BATTLEGROUND
SOUNDS OF people chattering filled the briefing room as Phil, Daisy, Mac and the Teammates watched the news in the morning. The camera moved over the decimated parking lot of the conference building, taking in the destroyed vehicles and shattered pavement then moving to the building itself. A massive hole was in the front wall of the edifice, its edges heavily burnt and the interior harrowed in a similar way.
"This is bad, this is really bad." Phil crossed his arms.
"Are you sure that's all that happened?" Daisy turned to Kara.
"Yes; the most damage I'd done was when I'd flown through the ceiling that hole wasn't there." Kara frowned.
"Well, you coulda fooled us – this is over all over the news." Mac gestured to the screen. "How would they have set this up in one night without anybody noticing?"
"We don't know, but we can vouch for Kara; the most extensive damage was to the ceiling and the shrapnel in the walls." Dick turned to him.
"Lex Luthor must've been behind this somehow, I mean, all this happened when the security cameras all went down – nobody truly saw what happened in the room before Dick and Kaldur went back in." Barbara leaned against the table.
"Well, there's no real way we can mitigate the situation as it is, but we can be sure that this is working in Luthor's favour. With the world only seeing the aftermath they've created, they'll be able to launch their attacks around the globe simultaneously." Phil stroked his chin when alarms blared and red lights flashed. "What's that?"
"It's the Brainiac frequency alarm." Daisy typed on the holographic keyboard on the table, bringing up satellite scans of Los Seoul onscreen. "Oh man."
"What is it?" Phil turned to her.
"There's a massive spike in the frequency on Los Seoul's outskirts, just six miles away from the door." She walked up to the screen as several red dots appeared. "This is the largest we've ever seen."
"Then that's definitely Hydra."
"They're trying to attack the city." Mac frowned.
"Alright, Team, suit up!" Nightwing rose to his feet.
"Wait, before you go, Dr Cello and I have been working on gear that could protect you from the nanites after the incident with Kara." Cher and the scientist entered the room.
"We call them Exo-Membranes, body armour that emits a low frequency EMP that'd short out the nanites before they can reach you." Dr Cello handed Nightwing a small disc. "Just put it on your chest and keep it on at all times. Obviously we haven't tested 'em on the field before, but the titanium infused into the inner layers of the body suit should keep you safe still."
Raising his brow, Nightwing placed the device on his chest, releasing thin black material with red vertical lines that covered his entire body, reaching up to his neck. "Whoa, cool."
"Don't forget this." Cher handed him a helmet. "The visor's made of reinforced, ait-tight glass with a digital interface with thermal imaging and all sorts of neat stuff you'd find interesting."
"Nice." Nightwing received the helmet and turned to the others. "Alright guys, suit up."
NIGHTWING FROWNED as he looked out the window, seeing the sky come to view as the Quinjet rose out of the Door and flew onward. Looking up specs on his tablet, he turned to the others. "Okay, from the intel we obtained there should be about sixteen Hydra labs all over the world making these nanites that re gonna be released into the atmosphere. Given that the frequency's been detected outside Los Seoul, we'll have to assume this'll be the first of their attacks. Our priority is to shut down the machines without causing damage that'd result in a spontaneous release. SHIELD support should arrive in about twenty minutes and the Avengers are being contacted as we speak. Let's make sure at all costs that we have the situation contained before then. ETA's in ten minutes, so be prepared."
Nodding in agreement, the Teammates checked their gear and began suiting up; Supergirl donning her helmet and knocking on the visor. She took a deep breath and looked at her hand, seeing them shake and trying to steady them by making a fist. "Relax, Kara, you'll be fine."
"Of course, you will; we're all in this even if that Brainiac guy's there too." M'gann sent a confident smile her way. "We're not gonna lose."
"You're right – let's do this." Supergirl frowned determinedly then shuffled in her seat. "Is it just me, or is my suit a lil snug?"
"Probably cuz Cher made it for ya." Kid Flash pointed at her chest.
"Huh?" She looked down and huffed, seeing a 'C' in the middle of her 'S' shield.
Raven looked at her hand in amusement as the fabric spread over her body, smiling to herself and turning to Jaime who sat back across from her and slurped a drink through a straw, clad in normal clothing. "Uh, aren't you gonna suit up?"
"No need; the Scarab is all the protection I need." He sat back and she raised her brow. "That's not what I meant – get your head out of the gutter."
