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To the attention of the readers who enjoy reading an intelligent main character like Miles will definitely like my original story, Arrival : Ruptures. Comments, likes and reviews are appreciated. Here are the links for : AO3, Spacebattles, Royal Road and Webnovel.
—
Metropolis
Beckett Residence
"Fucking Waller," Karen cursed. She held the briefcase with the DNA samples, considering how to dispose of them. Back on her Earth, Galatea and several of her cousin's clones had caused havoc.
Getting one over Amanda Waller brought a smile to her lips.
She knew that bitch wouldn't be deterred by the loss of the samples. She was too stubborn and had no morals. She would seek other ways to obtain Kryptonian DNA. All three of them would have to look out for her.
"Don't worry, blondie. If Waller shows her face again, we'll be ready to teach her another lesson," Claire said, winking at the Kryptonian.
"She definitely will."
"She has less than a year left in her current position," Miles said, finally done ordering food.
Karen raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms with a smile. "Really?" Booting Waller out of the government wouldn't solve the underlying problem, but it would feel so good.
Miles raised his left index finger to his lips. "No spoilers."
"Alright. Just let me know so I can be there," she said, getting up and taking her jacket.
He walked her to the door. "Wouldn't dream of letting you miss it."
"I gotta go," she said, kissing him lightly on the cheek. "Today was great, as were the last few days. Call me when you have free time."
He grinned lazily, waving after her. "I will. See you." He went back and took his seat, waiting.
"How do we get rid of these?" Claire asked, waving the small briefcase.
"Superman can handle that."
Baraka came out of the kitchen, putting glasses and the soda bottle on the table. "What are we doing in the meantime?"
"Good question," he said, raising a hand to his chin. They could disperse more NEXTINSECTs, but the androids were already handling it. The breakout at Stryker's was prevented; he had gotten rid of Vandal Savage, Amazo was on their side, and the League was dealing with Ranstad-7. Only the Justice Lords were a concern for the future.
He had yet to come up with a solution for that.
"There is actually something," Zalika said, flipping the notebook on the table open. "A man named Mason sent a message. Apparently the Metropolis Police Department received more than one complaint about bug men coming out of the sewers at night. All unconfirmed."
He tilted his head. What did his contact in the MPD, who was silent so far, discover that was important enough to send word?
"Bug men?" That could be a lot of aliens. "Anything specific?"
"Gold and green colored. Again, nothing confirmed," she said. She scanned the CCTVs in the indicated areas but came up with nothing.
Miles leaned back, eyes focusing on the table. On one hand, it could be nothing. On the other hand, there was no harm in checking.
"I know that look. We are going to the sewers," Claire said, shuddering rather dramatically.
"No harm in checking it out. I certainly don't want to leave it to chance." While the sewage system of Metropolis thankfully didn't have the biological diversity of Gotham, it still would pay to be on guard.
"I've never been more grateful for these armors," Baraka said, kissing his watch.
"The locations are here. They are closeby."
"Well done, Zalika. We'll go and check them," he said.
After eating, of course.
—
"Can't believe we are actually doing this," Claire grumbled, climbing down the ladder first. Baraka followed her with Miles last in.
"Nothing unusual, except for these weird marks on the grime."
Blocky, evenly spread-out steps with sharp edges, the possible footprints were heavy, leaving deep marks in the sludge.
"Let's follow them to see if something comes out," he said, floating forward to track the prints. Something told him this wasn't an unseen part of an event he had watched in the show. Whatever was lurking in the sewers either wasn't dangerous and hadn't made its way to the show or something unforeseen was taking place.
The inbuilt scanners did not pick up any other signs.
They were silent to not alert whatever left these marks. He couldn't think of any synthetics with a gold and green color scheme that would be lurking in the sewers of Metropolis. Unless Waylon Jones had cousins, of course.
"Wait, hear that?" Claire whispered. A low clicking sound was echoing through the sewer, accompanied by the occasional screech. Switching to camouflage, they approached the creature. The scanners picked it first, displaying a hulking monstrosity with golden plating and green circuitry.
It clicked on him in an instant.
It was different from the ones he had seen in the show, but he was certain it was a Parademon. It was unlikely for one of Darkseid's transformed troops to be stranded on Earth. It must be here for a purpose.
He dragged his finger across his throat.
Claire and Baraka approached from both sides of the Parademon. They punched it through the chest at the same time. The Parademon went still before trying to turn around. Its head turned halfway to the left, and it went down like a machine unplugged in an instant.
