"Superheroes, since the discovery of their existence they have been regarded with fear, suspicion, hatred. Across planets, the debate rages. Are superheroes the next link in the evolutionary chain or simply God's special creation fighting for their rightful share of the galaxy? Either way, it is a historical fact: Sharing the galaxy has never been the defining virtue of normal people," Kara read her speech aloud.
Kara was in the palace wearing her Supergirl uniform. There were several monitoring devices on her suit. She looked pale and sickly from exposure to Kryptonite. She had not yet recovered and was chilling in her office. "What do you think?" she asked Brainiac 5.
"Self-serving, narcissistic, condescending, and playing the victim card while having absolutist control," Brainiac 5 critiqued.
"Fuck you, Barney. This came from the heart," Kara said peeved.
"I know it did," Brainiac 5 replied.
While Kara and Brainiac 5 bickered, a staff member went about giving a tour of the palace to random tourists. "'Though passion may have strained, it must not break the bonds of our affection.' Alexandra Danvers said this when the Supreme Leader was sixteen years old. It's one of my favorites," the tour guide gushed as she showed a portrait of Alex.
The tour group went about the halls filled with portraits of Kara's friends and family. Even those who were Kara's enemies like the Astra and Non, the Luthors, and Rhea were given historical revisionism to seem reasonable and patriotic. Among the tour group was a bug man. Literally, a bug with a humanoid body. He wore a hat, sunglasses, and an obvious mask to hide his identity.
In her office, Kara was finally done with her speech. "Can you clear my schedule, Barney? I want to have dinner with my kids."
"Of course," Brainiac 5 nodded.
"You see what I did just there? I humanized myself so if anything bad happens to be in the next few moments, it's alarming and distressing. I'm one of the good guys, you see," Kara said.
"So noted," Brainiac 5 humored her.
The bug-man fell behind the tour group and was spotted by a drone security guard. "Are you lost?" the drone asked the bug-man. The bug-man known as Gates didn't reply. Instead, Gates leaped over the drone and raced down the halls.
At this point, all security drones in the palace were aware of the intruder. Gates teleported all over the palace knocking the drones to the floor with each pass. The drones fired laser pistols at Gates in vain. With fast reflexes, he was able to avoid their fire and teleport around them. Gates continued his way closer and closer to Kara's office as he dispatched several drones. The whole palace was now filled with laser fire as they tried to get a hit on the bug.
A dozen security drones entered Kara's office and surrounded her. Gates continued his path flipping and kicking drones out of the way. He finally tore down the door to the office just next to Kara's office. The room was filled with drones ready to take him down. Gates teleported all around the room as the drones fired on him. Gates dispatched the drones one by one until he had the room cleared.
Gates then opened the door to Kara's office, teleported inside, and dispatched the drones with a series of kicks and teleportations. Gates finally landed on Kara, forcing her against the desk. He revealed his bug eyes and creepy-looking mandibles. "What the fuck?" Kara wondered.
Gates then took out a Kryptonite blade and was about to stab her with it when he was suddenly shot in the shoulder by a drone. Gates panicked and immediately teleported out of the room.
"That was too close," Kara said stunned.
In the natural history museum, Mon and Imra were hanging out. Suddenly, Imra started to hear the thoughts of the humans all around her as her telepathy went out of control. "I feel insane and want to shoot everyone here...I have cancer, holy shit!... They're going to kill us all!"
The video monitors started going weird as Imra tried to regain control of her thoughts. "Imra?" Mon wondered. "You...okay?"
"I'm fine. Just a headache," Imra downplayed.
"That's what you said last night," Mon frowned.
"That sort of statement requires needed context. We were at the victory party together with all of our friends and colleagues and nothing happened," Imra said pissed off.
"Look, I wasn't going to say anything, but you've been queer ever since we left the Delphic Expanse," Mon said seriously.
"My telepathy is a bit off. I can hear everything, I can't seem to focus," Imra admitted.
"And the nightmares where the whole ship shakes. I've noticed that, too," Mon said.
"My dreams are getting worse. I believe something terrible is about to happen," Imra said ominously.
"Nice," Mon smiled.
Meanwhile, Kon, Mara, and Hart Druiter aka Nemesis Kid were hanging out in the food court getting into trouble. Kon was fooling around igniting a flame around his hand when two human teenage boys came up to them. "Hey, can I get a light?"
Kon eyed the two boys with their death sticks. "Sorry, pal, can't help you," Kon smirked.
"Why don't you stop showing off?" Mara scolded.
"Why? Am I getting your boyfriend excited?" Kon mocked her.