"If you say so." She smirked and donned her helmet.
WIND GATHERED as the Quinjet made its descent, landing slowly on a path of grass in an open portion of a forest; its hanger doors opening as it went into stealth mode. Looking around cautiously, M'gann, Aqualad, Blue Beetle, Superboy, Artemis, Batgirl, Raven, Kid Flash and Supergirl disembarked and walked onward, taking in their surroundings as they readied themselves for battle. Nightwing went into infrared vision and looked around, turning to Aqualad who winced slightly as he held the trident tightly.
"Hey, you sure you're ready for this?"
"As I'll ever be – there's no reason to sit this one out because of a minor injury." Aqualad frowned determinedly. "Let's send these Hydra soldiers packing."
Nightwing nodded and gestured for the others to move on, fishing out his batons and slamming them together to form his staff. Supergirl pushed some bushes aside and looked around, shutting her eyes as she listened to the sounds around her, nodding and calling the others to her side. Manoeuvring through the forest, the Teammates moved toward a clearing and stopped in the bushes, looking at its centre as they heard footsteps.
Nightwing surveyed the area, seeing tanks and jeeps patrolling a wire fence that encompassed a large camp in the clearing. Supergirl squinted as she surveyed the grounds, looking passed the wall and seeing several Hydra soldiers clad in heavy armour with jetpacks and gauntlets moving around an enclosure surrounding a large domical machine with cylinders jutting out of its roof.
"I've got my eyes on the machine." Supergirl spoke through their telepathic link. "The nanites are in there, but they're inactive."
"Then we need to secure the machine. Team, let's move out!"
The heroes spread out, alarming the soldiers manning the gate who opened fire on them as they engaged. Supergirl shot lasers down at them and flew over the camp, firing at the militiamen on the ground as she headed for the machine. A mechanised cannon shot a beam at her, knocking her out of the sky and in the middle of a cluster of soldiers.
Superboy broke through the gate and lunged into the field, smashing onto a tank and ripping its cannon off, tossing it onto a soldier who shot at him from behind. Raven rose into the air and held her hands out, summoning two tanks into the air and crashing them onto militiamen below. Running through the carnage, Kid Flash sped past clouds of sand and bullets whizzing through the air, leaping over a tank and punching out a soldier before him.
Artemis walked calmly through the battle as she watched the others fight, drawing an arrow and firing it up ahead, splitting it into a volley that downed several soldiers. A soldier fired a beam at Blue Beetle as he landed and he dodged the blast, shooting a staple onto him and pinning him to a fence to his left. Batgirl hovered over the camp and descended toward a group of soldiers, throwing Batarangs that electrocuted them and landing on one with a kick to the chest.
Nightwing smacked a soldier aside with his staff and tossed a ball onto a tank to his right, blowing it up as he ran up to an assailant and smacked him upside the head. Aqualad fired a series of lightning bolts at soldiers around him, smacking the trident on the ground and summoning geysers underneath three jeeps that sent them airborne. M'gann stood in the middle of a cluster of soldiers, tossing them around with three arms and shielding her face from gunfire. Retracting the extra limb, she clasped her head and sent a psychic wave that knocked out six oncoming soldiers.
SUPERGIRL LOCKED fists with the Sentry in the enclosure around the nanite machine, glancing back as she saw lights coming alight on it, wincing as the android began to push her down. Breaking out of the grip, she gave the robot an uppercut, flinging it back and fired a laser into its chest, crashing it against the ground. The Sentry rose to its feet and ran toward her when Superboy lunged onto it, driving its head through the ground and punching it in the back.
"Nice save." She panted.
"Well, can't let you have all the fun." He stood up and walked toward her. "Is that it?"
"Yeah, but you can't underestimate those Sentries – bet they're several of 'em here." She wiped her forehead.
"Nah, just a bunch of soldiers out front."
"What? Why'd they only have one here – look out!" She pushed him out of the way as the Sentry fired a beam at her, striking the wall near the nanite machine. "We need to keep the machine from being damaged."
"I'm on it!" Superboy lunged at the android and it smacked him into the air, stalking toward Supergirl.
Firing lasers into the android's chest, the Kryptonian flew up and punched the robot, crashing it through the wall and tossing it onto a tank that exploded on impact. Shielding her face from the flames, she watched in anger as the machine stood up slowly, unfazed by the attack and aiming a cannon at her. She rose into the air when lightning struck the Sentry from behind, flinging it onto the fence nearby.
"Whoa!" Supergirl looked around, turning to Aqualad who trained his trident at the Sentry.
"I told you, you're not facing this alone."
"Together then!"
The Kryptonian and Atlantean unloaded on the Sentry, combining the lightning and lasers into a powerful beam that caused an explosion that sent the android flying back. The robot rose stiffly from the smoke, defying the damage sustained as it shorted out and smoke came from it. It aimed a cannon at them and Artemis fired into its chest, coating its core in lead and causing it to shut down.
"Huh, don't know what you guys said was so tough about the thing." She twirled an arrow and smirked.
"Guys, how's it looking like outside?" Supergirl spoke through the telepathic link.
"Man, these soldiers don't know when to quit! They just keep coming!" Kid Flash responded.
"Hold on, I'm coming."
"Guys, we have a situation here." Daisy's voice came on com.
"WE'VE JUST got word of seismic activity happening at the centre of Los Seoul – it's not an earthquake." Daisy pulled up surveillance footage and magnitude scans of the city as she looked at the screens in the room. "Whatever it is, it's rising out of the ground like a drill."
"WE HAVEN'T secured the nanite machine yet." Nightwing responded as he punched a soldier out.
"Someone needs to go check this out cuz the city's being ripped apart." Daisy came on com. "SHIELD teams are about two minutes out from your location – they'll take it up from there."
"Supergirl –,"
"I'm on my way." She flew past him.
SCREAMS AND car alarms filled the air as the earth rumbled and a panic took the streets; a stampede forming as people ran from a large crack that formed in the middle of the road. Fissures ran through the ground and up the walls of surrounding buildings as rocks plummeted into a widening chasm that swallowed vehicles and streetlamps. People looked on in terror as a large, black ship immerged from the ground, standing tall over buildings and casting a shadow that nearly blocked out the sun from their eyes.
The two hundred and sixty foot tall spacecraft stood in the shape of a skull, having three orbs on its forehead forming a triangle, red eyes and tentacles spreading out and digging into the road, sidewalk and breaking into buildings on both ends of the street. Supergirl hovered before the terrible sight, her fingers twitching and her lips quivering as the screams of the people of Krypton echoed in her ears.
"No … no, it can't be." She breathed shakily, her body manacled by fear as it shivered down her spine. "We're too late."
"Oh my God, it's Maveth." Daisy's voice came on com.
"No, Brainiac." Kara's head shook slowly, her lips thinning as she bared her teeth in anger. "No, I won't let this happen again!"
She shot toward the ship at high speeds, creating a sonic boom and smashed through its underside, tackling a humanoid being out from the other end and driving it through the road. The creature smacked her aside with a mere flick of the wrist, hurling her through a car and onto a building's wall, causing her to fall to her knees painfully. The Kryptonian breathed heavily as she pushed herself up, coughing as she fought the pain and stood as the being walked toward her.
Standing around eight feet tall, Brainiac, a blue skinned being was garbed in black armour with steel plating around his shoulders and chest with gauntlets and heavy boots – his cold yellow eyes striking fear into her as three grey orbs in a triangular formation glowed dimly on his forehead. "Kryptonian. Even in this vastly altered reality, you still remain a scourge to my being; a thorn in my side. Though I have lost much of my power, my ascension is inevitable just as the destruction of your world is inevitable. I will harvest every iota of intelligence the Terrans have on the change of the universe then I will absorb this planet as I once did to the insignificant Krypton."
"No, that's not gonna happen." Kara winced.
"You defy me? Complete despair will be the last thing you feel before I bring you to your end."
Supergirl shot toward Brainiac and punched him in the gut, sending out a shockwave that cracked the ground beneath them, leaving the Coluan unfazed. Grabbing her wrist, he tossed her to the ground and kicked her, causing her to bounce off the pavement and smash onto a wall. Tossing aside falling debris, she fired lasers at him and dove forward with a left hook, managing to push him back as his feet grazed against the ground. Clutching her head, he flung her forward and blasted her with beams from his forehead, driving her into the pavement and onto a nearby building.
Rubble pelted the side walk as Supergirl rose to her feet wobbly, pain radiating through every inch of her body as she pushed the bricks aside and moved forward with a limp – blood flowing from her mouth and staining her suit that was burnt on her left arm and stomach. Looking at her with disinterest, Brainiac turned around headed down the street, watching as police cars massed around him and officers spread out. Ascending into the air, the Coluan raised his arm, sending out a wave that caused the policemen and buildings nearby to fizzle and turn into binary code, disintegrating and vanishing into the air.
Kara's eyes dilated in horror as she watched Brainiac decimate the street, tears stinging them as she screamed with rage and released a burst of blue energy from her body, shooting towards him and landing a thunderous left hook that sent a shockwave that flipped cars over and shattered windows of nearby buildings, flinging the Coluan onto the upper floor of a skyscraper. She flew above him and fired lasers into his chest, driving him further into the edifice and destroying the building. Rising to his feet, Brainiac held the beam back and stretched his free arm out, smashing Supergirl onto the road below and moving debris off his back.
He cracked his neck and looked down at the fallen Kryptonian, jumping down and landing with a heavy boot that sent rocks flying and crashing onto nearby vehicles. The dust settled slowly, revealing a crater as Kara lay motionlessly in a heap of rubble, her suit ripped apart and her face bruised as blood flowed down to her chest. He stepped off her and lifted her by her collar, the orbs on his forehead beginning to glow brightly when low beeps drew his attention, pulling his focus to his ship.
"I don't have time for this." He tossed her limp body aside and ascended into the air, moving over the street and rising to his ship.
KID FLASH punched out a soldier and turned to the sky as wind gathered, seeing four Quinjets descend onto the campgrounds. "Sure took you long enough."
"It doesn't matter now; what does is securing the nanite machine." Nightwing walked past him, manoeuvring through unconscious soldiers as he moved up to a SHIELD agent who disembarked one of the ships. "Where're the Avengers?"
"Sorry, but this'll all you got – Captain America and Black Widow are investigating moles in the government and the others are scattered all over the globe. We're spread too thin."
"Well, that's great." Nightwing huffed.
"So, what's the situation?" The soldier walked with him.
"We've just took down Hydra's defences and secured the nanite machine. It's isn't active yet, but we haven't found a way to shut it down without causing damage." Nightwing sheathed his batons as he lead him into the enclosure and stood before the machine.
"Then the safest option's to take it to a secure location offsite – if we can't deactivate it, we can contain the nanites inside."
"Good – update when you get done." Nightwing walked off as the agent called others to his side.
M'gann manoeuvred through the cluster of SHIELD ops and walked up to him, rubbing her arm as worry etched on her face. "Hey, any word from Kara?"
"She's still in the city, but we haven't heard anything." He went on com. "Kara? Kara? What's going on?"
She raised her brow as she heard the SHIELD op murmur in a panic "What's going on?"
"The machine's activating itself." A man turned to her.
"Can you stop it?" She ran up to him.
"No, it's blocking out any commands we key in."
"Then we need to evacuate right –," Low whines met their ears as the cylinders on the dome began to rote, releasing small clouds as gears began to turn and lights flickered around the machine. Nightwing zoomed in on the puffs of gas, seeing several microscopic robots fly out and fill the air. "The nanites are being released! We have to evacuate now!"
A panic spread through the enclosure in the camp as the SHIELD ops raced toward the gate, each of them freezing in place as the clouds formed a mist that engulfed them and filled the grounds. Nightwing and M'gann squinted as they looked around, scanning the area around through their visors as they saw the men and women around them slowly stop moving and raise their heads to the sky, halting uniformly. Blue nodes spread over their skin as they fought for breath, gasping as their pupils fell into their skulls and they fell silent.
"No." M'gann held her hands before her in fear as she looked around.
Nightwing frowned as he used X-Ray vision on a woman nearby, seeing her heart beating slowly. "They're still alive, but their vitals have slowed down."
"Guys, what's your status?" Daisy's voice came on com.
"We weren't able to stop the nanite machine and the SHIELD ops have been contaminated. They're still alive, but we don't know what's happening."
"Dammit. Can you stop the machine or slow it down."
"No, they've already been released." Nightwing raised his head to the sky. "We have to abort the mission. Get the city evacuated and call the Avengers."
CAR HORNS blared all around as vehicles stood at a standstill all over Los Seoul and civilians looked on in fear as Brainiac's ship knocked military jets out of the sky and the cloud spread over the city. Sparks fizzled out of an earpiece as the sounds of chaos echoed all around Kara, the blonde laying still in a heap as Nightwing's voice came to her.
"Kara! Kara!"