Seeing Superman bleeding out large amounts of blood, everyone had grim expressions on their faces. Superman was popularly known to have three weaknesses.
One, several types of kryptonite.
Two, Magic.
And three, the lesser known red sun which had the same capability to make kryptonians lose their abilities, just like blue kryptonite.
The Man Of Steel is resistant to almost every form of attack due to his bioelectric aura. Superman's kryptonian physiology gives him a naturally occurring shield that surrounds him at nearly any time. The aura can be extended as well, far beyond the limits of his form, which allows him to protect objects within his grasp as well.
Coupled with his almost invulnerable physique and all of his other abilities, it would be reasonable to assume that the Last Son of Krypton is truly invincible.
But his teammates knew better than that. Under a red sun, even a simulated one, although he wouldn't become cripplingly weak like when exposed to green kryptonite, Clark would practically lose all his abilities.
And with how badly injured he already was...
"Oh no! This is bad, he's not healing".
"If this keeps up, he'll die". Barry yelled urgently. The four Leaguers all had ugly faces.
"We need to get him out of range". John said solemnly.
"Flash, get Superman out of here". Diana said with haste.
"The shield is set, neither you nor the kryptonian are going anywhere. He is coming with us". Mericrozz said flatly.
"By my sword, he is not". Wonder Woman drew her sword in combat readiness.
Martian Manhunter looked at Mericrozz deeply.
"I can feel your mind, you're a white Martian....." John's red pupils turned white, and he activated his telepathy in an attempt to invade the mind of the latter.
However, his face contorted greatly in the following second.
".... No…. no… you're not …."
"That was a bad idea" with eyes as white as the moon on a dark night, the White Martian countered with telepathy.
"Ahhhh!" J'onn suddenly let out a painful scream. His figure staggered backwards before dropping to the floor.
"J'onn!" Cyborg yelled and immediately opened fire while Diana attacked.
"That will be enough!" With a push of her hand, her telekinesis smashed towards them, pushing everyone back a long distance. Superman excluded.
Clark's bleeding body was pulled up from the floor with telekinesis.
Barry, seeing this immediately took to his feet and rushed at his fastest speed.
"You attacked first last time. Now, it's my turn". Barry said to himself as he attacked the Martian with extreme speed.
Barry Allen wasn't called the fastest man alive for nothing.
(Although before season 4, there was always someone faster than him to beat up his ass)
Even Clark wasn't as fast as he was. As long as he knocked out Mericrozz, then half their problems were solved.
That's what he thought, but unfortunately..... his sonic speed came to a halt three meters away from his target. Mericrozz always surrounded herself with a telekinetic field.
Unless the force could exceed her upper limit, it was literally an impenetrable defense.
So even with his speed, The Flash was helpless.
"Ahhhh!" Barry let out a scream as his body was lifted off the floor, and he felt his bones compress, like an invisible force was squeezing him with thousands of tons of force.
Luckily, the White Martian activated density shifting to avoid Diana's thrown sword. Diana followed up with an attack of her own as she blasted forward, but a bladed chain interrupted her propulsion.
The chain clashed against her armor, pushing her back several meters. Diana felt a noticeable deform in her chest area and her eyes were solemn.
Whatever that chain was made of, it certainly wasn't ordinary metal.
Arkin on the other hand was visibly annoyed. The same way Superman was borderline mortal under a red sun, he who had absorbed his Kryptonian blood had his enhanced strength stripped away in the same case.
His attack on Wonder Woman was using his original strength, or he would have inflicted more damage.
"Enough!" Mericrozz said seriously, and her mental power unfolded throughout the whole city.
Wherever her telepathy unfolded, countless civilians in Central City screaming, hiding, running suddenly felt a force invade their minds. A second later, they all carried a dull expression, as if the light in their eyes was hollowed out.
Then, they all moved towards different directions. Some to the sharpest thing they could find, some to the top of their buildings, while police officers who had guns pointed their guns at people or themselves.
The chaotic city suddenly gave off a deafening silence.
"You are the guardians of this planet, are you not? Now I give you a choice. She raised Superman and brought him beside her.
"You can continue your attack, but the humans of this city will suffer the consequences at the cost of their lives". Her indifferent voice fell into their ears, causing them to stiffen in their actions.
Diana and Cyborg, who were ready to launch another attack, couldn't move a muscle. Their eyebrows narrowed, and their faces looked grave.
"She isn't lying. Her mind has invaded everyone in the city. One thought and they'll all kill themselves". Martian Manhunter said weakly as he raised himself from the floor.
