Ultimate Justice League #3: War of Krypton, Part 3

[DiscipleofBob]

Justice League #3
War of Krypton

By DiscipleofBob

Previously on Justice League...

With no notice or time to prepare, Earth's greatest heroes were magically teleported to the center of a war between Zod's Kryptonian army and Lex Luthor's anti-Superman army of robots and clones, a war which could very easily result in Earth's destruction. In a desperate attempt to buy time, Batman and Green Arrow brought an unconscious Zatanna to the hostile ARGUS base, while Wonder Woman and Aquaman went to Zod to plead for peace. Both efforts in diplomacy ended in vain, but Green Arrow managed to revive Zatanna and procure ARGUS technology and weapons. Zod himself pursued the superheroes to put a stop to their interference, but was caught by surprise by their newest ally, Green Lantern.

-- J L --

"I'm Green Lantern of Sector 2814. This is my planet and my jurisdiction you're trying to conquer. Let me show you how a Green Lantern welcomes alien invaders."

Despite his confidence, Green Lantern knew all too well what a Kryptonian was capable of. Just because he'd thrown everything he had at General Zod didn't mean it would be even close enough to keep him down. The problem with such a barrage is that it kicked up a very obstructive cloud of snow and debris, and while he could use his ring to scan for Zod's status, he needed every ounce of focus on defense in case...

Two red lasers shot out from the obscuring cloud, hitting Green Lantern in the shoulder and almost instantly cutting through the green aura protecting his body.

"AAGH," Green Lantern briefly gasped in pain as the lasers burned and cauterized a fresh wound in his shoulder. He needed more protection, and more willpower to fuel it. Zod rocketed off the ground, showing no real signs of injury, but every indication of rage at the surprise attack. Even if he as a normal human couldn't react in time, his ring activated at the speed of thought, putting a large green barricade between them.

Zod lunged at his target, punched through the barricade, and sent Green Lantern flying, but the barricade had done its job and absorbed most of the impact. Zod quickly pursued his prey, and it was all Green Lantern could do to keep up a shield that would prevent him from being ground into meat paste from supersonic punches, all while trying to form additional.

Zod's singular focus left him vulnerable to a green energy wrapping around his waist. Once it was fully formed, the giant green trebuchet launched, hurling Zod away before he had a chance to notice its presence.

"Come on, ring, I'm going to need more than the usual to fight someone stronger than Superman. Give me an arsenal." It was as much a command to his ring as it was a self-motivation speech. In mid-air, Green Lantern bent down to a kneeling position, cold sweat forming down his face. His ring started to form the platform beneath his feet for him to rest on. The platform expanded, forming details and military structures until it resembled a massive battleship. Not the whole ship as Green Lantern couldn't risk the energy forming the entirety, but at least a runway for jets and multiple anti-aircraft turrets. "That'll do," Lantern smirked as the turrets took aim and open fire while his ring formed a few jets getting ready for takeoff.

-- J L --

"Eruc Suoires Sdnuow!"

As Zatanna spoke the magic words, Aquaman's wounds started to close as the Atlantean started to come to. Zatanna was kneeling to do her magic, and after she was done started panting with exhaustion. The time and energy it took to heal such extensive wounds on someone as powerful as Aquaman wasn't something she could do so easily if they were in the middle of the fray.

Batman, Wonder Woman, and Green Arrow kept a close eye on the aerial battle going on above them. While General Zod was dodging multiple streams of shells, green fighter jets were launching in pairs off of Green Lantern's construct, pursuing Zod with the intent of keeping the General engaged in a dogfight.

Further in the distance, Zod's Kryptonians and Luthor's artificial army had already begun clashing. The Kryptonians had far more men, but Luthor's army moved with one mind and cold, robotic efficiency.

-- J L --

On their General's orders, the Kryptonians attacked, but far from being the first to strike, the emotionless drones before them sprang into action as well.

"Rush them! We have the advantage!"

The Kryptonians on the front lines quickly closed ranks, their newfound powers under the yellow star making them feel invincible. Military formation had no relevance when they could fly and were naturally more lethal than any weapons on their ship. Some closed to a brawl to deliver a crushing punch to a target. Some overshot their target and ended up dive tackling a drone into the ice. Some still were too unused to these new abilities and ended up staying back from the front lines, but only because they hadn't fully mastered the intricacies of personal flight.

Those that closed into melee combat found that while their super strong punches unquestionably did damage, the drones barely flinched. Pain was an irrelevant concept to a mindless machine, even if that machine was flesh and blood.

When the drones struck back, it was a coordinated assault. Heat vision blasted key soldiers out of the skies, breaking what little formation the Kryptonians had. Those that were close enough delivered precise, calculated melee strikes, sending their opponents flying before quickly pursuing to try and finish the job.

While the Kryptonians had the numbers and the first strike, Luthor's drones quickly took the advantage, striking in perfect formation and efficient strikes.

One drone managed to ram a Kryptonian soldier into the ice. Its eyes glowed red as it prepared to finish him off. There was a bright flash of light and the Kryptonian reflexively squeezed his eyes shut, fearing the end. When the light subsided, however, there was instead a gaping hole in the drone's head, with one of his superior officers standing behind him.

