(-Batcave-)
One thing that the son of Batman had taught him from the beginning of his training when dealing with a crisis is to remain calm. Panicking doesn't solve anything except inflating the situation even more. And the best way to do it is to harness those unneeded emotions and utilize them to complete the objective as soon as possible.
This is just what Robin does right now. He's channeling his needless emotions of concern and panic into a firm drive to complete the task given to him by his father, which is preparing the Batwing for takeoff. And he continues to do so as he also awaits said person's arrival to deal with Brainiac's attack on the world.
Boom
Robin's progress is suddenly interrupted when he hears an explosion coming directly above his position.
"Uh oh, not good," The fifth Robin says, expressing his reaction to the sudden eruption on the surface. Attempting to find the cause of it, Robin uses the Batwing monitor. But only to be dismayed when all he sees is static.
"Definitely, not good." He again expresses out. He can't get a signal out to any transmission to anyone.
Thanks to the intruder named Brainiac, hacking Brother Eye, world communications and security defenses have been compromised. And without Eric, they won't be able to regain control, leaving them both blind and vulnerable to any attack to come at them at any time.
Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne prepares himself for the invading onslaught as well. With quick movements montage, he places metal gauntlets on each arm, which directly connect to his polished grey metallic combat suit with a pristine black cape. He connects his yellow utility around his waist belt before placing a red wing-ding in the center belt, a commemoration of his late son, Dick Grayson, the first and the original Nightwing. The next is him attaching his well-known bat emblem part in the center of his chest armor before finally putting on a black bat-like cowl over his head.
He throws his fist into the palm of his other hand, signaling his determination to match his firm expression.
The persona of Bruce Wayne is gone, replaced with his other, The Batman.
Without further delay, Batman makes his way to the Batwing. Where there, he sees Robin finishing the final adjustments to their transportation.
"Get in, Henry." He orders as he enters the cockpit, starting up the engines.
Robin follows his father's order as he soon enters the custom-made aircraft and sits in the passenger seat.
(-Two Minutes Later-)
It wouldn't be long before the small group of skull-shaped robots infiltrated an old subway tunnel that led straight to the Batcave. They've been sent here with specific orders from their Coluan creator, Brainiac, to secure his hold on Brother Eye. And also exterminate anyone that would stand in their way. With those intentions, they continue venturing deeper into the dark tunnel for the next minute or two.
But only to stop when a pair of bright headlights suddenly illuminates in front of them. Looking at the source, they witness the Batwing floating in mid-air with engines audibly humming throughout the tunnel, looking at them back. Or specifically, the occupants inside the aircraft look back at them. But the man in the pilot wastes no time in pushing the button.
Boom
The batwing's thrusters ignite, instantly propelling forward and pushing through the robots. But some managed to jump onto the moving aircraft, attempting to prevent their target from escaping. The Dark Knight continues propelling through them until he makes an immediate turn up to a vertical tunnel.
Whoosh
Increasing the speed, the Batwing flies out of the tunnel and into the high blue skies of Gotham City.
"Uh, Dad!" Robin calls out to his father, alarming him of the robots trying to bash their way inside the Batwing.
This forces Batman to take drastic actions. "Hold on, Robin." The man quickly tells his son, who immediately obeys his command. Batman manipulates the Batwing to spin rapidly to fling the robots off while maintaining the direction. With the anomalies out of the way, Batman steers the Batwing toward Metropolis at high speed.
(-Metropolis-)
Reaching the City of Tomorrow makes Batman more aware of how dangerous the being known as Brainiac is when he monitors the continuous devastation across the city.
It's different from the one the One Earth Regime attempted to do two years ago. It wasn't about displaying dominants on the people to show who's boss or setting an example for anyone trying to resist them. It's an attack made by a being whose sole purpose is to not only steal their knowledge and planetary resources for himself but also to destroy their planet.
