Hi Everyone! Z here!

It's Christmas in July and I am bringing you Fang Chronicles Chapter 14. I apologize for not posting this a little sooner but I was working on the Sailor Moon Legends Series which is my second most popular fanfiction. Also I'm in the works for a new Avatar the Last Airbender series which should be rolling out around December if you guys wanna check that out.

Anyway, here is Chapter 14. You're gonna notice that this chapter is a little lengthy in some areas, but I had to do that to accommodate the stories as well as fit all the details in.

But enough of my babbling, let's get on with the Chapter!

Chapter 14: Techno Takeover Part 1

-LexCorp-

Unlike her boss, Mercy was a novice when it came to protecting her own secrets. While she may have seemed functional for the sake of LexCorp, she lacked the cunning supervillain prowess that made Lex such an primal threat to the Justice League. Her lack of oversight and protection made it easy for Paragon Taurus and Thrust to not only break into her office, but to find the second secret elevator that she had hidden in one of the walls.

From the top penthouse of the LexCorp building, both of Darkseid's warriors waited patiently in the elevator as it descended below ground level into unfamiliar territory. It didn't take long and before the two of them knew it they had reached the area they were looking for.

Unlike the fancy technological office cubicles that inhabited the LexCorp tower, this new area was completely different. The area that the paragons were in now extended miles beyond there comprehension and vastly resembled a parking garage with it's black topped floors and concrete pillars.

The only thing that could convince one that this wasn't a parking garage were the items that were scattered messily throughout the room. There were displays upon displays of different scientific weaponry, genetic lab tables, suits of heavy armor, file cabinets and of course crates bursting at the rim with kryptonite. But none of these things mattered to Paragon Taurus, he was looking for something far more valuable.

"Where go?" Paragon Thrust snorted as he lagged behind his friend. Although the beast warrior could only mutter two words at time, the fact that he was way behind indicated that he had no idea what Taurus was up to. Everytime it seemed like they were getting to the final phase of his master plan, he would come up with another thing for them to do. Paragon Thrust was starting to wonder if maybe Taurus was sending them on a wild goose chase.

"It's gotta be down here somewhere." Taurus muttered to himself while completely ignoring Thrust's questions. From the beginning the two started to travel further down the path until they got to a section that was inhabited by vehicles. Some were covered with tarps while others were freely exposed to whoever was coming down there.

So far they had passed Slades battle tank, Black Manta's submarine, DR Sivana's Jet, Sportsmasters sportscar and several other villain vehicles but no sign of what Paragon Taurus was looking for.

"Lost?" Thrust tried to inquire to his friend as they kept getting further and further in the space.

"I'm not crazy, Mercy's computer said project mastermind should be down here somewh-." No sooner than he could get the words out Paragon Taurus bumped into a large object taking up a massive amount of space in the back. As he tore the tarp away from the piece of machinery, Paragon Thrust backed away with caution as he instantly recognized what the vessel was and who it originally belonged too.

"Taurus's plan?"

"Yes Thrust, this ship right here as a part of my final plans!" Paragon Taurus announced as he rubbed his hands together in an evil genius sort of fashion.

-New Metropolis-

-Downtown-

The agony of battle burned into Black Siren's skull like a thousand flaming suns.

She wasn't sure how much longer she could hold out against the headaches. Having accidently knocked out Sparrow with her canary cry, Black Siren now scrambled through the empty streets of New Metropolis. For every step she took Raven assaulted her mind with memories of her previous life as a titan. With every thought she caused Black Siren a little more pain, hopefully it would be enough however to lock her away for good.

-Nevermore-

In the battlefield that was Nevermore AKA Raven's mind, Black Siren stood upon a lone pillar overlooking the darkness. Trying to fight Raven in the outside world wasn't giving her the advantage, so it was time to step into the void to see if she could take care of things.

"Come out and face me Raven!" Black Siren screamed.

Her call to a challenge was immediately answered as the soul bird materialized from the depths of Nevermore. The creature unleashed a cry of ferocity as it brought forth it's master Raven, who levitated in place so she could stare down the woman that stole her life.

"Ahh so the little witch has finally arrived!" She replied.

"Let's get this over with before you make me throw up!" Raven's snarky remarks combined with her deep hatred for Black Siren, only propelled her into the fight sooner. Flying at the paragon she landed a spinning kick directly across her face before striking her directly in the stomach.

As per usual attack tactics, Black Siren counteracted with her scream catching Raven off guard. The titan covered her ears in discomfort as the sound penetrated deep within, while also forcing her further back into the subspace.

With her target unable to fight back Black Siren flew at Raven, slamming her elbow into the girl's face. Once the titan was even more disoriented the paragon grabbed her by the arm roughly, and swung her into one of the nearby platforms.

"You're out of practice Raven!" Black Siren gloated with a triumphant laugh. "Why don't you just give up, this body belongs to me now!"

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" That was the one thing that Raven would never do, no matter the circumstances. Peeling herself off of the platform, her eyes glowed with darkness energy as she recited the incantation that she was known for. Focusing her powers on the multitude of platforms , Raven began to swirl them around her body before unleashing them like a hailstorm of bullets.

