They say no plan survives first contact with the enemy. But what if before enacting a plan, you put things in place to ensure that the enemy could mount no meaningful resistance or response?
That was essentially what our rescue plan boiled down to. A lesser form of shock and awe tactics deployed one after another in quick succession while we went about our actual objectives.
First off, our entry and exit needed to be lightning quick. For that I envisioned a single path from the roof down to the basement where Will was being held.
The building had two floors above ground. To create the path we needed, we used matter phase shifters based on scans of Manhunter's powers. We deployed one on the roof to gain entry onto the second floor, and two more to reach the basement.
With our gravity boots and optical camo, slipping through the intangible sections into the building's interior and disabling the guards went on swiftly and without problem.
Down in the basement within the midst of our oblivious enemies, I remained airborne and slid over to a position right above Psimon. The team on the other hand, took their own positions and completed their assigned tasks.
Going after Ra's or his inner circle was too risky and not worth the effort. We wouldn't be able to hand him over to any authorities because he wasn't on any wanted lists.
However the same could not be said for the enforcers under his command. All of them were wanted for various crimes, so when it was time for me to give the go ahead, I didn't hesitate.
I tapped the waiting button on my watch's screen and the operation began.
The matter phase shifters sliced the circular portions of the structure they had rendered intangible, separating them from the main building before detonating themselves with their self-destruct mechanisms.
That was the moment I chose to act and take down Psimon, the telepath unaware of what hit him. The psi helmets were the right call after all.
Meanwhile, Rob deployed the special smoke bombs and went after Black Spider, deploying a small explosive on the villain's back mounted web pack, taking advantage of the device's weakness.
While the discount spider-man got encased in his own out-of-control web-fluid like a cocoon, Kid Flash zoomed about the chaos, deploying the trap meant to keep Devastation in place and then cracking Professor Ojo and Icicle in their heads.
Cheshire and Sportsmaster fell to Roy and Kaldur respectively, while Superboy tore the restraints off of Will before carrying him and leaping up straight through the hole in the middle of the building.
The last one to fall was Hook, Roy seizing control of the cartoon villain's weapon with the tractor beam in his wrist and then smashing him in the face with it.
In the spirit of this mission being not just a rescue but a capture one as well, I yanked Psimon toward me with a web line after striking him with the Soulsword, dosed him with a potent tranquilizer, and then tossed him into the tractor beam deployed by the Zephyr at my command.
The rest of the team followed suit with their own targets and soon, we were out of the building.
Cloaked from all manner of sight, I stood atop the ship and fired webs at the boys, yanking them up one after the other. While they retreated to the insides of the ship, I watched the rear just in case anything decided to go tits up.
My foresight was proven right as Ra's ordered his armed shadows to aim away from the tractor beam.
Some of the bullets missed the underside of the ship and sailed upward, but moving out their paths was easy. Frankly, it wasn't them I was worried about. Even if they each equipped rocket launchers, they wouldn't be able to scratch the ship.
Devastation however, would crumple it like a soda can if her recorded feats were accurate and not exaggeration. I doubted the spur of the moment prison would keep her in place for long, and I was right to think so.
When the last prisoner entered the ship and I made to enter the hatch myself, the back of my head tingled strongly. My gun left my hip in an instant and a loud roar cut through the momentary silence.
Brute-rated explosive rounds prepared for this eventuality, I aimed at the rising behemoth of a woman and sent a quick command to the ship, shutting the hatch.
I fired a round and it went off in her face. The resulting detonation cancelled her momentum and I jumped down, carving an invisible arc in the air before kicking her straight across the face.
Continuing the arc with my boots, I climbed back up and latched onto the ship. Mental commands were issued and it started moving, leaving the island at a rapid pace.
"Sir, Wonder Woman is here," Mike sent over as I entered the ship while riding the wave of pride at executing a successful mission.
The 'what do you mean by here?' died a quick death when the tall Amazonian herself stood in the ship's interior, light glinting off the gold in her tiara and armor and the silver of her bracelets.
"Princess," I said and glanced at her disapproving expression, the disloyal Zeta-Platform, the unconscious villain enforcers being fitted with restraints, the rest of the team huddled around Will, and then back at her.
