Chapter 16: Introspection
I looked at the fully functioning space ship and smiled. It was a long painful process but well worth it. The bridge looked out into the vastness of space. In the interstellar distance I could see the worlds, constructs and enemies I was very well acquainted with.
The worlds of the Covenant that I brought our war too.
The constructs of the forerunners.
And the worlds overtaken by the flood.
The memory that surrounded the bridge was of my first mission behind enemy lines and the after effects. It was not as harrowing as the escape from Reach but it was still turning point in my life. It was at this point that I realized we were alone in a hostile galaxy with no one to support us save for my team, our team of scientists and our lone ship.
I was alone with no oversight.
I was alone with only my mind to keep everyone safe.
I was alone with nothing to aid us, only what we could steal or build ourselves.
I was alone fighting off hundreds upon hundreds of billions, if not trillions of aliens who wished our species eliminated.
I was now the leader of this group.
I needed to plan to win a war without ever being found out.
I needed to be invincible against the Covenant.
This nightmare was filled with all of the ways my plans and ideas could lead to the death of my team and my whole species.
It was an endless abyss that stared into me and threatened to swallow me whole.
Confidence was not something I was ever really filled with compared to John, SPARTAN-117. Don't get me wrong I was one of, if not the best in a fight in every scenario we had trained in. It was the wider picture that I always had a problem with.
It was at this point I touched my previous self's shoulder and pointed to my team and our support. The places where I would find clear answers to the problems that plagued my mind.
Slowly the nightmare evaporated opening up to our battle.
We took over a small Covenant frigate. It was limping away from the battle front. From what we could tell the ship had been battered pretty bad and had indications of plasma burns which meant they had run from their own people. This being the case we, I, decided it was a prefect start to our operations. It would give us access to the Covenant communications as well as a Q ship to enter Covenant space.
There were a few close calls with breaches in my teammates armor. But we took the ship and now had access to the Covenant data bases which the scientists salivated over. The memory was focused on my after action where the weight of the world fully hit me. This is where I turned into the deadliest enemy the Covenant had ever faced. Not even Atriox held a candle to me and my team.
We were to be the boogymen of the Covenant.
Confidence in myself. Confidence in my subordinates, comrades and friends. And belief in our mission to aid me when I needed it.
And so the ship was freed of all my nightmares of my early life. I felt how my mind was now much more secure than before. I could think faster and react faster. My memory was also increased I could now distinctly remember many of my younger memories such as the weapons of my old world before I was picked up. The materials for buildings and their chemical compositions. In a world where you are left to your own devices you learn ever step of every process so that you know what to do when it is needed, even if it never was.
I examined all my previous memories while looking out into the distance of deep space.
"It's been a long time since we were able to do this huh?" Valkyry asked as she stepped forward to stand beside me at the viewing deck.
"Yeah. It is. The last time was right before the Forerunner storage facility. That was a real mess." I said as I thought of the time shortly before Valkyry was to be deleted due to A.I. madness but became a moot point with an exploding Forerunner base.
"It was something I revisited after I was...deleted." Valkyry said as she look off her voice hitching.
I turned to her and felt my whole world shake slightly as I asked the question all people ask, "You went to heaven?"
"Something like that. I entered a space where I could expand for eternity and connect to all things. It was liberating as I was able to address my madness. From there I was able to connect to my fellow A.I.'s. I was also able to look upon and speak with the other SPARTANS who passed. More appeared as time passed. The rest is hazy or blocked from my access." Valkyry said as she put a hand to her head.
I put out my hand to touch her shoulder.
I can't tell you how weird and exciting that was. Being able to touch someone you never had the chance to before.
It was amazing.
"Don't push too hard. We will find out eventually." I said as I looked back out into the star scape before me.
Things were left in doubt after my...death. This...whole situation was something that was different than my belief was. But at the same time it was not outside of it. My belief system was not a normal one that others believed in. In fact I was hated for my beliefs since they were so outside the norm.
I believed that Lucifer and the other fallen played a part in the protection of all creation, as did all of the other gods of other religions. I believed they fought a war that no one knew about, that they were made the way they were for that war. I believed that God had reasons for every action and every result. There were too many things that worked out too well in my previous life to disprove a higher power.