"Yup, it's not the aster." Robin jokingly mutters, using one of his late oldest Brother Dick's lines to describe the situation at hand. He then looks up to his father, whose focus remains on the path ahead.
An uneasy feeling forms within the boy. And he knows why. "Do we really need to ask him of all people, Dad?" he couldn't help but question Batman about their current course of action. "I mean, I'm sure Aaron and Eric can give us the information to know how to beat this guy better than him. And they could use our help-"
"They'll be fine, Henry," Batman firmly tells his son, once again assuring the boy of their allies's well-being. They know Eric. The young technopath is too stubborn to let something like this make him kick the bucket. And the same can be said of their young Gardian ally as well.
"I know that," Robin quickly asserts as well. "I'm just sayin' what could Superman give us about this guy?"
That, Batman doesn't know. After all, it was something the Kryptonian neglected to share with him. And Batman had to discover it from someone else. Did Superman not trust him with this? What other secrets hasn't he told him?
"We'll find out when I ask him." Is all Batman could answer before he increases the Batwing's speed.
He doesn't know what to expect from Superman when he tells him. But what he hopes to know is that Superman may provide some weakness he could use against Brainiac.
Things are already worse enough as it is.
(-Luthor/Wayne Climate Research Center-)
It wouldn't be long before Brainiac's invasion would spread to the north in a climate research center developed by Bruce Wayne and commemorated to the late Lex Luthor. Miles away from big cities where the sounds of wind would be the only thing to hear and blankets of sprinkling snow cover the land.
It would serve as a terrific job for those who'd like to work in peace without the public eye homing on their business. But in this case, this job would serve as a means to avoid the discrimination of the people for ex-members of the regime.
One just so happens to be none other than Barry Allen, who the world now knows to be The Flash, a man who defected from Superman's Regime and helped free the world from the Kryptonian's control in hopes of correcting his past mistakes. And thanks to his heroic act, Barry was given a full pardon on all accounts but only under the condition that he does not use his powers for any reason.
And now we jump back to the present.
Barry walks into one of the rooms with a cup of coffee in hand as he approaches a woman from behind. "Need a hand, Doctor Randall?" He asks, offering his assistance on the device she was working on.
"I don't know, Barry. Sat link's out. Internet and phone are down." The woman named Randall replies, answering the ex-regime hero's question. "Maybe this old ham can help us."
Barry looks over to see that Randall looks to be working on an old ham radio. He can guess things are getting bad out there. But what was going on over there?
"You fitting in okay? People treating well?" Randall asks, abruptly changing the subject and wanting to know Barry's well-being.
Though pardoned, it didn't protect Barry from any hostility of the people. Whether they show it or not to his face, the speedster knows how much they detest his presence when they walk by him. Not that he can blame them. After all, one heroic act cannot absolve him from his crimes against the world.
The said person lets out a small sigh at the underlined question before answering. "Let's just say people here aren't thrilled to live in close quarters with Flash," He declares before muttering the last words. "Convicted Regime criminal."
"Pardon Regime criminal." The good doctor says, recorrecting Barry's remark about his status before she side-glances at him. "Give it time. They'll come around."
Hearing those words from one of the few people who accept him fills the pardoned speedster with some levels of hope. Barry does not want to rush things to regain the people's trust again. He wants to slow down and handle it with one person at a time.
Looking back at Randall, Barry sees the woman activate the radio and readies to contact the associates from the other end.
"L-W Base, are you there?"
For the next second or two of silence, both Randall and Barry await to hear any response from them.
"Doctor Randall? Thank God!" A voice finally replies to the woman's call. But hearing the panicked tone emits concern to the pair. "Comm's are down everywhere! These spaceships showed up, dropping a robot army on the city. Their killing everyone!"
The tension grows deeper as Barry and Randall continue to hear what's happening at the other station. Just what the hell was going on over there?
"I'm not sure how long until-"
The line is suddenly cut off, leaving nothing but sounds of static in its wake.
