The Fortress of Solitude
Galatea felt incredible. No, it was more than that. She was feeling a rush that seemed to combine the same sensations she felt after a complete workout and her last five hours of love making with Kal. Her wounds were gone, and she could feel all of her powers were back. She was ready for another fight with that robotic tramp that shot her in the back. Of course, all her excitement began to falter when she saw Kal's silhouette standing at in what was left of the main control room of the once mighty monument to his home world of Krypton.
"You're going to go fight her. Aren't you?" Kal asked her.
"We've talked about this and you know the answer." She said to the back of his head.
"Then I'm going with you." Kal said simply.
"No, you're not." Galatea said defensively.
"Yes, I am. You've taught me how to use my powers. Not to mention, I'm a master in several forms of Kryptonian fighting styles that would even challenge some of the fiercest fighters in the Galaxy." Kal said.
"I'm not going to risk you're life. You might get killed."
"And same can be said for you. There's no stopping me, Galatea. I know you absorbed all the Kryptonite in the vaults. Full strength or not, you know that three Kryptonians would give Kim and the rest of this world better odds." He said to her.
"I hate you being logical sometimes." Galatea groaned to herself.
"I know." Kal-El said as he stepped into what little light was left and made Galatea do a double take at what Kal-El was wearing.
"What in the world is that?" she asked him.
The body suit Kal-El wore seemed to have no seems at all and looked more like an almost metallic, but yet cloth, material. It was a navy blue color. However, wherever the light hit it almost seemed to reflect a bright cobalt blue. There were strange blue-gray cuffs attached to it, along with a strange design at the sides of the torso that started at his ribs and ended at his hips. A small gold oval sat where his naval would roughly be while he wore bright red boots and a flowing red, almost regal, cape. The large crest on his chest was the symbol for the house of El. But it was different. It had an even more strange unique alien look and design to it.
"My father put this in the ship with me before I was sent here. This was the body suit that belonged to my grandfather, Kal-El. He was a member of the ruling council and wore this suit when they first founded the colony on Argo and he wore it when he explored the Phantom Zone. If I'm going to die, I'll do it with honor." Kal said.
"Well, what about me?" Galatea asked as she dropped her robe. She enjoyed the slight blush that filled Kal's cheeks as he looked at her nude form. No matter how many times they had been together, he still looked at her like she was the very first naked woman he had seen in his life. "I know you and several others enjoy me not having any clothes on. But I don't know if me being naked will help me in a fight." She said.
"I've already thought of that." He said as he removed a strange rolled up object from a hidden pocket inside the cape and handed it to her. She unrolled the object to find it was the pentagonal shield of the House of El. Except it was made of a strange flexible metal.
"What do I do with it?" Galatea asked.
"Place it on your chest and tap the center." Kal said.
Kal hadn't steered her wrong before. She placed the shield on her chest and shivered slightly as she felt the cold metal touch her bare flesh. With her right hand, she lightly tapped the center and felt the shield vibrate slightly. When she looked down, she saw what looked like small bands of energy spread around her body. In their wake was a strange blue armored suit with red trim that seemed to be made of the same metallic material as the shield. When the bands disappeared, she was wearing a whole armored body suit with red boots that almost went to her knees. A red belt was around her waist with the buckle being a diamond pentagon shape, and red trim was on the sleeves and collar of the suit. And attached at the collar bone on either side was a large flowing red cape with the crest of the House of El in black.
"Wow." Galatea said as she looked at the suit.
"My father created that before we moved to Argo. He thought I may be able to use it when I arrived on Earth." Kal said.
"It's beautiful. Are you sure you want me to wear this?" she asked.
"I'm sure. It's nano technology. If anything damages the suit, it's programmed to repair itself and treat any wounds the wearer might suffer as well. I just wish my father could have shared the technology with my uncle before," Kal said but stopped. He wasn't comfortable talking about the rift that had formed between his uncle and his father. He never really knew what the rift was about, only that it drove the brothers further and further apart. That's one of the reasons Kal was so determined to make sure Kara trusted him. So no rift would form between him and the last family he had left in the universe.
"Thanks, Kal. For everything." She said as she leaned in close and placed a soft kiss on his cheek before planting a small peck on his lips. "We better get going. The sooner we get there, the sooner we can help Kim." Galatea said.
"Right" Kal said before letting out a sigh. "Up, up, and away." Kal said to himself as he and Galatea hunched down as low as they could and felt the energy and gravity around them shift, like pressure building. Using the muscles in their legs that were now taught, they launched themselves into the air like two human sized rockets out of the Fortress and made their way towards Coast City.