His words made their eyebrows furrow even more. The situation had gotten even trickier. Hundreds of thousands of people had their lives on the line.
J'onn looked at Mericrozz gravely. The mind of this Martian, he had never seen anything like it.
Their mental power was vastly different so that he had immediately suffered a loss in their telepathic exchange.
"..... Who…. What are you?" His question went unanswered.
BOOM!
The attention of everyone was caught by the sound of explosions happening above them.
The United States military had sent in several fighter jets and launched countless missiles in an attempt to destroy the spaceship.
Well, it was just a symbolic attempt. No one actually expected it to have any effect. Sure enough, the missiles were destroyed before it even reached the ship.
Alongside numerous US fighters was Batman's Bat Jet.
"I believe it's time to leave". Mericrozz said flatly. Arkin beside her pressed a button and a beam of light fell from the spaceship.
The next moment, the figures of both of them disappeared.
"Dammit!" Cyborg exclaimed angrily.
"We can't let them take Clark!" Diana added as she flew into the sky.
J'onn wanted to fly as well, but he barely rose three feet off the ground before falling back down.
"Are you ok?" Cyborg looked at him and asked with concern as he moved towards Flash.
"I'm fine. Just..... mentally drained. But the Lanterns and Flash may need some help". J'onn said, with a bit of fatigue.
"You're telling me. Barry's got many broken bones". Cyborg replied grimly.
"You go get Superman back. I'll be fine". Barry said with a bit of difficulty.
It didn't matter much, though. After all, he had super healing and would be back to normal before the end of the day.
J'onn nodded and took off towards the spaceship.
.....
Meanwhile, four figures appeared on the teleport bridge up in the spaceship.
Arkin's eyes landed on the White Martian with open displeasure.
"Take the kryptonian to his confinement space. Lobo is with me". The White Martian said flatly, ignoring the displeasure of the Alcan.
"They stood in our way. You should have killed them". Arkin said with a growl.
"We have spent enough time on this planet. Our goal has been achieved, so I would rather not have to fight off more". Mericrozz responded indifferently.
"Still, you had the Lanterns in your grasp. Ending their lives would have taken nothing for you". Sevimark had his face harden.
"My job is to assist you in capturing the Czarnian. The Kryptonian was an unexpected extra. Doing anything else is out of my jurisdiction". As soon as her words ended, she turned around and walked away.
Lobo's tank, still floating after her.
Arkin wasn't her superior. Both of them were here on a joint mission and were equal in status. The mission was complete, and any side jobs were unnecessary.
Plus, no matter how powerful she was, her weakness hadn't changed. Martians were inherently weak to flames, and she didn't believe that their opponents wouldn't know that.
She would rather leave as soon as possible.
Arkin's fist tightened as he stared at her leaving figure with a vicious look in his eyes. Ultimately, he did nothing.
...
The spaceship that appeared and floated silently above central city ten minutes ago suddenly came alive.
The energy dome surrounding Central City dissipated and the thrusters were activated at full force. The invading spaceship began to rise back into the clouds.
Diana, seeing this, wanted to attack the ship but was stopped by Martian Manhunter.
"Don't! Her telepathy is still active. If you try to stop them from leaving, all of Central City will die".
J'onn looked at the ascending spaceship blankly. Diana clenched her fists.
"What about Superman?" J'onn was silent, unable to give a reply.
"We'll get Superman back". A deep voice sounded on the intercom.
"Batman!" Diana exclaimed as she put her two fingers on her ear.
"This is Batman calling out to all available Leaguers". Inside the Bat Jet, the masked vigilante of Gotham spoke into the league's secure network.
"Superman has been taken captive by the group of Invaders. Unfortunately, a Martian with strong telepathic capabilities is holding the minds of all Central City Citizens hostage, preventing us from taking action. Nevertheless, We cannot allow them to leave the solar system with him still on that ship". Bruce analyzed the situation solemnly.
J'onn had already informed him about the situation.
Under the threat of a whole city, their hands were tied.
Bruce felt troubled as his brain constantly worked to find a solution. Looking at the rapidly ascending spaceship that had already reached the upper atmosphere, his heart sunk to his stomach.
.....
The White Martian stood in the monitor room of the ship. Her gaze examined the tank containing the Czarnian with a hint of interest.
At this point, Lobo was no longer badly damaged and his skin had regenerated to heal the scarred areas. His hand, however, was no more than a stump.
Mericrozz looked at the Czarnian who was still comatose with a hint of doubt in her eyes.