"He's not my boyfriend, just a member of a secret society you're not allowed to join," Mara said cryptically.
"I'm just trying to lighten the mood," Kon said defensively
"The only one having a good time is you," Mara told him off.
While they were bickering, one of the boys ignited his death stick with Kon's thumb while he wasn't looking. "The fuck?" Kon said he realized he had been taken advantage of. He stood up and got in their faces.
"What are you going to do about it?" the lead boy said as he blew smoke in Kon's face. "Suddenly, you're not so tough."
Kon blasted the boy to the floor. The boy's jacket was immediately on fire. Mara immediately blew frost breath on the boy to put the fire out. At this point, the food court was going to have a mini-freak out as the royal prince and princess just caused another major public incident. Suddenly, everyone in the food court froze in place.
"Is this one of your powers?" Hart asked amazed.
"I didn't do this," Kon said wide-eyed as he waved his hand in front of someone's face.
"I did," Imra said as she showed up with Mon.
"Next time you want to show off in front of these pathetic humans, don't," Mon scolded. The Daily Planet news channel then reported on the alien attack at the Palace. "Time to go," he ordered.
As soon as the superhero youngsters were gone from the museum, Imra unfroze all of the human patrons.
At the palace, Kara, Mon, and Brainiac 5 had a chat about the alien attack. "My opinion, Rokk is behind this. It's all part of a Braalian conspiracy against me," Kara said paranoid.
"Yeah, probably not," Mon rolled his eyes.
"I have been monitoring Rokk in his prison cell. He wasn't involved," Brainiac 5 discounted. "Besides, it would be counter-productive to his cause. The Braal Confederacy simply wants assurances we will manage Earth's environment properly."
"I want to declare a global state of emergency," Kara said freaked out. "I want everyone who has a negative opinion about me under arrest."
"Do you think the assassin was working alone?" Mon asked Brainiac 5.
"I have had Imra use Cerebro but his movements are erratic and difficult to pin down. When I have exact coordinates, you'll need to capture him for interrogation," Brainiac 5 said to him.
In his secret lair, Lemnos revealed his true colors as a...bad guy. With him were associates in his Church of Scientificity: Yerra Allon aka Chameleon Girl of Durla, and Bloodclaw of Khundia. He wore a cloak and mask that only revealed his eyes. "We were close. Closer than anyone has admitted," Lemnos said of the assassination attempt.
"What are you proposing?" Yerra asked.
"This is a training facility for would-be Vindicators in Midvale, Maine. I have recently been promoted to principal there," Lemnos said showing a hologram of the school grounds.
"Looks like a school," Yerra said confused.
"That's what it's supposed to look like, but it's basic training for the Supreme Leader's new batch of superheroes. Now, I've recruited as many as I can from that school into our church as a teacher. The rest need to be captured and sent to reeducation camps," Lemnos said seriously.
"Will you be sending us?" Bloodclaw asked as she cracked her knuckles.
"No, the pawns go first," Lemnos decided.
Midvale
Mara was back at Midvale High as summer break had ended. In the common area, Mara and Hart were about to kiss. "I don't want to hurt you," Hart said concernedly, unable to control his parasitic powers.
"You won't hurt someone like me," Mara said confidently.
The two were about to kiss when Mara sensed something. She took off down the hall and met up with Brin. "You miss me, kid?" Brin asked rhetorically.
"Not really," Mara admitted.
"Who's this?" Brin demanded.
"This is my good friend, Hart. He's able to absorb the powers of anyone he touches by physical contact," Mara introduced him.
"Call me Nemesis Kid," Hart said as he shook Brin's hand and immediately his hand became larger, stronger, hairier, and clawed. Hart's hand returned to normal as soon as he let go.
"Right...," Brin said freaked out by him. "So, how do you two...?"
"Well, we're still working on that," Hart admitted.
"Yeah, well, I'm here to babysit you because apparently things got fucked side-wise the last time you attended this school," Brin said dryly.
"Nice to meet you," Hart said pleasantly and then pulled Mara away back to the common area.
Imra then walked down the stairs and met with Brin. "I'm headed to Boston to track down the alien that attacked Kara. I won't be long."
"So, it was an alien attacking an alien on an alien planet from my alien perspective," Brin mused.
"You're to be here when I come back," Imra ordered. "You're the senior Vindicator on the premises."
"Boring as fuck assignment," Brin rolled his eyes.
"Don't run off," Imra said as she took off.
"Well...shit," Brin muttered.