Within Engine City
Alarms blared in various areas of the massive alien engine that had been built on top of the ashes and bones of what used to be the citizens of Coast City. The mammoth structure had been breached, and the intruders had made their way past several sectors and were still moving. Various soldiers, both alien and cybernetic, were quickly making their way to the latest alerted sector in order to try and help their comrades to try and stop the intruders once and for all. As they took the next corner and came into the open sector, over half of them were suddenly struck by al large tail that sent many of them flying several feet before crashing into various equipment or other aliens. The owner of the tail, a large green Tyrannosaurus Rex, turned with surprising speed and grace before it quickly grabbed several others in its massive jaws and shook them as if they were mere toys before flinging them halfway across the giant room.
As more began to enter the room, the massive dinosaur gave an ear shattering roar before it used its tail to sweep dozens of the soldiers aside before shifting into a mastodon and used it's enormous tusks to ram and trample the other soldiers that were coming in. Above them, several energy blasts kept raining down upon them, causing many of the superheroes to take cover inside a giant pipe that had come loose and fallen during the fight. Realizing the peril they were in, Starfire's eyes began to glowing with as she launched herself into the air. She used the energy blasts generated from her hands to destroy two of the turret stations before firmly grasping one of the large energy weapons and ripping it free from its anchored mounting. With a war scream in her native tongue, Starfire used the massive as a weapon to strike down and destroy the other turrets. Spotting a large catwalk not too far above her that was filled with snipers, Starfire flung the distorted weapon she had been carrying and watched it as it destroyed the catwalk and hit the wall before tumbling down to the ground and crushing several of the soldiers beneath her.
Kid Flash was literally running circles around various other soldiers. He stole weapons from some while using his speed to slam others into each other or various walls and equipment. Speedy was using almost every trick arrow he had to try and break up the groups of soldiers that were getting in. Using every gymnastics skill he had been taught by his mentor, Green Arrow, he was doing his best to avoid weapons and other aliens as he ran, flipped, and skidded while aiming and firing his arrows all at once.
Wade had been trying to hack a computer port he and Cyborg had found earlier, but there was too much chaos going on all around them. Giving it up for now, Wade had covered it with a piece of fallen debree and used his boots to give him some elevation in an effort to seize some high ground. From there, Wade was able to use the large spikes in his gauntlet to disarm and immobilize several of the alien soldiers. With the cybernetic beings, he sent one of the spikes through their faces. However, his ammo was limited. After a few more shots, he removed his hammer that was attached to the back of his suit, extended the handle, and began to throw the hammer down against the vicious creatures like Paul Bunion in the middle of a forest with his double bladed axe.
Cyborg and Superwoman were back to back using their various weapons to take down as many of the ground troops that had gotten through while trying to use this large pipe as cover. Now that the turrets were out of commission, Batman, Batgirl, and Robin were taking down the other soldiers that were hiding in the shadows and around corners as fast as they could. As Kim stepped out, she fired a dozen troops that were heading for them. She would not kill. That thought kept going through her head, knowing most of these creatures were living things. She aimed at their legs and arms, hoping that it would only cripple them and not kill them.
"DOWN!" Cyborg shouted behind her. Kim quickly ducked as his armed shifted and emitted a high pitch sound that sent the alies to their knees screaming in pain while the androids head sparked and smoked before falling lifeless to the floor.
"Nice move." Kim said as she stood to her feet.
"No big." Cyborg said as his arm shifted to normal.
"GET DOWN!" Kim screamed pushing Victor and herself down as a laser blast narrowly missed them both. They looked up to see an armed soldier running toward them with its weapon raised and charged. Before they could move, the soldier was struck in the face and flung against a wall by an unseen force.
"What the?"
"I'll explain later." Kim said as they stood to their feet and took cover within the pipe again. As soon as they did, Kim looked like she was about to vomit.
"Are you all right?"
"I don't know. Every time we get in this thing, I start to feel sick." Kim said.
"Unless we can stop these things, this the only safe place." Victor said.
"Leave that to me." Raven said as she flew out of the pipe and lowered her hood. She saw the entrances that the armed forces were coming from and looked all around her. There were large machines, possibly power transformers, that could be used to block the hostile creatures. Raven closed her eyes before a dark purple energy surrounded her. When she opened her eyes, her eyes were glowing with an inner light.
"Azarath, Metrion, ZENTHOS!" Raven said, her words echoing through out the chamber.
The same dark violet energy surrounded the massive machines and tore them free from their mountings, sparking like two massive live wires. With a wave of her arms, both machines were slammed into the entrances that aloud the armed alien forces with enough speed to severely dent and shake the complex to its foundation. After a several moments, everyone noticed that there weren't anymore troops coming or any weapons fire. Slowly, the gathered super beings came out of the various corners.
"Are we alone?" Robin asked.