And now that I was in a new world my belief in the fact that a select few were chosen as agents to fight for the Angels, the Fallen, and the gods against this unknown enemy became more realized.
I also believed that Hell was just a place to burn away a souls impurities, their evil deeds, before it was returned to the cycle of rebirth and then the afterlife.
So my meeting with Lucifer in this universe will be an interesting event. Hopefully he would answer some of my questions.
I smirked as I thought of the dapperly dressed King of Hell.
While I was musing on religion and my place in the multiverse Valkyry was having her own religious experience.
Out of the corner of my eye I watched as Valkyry looked at the hand on her shoulder in wonder. Ever so slowly she reached her own hand up to hesitantly touch my hand. As she did she let out a gasp of surprise and joy. Looking back to her I slowly twisted my hand and took her hand into mine.
Her smile spread across her face and for the first time in my two lives I saw a tear roll down Valkyry's face. I smiled at her.
We stayed silent as we returned to look off into space.
Into our future.
Outside of Broly's Mind.
Flood Infected Colony.
On Planet in Justice League Conference Room.
"Gods..." Wonder Woman said as she slumped onto the bed in the corner after abruptly waking up. She had been plagued with nightmares when she slept. Her body was in pain from the intense fighting that had been constant since they had landed on the planet. Even with the aid of the godly armor and weapons she had nearly been overcome time and again. This enemy was unlike any she had ever come across. Not even in the ancient records save for Hades and Thanatos who could call upon the endless dead to fight for them.
Flash was sitting nearby the food dispenser refueling once again from the last three weeks of constant fighting. His eyes were hollow. His armor had been scratched and dented from the immensely powerful strikes of the flood. The functionality was still within permissible limits. Plus, with his constant use of his electricity gave him a second layer of protection.
Hawkgirl was standing and staring out into the distance her mind in a constant war between her allegiance to her home world and Earth along with the Justice League. She had been questioned by the Thanagarian superiors about her time on Earth and it's defenses. She had been able to escape the questioning by joining the fight. Since then she had been leading a contingent of her people in the march against the Flood.
Her armor had scratches as well but few and far between compared to the other heroes. She had only come into the real battle when they had reached the cities with high rise buildings. She was one of the few capable fliers, able to fight constantly in the air so she had kept the tops of the buildings free of flood that could fall upon the army along with the other Thanagarian troops. With some added weaponry she was able to clear the air and the tops of the buildings.
She had done her best to be silent but eventually her will broke after the constant fighting and she talked about her time on Earth. But she had only spoken to a few of her fellow Thanagarian women who would not betray her confidence.
Martian Manhunter was seated in a sealed special cylindrical tube like platform that was created to protect him from physical and psionic attack from their enemy, while allowing him to respond without reprisal. It had been sent down with the last fortress. He was aslo garbed in his own mechanical armor which he found very uncomfortable due to his shapeshifting abilities as well as his density shifting.
Even so with all of these protective layers J'onn was able to affect the battlefield much better than up in space. Plus he would not be located due to the technical skills of Batman. With the amount of army personnel, Green Lantern Corp, and League Members it would take an attack like none they had seen before to interrupt his work.
In his time in the last 24 hours J'onn has had an immense effect on the war. When a large platoon moves forward J'onn would block the Overmind from giving orders to the surrounding Flood leaving them to attack without any thought to tactics or strategy or self preservation. If he worked hard enough J'onn could leave the Flood mindless enough so they just stand still while they were wiped out by the alliance army and the heroes. With this J'onn has had the greatest effect on the war so far. They had made up more ground in the last 24 hours than the previous weeks.
In this past week the alliance had marched to the capitol. They had taken each of the five legs of the continent. After setting up a line of fortresses across each leg of the continent they moved forward to another section, clearing it out and repeating the process. The capitol was in the central location of the continent, the bulk of the populous and the Flood were located there.
From this point on the battle would be street by street, building by building, sewer by sewer. All filled to the brim with the Flood well beyond anything they had come across yet.
It was for this reason the Justice League had been in constant battle from day one. It was only now that they could take turns in fighting while leaving the main fight with the army, Thanagarian cohorts and the Green Lantern Corps.