"L-W Base!" Dr. Randall calls out, trying to re-establish the connection, but to no avail. Which indicates the worst possible scenario has happened. Metropolis is in danger. And Randall doesn't hesitate to turn over to Barry. "How fast can you get to Metropolis?"
Barry is taken aback, not expecting the woman to ask him to go. "M-my pardon agreement was pretty clear, no powers." He says, not wanting to violate his clemency.
But Randall instantly counters his statement. "You think that matters when aliens are invading?!" The female doctor incredibly asks, disregarding the consequences of Barry's term. And she didn't let up on either. "You helped tear down the Regime, Barry. That's why Mr.Wayne asked me to take you on. And if Batman thinks you earned a second chance, who are you to argue?"
Randall's motivational speech left Barry astonished. He never thought that someone like Randall, a citizen, would have that much faith in him. Most of all, Bruce, one of the few he can call friends, has that much faith in him. If anything, Barry probably anticipated that Bruce would need him when the Earth was threatened such as this. To be the hero he failed to be until the end all those years ago.
But this time, he will be one straight from the beginning.
The new self-motivational resolve and determination emanate out of him in orange sparks of lightning. Bruce and the others need his help. They need help from the Flash. The world needs the Flash again. And he will be there.
Whoosh
And with that, Barry becomes a blur as he runs out of the station, dashing through the snowy forest in a straight line at lightning speed and heading towards Metropolis.
(-Stryker's Island-)
For five years, five long years, Batman has kept track of the one he came to visit. He monitors the person's movements, his expressions, and even his brain activities every day. Because he knows the danger the individual poses if he breaks out. But unfortunately, this individual may have the information he needs to stop Brainiac from destroying Earth.
With audible sounds, Batman approaches the designated thick glass cell. He sees the person once known to the world as Superman, sitting in the center cell with his head down as if he were pondering himself about something. All while Red solar lighting continuously radiates within the compartment to suppress the man's powers.
Soon enough, the Kryptonian prisoner would notice Batman's presence from behind. "You're wearing the suit. Am I in trouble again?" He scoffingly says, already knowing the routine whenever Bruce or J'onn come to visit.
Batman doesn't beat around the bush and confronts the man in front of him with a question. "Brainiac. What can you tell me?"
For a second, Batman could've sworn he saw Superman tense up for a second as he stood up to look at him.
"How do you know that name?" Despite Superman's calm voice, his true expression couldn't get past the Dark Knight.
"You're afraid of him." Batman openly says, revealing the Kryptonian's fears. "He's invading. He says you belong to him."
"Brainiac killed my parents… He blew up Krypton." The imprisoned Kryptonian reveals, surprising Batman with the the dismay he detects from his monotoned voice.
"You never mentioned that before." Indeed he hasn't. There are a lot of things that Superman has never mentioned to him. Regardless of that, Batman disregards it and focuses on the current crisis. "How do I beat him?"
To answer, Superman first looks at Batman straight in the eyes with all seriousness until speaking. "You can't. Not without me."
That response is not what the Dark Knight was looking for. He knows what Superman is capable of doing. He'll likely cause more harm than good. So he won't risk it.
"I'll find a way." Batman firmly declares before he turns his back on the Kryptonian prisoner and walks away. Superman is frustrated by this as he bangs his glass cell.
"This is my fight, Bruce! You need me!" The imprisoned Kryptonian angrily shouts out, trying to reason with the fleeing Dark Knight."Bruce, Bruce, Bruce!" He grows more desperate with each call as he sees Batman leave his cell room.
This all but makes Superman grit his teeth. The world is ending, and his friend is stubborn to concede that he is his only chance to stop it. Why doesn't he see that? Superman knows why.
It's because of him. Batman is putting the faith of the world in him. Aaron, the spawn of the Gardian king Soran. The one responsible for his planet's destruction. If it wasn't for him, Krypton might've survived against Brainiac. And now his son will do the same thing here on Earth. He can't let that happen. He needs to stop them both before it's too late.
