At the Vindicator HQ, Thom, Ayala, and Luornu hung out at the entrance which was being shielded by a powerful forcefield recently. "Cos did what? That is whack," Thom said stunned.
"Apparently, he forced his way into Barney's lab and snooped around," Ayala said. "Soon thereafter, the forcefield went up."
"Barney is a homicidal robot who will not hesitate to betray us all. Cosmic Boy must be suicidal. What was he even looking for? Does he even have the right to enter without permission?" Thom wondered.
"Holy shit, dude, he's right here," Ayala said as she looked behind.
"Whose permission do I need, Star Boy? Yours?" Rokk asked, pissed off.
"I didn't mean any disrespect, Cos, but Barney does outrank you," Thom pointed out.
"And I outrank you which means you're not supposed to talk shit about me behind my back," Rokk reminded him. Rokk then pointed out the forcefield door to deactivate it.
"You're tearing through the forcefield? You can do that?" Luorno asked incredulously.
"No, but I can tear all the metal around the forcefield apart," Rokk said obviously and then pushed the metal door around the forcefield forward deactivating it.
"I don't want to sound like I'm questioning your authority, but Barney will fuck you up," Ayala warned.
"That's my problem. You all can go fuck off somewhere else," Rokk said dismissively. Rokk then found Brainiac 5 working on his computer unconcerned with Rokk's violent entrance.
"I'm fed up with you having secrets and shit. It's unacceptable. I demand to know things...so we can remain...united," Rokk told him off. "You even listening to me?"
"Did you find what you were looking for when you did your unauthorized search of my lab?" Brainiac 5 asked condescendingly.
"That depends on what comes out of this conversation. I demand total communication between all Vindicators at all times," Rokk demanded.
"Fine," Brainiac 5 replied.
There was an awkward silence between them. "You're bullshiting me again, aren't you?" Rokk determined.
"Total communication? Your brain couldn't possibly process that level of data. What I collect in a fraction of a second would take you more than a lifetime to understand," Brainiac 5 mocked.
"You know what I mean. I want...total relevant communication," Rokk said vaguely.
Brainiac 5 then turned to Rokk. "This drone sitting before you cannot destroy you, but I am more than this drone, obviously. I outrank you, I have all the information, I have the trust and confidence of the royal family, and I control the economies of multiple planets. You, on the other hand, have a very precarious position as a Vindicator as your planet has repeatedly rebelled against the Galactic Federation. Now, you will be given all information necessary for the accomplishment of your mission as a commander."
"Fair," Rokk allowed.
"Violate the sanctity of my lab again, and I will kill you," Brainiac 5 warned.
"Alright then...good talk," Rokk said and then sheepishly turned to the exit.
On the top floor of the Vindicator HQ, Imra, Garth, and Nura had a meeting with Mon-El. "Are you even listening to me? We were on the battlefield. We've seen the threat up close. Praetor Lemnos and the Terra Firma are a far bigger threat than you realize," Garth raged as static electricity sparked around his frame.
"Garth, calm your ass," Imra told him.
"Your rant gives me the impression you're a little bitch, son. Lemnos and Terra Firma are low-level meta-humans, and this is beneath my level to be concerned about," Mon said dismissively. "Now, handle it yourself and get the fuck out of my office."
"We'll leave in the next 85 seconds, Sir, but we need to be heard," Nura said.
"That's a really specific time frame," Mon said taken off guard.
"In that time, I had a dream you would agree to take this issue seriously and personally get involved," Nura said confidently.
"I call bullshit," Mon stared her down.
"Lemnos is a memory manipulator and the ability to control electronic recording. He sets things in motion and then makes high-level officials in government and commerce forget he even exists. He's the man that isn't even there," Imra said.
"Have you seen him?" Mon asked.
"Yes, I'm immune to his power and I have placed mental blocks on all the other Vindicators so that they're immune to his power as well," Imra told him.
"Sounds like you got it handled. I don't have time for this bullshit. I have planets wanting to secede left and right. I'm hoping they all do so I can wage a non-stop crusade against traitors," Mon said.
"Lemnos is behind these seceding planets," Garth told him.
"Really?" Mon scoffed.
