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"Female name for the Sun god huh?" Diana smiled at her as they walked towards the factory, J'onn, and Kal-El at the front of the group while Harry walked right behind them, bobbing his head as if hearing to some music—which could very well be true, Kara noted, remembering the enchantments Harry had been laying into his hood a few months ago. "I assume it is due to your blond hair and heritage?"
"Mhmm," she nodded, before raising her palm, a small ball of yellow fire forming over it. "I also found out that I enjoy pyromancy very much, Hestia was something I considered…but she is not a violent goddess and I don't want to besmirch her reputation by using her name. But then, what is the Sun but a giant fireball…so I went with Apollina."
"So, this god of yours, is he powerful?" The voice of Shayera Hol, yet another alien came to them, the Thanagarian swinging her mace between her fingers as her golden eyes stared out at the factory. "We too have deities on Thanagar, Seven brothers we call them, who created us in their image."
"Apollo slew the Mighty Python," Diana answered, her voice awed and prideful at the same time at her half-brother's accomplishment. "It was a monster sent by Lady Hera to kill the Archer Twins and their Mother, but the Sun God defeated the Pit Serpent even without the power of the majority of his domains!"
"That certainly sounds impressive," Shayera nodded slowly. "I am sure Phantom's sister will be similarly formidable in the coming fight."
"She will be," Diana smiled, her hand coming up to rub Kara's head from over her hood, before she sighed and turned towards Harry. "I just worry if those two will leave anything for us or not."
"Which two are you talking about, the Green Lantern and the mind-whisperer?" Shayera tilted her head. "You call them telepats, right?"
"Telepaths," Kara corrected, "And no. While they are undoubtedly quite strong, she was talking about my brother and m- Kal-El. One is a mage, and the other is Kryptonian."
"Kryptonian?" Shayera seethed, her wings flaring out behind her as her eyes snapped towards Superman's back. Ahead of them, every single person stopped and looked back at them, the Thanagarian's voice easily heard even by the humans. "This planet has a Kryptonian on it? How the hell is your species not subjugated to their rule yet, or better yet, completely exterminated!?"
"Wh-Why would that be?" Kal-El cried out, and Kara gaped at him from beneath her hood. Was he serious? Did he not know the history of his planet? Of his people?
"Because Kryptonians were war-mongers. Powerful and intelligent, they grew only more so in the light of certain stars," Harry cut in, making Kal-El's eyes widen before he turned around, not meeting any of their eyes. Ah, so he had known it, but maybe not acknowledged it as his own history? "Now that the introductions are done, can we get back to work? That factory isn't going to blow up into smithereens by itself."
"Wait, what do you mean were?" Flash inquired, appearing next to her brother with a burst of motion.
"Krypton exploded a few decades ago."
"Oh," Flash paused for a moment, eyes blinking rapidly as he digested that piece of information. "That's good I guess, we don't have to worry about an army of Doomsday Supermans coming for us." Sighing in relief, it took the red and yellow hero only a second to realize what he had said, and he looked up at her cousin's frowning face with alarm. "Not that I think it is good that your civilization died out! It is just you are so powerful, and your species was a war base…and I am just gonna shut up now."
"Never thought I would fight off an alien invasion on my own planet," the Green lantern said, crossing his arms over his chest as a viridian aura sprang up around him. "Guess there is a first time for everything."
"You must have fought in quite a number of large-scale conflicts before," Harry commented. "The Thanagarian also seems to be experienced."
"I am a member of the Thanagarian police force," Shayera answered, pointing at a symbol etched into her armor. "While fighting against these Imperium is different from what I do on my planet, combat is combat for the most part, so it's something I am not a stranger to."
"I have not fought in any war per se," the Green lantern spoke after Shayera finished. "But I am not a novice. Besides, these Imperium are quite simple enemies. No energy attacks, no complex weaponry other than their giant tanks, and no abilities other than their moldable protoplasm."