They dragged it to the side, laying it against the wall.
"What is that?" she asked. It certainly wasn't human and looked both organic and robotic.
"A Parademon. One of Darkseid's troops."
"What is it doing here?"
Miles' arm extended, reaching for the golden, boxy object the Parademon was holding close to its chest. Gold-plated like the creature, green glowing lines separated it into four segments. Right in the middle was a big red button with short bars arrayed in a circle. Half of them were grayed out while the rest were a lighter shade of red.
Darkseid was trying to open Boom Tubes to invade Earth.
"Spread out and see if there are more."
Since he hadn't arrived yet, Darkseid must be preparing. With his forces in disarray after Brainiac's invasion and Justice League foiling his plans, the God of Evil needed time to transform more unfortunate aliens to Parademons. The clock seemed to be ticking slowly, which gave him an idea.
If it could be applied, he could shoot down two of the largest birds known with just a stone.
He pressed his earpiece. "Zalika, see if there are any more reports of bug men crawling out of sewers across the globe."
"On it," they said, separating. Claire took the left while Baraka moved around the corner.
He turned his attention to the Parademon. The scanners on the armor weren't meant for in-depth medical scans. He knew how the process worked. Darkseid's army would harvest the organics and move them to Apokolips for the transformation, which would be more canon fodder for his forces.
The specifics of the transformation weren't known to him. The corpse could serve to enlighten him. If it also served to create something that could be used against the Parademons en masse, it would be even better.
Any beneficial discoveries it may yield were just a bonus.
"Miles, all the footprints lead back to your location," Claire's voice said from the comms. Baraka reported the same.
"Extend the search parameter to cover all the known exit points and return if there is nothing," he said. Even if there were more Parademons, there would be only one Mother Box. After all, a single one was more than enough for an invasion.
"Understood."
"Zalika, can you get Raven? I have a question for her." The obvious solution was to get the Mother Box out of Earth.
The smart one was to send it to a place Darkseid would find impossible to conquer.
"Okay, wait a second."
"Miles, did something happen?" Raven asked, yawning.
"Would you be able to send something to Trigon's dimension?" he asked, smiling. Trigon could not possibly make use of the Mother Box. Darkseid, on the other hand, would find himself far away from his desired target.
Too bad he couldn't witness that epic clash.
"What? Why?" she screamed. She slapped her hand over her mouth.
"Darkseid has sent a device to Earth that will open portals for invasion."
"You want him to invade Trigon's dimension?"
"What better way to weaken two enemies than to make them fight?" That would be a battle neither side could hope to come out on top.
She sighed. "I'll see what I can do."
—
Zalika found no other reports of Parademons. There weren't any more in the sewers either. Darkseid probably managed to send this unit to Earth when he attempted to deceive the League and Brainiac.
One Parademon would decrease the chance of discovery greatly. Seeing as he only decided to investigate because he had nothing else to do, the God of Evil might have gotten away with it.
He would pay for it now.
Fifteen out of the thirty bars were gone. It has been over a month since Darkseid arrived on the Watchtower. They had another month at most, though he would have to observe the time between two bars to determine the exact timeline.
A month meant the Motherbox could be studied for potential advancements. An early detection method to be one step ahead of any future invasions would be welcome as well.
However, he wasn't sure if the risk was worth it.
The Mother Box was a living entity. Mere observation wouldn't generate a response, but the second someone started scanning it, Darkseid would know. The risk of forcing him to move his invasion plans forward while the majority of the League was off-planet wasn't worth exploring the small chance that they would be able to glean anything from the supercomputer.
Keeping it under constant watch while Raven worked her magic was the best option.
—
EnviroCorps Robotics Research Center
"Got new orders for me again?" Thomas asked. If an android could be tired, it would look like him.
"Is that any way to speak to the man who came bearing a gift?" Miles said, gesturing to the corpse behind him.
"Now what might this be?" he asked, running scans. "Traces of organic matter. The cybernetic parts are not grafts; they are too smooth. Signs of nanomachine activity. An organism was converted to this."
"Correct. This is a Parademon. Darkseid, the God of Evil, harvests populations from the planets he conquered. They are transformed to become cannon fodder."
"It is nothing like Ivo's database but certainly interesting. What do you want me to do?"
"It is not urgent, but find if they have a weakness that could be weaponized. Otherwise, seek anything that might prove useful."
"I will need to build medical equipment for this."
"As I said, not urgent. Work as you want."
—
He laid the Mother Box on his desk, setting up a camera. It was in clear view of the device. The best time to send it to Trigon's dimension, if they could without inviting the four-eyed demon to Earth, would be when the time almost ran out.