(-Metropolis-)
In the streets of Metropolis, citizens continue to look in complete fear as the group of the invaders' skull-shaped robots have trapped them like caged animals. And so they continue to drag more people into the isolated group by their heads, disregarding their screams and pleas to them to stop.
The terrified captives couldn't do anything but watch the heartless walking machines vigorously intrude on them. It's as if these robots were scanning them for reasons they don't know.
When they finish, the robots unhesitantly grab those specific people by their heads, causing their whole bodies to twitch violently. And the ones the skull androids deem as expendable are instantly vaporized to ash by their laser beam eyes.
This horrifying display brings out another outbreak of screams from the already frightened captives. They couldn't run away, fight back, or do anything to save themselves.
But things get worse when one of the humanoid androids catches sight of another target within the group. That target is a mother and her son, both frightened to the very core when they see it take notice of them. Or at least the one possesses an unknown genetic mutational trait the android deems the boy further study along with the others.
Seeing it approach, the frightened mother desperately tries to shield her son but only to be knocked aside by a harsh arm swing, leaving the boy defenseless against the skull-shaped robot.
It harshly grabs the boy's head, who proceeds to scream in terror as the crowd watches in horror at such atrociousness, all while they hear the mother on the ground desperately cry out for her son and for someone to save him.
Slice
A slicing sound erupts within the group. The captives remain still but not from fear. But from sheer surprise and relief at what just happened in front of them. Even the robots halt their proceedings when they witness their own vertically cut in half, releasing the boy from its grasp. And to everyone's surprise, they saw who was responsible.
Earth's new champion himself, Aaron Grant, the Gardian warrior king, has arrived. The Green energized aura continues emanating around the spiky-haired young warrior, and his Omni-blade also pulses with the same energy, giving him a look that says, "It's going to be ok now because he's here."
Seeing the young Gardian's presence immediately compels the humanoid robots to refocus their efforts on him while disregarding their captives.
Seeing five of them charge at him, Aaron lets out a growl. "That's right, focus on me, not them," He angrily states, firmly wielding his energized Omni-blade as he readies himself for battle.
Slash
One horizontal swing instantly slices all five robots from their lower waist. One humanoid robot approaches Aaron with its metallic arm tendril firing at him. But the young Gardian king grabs the incoming projectile before harshly yanking it and the owner toward him. Grabbing its head, Aaron severely slams the robot into another incoming robot to the ground, completely demolishing them.
Another pair engages the Gardian, resulting in said person confronting them as well.
With his Omni-blade, Aaron stabs it through the head of one of the robots, slaying it before he turns to grab the second one by its neck, lifting it off the ground. Aaron unleashes a quick barrage of punches at the robot's head and chest before grabbing its lower abdomen with his other bare hand, virtually tearing it in half.
But then his enhanced hearing picks up multiple footsteps from behind. Aaron snarls as he turns to see another horde of humanoid robots confront him.
"Ok, I've just had about enough of this." He declares, drawing his Osmosian alloy sword out and channeling his energy into it while raising it into the air. Other parts of the city need the Gardian's help. And he isn't gonna waste anymore time with this.
So he decides to wrap this up quickly with one of the techniques he's learned to utilize with his Omni-blade over the past two years. Powering up the blade, giving it a much brighter green hue, Aaron glares at the invading force before opening his mouth.
"HRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH"
With the blade fully charged up, Aaron discharges the pent-up energy with one swing. What comes out is a green wave of concentrated energy. It becomes a destructive force as it slashes through the horde of skull-headed robots, shredding them all down to scrap pieces.
Seeing that there are no more robots for the time being, Aaron sheaths his Omni-blade to his back before focusing his sight on the captives. He sees their greatly relieved expression when they look to see the Gardian here, saving them once again in their time of need.