Black Siren was able to destroy one of the platforms with a single punch, but found herself caught off guard as the second one smashed through her body. From there she was free game for the rest of Raven's assault as the platforms repeatedly busted through her body. When the last platform had made its attack, Raven levitated the Paragon before blasting her with a beam of darkness energy.

"You should know better than to challenge me in my world, Siren!"

"But Raven, it'll make it all the more better when I beat you!" Like the sadist she was trained after Black Siren pleasantly endured the pain before she rose to challenge Raven again.

-New Metropolis-

-Metahuman Detention Center-

"Well MR Choi." A suited office worker called out intently as he looked at the job application form before him.

"Please, call me Ryan!"

"Well Ryan, your resume is quite impressive!" He admitted. "You graduated with a masters from Ivy university, you've been working at Star Labs for the past six years and your speciality is microbiology."

"Yes I was also class valedictorian and captain of my college's chess team!" Ryan exclaimed with great pride and positivity. Truth be told, that upbeat attitude hid a lot of negative feelings he was hiding while trying to do this interview.

"Uh huh, I can see that." The man responded again. After carefully rereading the resume a few more times he set the papers down before scratching his head with confusion. "So Ryan, why do you want to work for the MDC?"

"Well I always thought it would be kinda cool to work with reforming criminals!" He lied directly through his teeth. To be frank it was the only excuse he could come up with at this time, it was a lot better then saying he was a homeless vagrant with nowhere else to turn.

"MR Choi, there is nothing cool about what the MDC does!" He commented sharply. "We are a serious organization keeping metahuman criminals off of the streets until order can be reestablished worldwide. While your credentials are impressive, I don't think you'll be right for this position!"

"But sir!" His attitude once again went from composed to beggar as he gave the man pleading eyes. "I need a job please, I've been turned down at least four times today because I'm overqualified. I promise I'll work, I'll do overtime, triple time, please anything!"

"I'm sorry MR Choi but you definitely wouldn't fit in here, maybe try Kenny's Burger Shack down the street there always hiring!"

"But-."

"Have a nice day MR Choi!"

As quickly as the interview began, it ended even quicker. Before he could even blink an eyelid he had been ushered out of the office complex and into the concrete hallways of the detention center. Like he had done so many times today Ryan kept his head down low as he tried to process what's next moves were going to be.

How embarrassing, all these jobs turning him down because he was way out of his element.

At this moment Kenny's Burger Shack didn't sound so bad, perhaps being the establishment that they were, they might just be anxious to have a worker in their midst.

"Yes sir, that's Ryan R. Wilder, I'm here to see warden sharp!"

Ryan Choi froze in his tracks as he all of a sudden heard an all too familiar voice. Having been so caught up in his own thoughts he failed to notice that he was already at the front security desk, not only that but his acquaintance Ryan Wilder was standing there talking to the guard. Before he could even turn tail the other way, he was spotted too quickly by Ryan's bright smile and her deep chocolate eyes.

"Ryan!" She called out as she went over to greet him. "It's so good to see you again!"

"Hey Ryan!" He sweat dropped as he feigned a happy smile. Truth be told he was embarrassed to be in such a place, much less alone be seen by someone he knew. "What are you doing here?"

She shrugged nonchalantly. "Oh you know, Highfathers got me doing extra work as usual, is Star Labs doing research here?"

"Uh-h-h-h w-w-w-hat?" He nervously stuttered as the question was poised to him.

"Star Labs, they must be doing some important projects if they got you here!" She replied. "After all, who'd want to be in here unless they had no choice!"

He sweat dropped even further as his face twitched uncontrollably with embarrassment. Thank God she didn't know the real reason that he was here. Going from hotshot lab assistant to a jobless bum wasn't going to look good on his social status.

"MS Wilder!" The guard shouted out from behind the desk interrupting the conversation. "Your security clearance is ready, you can see the warden now!"

"Save by the bell." Ryan Choi uttered under his breath.

"Dang, I gotta get going, I have a schedule I have to meet!" She stated. "Guess we'll have to take a raincheck on this convo!"

"Yeah, it's a shame we didn't have more time to catch up!"

"Hey, I got a great Idea!" She announced with a peppy tone. "Me and Garfield are going to the carnival later. How would you like to join us?"

"A carnival?"

"Yeah the New Metropolis Carnival downtown, I'm going just as soon as I'm done with my work here!"

"Gee I don't know I-."

"Oh come on please!" She begged while starting to turn on the puppy dog eyes that Garfield taught her back in the day. "We were supposed to get together a long time ago but you're always busy!"

"I know Ry but-."

"Come on Ryan, I'm sure you could use a break from all your work and whatnot!"

As much as she hated to admit it she had a very solid point. He promised her they would hang out after their first meeting a few weeks ago, but he had been so consumed with his work that he often forgot to message her back or get in touch with her. Even though he did need to find a job and shelter for the night, his schedule was free as a bird. Maybe sometimes having some fun at the carnival was just what he needed to turn his entire disposition around. "Alright you got me Wilder, I'll go!"