Boston
Imra and Projecta went to Boston to find the bug-man assassin. They found him inside a church. Imra telekinetically opened the doors and scanned the area for him. The church was still under construction, but Imra couldn't help but notice a single candle was lit. Imra immediately put up a telekinetic shield around the church to keep the teleporter from escaping.
"I'm from the government and I'm here to help," Imra said as she tried to track him down. Even now, Gates was teleporting all around the church. "I just want to talk."
Gates replied back with alien gibberish. Projecta created illusions around the church of demons that freaked Gates out and forced him out of hiding. Imra finally got a lock on Gates as he teleported in the air. She froze him in place upside down suspended in the air. "Please, don't kill me. I didn't mean to harm anyone," Gates said to her in English.
"Now, why would I ever have that impression?" Projecta mocked. "What's your name, asshole?"
"Ti'julk Mr'asz but friends call me Gates," he said.
"I'm going with Gates," Projecta decided.
"What's your deal? Why did you attack the Supreme Leader?" Imra demanded.
"There was so much shooting and then only pain. I remember it all happening but not the reason why. It was like a bad dream," Gates said.
Imra read his mind but it was confusing and chaotic since he was a bug. She detected a distortion in his memory. For some reason, Gates felt he had to do what he did. Imra released Gates but kept up her telekinetic field around the church. "Perhaps, I am being tested...by him," Gates said of the crucifix in the cross.
"Yeah, maybe," Imra considered. "I'm taking you back to the Supreme Leader. If you try to escape, I'll find you again and kill you."
"You'll get more flies with honey than vinegar, my dear," Lemnos said as he entered the church. He wore his cloak and mask to shield himself from Imra's telepathy and being identified.
A giant frog creature then blasted them both with poisonous gas. Projecta immediately passed out. Imra instinctively put up a forcefield but then Bloodclaw came down from the ceiling, placed Imra's neck in a lock with her feet, and then kicked her face to the side, knocking her out. The giant frog then morphed back to Yerra.
"They thought they have trapped Gates but, in reality, we used Gates to trap them," Lemnos mused.
Midvale
Brin awoke with a start as he had nightmares of all the fools he had killed on various missions he had been sent on. "Holy shit," he said stunned. He walked the halls of the school and found a teenager watching TV. Every so often, the channel changed but the teenager wasn't using a remote.
"Can't sleep?" James Cullen aka Kid Quantum assumed.
"How can you tell?" Brin asked.
"Cuz, you're awake," James said obviously.
"Maybe I'm nocturnal," Brin said argumentatively.
"But I see you when you sleep by accessing the security cameras," James countered.
"Creepy as fuck," Brin realized. "Do you not sleep?"
"Nope," James replied.
"Well, okay then," Brin said weirded out by him. He entered the kitchen and found Mara eating ice cream. "Is there any beer?"
"It's a school," Mara frowned.
"So...?" Brin questioned.
"No," Mara shot down.
"The only thing I fear...is a fridge with no beer," Brin frowned.
Metropolis
While Imra was with Gates, Kara pressed forward with her Braal conspiracy theory. Kara went to see Rokk at his plastic prison. The plastic prison was suspended 30 meters above the ground in a large space far from any metal. The guards were humans and were not allowed to wear anything metallic whatsoever. Instead, they used plastic batons. A metal detector was present to ensure any visitor had no metal on them. Kara wore her simple cloth suit for this reason.
"Standby in case I need you," Kara said to the guards and then went through the metal detector. The metal detector went off as she stepped through it. The bridge to the prison cell wouldn't operate. "Override," Kara ordered unconcernedly.
The plastic/glass bridge then connected the lobby to the prison cell. Kara then entered the prison cell where Rokk stood at his glass table totally bored. "To what do I owe the pleasure, Supreme Leader?" Rokk asked.
"The assassination attempt on me. What do you know about it?" Kara demanded.
"Nothing," Rokk replied. "Although, I'm noticing there's something different about you."
"Yeah, I've been having a bad week," Kara said dryly.
"It's more than that," Rokk said as he stood up to Kara.
"Alright, sit your ass down. You're making me nervous," Kara ordered.
"No," Rokk refused.
Rokk raised his hand at Kara and suspended her in the air, paralyzing her body in place. "What the fuck are you doing?" Kara demanded as she struggled against his hold.
"There it is," Rokk detected. "Too much Kryptonite metal in your body."
Rokk pulled the Kryptonite out of Kara's body creating a red mist in the air as he did. Kara's suit was now a bloody mess as she suffered tiny holes all over her body. Kara blasted Rokk to the floor with heat vision but it was too weak to do any damage to him. Kara fell to the floor and passed out. Rokk consolidated the Kryptonite metal into three concentrated balls and then tore through the prison walls. The gate automatically pulled away in response. Rokk transformed the third ball into a platform under his feet and floated to the other side. The two guards got whacked with Rokk's balls knocking them out.