"Give me a second." Kim said as she closed her eyes for a moment. After she opened her eyes, she removed two grenades from the belt strapped to her chest and lobbed them to a section where several pipes and an overhead turret gun lay on its side. Within a moment, two explosions rung out that sent several alien soldiers flying through the air before they landed in an unconscious heap. "Now we're alone. But I don't know how long these things are going to be out." Kim said.
"First thing's first. How are we on gaining intell on this place?" Batman said.
"I've tried to access a computer port, but no luck so far." Wade said.
"Part of my cybernetics are alien based technology. I might be able to hack into their systems." Victor said.
"Do it." Batman said and watched the two go to work. Once they were accessing the port again, Batman turned to attention to Superwoman. "In the mean time, what happened earlier?" Batman asked Kim.
"What do you mean?" Kim asked as she checked to see if her weapons still had a charge in them.
"You were almost attacked, and something took out the hostile that was coming toward you."
"The last time I checked, you didn't have any psychic powers." Raven said as she landed on the floor.
"SO what's the deal? Are you the real Superwoman or not?" Kid Flash asked as the others began to question her.
"All right. I'll explain." Kim said as she holstered her weapons. "It's all right. You can show yourself now." Kim said.
The air next to Kim began to slightly shimmer and morph into what seemed to be a humanoid shape. As the shape became more solid, it revealed a very feminine shape that wore a black body suit with two red diagonal stripes across the chest area, and a hooded blue cape. Beast Boy's smile began to grow wider as the figure removed her hood to show a green skinned teenage woman with red hair, red eyes, and a few dark green freckles on her cheeks.
"Who in the world is that?" Speedy asked.
"I call dibs on asking her out." Kid Flash said.
"SIS!" Beast Boy shouted before leaping to the teenaged girl and giving her a massive hug with her returning it in full.
"It hasn't been that long, Garfield." The young woman said with a laugh.
"Sis?" Both Robin and Batgirl asked at the same time.
"More like adopted sis. She's the reason I change shape." Beast Boy said.
"I guess I should introduce myself. My name is M'Gaan. I'm,"
"The Martian Manhunter's niece. You stowed away on his ship the last time he returned from Mars." Batman said.
"How did he,"
"He's Batman. That's what he does." Kim said to the alien teen.
"I don't mean to interrupt. But I do not understand what is happening." Starfire said.
"Same here. And I'm Batman's partner." Robin said and heard Speedy and Kid Flash giggling.
"Does that mean you swing down the proverbial batpole?" Kid Flash asked.
"Enough!" Batman said, causing the two to immediately clam up. "When Superwoman regained consciousness, Martian Manhunter was one of the first to discover Superwoman was indeed alive. When he was called away, he asked his niece to keep a close eye on her. She's been with us since Gotham City."
"And I've needed to convince these aliens that I still have a small portion of my powers. So, M'Gaan has been helping me along." Kim said.
"So, you don't have any powers now?" Raven asked her.
"I have some, but they're not as strong as I've been making them look." Kim said.
"But that doesn't explain why you felt sick in the pipe." The green skinned girl said.
"What?" Batman asked.
"In the pipe she and Cyborg were taking cover in. She said she was feeling sick." The alien teen said.
Batman immediately removed a small piece of equipment from his belt and started scanning the inside of the pipe that Victor and Kim had been using for cover during the fight. Everyone was wondering what he was doing before Kim's attention was drawn to Wade and Victor when he heard them muttering a few curses here and there. Kim broke away form the group of teens as they got to know their new member a littler more and decided to check on Wade and Victor's progress.
"How's it coming?" Kim asked as she saw a few wires from cyborg's cybernetic half of his face were now plugged into the computer in the wall.
"I'm having a hard time trying to get through the firewalls. My main problem is that a lot of this programming is in some strange alien language." Victor said.
Kim looked at the display screen as she saw the language displayed. As she did, she let out a small gasp as she saw the strange shapes and forms. "I know that language."
"You do?" Wade asked.
"I recognize it anywhere. That's Kryptonian!"
Wade almost seemed to freeze for a moment as Victor kept trying to bypass the encryption he was seeing before him. "Are you sure?" Wade asked his long time friend.
"I'm positive."
"That might explain a few things." Wade said as his mind began to work. After the incident with General Zod, Kim allowed Wade to study some of her home world's technology in order to create a defense against it. Kim had even taught him some of the language during his studies of it. Wade eventually had to abandon his study of the technology when he found out the hard way that it was still too advanced for his understanding. But he still mentally kicked himself for not recognizing the writing. Now that he knew what he was looking at, his brain began to work into overdrive. With Victor Stone's help, and a little hope and a prayer, they soon found themselves bypassing the firewalls and finally gaining access to Engine City's systems.