"Awesome!" Ryan cheered. "Meet me out front in an hour and we'll go together to pick up Garfield!"

"Sounds like a plan, see ya then!"

With that the duo of Ryan's parted ways for the time being. Ryan Choi's destination was to go check out Kenny's burger shack to see if he could land himself some work. While he was busy with that Ryan Wilder was on a different mission. Going along with Highfather's instruction she came to see Quincy Sharp the warden of the detention center.

With security clearing her to go deeper into the facility, Ryan found herself being escorted by two armed guards in an attempt to reach the destination with ease. Only the warden could help her with the assignment that was going to be so difficult.

-Warden's Office-

Unfortunately for Ryan she would not be meeting with MR Sharp, but a much more sinister character.

On the inside of the office, Quincy Sharp lay dead on the floor behind his desk, his neck leaking blood onto the carpet as his throat lay slit open. Sitting at his desk was the incomparable and beautiful DR Evelyn Rhyme AKA Enigma.

The woman under Black Masks command sat comfortably as she slowly went through a stack of prisoner files given to her by the warden shortly before she disposed of him.

"Warden Sharp?" Ryan's voice penetrated from behind the closed door as she knocked on it hard. Losing her focus on what she was reading, the sinister DR placed away her files before pushing the warden's body deeper behind the desk to hide it.

"Please come in." She rang out in the sweetest of voices.

"You must be warden sharp." Ryan exclaimed as she fully opened the door and greeted the woman.

"Oh no dear warden sharp is out i'm afraid, I'm DR Evelyn Rhyme his replacement for the day!"

"Pleased to meet you, I'm Ryan Wilder!"

"I'm sorry did you say, Ryan Wilder?" The Doctor repeated in surprise and confusion.

"Yes I'm scheduled to meet with one of your prisoners today under Highfather's orders!"

"Yes of course dear, let me show you around!" DR Rhyme spoke as she suddenly got up from the desk to grab her belongings, which were scattered around the room.

As Ryan waited patiently for DR Rhyme to join her, the girl's heart suddenly skipped a beat as she saw the woman grab her unusual looking cane from out the closet. The cane with the sideways question mark, a cane that although different bore a slight resemblance to a cane that she saw in the past, the same cane that Highfather could not find after the Riddler was pronounced dead.

It couldn't be, could it?

"Alright Miss Wilder lets get this tour going before-." DR Rhyme started to say but was instantly cut off when she noticed Ryan's eyes never leave her cane. "Something troubling you MS Wilder?"

"Oh nothing at all." She lied before snapping out of her daze. "That's a very interesting cane you've got there, is that custom made?"

DR Rhyme felt no need to answer the question and instead turned her attention to the guards that were behind Ryan. "Please escort MS Wilder to the prisoner yard for her tour, I have a call to make and will join you shortly!"

"Yes Ma'am!"

Although Ryan's question went unanswered, she didn't press the issue and allowed the guards to show her down the hall further into the detention center. The minute that she was gone DR Rhyme wasted no time in grabbing the telephone and dialing an unknown number. "Get me Roman now!"

-The Batcave-

"Ugh is it done yet?" Like a bored child on a long road trip with their parents, Lunar had officially had it with the so-called 'mandatory diagnostic testing'. Having moved down to the Batcave with Garfield, the piparoid was hooked up to the usual electrodes while information was being fed into the batcomputer.

"Aww come on Lunar, this isn't so bad!" Garfield commented.

Easy for him to say, while Lunar was made to sit still, Garfield was free to roam about the Batcave. For the most part his attention was focused on an overly thick binder written by some of the New Genesis scientists. The binder itself was a catalog that chronicled what the League had discovered about Lunar's technology. Highfather insisted it was important for the battle against Darkseid and he couldn't have been more correct. Garfield was never really one to pick up a book and read but this catalog perfectly laid out all the information he needed if he was going to become the perfect paragon.

"What's so interesting anyways?" Lunar inquired.

"It says here all Paragon's have only four cogs in their armor!"

"Yup only four!" Lunar chirped. "Master Xiaou wanted to make sure all the Paragon's were equal in battle, the only thing that differs between us is our special abilities!"

"Special abilities, what are you a Pokemon?" He laughed

"I'm serious friend!" Lunar piped up. "Every piparoid has their own unique ability that gives there partner an edge in battle. It's sort of like how Sparrow can control solar energy and we can control cosmic energy!"

"So how do we have five cogs and the others have four?" That was the main question on everybody's mind since Moon Fang fought against Sparrow. How was he able to summon the cosmic staff after it was destroyed years ago during Stargirl's death.

Lunar was just as confused as Garfield and could only offer an innocent shake of the shoulders. "I was just as surprised as you guys, If I had to guess though I think it came from MR Batman tinkering with my computer systems!"

"What do you mean?"

"Before MR Batman sent me to earth on that asteroid, he spent days trying to break through my software code!" Lunar explained. "When he finally did he added some unknown features, he said you were going to need all the help you can get!"

