Chapter 64: Technical Terrorism

At STAR Labs, several alarms started blaring, alerting Flash, Cyborg, and Cisco.

"What the hell?" Cisco let out, sitting up in his chair.

"My systems are going nuts!" Cyborg exclaimed, holding his head to try and fend off the alerts his Mother Box was sending him. "All of them boil down to a very loud GTFO. What's going on?!"

"The Particle Accelerator reactivated," Silas reported, entering the room.

"What?!" they all let out.

"I was doing some maintenance in the pipeline when the power suddenly shut back on. This shouldn't even be possible but…"

"How can we shut it down?" Flash asked.

"Working on that," Silas replied, getting to a computer terminal. "The last time this thing turned on, innocent people got hurt and I won't let that happen again."

"Last time you didn't have us," Flash reassured him.

He quickly sped off, leaving Cyborg to look over his dad's shoulder.

"What do we need to do first?" he asked.

"First we need to seal the hydrogen hatch," Silas elaborated.

Meanwhile, Caitlin and Ronnie were out at a fancy restaurant, just enjoying their time together.

"I'm glad you thought of this, Ronnie," Caitlin commented. "I've missed this."

"So have I. We've been so preoccupied with superpowers and super villains, we… haven't really made time for us."

"I guess running a support team for a superhero can be very time-consuming."

"Fair enough," Ronnie admitted before leaning in close. "Still there's a… few things we left unresolved when I was… gone."

Caitlin did a double take, realizing what he was referring to.

"Right…" she finally spoke.

"I still want to marry you, Caitlin."

"And I want to marry you. It's just… life has been so crazy, even after you got back…"

"I know things aren't how they used to be," he took her hand. "But I'm willing to make it work if you are."

She looked up at him, giving him an earnest smile. Their moment, however, was interrupted when a gust of wind rushed by them, grabbing them both and carrying them off.

Within a few moments, the two found themselves back at STAR Labs, with Flash standing in front of them.

"Barry?!" Caitlin let out.

"What are you-" Ronnie began to protest.

"No time to explain," Flash cut off. "The Particle Accelerator has been turned back on and if we don't act fast, it could blow again."

The two looked at each other for a moment before heading over to the computers and getting to work.

Back in the training room, Aquaman spun his trident around, deflecting the blasts of several oncoming drones. Wonder Woman meanwhile still struggled against the hydraulic press that was attempting to crush her. Deciding to take a chance, she pushed the press up as hard as she could and proceeded to leap out of the way, allowing it to slam down on the ground. She then pulled off her shield and used it to block the oncoming electric blasts, prompting her to pull off her tiara and throw it at the turrets, taking them out.

"We have to stop this," she declared, reclaiming her tiara.

"Best bet is to take out the entire training room," Aquaman replied, stabbing his trident into a drone before slinging it at another. "I have an idea. If we combine our power, it should be enough to shut this place down."

"Do you think your trident can handle the lightning of Zeus?"

"I know a fun way to find out."

Wonder Woman nodded, running at him and leaping up to slam her bracelets together. Aquaman raised his trident as it happened, absorbing the immense energy coming from Diana before spinning his trident around and stabbing it into the ground, sending out a surge of energy that shorted out everything in the room. Both heroes looked around, seeing the turrets and drones shorted out, destroyed, or falling to the ground. Wonder Woman quickly went over to the door and punched at it a few times, allowing it to fall to the ground.

"If we were attacked, the others might have been as well," She realized.

"Let's split up and find the others," Aquaman decided.

She nodded again as the two split off, hoping to find the others in time.

Back in the observation deck, Kari lost contact with J'onn and Superman, causing her to freak out as she tried to access the surveillance system.

"Come on… come on…" she let out, typing as fast as she could. "Please don't be what I think you are.."

As she continued to work, Wonder Woman came flying in, seeing Kari in her panic mode.

"Kari, what's wrong?" she asked, walking up.

"Diana!" Kari let out. "It's J'onn! He was checking a leak in the power core but I lost contact with him and Superman."

"I think I might know why. Something has infested the Watchtower's systems. It tried to kill Arthur and myself in the training room."