"Everyone, you're all safe now," Aaron says aloud, addressing the people. "But you need to leave the area right now while there's still time." He then makes a gesture with his hand to point directions. "Head over to one of S.T.A.R Labs emergency shelters. You'll be safe there until you're properly out of the city."
Listening to the words of their Gardian savior, the once-captive people immediately follow the given paths and head to the shelter.
But not before the mother, who protectingly holds her son in her arms, approaches Aaron with a grateful look. "Thank you…" She lets out before she and her son quickly join the others to safety.
Seeing the mother and son walk off together leaves Aaron in deep turmoil.
Everything around him was happening all at once. First, his mother, Betty, was kidnapped by Grodd and his Society. His comms to contact the others for help are not working. The entire City is going through an invasion from the being that sent humanoid skull robots to capture or kill innocent people. Not to mention the one being that has haunted him for as long as he can remember.
"Bravo, bravo…" a familiar voice sarcastically says to Aaron, following it with sardonic clapping.
Another thing that's unrest to the Gardian is one of Grodd's society members, whose name he learned is Amir, was sent to keep him occupied as this invasion occurs.
Letting out an irritant growl, Aaron turns around to meet the shirtless man himself, who continues to disparage the Gardian with sarcastic clapping. Along with his sneering expression to boot.
"So that's why you left in the middle of our fight," Amir says, ceasing his claps as he addresses something else to the young Warrior. "All you've done is prolonged their deaths. You know that right? It's only a matter of time before Brainiac takes over the entire city."
This makes the young Gardian greatly scowl. "That's never going to happen. Not as long as I'm here to stop him." Aaron adamantly declares while mentally noting the name of the one that destroyed his planet.
Brainiac, that's the name. He'll pay for what he's done, he swears it. But now he needs to focus on what's in front of him.
"Is that right?" Amir says, rhetorically questioning as he leans one of his tattooed-covered arms on a nearby car. "Well, care to wager everyone's lives on that promise while fighting for your own?" With that said Amir hurls the car at Aaron.
Seeing this, Aaron immediately draws out his Omni-blade and slices the thrown vehicle in two. Just as he did, Aaron raises his sword to block Amir's incoming punch to his head.
Boom
The blocked impact creates a strong shockwave, knocking most things around the two. Aaron grunts from the strain before managing to shove Amir away from him. With quick reflexes, Aaron punches the shirtless man across the face, distorting him enough for the Gardian to lift him off the ground by his legs before whirling him around until he hurls Amir across the street.
But little did Aaron realize that Amir didn't look fazed at all. But amused, evidenced by his raucous laughter at his opponent's ongoing effort to take him down. Even when he barely had time to stand up before the Gardian was on him again in a green energized blur, virtually tackling him further through brute force.
The silver-tattooed man once again effortlessly chuckles before raising both arms above him. "Not good enough!" He exclaims before he slams them on Aaron's head hard to the ground, cracking it in the process, effectively ceasing the Gardian's attack.
Letting out a painful grunt from the head blow, Aaron attempts to stand up again. But only to stop on his knees when he sees his silver-tattooed opponent casually approach him.
"Aw, what's the matter, already reaching you're limit?" Amir mockingly states, sneering at the sight of his opponent's current situation. "If so, how about a breather while everyone suffers and dies because you're too slow to save them?"
"Shut up," Aaron growls before he lunges at the man before him with his Omni-blade.
But Amir swerves around the Gardian before delivering a sharp punch to his stomach, forcing him to drop his sword.
"Try to shut me up," Amir counters before continuing his assault with a barrage of quick punches to his opponent's upper abdomen and face before the man finishes it with a strong shoulder tackle that sends the Gardian skidding back.
"It's pointless to resist the inevitable." The silver-tattooed man states.
Aaron quickly regains his stance to see Amir sprinting with the intent to ram him over. But to his quick reflexes, Aaron manages to evade the incoming attack and land near a police vehicle.
