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Ignoring the prolonged weakening of his body in the absence of the yellow radiation—nothing the Lumos Solem charm with a small twist won't fix—Harry blasted towards the source of the voice which had been speaking to him in his head. J'onn something was its name, a Martian trapped in a military installation. Evidently, he had arrived on Earth to warn the humans about the imminent Imperium invasion, but before he could even utter a single peep about it, he had been sedated and locked up behind so much lead, steel, and concrete that it would probably make the President bunker look like a paper box.
Somehow, Harry was sure that J'onn's accommodations hadn't been originally meant for the newest alien on Earth. Not when Kal-El had lifted a whole goddamn submarine from the depths of the Indian Ocean. Not a difficult feat for a Kryptonian, Harry could do the same easily…but it was still a daunting and horrifying sight for the squishy, soft humans, and their even softer egos.
His eyes snapped towards a thin line in the distance, superhuman vision coming to his aid as he made out the fences, electrical and barbed of course. Apparating mid-air, Harry spun into being right above the military installation, taking in the impressive anti-air guns, as well as enough tanks and missile launchers to destroy a whole city.
"Damn," he said aloud as he stopped the magical flight, dropping a hundred and some feet to the ground, sending a cloud of dust billowing out as the rocky surface cratered, "They must be really confident given this is what they have to contain Kal-El. What a bunch of arrogant morons, don't you agree, Batman?"
Bruce Wayne—or Batman as he was known to the wider world when he was cleaning house in the nights—blinked in shock as The Phantom casually addressed him, even though he was hidden in the cockpit of his Batwing—which itself was hidden behind the best invisibility tech in the world.
Seeing no point in hiding further, Batman clicked his seat belt away, and jumped out of the cockpit, his Batwing shimmering into existence as he did so. The thin, protective film over his eyepieces did its job, blocking the sand from his eyes as he moved towards the mythical figure standing in front of him. Only three recorded appearances over the last decade, one before he took up the cape, the second just after it, and the third in recent memory, when the Phantom crushed Metallo into scrap metal.
Both times, he had displayed a variety of powers, and both times, he had left the populace in a state of shock, awe, and fear. Not that he had any right to throw stones at Phantom when the Batman was also considered a nightmarish figure. Video clips of both the times Phantom had appeared had shown in the same ensemble he was wearing now. A cloak covering what seemed to be a bodysuit, and a dark hood covering his head.
His body wasn't visible from beneath his cloak, but Bruce remembered the way Phantom had broken bones during the bank fiasco years ago. He had studied the hospital reports, and even the bank's CCTV recording extensively. Based on the movement of his eyes in that darkened room, as well as the clear-as-day finger marks on the bodies of the prisoners, Phantom hasn't used any technique or strength leverage to break their bones.
He had simply snapped them like twigs, using his thumb and pointer finger only. Each and every time. Enhanced strength, possibly reaching well above fifty tons if the way this man had casually dropped down one hundred and eighty feet from the sky had been any indication.
"I can't answer until I know who Kal-El is," he answered, coming to a stop right in front of the stranger. They were both practically of the same height, but standing in front of Phantom, with his millions-of-dollars worth suit and knowing practically every martial art in the world—and having a body built like a brick shithouse…Bruce's instincts screamed at him that this man was more dangerous than anything he had ever faced.
The fact that in the absence of proper sunlight, Phantom seemed more dangerous and dark was probably also affecting his opinion.
The man hummed in response, his eyes turning eastwards, and a chuckle came out of his throat, "Well, you are about to meet him."
Before the last word had even been spoken, Bruce had already made the connection. The military installation, the thick walls made of steel, lead, and concrete with the Phantom's comment. Kal-El was Superman, the new hero who had demonstrated a vast array of powers. His physical capabilities were so high that 'Super' didn't even begin to cover what his power ceiling probably was. Add that to his 'Freeze Breath', 'Optical-Laser' or 'Heat Vision' and the till now indestructible armor of his…Bruce could understand why the army had thought all this would be needed to contain him.