"General Zod has equal use for cowards, reckless fools, and the dead! Remember your training and form up on me!"

While the second wave of Kryptonians stayed on the ground and finally figured out how to return the heat vision blasts with their own, several officers rallied nearby troops. They formed three compact squads, two of which surrounded the drones' flanks while the third rushed the center. While smaller formations of drones were being shot out of the sky by ground artillery, the three squads started tearing through the drones, only content with their demise when their heads were crushed or incinerated.

Luthor's army had a second wave of its own. Though they lacked the mobility of the clones, the Metallo robots sprung to life as well once the initial wave had been pierced. The three Kryptonian blitz squads met a new challenge as the robots attacked, picking off Kryptonian soldiers from their formations and driving them into the ice to finish them off with surprising strength and metal claws strong enough to pierce even Kryptonian skin.

The first couple Metallo robots to strike were ripped apart by other Kryptonians before they could finish the job, but that's when their real threat emerged. The Kryptonians had only secondhand knowledge of the green-glowing, radioactive mineral that quickly sapped their strength unless they could fly away in time. Every demolished Metallo robot became a lethal hazard for the Kryptonians. While some managed to scramble away in time, others were weakened to the point of complete exhaustion just by being in close proximity to the robotic remains.

"Keep it up, soldiers! These abominations are all that stands between us and this planet!"

--JL--

Batman and the other heroes watched from the sidelines. Realistically, there was no reasonable way they could stop the battle. As Zod was already demonstrating, even one Kryptonian could take on every major hero on Earth at once. To stop two similarly powered armies seemed impossible. Even if he was still on his home turf, with full access to the Batcave and all of its resources, he wasn't sure he could handle a threat on this scale. Here he felt practically helpless, his mind going a mile a minute for any conceivable way to end this threat and save the world.

"We need to run interference and distract both armies; keep them from killing each other. Wonder Woman. Zatanna. You two are best equipped to slow down the Kryptonians. Aquaman, I need your help in slowing down Luthor's army."

"Are you presuming to be in charge of us again?" Aquaman grumbled.

"If you have a better idea, I'm more than willing to listen, but only if you talk fast! Every second means that many more casualties on either side! If Zod wins, his army will spread fast and easily conquer the rest of Earth! If Luthor wins, he gets whatever remains of his Anti-Superman army supplemented with whatever he can salvage from the Kryptonian ship! Either way, we all lose!"

"It is the best plan," Wonder Woman agreed. "The Batman is not assuming command. He is merely the first to voice what must be done. But this is a battle that will be nigh impossible to win. If you wish to leave now to the safety of your kingdom, you will not be thought less of."

"I have no intention of running away! This is my planet as much as yours, perhaps moreso!" Aquaman spat. "Batman here just needs to remember he's addressing the king of the seas and not one of his sidekicks! Let's go already before both sides decide this war for us!"

"Look, this is one time I probably shouldn't mind being picked last for the dodgeball team, but you left me out of your battle plan there, Bats," Green Arrow reluctantly reminded him.

"That's because you need to help out Green Lantern. Even if he by some miracle wins against Zod, someone needs to provide support to him and help him regroup with the rest of us. More than likely though, Zod will finish with him and rejoin his army. If that happens you need do everything you can to keep Zod from killing him. No more time wasting, let's move out!" Before Green Arrow could protest, the four heroes rushed off to do battle. Wonder Woman flying away with Zatanna magically levitating close behind. Batman leaped off the edge of the cliff and glided as far as he could with his cape, while Aquaman landed on the ice before gliding across the ice with his trident.

"Hey, wait just a minute! What am I supposed to do? How exactly am I supposed to support a guy who can create anything with his mind?!" Green Arrow yelled after them. When it was clear that no one was going back, he let out one final indignant bellow, "IT'S BECAUSE I'M GREEN, ISN'T IT?!"

Sighing, Green Arrow did the only thing he could and pulled out a small target spotting scope, putting it to his eye to try and get a better look at the fight going on above him.

-- J L --

High in the sky, Zod fought the Green Lantern, tearing apart construct after construct, but by the time he destroyed each one, Green Lantern had already started forming a new nuisance. Now Zod was facing off against a squad of three fighter jets that regenerated any damage he could do to them. He would shoot off one wing only for it to reform. Worse yet, he couldn't even target the ringbearer himself as he'd hidden himself in one of the cockpits, creating a perpetual shell game where the shells took turns shooting him in the back.

"Enough of these foolish games!" Zod yelled as he grabbed one jet by the wing and held firm, his strength easily stopping its propulsion. With some effort he grabbed a second jet in the same way, before zeroing in on the last remaining construct and smashing all three together.

The Green Lantern was finally vulnerable. Before he could escape or form some other distraction, Zod grabbed his neck with one hand and his ring hand in the other, blocking any more nuisances.

"Self-righteous, self-important, self-titled guardian of the universe!" Zod spat.

"Actually..." Green Lantern managed to gasp out, "that's my boss's job title-ACK-" Zod's grip tightened, not enough to kill the Green Lantern. Not yet anyway.