"We're in!" Victor said with a large smile on his face as he began to download as much information as he could about the alien structure. Including several schematics of the massive complex. The smile soon faded as more and more information was downloaded into his brain. "Guys, we've got trouble."
"What kind?" Robin asked.
"Supergirl wasn't lying. This sucker isn't just an engine. It's a planet sized thruster. That missile wasn't supposed to just destroy Metropolis, but build another one of these puppies."
"Why would they want planet sized rocket engines?" Raven asked.
"Because they were taking the Earth. Both engines would be powerful enough to break Earth free of its orbit and force it to travel through space." Wade said.
"B-but that would kill everyone! The stress alone from moving the Earth out of orbit would cause massive earthquakes. And all the seas moving out of control without the moon, and no heat from the sun? That would be," Kid Flash started.
"Massive genocide." Batman said as he stepped out of the pipe. "That's not the only problem we have. This pipe was a massive energy conduit that helped distribute power to Engine City. According to my readings, Engine City's power source is Kryptonite." Batman said as Kim's eyes widened.
"Sweet Jesus." Wade whispered. "To power this city, the size of it would have to be several city blocks."
"So that means Superwoman is in deep trouble?" Beast Boy asked.
"No, Beast Boy. It means a lot of people are in trouble." Batgirl said.
"Kryptonite radiation is okay in small amounts to humans. But exposure to a massive amount would even be deadly to humans." Robin said.
"So what do we do now?" Starfire asked.
"We have to make sure Engine City stays off-line. Cyborg, how much have you downloaded?" Superwoman asked him.
"I know how to get to the power core through a maintenance shaft in here and can send it to the comm. units we've got. They can show the way. But we might not have to get there to shut down Engine City."
"What do you mean?" M'Gaan asked.
"Kryptonite powers this thing. But I think I found something else." Victor said as he created a holographic display. "I'm not a rocket scientist, but this structure looks to be the power plant. The engine room to Engine City. If we can take this structure down, then this thing won't be able to start up."
"That sounds like a long shot if you ask me." Speedy said.
"It's the only one we've got. Steel, Robin, Batgirl, Raven and Kid Flash will take out the power plant. Speedy, Beast Boy, Starfire, and Cyborg will come with me and Superwoman to take out the power core. M'Gaan, I want you to remain unseen and continue to give Superwoman support and cover. Understand?" Batman asked.
"I've got one question. Where do we meet up once the mission's accomplished?" Kid Flash asked.
Batman's silence spoke volumes to everyone there. There was a strong chance that they wouldn't be coming back from this. But Batman knew that the last thing this team needed was their fear of death being the dominant emotion. After brief thought, Batman decided.
"After you take out the power plant, we'll regroup at the entrance to the power core and take it out as a team." Batman said.
"Sounds like a plan to me." Beast Boy said.
"Then we need to move out now. Let's go!" Batman said as they headed to the maintenance shaft.
"Pitiful fools. Do they think they can hide from me inside my own creation?" the Cyborg Superwoman asked aloud as she scanned the various monitors in Engine City's main control Room. "Mongul, you're in command. It's time I took care of these vermin myself." She said as she headed off to the side as a hidden door open and revealed a small elevator that could fit one human.
"Where are you going?" Mongul asked.
"To become one with my creation. Nothing happens here of which I am not aware." The Cyborg said. As soon as she stepped into the left, the door sealed itself and began to descend.
"So you truly believe." Mongul said as he looked at the systems that were monitoring the intruders. "It's best I terminate this partnership, and clearly the time to strike is now while the mad one is preoccupied with tracking her challengers." He said as he approached several of the techs at their stations. "Prepare my flagship for departure and maintain the strictest secrecy." He addressed to one lowly life form.
"At once, Lord Mongul." The alien being said. It immediately departed from the command center to carry out its orders.
"You! Begin the core ignition procedures." Mongul commanded another.
"B-but, sire! Without balancing engines, the planet will spin out of orbit. I-it may rip itself apart!" the alien tech protested and realized to late that he had made a mistake by speaking out.
"That is my intention, Dolt!" Mongul said as he grasped the alien by the throat and crushed its windpipe before tossing the lifeless being aside. "These infernal beings have thwarted my attempts to turn this planet into my new War World. I have had enough of them and this vomit inducing planet they call Earth. Let it be destroyed. I will fashion a new War World elsewhere." Mongul said as he intimated the procedures for the main core to be ignited. "And I won't have to bow before the mad Halfling ever again. But not before I tear out Superwoman's heart with my own hands." Mongul said as he tracked down Superwoman's movements.
