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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
"You know, I half expected there to be a crime that would interrupt our date," Karen muttered, watching the surrounding area for any sign of a disruption.
Miles chuckled. "So did I, yet I never voiced it."
"Never took you for one as superstitious," she said, winking at him. He watched her blonde hair shine in the sun, her deep blue eyes twinkling.
A nearby explosion wiped her smile off.
Miles winked at Karen. The Kryptonian hung her head, mumbling, "Shut up."
In the middle of the street, an armored car just rammed through the front wall of a local bank, with robbers quickly deploying.
"We should leave. Superman won't be far behind," he said. Whatever those fools were thinking, he did not know.
"Yeah, okay."
"Feeling superstitious yet?" he asked, walking into an alley with her, out of the way.
"This was just a coincidence, nothing more," she said, though her tone didn't match her words.
"Keep telling yourself that," he said with a light tone, activating the teleporter to take them to another alleyway near the amusement park. However, his League communicator beeped, stopping them.
"Sorry about that, Green Lantern is calling," he explained, answering the call.
"Lantern, what do I owe the pleasure?"
"Do you have anything on what is happening at Randstad-7?" he asked, voice strained.
Ah, John's old trainer was in trouble now. "I heard that a self-proclaimed prophesied savior named Despero is acting up, but it was nothing important enough."
"Wait, I remember that," Karen whispered, reaching down to his ear.
"Stay on the line for a minute, Lantern," he said, listening to her explain what details she remembered.
He nodded at her with a smile. "He has a power source, Flames of Py'tar. It is the natural life force of Kalanor. Despero decided to use it for his own ends rather than release the flames and let it restore the planet's ecosystem."
"Where do I find it?" John asked, growling.
"No idea. Maybe the locals can help. Are you taking reinforcements with you?" he asked, knowing he was not.
"No, which is a bad idea now that I know what is at stake. I'll call the League and the Lantern Corps."
"Good luck there."
"Thanks," Lantern said, ending the call.
He pocketed the communicator, giving her a slight bow. "I owe you one for that."
"Don't mention it."
"I wonder what made Green Lantern go all the way there."
"I don't remember much, but I think it was something about his trainer being there."
"Ah."
"Say, what other nuggets of gold do you have from your time with your League?" he asked. If the Justice League on her world lived through a similar set of events, learning what she knew could be the edge they needed against the Justice Lords.
"I'll send you a list."
"Much obliged."
She leaned down, whispering to his ear. "Since you are an information broker, what do I get in return?"
Miles tilted his head, feeling her hot breath tingle his ear. "I was thinking you could have your pick of the scientists from EnviroCorps."
She was such a tease.
"I'll take that, thank you," she said, wrapping her arm around his.
He reached into his pocket, pulling out the ringing phone. "Zalika."
"Miles, we found where they took the DNA samples," she said, stopping the couple just as they were two steps away from leaving the alleyway.
"DNA samples?" Karen asked, her lips parting slightly.
"Supergirl's and Superman's," he explained.
"What?!" she hissed, pulling him further back into the alleyway.
"Send me the location; tell Claire and your brother to get ready," he said to Zalika.
It was time for payback.
"I am coming too."
"Dress up then," he said, activating the teleporter again.
—
Tonopah
Nevada Desert
"Where are we, Zalika?" he asked. The desert around them stretched on as far as the eye can see.
"Tonopah, Nevada desert. It's between Las Vegas and Reno; nothing for hundreds of miles."
"The perfect place for a secret base," he mumbled.
Two light beams appeared on their right, depositing Claire and Baraka behind the boulder. "Miles, ready for the party?"
"Oh yes," he grinned.
"Found it. There is a landing pad hidden right over there," Karen said, pointing out a finger between
"How do we do this?"
If only they had Martian Manhunter's abilities, this would have been so simple. Phase through the ground, nab the samples, start a fire, and leave. Stealth was a difficult option with all entrances controlled from the inside. Zalika was searching for any transit manifest, but the systems were closed off.
They could not avoid detection, but perhaps they could draw Cadmus' attention elsewhere.
"We go straight in," he said, activating his armor and switching the outer layer to something every American would recognize.