"Sir, we don't know who he is or why he wants war," Nura said.
"Maybe he's just an asshole," Mon considered. "Look, I'm not interested in fighting a puny human that has telepathic powers. That's your shit," Mon pointed to Imra. "Coordinate with Barney to find him and terminate his ass."
After getting kicked out of Brainiac 5's lab, Rokk decided he needed to save face by chewing out Jan for gross financial incompetence in his office. "You were in charge of the treasury and now we're bankrupt. What the fuck, Jan?" Rokk raged.
"Look, I'll just turn more shit into gold, problem solved," Jan said defensively.
"That's your answer to everything, just turn more shit into gold and then trade it on the market," Rokk said disapprovingly.
"Yeah," Jan said obviously.
"That's fraud on a galactic scale," Rokk pointed out.
"Yeah," Jan shrugged.
"Fix the treasury," Rokk ordered impatiently.
Dirk then entered the room as Jan exited. "What the fuck do you want, Sun Boy?" Rokk asked crossly.
"I want a promotion, or I quit," Dirk said assertively.
"Denied," Rokk said quickly.
"The promotion or me quitting?" Dirk asked confused.
"Yes," Rokk replied.
"Look, this isn't a request. I know this isn't the best timing with a galactic civil war on the horizon but I'm out," Dirk said.
"Have you told anyone else?" Rokk asked as he advanced on Dirk.
"No," Dirk said flatly. "I'm just sick of everyone else wanting me to be something I'm not. I want to figure out my own identity, find out who I am, where I come from."
"Dirk, I don't have time for your existential crisis. Request denied," Rokk replied.
"There are literally hundreds of recruits who would beg for my job. So, why won't you let me go?" Dirk complained.
"Because it makes me look like an idiot!" Rokk shouted at him. Suddenly liquid metal from the floor rose up and covered Dirk in it, threatening to suffocate him. "I have worked too damn hard to earn my position as number 3 and as a commander. I'm not going to have you fuck up my career by letting you leave on the verge of a galactic civil war!"
"I have to set the example. Ultra Boy is an irresponsible fuckboy, Element Lad is an indecisive pseudo-intellectual who likes the smell of his own sulfuric-smelling farts, Projecta is responsible for half the porn on the net, Chameleon Boy is weird as fuck as usual, so everything falls on me and for the last six months, Barney has been doing everything possible to undermine my credibility, so how the fuck do you think it's going to look if I can't control you?" Rokk raged.
"Control me? You can go fuck yourself," Dirk said offended.
"I meant to count on you," Rokk backtracked.
"Yeah, right. How are we supposed to fight this war?" Dirk asked.
"No fucking idea. Barney doesn't tell me shit," Rokk complained. "But can you imagine if the entire Vindicator Corps. heard my maniacal rant just now?"
"They did," Brainiac 5 informed him via his ring.
The entire Vindicator Corps. heard the exchange between Rokk and Dirk through their ring. "I'm not apologizing," Rokk said stubbornly to the entire corps.
Rokk flew through the halls of the HQ building and burst into Brainiac 5's lab like before. "Why the fuck did you do that?" Rokk demanded.
"You wanted total communication, did you not?" Brainiac 5 mocked.
"You bastard!" Rokk yelled at him.
Jo suddenly punched Rokk to the back. "Who are you calling a fuckboy?" Rokk quickly raised his liquid metal defenses and electromagnetic shield. Jo punched at Rokk but was deflected each time by the liquid metal shielding around Rokk's body. His energy attacks were also deflected off the shield. Suddenly, the roof burst open as Gim reached giant size and took hold of Jo in his hand.
"Bring it down, dude," Gim told him.
Jo erupted in flames forcing Gim to release him. "Dragonshit!"
Jo went after Rokk for another round as Imra entered the scene. "You really siding with Barney?" Rokk asked Jo.
"I'm siding with whoever kicks your ass," Jo clarified as he charged forward.
Imra froze Jo in place and turned off his powers mentally as Garth blasted Jo with electricity, dropping him. Val then entered the scene to give Jo aid. "Getting into his head to shut off his powers is not cool," he said to Imra.
Gim went to grab Val next as Jo was out of action. "I'd pull that hand back if I were you," Val threatened.