But as Phantom said, all of this firepower would be akin to throwing stones at an ocean.
Utterly useless. What they needed was that green gemlike rock Metallo had used against Superman. After those few minutes of the altercation between Superman, Metallo and Phantom, the price and importance of Kryptonite had increased even more than nuclear codes in the underbelly of the world. The news that Deathstroke had also taken up a contract to procure the priceless, luminous rock had shaken up the criminals the very next hour. That had been a particularly rough evening.
His last thoughts were accompanied by a sonic boom, a visible shockwave of displaced air forming at a distance even as Superman came to an abrupt stop right above them. With his cape fluttering in the slight wind and the backdrop of smoky, dark clouds above him, Superman looked the part of an angel a few tabloids and newspapers portrayed him as. But Bruce knew better than to be disarmed by such tales…after all, even Samael had been an angel before Lucifer was born—Jesus, who knew he would quote something Lex Luthor had said.
And unlike in the Bible, humanity didn't have a God to strike down a murderous angel-turned-dictator should Superman decide so.
"Kal-El," the man next to him called out, already walking towards the entrance of the single-floor building. "I assume J'onn contacted you too."
"He did," Superman nodded, the frown on his face clear to see as he floated down. "How do you know that name?"
"Someone told me, a few years before I met you," came the response as Phantom stopped in front of the large steel doors, the biometric and retinal scanner beside them beeping with harsh red light. "I would say about fifteen years ago."
He didn't need to look at Superman's face to see the confusion there, the stumble and the gaping mouth he could see through the corner of his eyes were enough for that. Now that Phantom wasn't stealing either of their attention, he and Superman both regarded each other. "Superman," he spoke out, his voice modulator making it sound as if he was growling…and he stopped right after that, not knowing what to say next.
"Batman," came the nod, and was it him, or did Superman seem to be actually fanboying a little? "I-Uh…I am a really big fan of you, and I wanted to thank you for the hijacking you busted over Metropolis."
Before he could respond to that, a flicker of movement caught his attention, and both of the superheroes turned towards Phantom as he drew his fist back, and punched. The ground beneath them shattered as his fist blurred forwards, and it was only Superman's quick thinking which saved him from falling down in the tremors that followed. A moment later, a thunderclap rang out as the air finally realized it was displaced, the loud sound accompanied by ringing crashed as the large, six-foot thick doors made of steel and inlaid with Tungsten, ruptured and flew back…even though Phantom's fist was nowhere near the doors.
"Huh? I was expecting more than six feet."
That statement echoed in Bruce's ears as Phantom walked inside the specially crafted prison, and Superman followed after him.
'He was expecting more than six feet of military-grade steel, which means he is confident that he can break more than this,' he thought as he walked inside, taking in the utterly destroyed and crumpled door lying a good distance away. 'But he isn't the same as Superman or Kal-El as his name is, otherwise he would have used that X-ray vision that Superman hase. His use of teleportation and Superman's lack of such also support this. Also, he didn't make physical contact with the entrance, which means he is a telekinetic.'
Ahead of him, both Phantom and Superman suddenly stopped, and before he could even see it, Phantom was standing at the other end of the hallway. Only, he was holding a destroyed machine gun in his hands, and the walls along the corridor were sporting quite a few holes, destroyed circuitry and automatic, heavy weapons visible in them.
"Tch, at least use a few missiles if they want to tickle a Kryptonian," came the mocking comment from Phantom before he walked forwards and opened a door to his right. Bruce followed after him, his batarang flashing into his hand as he gave the bewildered Superman a glance.
Guess he didn't know that the American Government wanted to capture him.
Was it necessary to show off in front of those two heroes? No.
But, it felt really good to stretch his muscles once again. Merlin knew how long it had been since he had pushed at something that hard, and it wasn't even a fiftieth of his magical strength! Masquerading a human was good and all, and he really liked flipping burgers and tossing salads, but it was so tiring, having to control his power and speed and abilities at every moment lest he turn an innocent customer into a red mist.