"You give yourselves jurisdiction over a universe that never agreed to your policing it. You claim to be its protectors, but answer this: Where were the Green Lanterns the day my planet burned?!"

If he knew the answer, Green Lantern might have honestly answered in the hopes of some form of peaceful resolution, but as he had no knowledge of the Corps' involvement or lack thereof with Krypton, he could only barely manage to whisper out. "Not... my... jurisdiction..."

"Useless. Perhaps if I send you crawling back to your masters you can deliver the message that they will answer for their hypocrisy. Perhaps you can tell them that after I conquer this world and establish New Krypton, I'll be coming for them next. Or perhaps I can kill you here and your ring will deliver that message for me..." Zod said as he bent Green Lantern's arm in the other direction, slowly until he heard the familiar crunching sound. Green Lantern tried to scream, but he couldn't even breathe at this point. Between the pain and the lack of oxygen, he was quickly passing out.

"Hey, Big Z! Catch!" yelled someone Zod had long since ignored. He launched, of all things, an arrow in his direction. General Zod could only wonder what would possess a man to fight with so primitive a weapon. He let go of Green Lantern's arm to easily catch the arrow.

"Pathetic human scum! Do you really desire to die so quickly? I... wait... what's going on?" Suddenly, Zod started to lose altitude. His stomach churned with a sudden nausea as his strength was quickly leaving him. Only after he lost his grip on the Lantern did he notice the small, green glowing core in the arrowhead. "TRICKERY!" Zod tossed the arrow away, but his powers were severely hampered, and the human had proven annoyingly resourceful. "Consider your death postponed!" Zod declared as he started wobbily flying off to join his army.

Even with reduced strength, he was still too fast and too far away for Green Arrow to pull off a stunt like that a second time. Plus, he had to worry about the falling Green Lantern. "You're not going to wake up and fly away in time, are you?" he asked to a still rapidly descending body. "I got to do everything around here, don't I?"

Perched atop a snow-covered pine tree he'd climbed to get a better shot, Green Arrow drew another trick arrow from his quiver and waited for the right angle. He fired, and the arrow arced overhead. The capsule along its shaft sprung open and a net unfurled to envelop Green Lantern, attached to the arrow by a bungee cord.

The arrow thunked into a thick branch, and Green Lantern managed not to smash into the ground. Green Arrow leaped from branch to branch to quickly catch up to the net. "Hey? You alive, or did I just waste an arrow?" he called out.

Green Lantern finally coughed as his lungs struggled to make up for lost time breathing. "I've had worse landings. Thanks, Robin Hood," the Lantern said as his arm jolted with pain.

"It's Green Arrow, actually. And before you get smart, the name has nothing to do with you," Green Arrow said as he started to cut Lantern free.

"Actually, I was just thinking it's a good thing you have good taste in branding," Green Lantern said as his ring glowed and started to form an armored splint for his injured arm. "Though I can't say much for your choice of weapon. Aren't you a few centuries behind?"

"Saved your butt, didn't I? At least I didn't have to get superpowers from the bottom of a cereal box."

Lantern chuckled, even though it hurt, "Do you even have any powers?"

"Just super sarcasm and super sick of taking crap today," Arrow quipped without missing a beat, just as he finished getting Lantern safely down from the tree. "The rest of Hero-Con are here fighting an insanely stupid losing battle. The questions are: You in? And if so, do I have to carry you?"

"My ring can get us there... in a minute. Just need to get my second wind, though I can't say I feel comfortable bringing a civilian into a warzone."

"Laugh it up, Ring Boy. Next time I'll let you fall and pawn the ring."

-- J L --

"The enemy's breaking away to regroup. Now's our chance to strike," Wonder Woman noted from afar as she and Zatanna were approaching. "It does mean we won't have the benefit of their preoccupation with their other enemy."

"I don't suppose you have some master battle strategy?" Zatanna asked nervously.

"I do, but they involve an army of my fellow Amazons, or other allies that are not here. Fighting this many powerful warriors alone is a challenge. One that I'd gladly accept. Keeping them all simultaneously occupied seems impossible, but perhaps any little we do can help."

"I have an idea, but I may need your help," Zatanna said cautiously. "You have a powerful magical aura about you, and from what I know, Kryptonians are vulnerable to magic."

"I am afraid I am no sorceress," Wonder Woman replied.

"No, but maybe I can use some of your essence for something that will keep the lot of them distracted."

Wonder Woman eyed the magician curiously. "What would you have me do?"

Zatanna smiled. "Just do what you do best and leave the rest to me. Ytilibisinvi!" The magician faded from view. If it were one of her Amazon sisters Wonder Woman might have accused her of cowardice, but in the short time Wonder Woman knew her, Zatanna had shown she was not the kind of warrior Wonder Woman was, and if she had another idea it would probably be vital to their mutual survival today.

The first thing Wonder Woman needed to do was try to get the attention of as many Kryptonians as possible. It was simple to pick out the few taking charge and leading the attack, but just targeting the lieutenants wouldn't necessarily gather the rest of the army's full attention.

As if reading her mind, Aquaman glided behind along the frozen surface, calling out, "Leave this part to me! It's about to get biblical!"