"Or what?" Gim scoffed.
Val then punched Gim out of the HQ building on the streets below. Gim made an obnoxious cry out as he was tossed out.
Rokk confronted Brainiac 5 once more. "Your investigations against your fellow corps members are amateur at best. You had Triplicate Girl spy on the others by dating every single one of them to get private information," Brainiac 5 chided.
"Like you give a shit. You've done far worse," Rokk scoffed.
Thom entered the scene and then fired on Val so that his weight was two hundred fifty kg. Val fell to the floor from the overwhelming weight. "Go on, Karate Kid. Take another swing if you can," Thom mocked.
Tasmia sent her shadow around Val's body so he couldn't move. "That's why Cosmic Boy recruited you, Val. Because he knew you would be his bitch."
"You raided my lab instead of asking for my cooperation," Brainiac 5 accused Rokk.
"I must have asked a dozen times for collaboration. Is this your idea of leadership?" Rokk asked rhetorically.
At this point, several Vindicators were fighting each other and gutting the HQ building. Luornu divided herself into several clones and fought Val from all sides, Dirk fired flames on Jan, and, in return, he fired back with liquid nitrogen. Garth continually shocked Jo's ass while Imra kept him from using his powers with a mental block.
"Believe it or not, I want us to be a functional team, but I also want to save millions of lives. Better to have some of the corps follow me than all of them follow you. You did your best, but you could only take the Vindicators so far," Brainiac 5 said condescendingly.
Rokk was about to attack when a thunderclap knocked everyone to the floor. Supergirl, with Alex next to her, casually walked into the HQ. "What the fuck is going on here?" Kara asked dismayed. "I'm here with my sister to show her around the Vindicator HQ and look at this mess."
"Supreme Leader, Barney may outrank me, but I am the captain of my ship, my squad. He's been undermining my authority and dividing us," Rokk accused.
"Wouldn't be the first time," Kara rolled her eyes.
"I request that the Vindicator Corps be divided in two between us," Rokk said boldly.
"I'm afraid that's not possible. Braal has officially seceded and has close its borders. Any Braalian that isn't planetside within six hours will be considered a permanent exile," Brainiac 5 informed them all.
"Well...shit," Kara sighed.
Rokk simply stared totally speechless. "It's not all bad being a planetary exile. I was an exile for years," Kara said to him. Rokk then took a knee before Kara.
"I submit my resignation," he said sorrowfully.
Kara and Alex sat down at a cafe not too far away from the damaged and smoking Vindicator HQ building. "I'm sorry you had to see that," Kara said embarrassed as she ordered for the both of them.
"This galactic civil war seems rather serious," Alex noted.
"It's this Lemnos. Normally, when planetary leaders rebel against me in bad faith, I simply have them assassinated. It's a lot cleaner than armies slaughtering each other, but I can't in this case," Kara said nonchalantly.
"Why is that?" Alex asked curiously as their coffee drinks were delivered.
"Lemnos has the power to manipulate memories. These planetary leaders are innocent, tricked. Once I find and take care of Lemnos, this whole civil war will be over," Kara said optimistically.
"How do you know which worlds are seceding because of Lemnos and which ones are doing it out of fear?" Alex asked.
"I know," Kara said vaguely. "And I'll deal with them at the right moment. I got two more worlds wanting to secede after Braal."
"What about Myriad?" Alex suggested.
"That's a temporary situation and it only works on the weak-minded. Many races are also immune to it. Once you use Myriad, all trust is gone once you turn it off," Kara rejected.
"You have to present your case to the galaxy in a clear objective way," Alex said obviously.
Kara merely stared at Alex. "You must think I'm a real tyrant. Is that what you think?"
"I can't condone some of your methods and your Vindicators are just as dangerous as you are, maybe even more so. They act like children," Alex chided.
The Vindicator HQ was hit with more internal explosions as another Vindicator fight broke out. "Really?" Kara rolled her eyes.
Jo entered the Vindicator HQ and approached Garth, Luornu, and Lyle. "Ultra Boy? What the fuck do you want?" Garth asked suspiciously.
"To make amends," Jo said sincerely.