Taking notice of said vehicle, Aaron improvises his next move. Combusting in his green energized aura, Aaron roars out as he tears into the vehicle for the next second and two before virtually ripping it apart with his bare hands.
Amir veers around to see what his target is up to. To his wonder, he easily learns what it is. "You think that's gonna help you? I'm so scared." He sarcastically says, mocking his opponent again.
Aaron ignores the tattooed man's last remark as he firmly grips his makeshift boxing gloves, comprised of the vehicle he tore up, in each hand. But in response, he bashes his makeshift vehicle gloves together in an intimidating manner.
Seeing this, Amir simply shrugs his shoulders. "Alright, kid, what the heck. I'll let you have this one." He asserts, charging at the young warrior again. And Which, the said kid correspondingly charges at the silver tattooed man.
Aaron and Amir instantly collide again in an intense brawl. With the makeshift weapons to his advantage, Aaron blocks Amir's attack with one vehicle glove before he counters with the other, striking the man in the chest. Amir tries to maneuver around the young Gardian. But Aaron swiftly turns his direction, blocking his path before delivering two more blows with his gauntlet-like vehicle to the abdomen, throwing Amir off balance.
"What's wrong, not enjoying yourself anymore?" Aaron snarls as he throws another direct punch that finally knocks Amir to the ground.
Not letting up on his assault, Aaron continues bombarding his opponent with more punches. With his green energy constantly enriching his entire physique, each of his blows becomes more powerful than the previous, embedding the shirtless man further to the ground and his makeshift vehicle gloves slowly breaking apart until becoming useless scraps.
Aaron finally ceases his onslaught as he notices his opponent has stopped resisting. Then, he looks down to see why, and the answer appears to stimulate a relief expression within the young Gardian.
There, Amir lies motionlessly unconscious on the spider-like cracked ground with deep cuts, scrapes, and bruises covering his entire physique.
"I hope you got more than what you've bargained for." The young Gardian king sternly enunciates, glaring at the unconscious man before him.
With Amir out of the way, Aaron can resume his focus on the ongoing invasion. He's already wasted enough time as it is. He needs to be there for the people, to protect them from the madman named Brainiac, To keep them and this planet from suffering the same thing that his world had.
But first, he needs to reclaim his sword before departing. Luckily, it's easy to find, despite the damage done recently.
The problem is what awaits once he retrieves it. More of Brainiac's humanoid robots suddenly arrived in the area, most likely because his battle had drawn them here. They surround the young Gardian with their arms raised towards him and blocking his means of escape.
Aaron glares at this before his natural green energy suddenly bursts out of his body. "Ok…" He threateningly begins to say as he grips his green-glowing Omni-blade. "Who wants to go first?"
With no words, all robots unhesitantly commence toward their primary target, prompting said target to begin the next fight.
Whoosh
But one skull-headed robot unexpectedly shatters in pieces when a red blur passes by. The next robot soon encounters this red anomaly with its entire body thrown into a building. Before long, The remaining two robots soon follow the same fate by moving blur. One robot had its hand tendril impaled through its head, and the final humanoid robot had its head knocked off its shoulders.
All the robots were eliminated. All done in just a few seconds. But Aaron was able to see all happen thanks to his super-enhanced senses. So he wasn't surprised because he knew who this red blur was.
Speaking of a said blur, it suddenly makes itself known to the Gardian to be none other than Barry Allen, now dressed in his iconic red-suited outfit for everyone to recognize him as the crimson speedster himself, the Flash.
"Sorry, I'm late," Flash quickly lets out, turning to greet the young warrior. "I guess being out of action for two years makes a guy feel rusty."
Aaron glances at the display of robot scraps around him, dissipating his green aura before looking back at the speedster with a smile. "Not rusty enough," He remarks before he sheathes his Omni-blade to his back. "Thanks for the save, Flash."