That was just like Batman. Give that man any amount of prep time and he could instantly figure out how to overcome all situations. Whatever the case Garfield was happy to have the Cosmic Staff at his disposal. The weapon not only brought him fond memories of Courtney but it definitely would be useful when fighting against his brainwashed brethren.

"Can we take a break now, I'm so bored of this!" Lunar groaned.

"I don't know Lunar, Ryan wants us to get this done before we go to the Carnival!"

"Please can we do something fun please!" It was obvious that Lunar had taken after Garfield when it came to using the sad face because he soon made his eyes as big as saucers while pleading and sniffing. "Please friend, just a small break?"

It didn't take long for Garfield to give in and before he knew it he snatched the electrodes off Lunar and went upstairs to the manor. Within a few seconds later he carried his video game of all time. "How does a break and playing Mega Monkey five sound!"

"It's sound's awesome!" The Piparoid cheered.

In no time both Garfield and Lunar plopped down in front of the batcomputer, hooked up the remotes and began to play to their heart's content. They're was always time to do the testing later.

Fun first and business later was their motto.

-MetaHuman Detention Center-

Since the uncomfortable encounter at the warden's office, Ryan took it upon herself to keep an eye on DR Rhyme. Even with the guards trailing in front of them Ryan placed a good distance between her and the Doc. Maybe she was crazy, maybe she was just paranoid but she could have sworn that the woman was looking her up and down.

Ryan didn't mind if a good looking female kept close watch of her but this was different. She almost felt as though DR Rhyme was analyzing her body language, looking for any signs of weakness that she could possibly exploit. If you combine that and the strange cane she carried Ryan was going to make sure that she kept herself safe.

"Here we are MS Wilder!" DR Rhyme announced as the tour suddenly led them to a set of secured glass doors that overlooked the prison yard.

Like most prison yards the entire space was vast in size and surrounded by steel walls with guards patrolling the outer limits. Upon reaching the space Ryan could see at least fifty male prisoners, each one either grouped together or solo on their own. As true to prison culture the inmates were either enjoying the fresh air or the outdoor activities sponsored to them by the detention center.

"How many prisoners do you keep here?" Ryan asked.

"Approximately two hundred or so!" DR Rhyme answered. "Most of them are leftover criminals from Arkham, Strykers or Belle Reve, while the rest are just common criminals who broke the law!"

"Most of them are metahumans right?"

"Yes!" She pointed her cane as she gestured toward a nearby inmate who had a silver bracelet on his arm. "Those are power dampeners developed by Star Labs, they numb the Metahuman gene to keep our prisoners from using their powers to escape!"

"This is a very interesting setup they have here."

"Isn't it though?" She said gleefully. "Look at all of them, each of these inmates hold so much potential for study, they're such fascinating creatures."

The wording that DR Rhyme used caused Ryan's face to contort with unpleasantness. Ryan couldn't understand why she would use that frame of mind when speaking about the prisoners. Why was she looking at them like science experiments instead of human beings? "DR Rhyme?"

"Yes my dear?"

"I never did ask what are you a DR of?"

"Psychology!" She responded. "I love seeing how the brain works, how it molds us, shapes us, it's weaknesses. The brain holds so many secrets that mere mortals can never understand, I tell you it's so fascinating when you can see not only what makes a person tick but also show your superiority over them!"

The creep alert in Ryan's brain went at full capacity as she scanned the prison yard again, trying to get her mind off the question that she just asked.

"DR Rhyme!" A prison security guard called out to her as he came up behind her. "Telephone for you ma'am!"

"Of course, please help Miss Wilder locate her prisoner while I take this!"

"Thanks Doc!"

"Anytime Ryan!" The minute that Ryan was out of sight, DR Rhyme shooed the excess guards away from her before going to a nearby phone that was hanging on the wall. "DR Evelyn Rhyme speaking!"

"Enigma baby you called!" Roman Sionis' velvety voice cooed through the phone as he addressed the DR by her real name.

"Why can't you ever answer the phone when I need you?" She asked in annoyance.

"I'm a busy man Enigma!" The obvious answer that he usual gives all of his workers when they fail to reach him the first few times. "It's hard running a drug empire, while trying to be New

Metropolis's most trusted business man!"

"Ryan Wilder is here!"

The other end of the phone went silent for a few seconds before the cosmetics mogul found himself processing what she just said. "She's there in the detention center?"

"No Roman she's at Kenny's burger shack down the street, of course she's here with me, why else would I call you?

"Why is she there?"

"Too see some prisoner, the bad news is she recognized my fathers cane. I don't know how long it'll be before she puts two and two together!"

Roman could easily be heard groaning over the other end of the phone, in fact Enigma could easily picture him rubbing his temples in a frustrated manner. Of all the people to enter their operation, why did it have to be Kate Kane's little helper. Oh how they wished Paragon Black Siren would have ended her when they had the chance, the fact that she didn't meant now they were at risk of their mission being exposed.

"You need to kill her now!" Roman advised.

"Roman It was hard enough taking out warden sharp without alerting the guards, how am I supposed to kill her without raising suspicion."

"You have a doctorate in psychology and a prison filled with inmates, I'm sure you'll figure out something."

"But Roman-."