"Specialist," she said, arms on her hips. "Batman sent me when Analyst relayed the details of events to us."
'Of course he did.'
She took a step forward and panned her gaze across the ship. "What you did was reckless—"
"Princess, everything you're going to say is probably true, but can we do it later?" I pointed at Psimon," Brainy here was poking around in Will's head. We need to get him to Manhunter now in case there's any damage or unwanted side effects. You can scold us all you want later."
Her gaze softened and moved away from me to Will.
"Very well. Let's return to the island," she said and grabbed her lasso, unfurling it. "Before that, we do this," she held out the golden rope to Will. She must've sensed the others getting defensive because she explained her intentions immediately.
"If there are any hidden commands or alterations, the lasso will undo them."
"It can do that?" said Kid.
"Yes. The lasso compels the truth—no matter what form it takes."
Bruised and battered in a way that suggested his capture hadn't been an easy task, Will kept his right arm wrapped around his side and reached forward with his free one.
The air grew tense. Juvenile fists clenched and breaths slowed to near nothing. Narrowed and focused eyes stared with rapt attention as Will grabbed the rope. The divine artifact lit up, and the tension rose sharply before beginning a rapid decline.
"Uhh… am I supposed to feel something?" the subject in question asked.
Sporting a beautiful and relieved smile, Wonder Woman drew back her lasso and put it back on her hip. "Only if you've been subverted. Which appears not to be the case."
"~Whew," Will released a sigh and fell back in his seat, wincing and clutching his side harder.
"Kid," I said, earning the speedster's attention. "First aid kit. Over there," I pointed at a spot near the cargo hold. He zipped over and returned in a flash, leaving my hands occupied.
"Use this," I passed Will an inhaler after retrieving it from the box.
He did it without hesitation and moaned in relief. His hand left his side and he sat upright, blinking a few times.
"What was that?" Roy asked.
"Stims and a healing agent. Dulls pain and boosts regeneration by one thousand percent."
They boys did a double take.
"Dude…"
Well, some of them. For Superboy and Kaldur, this probably didn't seem like anything impressive. Though I'm sure in the latter's case the presence of magic and advanced technology in his nation was the reason for his lackluster reaction.
As for the former, he was a clone of Superman. He couldn't even get hurt. Or so he believed.
"I'm certainly feeling it," Will said breathily and stood up, eyes bright and cheery. He twisted his body from side to side and moved his limbs about like his bruises and fractures were a thing of the past.
"I am glad you're feeling better. But need I remind you that we're not alone here?" Wonder Woman interjected, drawing our attention to the unconscious captives. "We need to get them to holding cells."
"One of them won't be going," I shook my head. "Psimon can't leave until Manhunter clears him."
Wonder Woman rounded on me. "I assume from your tone, you have a way of getting him here even though he's on a flight to Mars."
"I do. We've been having regular check-ins," I said and looked up into thin air. "Mike, when's the next one?"
"Three minutes and fifty seven seconds."
"That's enough time for us to return and give a report to Batman."
"Yeeaahhh, good luck with that," Rob drawled, Kid snickering behind him. Roy and Will chuckled and even the normally stoic Kaldur and Superboy looked faintly amused.
"You guys know he's not that scary right?"
This time it was Wonder Woman who chuckled. I rounded on her and found a faint smirk on her lips. She patted the lasso and said, "Are you willing to testify under oath?"
"Nope."
No way.
.
.
.
.
Giving Batman a rundown of events had been a completely bloodless affair, unlike what my young compatriots believed.
Sure, there was some obvious displeasure, not just from him but from the other Leaguers, but I weathered it all. Facts were laid down on both ends of the conversation and I accepted faults and mistakes when they were pointed out.
The powerfully disarming nature of a simple sorry and staying absolutely calm no matter what words were thrown around were my most potent assets. Ones I carried over from my previous life.
People, reasonable people, lost a lot of wind in their sails when you acknowledged their concerns without pushback. And that is what allowed me to emerge not only unscathed but in an even better light.
However, surviving didn't mean I was out of the woods yet. "From the frying pan to the fire," was an avid description for my current situation.
From the League's self reports and Mike's timely updates, over two hundred sane (highly doubtful) men had willingly injected themselves with Kobra-Venom and turned into the large, musclebound freaks we fought on Santa Prisca.