The lift descended down, down beneath the control room and various conduits until it stopped and opened to reveal one of the massive computer cores of Engine City. The cybernetic dictator exited the lift and stepped into the middle of the core and stood still. Her cybernetic arm began to open and shift as various wires and cables began to slither out as if they were living snakes and attach themselves into various ports and connections. The lower half of her ribs began to do the same as part of her slick and polished head opened to reveal the cybernetic brain as various cables snaked inside her skull and began to plug themselves into her mind. Soon, her human eye began to slowly lower until it closed while the ruby red eye slowly began to dim. She was now within Engine City's massive mainframe and apart of the structure. Whatever happened within its walls was hers to know.
She could see that the band of intruders had now divided into two groups. At first, she was focusing on this being with them that was dressed in black. Could it be her? Has the Kryptonian come back to life? The odds were impossible, but it could be here. Everything the sensors could read about her matched the information in the databanks. However, something made her change her attention. Several dormant systems were coming on line and booting. Engines City's core systems were beginning to power up. Someone had ordered the engine to be brought online. Mongul, the fool. No matter. The other group that left the Kryptonian's company were heading in a specific direction. Examining their trail and the way they were traveling, it looked their destination could be one place. Then she would meet them there and eliminate them while stopping Mongul's treachery. Then, she would take care of the Kryptonian and mount her head next to Mongul's.
"Dude, what was that?" Garfield asked as the entire complex gave a deep shudder that went down into the bedrock that the complex was dug into.
"Maybe the guys already took out the power station?" Speedy asked.
"It hasn't been long enough." Cyborg said.
"Agreed." Batman said as he felt the ground and Superwoman felt the wall. "I can still feel small vibrations."
"Same here." Superwoman said. "M'Gaan, are you picking up anything?" Superwoman thought.
"A lot of panic. Many of them are planning evacuation routes to the main flagship. Oh God! They've started the ignition process!" M'Gaan replied telepathically.
"They've started the ignition process! They're bringing Engine City on-line!" Superwoman told the rest.
"Then we're loosing precious time. MOVE!" Batman shouted as they quickened their pace. All of them kept running as fast as their legs could go. Beast Boy was forced to take the shape of a bird in order to keep up with them while Starfire carried Speedy in his arms while it seemed Kimberly's pace seemed to be quickening without M'Gaan's help.
Kimberly was now slightly ahead of the rest of the group when a large blast door slammed closed behind her, blocking off the rest and forcing Starfire to quickly veer off while Beast Boy morphed back into a chimp and leapt off the wall and onto the ground before returning to his human form. Cyborg immediately began scanning the door to try and find a way to open it.
"What happened?" Starfire asked.
"They're trying to separate us. M'Gaan, where are you?!" Batmasn asked.
"With the rest of you. Superwoman was too fast, I didn't have a chance to catch up." She said but remained invisible.
"There's got to be a way around this." Speedy said as he looked for controls.
"There looks like a ventilation shaft above us, but I don't think I can open it." Beast Boy said as he pointed at the grate that was extremely high above them.
"If Starfire can remove the cover, I can slim myself down enough to get through and get to Superwoman." M'Gaan said.
"Do it. We don't know what's on the other side, and those weapons may not last much longer." Batman said as Starfire and M'Gaan flew upward. Starfire grasped the metal grate covering the ventilation shaft and pulled, but couldn't get it to move or even bend. The metal was strong. Even with M'Gaan using her telepathy, it wouldn't move.
"I may have to do something more drastic." Starfire said as her hands and eyes began to glow wither emerald energy. Her muscles tensed as she steadied her breathing and focused her attention on the grate. With a loud yell, a glowing fist struck the grate with a massive explosion of green energy was able to blow a charred hole into it. "It isn't completely gone, but,"
"It's enough. Thanks, Starfire." M'Gaan said as she altered her form and flew into the ventilation shaft.
"Batman! Cyborg! Can you hear me?!" Superwoman shouted as she pounded on the giant blast door. It was no use. The large door was thick and she couldn't hear movement or anything else. Someone was trying to separate her from the others and had succeeded. The only question was who was behind this.
"I almost refused to believe it." A deep voice said behind her, making her swallow the breath she had just taken. Kimberly turned and saw the large behemoth known as Mongul; the former ruler of War World. "But it is you. Out of all your powers, I never thought that defying death would be one of them."
"You should know, Mongul. How much blood has stained your hands under your dictatorship? Not counting the other worlds you conquered, destroyed, or enslaved." Kimberly said as she readied the plasma rifle that was around her neck.
"My rule was a democracy, Kryptonian. I gave my prisoners and slaves a chance to earn their freedom and let my people decide their fate."
"In Gladiator games that you forced your prisoners to fight in for sport. And you threatened to destroy families and worlds if those fighters didn't do what you ordered them to."