Despite knowing his involvement with Superman's regime, Aaron already has come to exempt the pardoned hero from his aversion against them. Thanks to his empathic senses and witnessing Barry's action to turn the tide against the Regime, the Gardian can come to terms with trusting him to be out saving people despite his strict statute to his pardon. And seeing his arrival here of all times makes the Gardian feel proud of the dedication and resolve the man will go to redeem himself.
Hearing that remark from Earth's new champion makes the pardoned hero smile back in appreciation.
Boom
But only for a sudden rumble to halt the small interaction between the two heroes. They look up to see several more pods flying over the two, crash-landing somewhere within the city.
Seeing this, Aaron lets out an irritated growl. "Dammit…" He should've expected Brainiac to send out more of his robots. "Where the hell are they coming from?"
"It looks like they landed near the S.T.A.R Labs building," Flash seriously says, notifying the location. "Isn't that where Eric is right now?"
Aaron nods in confirmation. "I can't warn him because Brainiac had somehow knocked all comms." He explains to the crimson speedster. "We need to get to him now."
But both heroes suddenly pick up numerous terrifying screams from the opposite side of the city. And both had a look of concern on their faces.
"Aaron…"
"I know, Barry," Aaron quickly says, cutting Flash off from the realization of their ongoing situation.
There were still more people in need of their help now. But at the same time, Eric could be in trouble if Brainiac's robots get to him. Two problems for the pair to deal with. But only one has to be dealt with now.
It would have been so if not for Flash's quick volunteer. "Ok, divide and conquer. Aaron, go protect Eric. Leave the people to me."
"You sure?" Aaron asks the Speedster. "Cause those robots are all over the city."
"Don't worry, I got this," Flash says, assuring the young warrior. "Don't forget, I'm the fastest man alive. They won't even notice me."
Aaron would've pondered this but quickly realized that time was running against them. They need to save as many people as they can. Eric needed saving too. And that's what they needed to focus on right now.
So, with no further delay, Aaron unhesitantly agrees to the speedster's plan. "Alright, let's do it." He says as the Gardian quickly utilizes his necklace to summon his hoverboard over to him.
Getting the quick go-ahead from the world savior, Flash immediately heads off at high speed toward the people. And Aaron also takes off toward Eric's position.
But as the two depart their ways, they are unaware of the unconscious third party, who continues to lie on the cracked concrete street. The body remained motionless throughout the conversation, the mind not so. Amir would go down but not out.
He just wanted to prove something to Aaron, to show him how pointless it is to take him down no matter how strong he is. One is when the silver tattoos on his body suddenly lit up, giving him a somewhat ominous appearance. And in response to this, all the cuts and injuries he sustained earlier were instantly gone.
What soon followed was an amused chuckle from the man as his eyes snapped open.
"Where do you think you're going, little hero?"
(-Metropolis S.T.A.R Labs-)
For the past couple of minutes, an unconscious Eric continues to remain motionless on the floor of his office laboratory, unable to move as if he were dead. His spinal R.I.G. also remains shut down and unable to reactivate for some reason.
There was nothing he could do to fix the mess he was in. Nothing but the absolute darkness within himself, Some hero he was. If only his Father, Edward Jones, could see him for how he was. Not a hero or a son, just a disappointment.
"You're father would be very proud of you, Eric."
A voice suddenly echoes out within the unconscious genius's mind. It was familiar, one that was supposed to be impossible because he died two years ago, killed by Superman's hands. The voice is Lex Luthor.
"You've turned out to be everything he wanted you to be. Edward wanted you to become something more than just a hero."
"And what's that?"
Eric's mind subconsciously continues to play out the memories of Luthor. Why though? What possibility could that accomplish?
"Eric,"
Another voice suddenly chimes into Eric's mind. A voice that was also all too familiar to him. And along with this memory from earlier as well.