As soon as Rokk left the prison facility, Bloodclaw arrived to collect Kara's body.
Midvale
At Midvale High, Brin settled with a root beer. "So, how long have you been here?" Brin asked conversationally.
"Just a semester. It didn't go very well," Mara said dryly. "I already have several degrees, but my parents want me to be social."
"So, you and Nemesis kid? Really?" Brin questioned.
"It's not what you think. I'm just using him as a placeholder. It's not easy for an Insane to get close to someone. No matter how much I try, I can't," Mara sighed.
"Well, chill out. You're only five. What you want will come with experience," Brin advised. Brin then heard movement down the halls and went to check it out.
SWAT teams flooded the school looking for kids to capture. They burst through the entrances and found James still watching TV. They immediately shot tranquilizer darts at him and moved on. The SWAT teams kicked open doors as they shot tranquilizer darts at all the sleeping students. Mara didn't seem to be alarmed in the slightest as the school was being invaded.
A SWAT agent then entered the kitchen only to be ambushed by Brin. The SWAT agent switched to laser on his rifle and fired all over the kitchen making a mess. Brin overpowered the agent as he morphed into wolf mode and then sliced deep into the agent's lungs killing him.
Brin then took Mara out of the kitchen to the hallway toward the exit. Upon seeing a swarm of SWAT agents, he kept her in the kitchen and engaged them himself. He quickly took down two agents with claw attacks to their chests. Brin then went on a murder spree as he tore up as many agents as he could find. Laser beams and tranquilizer darts had little effect on him.
Blok, a humanoid stone alien, got into the action as well preventing the agents from being able to kidnap the incapacitated students. The SWAT agents attempted to fire at him in vain as their laser blasts simply bounced off him. Blok then tossed them through the walls.
Additional SWAT reinforcements arrived via helicopters on the roof. Blok led the children to a hidden passageway under the school to escape. "Take him," Brin said as he handed James off to him.
"I am a rock," Blok offered.
"Help them," Brin declined and continued his murder spree.
As it happened, Mara, Kon, and Hart met up together. "I can help you," Hart said as he absorbed their powers. The windows of the school were blasted out and Kryptonite gas was sent in. "Oh, shit," Hart realized as he ended up weakened as well.
The three went downstairs where they were corned by SWAT agents with Kryptonite rifles. Brin leaped from the second floor and dropped the SWAT agents with claws and teeth in their necks. "This way," Brin said to the three of them.
Brin led the three to another hidden passageway and then closed the door behind them.
Brin, Mara, Kon, and Hart eventually came across a garage filled with cars. "Nice," Kon smiled.
"Yeah, no," Brin said as he took the driver's seat.
"Mom's not responding on the watch," Kon noted. "What if something happened to her? What if the enemy has her? What if she's dead?" he wondered wide-eyed.
"That escalated quickly," Brin said dryly.
"So, what's the plan?" Mara asked as she coughed every so often from the Kryptonite poisoning.
"Imra and Projecta went to Boston, so we'll start there," Brin replied.
Canada
Imra and Projecta, however, were not in Boston. Imra awoke in a bunker with a special helmet on her head and confined to a chair. "It's a neural inhibitor," Lemnos told her, still wearing cloak and mask.
"What have you done with Projecta?" Imra demanded.
"Don't worry. I'm just giving him some reeducation, but you know all about that, don't you?" Lemnos mocked.
"I really don't," Imra said innocently.
"You all suffer from a disease within you. My son suffered from the Thetans. When we tried to cure him, he was resentful of us. He blamed us for his condition rather than the real thing. He took a power drill to my wife's head before killing himself," Lemnos told her.
"Holy shit," Imra said stunned.
"I can free you from these Thetans as well," Lemnos offered.
"You're responsible for the attack on the Supreme Leader," Imra accused.
"No shit," Lemnos confirmed. "You know, I've been working with superheroes longer than before you were born but the most frustrating thing is no one really knows how many exist or how to find them except you."
Lemnos then brought Projecta to him. "Projecta?" Imra wondered.
"Lemnos helped me understand that the reason we're sad, angry, disgusted, or fearful is due to Thetans. Once we rid ourselves of them, we'll experience only joy," Projecta said to her.
"That sounds like bullshit," Imra rejected.
Boston
Brin couldn't make contact with Imra or Projecta so he decided to crash at Hart's family home which happened to be in Boston. Hart's parents weren't home so Brin decided to take it over. He went to the fridge and discovered it had no beer. "What...the...fuck?" he muttered.