Wonder Woman briefly misunderstood and wondered what book Aquaman was talking about, but she didn't have time to give it much thought as Aquaman leaped in the air and crashed down on the ice trident fork first. "BEHOLD, THE POWER OF POSEIDON!" More than just shattering the ice and cratering the ground, instead water shot up from the ground as a geyser, following a carved path between the two armies and creating a fissure and wall of exploding water between them. Wonder Woman was almost caught in the geyser herself as she quickly dove out of the way at the last second.

She flew as fast and as high as possible, endeavoring to put as much distance between her and the ground. Quickly turning around 180 degrees, Wonder Woman rocketed to the ground, directly set on her target.

She was careful not to punch the Kryptonian through the ice. Rather, she wrapped one arm around him and threw all her strength and velocity behind the other. While she succeeded in keeping her grip on the Kryptonian, the ice under the entire Kryptonian force quaked and shattered. They took refuge in the air, but Wonder Woman had made her point clear. What was left was a field of jagged, upturned icy rocks, with Wonder Woman standing one foot on her unconscious foe.

"I am Princess Diana of Themyscira, Amazon Warrior, and Champion of the Gods! I give you one chance to surrender peacefully! Otherwise I will show you no quarter in battle!" she boldly declared before the Kryptonian army before her. Their collective eyes started to glow red, giving Wonder Woman her answer. She knew they wouldn't surrender, but felt obligated to offer it. "Very well then. Your decision is made. You leave me no choice," Wonder Woman raised her arms to fight bare-handed on the Kryptonians terms.

The watery geysers finally receded, but when they did so, they revealed an army of fully-armed Amazon warriors that matched the Kryptonians in numbers. Suddenly the Kryptonians weren't as confident. "AMAZONS, ATTACK!"

The entire army launched into battle, and even with their powers the Kryptonians found themselves evenly matched and fighting for their lives, clashing against Amazon steel. They fought blow for blow, the Kryptonians' endurance paling in the face of what seemed to be inexhaustible Amazonian battle rage.

From a safe distance, magically concealed from view, Zatanna chuckled to herself. "Yes, dance my pretties," she said all too mischievously. While Wonder Woman herself was taking on three Kryptonians at once, expertly deflecting nearly every blow with her bracelets and extensive combat training, the rest of the Kryptonians were fighting each other, unaware that they were caught in Zatanna's illusion.

There was no way Zatanna could cast an illusion on this scale and maintain it without drawing power from Wonder Woman, who radiated magical power, even if her lack of talent in sorcery kept her from seriously using it. For Zatanna however, it meant she had a direct flow of magic that may as well have come directly from gods. Directing and maintaining such energy took considerable strain. Even Dr. Fate may have had trouble with something of this scale. Zatanna only hoped she could maintain the illusion long enough for at least some of the Kryptonians to exhaust themselves and dwindle their own numbers.

-- J L --

Aquaman's control over the waters beneath the ice may have separated the armies, but now they had to stay that way. The clones and robots would never listen to reason. They were incapable of it. Now his mission was to stave them off and disable as many of Luthor's army as possible.

He swung his trident around to knock a lunging clone out of the sky into a second, the artifact's divine magic easily piercing their invulnerability. As soon as he did, he had to leap back to avoid being fried by red hot lasers from afar. Apparently the puppetmaster thought Aquaman would be incapable of responding to a ranged assault.

Aquaman leaped into the freshly melted hole in the ice to the deep waters below. No doubt that the enhanced senses and sensors alike of Luthor's army could follow his trail, but in the water his speed increased tenfold. Guiding the water with him, he erupted out in a geyser behind aerial artillery, knocking him out of the sky with his trident before directing the water to split off in several airborne rivers to knock other aerial nuisances out of the sky.

Before Aquaman could select his next target, two powerful arms grabbed him from behind as one of Luthor's clones snuck up on him. One he could have handled, but two more clones dogpiled on him in the air, locking his arms and legs down, presumably so one of them could finish him off.

He felt a faint tug as a black cable wrapped around one of the clones' legs and hooked tightly. Not enough to pull the clone out of the sky, but enough for Batman to propel up above them all, briefly blotting out the sun with his silhouette. The dark knight had jury rigged brass knuckles lined with small kryptonite cores, enough that even he could land a solid blow on Kryptonian and clone alike.

Batman planted his feet on one clone's shoulder and knocked the second one off Aquaman. The clones quickly had their strength sapped just from being in close proximity to the Kryptonite, and that was enough for Aquaman to break free.

The dark knight glided down as quickly and erratically as possible, bobbing and weaving to avoid potential projectiles from Luthor's drones. Zeroing in on a particular Metallo drone, he zoomed overheard, barely dodging a sickly green energy blast, but managing to slap a small plastic adhesive to the back of the robot's head. Batman tumbled along the ice as two more robots surrounded him. He threw two batarangs that arced around and hit both robots in one of the few vulnerable spots in their casings. The robots raised their energy cannons to take out Batman, but he already had out his detonator and pushed every button at once. The plastic explosive and batarangs exploded, taking out all three robots at once.