"Take care of Enigma, we cannot let her get in our way!"

With that Roman shut off the phone call, leaving nothing but the dial tone in the background. A frustrated DR Rhyme found herself tossing the phone on the receiver as she let a barrage of swear words escape her delicate lips. Of course Roman wanted her murdered, that was his solution to every damn thing. Even when the odds seemed slim it was murder, torture, murder, brutalize and murder some more.

If only she wasn't on his payroll, then she might be able to give him a piece of her the case it was now up to her to get the job done. If he wanted a slaughtered Ryan Wilder, then a slaughtered Ryan Wilder he was going to get.

-Prison Yard-

"Hello there beautiful!" A tall skinny inmate covered in tattoo's hollered.

"Hey baby, wanna share a cell with me tonight?" Another much younger inmate called out to her.

"Looks like we got some fresh meat walking boys!"

"Alright you hooligans calm down!" One of the guards shouted out to the inmates as they beckoned them away from Ryan.

And to think Garfield was worried about her being trapped in here with all these inmates. The minute that she stepped out onto the prison yard she walked hard and with purpose, flashing diva-like smiles while ignoring those who looked at her. With the prison guards protecting her every move like a celebrity, Ryan was free to roam the prison yard as she pleased.

"Miss Wilder, who exactly are you here to see?"

"Oh right!" She sweatdropped in embarrassment as she remembered the reason why she was there. Soon Ryan found herself going into her purse and pulling out one of the files that Highfather had handed her a couple of weeks ago. "I'm here to see Virgil Hawkins!"

"That would be him up ahead then!" The guard explained as he pointed further down the prison yard.

From a great distance Ryan kept her eyes peeled as she caught a glimpse of the black man known as Virgil. He was definitely more attractive than she had expected him to be and he was impressive as he was currently schooling a bunch of other inmates at Soccer.

"Outta my way!" With a single focused brow and a clenching of his teeth Virgil zoomed past several defensive inmates guarding the goal. It was child's play for him as he easily powered his foot against the ball, striking it past the last line of defense and into the goal.

"Alright Virgil!" A small voice cheered out to him and also caught Ryan's attention. From the sidelines she could see a short fair skinned teenage girl, with baby blue eyes, tiny lips and long flowing brown hair that reached her shoulders. With two blue pom poms in her hands the girl jumped up and down trying to instill as much cheer into Virgil as she could.

"I thought this was a men's detention center?" Ryan questioned in curiosity as she saw the girl.

"We have some female inmates here Ma'am, but we like to keep them separated from males!"

"Why isn't she with the others then?"

"Warden Sharp doesn't consider her a real female."

Ryan's face formed an expression of disgust as she all of a sudden knew exactly what the guard meant. It's a real good thing Ryan hadn't meant Quincy Sharp in person or she'd be poised to give him a piece of her mind. Whatever the case Ryan shook off the unpleasant feelings she had festered and continued to watch the game.

"Hey Nia watch this!" Virgil shouted out to the girl now identified as Nia. When her eyes were trained on him Virgil went into a repeated motion of dribbling the ball between his feet before the opposing team started to swarm him. For a second time he kicked the ball up high before going in for the kill.

Nia kept on with her cheering routing as the other team was pelted by the ball before it went into the goal for another score.

"Hey excuse me!" Ryan screamed out as she took a few steps forward to approach Virgil, who was unexpectedly dribbling the ball in her direction. "My name's Ryan Wilder and I'm here to see you MR Hawkins!"

"Ohh you must be the visitor they were telling me about!" Virgil responded as he never stopped moving, only merely running around in circles so he could speak for a second. "What can I do for you?"

"I'm from Highfather's tower and I'd like to talk to you about-."

The mere mention of Highfather's name caused Virgil to go from his cheerful state to downright nasty. He sucked his teeth hard before giving Ryan a glare of absolute despisement.``Let me save you the trouble, I'm not interested in whatever it is your selling!"

"But you haven't even heard it yet!"

"I don't care!" Virgirl spat. "I'm sick of you guys coming in here with this crap all the time, now get lost!"

With that Virgil sped away from Ryan determined to finish his soccer game. Putting his focus back on the goal at hand Virgil prepared himself to pelt the ball for a third time. He would never get the chance to achieve such a feat however as an inmate suddenly blocked his paths. The minute that Virgil came upon him, the inmate punched him straight in the gut knocking him down on his ass.

Virgil tasted the dirt of the prison yard as the ball went flying into nowhere.

"Oh my God, Virgil!" Nia screamed out for her friend as a few inmates started to surround him.

"Nobody likes a cocky player, Hawkins!" As Virgil tried to get up from the ground, his head came face to face with a trio of inmates that he knew too well and hated just as much.

The first of the inmates was a tall black male in his late twenties with tightly woven braids and a single skull earing on his left ear. The man was Virgil's nemesis Ivan Evans nicknamed Ebon for his overly dark skin complexion and his metahuman power over shadow portals.

The second of the inmates was a shorter black male that resembled Ebon. This inmate was his little brother Adam Evans nicknamed Rubber for his metahuman power to stretch.