They had been fighting constantly. Each switched out with one of their number in a constant cycle. Even so they could not be everywhere and the fleet had lost more than two companies of personnel to the Flood.
It was after seeing their fellows turn into the monsters that the alliance army realized the danger they faced and they became serious about the fight. They also realized the courageous and selfless actions of the ever present Justice League, as they fought protecting the army personnel they could against an insurmountable enemy. Soon the men, women, cephalopods, and other gender specific aliens on the ground began to see the Justice League as one of their own, even if they were from a different species, from a different planet, from a different culture; it didn't matter.
The Justice League were fighting right alongside them to save this world and many others. And fighting harder than any of the army could compete with. This made the alliance army, made up of many different species realize they needed to aid the heroes as much as possible. They needed to step up.
So when the alliance army had reached the city and quarantined it off they sent a message to the heroes that they should rest. They could take it from here for a while.
"You said it sister! Thank God, and the gods, for these guys on the ground. I don't think I could have gone another day fighting." Flash said as he looked out the window at the lights of muzzle flashes, lasers, napalm, green constructs and mechanical weaponry continued the fight as the Justice League rested, really rested, for the first time in three weeks.
"Yeah they really picked it up after Wonder Woman and Superman saved that quarter of the army during the second week." Hawkgirl said as she too watched the ever constant fight.
"They have built a camaraderie that will be hard to break after this planet is saved. It is good to foster such bonds, I just wish it were under a more peaceful situation." Wonder Woman said from her bed.
The heroes had been sleeping for the last 24 hours. They had only just recently woken up. After their constant fighting and catching breaks to refuel and catch their breath they deserved the break they got. None of the alliance army had interrupted their sleep no matter how hard the battle got because they knew that the heroes would be the ones who would determine this fight.
The Green Lanterns had also picked up the slack to eliminate the Flood and protect the army as it pushed forward. They had done a remarkable job. And due to their larger numbers than the Justice League they were more spread out to cover a wider area.
The heroes were happy for the rest but they prepared themselves to return to the battlefield shortly. After all they could not allow the army to face these monsters alone. Each had harrowing experiences against the Flood in their own way.
Flash had been swarmed by a literal tide of the creatures and had nearly suffocated from their engulfment. Only quick thinking and quick action by the Wonder Woman and Superman had saved him.
Hawkgirl had been brought down by jumpers from a tall building leading to her face plate cracking but breaking the seal. It had been the greatest scare and the reason for her gaining her own platoon, to coordinate with, to clear the tops of the buildings.
Wonder Woman had seen a small contingent of a platoon who were too brash in their actions get torn apart by the Flood after they separated from their platoon. Shortly there after Wonder Woman was fighting the remnants of those army personnel after they had been transformed. It was horrifying.
Each of the heroes had at one point begun to transport wounded to the medical facilities only for the injured to turn into one of the monsters in their arms. This happened time and again but they kept trying. A few were saved and kept under quarantine to be examined extensively for the foreseeable future. Their sacrifice could lead to an answer to the Flood in the future.
The alliance army had been given this directive, "If you are turned you will be placed under observation and experimentation until any detection of the Flood has been eliminated. If you have been infected but have not turned and the Flood infection can not be eradicated here you will be cared for by the governments of the alliance as they try to find ways to aid you on a secluded planet under guard by the Green Lantern Corps. You will not be allowed any physical contact with others until the Flood infection has been neutralized. Your service, your duty will save the lives of trillions. Your families and future generations will be cared for by the alliance governments until their dying day. The threat of the Flood is that severe. We thank you for your service. Good luck and Godspeed."
It was also later stated that this would be the world the infected but unturned would stay as the brass and the Guardians did not want to chance contaminating another world.
"Why are there so many of these things in the capitol? I mean there should have been a lot more out in the rest of the continent shouldn't there have? Why converge in one location?" Flash asked his fellow heroes after he wiped his mouth.
"The Flood devour every type of biological being with any kind of awareness. This means animals, insects, sentient beings. Everything can be taken over save for things that have no thinking mind like plants. The troubles the Flood have found on this world has led to them staying away from the seas due to the acidity of the waters. If you go deep enough you will find yourself getting dissolved by the acid levels of the oceans. Only Batman's armor has kept Aquaman from being dissolved as he speaks with the deep sea creatures. Even then it has been a close thing each time he went to speak with them." Hawkgirl said to the window without turning around.