Hart brought Mara upstairs to show off his room. "Hey, do you want to wear some of my mom's clothes?" he offered.
"Sure," Mara considered.
Downstairs, Kon eyed the family photos of Hart, his normal brother, and his parents. He stared intently feeling that he had been denied a normal childhood or something.
Coincidentally, Hart's parents and brother arrived and were surprised by Brin gutting their fridge. "Who the hell are you?" the father asked.
"This is Professor Londo from school," Hart interjected before a fight could break out. "And there's something I should tell you."
Hart went into a long explanation on how Midvale High was actually for superhero kids being prepared to be Vindicator warriors. His parents were shocked and appalled. "So, uh, when did you first know you...were a...?" his mom asked awkwardly.
"A meta-human?" Hart guessed.
"You have to understand. We thought we were sending him to a prep school because we thought he was mentally gifted," his father said disappointed.
"Damn," Hart said, destroyed.
"But Hart is gifted," Mara protested.
"It's just you being a meta complicates things," his mother said delicately. "We were hoping you would get married one day, have a family, and that we would have grandchildren."
"I still can...I think," Hart said confused.
"Not if you're hooking up with an alien," his father said obviously.
"I can have kids with normal people, too," Hart pointed out.
"What normal woman is going to want to marry the Nemesis Kid?" his mother said gently.
"I can change the name to something less ominous," Hart suggested.
"It's not the Nemesis part we're concerned with. You're almost an adult and you're calling yourself a kid," his father scolded.
"And the Supreme Leader calls herself Supergirl," Hart argued. "Look, just because I have superpowers doesn't mean I can't choose to have a relationship with a normal woman and have kids with her."
"But it will be far more difficult," his mother said. "Isn't there a place where we can just make you not a meta-human?"
"I'll look it up," Brin said with false sincerity.
"And what are you a professor of, exactly?" his mother asked Brin.
"Art," Brin said sarcastically.
Suddenly, SWAT teams from the attack on Midvale High arrived in several vehicles. They entered Hart's house and detained the parents and brother quickly. As Brin exited the house, he was shot in the head and dropped. "Don't hurt them," Mara said to Kon.
"You shouldn't have fucked with us. Of all the Insane, I'm the worst one," Kon said and then fired ki blasts everywhere. The agents to the right, left, and behind the door were incinerated in rapid succession. Kon then blasted the vehicles to scrap killing the agents inside instantly. As more reinforcements arrived, Kon continued to blast them away. Kon took a special pleasure in the last vehicle as he slowly roasted the occupants inside.
Mara nodded to Hart who grabbed Kon by the arm and started absorbing his powers. "Wow, I'm toasted," Kon said as he felt a sudden depletion of his killer rush. He then realized what Hart was doing. "Oh, come on, what the fuck?" he said to Hart and Mara.
Brin got back up annoyed and took charge of the situation. "Damn," he said amazed at the destruction. "Let's move out."
Canada
In the Canadian Rockies, Rokk contemplated existence among several dead bodies of climbers who had failed to reach the summit over the centuries. "Every corpse here was once a highly motivated individual," he mused.
A weird alien bird suddenly landed near him. The bird morphed into Yerra. "I need your help. My boss wants to kill all superheroes and brainwash the people of Earth to his cult. He's built a model Cerebro. Once hooked up to a strong telepath, it can do his bidding," Yerra said urgently.
"What telepath?" Rokk asked curiously.
"Imra Ardeen, also known as Saturn Girl of the Titans," Yerra replied.
"Why not go to the authorities?" Rokk asked.
"I'm a criminal for the part I've played. I don't understand what happened but I felt like I was given false memories. Whenever I shapeshifted, the memories went away. The authorities will never understand. That's why I've come to you," Yerra said.
"Who is your boss?" Rokk asked.
"I don't know that either," Yerra admitted.
"A memory manipulator in league with a telepath can be a dangerous combination," Rokk considered. He gathered the metal from the mountain and formed a helmet out of it. He then put the helmet on his head. "Problem solved."
"We have to try to stop him," Yerra insisted.
"The first step to failure is trying," Rokk countered. "I wouldn't need you."
"You doubt I can help?" Yerra said offended.
"Those who doubt your ability probably have a valid reason," Rokk replied. "Sometimes, the purpose of your life is only to serve as a warning to others. Sometimes, it's darkest right before pitch black."
"I don't think I can deal with this negativity," Yerra said aghast.
"Negativity is what optimists call objectivity when they don't like the message," Rokk mocked.