Over the years, the practice had become as easy to him as breathing, his subconscious regulating his cells and muscles on its own, but there was still a nagging thought at the back of his mind at every moment. Maybe the next handshake would be where he would slip, or maybe someone would smash into him and break something against his Kryptonian body.
'HALF!' Kara's voice piped up in his ears, his mind conjuring the image of her drawing a big one-slash-two with a stern look as she floated off the ground.
Snorting under his breath, Harry wondered how his crimson-haired sister was doing as he opened the door, only to pause in surprise at what he saw. J'onn, the Martian who had contacted him along with the two heroes behind him, was chained by his arms and legs to a circular platform, using…plasma?
From behind him, Superman gasped in surprise at what he saw, while Batman silently made his way to what was presumably the terminal for controlling the containment device. A flicker in front of the green man caught his eyes, and Harry squinted slightly, making out the very minute distortions in the air. Electromagnetic shielding, he realized, giving the two discs above and below J'onn an appraising glance. That would have made a Kryptonian slow down, if only it were red radiation instead of a force field.
Meeting the red eyes of the kneeling Martian, Harry gave a silent nod as he moved forwards and raised his palm to utterly destroy the containment chamber. However, before he could take more than a single step, the lights on the discs emitting the force fields went out, and the plasma chains disappeared with an electric whine.
"Thank you, Batman," the Martian gasped out as he fell to his knees, and Harry immediately ran up to give the weakened alien a hand. "While I would have been quite thankful to you had you broken me out from there Mr. Riddle, I think Batman's solution was more beneficial to my injured self."
Turning back towards the black-clad man, Harry gave him a nod, realizing that yes, shattering a forcefield so close to an already weakened Martian may not have been the best idea. Moving away from the console, Batman walked forwards toward them, Superman joining him as the three took in the completely humanoid appearance of the Martian. He didn't have any hair on his head, and ridges flared out from the top of his eyes to the back of his skull. His irises were crimson, and as they watched, an armor of sorts formed over him, leaving his head bare and a cape fluttering behind him.
"What is with the capes?" Harry muttered under his breath, looking at the black, blue, and purple ones around him. Honestly, was it some sort of symbol or something?
"Now, while I would very much like to talk, the Imperium are unfortunately still out there," J'onn spoke up as he stood up straight, giving Harry a nod of thanks as he removed his arm from around the Martian's shoulders. He turned towards the other two men, rolling his shoulders to alleviate the stiffness that had settled in as the burns on his wrist healed up at a rapid pace. "And you have already seen a few of them."
"We have," the Gotham's hero nodded. "They have covered the western hemisphere in an ion-based smog, which blocks the ultraviolet radiation from entering below the mesosphere, and their factories are producing even more of it by the minute. Within twenty hours, every single inch of the Earth's atmosphere will be covered by it."
"They are fast, strong and those large slippery contraptions of theirs shoot devastatingly powerful blasts of heat energy," Superman said next, rubbing the House of El symbol on his chest. "Without the yellow radiation, I am not as strong as usual and the more I use my powers, the more my cells will use the stored energy."
'Idiot,' Harry mentally groaned. 'You don't advertise that in front of strangers, and moreover in a military base that was built to hold you, prisoner. Now I have to destroy this building when we move out. Gods, you owe me, Kara!'
"We have to strike at their mothership," J'onn spoke up. "While destroying their factories would buy you time and make them less active on this planet unless the nest is taken out, the Imperium will not leave this planet alone. On Mars, we had used neurotoxic and muscle-degrading nerve gas on them, but I don't know the chemical composition of it. And even if we put them to sleep, they will just emerge out hundreds of years later, ready for conquest….just like they did on Mars."
Receiving nods from everyone, J'onn and others walked out of the room. Thirty seconds later, they walked out of the building. Sixty seconds later, the whole compound exploded into nothing but a blackened crater and molten sand as Harry blasted it apart, the sound and light masked behind a barrier as they flew away from it.