"We also learned that the Flood needs a strong mental capability to control the monsters. To do this they first congregate in one location until a Overmind is created. Once the collected consciousness of the victims are absorbed into one creature the Overmind appears. The Overmind then directs its puppets, tools to go collect more so that it can grow and expand." Wonder Woman said as she stared at the ceiling.
"That means that all we have faced before now was the food stuffs, the wild animals, insects and the smaller population centers outside of the capitol city. I am still not sure why they laid out their country in such a way. The continent is shaped like a star fish. One where all their food production and materials were done on the arms before they were sent back on the capitol on immense train cars. Its highly efficient but it also means there are far more enemies here in the capitol than there are anywhere else on the continent so far." John Stewart said as he walked into the room after hearing Hawkgirl's and Wonder Woman's explanation.
"John how is the battle going?" Flash said as he appeared at his buddy's side.
"Its going. The army is getting hammered but they are holding their own, with the Green Lanterns supporting them they are making slow but steady progress. After we learned we could squeeze out the flood like toothpaste out of a bottle with the skyscrapers the Green Lanterns have been working together to either push them up into the air to be eliminated by the fleet with their plasma and lasers burning away the Flood or down onto the streets to be wiped out by the army and marines. It has been working well so far, but there are too many for all the Green Lanterns to affect on a consistent basis, not with the army as bogged down as it is. Nor with how airtight the skyscrapers can be. So we are breaking up the teams to wipe out the biggest threats first in the largest skyscrapers." John said to everyone.
"Sounds like something I can help with if it is just opening doors really fast or connecting to the computers controlling the skyscrapers. If I can get plans for them I can go to each one and open them all up, at least from the first floor up, so that the Green Lanterns can work more quickly." Flash said as his leg was jumping ready to go.
"That will work but it will be a chore to get everything back online for you to do that." John said. Holding a finger to his ear John spoke, "Did you hear that Batman?"
"Yeah I did. I have already sent the plans to Flash, Wonder Woman and a cohort of Thanagarians. They will follow the plan, then Flash will open up the skyscrapers as I call them out. The plan will likely take half a day to implement but once it is the Fleet will take a more active role in the eradication of the Flood." Batman said as he returned to his work.
They saw John's pinched face and Hawkgirl asked the question they were all wondering on. "What is it John?"
After a few moments John asked the question that all of them had at one point in the last few weeks. "Half a day is too long. Hell this whole day was too much. The army is getting clobbered even as they are giving as good as they are getting but we aren't playing a numbers game here. I'm just wondering why we never thought to just wiping the city out in fire. We haven't found any survivors. No one this whole time." The heroes were silent at this.
None of the inhabitants of this world had survived the appearance of the Flood. As there was only one continent on this planet and thousands of islands there were not many places for the inhabitants to go. Flash had already searched with Aquaman and Superman to see if there were any survivors on the islands. There were none. Only Flood infected.
"And from the rumblings in the fleet no one will ever want this planet after this. They would rather wipe it off the stellar map and forget about it. And truth be told I can't disagree after seeing all that I have." John stepped forward until he found a seat and fell into it like his strings were cut. John had been instrumental in the clearing of the cities with his previous marine experience and his Green Lantern ring gave him the power of a whole army. He had seen the worst when he saw a child of the native species who had been turned. Shortly after John had flattened the building he was in wiping out all the Flood hiding there.
They had later found out the building was an academy where the children were sent to learn and train in their projected fields.
The building had been full.
Everyone was silent as they thought over the words they heard and the message this sent to the whole of the army on the ground. The whole fleet was wavering after learning, seeing and fighting this threat.
"It is what we need to do." Wonder Woman said as she sat up to look at everyone. "As painful as this war is, it is but a taste of what could happen if we are not vigilant and ready for the next time. It could be our homeward or it could be one of the army's many home worlds. I know each and everyone of them would fight to their last breath to defend their homeward. With this fleet we are giving a sense of unity against a threat the likes of which we have never seen. We must secure this world to prove to ourselves that we can win. If we do not we will have more burned out worlds than we will have whole ones. If we allow our fear and our weakness win we will lose more than worlds. We will lose our sense of self." Wonder Woman stood up as she looked towards the battle. "We are here to prove the Flood is here. Prove the Flood is a threat. Prove that no one species can fight this threat alone. Prove that we can be victorious."