"Okay, fine...our existence is but a brief crack of light between two eternities of darkness. Let's make that light shine while we can," Yerra said.
Rokk gave her an odd look. "No?" Yerra assumed.
"You had me at crack," Rokk agreed.
Outside of Boston
Brin brought Kon, Mara, and Hart into the forest. "So, what's our next move?" Kon asked bored.
"We lay low. We don't know who we can trust right now," Brin said seriously.
"Can we trust him?" Hart asked of the giant bug-man.
"Holy shit!" Kon said startled as he saw him. Even Brin was taken aback. "Kill it with fire!"
Gates teleported inside their gathering. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop," he said innocently.
"What's your deal, bug-man?" Brin demanded.
"I was manipulated by a man to assassinate your Supreme Leader. In my mind, I held false memories of a decision I had never made," Gates said.
"Where is this man now?" Kon asked interested.
"I do not know but I know a place where he imprisoned me. It's in the mountains with a lake," Gates said.
"Vague as fuck. Teleport us there," Kon ordered.
"Hold on, we don't know what's there," Mara objected.
"What better reason than to get over there," Kon argued. "All of your captured friends are probably there, too."
"They weren't really my friends," Mara downplayed.
"We should be cautious," Brin considered. "Take us to this base and I'll scope it out."
Canada
Yerra approached Lemnos's base. It was an abandoned dam. Inside was an underground concrete fortress with lead lining. As she approached the underground entrance tunnel, Lemnos saw her on the video camera. "Look who's come home," he said pleased.
A side tunnel door opened and several SWAT agents came out. "Move and you're dead," they warned her. They then placed her in cuffs and brought her inside at gunpoint.
"After all this time, this is how you treat me?" Yerra asked peeved.
"I know my own work better than anyone. You need another treatment," Lemnos said as he approached her. Lemnos went over to her to place his hands on her when Yerra suddenly shrank her wrists to escape the cuffs, did a back flip kicking several men away, another side flip kicking another man away, used another man as a human shield as he was shot several times, and then activated the button to close a door behind her. Yerra slid below the door just in time in a hail of gunfire.
Yerra quickly transformed into Lemnos's clothed appearance, fooled the guards, and knocked them both out with a rifle butt inside the command center. Yerra then locked the doors behind her to stop Lemnos and the rest of his men from getting to her. Yerra now had access to all the cameras, doors, and dam controls.
"Get some charges. Blast the doors open," Lemnos ordered and then fired his pistol at a surveillance camera just outside the door. "Take out all the rest of the cameras."
Yerra opened doors all over the dam making it difficult to know if there were reinforcements and where. Lemnos and Bloodclaw scurried around the fortress to manually close these doors. At the same time, his men placed charges on the door to get them open. The charges exploded in their faces, dropping them. The doors then tore open revealing Rokk.
"Have you found what we're looking for?" Rokk asked as he entered the room.
"A large portion of the dam's energy has been redirected to this chamber," Yerra pointed out on the screen showing a map of the base.
"Can you shut it down from here?" Rokk asked.
"No," Yerra said flatly.
Gates teleported Brin, Kon, Mara, and Hart to the dam. "I can't see anything with all the lead," Mara said.
"This must be the place then," Kon figured. "Mom could be inside."
"Can you teleport us inside?" Brin asked Gates.
"I have to see where I'm going or else I'll teleport into a wall," he shot down.
"I'll sniff it out," Brin said. "Everyone else, stay here."
As soon as Brin was gone, Kon and Mara eyed Gates.
Running out of time and deeply paranoid, Lemnos entered the Cerebro chamber where Imra was hooked up to the machine. Projecta, still under his control, was with her. "Projecta...it's time," Lemnos ordered. "Time to find all of our friends, all the superheroes, every one of them. It's time to bring it to an end."
Lemnos then sealed the doors behind him. "Kill anyone who approaches, even if it's me," Lemnos ordered his men and then walked off.
Inside Cerebro, Imra found all the meta-humans and aliens with powers on the planet. A large red hologram of the Earth was seen in front of her. All the white specs were the metahumans and aliens of various powers. Imra then saw an illusion of her father next to her. "Kill them. Kill them now," he ordered her.
A squad of guys lined the walls in case anyone tried to disturb the operation. Suddenly, their grenade pins were all pulled to the end of the hall. Before the squad could make a move, their grenades all exploded on them.
"Holy shit, dude," Yerra said of the grisly scene of blood, limbs, tissue, and equipment all over the place.
Imra finally triggered Cerebro to kill all the metahumans. Yerra fell to the floor in agony. Her body twisted and transformed into various people and animals in quick succession. "Rokk, hurry!" she screeched.