"Don't underestimate them," J'onn warned from the front. "These beings have been committing genocide on species weaker than them for several centuries, and they had already driven the entire Martian population to extinction. They can dissolve any type of organic matter by manipulating their chemical makeup, and their physiology allows them to alter themselves on a molecular level. Also, they have picked a vast array of abilities from their past feedings, the latest being telepathy from my own race."
Everyone sobered up at the reminder that despite having the consistency of a wet batter, the Imperium had committed genocides, and that too several times over. Rolling his neck as he heard the insect-like sounds of the Imperium from the factory, Harry said, "Well, they don't like UV radiation, so I think we should hurry up and destroy these factories as quickly as possible."
"I agree," J'onn nodded, floating several inches off the ground as he turned towards them. "I will not be able to shield anyone's mind from the Imperium. Powerful as I am, the Imperium stole the telepathy from my race, and each and every one of them is as capable as any Martian in mental discipline and attacks. They will try to befuddle your senses, and attack from the darkness and shadows, so stay on your guard."
Steeling her mind and taking a deep breath, Kara once again let her magic roil within her as adrenaline flooded through her body. A moment later, all of them broke out into a run, Flash and Kal-El leading the charge, the former's electrical discharges and the latter's weakened optic beams catching the attention of the genocidal lifeforms within the factory, which gave Batman the chance to slink off.
Shayera's wings flapped twice, the force produced so powerful that she easily flew more than fifty feet into the air, her crackling mace hefted over her head as a warcry spilled from her lips. Besides her, Diana paused for an infinitesimal moment, before she exploded forwards, the nearly inaudible whine of her sword leaving its scabbard punctuating her jump.
As explosions and shudders wracked the whole factory, and the screeches from the Imperium within echoed through its metallic walls, the crackle of electricity and sound of minute explosions faded away into the background as her hands lit up with white-hot flames, her magic hungering for some roasted Imperium.
Her sword flashed through the darkness of the factory's interior, cleaving two of her foes in two instantly, the divine enchantments laid on it by Hephaestus and Athena ensuring that her enemy stayed dead, their physiology no match for the will of gods. Bringing up her shield to stop the spray of acid that came from above her, she kicked off the ground and lopped off the head of yet another Imperium, her blue eyes glowing with magic as she looked out into the darkness, able to see everything clearly in spite of the darkness. Her sword emitted a cyan glow as electricity arced up its length, and she slammed it into the ground, hundreds of volts of energy racing out from it and frying dozens of alien invaders in front of her. To her dismay though, instead of turning into charred husks as they should have been, the destroyed organisms simply sludged off into the depths of the installation, their protoplasm already pulling together to reform their bodies.
To her right, she could see the bright green flashes and the sound of metal crashing and breaking as John Stewart, a Green Lantern—who knew the wider Universe had its own police force?!—wreaked havoc with his power ring. Hammers and shields were formed and discarded within moments, each strike flattening and pulping the androgynous, semi-solid lifeforms. However, unlike her, John's constructs couldn't kill the Imperium, or at least, she didn't think they would until he specifically willed them to.
As she ducked under a morphed, spiked arm, Diana wondered how powerful of a Green Lantern Harry would have made, if it was one's will that made the Intergalactic Police powerful. Because of nothing else, it was his will that was his greatest power. Even now, walking just a few feet away from her, he wasn't even deigning to look in her direction, and this was when she was wearing her armor! Diana wasn't a fool. She knew that her armor was quite revealing, and certainly left quite a bit of her skin exposed to be attacked, making it appear more like fetish wear than any protective equipment. But then again, it had been the Goddess of Love and Lust who had made the alterations.
However, even with almost all of her legs exposed and quite a bit of her back visible, Harry hadn't given her a single appraising glance, when he had trouble keeping his hands and eyes to himself normally! Grumbling a little at stupid, hardheaded, and stubborn boyfriends, Diana gave one more glare in Harry's direction as he flooded the area around him in crimson fire, burning away the Imperium circling him into nothing but vapors.
It seemed like she would need to apologize…ugh! Mother will have her head for this!