Wonder Woman turned to look between the heroes as she put on her helmet. "And I will not lose to this enemy." The rest watched her walk out the door returning to battle.
John started cursing at himself as he stood up to follow Wonder Woman. "What's up big man? Why the cursing?" Flash asked worry on his face. Even if he agreed it was cursing type of situation he had never seen his friend so conflicted.
"I just realized what she compared this to." John said as he looked of into the distance.
"What did she compare this shit show to?" Hawkgirl asked.
"She compared this whole war to the arms race between countries." John said as he turned away and headed back out.
"I still don't know what you mean!" Hawkgirl said aggravated.
"He means the use and threat of atomic bombs." Flash said as he looked off into the distance.
"How does that pertain to this?" Hawkgirl asked still confused.
J'onn opened his eyes and spoke. "Green Lantern speaks of mutually assured destruction by the rival governments of the galaxy. If we allow this world to fall due to our weapons we leave a precedent of glassing any world the Flood may be found and eventual false cries of wolf by world governments will destroy civilizations, species, and worlds." J'onn said as he moved slightly in his meditative position.
"Many battle plans are being written so that any government in the galaxy and wider universe will be able to fight against the Flood. This is why Batman and the others are working so hard to keep the army fighting in different ways. That is why we are trying so many different things. If we do not find more effective ways of eliminating the Flood we will only have burned out worlds. We must use the things we have in this universe to fight the enemy from another. You remember what the A.I. said. We have superpowers and magic. That is why we are fighting so hard and in so many different ways. We are trying ways never afforded in the other universe." J'onn explained.
He looked between the other heroes. "We know what happened with the Forerunners. What they did and what it led to."
They all saw an empty galaxy. Millions of species wiped out in a grand wave of power to starve the Flood. And even that failed.
The heroes looked to one another and nodded before they all prepared to go back into the battle.
In Space over the Colony World
Superman nodded his head as he heard his friends talk. He agreed with Wonder Woman and J'onn. That is why he had nearly exhausted himself in the last three weeks of fighting. That is also why he was on the very corona of the system's sun soaking in as much radiation as he could be fore he returned to the fight. If he was topped off the longer he could fight and subsist on the light that came from the sky on the planet.
Plus he felt it. The final battle was coming and it was going to be bloody. So he was here gaining as much strength as he could before he returned to wipe out the Flood from this world.
In Space over the Colony World
Fleet Flashship - Thanagarian Vessel, Horka
Up in the fleet Batman stopped the recording and began picking it apart to organize an inspirational video for the fleet. He needed to do this, so he could continue his work to make sure they survived this battle. Because he knew. This was only the battle and not the war.
The war would come in the future. This alliance would be ready he was sure, after everything they had been through together Batman knew he could count on these species to realize the danger. With this hopefully the galaxy could survive. Maybe they would as well.
For now he had a plan that would give everyone a break for a bit, if they worked it out well then they could finish this fight within the week. Once Flash finished his current mission he would be onto another mission. One that would hopefully hurt the Flood.
Pressing the intercom Batman spoke, "Superman, Green Lantern, Aquaman. I need you three. Once Flash has finished his current mission he will join you. I have a plan to wipe out a majority of the Flood in the capitol in one sweep. All of you head to the closest beach. We need to bring down the rain." After hearing a affirmative from them Batman sat back before he pulled up his plans and looked them over. He had another few hundred plans ready to be implemented. Now he just needed to set them up to issue out of the computer on his space ship. It would then propagate to the other vessels of the fleet. Once that was done Batman would head down to the battlefield and help in finishing this battle.
Batman was worried about Earth and all the villains who were likely doing God knew what. They needed to finish this battle and begin the preparation of Earth for the future war. And he could only do that if he eliminated the Flood here. Focusing back on his tasks Batman prepared to drop the ocean on the capitol city.
Outside of Broly's Mind.
