^^ Martian bioships ^^

— Erin —

The blasts came from all directions, and my armor glowed threateningly, as I slowly fell to my knees, my teeth still shaking in my skull like a maraca. I could tell that I'd have bruises, but thankfully no broken bones, it seemed.

Terran landed next to me, the water splashing around his feet, and he grabbed my collar, pulling it to look at my back. "That's definitely a bruise, but I don't think it broke anything. Are you good to go?"

"My teeth feel like dice, rolling in my skull. Did I roll a Nat 20 on constitution, Babe?" I chuckled blearily, and stood up, shaking my head.

"I don't know what that means, but you're not dead, so move!" He snapped, and I tackled him as another volley was loosed at us.

This time, I felt a rib go, and growled. "Yep, that was a rib. Sofia? How is the flying coming?"

'Not working on flying. Working on a Cannon.' She growled, and I looked up as she raised what looked like an alien bazooka.

"Where the fuck did you get a Bazooka?!?" I snapped.

'Maybe I took it from Lobo's other Bike?' She grinned, and fired, stumbling back as a red projectile slammed through one of the bikes, making the bike tumble and crash into the lagoon, while the missile continued in an arc, exploding on the surface of the water a few hundred meters out.

Terran nodded, and raised his hands, his tattoos glowing brightly. "Thank you for bringing him into my domain, Sofia." The water swirled up and surrounded the Czarnian in a sphere of water, which then began shrinking, crushing the Clone inside it swiftly.

"Oohlala, mon ami, your voice is sexy when you're angry..." Sofia reappeared, adjusting her glasses. (She didn't need them, but she took her status as Sexy French Librarian very seriously.)

He grunted a rough syllable in Atlantean, and the bubble burst, freeing the Clone. "Fine!" He snapped, and spears of ice appeared, knocking all three remaining crafts out of the air just before they could fire again.

"Our defense lasers are the same as those, yes?" I shook my head, my brain readjusting as my rib popped back into place.

"No, they're new, I'll get a sample, after they're destroyed, yes?" Sofia called from the top, and aimed my pistol at one of them, shooting his knee as he started towards us angrily.

He stumbled, and I pounced, kicking his skull as hard as I could. He flew back, his skull broken, and I blinked. "They're weaker than the first one we fought, aren't they?" I asked, as the other three converged, pulling their hooks of their belts.

"From the look of them, they're 4th or 5th generation clones! Possibly force-grown by Luthor from the blood of the one we fought a few days ago! Their intelligence is not as good as their predecessors... and the tech is likely Luthor's as well, considering their choice of personal weaponry." Sofia hummed, and shot another in the leg, just barely clipping his thigh. "Merde! I am not as good a shot as you, Erin!"

"That's alright, few are." I grinned, and clocked the one in front of me, putting him on the ground, but forgot about the one behind me; I turned just a moment too late, as he grabbed onto me, slamming his hook into my exposed collarbone, managing to pierce my skin.

I growled, and grabbed the other two that were still standing into headlocks, snapping their necks to make them sit still long enough. 'Sofia, give them a shock bad enough to fry their brains, from the batteries in my armor.'

"Grit your teeth." She called out, and I groaned as deep purple lightning arced over my body. All three of the clones stiffened, their ears and eyes bleeding out grey matter slowly as they collapsed.

I grabbed the hook on my collarbone, and tried to wiggle it out, only to groan in pain at the slightest movement of it. "That suckssssss!!!" I growled, then screeched as the fourth one, who I'd thought was down for the count, tackled me and ripped it out in one movement.

When he swung it down, I caught his hand, and braced a foot under him, throwing him off of me. "Cauterize that before I bleed out, please!" I called out as I stood up.

I looked up, and groaned as water enveloped the three corpses and one struggling Czarnian, then slammed them together, resulting in a cloud of red water.

"You just released all those little cells... Sofia, get the barrier up, even just the layer in the water! Target and destroy any Czarnian tissue you find, and add it to permanent parameters!" I sighed.

"Done, but I don't have enough energy to do both; barrier or destroying those cells?"

"Destroy them, then, starting from the outside in." I nodded, and winced as the skin of my collarbone started to grow back, a crawling, ants over your skin type of feeling the prevailing feature. "And remind me never to have to regrow skin again?"

"Agreed." Terran nodded, and then sat down heavily. "Gotta work... on my stamina..."

"Wouldn't say no to longer sessions, but you're pretty good already." I smirked, and he didn't even have the energy to blush, as he passed out in the water, snoring loudly even under the water, which was more than adorable.

"I think I managed to kill all the cells. Any further orders, before I begin repairing the damage?" Sofia asked, picking Terran up and carrying him into the house.

"No, prioritize repairs while an analyzer runs the bikes, inside the electromagnetic chamber, to prevent any system malware or even seemingly innocuous code from slipping through..." I nodded, and the four bikes fell through shadow portals and into the sealed room in the bottom of the lab, which was literally inaccessible, as it was coated in lead and Nth Metal, and had no doors or even ventilation shafts.

