fields, but I do not think that is actually true. The array on top here focuses the energy, but I have never seen the Motherboxes actually produce a visible energy discharge, so where does the energy actually go?"
"You have a theory, I presume?"
"Yes, I think it is focused back inward. Have you ever heard of Infraspace Theory, Sardath? Scientists here on Earth are calling it Description Theory, I believe."
Sardath looked at her. "You mean the theory that the underlying layer of the universe is not atoms or quarks or even smaller particles, but rather information itself, yes? We have a similar theoretical discipline on Rann, though we call it Integral Design Theory."
Kona sat down next to them. "I have read something about that. Something about how the visible universe is merely the expression of an informational layer, somewhat similar to the desktop of a computer?"
Kara nodded. "Yes. Kryptonian scientists used some of those principles when designing the self-replicating crystals that became the basis of much of our technology, but they have never progressed farther than that. But I have been thinking, what if that is how the Motherboxes operate? They do not cause the effects they do through physical means like gravity emitters or energy fields, but rather by running extremely complex equations that manipulate the underlying substrata of the universe..."
"... rewriting the base code of reality," Sardath picked up the thought, "and thus convincing the universe that there is supposed to be a shortcut leading from A to B in exactly this place and this time."
"Yes," Kara agreed. "The Motherboxes, for all their sophisticated design, are really just extremely powerful computers, capable of running equations and calculations that no other machine can perform. The energy from the array is focused into a processing engine and that is where it all happens."
"A bold theory, Kara-El," Sardath muttered. "One that does seem to match the facts available to us, but still leaves us with the same problem as before. Integral Design Theory is just that, I fear, a purely theoretical discipline. I am not aware of anyone ever managing to put it to a practical test."
"Even if we were able to piece together the necessary equations," Kona added, "we would need a computer capable of actually running them. I doubt even the Fortress computer would be capable of doing that. Heck, I'm not sure even the Coluans could do it."
Kara suddenly felt cold as something occurred to her. "You are right. We would need a far more advanced computer for that. The greatest, most capable computer ever created in this galaxy."
Kona's eyes widened as she realized what her mother was talking about.
Star System Proxima Centauri, the Present
The object that emerged from hyperspace behind Brainiac's ship was so massive that it took Kara a long moment to truly take it in. When she finally did, her breath hitched.
"Please tell me I'm seeing things," Adam muttered.
"If so, then we both are," she replied, her eyes never moving, not even blinking.
Several years ago, when the Justice League had first come together, Kara had witnessed the destruction of the greatest war machine ever constructed by mortal hands. The War World, built by the malevolent Warzoon, had collided with a dwarf star after being knocked out of its orbit by Kara herself, and the entire solar system had been obliterated by the resulting shockwave. Nothing and no one could possibly have survived that. Kara had rested assured that the War World had been annihilated that day, never to menace the galaxy again.
It appeared she had been wrong.
"It's the War World," Adam whispered, still not quite believing it. "Well, part of it," he added a moment later.
Kara nodded, seeing what he meant. The War World had been a massive artificial planetoid, larger than the Earth, larger than the dwarf star it had orbited. The collision with said star had left its mark, though. The object now coming towards them was, at best, a quarter of the original construct, roughly shaped like a crescent moon. It seemed to be fully operational, though, clearly maneuvering under its own power and still bristling with weapons. Kara's eyes zoomed in on the sections of the planetoid where the larger part of its superstructure had been ripped away and could see that massive repairs had been made. Repairs that were ongoing, in fact, as she could see thousands upon thousands of robot drones working on adding new sections.
"What is the meaning of this, Brainiac?" she opened the com again.
"You ordered that I was to assist your mission to retrieve Kal-El and dispense justice against those who wronged the Kryptonian Empire, Bythgar Kara-El," Brainiac replied. "As such, I am putting what is currently the Empire's most powerful asset at your disposal."
"How long have you had the remnant of the War World under your control, Brainiac?" she asked, the very thought of having such a powerful tool of war operational was enough to make her insides freeze.
"Drone ships visited the system after I became aware of your continued existence and connected them to the rumors about the resurgence of the War World. The Warzoon were certainly expert engineers, as I know of no other construct that could have survived a collision with a dwarf star, even if but partially. Restoring it to operational capacity has tied up a lot of my resources, but it has proven to be worth the time and effort."
Kara opened her mouth to ask whether Brainiac had already deployed the War World against someone or something, but she stopped herself. This was not the time. If she were to learn that Brainiac had unleashed this weapon against someone, there was no way she would be able to work with the AI, no matter how much she needed it. It would have to wait.