Due to the League, well, being the League, they had won their individual battles and rounded up all the KVed idiots. There had been destruction of government and public property on a large scale, lots of injuries from first responders and civilians, and even a few deaths.
People were angry, and some of them happened to be in places of authority.
Perhaps anticipating the hell of putting the freaks in holding cells, processing, trying, and transferring every one of them to a prison that could hold them, some governments had given the League the green light to expedite things.
All the cultists and goons crazy enough to do this to themselves were being sent straight to Belle Reve. No processing in police stations, no sentencing in court rooms.
They were to remain under lock and key indefinitely while the aforementioned legal processes were undertaken. And that's where I came in.
Due to the sheer amount of work to be done, Batman had personally asked for my assistance; one, with regards to the transfer process. My Zeta-Platforms, brute restraints, and electric ammunition were going to be heavily involved. And two, concerning the identities of the freaks and any information they had on their employers.
The grotesque transformation had thrown the genetic profiles and biometric data of the freaks out of whack. DNA was the way to go, but even on that front, I expected some mutations due to the presence of Genomorph DNA in the Kobra-Venom formula.
Not only did we need to fully map out and understand how the super steroid changed DNA, we had to use the data we found to calibrate an analyzer that would work on the freaks.
On the matter of getting them to cough up data on The Light, even I wouldn't have been able to help without psi technology. Cracked skin and exposed muscles weren't the only negative side effects of the transformation.
Apart from roaring like damn beasts, all the transformed had lost the ability to speak. Just like Blockbuster. However, even if we fitted them with psi devices that let them translate their thoughts into audio, there was nothing forcing them to talk.
And we needed that evidence. The Light couldn't be allowed to continue pulling shit like this. They needed to be dragged into the real light and answer for their many, many crimes.
The third thing Batman asked for my help on was synthesizing a cure or something that could reverse the transformation. He wanted me to work with S.T.A.R. Labs, citing that they'd already been commissioned on that project.
Scenes of the vicious flesh change flashed through my mind, and the words "it's impossible" leapt to the forefront. However, I was learning to dismiss that sentiment whenever it came up. So instead of saying it, I thought of possible solutions.
It couldn't be another serum.
The effects of Kobra-Venom were concrete and permanent. The alterations it made to a user's physiology were not something to be countered with a simple drug. Undoing it would require a level of biological overhaul that brought to mind the scans of Captain Atom's powers.
It seemed I had no choice but to take the treacherous leap into the science of organic matter manipulation. Not that I hadn't taken it already, but this, this was on a drastically different scale. Essentially rewriting someone down to their DNA.
The things I could do if I mastered this technology.
Shaking my head and exhaling a puff of steam, I focused on the matter at hand and raised Faust's head, holding the small, square-shaped device to the back of it.
A small needle jutted out of its face and I gently pushed it into the back of his skull. I retrieved a tablet from my armpit and activated the adhesive function of the device, ensuring it remained in place.
Flipping the sorcerer over so he lay on his face, I stood up and tapped at the tablet's screen, activating the true function of the device. Nanites carrying the coding and purpose of Soulkiller flooded his brain and got to work.
Heavily refined and having undergone multiple iterations with all my powers and available technology working in tandem, Cyberpunk's arguably greatest achievement, a failed attempt at immortality, saw its first ever use in this world.
Unlike the original, this one didn't kill the user during the process (I had made absolutely sure of that) and had a better chance of obtaining the memories with near perfect fidelity.
Unfortunately, no matter how much I tweaked it, the best way to improve it was through testing and rooting out the imperfections. Said imperfections being brain damage, as I observed on the tablet.
Thankfully, Faust was marked for death anyway.
Long story short, he had done something to earn Hades' ire and ended up dying as a result. Instead of being sent to the death god's domain as intended, he persisted as a soul and escaped with Tala's help, the mirror serving to hide and protect his fragile existence.
This was what Tala told Batman when he interrogated her, and Wonder Woman had confirmed it by asking the god in question. Because Hades wanted his rightful toy back, and the Amazon princess aimed to deliver.
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1-10 advanced chapters on: https://patreon.com/MasterReigen