"There must be a balance. Then you robbed me of that when you defeated me in my own arena. You embarrassed me, humiliated me, and forced my people to overthrow me. I lost everything because of you. You robbed me of my War World, so I thought it was only fair to take your planet as its replacement." Mongul said.
"I'm not going to let that happen."
"I know. That genetic filth that was your clone stopped the rocket that would have created the other engine that Earth would need to leave orbit safely. So I've decided to let your world be torn apart at the seams. But killing you, Superwoman, will be my sweetest reward."
"Over my dead body." Kimberly said as she raised the rifle and began to fire.
"Indulge yourself! As you can see, the blasts have no affect on me." Mongul said as several blasts hit Mongul in his chest, his abdomen, his arms, and his legs. Yet, each blast didn't even burn or even scorch his clothing. Kim began to switch weapons while trying to take cover before she found that Mongul was on top of her. Mongul was stronger and faster than she was at the moment and it gave him enough to swoop in and firmly grasp Superwoman in a massive bear hug. Like two giant anacondas, Mongul's arms began to tighten their grasp and started to expel all the air and life out of her.
"Ribs . . . cracking. C-can barley . . . breathe" Kimberly thought as she tried to wedge herself free, but found it no use. She was virtually powerless. "The grenades I've found. Only chance . . . I've got." Kimberly thought as she grasped several of the explosives from her belt, armed them, and shoved them underneath Mongul's arm pits.
"What,"
The large explosion forced Mongul to let her go, allowing her a chance to breath as Mongul shouted and growled in pain. Kimberly looked up and saw part of his torso was still smoking and slightly blistered, and most of his shirt had been burned away while edges were still glowing a cinder orange. And the look on his face showed that he was very, very pissed off.
"An excellent trick. But it'll do little in saving your,"
Mongul was struck hard enough to knock him off of his feet and hit the metal floor head first. Mongul slowly stood and noticed how his head was spinning and ached from the inside out. It was as if something had attacked him from within the confines of his own mind. Did Superwoman have some kind of psyonic weapon he didn't know about? Before he could think or strike at Superwoman again, something physically struck him in the face with enough force to send him falling backwards against a series of various sized pipes. Now he knew it wasn't a weapon she had. There was someone else in here with them. Someone who was invisible. As Mongul tried to regain his footing, he looked at the pipes beside him and began to smile. Whoever it was wouldn't be able to hide themselves for much longer. Grasping the pipes as firmly as he could, Mongul ripped them away and sprayed the area around him with thick viscous oil that soon revealed a small feminine shape that was only two feet away from him. This action his attacker wasn't expecting. From the movements alone he knew he had blinded her. Soon, Mongul's fists bashed across her head once, twice, and backhanded her with his right fist before firmly planting his right foot into her abdomen. When the petite figure was bending over in pain, Mongul brought both hands together and slammed them down into the figure's back and forcing her to collapse to the ground.
As Kim saw Mongul slam his fists into M'Gaan's back, memories began to flash before her eyes. The streets of Metropolis were in complete destruction and chaos. There were sirens and people screaming all around her and drowning out every other noise. Images of a crying child and seeing the monster, Doomsday, towering over her. So much hate at something so innocent, so helpless. The arms raised to silence her forever. To kill her in one swift attack. After he had beaten her bloody and broken her, it still wasn't enough. After he robbed her of her unborn child and killed so many innocent people. No. Not Again. Not again!
"LEAVE HER ALONE, YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Kimberly screamed, ignoring her cracked ribs and the pain she was in.
Mongul turned in time to see Kim launch herself into the air and actually rise above him before coming down and slamming her fist into the middle of his fist with such force that it surprised the blood thirsty dictator when he heard the crunch of his nose breaking and his blood begin to poor freely. When he opened his eyes, he was immediately blinded when Kim unloaded both a plasma rifle and an energy pistol point blank to his face and kept firing. Something had unhinged the Kryptonian. He knew the weapons wouldn't hurt him, he made sure of that long after this so called partnership with the Cyborg Superwoman was made. With his sight temporarily disabled, he could still hear where the weapon was being fired. Mongul was able to make a wild swing and felt his fist connect with Superwoman's side and smiled as he heard her fall to the ground. As he opened his eyes, the glare from the blasts slowly faded and saw Kim trying to regain her stance.
"You're alone, Superwoman. Your fate is sealed, and I will have the honor of killing you again." Mongul said.
"I'm not alone." Kim said as she slowly stood to her full height.
"Your friends? They can't help you. Nothing can get through those doors."
"You'd be surprised." Kim said with a smirk.
"I doubt it."