Aquaman almost landed in the center of a cluster of Metallo robots waiting for him, charging up various cannons on his position. Instead he did a nosedive straight through the ice and let the robots waste their shots to fire just above the fresh hole in the ice. Aquaman made a little headway and started to recover when several explosions behind him drew his attention. The Metallo robots had started to carve holes in the ice and dive in after him by the dozen. <Of course Luthor made them amphibious...> Aquaman mentally grumbled.

Fortunately he was far faster in the water, and although the Metallo robots pursued him, he left them swimming in his wake before leaping out of the water, landing next to Batman. "There's no end to them. Does your plan account for that?" Clones and robots closed in from all sides, their puppetmaster being much more cautious after their current performace.

"It's a work in progress," Batman said as he stood back to back with the Atlantean king. "You can attack them telepathically, correct?"

"They are robots and mindless drones. There's very little to attack," Aquaman countered.

"The robots operate off a remote and circuitry like any machine, but the clones are all biologically human. Or rather Kryptonian, but there's surprisingly little difference."

"Is this really the time for a lecture?" Aquaman asked as Luthor's army took up formation around them.

"The clones have the same brain and nervous system as any human or Kryptonian, They're just being co-opted by Luthor to control them in lieu of actual circuitry. They all share this same link, like a hivemind with Luthor at the helm. If your telepathic assault can cause some form of feedback..."

"Say no more," Aquaman said with realization as he planted his trident in the ground and leaped up to the nearest clone. The clone tried to fire up its heat vision, but Aquaman kept its eyes shut with his thumbs, wrapping his hands around the clone's head and focusing his mind. "Time to tangle the puppets' strings."

Aquaman unleashed the full force of his mind on the clone, mentally screaming at for all he could sense was a complete void. Yet still the clone started to convulse. Around him the other clones were having similar reactions, losing motor function and erratically shaking before going limp and crashing to the ground, Aquaman landing on his feet and picking up the trident. "One army down..."

"Don't count them out just yet. Luthor can probably reboot them given time a way, but for now there's the other half of the army," said Batman. The Metallo robots around them were hesitating.

"They seem... afraid," Aquaman noted.

"Your mental attack disrupted Luthor's systems. It won't take more than a minute for them to come back completely online," Batman said. Suddenly, the ice beneath them crashed open and the robots sunk like stones in the icy water. It didn't take the world's greatest detective for Batman to determine it was Aquaman's doing.

"Let them take a bit longer."

Batman nodded. "Now, did you get the intel from Zod?"

"As you suggested, when I confronted Zod and his troops I read as much of their minds as I could. They probably couldn't tell since I telepathically assaulted them first."

"And...?"

"Their minds are too... alien. When it comes to ocean life and Atlanteans I can read minds and communicate telepathically just fine. Humans are more difficult, but still doable. These men were thinking about literally alien concepts in a language that doesn't even have a basis in Earth linguistics. I can't make heads or tails of it."

"Tell me whatever you can! And quickly! Neither the robots nor the drones are going to stay dormant for long!"

"Speak for yourself," Aquaman replied. "There is... another way. That I can convey the information to you that is. It could be discomforting to you though."

Batman nodded. "Do what you think is best. You make the call."

"Very well," Aquaman said as he focused his mind again, not to attack, but to pass information. "This is going to be... weird."

"Try me."

Suddenly Batman's mind flooded with words and images in a format that he couldn't even make sense of. It wasn't as simple as looking at a book or picture or movie, he was getting everything Aquaman could glean from multiple alien minds. Languages he couldn't begin to translate. Alien worlds beyond what Earth had ever discovered. Even personal feelings. For a moment he saw a young Kryptonian boy being cradled in his arms, beaten, pulverized, and dying. The images were sharp, quick, and intrusive. The boy in his arms turned into Damien, and he felt an indescribable sense of pain, rage, and loss. Other memories flooded his mind the same way, intermingling with his own in a sensation far more real than any mere illusion.

Batman collapsed to his knees, gasping for breath and nauseous. "I told you," Aquaman reminded him. It felt like hours. Days even. It had been seconds. Much of it was still undecipherable nonsense in his mind, and even some of the clearer aspects only brought up pain and sadness.

The dark knight forced himself to quickly regain composure. "You can control ocean currents, right?"

"I am king of the seas after all."

"Good, here's the plan." Before Batman could continue, the ice around them cracked open as cold, metal hands crawled their way out from under the ice. "On second thought, just read my mind for the plan."

"Are you sure?"

"Just do it!" Batman threw a smoke bomb at the ground, this particular blend mixed with chemicals that could fool even advanced technological sensors, hopefully. When the smoke cleared, only Aquaman remained.

"You may think with my one ally gone you have me at an advantage," Aquaman told the advancing Metallo army as he thrust his trident into the ice. "You would be wrong in many ways." Suddenly long, spiral horns erupted from the ice. If they didn't directly pierce through the Metallo drones circuitry, they knocked the robots off-balance as they simultaneously destroyed what little footing was left. An entire fleet of narwhals struck like an underwater phalanx, all at Aquaman's beck and call. "I AM AQUAMAN! KING OF THE SEAS! YOUR WAR IS ON MY TERMS NOW!"