The third of the inmates was a muscular Caucasian male with yellow and ginger hair and amber eyes. He was Ebon's best friend, Franics Stone nicknamed Hotstreak for his ability to control heat.

"What's the matter Hawkins, did baby fall down and go boom?"

"Fuck you Francis!" Virgil spat back

"What you say you little punk!" Ebon retaliated for the insult against his friend and promptly started to kick sand in Virgil's face.

As the trio abused Virgil the other inmates around the prison began to gather around his body to deliver kicks against his back and stomach.

"Requesting backup in the prison yard immediately!" The guards reacted as they called into their walkie talkies. Once the command had been sent the duo of guards rushed into the fray swatting inmates out the way in an attempt to keep Virgil from being beaten to death.

"Get off of him!" Nia cried as she rushed forward and tried to push her way through the group of heavy men. Her advance would be crushed however as Rubber easily knocked her away.

"Look at the little she-male trying to be tough!" Hotstreak laughed.

"Let's teach him a lesson we'll never forget!" Rubber added

"Good idea boys, good idea!" Ebon agreed

The yellow spirit of cowardice covered Nia's entire being as she unsuccessfully tried to back away from the men advancing on her. With Virgil being beaten by the other inmates there was no one to protect her. All she could do is cover her face and think happy thoughts as she prepared herself to be beaten to a pulp.

The moment that Hotstreak tried to punch Nia, his attack immediately failed as Ryan sprung from the sidelines and grabbed his fists defensively. The trio of men gave bewildered looks as Ryan shot them a cocky smile. "Don't you boys know that's no way to treat a lady!"

"Let go of my hand bitch!" Hotstreak sneered

"Poor choice of words bro!" Ryan uttered before she broke Hotstreaks wrist with a single swift twist. The inmate screamed out as he fell over clutching his wrist in sheer agony.

From there Ryan went to work on the duo before they had a chance to fight her back. She kicked Rubber directly between his legs before slamming her fists across Ebon's jaw.

Looking up from her earlier fearful state, the scared Nia cooed in delight as she saw Ryan landing choice hits across the men's body in a repetitive style.

The asswhooping wouldn't last long however as a single gunshot rang out. Within the next few seconds dozens of guards began to swarm the prison yard, taking down those responsible for the riots and forcing them back to their cells.

"She broke my wrist!" Hotstreak kept spatting as he and Rubber were all of a sudden detained and escorted toward the exit.

"You shouldn't have interfered bitch, like Virgil you're on our list now!" Ebon threatened while giving the girl a cut throat look. Ryan merely flipped him the bird as he was dragged away by the guards.

"Virgil!" As the prison yard started to empty out, Virgil was left in the aftermath his face and body bruised by the inmates that attacked him. Seeing him in this battered state was more than enough reason for Nia to flock to his side.

Despite being in pain himself Virgil pulled himself up to embrace Nia in a hug. "You're ok!"

"She saved me!" Nia gleefully explained as she pointed toward Ryan in the distance. "She kicked all their asses Virgil, you should have seen her!"

As much as Virgil didn't want to to acknowledge Ryan's presence he hugged Nia tighter before turning to face her. "You saved Nia, thank you, how can I repay you?"

"I don't suppose answering a few questions would be outta line would it?"

"Not at all, your request is granted MS Wilder!"

-Highfathers Tower-

"You gotta give her some credit, she might even give Lex a run for his money with her attitude." Deadshot made his opinion known to Highfather and Superman as the duo looked through a single solid panel of glass. On the other side of that window was the arrested and very pissed off Mercy Graves. The CEO of LexCorp kept her eyes away from the window at all costs while tapping her fingers impatiently.

Much like Lex had taught her to do, Mercy didn't bother saying anything upon her capture, instead she opted for a lawyer. After that all communication shut down between her and anybody else that came near her.

Superman, Highfather and Deadshot had the dull task of divising a way to get her to spill her guts. Knowing that Darkseid's minions were after something at LexCorp only added to the stress of this situation. Whatever she was hiding they had to learn it fast to avert any possible catastrophes that could be upcoming.

"Clark, we can't wait for her attorney to get here, we have to know what she's hiding!" Highfather started with a tone of urgency.

"I understand Highfather, I'll get her to talk." Superman responded before heading toward the interrogation room. Much to his surprise the moment that he moved, Deadshot also started to follow him. "Are you coming to help?"

Deadshot couldn't help but let out a loud snort. "Nah, I just wanna see how the blue boy scout interrogates a subject!"

As much as Superman wanted to rebuttal at Deadshot's doubting of his interrogation skills, he silenced himself with the quickness. Truth be told the assassin had the right to laugh at him, Superman himself by nature was a nice guy and really never had to do the interrogation part of the job. Normally he'd leave that to Bruce, Kate or any of the other league members that could get the subject to talk within a matter of three minutes.

Whatever the case, maybe his good nature would win her over.

After all, Mercy couldn't be as bad as Luthor.

"MS Graves I wanted to talk to y-." No sooner than Superman opened the interrogation room, he was hit by Mercy's stiletto directly in the face.