Rokk unlocked the sealed door and moved it aside. Cerebro then became deactivated. "That's queer," Imra said confused as the hologram of the Earth disappeared. Projecta then turned to Rokk and showed him all the environmental devastation the superheroes and humans had brought to the planet. On the dome of Cerebro, Rokk saw countless images of this.
"All suffering comes from craving, attachment, desire," Rokk mused as he saw the images. He then rolled back the door seal to reactivate Cerebro. Now, Imra was targeting the entire human population.
"Never to suffer would never have been blessed," Yerra beseeched him.
"What?" Rokk questioned as he stared at her. "I know you're playing me...but you're right," he admitted. He then turned off Cerebro once more before any damage could be done.
Rokk suspended Imra's helmet and crushed it to scrap. He then disabled Cerebro permanently by tearing down the panels and inner circuitry of the device.
Inside the dam, Brin sniffed out the enemy. He wandered around the halls until he found Lemnos and Bloodclaw together. "Deal with him," Lemnos ordered Bloodclaw.
Brin rushed Lemnos to take him down. Bloodclaw got in the way and backhanded him in the chest, dropping him. Brin extended his claws only for Bloodclaw to extend hers even further by several inches. "Holy shit," Brin realized.
Bloodclaw went into a spin, swiping Brin's face. Bloodclaw evaded Brin's counterattacks and swiped at his body in several places. She then threw him across the room where he slammed into a concrete pillar. Bloodclaw charged Brin only to get sliced deep in the gut and slammed against the wall. As Bloodclaw tried to evade, Brin swiped the air furiously at her. He managed to get two good swipes on her face and then sliced her in the gut again with both clawed hands. Bloodclaw cried out in pain but regained her focus. She leaped up with her legs and kicked Brin in the face releasing her.
Bloodclaw then retook the initiative leaping into the air and slamming into Brin. The two crashed against a glass case. Bloodclaw furiously slashed at Brin's back. Brin pinned one of her arms with his own and backhanded her hard to the face. Bloodclaw flipped Brin in the air where he landed on his back hard.
Outside, Kon was getting impatient. "That's it. I'm tired of this kid's table shit. I'm leaving."
"Brin said to stay back," Mara reminded him.
"I'm the prince. I can do whatever the fuck I want," Kon said wide-eyed and then walked off.
With Brin on the floor devastated, Bloodclaw took her long claws and stabbed him in the back. She shifted her claws in an attempt to sever his spine. Brin cried out in rage and pain and then morphed into his wolf mode. His muscles expanded, fur grew all over his body, his clothes tore, and his face became that of a wolf. He turned around and swiped Bloodclaw to the torso, gutting her.
Bloodclaw looked down and realized what had happened. Her mind finally realized she had been given false memories as she died. Brin gave her a sympathetic look as Bloodclaw fell to the floor dead. He morphed back to his humanoid form but was severely wounded by the battle and passed out.
Inside the dam, Kon was minding his own business walking alongside the electrical generators when a heat vision beam nearly took him out. Kon put up his two hands to shield himself from the intense beam. Kara advanced on him while keeping her heat vision steady. Kon was forced back from the force of the beam. Kon went Super Insane and held his own for a few more seconds. He then fired back with his own heat vision beam. The energy discharge fried the electrical generators and blasted a hole through the dam.
Kara then casually walked up to Kon who was on the floor toasted. "Kon? It's okay. It's me. I'm so sorry," she said to him as she took a knee and looked over him.
"What the hell, Mom?" Kon asked painfully.
"I'm so sorry. I could see you but I didn't recognize you," Kara said confused. "You came for me?"
"Yeah," Kon said obviously.
"I love you, son," Kara said sincerely as she hugged him.
"My leg is fucked up," Kon hissed.
Rokk and Yerra led a befuddled Imra and Projecta to where the meta-human children were being held. Rokk threw off the metal bars holding them while Imra telekinetically brought them out of the hole one by one. As they made their way toward the spillway, water was leaking through the dam due to Kara and Kon's fight.
Outside, Gates remained with Mara. "I should help," Gate figured. "I should help."
"You should stay with me," Mara told him.
Gates eyed Mara and then the collapsing dam. He finally made up his mind and teleported away. Gates ended up inside the dam where he teleported rapidly from room to room until he found the fallen Brin. He took hold of Brin and teleported him along the halls until they were both outside the dam.
Kara and Kon met up with Rokk, Yerra, and the rest of the children. "You," Kara eyed Rokk.
"He's cool," Yerra insisted.