(Flashback)
Eric continues to gaze at the stone pillar within the Metropolis Memorial Station. The embedded names can be seen on the wall, virtually visible for anyone to witness those who'd fallen at the hands of Superman and his One Earth Regime. Ironically enough, most of their deaths were around the exact date when Joker nuked the City years ago.
But Eric focuses his stare on two individual names before him.
'Edward Jones'
'Miranda Jones'
Seeing the names of his deceased parents among the stone pillar was enough to draw tears from the young genius's eyes. Despite everything that he's faced throughout his time during and after the battle of the Regime, the scars remain.
Eric suddenly projects a holographic screen in front of him before proceeding to scroll through his private database. After the next few seconds of searching, Eric finally locates the file he was looking for.
Everything that he has conceived in his head, from theories, thoughts, and formulas, he would store them away in personal files within his R.I.G. But this file wasn't among them. In truth, it was there before the spinal device integrated into his broken body.
With a mental command, Eric opens the file and reveals what's inside. Edward Jones pops on the holo screen in a video, staring almost intently at his son.
"Eric…" The recorded video plays with Edward speaking directly to Eric. "You don't want to talk to me so I thought I put this on video for you."
Eric remains silent as he continues to watch his father's video.
"You're anger towards me is understandable. Working with the Justice League always got in the way, and I was never there when you needed me the most." Edward opens up, illustrating his reason for this video. "I've made mistakes and I can't undo them. But I can amend them into this."
Edward then proceeds to reveal his design. One that is all too familiar to Eric. "I built this for you, the Resource Integration Gear," He states, gesturing to the spinal device attached to his son's back. "With a few modifications, it won't only just resuscitate your spine but allow you to be capable of doing so much more than I can offer to the world."
Eric understood what those modifications were. And he used them exactly intended to do. That's why his Father had entrusted him with this, Even when he blamed him for over a year for everything that happened after that day.
"I know you can help change the world, Eric," Edward tells him, encouraging his son on that goal. "You're Mother already knows you can make those changes happen because we see what kind of man you'll become." Edward's expression soon morphs into a hopeful look as he looks at his son. "A futurist…"
(Flashback End)
That word. When it first entered Eric's ears, it left him completely surprised. His parents, his father, always thought highly of him of his capabilities. He could better this world than anyone else could with his already high intelligence and technopathic powers to boot.
And he did so. He'd become what they always believed him to be, not a hero to protect people but a genius who could improve everyone's lives. A futurist.
But now, it's all about to be destroyed by a world-invading maniac with his army of skull humanoid robots.
Beep
Eric can't let that happen.
Beep
He needs to stop them.
Beep
He won't let this world die.
Beep
He won't let Brainiac destroy Earth's future!
BZZZT
With those resolves made, so too came Eric's R.I.G back online. Within moments, he suddenly feels a substantial burst of renowned energy flow through his entire body. Every piece of him soon reacts accordingly as the spinal device reconciles them to this overflowing energy output to reconnect back together.
Soon enough, The R.I.G's entire segment bars let off a bright blue light, indicating its reboot is complete.
Opening his eyes, Eric groggily groans as he slowly begins to feel movement within his body. But at the same time, something else soon occurred within him. Numerous symbols envelop his vision, each one flickering in and out. He couldn't make heads or toes of what they were.
But it didn't matter right now. He needs to focus on the problem that requires his immediate attention. And that problem is floating above his City.
"Brainiac…" Eric angrily expresses as he immediately utilizes his technopathic ability. "Initiate the Mark 4 armor."
In Response to Eric's mental command, his R.I.G lets out a bright blue light and commences to access the desired entity.
To be continued…
Chapter Complete!
Things are looking to be in great turmoil for Metropolis. Not to mention the world. Despite the heroes's best efforts to keep Brainaic's forces at bay, they're met with greater force than before.
What happens next? Who will enter the fight next?
Find out in the next chapter.
And as usual, I don't own anything related to the DC Universe and its Characters. Only the OCs are mine, nothing more.
Goodbye, for now.