-- J L --

"System error! All clones are off-line! Attempting to reestablish link! Reboot time unknown!"

"Metallo units compromised! K-1 through K-50 lost connection! Twelve units total confirmed disabled! Estimated reboot time: 52 seconds."

Mercy and Hope worked frantically at the consoles, trying to get all of Luthor's army back online. Although Lex Luthor was at the primary control, he remained as calm as ever, smiling coolly despite the carnage and seemingly losing battle playing out on his monitors and out in the distance.

"Well this has been a riveting experiment. A shame. With a little more fine-tuning my anti-alien force might have been unstoppable. Imagine if we'd gotten that failed Doomsday weapon under control," said Luthor as he altered some of the settings on his suit. "It doesn't help that we had so many unaccounted factors enter the playing field. Oh well. Switching to full mobile mode. I'll take things from here."

The two bodyguards looked at each other with concern. "Sir?"

"We're going straight to Operation: Jade Solitude while I still have an army. You know the procedure. Get Ms. Waller and her troops to evacuate now, by force if you must."

"Sir, if you let us, we can take out the enemy leader. There's no need to-"

"None of that now. Your enthusiasm and concern are both very inspiring, but I've made my decision. You know what to do." Reluctantly, both Amazons stepped away from their consoles and respectfully bowed. "In case the worst should happen, it's been an honor and a privilege to work with both of you."

The suit stepped forward with a loud clang in the snow. While it might have seemed bulkier than some of the other Metallo designs, the suit needed the extra armor to theoretically go toe to toe with Superman. Only this suit also had the propulsions, shock absorbers, and internal processors that it theoretically had the speed to allow its occupant to keep up with someone like Superman, even if its pilot suffered from human limitations.

Luthor flexed some of the joints to make sure everything was working as expected. Then he launched off like a rocket towards the battlefield.

-- J L --

The archer's trick had left Zod feeling ill and weakened, all from a simple glowing green rock. He was in no condition to fly back and rejoin the battle, at least not without a moment to rest. Without the sickening glow, he quickly recovered, and immediately flew to his army. He would lead them to victory himself.

What he found was insanity. His army had turned on itself, Kryptonian fighting against Kryptonian, in a massive melee brawl that ranged from the sky to the ground. It was complete and utter chaos. In the center of the brawl was the warrior woman from earlier, and Zod knew that she was also somehow the center of his mens' madness.

"SOLDIERS OF KRYPTON! COME TO YOUR SENSES!" he yelled from afar.

While most of the fighting continued, he drew the attention of at least a few of his loyal soldiers.

"The enemy is upon us! How many are there?"
"There's no end to their tenacity!"
"Look! Up in the sky! Another one joins the fray!"
"She could be a scout for enemy reinforcements! Don't let her escape!"

Suddenly a barrage of heat vision shot at a very bewildered Zod. The first struck him directly in the chest and burned through some of his uniform. The second grazed his shoulder, and after that they became more erratic as he finally had the presence of mind to dodge. "More trickery?! Is this how Earth wages war?!"

Zod searched the battlefield for the source of the confusion. When his other senses failed him, his hearing zeroed in on an isolated heartbeat where they should have been only empty air. Without wasting any more time, he focused his heat vision on the source.

"AAAHH!"

As two lasers shot through the air, it let out a feminine scream. Zatanna's body formed around the two lasers as they pierced through her gut.

"ZATANNA!" cried the Amazon as she punched her current melee opponent away and sped away, moving between the disoriented Kryptonians just now realizing their previous opponents were nowhere to be seen. Before Zatanna could hit the ground Wonder Woman caught her. "Speak to me! Say something!" Wonder Woman exclaimed as she hoped the magician hadn't been killed.

"Ezi... ezil..."

"What? What is it? I don't understand," Wonder Woman leaned in closer.

"Ezilibats!" Zatanna called out and created a small flourish of magic sparks. It was a minor healing spell, and about all she could muster with what was left over from her drawing magic from Wonder Woman, but it was enough to keep her from death's door. Now she could breathe normally, even if the two new cauterized wounds still hurt badly.

"Behold, the proud and noble warriors of this planet, who resist their superiors with tricks and illusions!" Zod shouted, now having the full attention of his army. "If these petty distractions are all your planet can manage, conquering it will be almost too easy!"

"Had I the Amazons of Themyscira at my side, there would be no need for her magic! Were it not that I have an army to face alone, I would take you in single combat and end your thirst for blood here and now!" Wonder Woman grimaced as she gently set Zatanna on the ground. She may have been wounded, but her magic would hopefully take care of her.

Zod laughed. "The General of Krypton fears no woman! Your magic cannot defeat me! Your science cannot defeat me! Your tricks and feints cannot defeat me! How many more times must I show your world the futility of your resistance?! If you think I need to hide behind my army, think again! I'll order my men not to interfere or go after your wounded friend, lest you have some other convenient excuse for your weakness! I'll even be chivalrous and let you have the fir-"

Even as Zod taunted her, Wonder Woman was instantly in front of the Kryptonian general with full Amazon fury. Before he even finished his speech, Wonder Woman decked him in the jaw, sending him careening into the ice.