Not that Harry was focused on the result of his handwork. No, his eyes were instead glaring at the Martian…as the green man flew through the air with the grace only Superman and Kara had exhibited to date.
Creating a shield in front of a terrified couple, Kara grinned broadly as she sent forth a pillar of fire the next second, burning away the large, three-legged machine and the enemies around it. Straining her ears, Kara turned around and focused, instantly ripping through the fabric of reality as she apparated, appearing hundreds of feet to her north. Her eyes glared out at the installation in front of her, a thick chimney billowing out the ionized smoke into the air.
Her blond hair whipped around her face as her magic surged beneath her skin, her eyes glowing a vibrant blue and green under her hood as she felt fury course through her. The very air wavered and seemed to crack as she screamed, the buildup of magic inside her exploding out in a wave of superheated, magical fire. Metal melted and flowed down as the orange flames crushed against the production facility the invading aliens had set up, the mystical fire swallowing and spreading across the whole structure within moments.
Turning around to find the next installation, Kara gave the screams behind her no mind as she apparated once again, this time even more silently and quickly than before. Appearing high above in the air, she looked around the whole city for any leftover enemy forces. Her eyes took in the burning fires and destroyed buildings across the capital.
"Kara," Harry's voice came from the ring on her hand, her eyes snapping down to it as the golden band heated up a little. "We are going to attack the Imperium's mothership. I am teleporting you to my location, don't be alarmed."
The next moment, her surroundings warped and twisted, a very faint sensation of something seemingly grasping at her inside making it known to her before the world came back into focus. There were seven individuals in front of her, each one more different than the last. She recognized her brother, Kal-El and Diana instantly, her eyes momentarily widening at the revealing yet obviously magical armor she was wearing, with her shield and sword on her back.
Besides her stood the Flash, a fairly new superhero who was operating in Central City. This was probably the first time anyone had ever seen him in his suit, the man usually running too fast for anything save for streaks of electricity to be seen. And then there was Batman, the elusive, nocturnal hero standing a little ways away from everyone as he glared out at the nearest smog-producing factory. There was also a tall, well-built green man standing alongside the bat-themed man, both of them accompanied by a winged woman of all things.
Oh, and there was a fucking Green Lantern floating at their right.
"Who is she?" Her cousin asked, turning towards Harry, an eyebrow raised in inquiry, making her turn away from the fact that there was apparently a Green Lantern here on Earth. How the hell did these many powerful people just come out of the woodwork on a planet that was thousands of light-years behind in technology to any civilization she could think of?!
"My sister," came the answer as Harry walked towards her. "She will also attack that factory with us."
A wave of magic escaped out of Harry, and Kara recognized it as a silencing ward. "We have a plan," Harry explained as he leaned down, running his eyes over her cloak as if he could spot any injuries beneath it. "We will attack the factory, get captured and J'onn will shield Batman's mind from the Imperium while he goes on to reverse the ionic activity inside the factory. That will make the reactors inside it use the smoke outside the factory to break it down into the air and chemicals they used in the first place, and consequently, it will clear the Earth's atmosphere."
"There are other factories out there," Kara pointed out, "I just destroyed one a few seconds ago."
"According to J'onn, the factories are built like hives, one can control all," Harry shook his head, "and if it doesn't work, we can just blast those Imperium into oblivion."
"You talk with Diana yet," she changed the topic, her eyes flicking over to her best friend as she looked at them from outside the barrier, "Or are you guys still being childish."
"We are still being childish." Harry nodded shamelessly, dispelling the barrier and walking to join Batman and J'onn.
"Your sister has a name?" The winged woman asked, hefting a mace over her shoulder as she looked at Harry, her eyes flickering towards her.
"Ask her yourself," he answered, turning back towards her, Diana and others also following after him as everyone save for Batman looked at her. "Well, go on."
"My name," she began, her mind working a light-year a minute as she was put on the spot so suddenly, "is…Apollina."