Shayera Hol flew through the heights of the factory, his mace whipping around her head in a storm on Nth Metal as she struck down Imperium crawling and seeping through the pipes and gaps of the machinery. Tucking in her wings, she let gravity take hold of her as she swooped down, evading an acidic spray and bashing in the head of an Imperium at the same time.
Nth Metal once again showed its unparalleled abilities, her mace able to kill the semi-solid lifeforms around her, when her hands and wings were unable to do the same. Yet another thing to report back to the Thanagarian R&D department, increasing their list of Nth Metal's properties by one more unexplainable thing.
A burst of electricity struck near her shoulder, making her instinctively fly away from the blue bolt, her eyes snapping towards the red and yellow blue as the Flash raced around, throwing punches and kicks at speeds that only an empowered Kryptonian and some other species could hope to match.
And that brought her back to the Kryptonian. He was the opposite of everything his species had once stood for. Cold, clinical, detached, and hungry were the words Thanagar associated with the Kryptonians, having suffered attacks from the war-mongering race several hundred years ago.
But now, centuries later, Thanagar was standing tall and proud, while Krypton had been destroyed. The fact that the last son of Krypton was so ignorant of his own roots, and was a hero of all things was nothing if not the universe's irony at its best. But he was strong. Astonishingly so. Living underneath the yellow radiation of this system's star had made him so powerful that even after hours of darkened skies, he was still magnitudes ahead of her in physical capabilities.
Thanagar would need to know about this 'Superman'.
And then there were the siblings. Magic, or sorceries of any type, wasn't something that was present on Thanagar, but despite what some of the stuck-up scientists on her planet would believe, Shayera wasn't conceited enough to think that something out of her mind's explanatory capabilities couldn't exist. It was an ever-expanding, unfathomably large Universe after all. A blast of fire seemed to commemorate her thoughts, the crimson fire making her feathers bristle even from the distance she was at. Phantom and Apollina both were quite strong in their abilities, with the former having an air of a relaxed civilian taking a walk in a park as he systematically and calmly dealt with the Imperium ahead of him. The fact that he was apparently in a relationship with the half-naked warrior-woman came as a surprise to her, but their lover's spat wasn't any of her business.
Now, if only she could reach the reactor core of the factory and smash it into broken machinery, and move on to the next one with her allies.
'J'onn, commence the plan,' Harry thought to the Martian over the mental link they had maintained as he watched Superman get bogged down by hundreds of Imperium at once, the defeated ones reforming and joining up with the reinforcements. Having lost a majority of his strength by now, Kal-El could do nothing but struggle futilely as he was buried under what looked to be at least a ton of Imperium forces. 'Get Captured, and shield Batman's mind at all costs.'
Receiving a feeling of affirmation over the link, Harry then spoke to Kara, telling her to get 'defeated and captured'. Letting up on the magical assault, he followed her a moment later as he felt dozens of arms and legs attach themselves to his back, chaining him in a hard carapace-like structure made of their own bodies. Their chittering reached a feverish pitch as he heard others from the group also get shackled and bound by the simply overwhelming numbers of the Imperium.
Straining his ears, Harry caught the sound of the faintest of footsteps from the upper levels of the factory, and it was now that he understood why Batman was called Gotham's boogeyman. He was at home in the dark, his black ensemble making him merge with the shadows. Idly, Harry wondered if Batman had been trained as a ninja or something prior to becoming a vigilante because the discipline, the unshakable face, and the sheer martial skill he displayed weren't something some run-of-a-mill human could have.
It was almost like facing Lucius Malfoy in his fourth year, the ruthless death eater and the opportunist businessman who had devoured several families' vaults after killing them. It was really ironic at its best when Lucius died a pauper, a far cry from the billionaire he had been during the day and the shroud-wearing asshol…
Harry's mind ground to a stuttering stop as his eyes once again flicked to the shadows above him. Masterfully trained, intelligent and stoic, and armed with a plethora of gadgets and devices. Things that surely need replacement now and then, which would demand a lot of money…and Batman was based in Gotham.
'Holy Circe!' Harry gasped, his jaw literally dropping open as he made the connection. 'Batman, the Gotham Goth is none other than Bruce fucking Wayne! It all matches his timeline. Going missing for several months a decade ago, having orgies and supermodels in his house daily to create a charade, and the billions of dollars he has used over his tech and suit! Damn, fucking women right against his bedroom window sure made a nice curtain for him to hide behind. No one will immediately think that Bruce Wayne is the serious and mysterious Bat of Gotham when he is busy embarrassing himself in the view of the whole world.'
Walking forwards along with the dozens of Imperium surrounding him, Harry nodded once in J'onn's direction as the martian too was brought beside him, his entire body covered by the hardened bodies of the Imperium. Next came Shayera and John, both of them still struggling against the surprisingly strong hold of the creatures. While he couldn't feel any of the mental attacks due to his Occlumnecy, it seemed the others weren't so lucky. Which probably explained why John was shuddering with wide, unseeing eyes and why Shayera was snarling and biting at something right in front of her face.
Diana and Kal-El were next, and Harry felt a little bad for subjecting Diana to this treatment without telling her beforehand…but he wasn't talking to her until she apologized. Kal-El on the other hand, was looking at his surroundings with glassy eyes, the Imperium no doubt making a mess of his senses and thinking as they used their own telepathy against the Kryptonia…Kara hadn't learned any Occlumnecy until now!
Before he could do anything to protect Kara or free her, the Imperium's screeching reached new, irritating levels as they were dragged faster and faster through the darkened interior of the factory. A new sound reached his ears, making him quieten and look ahead attentively, the rush of air and the faint whining that could be nothing but the descent of a ship.
The Imperium leader was here.
They emerged out into the open, warm air whipping across their faces as a large spaceship lowered itself down. The Imperium, who weren't busy with chaining down their quarry, immediately ran forwards, forming an orderly escort line in front of the ramp that had descended from the ship. The ship itself was awe-inspiring, black panels interspersed with purple bulges and white lines ran across the top of the craft, with numerous weapons sticking out from the fuselage. As large as a football stadium, it probably carried enough ammunition to level entire states on its own.
Merlin knew how many more of these the Imperium had in their possession.
"J'onn J'onzz," a voice boomed across the whole area, a massive silhouette appearing on the entryway. "We have longed to meet you again for so long, Martian. Our last meeting was cut short by the sacrifice of one of your squad members, and then you caged us inside the surface of your planet."
"That is what a rotten, genocidal, and destructive species like you parasites deserve," J'onn responded, anger and fury palpable in his tone as the large Imperium began to descend from the ramp. It was a grotesque thing, a large blob of white and pale yellow with dozens of purple eyes and black pupils. "If it weren't for the stupidity of those astronauts, then my people's grave would have been yours too, for billions of cycles until the star swallowed us all."
"And yet, it wasn't," the oily voice of the Imperium leader said as tentacles grew out of his protoplasm. "We are free, and you are not. Now you will watch the destruction of this planet, just like you watched the destruction of yours. We will keep you alive J'onn J'onzz, and make you watch as countless civilizations are reduced to nothing but memories and food inside our minds, all because you couldn't finish the job properly."
A second later, harsh winds started to blow across the area, and Harry smirked as he saw the ionized smoke above him start to backtrack towards the factory instead of billowing outwards as it had been doing. Cracking his neck, Harry gave an unseen smirk towards the large blob of goo in front of him as his magic rose like a wave of a tsunami, shattering the Imperium binding him.
Rolling his shoulders, Harry snapped his fingers, and every member of this alliance was set free. Ignoring the sudden rise in screeching and the telepathic attacks futilely slamming against his mind, he instead knelt by a dazed Kara, her almost inaudible sniffles echoing in his mind. Anger burning through his veins as he formed a protective shell around her psyche, Harry turned around and glared at the Imperium leader, who was busy climbing back up into his ship.
A second later, the whole ship detonated in a blaze of white fire and torn metal, the dying screeches of the Imperium acting as fuel to his anger as he walked forwards.
The Imperium had come to Earth to commit genocide on humanity. It was only fair to assume that they were willing to risk the same outcome for themselves.
Now he was going to kill every single last one of them. This was a promise.