"Very well," she replied. "Though the fire power at your disposal is not what I currently need, Brainiac. I have begun deciphering the method of transportation used by the self-styled New Gods and I believe I am close to figuring it out. I do require your processing capability, though, in order to finish the work."
"I am at your disposal, Bythgar Kara-El. I serve the Empire."
Kara nodded, closing her eyes, hoping that she was not going to damn both herself and the rest of the galaxy by doing this. If her plan failed... she refused to even think about it.
"Deals with the devil," she muttered. "Seems to be a trend as of late."
Stryker's Island Penitentiary, sixteen days ago
Lex Luthor blinked, not sure that he had heard correctly.
"Please repeat that! You want me to do what?"
Sitting across from him at the table of the prison's visitor room, Superwoman sighed. She looked tired, he noticed. There were dark circles under her eyes and while she still looked absurdly young for someone who had to be at least thirty years old, possibly more, she seemed to have aged quite a bit as of late. Well, he figured losing one's son would impact most people who weren't above such petty concerns.
"I want you to help me take control of Brainiac," she repeated her earlier statement.
He blinked again. Okay, it seemed he had not misheard her after all.
"Okay, three questions. Number one, why do you think I can? Number two, why do you think I would, even if I could? And number three, if you want to take control of Brainiac, does that mean you are finally showing your true colors, alien?"
She chuckled, though even that chuckle sounded tired.
"One, I think that, given your past cooperation with him, you are the closest thing to an expert on how Brainiac ticks currently alive, so yes, I think so. Three, I have been showing my true colors all along, Lex, you were simply never capable of accepting that they did not match yours."
He frowned. "And two?"
The door behind her opened and two more people walked into the room. Lex barely managed to hide his surprise at seeing them, especially together.
"Because we are the ones asking you, evil dad," Supergirl said.
"And if you refuse, we're gonna figure out how to do it without you and tell everyone you couldn't hack it," Lena Luthor added, her arm slung around Supergirl's shoulder even as she smirked at him.
For a long moment he just stared, lost for words. He briefly wondered whether the universe was trying to send him some kind of message by staging this family meeting – did that mean he and Superwoman were family, too, in some weird kind of way? – but he banished the notion. Family meant nothing beyond the possibility of maybe passing on his genius.
"You know how dangerous Brainiac is, Lex," Superwoman told him, wrenching him from his thoughts. "It used you as cannon fodder against me, fully expecting me to kill you. To him, you are nothing more than yet another unimportant human. The only reason he even noticed that you exist, is because of your obsession with me."
"I do not have an obsession with you," he shot back, even though he knew how hollow that argument was.
"The gentleman does protest too much," Lena said, chuckling, causing him to throw an angry glare her way. He was quickly coming to regret finding her and giving her control of Lexcorp.
"Your next trial is coming up, Lex," Superwoman reminded him. "Depending on how it goes, you could be a free man in a few months or remain in prison for life."
"Blackmail, Superwoman? How unheroic!"
"You can think whatever you want of me," she replied. "I truly do not give a damn, Lex. But there are dangers out there you cannot even imagine, and I need Brainiac to take care of them. There is actually a good chance I might get killed in the process, too."
"How about it, evil dad?" Supergirl asked, hopping up to sit on the table. "Revenge against Brainiac for using you, bragging rights for helping take care of some uber-powerful space baddies and knowing you might help get mom killed while walking out of prison a free man."
He narrowed his eyes, then looked at Lena. "And why are you here?"
She shrugged. "Oh, mostly just to see you wearing that prison jumpsuit. Too bad the guards took my camera, I wanted to send a picture to mom. Also, my sister asked me for help. It's what families do. Not that you would know."
Lex studied the three people in front of him for a long minute. They had to be desperate to go to him for help, that much was easily discernible even for people far less intelligent than him. They needed his help, no matter their bravado. That did not invalidate Supergirl's childish yet entirely accurate argument, though. And to be perfectly honest, he was getting tired of wearing these jumpsuits, too.
"Very well," he finally said. "Let's talk Brainiac then."
Star System Proxima Centauri, the Present
"I concur with your analysis, Bythgar Kara-El," Brainiac said. "The Boom Tubes used by the New Gods are the result of mathematical manipulation of the informational substrata of the universe, a discipline known to Kryptonians as Infraspace Theory."
"Good to hear," she replied, feeling entirely uneasy standing in the command center of Brainiac's flagship. Her eyes kept wandering around the room, scanning everywhere for anything that could be a trap. "The question is, can you duplicate it?"