—
Karen jabbed her fingers into where the bays met the dusty earth. Her natural strength crushed the metal like tinfoil. She grasped the retractable door, pulling up with her knees. There was a groan, and most likely all alarms inside the base were triggered. The door was ripped off its connection points, kicking up a cloud of dust. She launched it away as if it wasn't a multi-ton slab of metal large enough to cover an assault helicopter.
They jumped into the abyss.
It took them ten seconds to hit the ground and meet with weapons fire. They pinged off the armor uselessly, but the flash of light gave them a visual of the enemy.
—
"Professor Hamilton, we must get you out of here."
"Who is attacking?"
"The Intergang. Our defenses can't stop them."
"But the samples!"
"Take what you can but be quick. We have less than a minute."
—
Karen flew throughout the base, body slamming each soldier in her path to unconsciousness. She had already located the bioresearch wing, and her target was the Kryptonian DNA samples.
Claire and Baraka did not make use of their powers, only using their physical capabilities enhanced by the armor. So far the soldiers stationed in the base were proving to be easy work.
Claire caught two troops by the face, slamming their heads together hard enough to knock both of them out. She took an empty supply crate next, using it to slam the soldiers trying to overwhelm her in close combat against the opposite wall. She swept her feet, taking down a soldier carrying a knife, and brought her foot down on his face.
Baraka was more green in his fighting. He had time to learn the basics, and this was the perfect place to gain experience. The soldiers could not get through his armor while he got a taste of what fighting against a numerically superior enemy was.
A soldier managed to catch him in a chokehold, stabbing his knife over and over to the young man's chest. Baraka held the soldier by the arm around his neck, throwing him to the nearest wall. Three more dogpiled on him. He headbutted one on the nose, sending him stumbling back. He raised his arms, along with the soldiers trying to drag him down, and began to spin, launching them in opposite directions.
He stopped and shook his head before continuing to fight.
Miles watched from the back, scanning for an access port. Cadmus was unlikely to create a base of this size just for the sake of cloning a Kryptonian. Karen would catch the scientist responsible for the cloning process. Galatea was a problem, but Superboy had proven to be a hero. He did not know which one they were working on, possibly both, but retrieving the DNA samples of his friends would be for the best.
It would be a pity to not have him around to subvert Luthor's plans.
He detected a room on a higher level, only accessible by an elevator. He switched into invisibility, strolling through the battlefield. He ducked as a soldier went flying over his head and stopped when Claire double-kicked a scientist that was trying to escape.
The elevator required a special access code. He gave it in the form of ripping the door out and flying through the elevator shaft. He pried the door open, seeing a utilitarian room with no occupants. A single computer lay on the desk, still in working condition.
Hair-thin, blue tendrils extended out of his fingers, accessing the computer's disk to download everything. A small, personal computer would not have the research data but the operational logs of the base. They would be useful in determining if there was anything of value to take.
Plans to clone Superman and Supergirl, as well as other members of the League, at least the ones with natural powers. Specific weapons to take down each member, starting with a kryptonite ray. Research into alien tech that hadn't revealed much and metahuman tests.
Claire wasn't going to like the last one.
The base was a recent one with not much else under research. It was best to scrap everything and move along.
"Miles, they are activating self-destruct."
"Karen, what is the status of the samples?"
—
"Give me a minute," she said, backhanding another soldier to the ground.
"Claire, Baraka, stop them. Let the runners go; we'll scrap everything here."
"On it."
She stood before the door leading into the lab with the scientist trying to escape. A kick sent the door flying inside. It slammed to the wall right next to the emergency exit, stopping the Cadmus personnel from leaving.
Two soldiers escorting the scientist turned around, raising their weapons to fire. She blurred, smashing their heads against the wall. They crumpled down like a house of cards.
She wrapped a hand around the scientist's white coat, pulling him close. "Hey, Doc, let's talk." Seeing the briefcase he was holding, she glanced inside, seeing two vials with clear labels.
Karen snarled, ripping the briefcase out of the scientist's hand.
She moved to the computer, reading the status of the three embryos growing inside the tanks. Each one reported cellular degeneration, expected to die within weeks. She activated the purge, destroying the embryos.
—
She watched the soldiers run away, grinning to herself. Beating those bastards felt so good. Not only, they also had the self-destruct command codes, leaving them in full control of the base.
"Miles, we have the self-destruct codes. The rest of the guards evacuated. What do we do?"
"Zalika is deleting the security logs. I am sending you two directions. Burn everything in those sections down; leave nothing behind."
"You don't have to tell me twice. Come on, kid, time to stick it to the government."
Their first target was the weapons development section, which included shards of kryptonite. She took those for proper disposal and released a twin torrent of flames, letting her frustration with the memories this place brought out to the surface bleed into them. Science stations melted down in one pass, and the weapons turned to slag.
Baraka was just as enthusiastic for different reasons. The chance to let loose his powers was rare. The chromatic beam detonated the explosive parts, covering the entire room in flames and smoke.
Undeterred, they continued to burn everything of value down.
—
Miles sat on a chair, feet on the desk, hands conjoined at the back of his head, watching the base burn down.
He just needed popcorn.
The knocked-out soldiers did not stay that way for long. Seeing the status of the base, they were all too quick to evacuate rather than fight. He would have destroyed the base, but there existed an opportunity.
A quite amusing one.
—
Once they were outside the base, Karen dropped the scientist on his ass. Brown, buzzcut hair, a well-groomed pencil mustache and a goatee, square glasses, and a white lab coat, he knew who this person was.
"Professor Hamilton. I hope we didn't frighten you too much. At least, not enough that you can't answer our questions," Miles said, patting the man on the shoulder.
"O-of course," Hamilton stuttered, pulling his tie loose.
"Are those the only samples Cadmus has?"
"As far as I know, yes," he said. The armor scanned his heartbeat and other biological responses to determine whether the man was lying or not.
It was difficult with how scared he was.
"You wouldn't lie to us, would you, professor? My friend here is rather irritated at the situation."
"You are not Intergang," Hamilton said. He had seen enough of Intergang's work to know they did not operate like this.
Claire reached down, squeezing the scientist's shoulders. "Don't you worry about that. Just answer the questions."
"The command keeps everything compartmentalized. Even if they did, I would never know."
"True enough," Miles said. It was a long shot anyway.
He turned to Karen, seeing her stiff stance. "Do you have anything to ask him?"
"No."
"Are you going to kill me?" Hamilton asked. It was a natural quest.
Karen's helmet broke into nanobots, flowing into the neck section. Her eyes glowed, firing twin lances. They passed right near Hamilton's neck, harmlessly hitting the ground.
Hamilton's hand flew to his neck, looking for any sign of a wound. His wide eyes turned on Karen, and he scrambled back.
"No," she growled at the man. No matter how much she wanted to, she was not a cold-blooded executioner.
"You are a Kryptonian."
"I am."
"What are you going to do to me?"
"Don't worry, Professor; you won't remember any of this."
He pressed his earpiece, smiling at the doctor with twinkling eyes.
"Send Manchester."
—
Amanda's poker face slowly broke down with each second the elevator took her to the base. She wanted to see the total damage with her own eyes and the message left for her.
The elevator, the only working piece of machinery in the base, came to a slow stop. She approached the captain in charge, who rushed to salute her.
"Report."
"The base is a total loss, ma'am. The Intergang burned everything they did not take down. We can't even make a count of what was looted because there is nothing left."
She pinched the bridge of her nose. "You said Hamilton was alive." Hamilton's knowledge in genetic engineering was extensive, and he understood the necessity for their work. If he was still alive and in one piece, then it wasn't a total loss.
"Best you see for yourself, ma'am," the captain said, signaling at two men.
They escorted Emil Hamilton, who looked around with wide eyes. "Professor Hamilton, what happened here?" she asked, only for the man to look at her blankly.
"Who?"
"He doesn't remember anything, not even his own name."
"Take him away for a check-up. If his scientific knowledge is intact, he can still be useful," she ordered. Whatever the fuck the Intergang was up to, she would make them pay.
"You also said there was a message for me."
"Yes ma'am," the captain said, raising a finger at the top of the entrance into the base.
Waller, Waller, you naughty fat manatee.
Waller did not scream, no matter how much she wanted to.
—
In the next chapter:
"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.
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