Wonder Woman didn't let Zod get back up. She flew after his still colliding form, thrusting the heel of her boot into his sternum. She was careful to hit him only at a horizontal angle, not wanting to afford Zod the relative comfort of crashing into water, instead letting his body break through the ice at supersonic speeds.

Zod was caught by surprise as well as the force behind Wonder Woman's attack, in more ways than one. Still, Wonder Woman's assault wasn't enough to keep him completely locked down. His arm lunged for Wonder Woman's exposed leg, but instead found her wrist. The magic of Wonder Woman's bracelets intercepted the attack faster than even Wonder Woman herself could react. Wonder Woman flipped upside-down in midair to catch Zod on her arm, and then finished the revolution to twirl Zod around like a rag doll and changed the trajectory of Zod's descent.

This time the Kryptonian general was ready and landed on his feet, digging his bare fist into the ice to slow to a stop. Wonder Woman quickly flew after him, and although his guard was up, Wonder Woman instead threw her weight behind a punch into the ice twenty feet in front of Zod.

The leverage catapulted Zod into the air, and although he was quick to right himself, Wonder Woman used the velocity to catch up behind Zod. Her arms wrapped around his shoulders, and in one swift movement Wonder Woman thrust him into the ground in a super suplex from sixty feet.

Now the fight had moved from the frozen waters to the nearby forest, leaving a large crater where once had been part of a pine forest. Wonder Woman practically bounced from the impact as she tried to rebound back into melee with Zod, but was stopped by two red lasers.

She threw up her wrists to deflect them, but they still halted her progress as Zod composed himself. "Impudent little girl. That actually stung a bit. More so than it should have. Much like the Atlantean's spear. What exactly are you?" a seemingly unharmed Zod asked more with curiosity than actual concern.

"I am Princess Diana! Warrior of the Amazons! Forged from clay! Born of the Gods! Champion of the Olympians!" Wonder Woman practically recited as she struggled to keep Zod's lasers deflected. Even with her bracelets redirecting the force, it still took considerable strength not to be pushed back.

"Is that so?" Zod said with mild disinterest. Suddenly the lasers ceased with no warning. Where Zod had been standing a split second ago there was nothing but a settling cloud of snow. Before Wonder Woman had time to think about it, her arm whipped around of its own accord. Her bracelet tried to intercept Zod suddenly appearing from behind, only for Zod to catch her by the wrist.

"Whatever trickery you have at your call, it's not enough to defeat me. No force on this planet has the power to stop me now. Not human, not Atlantean, and not Amazon." Wonder Woman's other arm whipped around to try and catch Zod, but the General easily caught it as well. Before Wonder Woman could try to kick him instead, Zod whipped her back around, holding her by her wrists.

"Your precious Amazons will make excellent slaves, and give birth to a new generation of Kryptonians. They will just need to be taught to kneel, much like you." Zod's knee thrust into Wonder Woman's back, She nearly felt her spine break as Zod forced her to her knees, still holding her arms behind her. Zod's knee pressed into Wonder Woman's back, keeping her from recovering and freeing herself as he pulled her arms gradually farther back.

"But you will not share their fate. No, you will be made an example of. You will die here, far from your homeland, buried in an unmarked grave of snow and ice. And in whatever afterlife your soul resides, you can watch as your Amazons kneel before the new masters of this world!" Zod's eyes started to glow as he prepared to finish off the agonizing defeat of Wonder Woman.

"Tropelet!"

In a flash of light, Zod stumbled forward, his victim having disappeared into thin air. "RUN THEN! RALLY YOUR WORLD'S FINEST AGAINST ME! It IT DOESN'T MATTER! YOU CAN WATCH AS THEY ALL BURN!" he called out. Satisfied that no one was preparing to launch another surprise attack on him, but disappointed that his opponent had vanished, Zod flew off to rejoin his army.

-- J L --

Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield, Lex Luthor arrived amidst complete chaos. The Kryptonians were fighting each other. His robots were fighting seafood. His clones were inert. His suit's diagnostics analyzed the state of his forces. "52 percent losses. Not quite the result I had intended for this experiment, but such is the nature of the scientific process. I'm just glad I thought to make these Metallo models amphibious." Luthor hovered just outside the perimeter of the main fighting as he started power cycling the clones. The clones started to twitch and slowly get up. "There we go. Much easier to reboot without the long-distance lag. Now time to commence Jade Solitude."

The remainder of his army came back online, though many of his Metallo robots were still underwater dealing with whatever Aquaman managed to throw at them. "I think four each should do nicely for my personal guard," Luthor said to himself as four intact Metallo robots leaped out of the water to form up at his right side while four clones took formation on his left.

Another eruption from the water, one Luthor didn't facilitate, briefly set off a few warning alerts on his monitors, but other than acknowledging his presence, he paid Aquaman little mind.

"LUTHOR!" the Atlantean cried out.

"Yes, I'll have the alfredo lobster tail and perhaps some sushi as an appetizer," Luthor said with a dismissive smirk.

"YOU HAVE THE POWER TO END THIS NOW!"