The AI remained silent for several seconds, which Kara knew to be an eternity for a computer program as advanced and powerful as Brainiac was.
"It will take a significant percentage of my total processing power, but yes, I can."
Kara closed her eyes, something deep inside her chest loosening as she heard those words. They could do it. They could reach Clark.
"How soon?"
"We will need to transfer your prototype array from Earth here, so I can replicate and improve the design," Brainiac said. "The power source you have developed will suffice for the energy needs, but I will need to utilize the systems of the War World for the actual processing."
Kara raised an eyebrow. "I assumed that you have a network of processor nodes across the galaxy, Brainiac. Why not simply use that?"
"The running of calculations this complex demands perfect synchronization of all involved sub-processors. Even the micro-second delays caused by interstellar communication could cause dangerous deviations in the final results."
Kara ensured that both her face and her voice remained unchanged, even as she was vibrating with tension inside. So far Brainiac was reacting exactly as predicted and had even confirmed, if but indirectly, their suspicion regarding its networked nature. "Very well, how much time to do you estimate until you can successfully open a Boom Tube to the target?"
"Once the necessary hardware is present, I estimate it will take roughly 17 hours and 15 minutes, plus or minus 5 minutes."
"Very well then, begin all necessary preparations on your end," she ordered. "I will ensure that all required forces are present for the opening of the Tube, so we can immediately launch the strike against Darkseid."
"I advise caution, Bythgar Kara-El," Brainiac said as she turned to leave. "Our information about the target is rather incomplete. While I agree that the use of the recorded frequencies should take us to Darkseid's place of origin, we have no intelligence of what will await us there. Given what little we know of the most recent events, it is possible that Darkseid and his home planet no longer exist. Alternatively, he could very well have triumphed over his adversaries and be even more powerful than when you encountered him on Earth. I propose to first send a scouting mission through the Boom Tube."
Kara shook her head. "We would lose the element of surprise. Given Darkseid's power levels, it might well be the only advantage we have."
"If that is your decision, Bythgar Kara-El, then I strongly advice that you do not personally join the assault. With the fate of Kal-El uncertain, you are the last full-blooded Kryptonian left in the universe."
Kara clenched her fists, knowing that the game she was playing here was getting more dangerous by the second. And that was not even factoring in the upcoming confrontation with Darkseid.
"I have heard your advice, Brainiac," she simply said. "Proceed with the creation of the Boom Tube!"
"By your command, Bythgar Kara-El."
Stryker's Island Penitentiary, eleven days ago
"Brainiac is not a single piece of software," Luthor said. "It is a network of nodes, each of them carrying a full copy of the AI's base code."
"I remember back on Krypton that every city and every larger settlement had their own Brainiac node," Kara agreed. "I always assumed that the Master Program was in Kryptonopolis, the capitol."
Luthor looked at her, raising an eyebrow. "Kryptonopolis? Really?"
"You live in a city called Metropolis on a planet simply called Earth. Your point?"
He shook his head. "My point is that the redundancy built into this networked system will make it effectively impossible to reprogram Brainiac. Even if we were able to locate the node currently serving as the Master Program and introduce a virus, the network will simply cut out the infected node and a different one will take over as the new Master Program."
"We would need to reprogram all nodes simultaneously," Lena said, "which will be hard given that we do not know how many there are and where they are. Probably spread out all over the galaxy to prevent just such a thing from happening."
Kona paced around the table. "The calculations required to run the equations for opening a Boom Tube are really complex. If we can get Brainiac on board, wouldn't it have to access its entire network in order to gain the necessary processing power?"
"Impractical," the green-skinned man sitting at the far end of the table said. Vril Dox was a Coluan who had been sent to Earth to aid Kara in her mission and his knowledge of computers easily surpassed anyone on Earth except possibly Luthor. The Coluans, of course, also had practical experience with Brainiac infiltrating their systems.
"While an interstellar network such as Brainiac probably has would have enormous advantages, it would not serve well in terms of parallel processing. Even the most efficient means of faster-than-light communications cannot avoid a slight delay over such distances."
Kara could not help but compare the Coluan to another member of his species, who also carried the name Dox, but lived a thousand years in the future. Querl Dox, aka Brainiac-5 and member of the Legion of Superheroes, was a good friend and also a brief holiday fling of hers. Apart from the common name, though, she could see little of Querl in the man sitting before her. Probably for the best, she mused.
"Okay, if targeting Brainiac's entire network at once is off the table," she said, "what can we do regarding that part of him that will interact with us? Can we isolate it, cut it off from the rest, and reprogram it?"
