"The history of Brainiac has always been shrouded in mystery when he made his first appearance on Earth. Whether he was an assistant to Krypton's people due to his connection with Superman and his race, or a collector of worlds due to his quest to become the smartest sentient being in the universe. All that mattered was to stay clear of Brainiac whenever his skull ship would show its face to a civilization that was unaware of his technology. However, it has been said that he'd been making amends for his villainous past and putting the shrunken worlds he'd captured to planets where no harm could come to them. No one has heard from him for quite a while until now when he abducted Harley and her friends into his ship, meaning he wanted to have a word with each of them."
Space-Brainiac's Skull Ship
Having their body completely digitized and teleported out of Metropolis, the four villains were sent to arrive in the lobby of Brainiac's ship. Each of them felt nauseous at the instant teleportation leaving Bebop to throw up at the floor. Feeling his strength coming back and his senses focusing, the confused warthog looked upward through the skull ship's window to see Earth as well as the moon that was outside floating in space.
"Space. I fucking hate space."
Bebop muttered at out of the places he wasn't fond of since the day he and Rocksteady left New York. Space wasn't on the top of his list since the last time he traveled across the stars, it left him to be chased down by alien dinosaurs and meet supervillains that were more dangerous than anyone back on Earth. Just as they started to adjust themselves to their surroundings, several of Brainiac's drones came in to clean up the mess that Bebop spat out while scanning the four to see if the teleportation had disrupted their organs.
"Get that metal eye out of my face and get Brainiac out here before I sell you at a junkyard."
Harley threatened due to how she didn't have a say in wanting to visit the former world collector since he took them in front of someone who didn't appear fond of him. The drones moved back from the hostile woman as they started to signal for their master to make his appearance before her. Ivy saw how upset Harley appeared and pulled her aside in an attempt to settle her down.
"Harley? As much as I would share the same feeling of being pissed off at someone and wanting to knock his teeth out. We shouldn't do it to someone that doesn't have any plants around for me to use my powers and one of the reasons for us being on Earth."
Reminding her about their interstellar road trip across the stars to locate Bebop and Rocksteady's former enemies which aided them in returning home. Deciding to restrain herself, Harley stayed by Ivy's side since she was the only one who could keep her settled before they could hear Brainiac's reason for abducting them. They looked in front of them to see a door opening up to show their host with his arms crossed behind his back and having an emotionless expression upon seeing them.
"Don't you smile? I barely know you that much you need to do something exciting."
Rocksteady responded to Brainiac's presence since there wasn't that much opportunity to have a chat due to them going turtle hunting when they first met. The Coluan didn't say a word but looked at them with a displeased expression on their face as he seemed upset with what they'd been doing recently.
"Pamela Ivy. Do you know what you have done?"
He questioned her about something Ivy did in the last few hours as she didn't understand what he was talking about. The alien machine rolled his eyes toward their small minds at what had recently happened, Brainiac called in one of his drones to come in and show them a news report about Power Girl handling Floronic Man within the sewers.
"That was just a crazy ex that got mutated and tried to go out on his own as a new villain and tried to get revenge on me. That happens to us almost once a year."
Ivy responded to Brainiac's accusation about having been involved in fighting him since his drones had recorded them being a part of the Kryptonian's fight against the plant man. Continuing to not understand what they had done, Brainiac showed them that despite stopping Jason from contaminating the sewers with barrels of mutagen, there was an issue that showed mutagen had been exposed to the water. The drones continued to show the now deceased Floronic Man being taken away by forensics to be studied to see what caused the transformation, the people didn't notice that the blood leaking from the deceased body landed in the water right when they took it out of the sewer.
"You've allowed the same chemical that mutated your companions to flow across the waters of Metropolis. You have caused perfection to the city you've now considered home."
Showing them that they'd allowed an uncontrollable chemical into a city that had no signs of criminal activity to be responsible for the mutations that'll happen within Metropolis. Bebop snorted at the alien since it didn't seem like a big deal, nor would it harm anyone.