"That doesn't sound like you. You're an asshole, remember?" Luornu doubted.
"I'm fed up with these grudges," Garth told him.
"I was out of line when I blew up at Cos. I want to set up things right. Whadaya say?" Jo asked, reaching out with his hand. A second Jo punched the first Jo with super-speed. The first Jo suddenly transformed back into Reep.
"You're apologizing for me? What the fuck? Who the fuck asked you to do that, you fucking freak show!" Jo said outraged.
"I was trying...," Reep said defensively.
"Don't ever pretend to me again," Jo raged.
"Hey, don't make me kick your ass a second time today," Garth warned as he powered up with lightning sparking all around him.
"Take your best swing," Jo challenged.
Garth shocked Jo to the floor stunning him. "And, you, was that your idea of a joke?" he asked Reep. "It isn't funny when you pretend to be one of us, and you wonder why people are freaked out by you."
"A freak, huh? How about this, bitch!" Reep asked as he transformed into a giant monster with six eyes, giant jaws, and claws.
"You guys are all crazy. I've assessed the situation and I'm leaving," Garth said and then left the room.
"Before you go, Barney has a new report," Luornu stopped him.
Helegyn
Brainiac 5 encountered some liquid inertron fields and armed riggers. "Who's in charge here?" Brainiac 5 asked one of the riggers. Due to the toxic fumes, the riggers wore protective gear.
"Are you from the mining corp.?" one of them asked.
"I am not," Brainiac 5 replied and then showed him his Vindicator ring.
"There's nothing saving these rigs. The Galactic Federation is going to have to get along without these inertron fields. We can't hold this world without backup. The invaders cut us down like grainstock and reinforcements are not coming. We just got word that Zadron is out of the Galactic Federation. That completely cripples the chain of troop support in this system," he said to Brainiac 5.
"Sir, they're coming this way," a scout reported via radio.
"I figured they would," Brainiac 5 said unconcernedly. "Lead your men to safety."
"You heard the big brain. Let's move out!" the leader said to his men.
Brainiac 5 then activated a hologram to Tasmia. "I require assistance from you, Ultra Boy, Element Lad, Dream Girl, Star Boy, Colossal Boy, and Saturn Girl, but not Lightning Lad."
"What about the rest?" Tasmia asked.
"That's all, out," Brainiac 5 ordered.
In the distance, Terror Firma were destroying the inertron field infrastructure creating explosions everywhere. A portal opened with the Vindicators rushing through. Ultra Boys' team appropriately called out their catchphrases as they did.
Ultra Boy: Dragonshit!
Star Boy: Black Power, Motherfucker!
Colossal Boy: My Dick is Long!
"Looks like class is in session," Elysian smiled confidently from his side. With him were Gron, an armored rock monster, and Kynda, a fire-wielding girl.
The battle soon became a clusterfuck as the fields were highly flammable creating explosions with each energy attack from either side. Gron punched Jo into the air, Kynda scorched Gim lighting him on fire, and Elysian manipulated the ground to slam rock into Jan and Nura. Brainiac 5 watched passively as his team was getting their asses kicked.
Suddenly, Rokk arrived on the scene having decided to rejoin the team and become a planetary exile. "Now, we will win," Nura smiled to Imra.
"Senbonzakura Kageyoshi," Rokk said as giant metal blades emerged from the surface and then scattered into millions of razor-sharp blades. The blades orbited around Rokk and then blasted Gron to the face. Enraged, the rock monster charged Rokk.
"You've taken everything from me," Rokk said angrily.
"I don't even know who you are," Gron told him off.
"You will," Rokk said as he took hold of Gron's metal armor and then crushed his torso. Thom then blasted Gron increasing its weight by eighty tons. The rock monster sank into the ground as the surface collapsed. Gim then slammed his foot down on Gron's head.
Kynda blasted Brainiac 5 only for the fire to roar around his forcefield. Jan then converted the air around the fire girl to nitrogen starving the fire out and giving her instant nitrogen narcosis. Jo then placed Kynda in a headlock restraining her.
"Let her go!" Elysian ordered as the entire surface of the planet buckled. "Why must I do everything myself? Gron, Kynda, retreat. I'll cover you," he ordered.
"Suzumushi Tsuishiki: Enma KÅrogi," Tasmia said as she formed a black tent over Elysian. "No, this is coverage. What's the matter? Afraid of the dark?" she chided Elysian.
"Hardly," Elysian scoffed.
Tasmia then withdrew her black tent revealing the ground to be completely frozen. Elysian instantly froze in place as the planet was now facing away from the sun. "Due to its thin atmosphere, it's dark side is as cold as its dayside is hot," she explained.
"But how did it become night so fast?" Elysian demanded to know.
In orbit, Rokk pointed his hand at the planet gravitationally forcing the planet to spin faster so that the fight was now facing away from the sun. "That's OP...as fuck," Elysian said as he shuddered from the cold.
Metropolis-Earth
At Vindicator HQ, Val approached the portal to enter the fight. "What are you doing?" Reep wondered as he was about to enter.
"Leaping headlong into battle. I'm inviting myself to Helegyn to help the team against Terror Firma," he explained. "Oh, fuck!" he shouted as the Vindicator team charged through the portal with Elysian as their prisoner.
"What is Lemnos planning?" Nura demanded of Elysian as he was brought onto the other side.
Elysian could only mutter as his body was still suffering from the extreme cold. "I'll do it. I'm bad cop, remember," Jo volunteered.
Nura wrapped Elysian with energy cables and tightened her grip. "What is Lemnos planning? What apocalypse has he unleashed?" she demanded of him.
"He's still in neural shock," Val judged.
"Let me recover. My poor mind is so traumatized by all this brutality," Elysian mocked.
"Get him into power dampeners," Nura ordered the others.
Rokk then turned to Brainiac 5. "You risked the lives of the others to give me a chance to kick ass?" he sensed.
"What of it?" Brainiac 5 asked.
"Thank you," Rokk said sincerely.
"You're reinstated as number three but remember that you are under my command," Brainiac 5 said to him. Rokk nodded and then shook his hand.
Kara and Alex entered the Vindicator HQ where Elysian was still being questioned. He was now in a specialized suit with controlling devices around his head and hands so he couldn't activate his powers. Elysian looked fairly uncomfortable in the suit. Around him were several Vindicators: Luornu, Reep, Tinya, Rok, Imra, Ayala, Gim, Dirk, Val, Jan, Tasmia, Garth, Jo, Projecta, Thom, and Lyle.
Luorno had Elysian surrounded on all sides with three copies of herself. "So, this is the leader of Terror Firma. Doesn't look like much of a threat to me," she scoffed.
"Neither do you," Elysian spat.
"Saturn Girl, please extract the information we need," Rokk requested.
"Find out what he did with Brin," Projecta added. "He's wearing his clothes, after all."
"Good point. I completely forgot about that guy," Rokk admitted.
"Do your worst, bitch. I've been trained with layers and layers of psychic shielding," Elysian said defiantly.
Imra instantly snapped his mind and took what information she needed. "I have all the information I need. That was super easy, barely an inconvenience," she smirked as Elysian's mind was mush.
"Yes, now that is Vindicator talking, we're going to fuck them up!" Lyle said excitedly.
"Lyle, shut the fuck up and get over here," Val ordered as everyone stared at him. Val took Lyle aside to chew him out.
"What did I do?" Lyle asked confused.
"No one wants to hear your shit right now. Consider how much critical time and energy we've lost because of you," Val lectured.
"But I'm trying to show initiative," Lyle said defensively.
"Lyle, listen closely. You are young and inexperienced and you're trying my patience. Tread carefully and shut the fuck up," Val told him.
Alex gave the exchange an odd look as Lyle was being positively gaslit and hazed for no good reason. "Lyle, escort Elysian to a cell and wait with him," Rokk ordered him.
"You sure it's a good idea to have the teenage rookie escort this dangerous terrorist to his cell alone?" Alex asked Kara.
Kara was about to intervene but allowed the Vindicators to do their thing. "Are we abandoning Brin? Did you even question him on it?" Projecta demanded of Imra.
"Brin can take care of himself," Imra said unconcernedly.
In Brainiac 5's lab, Nura was hooked up to a machine over her eyes. "I still can't see shit," she admitted.
"The best-case scenario is that Lemnos has found a way to negate your precognition in order to cloak the future," Brainiac 5 considered.
"And worst case?" Nura asked.
"You die soon," Brainiac 5 said bluntly. "You can only see the future as far as your own lifespan."
"So, what do we do now?" Nura asked frustrated.
"We fix your power," Brainiac 5 said simply.
"You don't even like my power," Nura pouted.
"That doesn't automatically devalue it," Brainiac 5 replied.
"Still nothing," Nura said as she took the visor off her eyes.
"Do not worry. There is no mystery I can't solve," Brainiac 5 assured her.
"You're just trying to cheer me up," Nura realized as she shed a grateful tear.
"You're deluded and mistaken," Brainiac 5 corrected.
"It's sweet," Nura said appreciatively.
Rokk addressed the Vindicators as the default leader. Imra technically outranked him but used her rank to simply do as she pleased without interference and Brainiac 5 often delegated tasks to others to see what would happen. "There are three key planets that must stand together to resist this invasion. One is Earth and the other two are busy seceding like the cowards they are. So, the Vindicator Corps is going to have to make them see reason by kicking their ass," Rokk began.
"Team One: Star Boy, Colossal Boy, Light Lass, and I are going to Dormir," Rokk told them.
"Shit," Thom muttered.
"Team Two: Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl, Chameleon Boy, Sun Boy, and Shadow Lass are going to Ttrxl," Rokk ordered.
"Another honeymoon," Imra said brightly to Garth as they looked deeply into their eyes while Reep stuck out his tongue in disgust.
"Team Three: Ultra Boy, Karate Kid, Phantom Girl, and Triplicate Girl will investigate the Terror Firma home world for clues. It's arguably the most dangerous of the missions and I hope some of you survive," Rokk concluded.
"I'll make up for the lack of raw power," Jo assured his group.
"Such an ass," Tinya rolled her eyes at him.
"And me?" Projecta asked.
"Organize the homecoming party for when we come back," Rokk replied.
"You have to be shitting me. That's unacceptable," Projecta said angrily.
"You have no offensive powers," Rokk said dismissively.
"I'm going to create an illusion that will make you think you lost your dick," Projecta threatened.
"Congratulations, that was the one thing you could have said to change my mind. Welcome aboard," Rokk quickly backtracked. "Barney, anything?" he asked his communicator.
"Still probing Nura," he replied.
"I need you to join Ultra Boys' team when you can," Rokk told him.
"I'll have drones observing all three teams," Brainiac 5 corrected.
"Well, okay then," Rokk allowed. He then turned to the entire group. "Let's move out!"
As the Vindicators headed off, Kara and Alex headed to the cells. "Scram, rookie," Kara ordered Lyle out of the room. Kara then addressed Elysian. "What's your deal, asshole?"
"Lemnos chose me as his lieutenant because I'm a strategist. For example, I'm luring all of your Vindicators away from Earth leaving it unprotected," Elysian boasted.
"I doubt a brilliant strategist would just volunteer that information to me, and I'm thinking you're forgetting me," Kara said obviously. "I think you're full of shit. Where is your boss and when is he going to back you up?"
"Now," Elysian smirked.
Kara and Alex waited patiently but nothing happened. "Oh, you mean the suicide bombers? Imra took that from your mind earlier and then Barney took appropriate measures to knock them out with an EMP blocker," Kara mocked.
"Well...shit," Elysian realized.
Outside, Brainiac 5 drones located brainwashed supporters of Lemnos with suicide bomb vests and took them away from the crowded Metropolis Plaza. "Your little crusade against me has only been a slight inconvenience," Kara told him.
"There's one thing Saturn Girl couldn't get out of me because I don't even know it," Elysian said as he struggled against his suit restraints.
"And what's that?" Alex asked.
"Whether I can get out of this suit," Elysian said and then suddenly caused an explosion of rock that tore through the Vindicator HQ. Elysian was now free of the suit and outside the Vindicator HQ on a rock pillar. Kara shielded Alex from the rock debris as it rapidly burst through the ground. As he rose into the air on his rock pillar, Elysian crowed at his success. Kara then rose into the air to meet him face-to-face.