"MONGUL!" a very angry voice echoed from inside Engine City. From out of nowhere Green Lantern, Will Du, blasted through the wall behind the would-be conqueror. Never stopping, he grasped Mongul in a strangle hold and sent him crashing through another wall and into the distant bowls of Engine City with a trail of glowing emerald light behind him in his wake.
"I didn't see that coming." Kimberly said as she saw the controls to the door and immediately began to try and open the door.
Miles, city blocks, he didn't know how far they went. The only thing Will Du knew was that millions were dead and he was going to make the one responsible pay for it. He blew into the massive complex like a bat out of hell and interrogated almost every alien he came across until he finally found the information he wanted. And now he had the monster he was looking for by the throat. They had gone through walls, pipes, machines, and many other things before they crashed to the ground and tumbled apart. Will raised his ring and was ready to blast Mongul's head away until he noticed one important factor. Yellow. Mongul's skin was yellow! And the Green Lantern's rings didn't work on anything yellow. There was a way to overcome the weakness, but he hadn't mastered it yet. But the ring was a tool, and he could still use it to help him kick Mongul's ass!
Mongul ran toward Will and brought his fist down in a massive swing but only destroyed a terminal instead. Mongul swung again, but Will ducks and blasted part of the floor beneath Mongul apart and made him fall to the ground. Using the ring to boost his strength, he raised Mongul above his head and flung him across the room and crashed him into several more machines and mechanisms.
"Why don't you brag now, Mongul? Tell me what a big man you are to kill million of innocents!" Will shouted as he used the ring to cut a large piece of machinery above Mongul loose and let it fall on top of the yellow alien monster. Mongul rose from the debris and was covered in cuts and bruises. His nose was broken and still pouring blood and covered most of the lower half of his face, while the cuts all over him only bled slowly. But Will wasn't through yet. His anger was too much in control of his actions, and he wanted this thing to suffer and bleed even more. "Come on, Mongul! YELL IT OUT! YELL IT WHILE YOU'RE BURIED IN YOUR OWN MACHINE!" Will shouted as his ring formed a giant claw and began to tear a large pipe behind him away. As he did, green smoke began to vent into the room as he tried to break it away from the connecting pipes. As Will did this, Mongul began to laugh and made Will clinch his jaw even tighter.
"Go on. Laugh with your dying breath." Will said.
"And what will Superwoman do with hers after you've killed her by releasing the Kryptonite that powers this engine?"
"Superwoman?!" Will asked, stunned. "Superwoman's alive?" Will asked in a daze before looking at the pipe behind him and made the green construct disappear.
Mongul's fist hammered into the back of Will's head and hurled him forward like he had been shot out of a battleship cannon. Through another wall Will went through before he hit a large catwalk and skidded to a stop, pulling up and bending metal as he did so. His ring had blocked some of the monster's power, but not all of it. Will had to do his best to hold back a scream as he looked down and saw his knee was torn with a small piece of metal jutting out of it and his shoulder was dislocated. He removed the shrapnel and saw the blood begin to flow freely. He used his ring to try and do a quick patch as he heard Mongul's steps coming like a drum. He saw Mongul was through the hole the wall and on the catwalk now. Slamming his shoulder into the railing as hard as he could, he screamed as he felt the shoulder slip back into place.
"What will you do now, worm? Continue to whine?" Mongul asked.
"What am I . . . gonna do . . . Mongul?" Will asked in between breaths. "I'm gonna kill you!" Will shouted as he tried to use his ring to give him a strength boost and slammed his fists into Mongul's ribs.
"Oh, are you now?" Mongul asked before bashing Will in the face with an uppercut of his own and knocking him backwards. "You are no threat to me!" Mongul shouted as he kicked Will in the gut like he were a foot ball and sent him flying ten feet into the air and slamming into the ceiling.
Will fell back onto the catwalk and landed face first like a limp doll. Will's mind was in a haze as he heard Mongul's laugh echoing in his ears. He couldn't feel his left arm as it hung beside him. His knee was broken, probably destroyed. He spit blood that flowed freely from both his lips and two shattered teeth inside of his mouth. He was on the verge of blacking out, but he couldn't. Too many voices, too many dead friends were screaming at him. Avenge me. Avenge me! No. He wasn't going out like this. Not yet!
He didn't know how he did it, but Will was able to force himself to move out of the way of Mongul's fist as it smashed into the catwalk. He was breathing deep as he heard Mongul laugh even harder than before. Will clinched his fist and looked at his ring. He wasn't going out like this. He had to force himself to concentrate and make it work for him.
"Your powers require will if I recall, little man. A shame that I shattered it." Mongul said.