"What?" Kari let out a panicked whimper. "No, no, no. I was afraid of that. It has to be Brainiac! I'll do what I can, just save J'onn!"

Wonder Woman nodded, rushing off to the core while Kari worked to regain control of the system.

Back with Batman, he was doing his best to avoid the electric blasts coming from the computer. He moved around the room, doing his best to stay ahead of the attacks, narrowly dodging one of them as he rolled on the ground. Just as he picked himself up, the computer was primed for another attack, only for the door to be torn off and thrown right at the terminal, destroying it. Batman turned to the entrance to see Aquaman making his way inside.

"You good?"

"I'll be fine," Batman reassured. "The Tower's systems have been compromised."

"Yeah, noticed. Diana's already moving to meet up with Kari in the observation deck. Let's hope the others are having better luck."

"I'll aid Dr. Miller. Continue your search for the rest of the team."

"Watch your back. Who knows what else is gonna try and kill us."

Batman nodded as the two heroes rushed off.

Back out in space, GL continued his fight against the Javelin, shielding himself against the ship's various attacks.

"This is getting silly!" he declared, using his ring to form a massive fighter jet. "I'm a pilot! No plane has gotten the better of me before, and it's not happening now!"

Lantern then flew forward, firing several shots at the Javelin as it approached. At the last second, GL veered his jet so the wing could cut through the side of the Javelin, damaging it. Once it was vulnerable, GL dissipated the jet and fired a blast at the exposed wiring, causing it to blow up.

"I just know Bats is gonna bill me for that," he joked before heading back to the tower.

As he approached, he was suddenly surprised by the sight of Superman trying to pound his way inside. He was visibly running out of air, losing strength with each punch. GL quickly flew down and shot an energy field around him. Superman quickly inhaled, relieved that he was able to take a breath.

"Supes, what happened?" GL asked.

"I was investigating an issue in the hangar bay and got shot out," Superman explained. "Some energy field kept me from getting back inside."

"And I was just attacked by an empty Javelin. Someone's screwing around with us."

"Brainiac. It has to be. He's infiltrated the Tower's systems."

"Then what do you say we boot him out?"

Before the two could make their move, the Watchtower was suddenly overcome by a green energy field. At the center of it was the face of their robotic adversary.

"We meet again, Kal-El," he greeted.

"Brainiac," Superman snarled.

"Did you honestly believe me vanquished so easily? As long as a single piece of my circuitry exists in the universe, I will remain to continue my primary objective.

"Tough talk, big guy," GL threw back. "We kicked your tin can before, we'll do it again."

"This time, I have turned your very fortress into my ultimate weapon. You and your allies will be destroyed. As well as your comrades back on Earth."

"Don't be so sure," Superman declared, looking at the Tower with his X-Ray vision to try and locate the others.

"Everyone else alright?" GL asked.

"Batman, Aquaman, Diana, and Kari are safe… but J'onn's still in the reactor!"

"Then we gotta get back in there!"

GL charged forward, but Brainiac used the energy field to fire a blast Lantern, causing him to roll out of the way. Superman flew up and fired his heat vision at the tower, but it had no effect as Brainiac fired another blast at him.

In the reactor, J'onn was still rendered helpless by the flaming ball before him. His every thought was transfixed on the fiery destruction of his home, unable to focus on anything else. Just then, Wonder Woman smashed through the reactor wall and landed next to J'onn.

"J'onn!" she cried out, trying to get his attention. "J'onn, can you hear me?!"

J'onn remained silent as Diana took hold of him.

"J'onn, just hang on. I'm going to get you out of here."

She quickly lifted him up and made her way back toward the hole she made. Before she could make her escape, however, the hole sealed back up, trapping them both inside. Suddenly, the reactor core started to glow brighter. Diana turned to it, knowing that if the power continued to increase, survival would be nearly impossible.

Back at S.T..A.R. Labs, the crew, quickly joined by Dr. Wells and Professor Stein were working overtime to shut down the accelerator before it could go off again.

"Come on," Cyborg commented. "Nothing I'm doing is powering down the core chamber."

