Chapter 12 : Final battle for Metropolis
[Author note : Conclusion of the Brainiac mini-arc. It's more an introduction of Ned onto the hero scene, really... As stated in the title of the chapter before.
If you're interested in my stories or want to encourage me, please check out my Patréon : https://www.patréon.com/user?u=66371596 (replace the é by a normal e) or look for Cathbel on their website
KoSP : 2 advanced chapters
The Squib who became Iron Lad... In DC : 3 advanced chapters
Enjoy !]
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Like most of the world at the moment, Jacinth Noir was riveted by the news. She was currently in the common room of the student dorm at MIT, looking at the TV. Unlike the rest of the world however, what drew her interest was one of the heroes in armor. Not because of the feat of engineering, though that too, was interesting, but because of its weapons… For a little over a decade she lived in a magical home and so, she recognized magic when she saw it ! Especially when the man started battering his enemies with bombarda spells like they were candies.
She was extremely curious about the identity of the man who was blatantly using magic, and passing it off as technology… And then, she thought of someone.
« It couldn't be… Right ? »
« What did you say, Jace ? » Marine, her French friend asked her.
« Nothing. I was just thinking… »
« It's crazy, right ? Aliens… First it was weirdos in costumes, then superpowered freaks and now, aliens ! The world's becoming more and more dangerous… »
With a strange smile, Jacinth interjected :
« Isn't it awesome ? »
« Awesome… ? » Marine didn't seem to agree. In fact, she looked at her as if she wasn't right in the head.
« I mean… It makes you wonder about what we truly know about our world and universe. The more of these strangeness we discover and the more we find out that… There's still so much more to discover ! »
« You're not turning psycho scientist on me, are you ? »
Their conversation was interrupted when the city of Metropolis started to disappear into the alien ship. Jacinth muttered :
« I really hope I'm wrong and I don't have to look for a job, again… »
* * * * *
Ned barely managed to get out before the city started to shrink… Thankfully, his drone had followed him out. He really didn't want Brainiac to get his mechanical hands on his tech ! But it made him wonder… Magic wasn't something exclusive to Earth and with the multitudes of alien races and cultures, they were bound to be things similar to his Technomancy out there. Why the hell didn't Brainiac account for it on his drones ? He doubted the Collector of Worlds hadn't collected something similar…
« Not the time, Ned ! » He shook his head before ordering Mel : « Find me Superman or Steel, please ! »
« Superman is currently fighting the Metallo while Steel is rescuing civilians. Which one do you want to reach first ? »
« Steel's probably better off helping people and I can't do shit against someone like Brainiac… It's Superman's job ! Get me to him ! »
* * * * *
« I-I… I can't believe this, folks ! I'm beyond shocked ! The world is really facing an unprecedented crisis, right now ! The city… The city of Metropolis has been taken ! The alien ship used some kind of alien technology to shrink the city… It begs the question : what happened to the people ? And also… What will the aliens do next ? »
Suddenly, a loud sonic boom echoed and the cameraman tried to follow the sound to find a trail of blue and silver flying toward the edge of the crater. The journalist commented :
« I think that's the silver armored person who was fighting in the city ! He seemed to have made it out safely… We'll try and see what he'll do next but… It's still a war zone out there ! In fact, it's even worse than most war zones on Earth… »
* * * * *
« He's okay ! He's okay ! » Sarah repeated like a mantra seeing her son flying like he was chased by dementors.
« Yeah, he is ! » Edmond sighed in relief as he, too, was anxious about his son. Then, he swore : « Dammit ! If only there wasn't the Statute… »
This time, it was the wife's turn to comfort her husband :
« Like you said, Ed, they can't know about Ned. And besides… We wouldn't be able to help much, would we ? »
In his mind, Ed was thinking that there was another armor in his son's workshop right now…
* * * * *
Superman was starting to get tired. The kryptonite was making him sick and weak, and the cyborg's punches were taking their toll on the Man of Steel. He was bleeding, tasting his blood for the first time since he was a kid… Moreover, he was feeling defeated : his city had been taken right from under his nose and he couldn't do anything to stop it !
Just as he was about to surrender, letting Metallo take his life or whatever else he might have planned, a silver and blue figure he recognized crashed into the cyborg, sending him rolling on the pavement.
« Superman ! » The kid yelled. « Sorry, I'll be taking this guy off you hands ! You need to stop the alien ship… We can't let it take any more cities ! »
In the heat of the moment, Ned almost told him to rescue the city… But the fact that the city wasn't lost shouldn't be known at the moment. And then, the squib paid attention to the Kryptonian's appearance : torn shirt and denim pants, blood stains here and there. He was even slightly out of breath and his gaze seemed… hopeless.
« Maybe you should recharge or something… And I don't know, the guy called himself Collector of Worlds so maybe the city isn't lost… »
It was true, after all. When he arrived, Brainiac had hacked every computers and TV signals to introduce himself to the world… So, at least, Ned could 'hypothesize' this. He'd rather Superman didn't go all Injustice on them. He was pretty sure Lois Lane was in the city when it was taken. True, they still haven't started dating, and depending on the version of Superman, they might not even date at all. Still, better safe than sorry when facing a god-like person.
There were so many versions of the stories where Superman turned evil… And almost always, the world turned to shit ! At least, in Injustice, Superman was still trying to protect it, though he did so in a tyrannical way. Killing criminals, trying to end wars by conquering the world… It might even work but at the expense of people's freedom and in the US, that's just impossible for most people to accept ! Maybe if he was based in another country, he'd have more support…
Ned inwardly shook his head as the Kryptonian's eyes lit up. Without a word, he nodded with a grateful smile on his lips before jumping and soaring toward the sky. The Silver Lad turned back toward his opponent. Metallo extracted himself from the concrete he was embedded in and turned his attention toward the young man.
« You… How did you get out ? » The voice of Brainiac spoke using John Corben's vocal cords.
Ned shrugged, the movement accompanied by the sounds of servomotors whirring.
« Foolish child… Had you let yourself be captured, you wouldn't have to suffer ! » Saying this, his eyes lit up with a green glow.
Ned aimed the palm of his hand toward his opponent, the focus lighting up with a fiery glow. Kryptonite, the substance that powered John Corben's armor, and his life, was radioactive. Since he hadn't studied it, he couldn't be sure, but it was safe to say that it was powerful, and long-lasting. After all, Lex Luthor used it in almost all of his own weapons and armors in a bid to fight and kill his nemesis. If it shorted out after just a few bouts with Superman, Lex wouldn't make for a good nemesis now, would he ? He wondered if it was similar to a nuclear reactor…
Still, despite the risk of blowing up the man and unleashing a possible mushroom cloud, Ned was determined to fight. Protecting himself wouldn't be of much use in the long run. His own reserves would empty out before his opponent's. So, all he was left with was… to deactivate the cyborg somehow.
They both fired simultaneously. Metallo with a green fluorescent glow, and Ned with the white one of a high temperature fire beam. Inwardly, he thanked magic for how nonsensical it was sometimes… Then again, at this point, he didn't wield so much fire as he did light… A highly concentrated one, akin to a sun.
And yet, the beams struggled almost evenly. He was gaining ground but not much… So, he started walking forward, hoping that his steps added to his attack's progression. It did… Though it took almost all his strength just to take a few steps.
« Now, Mel ! » Ned yelled.
His drones opened two portals. One in-between them, while the other was perpendicular to the ground, right above his enemy. The two attacks entered the portals from two different directions… The green beams ended up aiming at the sky and the other…
Metallo looked up… He didn't even have time to put his hands up before the fire beam struck. Before the cyborg was melted (or worse, going on a meltdown), Ned switched to non-lethal and sent a series of stunners and paralyzing spells.
He stopped after a few seconds of bombardment, letting the dust cloud settle a bit. On guard, he waited… only to discover Metallo lying on the ground, unmoving.
« Mel ? Is he… ? »
« Alive… Though it's debatable considering his state. His heart is no more and has been replaced by a kryptonite reactor. Nevertheless, he seems to be unconscious from my scans. »
Ned sighed.
« Thanks, Mel ! » Looking at the prone figure, he added : « Finally ! It didn't last very long and yet… I felt like it has ! »
Looking around, he said :
« Alright ! Time for clean up ! »
* * * * * *
A couple of hours later, the city was returned and Brainiac retreated. Then, Superman joined Steel and Ned in the rescue efforts and rebuilding. The attack, brief as it was, was devastating. Millions of dollars in damage… Uncountable losses of lives… In the weeks to come, social services would be swamped : orphans, people who lost their homes in the attack. The city services too would have work to do for a long time. A number of roads were either blocked by debris or destroyed by the fighting and explosions. A few buildings weren't safe and needed either to be demolished or rebuilt.
So, the three heroes stopped and started to plan :
« How long can you both hold out ? » Superman asked.
Ned smiled wryly under his face plate. The damn Kryptonian was a solar-powered machine who just had to take a ten minutes break to fly in space, soak in the unfiltered rays of the sun and come back down fresh as a daisy ! Ned, on the other hand, needed a much longer time for his mana reactors to fill back up… However, he had no idea about Steel.
He shrugged and admitted :
« Unlike you, I can't go on too long. One, I'm a base human without powers and need rest. Two, my armor needs to recharge. My batteries are already stretched thin as is… »
John Henry Irons, face uncovered, interjected :
« My situation is similar. Although it uses solar energy to recharge, it cannot keep up with the current consumption. »
« Although I could continue almost forever, I have… other obligations. »
Ned noticed how Superman's ear twitched and he turned his face in a certain direction.
Right ! He can hear everyone on Earth crying out for help… Ned thought. Not to mention his civilian life. Clark Kent who doesn't cover such a major event… Yeah, that would raise eyebrows.
Then, their conversation was interrupted by a dark-haired woman, followed closely by a red-head young man. Superman tensed slightly when he saw them and looking at her blue eyes and her confident gait, Ned knew who she was… Not that he needed to guess :
« Lois Lane for the Daily Planet ! Are you discussing the rescue efforts ? Do you have a minute for a quick interview ? »
The three heroes shared a glance and they nodded. Superman smiled, a gentle and sad smile, and said :
« Sure, Lois ! What can we do for you ? »
« Well… We know about you Superman, and we have been able to find a few informations about you, Doctor Irons. But… We have no idea about your other friend, here. What should we call you ? »
« I guess you can call me Silver Lad. »
« Are you a resident of Metropolis ? »
Ned shook his head :
« I'm from New York. When I saw the news I just… I decided I needed to do something. I'm guessing it's the same reason why Superman has taken on the cape… Love the new suit, by the way ! »
Superman had changed ever since he came back from Brainiac's ship. Gone were the denim pants and shirt, now he stood in all his Kryptonian glory with a high-tech alien mesh red and blue suit of armor.
« Thanks, kid. » Superman smiled for a moment.
« So, you operate out of New York ? I'm guessing New Yorkers must be very proud to have such a hero… Though it begs the question, why haven't we heard of you ? »
« Well, miss Lane, that's because I didn't 'operate' before today. » He paused for a while and continued : « When I saw what was happening here… I think like most people, I didn't believe it. I couldn't ! Still, I decided to check it out… I figured if there really was such an attack, my help would be needed… »
« How old are you ? » Lois asked, frowning. « Your voice might be distorted but… You still don't sound very old. »
« I'm old enough. And more importantly, I had the skills to help and so I did. I think if you have the skills or the powers to help in a situation like this, you… well, should help. Whether you have the intelligence, the strength or the preternatural gifts some people possess and you don't use it to give a helping hand… It's a waste. At least, that's what I believe and the reason I came out here. Now if you'll excuse me, miss Lane… I think it's time I get back to it ! »
The silver and blue armored figure bent at the knees and then, with a whoosh, soared, looking for people to rescue…