Will's eyes bolted open as his fist tightened and his ring began to glow. "You shattered my a-arm. You shattered my knee. But my will . . . IS SOMETHING YOU'LL NEVER TOUCH!" Will screamed as green light surrounded him and blinded Mongul like the burst of a flash bang grenade. Before him, Will was now incased in a large suit of highly advanced cybernetic armor that flowed smoothly as if it were a part of Will's body. Mongul began to look slightly worried as Will's face tightened in rage. "This is for my friends, you mother!"
The last word of Will's statement was drowned out as Will's uppercut echoed through out the room like a small explosive going off. Mongul sailed four feet into the air and began to fall down. Missing the catwalk entirely, Mongul fell farther and farther down. Eighty feet he fell into he slammed into a giant transformer that sparked and shorted before exploding in a violent blast. Everything was still as smoke shot into the air and blocked Will's eye sight. The he heard the metal shift as something beneath him moved. Below him, Mongul grasped the twisted and burnt metal as he hoisted himself to his feet. He body was burned and blistered. Deep cuts were covering his body as well as various pieces of jagged metal stuck into him like a pin cushion. He looked upward and saw Will standing over him as he growled in anger.
"Worm. Now . . .you . . . DDIIIIEEEEEE!" Mongul shouted before his eyes turned up inside his head and fell backwards into a lifeless heap.
"And the voices fall silent." Will said before he collapsed onto the catwalk.
Metropolis
"I don't care how long it's been! Keep looking!" Sherri shouted before slinging her cell phone against the wall and ignored the sound of it shattering.
"You're not going to be good to anyone if you don't calm down." Amanda Waller said as Sherri paced back to her desk.
"I don't give a damn what you think right now. The only thing I give a shit about is trying to find Supergirl." Sherri said as she looked at the latest data her tech boys sent about the footage they were able to find of the missile exploding.
"Give it up, Gough. She's most likely dead."
"DON'T YOU DARE SAY THAT!" Sherri screamed in Amanda's face as she pointed a glowing finger at her. "Don't you even think about saying that to me right now. She shares her DNA with Superwoman, you made sure of that. So there's a good chance she survived." Sherri said as she sat back down.
"I know you're upset, Sherri. And I know you don't believe me when I say this, but I do understand how you feel right now. But if you ever speak to me like that again,"
"And you forget who I used to be, Waller. So don't give me this high and mighty act with me, you fat cow. You're lucky I'm even one of your little helpers after all the crap Cadmus has put me through." Sherri said.
"And you damn well know I didn't even know about Cadmus' existence when they tried to clone you and your brothers. And I had no idea what Westfield was up to when he green lit Supergirl's creation."
"Keep saying that, and maybe you'll actually start to believe it." Sherri said as she tried to focus on the data in front of her.
"You're not going to get anywhere with her right now, Miss Waller." Mercy said as she pulled the large African American woman away from Sherri's desk. "She isn't going to even think about anything else until they find – until they find something."
"Why is she so obsessed with her? I know she and Superwoman were friends, but this is ridiculous." Miss Waller said.
"You don't know much about her, do you?" Mercy asked the large woman. "What do you know about Sherri after she quit being a thief?" Sherri's assistant asked her.
"I know she was married to Lex Luthor for a while before she divorced him."
"So you didn't know she was pregnant, did you?" Sherri asked. Waller kept her features as frozen as best she could, but Mercy could see the surprise in her eyes. "I thought so. When Lex found out what who she was, he experimented on her to see if he could copy her powers and profit off of it. She lost the baby, and he didn't care. Her getting pregnant that first time was a miracle. Lately, the doctors have been telling her that hell will freeze over before she ever has a baby again." Mercy said.
"Damn it." Waller said with Sherri's actions now becoming clear. "Did the clone know? About her genetic profile?"
"No. Sherri kept it from her." Mercy said.
"Maybe if there's something left, we can try the cloning process again. I'll have to find a way to seize the remains from her." Waller said to herself.
"Excuse me?" Mercy asked her. "I just told you that she sees Supergirl as her daughter, and you want to clone her?"
"Cadmus has to be ready against any viable threats against the United States and the planet Earth. Even if we survive this, there are still other threats out there. The biggest being the Justice League itself." Waller said.
"The President and Congress already banned any cloning of Superwoman." Mercy said.
"And we both know that clone isn't Superwoman. So the ban doesn't cover her." Waller said as the office phone rand and Sherri picked it up.
"You found what? Where?! No, don't do that! Come back here, ASAP!" Sherri said as she slammed the phone down and bolted for the main doors of her office.
"Sherri, did they find something?" Mercy asked her.
"Can't talk now." Sherri said as she flubg open the doors and stepped into the elevator and disappeared as it lowered.
"If you excuse me, Mercy." Miss Waller said as he straightened her jacket and began to leave. "I have a world to protect."