"There's no need to shout. I can hear you perfectly fine. And I have every intention of ending this threat to humanity soon enough," he said casually, not particularly caring what Aquaman could glean from that information.

"What are you planning?!" Aquaman grimaced as he tried to probe Luthor's mind, only to receive a sudden, nasty migraine, like a punch directly to the inside of his skull. "AAGH!"

"Psionic feedback seems to be working just fine. Ironically, it's a technology we have you to think for, Aquaman, as it was developed from the studies on one Dr. Simon Jones whom you helped capture back in your younger days. I didn't think I'd need it today since of all the Kryptonians' many powers, thankfully telepathy isn't one of them. I'm certainly glad it works as intended. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a war to go win," Luthor said as he and his anti-Kryptonian contingent started to fly off.

"You're not getting away that easily!" Aquaman declared as he thrust his trident into the ice, creating a geyser under his feet and propelling him towards Luthor.

Luthor said nothing, but activated a few commands for his drones. The clones suddenly turned and emitted their heat vision simultaneously in a specific pattern, using weaker, wide-spread blasts instead of the usual focused lasers. The Metallo robots reacted similarly, their chest compartments opening up just enough to allow the radiation to focus on Aquaman's form.

Aquaman was stopped in his tracks. The water geyser was quickly evaporating, and Aquaman felt his strength and energy being quickly sapped from his body. "Don't worry, Aquaman, it's only a dry heat. Then again, I suppose the dry part is the larger concern for you, considering how Atlanteans have such a difficult time with dehydration."

"Damn... you... Luthor..." Aquaman gasped like a fish in a desert. He let gravity do the work as he allowed himself to fall, barely angling himself towards one hole in the ice. Just as he hit the water, a nearby, seemingly dormant Metallo drone, one of its arm and both legs ripped off, grabbed Aquaman's leg to get pulled in after him.

"If you'll excuse me, your majesty," Luthor said calmly as he resumed his flight path. Another warning on his monitor let him know of the rapidly approaching bogey. "That would be the general. All these rulers and military leaders demanding my attention really puts my secretaries' performance into perspective."

"LUTHOR!" Zod called out.

"Déjà Vu," Luthor commented to himself as he quickly programmed his drones to interpose themselves between him and Zod. The Kryptonian general, seeing how many he would have to fight to reach him.

"Face me, Luthor! Are you as much a coward as the rest of your planet's so-called heroes? Or are you going to rely on cowardly tricks like the rest of them?!"

"Cowardly tricks, of course."

As Luthor spoke, the remainder of his clone army sprang into action to reengage Zod's army. "You think that's enough to distract me? My army more than outnumbers your genetic abominations! Your feeble creations don't stand a chance!"

"That's because they're a distraction," Luthor said as he sent a new series of commands.

Beneath the ice, the Metallo robots engaged with various sea creatures and their king suddenly ignored them, propelling themselves to key positions and erupting from the ice underneath the Kryptonians. Not surrounding them, but appearing in the middle of clusters, catching as many fighters of both sides as possible. Some Kryptonians started to engage them, but the robots didn't even seem to take notice even when they lost limbs and heads.

Instead, one by one, Metallo chest compartments opened up to reveal their respective power sources: small, green canisters of glowing energy. The exposure alone was enough to slow and sicken Kryptonians and clones alike.

Still under the sea, the one attached to Aquaman's leg exposed a similar green core, though the radiation had no visible effect on the Atlantean.

Then, at point-blank range, it exploded, sending Aquaman plunging into the icy depths.

Without distinguishing between Kryptonian and clone, Kryptonite bombs set off one by one. Those immediately next to the robots were disintegrated. Some managed to be just far enough away to only lose entire portions of their bodies. Those not in the immediate blast radius were still severely weakened from the explosions of radiation directly before being showered with shrapnel from the destroyed robots. Zod watched in horror as his army was decimated, and more robots were still appearing.

"You... you MONSTER!"

"Monster? Me? You're the alien invaders. I'm just defending my home planet, something you were apparently incapable of, General. I'd make a decision quickly. You can come after me now, or you can try to save what's left of your soldiers. From what I understand, you lot are an endangered species. With every second you delay your species gets closer to extinction."

With little choice in the matter, Zod raced to his army to try and disable as many more bombs as possible and rescue as many of his weakened soldiers as he was able.

With a smug smirk of satisfaction, Luthor and his drones continued their flight path towards the Kryptonian's Dreadnought, the alien army normally guarding it currently struggling to survive behind him.

-- J L --

On the far side of the Dreadnought in its shadow, a low-powered laser slowly cut through the ice. After it had completed one hastily drawn circle, the section was carefully removed. A small black lens carefully stuck out of the water to function as a periscope. Once it was confirmed the coast was clear, Batman climbed out of the icy waters, confident that his suit would survive such frigid temperatures.

There was only so much he could do in the middle of a warzone with only the tools he'd happened to pack in his belt and that which he'd manage to scour from ARGUS. Despite the fact that the ship likely had at least a handful of Kryptonians left, all with super senses, speed, and strength, his only possible contribution was to infiltrate the Kryptonian ship, investigate it based on Aquaman's intel, and hope for the best.

Now for the hard part...

To Be Continued...