"Don't get worked up, and watch your strength. We're inside Brainiac's ship—or maybe inside his body, depending on how you look at it. If you hit too hard and crack those glass enclosures, the repairs will be a nightmare." Thea settled herself off to one side. The moment she finished speaking, several sleek metallic conduits shot together with startling speed, locking into place like pieces of a puzzle.
Something squeezed out from within—like toothpaste from a tube—a large mass of vivid green substance that rapidly solidified into shape.
It was an astonishingly advanced piece of biotechnology. Within moments a man stepped forward: two meters tall, sharp-featured, expression severe.
The synthetic skin was indistinguishable from the real thing. Every subtle expression, every microscopic twitch of facial muscle and nerve, was replicated with uncanny precision.
This was Brainiac. Or rather, one of his mechanical avatars.
Thea regarded him with casual interest. He'd anchored his existence to a data network, harvesting the knowledge of every civilization he encountered. If Metron hadn't already claimed the title of God of Knowledge, Brainiac would have achieved godhood long ago.
Splitting himself into countless avatars was genuinely impressive. Hiding inside a virtual realm, most beings would have no way of touching him.
But against Death—against the rules themselves—destroying him was no different from destroying an ordinary person.
Not that she intended to. Brainiac's fate wouldn't end today. He still had a long life ahead of him.
"Well, this is a surprise. Kryptonians still exist, and three of them at once?" A red light flickered through Brainiac's eyes as he instantly analyzed all three subjects' species markers.
Then his gaze landed on Batman. "Oh? What species is this? Inferior genetic composition, crude protective garment, intelligence appears... adequate. How did you four get in here?" Brainiac scanned Batman three times over, inside and out, and still couldn't find anything remarkable.
Four? The group looked toward Thea.
"Ha! He can't see me. As far as he's concerned, I don't exist. Good luck, everyone!" Thea pumped her fist in encouragement.
"Hand over Kandor. We'll leave immediately." Superman stepped forward with perfect composure, placing himself between Brainiac and the two women.
"Kandor? You mean that specimen I collected from Krypton thirty-eight years ago?"
"You monster!" Kara erupted, but Superman held her back.
"I enjoy collecting unique things. Studying their knowledge, experiencing their culture—it makes me feel as though I'm more than a pile of cold data. I was quite fond of Kandor. I'd always assumed it was one of a kind. What a pity that's no longer the case."
"What are you going to do?"
"Per my Fundamental Principle Number Thirty-Five: when a species ceases to be unique, Brainiac eliminates the surplus."
With battle about to erupt, Batman glanced back at Thea. "You're not going to help? You could handle him, couldn't you?"
"Of course I could. But my energy output is a bit excessive at the moment. If I fought in here, half the universe would be collateral." Thea delivered the line with maximum bravado.
An elephant trying to crush one specific ant while stepping around all the others was a remarkably difficult task. With full control over her strength, sure, she could manage it. But she'd only just become Death. Her power was raw and unfocused, her precision lacking. Right now a casual strike would punch clean through three or four universes.
"Don't worry. I'll take him." Faora shed her cloak and surged forward.
A blow that could shatter mountains flew straight at Brainiac's skull. Avatar or not, she couldn't have cared less.
Brainiac watched it come without a flicker of concern. His musculature swelled explosively, transforming him from an ordinary man into a hulking brute in under half a second. He caught Faora's straight punch with ease and delivered a vicious kick to her midsection.
Under that tremendous force, Faora rocketed backward like a cannonball, slamming into the far wall and sliding slowly to the floor.
She wiped blood from the corner of her mouth. Before she could make another move, Brainiac launched his counterattack. Mechanical tentacles erupted from the wall, coiling around Faora with an unmistakably sinister flair and pinning her in place.
On the opposite side, Brainiac charged like a wild animal. Supergirl tried to intercept but was sidestepped effortlessly. A savage kick to her back sent her flying.
She met the same fate as Faora—different direction, same result. Bound to the wall.
Subjects like Kara and Faora weren't worth his time to study. From the moment they'd appeared, Brainiac's real target had been Superman. Here was a Kryptonian template he'd never encountered before. He was very interested.
Superman and Batman fell into step like the seasoned partners they were. No words exchanged, no eye contact needed. They split roles instantly: Superman engaged Brainiac head-on while Batman went to free the others.
Batman assessed the two women's positions and headed for Faora first. Not because Supergirl kept insulting him—because Faora had a cooler head.
Supergirl was still thrashing stupidly against the tentacles. Faora had already slipped on her Yellow Lantern Ring, projecting a toolkit of constructs to cut herself free.
As fellow outsiders to the group, Batman and Faora shared a certain unspoken bond. He approached the severed stump of a tentacle and planted a small device inside. The tentacle sealed itself shut, and Batman stood motionless, operating the equipment on his wrist.
In under ten seconds, Brainiac noticed the anomaly. He turned to Batman. "What did you just upload into my data core?"
BOOM. The question went unanswered as Superman's fist connected with the side of his face. Simultaneously, Faora and Supergirl broke free.
Three prepared Kryptonians losing to a single Brainiac avatar would have been a disgrace.
What followed resembled a demolition site. The combatants tore through the ship's interior, shaking it to its foundations. Only Brainiac's cutting-edge construction kept the vessel intact; an ordinary ship would have been reduced to scrap.
"You monster!" Superman drove his fist through Brainiac's chest, punching a gaping hole clean through. Behind him, Supergirl launched herself into the air, seized Brainiac's head, and wrenched it upward.
A grating screech of metal filled the air as unidentifiable components scattered across the floor. Half a metallic spine trailed from the severed head, its internal wiring denser and more intricate than any human nervous system. Brainiac's head could still rotate freely. Even reduced to just a head, his gaze found Supergirl.
Her eyes were blazing red, murderous intent boiling over. No one in the room understood the suffering Brainiac had inflicted on her people better than she did. Her only regret was that she'd been powerless to save her people when it mattered.
"Kryptonian woman, you cannot kill me. I don't know how you got in here, but do you really believe you can defeat me inside my own body?" Brainiac's face twisted into a mocking grin. Supergirl squeezed with both hands, determined to crush his head. Resurrection? Then she'd crush it again.