Leaving a small window for either side to act.
"Can I come in?" Raven's bored voice asked after two knocks on the door.
"Of course."
She opened the door, floating inside, covered by her robe. It showed her feelings on the matter quite clearly. She stopped before the Mother Box. "Is this the device?"
"Yes. A Mother Box. It is alive in a way we can't comprehend and extremely advanced."
"Wouldn't studying it be useful?" she asked. She was aware of his penchant for gathering alien tech.
"Even if a mind and the necessary technology to understand this device existed on Earth, I wouldn't risk it. Darkseid might just arrive early if he realizes the device is discovered," he said. Mr. Terrific, Luthor, and perhaps even android Morrow would be able to learn something.
If they had decades.
"You think it is a good idea? What if they just create an alliance?" she asked.
Miles grimaced. It was a pointless question, and she knew it. Trigon would never deign himself to ally with an entity like Darkseid.
"They are both conquerors. They both believe it is their right to rule. Neither would agree to an alliance with the other."
She kept watching the Mother Box. He couldn't begin to guess what was going through her mind. Certainly, she must be worried over the idea of opening a portal to Azarath, even if it was for a short while.
He didn't have to ponder anymore. She removed her hood, her head tilting down ever so slightly.
"Okay. I can send it to Azarath, right where Trigon is, but I'll have to prepare. I also need some materials," she said, turning to him.
Her eyes were narrowed in focus.
"Such as?" he asked, the left corner of his lips slowly rising. He certainly could procure anything she needed.
"Blood for one."
He blinked. "Does it matter how it's obtained?"
"No. As long as it's the blood of a living, thinking being, it's fine."
"That should be easy. Anything else?" The private hospital could hold a blood donation event in return for cash. If some of it was destroyed due to unreported diseases, who cares?
Raven raised an eyebrow but did not question it. "I know the proper incantations. Nothing else is necessary."
"By my estimates, we have a month. Take your time, and if you think the risk is too great, I'll just toss this to Jupiter or something. Darkseid will survive, but not the forces that come through," he said. Tossing it to the sun was his first idea, but if the Mother Box survived and Darkseid was left trapped inside, someone might just make it his problem.
"Think he can kill him?" she asked, standing in the doorway.
He shook his head. "Unlikely."
"Shame."
"It will be fine, Raven. We are on the watchout for any cults."
"Thanks. I need to meditate if there is nothing else."
—
The League had returned victorious. Ranstad-7, or Kalanor as it was called now, was back to its former verdant glory. Despero was beaten and imprisoned, and John's old trainer was back on Oa.
Overall, it was a very successful mission.
"Here," he held the briefcase out.
"Is that?" Clark asked, snatching the briefcase from his hand. He almost tore it apart, seeing two vials inside.
"Yes. The cloning process had already begun, but they were nothing more than degenerating fetuses. We made the base unusable and the scientist in charge was neutralized."
"Neutralized?"
"We erased all the scientific knowledge he had, along with certain memories."
"Who was it?"
"Emil Hamilton."
Superman almost dropped the briefcase. "From S.T.A.R. Labs? He was a friend; why would he do this?"
The case was quite curious. Without Darkseid to brainwash Superman, Hamilton had no reason to fear him. He shouldn't have defected to Cadmus.
Which was where Amanda Waller came into play.
She managed to convince Hamilton that Superman was a potential threat. It wasn't with words of how dangerous he was but with playing into his insecurities. How long would Superman be a good guy? How long before someone close to him got hurt and he decided justice had to be administered another way? How long until another alien came to Earth, wreaking havoc to challenge Superman?
How long until he assaulted another government facility working to protect the people?
She had supplied it with footage of dead soldiers. It was mostly real with some parts about Superman added in later. Hamilton had denied it until Waller brought him proof that the League had taken an extremely dangerous creature the government was containing.
One that could control minds.
Supergirl's heroics, which caused not so small amounts of collateral damage, had helped as well.
Hamilton, no matter how reluctantly, agreed to join Cadmus to create the means to stop Superman should he go rogue. He simply wanted Earth to be ready just in case. Waller was quick to play on it.
Superman thanked him and left silently, clutching the briefcase.
—
In the next chapter:
He came out of the portal, ready to declare his victory.
Only he stood above a plane of endless red and lava.
"What is this trickery?" He sought lifeforms to determine his current location.
One appeared, definitely not a human. "Who are you to intrude on my realm, worm?"
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