"The pipeline was never fully repaired," Dr. Wells lamented. "If what happened before happens again…"

"S.T.A.R. Labs might not survive," Silas realized.

"Not to mention anyone else caught in the blast," Flash added. "How did you guys deal with the accelerator before?"

"I went into the pipeline to vent the system," Ronnie explained. "To make sure the energy went up, not out."

"That… could work here," Cyborg theorized, his computerized mind running simulations. "If we had some kind of energy vortex around the lab, it could contain the dark matter wave."

"Guess I'm up," Flash deduced.

"Containing an outburst of dark matter would require speeds that you don't possess yet," Dr. Wells dreaded. "It could kill you."

"Maybe… but I gotta try."

Flash quickly ran outside to get into position.

"So what do we do in the meantime?" Cyborg asked.

"We need to make sure the pipeline can withstand the energy again," Ronnie explained.

"You're going back in there?!" Caitlin realized.

"I have to. Cyborg can't do it alone."

"Would be handy to have some extra help," Cyborg admitted.

"The last time you went in there you…" she caught herself for a moment. "You didn't come out."

"This time I'm not alone," Ronnie reassured, looking up at Stein.

"Indeed," he agreed, walking over to him.

The two joined hands, fusing together into Firestorm. Once whole, Firestorm looked back at Caitlin.

"I'm coming back, Cait. I promise."

He quickly took off down to the pipeline, Cyborg following after as Caitlin watched them rush off.

Back in the bunker, Thea was slapping her hand into a bowl of water again, mostly out of frustration and anger. Roy was quick to take notice as he walked over to her.

"You know you don't have to keep doing that, right?" he asked.

"Needed something to hit," Thea replied, slamming her hand again.

"Right… look, Thea-"

"If you're going to try and convince me that Oliver was right about my mom… don't. It won't end well for you."

She started to walk away, prompting Roy to follow. "I'm just saying, he may have a point. You don't want your last conversation with her to be of resentment, do you?"

"And what if I do?" she asked, turning to him.

"Cause I know you'll regret it. Look, my own parents… they weren't worth a damn. Even so… I'd give anything just to speak to them one more time."

"That's… great for you," Thea replied, turning away again. "But… every time I think about her… all I can think of is the pain she caused… and the people she hurt."

Roy walked up to her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"I understand that. And from what I know, it sounds like she only did so to protect what she had left."

Thea perked up at that. "What do you mean?"

"Well, Merlyn was responsible for what happened to your dad and Oliver… you were all she had."

Thea didn't respond, instead taking in what Roy had said. Just then, the elevator doors opened up, allowing Diggle and Felicity to enter.

"Are we interrupting something?" Felicity asked.

The two perked up, turning to see them walk inside. Before either of them could respond, there was an alert on the computer.

"Uh… what's that?" Thea asked.

Felicity quickly went over and took her seat, typing on the computer to discover the source of the alert.

"It's an emergency alert from Iron Heights," she informed. "It looks like there's a breakout in progress."

"Oliver's there," Roy realized.

"Then so are we," Diggle replied, running over to a weapons rack and pulling out a gun. "How good are you with a bow?"

"I do alright."

"Then here," Dig replied, grabbing something and tossing it to Roy.

Roy caught it, seeing it was a red mask. He nodded, slipping it on before grabbing a bow and quiver.

"Roy…" Thea let out, getting his attention. "Be careful."

"I will," Roy reassured. "And we'll make sure Oliver's safe."

The two shared a quick kiss before Roy and Diggle ran off to stop the prison riot.

Back at Iron Heights, the inmates continued trying to break down the door to the visitor room. Oliver slowly stepped back, ready for a fight as the assaults became more intense. Finally, the chair blocking the door was knocked away, and the prisoners stormed in. Having no choice Oliver rushed forward, quickly kicking an inmate's legs out from under him before striking at another. He grabbed a third's arm, twisting it before flipping him onto the ground. Just then, one of the inmates tackled him to the ground. As they tussled, Oliver quickly kneed him in the chest before kicking him off. Another inmate tried to grab him, but Oliver grabbed his arm and twisted his wrist, snapping it and causing the prisoner to cry out in pain. Oliver then yanked him to the ground and punched him in the face, knocking him out. Before he could get up, several more prisoners began swarming him, tackling him to the ground and striking at him over and over.

Finally, one of the prisoners came forward, holding a gun that he managed to swipe off a dead guard.

"Hold him!" the prisoner ordered.

The prisoners backed off, some holding Oliver to the ground as the prisoner leveled his weapon. Moira was immediately in a panic at that.

"Please! Leave my son alone! I'm the one you want, not him!"

The prisoner looked back, seeing Moira pleading for Oliver's life, but chose to ignore her.

"Consider this a small sample of the pain you have inflicted on this ci-"

Before he could finish, something struck him in the back of the head, causing him to fall to the ground and reveal Henry Allen holding a guard's baton. Oliver took this chance to pull himself free, striking one prisoner in the chest before grabbing another and flipping him onto the ground.

"Come on," Henry motioned.

Oliver took the chance to follow Henry out of the room, the two running down the hallway as Moira watched on, happy that her son managed to survive.

"Why are you helping me?" Oliver asked.

"Wasn't going to let them kill you," Henry insisted.

"So you don't care that I'm-"

"A person who needed help. That's enough for me."

Back onboard the Watchtower, Aquaman made his way through the halls of the station, hoping to catch up with the others in time. As he ran along a catwalk, he glanced down and noticed a sealed-off hole that led to the reactor. Fearing the worst, he jumped down and tore the hole open, seeing Diana and J'onn inside.

"Diana!" he called out, getting their attention as he felt the intense heat from the reactor.

Diana didn't waste a second, taking hold of J'onn and flying him out of the reactor.

"You two alright?" he asked as she set J'onn down.

"We will be," she told him.

"It was… Brainiac…" J'onn struggled to say as the two helped him up. "He… tricked me into the reactor… and Superman…"

"We'll help him next," Arthur reassured.

Before they could move much further, a laser blast struck Arthur in the chest, knocking him to the ground. Diana looked back to see a skeletal robot lumbering toward them, this one barring the tri-dot symbol of Brainiac.

"Going somewhere?" the robot taunted.

"Brainiac," Diana realized, rushing forward.

The robot fired another laser, causing her to block the attack with her bracelets.

"This meager assault will mean nothing before long. There is no victory for you. There is only… Brainiac."

Meanwhile, Batman made his way to the observation deck, where Kari was working double-time to find a solution.

"Dr. Miller!" he called out.

"Batman!" she let out, seeing him approach. "Thank God you're here. I'm trying to purge Brainiac from the system, but he's too fast for me! I need help!"

"He's infested every aspect of the system," Batman realized, about to sit down. "We need to-"

Before he could finish, a metal hand grabbed him and threw him across the room. Batman looked up to see a skeletal robot similar to the one that attacked Diana and the others.

"You will do nothing," Brainiac's voice declared. "You are nothing."

Batman drew his batarangs, getting between the robots and Dr. Miller. "I'll keep them at bay. You purge the system and get control back."

Batman threw his batarangs at the robot, using its laser to destroy them. Batman the rushed at the robot, pulling out electric knuckles so he could punch it in the face. The robot staggered back before grabbing Batman by the throat, raising him up in the air. Batman quickly punched the fist with his gauntlet, knocking the hand away and allowing him to land on the ground. He quickly dove between the legs of the robot, pulling out a batarang and throwing it at it. The robot quickly caught the batarang and crushed it in its hand before tossing it away.

Meanwhile, Kari continued trying to regain control of the station, but Brainiac kept fighting back.

"You cannot hope to combat my programming," Brainiac taunted. "You are merely human. And a broken one at that."

"My legs may be broken, but my mind is twice as sharp, and unlike you, I can think outside the box!"

"My processor calculates at one hundred times the speed of your meager brain. There is no solution you can think of that I can't counter."

Meanwhile, Batman continued duking it out with the robot. During the fight, the robot punched Batman's hand, knocking the electric knuckles out of his hand. They bounced across the floor, skittering until they knocked into Kari's chair. She looked down and saw them, her eyes sparking with an idea. She shoved herself out of her chair, grabbing the knuckles before sliding them on herself. She was on the ground now, but she was also face to face with the massive wire column that connected the console to the rest of the station.

"Counter this you son of a-!" Her next words were cut off as she jammed the knuckles into the wiring, causing massive feedback that caused the entire power network to explode. The overload also caused the bug Brainiac had planted to overload and explode, reducing it to pieces.

Outside the tower, Superman and Green Lantern continued dodging and weaving around the energy blasts, hoping to find their way back inside. Just then, the energy field surrounding the tower dissipated as the lights on the Watchtower itself died out.

"Something must've happened on the inside," GL surmised.

"It gives us an opening," Superman realized. "Let's go!"

The two flew forward, now finally managing to plow through the airlock. Superman quickly grabbed the broken pieces of the door and put them in front of the hole, welding them in place before flying back inside.

Back in the observation deck, Kari had been blown back by the explosion and was now slumped over on the ground, rendered unconscious by the electrical overload. Batman continued fighting against the robot, leaping up and kicking it in the chest plate, causing it to stagger back a bit. It fired a laser at Batman, prompting Batman to roll out of the way before throwing a batarang at it, causing it to slice at the laser, tearing it off. Just then, the doors were blown open, allowing Superman to fly in and plow through the robot, destroying it instantly.

"Everyone alright?" he asked.

"Kari took a hit," Batman told him. "She'll need help."

"I'll take care of her," Superman reassured, picking her up. "You find the others."

Batman nodded as Superman flew up, leaving him to move to find the others.

Meanwhile, Wonder Woman continued to deflect the laser blasts dealt by the robot, finally rushing forward and slicing off its arm with her sword. The robot responded by grabbing her by the throat and slamming her against the wall, causing her to grunt. Before the robot could make another move, a green energy blast took the robot's head clean off, causing it to collapse. The others turned to see GL quickly flying up.

"So, what'd I miss?" he asked.

The League met back up in the medical bay, which was running on emergency power as J'onn was recovering his strength and Kari was laid out on a bed.

"Some electrical burns on her hands and a bit concussed," Diana reported. "Otherwise, she is fine. She is a brave woman."

"Indeed," J'onn agreed.

"What's the extent of damage to the tower?" Batman asked.

"Seems most of the computer system has been completely fried," GL answered, "and most of the wiring was blown out. Seriously bats, just how much power is in those knuckles of yours?"

"It depends on my target, and for Brainiac, I wasn't holding back."

"Well, for now, the tower's dead in the air," Superman declared. "It's gonna be some time before powers back."

"This thing's not gonna crash to the planet, is it?" Aquaman questioned.

"Nah, the station's in a stable orbit," GL confirmed. "I say we get Cyborg up here to look the place over."

"We'd better check on him and Flash," Superman decided. "Brainiac said he had plans for our friends on Earth."

"I will remain here," J'onn insisted, his eyes never leaving Kari. "Just in case."

"Understood," Superman replied before activating his comms. "Cyborg, we've had a situation at the Watchtower. How soon can you-"

"Supes, not the time! The Particle Accelerator just reactivated and if we don't act fast, a lot of people are gonna die!"

That caught Superman off guard. "Hang on. Helps on the way." He turned to Green Lantern. "You and me need to get to S.T.A.R. Labs ASAP."

"Right," GL replied, hovering in the air.

"We should check on Oliver," Diana realized. "He might be in trouble as well."

"Agreed," Batman nodded. "Lantern, can you deliver us to Star City on the way?"

"Not a problem."

In the pipeline of S.T.A.R. Labs, Cyborg and Firestorm worked to ready the pipeline for the energy output they knew was coming.

"How's it going on your end?" Cyborg asked.

"Almost done," Firestorm responded, using his heat powers to weld some metal into place. "We'd better pick up the pace, though, this thing's set to blow any second."

"Right. Flash, you in position?"

"Yeah. How much longer?"

Cyborg looked at his internal display. "Just a few minutes left. You better start running now."

Outside S.T.A.R. Labs, Flash took a runner's position, ready to push himself farther than he had before. With a spark of electricity in his eyes, he started running, circling around the building repeatedly to build up his electric field. Each pass created a surge of energy that kept building on each other.

Back inside, Cyborg and Firestorm just finished their work as the countdown reached its final moment.

"Ronald," Stein's voice spoke up, getting Ronnie's attention. "The energy wave…"

"I feel it," Firestorm replied. "It's on his way."

"Then that's our cue to get lost," Cyborg replied, opening up a Boom Tube.

The two instantly went through it, narrowly avoiding the dark matter wave heading toward them. The Boom Tube opened up in the Cortex, surprising the others as Cyborg hopped back on comms.

"Flash, it's on its way!" Cyborg called. "I hope you're ready!"

Back outside, Flash continued running, bracing himself for the surge of power that was to come. Finally, the dark matter surge burst out of the top, causing Flash to cry out in pain as he felt the energy pouring over him. He continued circling around the building, keeping the energy in check.

Back inside, the others watched as Flash became overwhelmed by the power being dumped on him. Chief among these was Dr. Wells, who watched on with trepidation and dread. He slid a foot off his wheelchair, seriously contemplating breaking his cover and rushing out to help him.

"Flash…" he spoke, one last time. "You can't handle the strain of the dark matter wave. If you maintain this course of action… you will die."

"There's… no other way!" Flash reported. "If I don't do this… the entire city will die! No one else… can do this!"

"Doesn't mean they can't lend a hand," a familiar voice called out.

Flash looked up, seeing Superman and Green Lantern flying down toward him. Superman flew down alongside him, keeping pace with him as he did.

"What do you need?" he asked.

"We need to keep pace around the building!" Flash replied. "Build up an energy vortex with my speed to contain the dark matter!"

"You and I can do that. Lantern, think you can shield the Lab?"

"I can try," Lantern replied, flying up above the Lab.

Once in place, Green Lantern formed a shield around the lab, struggling to hold it as the dark matter energy kept bellowing out. All the while Superman and Flash continued racing around the building, keeping the energy surge at bay until it could be fully expunged.

Back inside, the building was on a red alert, with everyone working to maintain systems as the accelerator expelled its energy.

"Systems are barely holding," Silas reported. "We have a coolant leak!"

"On it," Cisco replied. "Caitlin, little help?"

"Yeah," Caitlin replied, rushing over as Cisco opened up one of the panels.

Back outside Superman and Flash kept their pace, circling the building more and more rapidly. Both of their natural speeds continued to increase, and the dark matter energy remaining contained the two heroes continued pushing themselves, with Green Lantern helping contain it as best he could. Finally, with one final sprint, the energy finally dissipated, doubling back on itself and into the building.

Back inside, Cisco and Caitlin were about finished with the coolant lines just as the energy wave blew in. The wave knocked Cisco into a wall, causing him to hit his head before dropping to the ground. Caitlin shielded her face as one of the coolant lines broke, spraying the icy liquid onto her. She turned back to Cisco, seeing him unconscious on the floor.

"Cisco!" she cried out, running over and looking him over. "He's knocked out…"

"Get him to medical," Dr. Wells instructed.

Cyborg picked him up and carried him over to a medical bed so Caitlin could look him over.

Back outside, the three heroes looked over the lab, GL scanning the building to make sure it was safe.

"No trace of the dark matter energy," GL reported. "Looks like we did it."

"Nice," Flash replied, leaning against the fence to catch his breath. "Thanks for the help…"

"Don't mention it," Superman replied. "Though this wasn't the only place attacked."

"Brainiac tried turning the Watchtower itself against us," GL explained. "Doc Miller had to fry the entire system to get him out."

"Is she okay?" Flash asked, pulling himself up.

"She'll be fine," Superman replied. "But right now, it's Green Arrow I'm concerned about. If you and Cyborg were attacked here, then something must have happened to him as well. Batman and the others went to make sure he's alright."

"And then?"

"And then… I say we take a more direct approach to this Brainiac problem."