Teen Titans #68: "Metacrisis Effect, part 3"

-1-


Superman and Raven flew above. Rebuilding would be needed....if rebuilding was even possible. Despite the retreat of the White Martians, despite the rescue of Brainiac's prisoners, this battle was far from won. And it didn’t need to be Brainiac or White Martians, never mind both of them together, for Superman to know that any battle is far from certain.

Raven knew that too, of course. Her own heritage provided horror enough. She knew the depths of evil. Depths that even the scientific Brainiac and sadistic White Martians could not imagine.

“I can sense your inspiration,” Raven said, “But I cannot read your specific thoughts. What is it that you’ve come up with, and why do you need me?”

“Need is the wrong word. But I think I can use your help. Brainiac is all about science. Your magic is something he’s unprepared for. And in this, at least, the White Martians cannot protect him.”

Raven shook her head. “He has no special vulnerability.”

“But you helped rescue the experimentees from Brainiac's ship. And Brainiac doesn’t take magic too seriously. To be fair, neither did I, in my younger days.”

Raven nodded slowly. “And Brainiac is heavily reliant on science and rationality.....”

“To a fault,” Superman agreed, smiling.


-2-


Tara stepped cautiously into the opened armor. It was mostly painted an amber shade, with golden highlights.

Brion had told her to turn around, so she was facing the same direction as the armor, and so she carefully stepped into it, one leg at a time.

Brion had also told her it would be cold. She knew that; but to experience it was another thing entirely.

She wasn’t Terra anymore. She was becoming something else now. She was still Tara Markov, still the bastard child of the Markovian throne; still the lover of Garfield Logan.

But was her time as a Titan over? If she adjusted to this suit (Brion told her it would take at least a half hour) then she might be useful to them again. Assuming this whole invasion wasn’t over by then or....or lost. She shook her head, trying not to think about that possibility.

What she did know was that she couldn’t sit idly by when there was a chance to do something. And that decided her. Titan or not, she would keep going.

“<The left gauntlet has a directed energy weapon,>” Brion’s voice said over an intercom, “<Or DEW for short.>”

“<You mean a laser beam?>” she asked.

“<For all intents and purposes, yes; though it has more in common with the plasma of the sun or volcanic activity. The White Martians should feel it’s burn, Brainiac less so. The right gauntlet fires an electric pulse that can disable enemy electronics. Not too useful against the White Martians, but potentially so against Brainiac. There are other potential modifications that can be included, but they would take too long.>”

Tara was interested, but couldn’t be distracted. “<Okay, how do I seal this thing up?>”

“<I can do it from here. You’ll need to lean forward into the arms. In future, you’ll have to do this manually, which is slower.>”

Tara could barely imagine getting into this thing on her own, without a hangar like this to do it on. But she would have to.

If she survived.

The suit closed around her at a speed that was neither fast nor slow, and for a moment, she was cocooned. She could see through the helmet’s visor, and wasn’t claustrophobic; but under the circumstances, she was more than a little nervous. For that moment, she felt very alone.

Then the heads-up display kicked in. She was reminded not so much of the second rate American comics Gar sometimes read about a man in a suit of flying armor; but rather some of the better written Japanese comics on the same subject. The design of the suit even looked like something of a particular anime Gar had on DVD. Brion claimed the design was based on the Rocket Reds, but she suspected that a Japanese designer somewhere back in the planning stages.

In any case, with the HUD lit up, she calmed down, breathed deep, and focused. The suit disengaged from it’s personal hook, and she took several wobbly steps forward. Brion had warned her that in the suit, her center of gravity had shifted ever so slightly.

The original idea had been for the Markovian Defense Force, as they were called, to launch from within the chamber itself, into the sky. That had proven logistically impossible. So, as Tara was doing now, they had literally learned the basics of operating their suits as they walked away from the hooks and tubes where the suits were kept.

Absently, Tara wondered how much damage the suit had taken when it’s former owner had been killed. It had been repaired flawlessly. She felt a brief surge of pity for that Markovian patriot. Then she was startled at her own attachment to any Markovian, other than Brion himself.

Then she shook it off. There was work to do.


-3-


A mixed group of Titans and League members had gathered in the Watchtower. Adam Strange was with them. The recovering Leo Quintum was sitting up nearby, listening.

Superman had telepathically sent the basics of his idea to Martian Manhunter. Beast Boy teleported back up to the tower just as Superman began to speak.

“We don’t know how much an effect this will have, I admit,” Superman said. “And magic’s not something I do myself. But I’ve been exposed to it, as most of you have. And Brainiac is probably vulnerable to it.”

“He’ll probably dismiss it as some form of alternative energy,” Batman said.

“I doubt he’s thought of any kind of counter,” Superman agreed.

Quintum frowned. “I know I’m just getting back into this,” he said shakily, “And meaning no disrespect to the young lady, but is magic really feasible?”

“It is real,” Raven assured him, not offended, and sensing his honest concern.

“Oh, I know it’s real. I’m just not entirely sure of it’s effectiveness.”

"It helped to heal you," Raven said without rancor.

“Your doubt is understandable,” Superman said. “I’m counting on Brainiac having the same problem.”

Quintum shut up, silenced but not satisfied.

“Raven,” Superman said, “I’ll need you to stay here with Martian Manhunter to prepare. The rest of us need to keep the Martians busy. There is also the chance that Brainiac may make a move. We’ll have to keep our eyes on that possibility.”

“Quintum and I can keep an eye on him,” Strange said.

Quintum nodded uneasily. “I’m not up to full strength. I guess I’d.....better keep an eye on the new charges.”

“Good idea,” said Green Lantern.

“Raven, Manhunter, get ready,” Superman looked at them. “This will take a while.”

J’onn and Raven looked at each other. Raven was a bit uneasy; J’onn was grim.


-4-


The huge White Martian gestalt monstrosity heaved itself out of the pacific ocean. Titans West, Evening Star, Aztek and even Deathstroke scrambled out of it’s way.

Deathstroke didn’t reflect long on the irony of siding with the Titans; besides, his children were at stake. “They’re vulnerable to fire!” he shouted.

Speedy stared at him, then nodded. He pulled a flame arrow from his quiver; while he preferred to use mundane arrows, he knew all too well that situations like this required every advantage.

He took careful aim, and the shot arced high; it came down and struck one of the creature’s eyes. The beast that howled and roared.

“I don’t suppose you have any incendiary rounds?” Speedy asked Deathstroke.

The mercenary shook his head. “I used up my white phosphorous grenades after being captured, and haven’t had a chance to really restock.”

“Well, that presents us with something of a problem,” Speedy said, firing off another burning arrow. “Jericho can possess them, but....”

“But that’s a temporary solution at best,” Slade said. “I know.” He felt no real annoyance at the archer presuming to tell him the powers his own son used. “So what we’ve got left is....”

Speedy smiled grimly. “Omen.”

Deathstroke frowned. “I don’t think she has Raven’s powers.”

“No, but she can get in their heads.”

They rolled apart as a giant tentacle slammed into the ground. Deathstroke wasn’t entirely sure what Speedy was talking about, but clearly he didn’t mean that Omen could do the same things Jericho could.

Speedy fired another flame arrow, while Omen moved in and touched one of the creature’s flailing tentacles. It let loose a new sound; a shriek that hurt all of their ears.

The gestalt thing broke into it’s respective White Martians, and they began to retreat into the water.

Omen wobbled unsteadily and collapsed on the beach. Rose and Golden Eagle rushed to her.
Deathstroke nodded slowly. “So this is not a sustainable strategy.”

“And even if it were,” Speedy replied, “It wouldn’t be enough to stop the Martians.”

“Not by itself,” Deathstroke agreed. “Which is why I need to talk to the Vanity heroes.”

Aztek and Evening Star approached. “We don’t trust you,” Evening Star said, voice thick with suspicion.

Deathstroke smiled under his mask. “You don’t have to. All you need to do is want to win.”


-5-


Tara Markov rocketed out of Markovian air space in her new battle suit. There was no countdown; the launch was at her will. The rocket boots rattled her somewhat; and the initial blast of Max-Q left her breathless. For a moment, there was absolute silence.

Above her, the sky began to darken, for a moment she panicked; she was up too high! The suit was capable of space operations, but certain modifications needed to be made first, Brion had told her. Especially oxygen tanks.

Her fear gradually transitioned to exhilaration. She levelled out and surveyed the ground far below. She remembered Donna describing to her how things looked from up here when fighting Circe. Of course, she had been on the Watchtower, which was in much higher orbit; but this was something else again.

She glanced up at the moon. She wanted to test this new suit, see what was up there, but now was not the time. The others needed her. She knew that. And that realization restored her drive, and focus.

Brainiac and the White Martians were threatening the world. It wasn’t the first time that sort of thing had happened; but any time could be the last. The heroes--all of them, not just the Titans--always had to stand against the darkness.


-6-


Nightwing led the Titans--now down two members--back down to the surface to take on the Martians.

Nightwing didn’t mind lending Raven to Superman, but he wished there’s been a Leaguer or two to compensate. Martian Manhunter would’ve been his first choice--but he was needed too. Kid Flash had wanted to go with his mentor, but had stayed with the Titans.

They were all feeling the absence of both Raven and Terra. And it wasn’t just Beast Boy who was agitated over Terra’s condition, either. Scarlet Wing was also visibly affected. Kid Flash, for his part, was worried about Raven. Nightwing knew they would shake it off and do their duty.

Instead of returning to New York, the Titans had gone looking for trouble. The Watchtower had teleported them down in New Mexico. Apparently there was a military base at white sands.

“Didn’t know there was one here,” Beast Boy said.

“Me either,” Kid Flash agreed.

“I thought it was just a missile base,” Cyborg said.

Nightwing smiled. It was not a pleasant smile. “Officially, it is. Has been since the end of World War 2, when some German scientists were brought here to continue their V2 rockets, which eventually fed into the American space program.”

“And unofficially?” Beast Boy prompted.

“We don’t have time for this,” Starfire muttered, looking around.

Nightwing nodded. “Keep your eyes open.” Starfire floated up and started looking around; Cyborg started using his sensors. Nightwing went on, “Unofficially, while S.T.A.R. Labs got some of that meteorite strike which we encountered, traces were sent here, too. Checkmate, the CIA, lots of people have bases here. Between that and the missiles? Brainiac probably views it as a strategic target.”

“Not the White Martians?” Scarlet Wing frowned.

“They seem more chaotic in their attacks,” Nightwing said. “Good at infiltration, but much more random otherwise. Though why they’d take orders from Brainiac is a mystery to me.”

“One we don’t have time to solve,” Kid Flash said. “I’ve just done a reconnoiter, and they’re on the west side of the facility!”

They looked up, and could see that Starfire had spotted them too, and was already on the move. Troia and Scarlet Wing flew after her. Kid Flash raced ahead, as the others took the long way around.


-7-


“So they are amenable?” Luthor asked Deathstroke.

“They don’t trust you,” Deathstroke answered.

“Of course not,” Luthor said impatiently. “But they are willing to try?”

“Aztek and Evening Star have tentatively agreed to your plan,” Deathstroke said. “Titans West, on the other hand, want to know where you are.”

Luthor smirked. “Too bad for them.”

Luthor’s original intention had been to send Deathstroke up to Brainiac's ship and blow it up. That...was proving to be unfeasible, after Slade’s own abduction and escape. But there were other options. And now, with the help of Aztek, he would be able to utilize one of them.

The Ultimen project was hardly his only concern, just as Superman was hardly his only enemy. Just the most important. Until Brainiac and the White Martians had come, of course. He had learned his lesson from Darkseid...the hard way.

What he was planning now would require Aztek--and probably the Evening Star as well. Maybe even Deathstroke....yes...

“I’ll offer you a bonus if you participate.”

Deathstroke stared at him a long moment before demanding triple.


-8-


Sometimes people forgot just how impressive Aquaman was.

Physically, he was nearly as strong as Superman. Some didn’t really understand how impressive his animal summoning powers were in the ocean.

When the White Martians that had Titans West retreated into the sea, Aquaman was there to meet them, and he was not alone.

From the depths of the sea came his army.

More than four thousand whales were with him, hundreds of eels, and countless smaller fish. Nor was this all he could summon, but it was enough for this particular gang of Martians..

There is no fire in water, but there is strength and power and speed and sheer determination. The White Martians weren’t the only ones who knew how to hide in the dark. Or to strike from it.

For a moment, sensing the threat, the White Martians tried to recombine into their greater form. But it was far too late.

It is true that Martians are mostly vulnerable to fire. But like any powerful creature, their resistance to other forms of damage is not infinite. And there were so many creatures of the sea.

So very many.

They crushed dozens, hundreds. It didn’t matter.

Aquaman was not idle, of course. He punched right through one. It reformed behind him....so he smashed through it again. It tried to get into his body through his nose.....he simply forced it out through the strength of his diaphragm.

Then he slammed his hands together, creating a shockwave in the water. Through his link with the sea creatures, they felt it coming.....the White Martians did not.

WHAM.

The White Martians rocked and reeled. One of them had already been so badly damaged that it simply....disintegrated. Another had already been destroyed by the sea life. The last, shuddering, tried to recover. And despite their bestial behavior, they were far from stupid. This one was enough to realize Aquaman’s connection to the sea creatures, and tried to reply with it’s own psychic attack.

That was a mistake.

The sea creatures around it were whipped into an insane frenzy, attacking both each other and the Martian. Realizing its mistake, the panicking Martian took the form of an eel and tried to swim away.

Aquaman was not fooled. He darted through the roiling crowd and grabbed it. In it’s eel form, it tried to shock him with electricity, but that was no use. He ripped it into two parts.

He was tempted to rejoin the fight on the surface immediately, but instead hurried back to Atlantis, to imprison the two pieces where Atlantean scientists could study it. Both parts were alive, but struggling, trying to regain the sentience of a whole. But separately, they were no challenge to him as he swam for home. Only an inconvenience.

He would hurry back, though.

The situation was no less urgent.


-9-


Tara’s used her suit’s new sensor capabilities, but couldn’t find the Titans anywhere near New York. But she could also listen to internet wi-fi and satellite broadcasting. Apparently they were at a missile complex in New Mexico. Frowning, she reorientated and boosted her thrusters. The suit had both fuel and battery power, the battery serving as backup for when the fuel eventually expired.

Zeroing in on the Titans in the middle of the desert was relatively easy. Tara saw them, minus Raven, were fighting four White Martians at once. She was a little puzzled and worried that Raven wasn’t there, but there was no time to think about it now.

Her first instinct was to come crashing in; without her powers, she wanted to use the suit’s raw physical strength against the enemy. And it could handle melee combat; it could take plenty of hits, and deal some out in return. But it was meant to be used as a ranged weapon platform.

It would just take some getting used to.

“<Target,>” she said in her native tongue. “<Maximum firepower.>” Voice commands were optional in this rig. As she got used to the suit, she probably wouldn’t need to use them. If she survived.

A bolt of green plasma lanced out from her arm and hammered into the nearest White Martian. It hissed in rage and pain. She felt some slight recoil in the suit, but its inertial dampeners helped.

It whirled to face her, but she and Starfire were able to catch in a crossfire. It howled and screamed as it’s skin hissed and burned. Tara wasn’t a killer, and since coming to Earth Starfire had tried not to, but they knew if they let up the creature would just keep attacking again and again.

Cyborg was using his white noise cannon, but to limited effect. Nightwing leapt backwards from the claws of a Martian, but it went right after him. Kid Flash raced in and began pummeling it, but after the first few blows, it shifted. It couldn’t keep hold of him with his speed, but now his punches were doing little more than making little pock marks in it’s alien flesh.

But Kid Flash had given Nightwing the opportunity to backflip away; and Dagon and Scarlet Wing closed in.

Tara and Starfire were blasting their target. Tara wondered if she was going to have to hang back and let Kory kill it. Judging by the grim expression on the Tamaranean’s face, she was thinking the same. Finally, though, it howled and turned into white liquid, dribbling down through the cracks in the rocky ground.

If Tara still had her old powers, she could’ve gone after it. Indeed, she instinctively twitched her fingers. But that only made her new armaments pulse uncertainly. “<Cancel,>” she sighed. She could tell from the frustration on Starfire’s face that she, too, wanted to go after the White Martian. But for certain it was out of the action for the time being. If they could only stop

Troia was engaging the third White Martian on her own, and Cyborg was still blasting away at the last. Nightwing leapt over to Cyborg, hurling explosive pellets that had minimal effect. So he pulled out a new pair of escrima sticks. He’d used weapons before, but not consistently. These had a strong taser application. For the White Martians, he turned them up all the way to full power.

Troia slammed her Martian foe so hard that she punched a huge dent in it. But it reformed and grinned malevolently at her, then blasted her with it’s psychic powers. But it had underestimated her resiliency. Screaming in pain and rage, she punted it into the atmosphere, then flew after it.

Dagon and Scarlet wing were still attacking the White Martian that Nightwing had retreated from. Dagon’s claws were doing some damage, Scarlet Wing’s eggsplovies were doing a bit more. The vampire was doing a bit more damage than Kid Flash, but not enough; in her turn, Scarlett Wing’s eggsplovies were nowhere near as effective as Deathstroke’s white phosphorous grenades, but did have some significant effect.

Amber blasted four shots into the creature, then turned to track Troia, who seemed to be dragging the White Martian into deep space. It was grabbing at her with claws and tentacles, but to no avail. Clearly, she had it under control.

Turning her attention back to the others, she saw that Starfire was helping Scarlett Wing and Dagon. So she focused her attention on Cyborg and Nightwing. Cyborg’s brute strength was someting, and Nightwing’s electrified escrima sticks had a limited effect in the beginning. But it had quickly adapted. Unlike its brethren, it had decided to use it’s shapeshifting power; it took the form of a giant ape and started swatting at Nightwing and Cyborg.

But this enabled Cyborg to grapple with it directly, and Tara targeted it, blasting away with her lasers.

Eventually, Nightwing backflipped behind Cyborg and whispered something in his ear. Cyborg nodded and grinned.

They both rolled away from it. Nightwing drew some sort of pellet from his belt and threw it, while Cyborg altered the configuration on his white noise cannon.

The pellets exploded, forming a rime of ice; and Cyborg blasted it with a jet of air. Tara’s suit sensors told her this was supercooled air.

Martians were vulnerable to fire.....but instead Nightwing and Cyborg had frozen this one solid.

When Tara returned her attention to the last remaining Martian, she saw that between Starfire, Kid Flash, Dagon and Scarlet Wing, they already had defeated it. It lay senseless on the ground. Was it unconscious or merely faking? Raven would know. Where was she? Frowning, Tara scanned it, getting the hang of her own new suit. It wasn’t dead. She had no idea what normal Martian life signs were, but this one’s were slow and steady.

She blew out a relieved breath. She detected Troia returning behind her; smirking to herself, she dived down to join the others.


-10-


Leo Quintum was stuck guarding those who had been altered by Brainiac. He was less than happy with this arrangement.

He still wasn’t entirely sure that Superman should go with this magic strategy. That even Batman and Strange had accepted it without argument troubled him. Oh, he knew magic was real enough. That didn’t mean he trusted it. But what was really bothering him was that he hadn’t been able to tell them much that they hadn’t already divined themselves, and that frustrated him. He would, of course, give his all know; and if this...magic...gambit failed, he would do his part. Probably in coordination with fellow scientist Adam Strange, whom he felt a sort of kinship for.

Most of these kids seemed okay....except for the girl Dabney. She might be trouble. The Piper might have been an issue, once; but he seemed subdued and thoughtful. And Leo had already heard that he owed some sort of debt to the Vanity heroes, Aztek and Evening Star. Then he frowned. Where had those two wound up?


-11-


The bronze armored figure flew towards them, Troia coming down behind.

“Who is that?” Starfire frowned.

Nightwing shrugged. “Never seen them before.”

“A new hero?” Beast Boy asked.

“Certainly nothing to do with with Brainiac,” Cyborg said. “That looks nothing like his technology.”

“Wouldn’t have helped us against the White Martians then,” Scarlet Wing pointed out.

The armored figure landed before them. Beast Boy could almost see a face through the golden helmet visor.

“Hey guys,” a voice crackled from a suit radio, “Miss me?”

“Ta-Terra?” Gar gasped.






She posed dramatically. “Like my new look? Thank Geo-Force for it. Part of the Markovian Home Guard, based on the Rocket Reds, at least somewhat--oof!”

Beast Boy was hugging her.

“Nice to see you too, honey.” She chuckled and gently disengaged from him. “Anyway, the Markovians have already fought the White Martians with these suits, with some success. I’m still a little wonky, though.”

Nightwing merely nodded and smiled “Good to have you back.”

Cyborg was looking over the suit appraisingly. “I may want to examine the suit later.”

“Yeah, I figured. So what’s up, bossman?”

“We need to get back to Superman. He has a plan,” Nightwing said. “And it’s an interesting one. I wouldn’t expect such lateral thought from him, but it may be just what we need right now. Raven is with him, preparing.”

Behind her visor, Tara cocked an eyebrow. “This should be interesting.”

“So uh, what should we call you now?” Cyborg asked.

“Call me....Amber.”

“The other White Martian’s in deep space,” Troia said. “It went into some sort of hibernation. Brainiac will probably pick it up.”

Nightwing nodded. “Let’s go.”




-12-


Faith hadn't found the Justice League, but she had found trouble.

A pair of White Martians was leaping from street to street, wreaking havoc. Having no direct orders from Brainiac--or whatever their own mental formulation was, Faith wasn’t too clear on that point, though she’d spent some time with J’onn--they were attacking buildings, terrorizing those citizens that hadn’t already fled.

Faith flinched in horror as she saw a White Martian pounce upon one screaming man and mash him flat. She shouted in rage, and the thing whipped it’s head around to stare at her. She momentarily quailed back in fear....then met the creature’s alien gaze with a white hot glare of her own.

She felt the creature’s psychic power brush against her mind, and it nodded slowly--a gesture of respect?--then charged.

She shouted and closed her eyes, unleashing her own still-uncertain power.

There was a brilliant flash, she could see the brightness of it, even through her closed eyelids.

When she opened them again, the White Martian had turned to a puddle of goo. But that goo was still alive; she saw it dash for a sewer grate in a panic.

Shaking her head, she made her way onwards. She should get up to the Watchtower.


-13-


Like Quintum, Martian Manhunter had his own reservations on the matter of using Raven’s magic. He sensed Adam Strange’s concern about her heritage, but even that wasn’t his issue.

Unlike the others, he was uncertain that Brainiac would not have come up with a counter to magic. Quintum doubted it’s effectiveness; J’onn doubted Brainiac overlooking it. He privately disliked Superman’s supreme confidence in this. Granted, he didn’t have Superman’s experience with Brainiac, but he knew the Colu to be extremely adaptable. But he kept his thoughts to himself, as he often did, being used to hearing those of others.

Beyond that, he wanted to face his pale “brethren”. Facing them made him torn; on the one hand, he wanted to stop them; on the other, they were all that he had left.

But his cooperation was required. He floated down over Raven and reached down. She, in turn, reached up with her hands.

Both Nightwing and Superman had talked to their respective teams about combining team member powers before, but this was certainly a unique application of the concept.

But now only Quintum was there to see it, and the rescues from Brainiac's experiments. Quintum was, belatedly, concerned with the possibility that Brainiac might act through them. But they were watching in silent fascination, except for Dabney.

As Raven was an empath, and J’onn a telepath, their powers did not exactly mesh. Superman had taken this into account but.....

...it still hurt.

Raven felt her nose began to bleed. This was her own pain, and no one elses, there was no way to absorb it. For J’onn’s part, he felt a sizzling pain in his frontal lobes.

Both them felt a heavy weight, and the room seemed to darken, as J’onn served as a psychic amplifier for Raven's raw magical power.

Raven’s magic, projected by Martian Manhunter’s psychic ability, lanced out towards Brainiac's ship.

Brainiac had indeed begun to adapt to Raven’s power, from his recent experience with it. And while he knew of the power of psychic attacks through the White Martians, and had some mental abilities himself.

But previously he had only encountered Raven’s soul self; not the raw magic power behind it. It rattled his ship; some of the components blacked out. His physical self almost lost consciousness. His ship wobbled uncertainty in it’s orbit around the planet.

He began to adapt almost immediately; a shield snapped into existence around his craft, and his systems began to repair themselves.

But he was out of the fight, at least for the time being. The White Martians were on their own for now. In his cold heart, he felt irrational anger surge. He shut it down instantly; such was not his nature. Instead, he considered the possibilities. Almost immediately he came to the conclusion that, once he had effected repairs, the Watchtower would be his immediate target.


-14-


Raven slumped to her knees, and J’onn stumbled backwards. Quintum caught the Martian, then looked helplessly at Raven, kneeling on the floor.

After a moment, she got slowly and unsteadily to her feet.

“Will you be all right?” Quintum asked.

“Eventually,” Raven sighed. “I....I need to get to the medical bay. Con...contact the Titans, would you?”


-15-


It was mere moments later when the Titans teleported up.

Quintum wanted to ask who Amber was, but was cut off before he could even ask the question.

“Where is Raven?” Nightwing asked.

“In the medical bay,” Quintum said. “It worked, or at least Superman seems to think so, but...”

They didn’t wait for any more words, they ran to her. Quintum watched them go.

“They are family,” J’onn said, reading his thoughts. “Excuse me.” He went to join them.


-16-


Superman and Green Lantern came back to the Watchtower moments later.

“...weakened, but far from defeated,” Lantern was saying.

Superman nodded. “We can mop up the Martians now,” he replied, “And then deal with Brainiac alone. Or we can send a strike team now, while he’s vulnerable--”

He broke off as they came into the med bay. The Titans and J’onn were around her, the rescued experimentees looking on.

Raven looked up at him somewhat feebly, and smiled. “It was a sound plan,” she said.

Superman nodded gravely. “I hope you recover swiftly.”

There was no resentment or anger amongst the Titans, only concern for Raven. Nightwing nodded. “It bought us some time.”

“A clever blow,” Starfire agreed.

“How about you, Jonn?” Lantern asked.

“A headache, but it’s already fading.”

“Good. I suppose we should lend you J’onn until Raven’s back on her feet,” Superman said with a smile. “Unless there’s any objection?”

“Not at all,” J’onn said. “In fact...Kid Flash, would you help me find a young woman? Her name is Faith.”

“Sure thing,”

“What about these kiddoes?” Amber asked, nodding towards the others.

Superman recognized Tara from her voice. “You’ve adapted quickly.”

Amber shrugged. “I was lucky.”

“Maybe it’s more than luck....but in any case, you make a valid point. They are untested, and haven't worked together before....but it’s only right that they play their part in fighting Brainiac. Will you help them?”

“Sure,” Amber said.

“Not to sound ungrateful or anything,” Beast Boy said, “But who do we replace her with?”

“We’ll manage,” Nightwing said.

Lantern looked thoughtful. “Maybe Adam Strange can coordinate with the Titans?”

Superman nodded. “Sound thought....”


-17-


Amber stood before the others who had been abducted by Brainiac. Quintum stood nearby, frowning. “I know you guys don’t know each other,” She said. “But you need to work together.”

Dabney sneered at her with obvious contempt. “I fight, and that’s the end of it.”

“Yeah, I thought that way once too. I learned the hard way.”

“Don’t compare yourself to me!” Dabney spat with real venom. “Maybe you were tough once, but now you’re weak! I will always be strong!”

Amber looked at her sadly. “You don’t know what strength is.”

Dabney sneered, but said no more.

“We can get to Brainiac with one of the Watchtower shuttles,” Amber said.

“I’m all in favor of hitting Brainiac,” Piper said, “But I don’t know if we’ll be tough enough on our own.”

Amber nodded; she didn’t add that her own suit might be vulnerable to Brainiac trying to absorb it, or hack it, or who knew what else. “Lantern has volunteered to shield us.”

Long Shadow nodded. “I’m in.”

Katarina shuddered. “I’ll do what I can....even if I don’t know what I am anymore.”

“Nothing’s changed as far as I’m concerned,” Dabney said. “Yeah, I’ll fight.”

Piper shrugged. “I’ll try. I am more powerful than before.”

Amber smiled behind her visor. “Great.” She turned to Green Lantern. “When do we start?”

But they never got the chance.


-18-


Aztek and Evening Star looked uneasily at each other, then back at Luthor. Neither of them liked it, that was obvious. Deathstroke, on the other hand, had kept his mask on. But Luthor guessed he wasn’t entirely happy with this either.

Lex found it amusing that Superman’s plan to disrupt Brainiac with magic had assisted his own idea. While he was a man of science himself--or more accurately, of it’s more useful technological applications--he was also pragmatic enough to use any weapon that came to hand.

They were now in a remote underground base. Officially it belonged to the Canadian government, buried beneath the frozen surface of Southampton Island, which sat at the northern end of Hudson Bay. But in truth Lex owned it...and all the fascinating technology within.

Including the rather unusual long, dark cannon that pointed at the ceiling of the base. Aztek, Evening Star, and Deathstroke all had their hands on glowing panels at it’s base.

“A weapon that actually uses metahuman power,” Lex Luthor said. “It was tested several times.”

“Did any of the test subjects survive?” Deathstroke said dryly.

“All of them,” Luthor said. “They were drained and exhausted for a time, but all survived.” He didn’t tell them that the first two were still comatose. The others had fared much better. The second round of test subjects had merely been hospitalized for a few days. Nevertheless, he enjoyed watching them squirm, though.

He had no compunction about draining the heroes, but Deathstroke was a useful ally. In any case, using the three of them meant each one would be drained only partially. Additionally, Brainiac's experiments had apparently boosted Deathstroke’s power, which would help more.

Lex hoped that Brainiac's ship would survive this attack. The research data the Colu had garnered from his own experiments would prove invaluable. But either way, he’d manage.

For a moment, Lex felt a rush of....he didn’t have a word for it. Was this the sort of righteous justice the so-called heroes felt when they ‘defended the planet’? After all, that was what he was doing. Even if the heroes wouldn’t see it that way. Clearly, Aztek and Evening Star didn’t seem to.

Certainly Lex had done what he knew was the right thing many times. But this was....different, somehow. He was literally rescuing the planet from an alien threat. Watch this, Superman! he thought, a hot flush of pride in his chest. What you tried to do to Brainiac with Raven’s magic, I’m going to do better!

“Thank you for your assistance,” he said, smiling. He pressed the fire button.

Evening Star, Aztek, and Deathstroke all shouted in pain. The room went dark.

A beam of white hot energy shot upwards, scorching out of the facility and slamming into Brainiac's ship....



To be concluded in Metacrisis Effect #2!


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