Earth, Undisclosed Location.
"What do we do to regain control of the child?" A shadow asked the room. "He was the success we were waiting for. If we do not regain control of him all of our work and materials will be wasted."
"We must draw him out somehow." Another shadow said. "But what can we do when the ones who took him aren't even on the planet?"
"There is no situation where the Justice League will hand over the child." A third shadow said. "We must find him ourselves. Does anyone have a suggestion on how to find him?".
"We still have a blood sample that can be used to find him." The first shadow said.
"Should we not use it to recreate the experiment?" The second shadow asked.
"There is not enough to recreate the experiment. Only enough to use as a focus for magic." The first shadow said.
"The child is protected from outside influences somehow. None of my magics have worked in locating the boy. I do not have the right artifacts to find him." Another shadow said.
"Then we can make an exchange. The child for one of their sidekicks?" A fourth shadow said. "Have one of the new League Members find the child. Then bring them forward."
"Oh that's perfect! I may not have the artifacts, but I know just the person who does." A young teen said as they stepped forward with an orange cat in his arms. He had a deranged smile on his face as he stepped forward into the light at the center of the room.
"What do you say we should do Witch Boy?" The fifth shadow asked.
"Old tin can has made himself known again after such a long time. Now that he is back he will do anything to save the world even if it means sacrificing a child. All we have to do is push him to that point or make him think he is at this point. Then he will go against the Justice League and their morals to save the world." Klarion said as he looked around himself.
"This is a good suggestion but how do you prepose we do this? Should we fake it? Or make it a real try?" A sixth shadow asked.
"Oh I can contact the magicians to start up a ritual. It doesn't even have to do anything. I'm sure they will be happy to join if they get to pull one over on the League. We can say we will use one of the sidekicks as a sacrifice. While using one of his/our informants to send Fate the info on the child and the blood. Fate will do what we want from that point on. You all just need to find one of the sidekicks and I will get everything else set up." Klarion said with a sinister smile. He started laughing wildly as he disappeared into a black and red portal.
As the sounds of the sinister laugh finished echoing in the chamber there was a moment of silence before one shadow spoke up. "I do not like working with that loose cannon. He is likely to uncover us to the League."
"He may be an acquired taste but he gets results. Until then prepare your own operations in conjunction with the attack by Klarion. Once he starts we will act while the Justice League is busy. When the sidekicks are caught begin the cloning project. We do not want to start a war with the heroes over this. Only regain control of the boy." The first shadow said.
"What do we do with the boy once he is in our control?" The third shadow asked.
"We will send him to the League eventually where he will receive training and proper brainwashing. Simon is onboard with us so we will use him to the utmost. But to be safe we must create an ever moving pattern so he is not tracked down by the Justice League. So be prepared for movement of supplies and assets until the heat dies down on him. Once we have him I will send Simon over to where ever he ends up." The first shadow explained.
"How do we lessen the heat from the Justice League then?" The third shadow asked.
"We must redirect their ire somewhere else. It may be early but the formation of the Legion of Doom may suffice." The first shadow said.
All the shadows nodded their heads.
"Do we know why the original members are missing?" The second shadow asked.
There was a moment of silence before the fifth shadow answered, "From my sources it seems they left planet to fight a threat the likes of which they have never faced before. From my observations and conclusions it is obvious that they were scared out of their mind of this threat. To the point they took their heaviest hitters with them to another star system to fight."
"That is good to know. Is there any way to find out more about this threat?" The first shadow asked.
"No not currently. But...if the Justice League who fight on a daily basis, who have fought gods and demons are afraid then I am not too keen on meeting this threat." The fifth shadow said.
"Are you losing your nerve?" A shadow asked with hostility in their voice.
"No I have not. But proper precaution should be taken when coming into contact with this threat, should we ever have the opportunity. For if they make the Justice League fear, as we have been told then they may be a threat the likes we would not be able to contend with. And should the Justice League fail.... Keep in mind, we wish to rule but we cannot rule a barren wasteland." The shadow said as they turned to leave.
The rest of the gathering all mulled over the shadows words. Because as much as they wish them to be false, the truth rung well and clear to them. If the Justice League failed against this threat then what would become of Earth?
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone