THE HEADY KNIGHT
Chapter 5/Conclusion
"'Downtown Metropolis was a war zone.
"'Thus far this fateful evening, Batman, mysteriously visiting Metropolis, and Superman have attempted to turn back Brainiac. Once known, Brainiac announced, as Vril Drox, this bald, green-colored leader from some failed attempt to free his people, only ended in the total destruction of his world. And, it would certainly seem, the possession of his humanoid being by the surviving 'Syntho-Mind'.
"'Turning him into…Brainiac.
"'And now, the arrival of two more heroes, one clearly a former friend of Batman's, calling himself Nightwing, the other a master of super-speed from Central City, Missouri calling himself the Flash. And with them the final leg of a long fought conflict holds in the balance the potential end of all on Earth.'"
"Sounds great, Lois," said Perry White via her still transmitting cellphone after rereading it verbatim back to her, "only problem is…if what you say here is right…there'll be no one else left to read it!"
"I know, Perry," sighed a suddenly exhausted Lois Lane as she continued to watch the super-fight still taking place some hundred yards distant, while Jimmy Olsen continued snapping photos to eventually transmit back to the Chief so as to be included with what she had, in a round-robin way, written. "But what else can a reporter do? Even if what's being reported…is the absolute end?"
In the pause in Perry's expected reply, Lois watched Brainiac counter each and ever coordinated attack from Batman, Nightwing, Superman, and the Flash. Each carefully applying powers or skills, not to mention remaining Bat-belt held devices, with increasingly flaccid results.
Brainiac was winning.
How could any amount of pictures combined with even innumerable reams of printed-out pages destined for probable publication ever truly capture what witnesses by the dozens had already seen?
The Flash's multi-Mach running, even in tornado-strength circles about Brainiac…
Superman's resurgence of super-strength fueled by unfettered determination even in the face of a defeat suffered via a bruised and battered body along with a loss of blood unlike anything the Man of Steel had ever experienced…
Batman making use of sophisticated tactics, non-lethal implements long used against such super-villains of Gotham City as the Joker, Two-Face, the Riddler, the Penguin, and more. Only to be beat back by Brainiac again and again and again…
And Nightwing, so comfortable fighting alongside the Dark Knight, making use of courage, agility, martial arts skills, and a collapsible staff of unbreakable metal suspiciously close to something the Batman might've contrived.
But, just as it seemed Brainiac was about to beat the four for the final time before obliterating the entire Earth…
"Death and defeat should now be obvious, even to such as you," said the supercomputer/humanoid hybrid, even as head diodes burned brighter and flashed more frantically, signifying a significant increase in Syntho-Mind activity within the bald, green-skinned skull of the super-villain from space. "You cannot win against a being drawing strength from above and beyond. Brainiac is as absolute…as space itself!"
It happened at that self-same instant of impending downfall of the superheroes. With Superman on his knees, severely battered and bleeding and looking nothing like the Man of Steel. With the Flash actually fatigued and unable to regenerate his super-speed for even one last burst. With Nightwing wallowing on the partially pulverized pavement as agony announced itself to every inch of his extremely athletic body. And with Batman barely able to stand at all…
"Superman!" shouted the Caped Crusader, even though such caused caustic stings to sweep through his battered torso. "It's his orbiting starship! That's what's feeding him more than enough pure power to keep winning over us!"
Nightwing slowly rolled to a staggering stance, instantly understanding as only the former Robin raised at the Batman's side could…
Even the Flash found swift solace in the Dark Knight's sense of certainty over something…
And Superman pushed aside his impossible pain, ignored the drying blood caked upon his too-swollen face, in order to streak skyward far too fast for even Brainiac to respond with proper counter-force…
"Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!"
Long before Brainiac, suddenly beset on all sides by Batman, Nightwing, and the Flash, could initiate electronically transmitted levels of increased starship defense, Superman had already cleared Earth's upper atmosphere.
Then, with super-fists extended straight out like Battering Rams of Steel, he struck the side of the starship with more concentrated concussion than ten thousand multi-Megaton nuclear missiles could've delivered.
Though not enough to penetrate the protective shields automatically surrounding the vessel, so that its structure could not be obliterated utterly, Superman's super-impact was enough to force a shutdown of offensive systems and activate retrieval circuitry…
…which, not completely unexpected by Batman, teleported up Brainiac from city street to spatial orbit and, then, again working from an automatic self-protection program, sent said starship far through space-time in swiftly shaped hyperspace tunnels…
…which, without direct mental manipulation by Brainiac, who would need an untold length of time to self-repair, physically as well as mechanically, meant ending up on the opposite side of the known universe.
Superman managed to barely land and stand alongside Nightwing, the Flash, and, last but never ever least…Batman. Without whom this rather ragged victory might've never been won.
"I don't believe it," Lois Lane finally said absently into her cellphone. "Uh, Perry…get ready for an update to my story."
END