"Where's my attorney you damn alien?" She sneered with a sour look on her face. "I've been here for thirty minutes, and demand to see proper counsel!"

Ok so maybe she was just as bad as Luthor.

Whatever the case this was the rare instance where Superman decided to let his good nature fall by the wayside. As he positioned his body in a corner of the interrogation room he eyed Deadshot and gave him a sign with a tilt of his head.

"Seriously?" Deadshot inquired with a surprise look on his face as he knew what the gesture meant. "I got free reign on this?"

"She's all yours!"

"What the hell are you two idiots talking about?" Mercy questioned angrily.

"Mercy, we got some questions for you!"

"And what the hell makes you think I'm gonna answer them?"

Her question was met with a pointed answer as Deadshot suddenly came upon her with a single revolver, which he now pointed toward the side of her head. Mercy gasped loudly before shooting the cocky Deadshot, a look of fear mixed with hatred. "What the fuck do you think your doing?"

"Look Mercy, I don't have time for games." Superman replied with a stoic tone. "The Paragons are after something you have hidden at LexCorp, I need answers as to what."

"And what If I don't give them too you'll have him shoot me." She laughed. "Give me a break Superman, everybody knows you're too soft to let someone die!"

"You forget love, I'm calling the shots here!" Deadshot countered. "I've got three hundred something bodies under my belt, you think one more is gonna upset me?"

Mercy thought about playing verbal quips with the two league members but instead she found herself going silent as Superman suddenly walked out the interrogation room leaving her by herself with Deadshot. She had expected him to come back within moments but when he didn't show, her heart slammed repeatedly in her chest.

Superman just left her in a room with a convicted assassin.

He couldn't be serious about letting him kill her could he?

"You know how Russian Roulette works Mercy, one bullet and six chambers!" Deadshot said."Ready to answer some questions now?"

"Piss off Lawton!"

Her insult immediately garnered a reaction as Deadshot pulled the trigger on the gun. Mercy found herself screaming with sheer terror as she expected a bullet to pierce her skull, luckily for her however the chamber was empty.

"That's one Mercy, are you ready to talk yet?" He questioned.

"I'll n-n-n-ever t-t-talk!"

The torture continued as Deadshot pressed the trigger twice more garnering more fear in Mercy's heart. As her body quivered in fear, beads of nervousness formed upon her forehead while white hot tears started to stream down her face.

"You sure this was a good idea?" Highfather inquired of Superman as the duo watched Deadshot's methods from behind the window. While Highfather knew some risks were absolutely necessary he couldn't fathom that Superman was ok with this, in fact he was actually expecting him to go in and save her.

"I watched Kara and Lois die at the hands of Darkseid, I'll be damned If I let that happen to anyone else! " Superman exclaimed. "If she gets shot it's nobody's problem but her own!"

"Well Miss Graves, that was four shots!" He announced nonchalantly. "I don't know if you realize this or not but in one of these next two shots you'll be joining Lex in hell!"

"I won't tell you anything, you filthy expandable dog!" Although she tried to make herself sound mighty, her expression and body language told Deadshot that she was scared out of her mind.

"Alright then, two shots it is!"

"WAIT NO!" Her facade of fearlessness suddenly stopped as she screamed out to Deadshot. Upon hearing her voice loudly penetrate the room, the assassin stopped his action and shot a

look to the door for Highfather and Superman to come in. "I'LL TELL YOU EVERYTHING!"

"What are the paragons after at LexCorp Mercy?" Highfather questioned

"When Lex was alive he had the company working on project mastermind!" She confessed as the fear in her body started to subside. "He knew Darkseid was coming for earth, and he wanted a full proof plan to get rid of him so he wouldn't have to join an alliance with the Justice League."

"What's project mastermind?"

"Project Mastermind was a plan to amass alien technology from a single primary source!" She stated. "The project would have defeated Darkseid with ease had we mastered how to use it. Problem was after Lex died the project got sidelined, I tried to revive it but could never get the alien technology to work, so eventually I stored it in the hangar under LexCorp!"

"So you've been plotting against us this entire time?" Deadshot scoffed. Of course Mercy had been scheming against them for Lex, even in death that balding little psychopath still had dominating control over her.

"Of course I have!" She spat. "An alien was responsible for this mess. By mastering that tech LexCorp would not only be able to stop Darkseid but defend humanity incase Highfathers New Genesis freaks get any ideas about dominating us!"

"Something still doesn't add up Mercy!" Highfather interjected as he calmly shook off the insult that was thrown at his people. "If LexCorp had been experimenting on a primary source where did they get it from or rather where could that much alien technology come from?"

As the trio's eyes buried their way through Mercy's mind, the CEO shook her head in disbelief as she forced her lips to form the words of truth. "Brainiac's Skull Ship!"

Just the mention of that demon with wires sent shockwaves throughout the room. Superman, Highfather, & Deadshot exchanged looks of sheer terror as everything finally formed itself into a perfect little bow.

LexCorp was trying to master Brainiac's technology. This was the same Brainiac who tried to enslave humanity multiple times, the same Brainiac who destroyed countless worlds in his quest for knowledge and experimentation. Although the techno tyrant had perished at the hands of Darkseid during the war, his weaponry on his ship still remained.