I hummed and stared at the cloud of red in the water, then flinched when I realized there were several babies there, growing steadily before my eyes. "You said they take months to grow?!?" I yelled, and hesitantly pointed my hands at them, gathering electricity for another flash-fry.

'Preliminary results show they're weaker than expected, as well... even with your enhanced strength, their bones shouldn't be that brittle... they were possibly spliced with an even-faster-growing species by Luthor. I'll run an analysis, but I can only do so many things at once.'

"Such as?" I asked slowly.

'1: Repair Defenses
2: Repair Power Supply
3: Repair Zeta Platform
4: Repair Island Foundation
5: Analyze New Tech
6: Destroy Czarnian Tissue remnants
7: Analyze Czarnian Clone Specimens.
Pick three.' She sighed.

'Defenses, Power, and Foundation, those seem most important. Have the house's basic System run the Analyzers, both of them, and the Zeta Platform can simply be rebuilt by some of the worker Drones; input the schematic and send them to work. It'll take a little bit, but that's fine. Lastly, contact the League. If the Zeta Platform was a target, I want to know what they're dealing with, that I'm meant to stay away.' I nodded, and watched as the baby Gen6 Lobo's dropped into shadows, along with the blood cloud, and then the net swiftly began to build itself back up, a hexagon at a time.

'All external signals are blocked. Even my sensors in the Fold. Some sort of new Jamming Device... I don't understand, something is actually either absorbing all the waves, preposterous, or it's spreading an extradimensional signal that's overpowering everything else.' She growled, impatient.

"Try sending a signal that holds some nasty data and every format of malware and Trojan Horse that there is, try to turn off its fans and overheat it. If that jammer is absorbing all the Radio Waves, maybe it's also recording them, and if it's recording them, it'll auto-run .exc software, right?" I asked.

'You're right... compiling all known samples of computer virus and anti-Mother/Fatherbox code, and attaching to a signal... I'll send the packet as an .exc, on the same frequency the Fatherbox transmitted, see if that makes it a trusted signal.'

I nodded and frowned at the boiling water just outside the growing barrier, as a small submarine vessel became visible, shaped like a weird 'w', not like a Manta, but more like a weird trident with the shaft missing.

"Huh. That's new." A small explosion became audible, and the side of the sub burst open, spilling out a pile of goo and what looked like whale-bones. "Uhm... I'm almost scared to ask you to take a sample of... whatever that is?"

'Martian Bio-Ship, unfamiliar; exquisite workmanship, though it doesn't seem so from your angle. We've just killed it, sadly. I'll collect it and any pilot.' A shadow appeared, swallowing the ship slowly. 'That's all three Analyzer Chambers in use, so don't ask for anything else to be analyzed... oh good, the pilot survived. You may want to duck.'

I leaned to the side as a thick beam of red energy pierced the area where my head had been, and continued on, before disappearing and being replaced by a steam cloud. "Huh... that would've hurt."

'Jump.'

I leapt straight up, and a massive creature with white skin and red tattoos slammed into the ground, cracking a few of the hexagonal pillars. As I came down, I dropped a heel-kick on its head, sending it reeling. "Hel~lo, ugly! What rock did you crawl out from under? No, lemme guess, the dirt under the fugly tree? Didn't settle for the branches, no sir-ree!!! No half-measures for you, huh?" I grinned, taunting him.

'Not a good idea. Green And White Martians are as strong as Superman, though this one seems... weaker? Maybe younger? He'll still wipe the floor with you if you let him hit you.'

'I know. That's why I'm making him angry, so that he misses.' I frowned. "No response? That's cool; I didn't really wanna know if the voice matched the face, ol' fugly buddy, ol' fugly pal, so how's about you start praying? I'll wait, I've got the patience of a saint, ask my mama. How's the family, by the way? Still not talking to you unless you shape up and grow a nose?" I grinned at his three-fingered fists curling up angrily.

He leapt forward, punching at the space where I was, and striking an Nth Metal pillar, instead. He screeched, stumbling back as he clutched the broken hand; the pillar had simply sent back the shockwave, with a little bit of Oomph to speed it on its way, and he hadn't expected that.

Another pillar appeared to his left, shoving him and making him glance at it, and when he turned away from it, there I was, punching him in the (what I hoped was) jaw. He flinched a little, but my fist was what got hurt, letting me know where I stood on the strength and invulnerability leaderboard in this fight.

I shook the busted knuckle, and it healed quickly, as the last of the barrier reintegrated, and powered up. 'Can I have the Thunderdome turned on, thanks? Instead of lightning, give me heat. Microwave the sum'bitch.'

'Done.' The crackling net of electricity rose, distracting him as he swung at me, and a pillar darted up under his extended hand, breaking his wrist.

He seemed to smirk at the electricity, but paused and stared at it as the electricity began to pulse with heat waves.

'He's been attempting to speak to you this whole time; mostly insults and grand nonsense about killing you, but now he believes you mean to fry him as you did the clones, and demands a 'fair fight'. Hmph.'