The geniuses assembled around the table thought on that.
"It could work," Luthor conceded finally. "Coordination would have to be perfect. There are probably security measures in place to counter just such a scenario, so cutting part of Brainiac off from the network and reprogramming that part would have to happen basically simultaneously before the isolated node can reconnect or trigger some kind of kill switch."
"If mom can get it on board and it starts using all its processing power for the Boom Tube," Kona added, "that should give us the ideal window to strike, right?"
Dox nodded. "It would be our best chance, agreed."
"So, we need a two-pronged assault," Lena took over. "One team to cut off all possible ways the Brainiac node can communicate with the rest of its network, and a second one to introduce a virus into its system to reprogram it."
"The second one will be a lot more difficult," Dox said. "If Brainiac has truly become an entirely self-aware AI, there is no telling what modifications it has done to its source code since its original creation on Krypton. And we do not even have a copy of said original code."
Luthor grinned. "That is not quite true. During my forced servitude to the AI, I was able to get a good look at part of its code. Especially the part that contained its primary directives. If I am right – and I am – that is the only part we need to focus on."
Kara's eyes narrowed. "Explain!"
Star System Proxima Centauri, the Present
The giant structure of the War World was by far the largest artificial object present in the system, but by now it was far from the only one. Apart from Brainiac's ship and the Justice League Javelin, a host of other ships had arrived. A pair of Coluan ships had transported Kara's Motherbox replica from Earth, while a small fleet consisting of ships from Vega, Rann, Antares, and half a dozen additional Javelins, had gathered as well. Additionally, twenty-three Green Lanterns were present, which included the Green Lantern Honor Guard that usually stayed on Oa to protect the Guardians.
"It is an impressive strike force you have assembled, Bythgar Kara-El," Brainiac said, almost managing to sound proud. "It is evident that, even without my assistance, you are working on restoring the Kryptonian Empire to its full glory."
"It was never our goals that brought us into conflict, Brainiac," Kara told him coldly. "Only the methods we were willing to utilize."
"Agreed," the AI responded. "You are certain that you do not wish to use additional star ships in this strike mission? By my information your allies should be capable of fielding at least five times this many ships, in addition to the drones I could provide."
She shook her head. "I do not wish the leave the Empire unprotected," she said, even though using the word empire left a somewhat sour taste in her mouth. She was trying to build an alliance, a union, not a dictatorship. "This is a highly dangerous mission, the odds of any of us returning are not good."
"Once again, I strongly advise that you should remain behind, Bythgar."
Kara glared at the screen where Brainiac's symbol appeared. "I will not. But I have instructed Kona Kara-El to remain behind, Brainiac. Note that she is my chosen successor as Bythgar of the Empire in case I should not return."
Of course, her all but ordering Kona not to accompany them had nothing to do with bloodlines or empires, just her desire not to lose yet another member of her family. Kona had not taken it well, but after a long and somewhat strained argument, she had finally relented.
"So noted, Bythgar Kara-El," Brainiac replied.
"How much longer until the Boom Tube equation is completed?"
"Calculations will be complete in 6 minutes, 34 seconds. Once completed, the Boom Tube will open with a 91.7 percent probability of success. The launch of the attack force should commence immediately afterwards."
Kara nodded, though her mind was racing. Six minutes until it would all come to a head. So many things would have to be done simultaneously and in exactly the right way... if they failed... no, she refused to even consider it. It would work! It had to work!
She sent the command to the attack force to gather in front of the predicted appearance of the Boom Tube. All of them, of course, knew that there was an additional element to the plan that Brainiac was not aware of. Which was why five of the Green Lanterns remained well back from the rest, prepared to do their part. The most important job would be up to Kara herself and the data crystal in her pocket seemed to weigh tons as she resisted the impulse to fiddle with it.
"Four minutes," Brainiac intoned.
The War World would remain here, of course. As much as Kara would have liked to take its immense fire power along for the attack, there was just no way to open a Boom Tube large enough to transport it. Maybe the New Gods could do it, but Kara would be happy if they managed to open a Tube at all, never mind one big enough for the Javelins and warships to fly through. Depending on the actual size, there were contingencies in place which members of the attack force would have to stay behind and which could come along. All had been planned meticulously.
"Three minutes!"
Her thoughts strayed to Kona, who was safely back on Earth, probably still mad about it, and ready to step up as protector of the planet in case all their plans turned sour. She hated to put this burden on her daughter, but Kona had shown that she was ready. And strangely enough, it seemed she would have a Luthor on her side instead of as an adversary. Kara was still not one hundred percent comfortable with Lena Luthor, but so far the girl had been a definite boon to them.