Kara gave Yerra a look of disbelief as well. "We'll sort out good guys and bad guys later. Let's move." The group rapidly moved out of the dam before it could be flooded.
Outside the dam in the forests, everyone gathered together. "Where's Mara?" Kara asked looking around.
"Here," Mara said as she casually walked up to the group.
The dam then collapsed sending a wave of water their way. "How far can you teleport?" Kara asked Gates.
"One person at a time and not very far with each jump," he admitted.
"Shit," Kara realized. "If I fly everyone, myself, it will shatter their bodies."
Mon suddenly teleported to their position as the wave was almost on them. "Everyone, hold hands, and don't be queer about it," he ordered. As they did, Mon then teleported the entire group to Metropolis just as the waves crashed on them.
Metropolis
In the palace, Kara considered the speech she was going to give to the world. "Today, I've been given an opportunity to shed new light on recent occurrences from the attack that ended in this office to the unexplained phenomena that swept the Earth nearly annihilating our way of life," Kara said aloud.
She then went to her desk before the cameras. "My fellow Imperial citizens, in this time of adversity, we are being offered a moment, a moment to recognize a growing threat within our population and take a new role in the shape of human events. This growing threat is the Church of Scientificity. The plot on my life has left me shaken and stirred, but I assure you my resolve has never been stronger. Members of the Church of Scientificity will be hunted down and defeated. I'm appointing my trusted colleague, Praetor Lemnos, to search and destroy these domestic terrorists for a safe and more secure society."
At Kara's side was Lemnos wearing a typical uniform with his face shown to the world.
At the palace, Kara had a meeting with Kon and Mara. "There's a supervillain on the loose capable of memory manipulation. I have Lemnos on the case but...," Kara said.
"Why him?" Kon interrupted.
"Because he doesn't have powers and so if he's turned, it won't matter very much," Kara said simply. "I also have Barney's drones looking into this as well. All electronic devices are being monitored and surveillance satellites and cameras are looking everywhere."
"How are we supposed to defend against this attack? He even overpowered Imra. It's like having your hand in the fire and not knowing it's burning," Kon said incredulously.
"We must check each other. If one of us starts acting queer, we alert the others. Always be mindful of your thoughts and beliefs," Kara said. "Remember that if anyone gives you a Gospel contrary to what I have given you, even if it be an angel, reject it."
"Yes, Mother," Kon and Mara said together.
"Now, it has come to my attention that there is this Church of Scientificity and that this supervillain is its leader. You're to stay away from this cult and report to me the moment you hear anything about it. This cult is incompatible with Christianity and Imperial values," Kara said seriously.
"So, we're going to remove its tax status?" Kon assumed.
"We're going to burn it to the ground," Kara corrected. "Until we find this supervillain, the both of you are staying close to me."
"Fuck," Kon sighed.
"I understand, Mother," Mara replied.
"Alright, go to your rooms," Kara ordered them out.
As soon as they left, Rokk, Yerra, and Gates entered the room. "Yerra, Gates, you're now Vindicators but on probation status. Good work," Kara said to them and then dismissed them.
Kara then turned to Rokk. "I'm not sure whether to promote you or kill you," she said honestly.
"Death is a promotion," Rokk replied.
"You know, the Vindicator Corps needs a black hole of gothic despair to balance my happy, cheerful, bubbly, hopeful attitude," Kara figured. "With the power over gravity, you could throw moons into planets or eject a planet out of its solar system. You could turn planets inside out. With training, you could be one powerful mother-fucker."
"I intend to leave to go back to Braal to give my report," Rokk shot down.
"It's only a matter of time before the Braal Confederacy joins the Galactic Federation," Kara told him.
"We shall see," Rokk doubted.
"You got the best of me last time. It won't happen again," Kara told him.
"Supreme Leader," Rokk bowed his head to her and then left the room.
Author's Notes: X-Men 2 is a decent film but Stryker makes a lot of questionable decisions. He doesn't kill Magneto as soon as he extracts the necessary information from him, he has the brainwashed Professor X kill all the mutants very late in the game, he allows false Wolverine to enter his base, loses track of Nightcrawler who has valuable intelligence about the base's location, doesn't utilize brainwashed Cyclops properly, and exposes himself to danger repeatedly while micromanaging foolishly. The coincidences of people showing up at various locations to meet up were also a bit much. It's interesting how the X-Men series goes on about having the case of the gays is not a choice and unchangeable only to contradict itself in X-Men 3 which forms a new moral calculation that even if a cure exists, it shouldn't be taken or should be destroyed only to have the entire debate meaningless when the cure is only temporary at the end.