Superman could feel his blood boiling as he stared down Mercy. She was a fool like Lex.

In her quest for power she had possibly doomed them all.

If Darkseid were to get his hands on Brainiac's SkullShip there was no telling what was about to happen.

The worst was yet to come and the league wasn't sure how they were going to stop it.

-Elsewhere-

-New Metropolis-

Superman had every right to worry. At this very moment the colossal Skull shaped vessel was hovering throughout the skylights of New Metropolis. The citizens below had mixed reactions upon seeing the ship that belonged to Superman's greatest foe.

Some grabbed their phones taking snapshots and videos thinking it was some sort of stunt, while others could instantly froze unsure of what to do next. Some ran in terror seeking out possible saftey wherever they may find it, while more ran to alert the authorities so they could get the Justice Leauge on the case.

It didn't matter what they did though, as it was too late for them to stop what was coming.

"Taurus you are brilliant I must say!" Paragon Taurus was feeling his ego to the maximum extent as he looked upon the control panel of the SkullShip. An endless supply of digital commands, each at his disposal all waiting for his very adjure.

All his hard work had finally paid off. Thanks to Mercy and LexCorp bumbling he was now in control of the strongest alien vessel known to man. From this ship he would bring New Metropolis to it's knees, from this ship they would all learn what happens when you defy the will of his master.

"Plan finished?" Paragon Thrust, who had been slinking through the lower regions of the ship, suddenly inquired to his partner as he joined him upfront.

"The plan is just beginning Thrust!" He snickered as a grin of triumphancy plastered itself across his face. "Now that we have the SkullShip we can start taking over New Metropolis!"

"Moon Fang?"

"He's not going to interfere, in fact he's one of the first targets I plan to get rid of!" With a single touch on the dashboard the entire ship's panel sprung to life with an assortment of loud noises and bright colors. While Thrust could only guess what his partner was doing, Taurus strummed the keys as the front monitor soon brought up a digital diagnostic of Lunar's computer systems.

"Fangs cat?"

"Brainiac's ship can hack into the mainframe of almost any computer, including Lunar's android system!" Taurus explained. "While I can't fully take over Lunar's system due to his alien anatomy, I can introduce something that will keep him and Moon Fang off are backs for a while!"

"Like what?"

"A Virus!" After entering another set of commands, the system began to show an uploading screen next to the digital diagnostic of Lunar. Paragon Taurus felt a certain amount of pride as he watched his virus upload itself into Lunar's system bit by bit, before he knew it the virus had uploaded itself fully into the tiger cubs system.

-Batcave-

"The enemy is gaining on us Lunar, we need to cover the rear!" An excited Garfield murmured to his tiger pal as they played the game known as Mega Monkey's four. The changeling's fingers mashed against the buttons on his controller as his red monkey on the screen blasted its way through a horde of alien invaders.

"Aye Aye Captain!" Lunar chirped just as excitedly as he positioned his blue monkey on the screen to fire against the foes that were chasing them.

"Come on Lunar, we're almost there!" Garfield's excitement about finishing the level they were on would be cut short as Lunar's monkey stopped moving on the screen. Without the extra firepower from his comrade the enemy was quick to devour his and Garfield's character resulting in the blaring 'Game Over' screen. "Hey Lunar what gives why'd you stop shooting?"

Garfield turned his attention toward his piparoid pal looking for an explanation, but instead he was treated to a ghastly sight. Lunar's face was glossed over, while his bright purple eyes were slowly turning bloodshot red.

"Lunar what's wrong?" The titan cried as he tried to snap him out of it, but instead he was meat with no reaction as a weird symbol also appeared in his eyes. Garfield wasn't sure what was happening to his little buddy, but he had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach that something sinister was about to befall his relaxing day.

End of Chapter 14.

Bet you didn't see the Brainiac Skull Ship making an appearance did ya?

I can't wait for you guys to see Chapter 15 and beyond, all hell is going to break loose for New Metropolis. This will be the best chance to see if our hero Moon Fang is up to the challenge.

Just a few announcements.

If you guys aren't familiar with Virgil Hawkins, Ebon, HotStreak, Rubber (Whose original name is Rubberband Man) or Nia Nal I suggest you check them out online. There already well established DC characters and I think for this section of my fic they work out well to what will be unfolding down the line. Also we are going to get some more iconic name drops and appearances as we get through the rest of season 2.

Also I promised you guys some fanart and I will be bringing it to you shortly, I'm just waiting on my friend Bia to deliver the goods.

Just like every chapter out there, I hope you guys enjoyed this. Please feel free to leave me a comment, a bookmark, a kudo or even ideas of what you guys would like to see in the future.

Which also reminds me, I have been getting alot of requests about wanting to see more BBRae Romance and wanting to know how they got together and such, don't worry all that will be answered as we get further down the line.

With that being said Chapter 15 will be posted in about two weeks, I'm trying to find more time to keep up with the other fanfictions and my real life as well.

But that's all, I love you guys and will see ya'll very soon!

Arigato!

Z!