"Come on. Mutants are all bad, we're badass. Just takes a while for people to adjust to us being around."
The warthog responded to what Brainiac determined as an issue that needed to be handled before it escalated. Brainiac wasn't persuaded by his response toward the issue which left Brainiac to walk them down through the corridors to show them why they should take the matter seriously. Annoyed by their host being confusing and serious, they followed Brainiac to the lower levels of the Skull Ship. He showed them a room that was where he'd keep his captured worlds in glass containers, it was now empty as he'd relocated them to safer parts of space.
"Let me guess. This is where you show us why we need to the mutagen seriously. Because what I saw was a small drop of it going in the water, there's no way it could have mutated someone into a nutcase. No offense, boys."
Harley apologized to her boys about them being dangerous which they didn't care about because they were already with being mutants. Brainiac said nothing as he decided to show them by pressing a button on the side of his belt which activated his teleportation device.
"Peanut. You've gotta choose your words carefully."
Ivy brought up an issue she had with her wife which resulted in Brainiac summoning a mutant that had already been affected by the contaminated water. Standing in front of the four was a cockroach with a metallic red eye and cybernetic limbs. Twitching its antennas at them, the cockroach didn't think twice before flying at Bebop as it attempted to eat him.
"This is not what I meant when I wanted action! Not what I wanted!"
He cried out as the cockroach continued to act like a beast and screeching toward Bebop. Rocksteady rushed over to help his friend unable to due to how heavy it was, the roach responded by attacking the rhino as it was able to overpower him. Harley and Ivy seemed to have caught its attention as they walked by Brainiac to figure out if the small spillage was responsible for what they were looking at.
"It only took an hour for the mutagen to affect one of Earth's insects. This example in front of you was on a human's camera before she dropped it into the sewer, they combined into what I would consider calling, a 'Cyber roach'."
Brainiac gave the roach a name as the trio continued to watch how formidable the roach was toward Bebop and Rocksteady, who had battled various individuals that were twice their size and with military training. Harley was getting annoyed at this taking a while as she did a cartwheel before using her full strength to kick the Cyber Roach against the wall. Bebop and Rocksteady wiped off the drool that the insect spat on them as they saw it glaring at the trio aggressively.
"You made your point, Brainy. But if this is the 'issue' you have, then we can clean this up in a week. If there isn't a date night happening."
Harley stated seeing how easy the mutated roach was and how she could handle it without needing any assistance. The roach screeched toward them before having its side opening to show a pair of saws which took them by surprise at how it was armed.
"Hey! Saws are my thing you ass!"
Bebop called out on stealing his personal weapon but was interrupted by the roach's spinning saws coming at him and his friends. Watching them struggle with the mutated roach, Ivy decided to step in and pull out a plant seed from her pocket and grab it having the normal seed turn into an elongated vine with spikes.
"Always keep seeds in your pocket for emergencies. Which in case, this is!"
She shouted as it helped Harley and the others to avoid Ivy's whip which was effective enough to slice through its exoskeleton. They watched how Ivy was able to take away the roach's weapons and limbs with ease before kicking it at the wall again. Looking over to see if it was beaten, they saw the red eye shutting off which indicated that the Cyber Roach was dead. They looked at Brainiac to see if this was all that he wanted to show them, it wasn't until they heard the sound of cracking coming from behind them.
"I forgot to mention that when the roach fused with the camera and mutagen. It was molting."
Brainiac informed the earthlings about what the sound was as it made the four shutter at what it meant. Looking behind, they saw an empty husk of the mutated roach where a new sound was being made, the sound of wings buzzing in the air. Its form had changed into a large white skin maggot with four cybernetic wings. It screeches at them as it flies toward Ivy and takes her in the air.
"Go for the eyes boss!"