"Two minutes!"
Sandy was also back on Earth, though Kara had pondered that decision long and hard. The extra-dimensional entity had the proven ability to disrupt the technology of the New Gods, which could have come in very handy. On the other hand, though, her presence might well disrupt their attempt to open a Boom Tube in the first place or make it veer of course, as had happened before. All of which took a backseat, though, to the simple fact that Sandy was, for all intents and purposes, still a child. Kara would not take her into a war zone if she could help it.
"One minute!"
Before leaving Earth, she had left behind a signed statement to be used in Lex Luthor's upcoming trial, just in case she did not make it back. In it she affirmed once again that Luthor had not cooperated with Brainiac out of his own free will and that he had instead actively worked with Kara to help defeat the AI. She also included a brief summary of his aid for this most recent mission. She did not like to think so, but realistically her statement would probably sway everyone involved to let him go free, at least on probation.
"Ten seconds!"
Kara tensed. The five Green Lanterns floating behind the attack force let themselves fall further back. She could feel the energy build-up in the enlarged version of the Motherbox-replica Brainiac had created. The very fabric of space and time seemed to shiver underneath her feet as the numbers calculated by the vast systems of the War World were transferred into the array, convincing the universe itself to change shape, rewriting the base code of reality. It was a power that dwarfed even that of the War World.
"Calculation complete, Boom Tube opening!"
As much as she wanted to watch, Kara knew that she had something else to do. Several seconds before the countdown ended, she had dialed up all her senses to maximum speed and the world around her became frozen. She moved, her motions so quick that the air around her heated up from the friction and removed the data crystal from her pocket. Thankfully Brainiac had used existing blueprints for his reconstructions of Kryptonian war ships, so she knew exactly where the data slots were.
She entered the data crystal at the exact moment the calculations for the Boom Tube concluded.
"What are you doing, Bythgar Kara-El?" Brainiac asked.
Kara did not listen, nor did she explain. Remaining at super speed, she dashed through the nearest airlock and was in outer space before Brainiac had finished the sentence.
"Virus attack detected," Brainiac uttered. "You betray me, Kara-El!"
She still did not listen. From the corner of her eyes she saw the five Green Lanterns broadcasting a vast energy shield that wrapped around the War World and Brainiac's ship, cutting off any and all communication with the rest of the universe. Then she looked ahead and saw the opening of a Boom Tube. Just as planned.
There was no margin for error. The virus in Brainiac's systems would either work or it would not, she could not influence that any more. She could but hope that the Luthors, Kona, Dox, and she had done a good job programming it. If it failed, the five Green Lanterns remaining behind would do their best to destroy Brainiac's ship and the War World, no matter what it took. The Proxima Centauri system was uninhabited, which was why they had chosen it as their meeting point. If worst came to worst, they would have to repeat Kara's previous method of dealing with the War World.
She had no time to wait for any of it, though. The Boom Tube was open, which meant that the way to Clark was free. They would not give Darkseid or whoever else awaited them behind it any time to prepare. They would attack now!
"Attack Force, go," Kara ordered, speeding ahead towards the opening of the Boom Tube.
"And may Rao watch over us all," she muttered, passing the event horizon, ignoring Brainiac's scream of defiance fading out behind her.
End Chapter 94
Author's Note: Sorry that this chapter took so long, but work was keeping me insanely busy and I needed to get away from computer screens and keyboards in what little free time I had. Hopefully the next chapter will arrive a bit sooner again, but I cannot promise that. Work is still quite busy. Also, that final part with the take-over of Brainiac really kicked my butt as I had to rewrite it several times and finally decided to leave it upon a cliffhanger as to whether it worked or not.
That the Motherboxes perform their miracles by way of Description Theory (which I hope I have somewhat accurately described in this chapter, not being a scientist myself) is not canon to the best of my knowledge. However, given that much of Darkseid's time is spent seeking the Anti-Life-Equation, a mathematical formula that can negate free will in the universe, it did seem like a logical conclusion to me that the New Gods' technology is based on a similar principle. The term 'Integral Design Theory' is taken from the Planetary comic series from Wildstorm.
The title Bythgar is an old Kryptonian word for queen or empress, hailing from the distant past when Krypton was far more expansionist and warlike. And yes, while Kara has her suspicions, she has no idea about the things Brainiac has done to the Dominion and elsewhere in the galaxy, which could possibly, maybe, lead to some trouble down the line (who knows?). But that will be a matter for the more distant future.
Up Next: The Great Darkness Saga begins.