"Well, if you manage to knock me out or kill me, it'll all shut down, considering it's attached to my brain." I bluffed whimsically, and began raising pillars around him, in a seemingly random pattern, dodging along a predetermined path that had him chasing me into a trap.

At every turn, a different pillar cracked into him, breaking bones, knocking him more and more senseless, until he stopped, heaving for breath while sweating visibly. The water under us was literally boiling, and was of no help to his plight, as he fell to his knees, heaving for breath.

Sofia threw my gun belt at me from the top of the window, letting it pass through the net, and nodded. "The jamming is still active, if weaker now. I might be able to get a high-frequency beam out, but it'd have to be from a pretty high source, and very accurate."

"Like my rangefinder, inside to the headlamp of my bike?" I asked.

She paused, and then disappeared inside. 'I'll code a message, and quickly.'

I nodded, belting on my weapons, and looked down at the prone Martian. "And lock this one up... give him a proper supply of fluids, but keep the chamber as hot as necessary to keep him de-powered. Task a drone with keeping an eye on his vitals."

'Easily done. One moment.' A pair of large eagle-shaped drones dragged him into a shadow, and down into a pure Nth Metal cell, about 10ft^3, a hundred feet below the surface.

"Good! So, stay here and finish repairs, while I go figure out what the hell is going on. I'll take little Sofia with me, and you can look through her eyes... Wait, is the mystical connection still up?!?" I asked.

'Yes?'

"Then what about a magical message? That's a viable way to communicate, you should make sure to expend that option in the future, before proclaiming communications down entirely." I sighed.

'Ahh... oops?' She chuckled wryly, and I felt a small pulse in my chest. A mental message came through, apparently to Zatanna. 'Zatanna! Can you hear this? Standard Communications are down, what's the situation?'

'Sofia? What are you-? Hold on.' A brief glimpse of a rampaging Lobo being locked up with a series of glowing chains was flashed through, and then she spoke again. 'We got hit with a huge group of Lobo Clones, pretty brainless, so they're likely 5th Generation or more... and they're growing much faster than they should, but they're weak enough one of us is good for one of them... your end?'

'Four here, disintegrated, and a White Martian, in Holding, currently unable to phase-shift or fly his way out. Apparently the source of the jamming, though I haven't figured out how yet, and it hasn't stopped, even with his ship locked away in an electromagnetic shielded cell.'

'That won't work, you need to block out all the psychic lanes of communication as well; and we've got one of those here, as well. A coordinated assault, then, I'll inform Batman that there's not just one White Martian involved... I just hope this doesn't go where I think it's going.' Zatanna sighed.

'Perhaps stress that they're being manipulated by Lex Luthor? His tech was with each of the Gen5 Lobo's, not their usual; likely because of their lower levels of intelligence. Also, the Martian Here is an adolescent, perhaps 17 earth years old.' Sofia sighed.

'He'll likely say it's supposition, and call for any charges to be dismissed as Hearsay.' I threw my two cents into the pot.

'But his tech, in the hands of an intergalactic assassin he was recently revealed to have hired? Once is random, and twice is coincidence, but three times? That's evidence.' Sofia grumbled sternly.

'We'll see, but for now we need to handle this-... did you say Incinerated?!?' She gasped.

'It's the only way to stop them from spawning more clones, yes.' Sofia answered.

'Sofia, we don't kill our captives. Please remember that, in the future.'

'They weren't captives, they were still in battle when their brains were fried with lightning. I would never murder someone who couldn't fight back, Zatanna, and Shame on you for insinuating that I would!!!' Sofia gasped, offended.

'My apologies, Sofia, that was very crass of me. Now, the attack seems to be focused on metropolis, so far, though for what purpose is unclear. If you can get here, Erin, your help would be appreciated.'

'I'll be there soon, but first, I'll try to find a way to shut off this Jamming... is it Global?'

'No, just Metropolis and, apparently, wherever you are in the Ocean Blue... though I suppose how would we know what we couldn't hear?' She cussed suddenly, and cut the connection, leaving behind an impression of a dozen calls to make.

I nodded, and mounted the motorcycle that rose up through the water, exiting a shadow. "And what altitude do I need to reach before I can start broadcasting across all broadbands? Make sure to give me a copy of that thing you sent to the Bio Ship to give it an aneurism, as well, as there's another one in play."

'Done, and Two dozen kilometers should be enough. But, now that you're going, there's really very little point in contacting the people you're about to see. I'll shoot a beam for the watch-tower, however, and hopefully manage to stop the psychic jamming of the Bioship...' she hummed.

'Try microwaving the thing, just like the Martian. They come from the same planet, maybe you'll disable them the same way? Or, of course, a blanket of pure psychic energy around the room would prevent any radio signals from being sucked towards it, and effectively release them back into the air, Yes?' I hummed thoughtfully, and fixed my clothes from their disheveled state, zipping up my jacket.

'... why and how are you smarter than a Sentient Quantum Computer?' She pouted, beginning to follow my directions and cease the jamming of the Martian Bio-Ship.

'It's a gift, my dear.' I smirked, and gunned the throttle, diving into the shadows, towards Metropolis.