Rocksteady stated as he helped launch Harley up into the air for her to armlock the mutated roach's neck. Flaying around uncontrollably and lashing against the walls, it drops Ivy to the ground where Bebop catches her in time. Hearing Harley screaming at how fast the roach was flying, it started to throw eggs randomly in an attempt to shake Harley off.
"Can this fucking thing get any more gross?!"
Bebop questioned which was answered with the eggs exploding when they hit the ground as they exploded in a gooey paste. Splattering at the three, Harley gagged at the smell and continued to choke out the roach but was unable to because of how slimy its skin was. Leaping off its back and landing near her friends, they looked at the flying roach seeing how it looked interested in eating them.
"We need weapons. Lasers, laser swords, laser grenades. Anything with a laser."
Harley asked for space weapons to help fight the mutated maggot to which they looked at Brainiac to see if he offered them weapons. Seeing how tedious the fight was becoming; Brainiac called a drone to enter the room where it handed him a small device which he gave to the clown woman.
"A button? What the hell is this supposed to do?"
Bebop questioned the sentient robot about what the use of the button was for them in their situation. Looking over to see the mutant roach about to throw more explosive eggs, Harley pressed the button which caused it to change into a large blaster with four handles for everyone to grab a hold of. Taking a moment to adjust themselves and aim the blaster at Cyber Roach, they saw the weapon charging up as they opened fire at the roach.
"Can this thing fire already."
Rocksteady complained before shaking it a couple of times before having the blaster fully charged and ready to fire. Standing their ground at the roach, they fired one blast toward the attacker which ended up exploding right on top of them. Shuttering at how the roach exploded into goo, they saw it sliding off their body to where the pieces started to change into mini mutant maggots.
"Give me a break already!"
Harley whined at how the fight would be impossible to end due to how resilient the roach was. Before they could become a swarm and attack the four again, Brainiac had a drone freeze them with a beam as he brought out a container to keep them trapped.
"As you have just witnessed. Unlike the mutants from Gotham City and New York, Metropolis mutants have enhanced abilities that classify them as threats only Superman can handle. Meaning, you are now responsible for them."
He told them about what made this new generation of mutants dangerous and hostile due to the unnatural abilities they had witnessed. The four ignored his statement due to how much goo was splattered on them since it appeared impossible to get it off due to how sticky it was.
"Instead of making us your lab dummies. We should ask why all of a sudden you took an interest in Earth, is it because of the mutants? Or attempting to check out what mutagen is like. I'll make it short; it isn't fun to screw with."
Ivy questioned what made the alien fascinated with their world since it was the same planet that humiliated him whenever he attempted to take it for his collection. The look on his face started to change to show an expression of sadness as he pulled out a device from his pocket to show them an image of him with a wife, a son, and a pet alien monkey standing outside of a house that was located in the suburban.
"Before I became the villain you all know me for. I was known as Vril Dox, a simple traveler who collected information for my planet and government. On my last journey to another planet, I returned to find it destroyed and my family killed."
He tells them about his real origin which was sad to hear since he might have been a good person who loved his work and family. Only to have it taken away for unknown reasons, leaving him to change into something that wasn't the man in the photo.
"From then on I started a campaign of taking worlds to keep them preserved and learn about what destroyed my world. But it changed when I met the turtle that you were looking for when you came into space, you may know him as Donatello."
Explaining his interest in shrinking worlds and keeping them to himself. Only for him to make amends with the assistance of a mutant turtle that Bebop and Rocksteady had fought back when they were enemies. Having heard his explanation and thinking Brainiac would shrink the world to keep it from being destroyed by new mutants, Harley had an idea that would resolve this issue.
"Will take care of it, Ivy already works with Lena Luthor and could help find ways to handle the new mutants. And with the help of my boys and Power Girl, they can handle whatever crazy ass powers they have. To make it even better, I can use my degree in psychology to help them not go crazy. So there be no reason to be shrinking us to avoid destroying ourselves."
Coming up with a plan that sounded logical to someone like Brainiac as she waited for what his response would be. Everyone was hoping that Harley's request would please him and allow them to continue living in Metropolis without having an alien keeping them in a glass container.
"I find your solution, acceptable. But there is one thing I request if you wish to do this. For any mutant that shows no sign of redemption to that of acting like a mindless creature. They come to me, such as Cyber Roach."
Brainiac added a small part to this agreement as he could be the captor for rowdy mutants that Harley and the others couldn't help. Having no choice but to accept the agreement, Harley shook Brainiac's hands to confirm the deal to keep Metropolis from becoming a neighbor to the mutant roaches that the alien would be keeping in his skull ship. Ivy was going to have trouble explaining this to Lena since it could either get them kicked out of Metropolis and Power Girl in trouble that would make everyone think she could handle looking after the city. It was still better than being shrunken and stared at by a giant-sized Brainiac.
Night Time-Lex Corps
With the agreement between Harley's crew and Brainiac complete. The four were teleported back to Earth where they started to get to work for their objection into looking for new mutants that would appear around Metropolis. Ivy had to make her way to Lex Corps to explain how this happened as well as the connection she had with Jason Woodrue since she was responsible for transforming him into Floronic Man. She was right now in Lena's office showing the boss of the enterprise photos of Bebop and Rocksteady working with Power Girl in locating the mutants while Harley would be the stay-at-home Psychiatrist who'd talk to the mutants that be taken to the apartment.
"I mean. It's good that we're talking about this rather than hiding it, kind of helps us move forward in our partnership. But it'll be a pain in the ass to keep an eye out for these new mutants and not have them linked to Lex Corps. The last thing I need is the media talking about me acting like my brother."
Lena responded to the story she heard from Ivy since she was told that what happened to Jason was an 'accident'. Ivy nodded toward what Lena had said since she didn't want any problems happening to the one person she was interested in working with.
"While this might be an issue. This won't stop me from helping make Metropolis greener for visitors and making this city enjoyable to visit since the city needs a bit of mother nature."
Ivy informed Lena that this complication wouldn't get in the way of making more parks for the community and allowing plants to be visible across the streets of Metropolis. With that matter handled and things seemingly going fine for both women, Lena brought out a paper that showed her details about what projects she'd be handling in Jason's absence.
"Mother Nature is going have her hands full for the time being. Consider it a way to make up for killing one of my best scientists, despite him being an ex-boyfriend. Nevertheless, with you telling me about this. It'll help make Metropolis better for everyone, including those new mutants you accidentally help made."
She told Ivy about how they could get passed this for the sake of their city and the people living in it. Ivy nodded to Lena before taking the paper that had the upcoming projects that would keep the Gothamite during her time here. Taking her leave and letting Lena have the office to herself, the was a sudden growl coming from the shadows as a pair of feline eyes who was watching the meeting between the two women in silence.
"Do not take let her deceive you, she is more dangerous than the clown woman and moronic mutants combined."
The stranger told her as he stepped out of the shadows to reveal himself as an anthropomorphic tiger wearing a blue bandana around his neck and having the appearance of a gunslinger. Lena rolled her eyes toward the seriousness of the tiger as she pulled out a bottle that looked like skim milk both of them.
"Relax Tiger Claw, everything is coming together slowly. All we need to do is wait for the right moment, and then. We take it."
She informed him as Lena pulled out a remote from her table to change the decor of the room from an office to a training room filled with weapons, a suit designed for her to wear in combat. As well as the symbol of the Foot Clan which showed her allegiance, Tiger Claw growled silently at how long he'd have to wait for the time to strike along with avenging his master's reputation by allowing Harley Quinn's gang to beat him two times back in Gotham City. It would be worth it in the end once he saw Shredder handle the women, while he'd have the honor of killing Bebop and Rocksteady with his claws.