Especially when her gaze dropped to the severed arm.
"What happened to him?" Arkin asked with narrowed eyes. The hunt for Lobo was a unanimously approved decision of The Chamber. Seeing him like this would certainly raise questions.
Mericrozz did not respond.
Her telepathy directly infiltrated the depths of Lobo's subconscious and accessed his memories.
A few seconds later, her expression turned odd.
"There's someone with such abilities?" Her mind was filled with doubt, alongside slight amazement. She had seen Lobo's memories which basically lasted until he was..... well, drained.
The Chamber would certainly be interested in this person. Whether as a possible member or a subordinate.
Well, they were here to capture a kryptonian and a Czarnian. Although she had no ideas to turn back, but the chamber would certainly question how he ended up like this.
Her telepathy once again expanded to cover the whole planet. She felt the minds and thoughts of countless people.
"What are you doing?" Seeing her eyes turn white, Arkin questioned. The fact that she hadn't answered his initial question irritated him.
The Martian paid him no heed.
Seconds later, her telepathy locked onto a special case in the outskirts of Gotham. It was the mind of someone whom she couldn't read the surface thoughts.
Seeing this, she invaded the mind of the unidentified human. Or at least, she tried to invade what she thought was human.
The next moment, her mind was suddenly felt an irresistible pull, appearing in a place. Mericrozz found herself in a mental space.
The room was plain white and stretched on for as far as the eye could see, seemingly having no end.
The only thing in this space was her, and a male figure sitting on a rather comfy lounge chair.
The bright purple eyes looked at her deeply with a hint of amusement.
"I was just planning on watching the show but that my dear..... Was a very, very, bad idea". A smile lit up his face, but his eyes emitted a bone chilling murderous intent.
The next moment, the White Martian was overwhelmed with a deep feeling of crisis. An overwhelming devouring force appeared in the white room, attempting to swallow her consciousness.
On the departing spaceship.
The eyes of the Martian suddenly changed from white to normal, and her white skin texture grew paler in an instant.
The floating figure fell from the air, and she reverted from her human shape to her original form.
Mericrozz's face was covered in beads of sweat.
A sense of fear appeared in her heart as the feeling of death had overwhelmed her in that split second. If she hadn't severed that part of her consciousness off in time, then...
Just then, a stinging headache assaulted her senses and her brain ached.
Drip! Drip! Drip!
Drops of blood flood from her ears and nose, staining her face and dripping to the floor.
Her actions weren't without consequences. Severing a part of her consciousness caused her brain to suffer a backlash.
Arkin who saw all this was momentarily dumbfounded.
"It appears that there is a formidable figure nestled on this planet". Mericrozz raised herself from the floor, still in her Martian form.
Arkin was even more puzzled.
"Formidable? Who?"
"I don't know. But his telepathic capabilities are beyond mine. I lost heavily in our confrontation".
Arkin's eyes narrowed. Mericrozz wasn't just a random white Martian, she was a Martian captured and experimented on by the Psions.
It was unknown what those group of mad alien scientists had done to her but her when she escaped, her telepathic and telekinetic capabilities had been boosted several times more than what an average white Martian could ever achieve.
Her telepathic power, capable of destroying an entire planetary civilization in less than a minute and controlling a vast army, was what made her eligible to become an elite member of The Chamber.
This was something he had seen with his own eyes. It was also why he was relatively wary of her. As a Hybrid of two powerful races, his abilities were noteworthy, but neither of his two bloodlines gave him resistance to telepathy.
Someone who could defeat her so badly in her field was someone he himself had to be wary of.
"It seems my decision to immediately leave was the right call".
Mericrozz said flatly, not at all bothered by the blood on her face. She turned her gaze to the pilot of the spaceship.
"Full power ahead". The short, stubby alien that had a slightly bloated body and a long tail responded immediately. The ship picked up the pace, accelerating from Earth's atmosphere.
"Her telepathy is gone. We can move". Martian Manhunter said as he looked at the small figure of the spaceship, but couldn't figure out how they could catch up.
"Damnit!" Bruce's face was grim.
"Are any of the Lanterns conscious?" Bruce asked with a bit of hope. Among the full justice league, the members who could survive in space weren't many. The ones who could catch up with a spaceship going that fast could be counted on one hand.
If Hal and Stewart were aware, they could transport the rest of the league to chase after Superman.
"Negative Batman". Unfortunately, Cyborg shot his hopes to the ground with one word.
Mericrozz turned her gaze towards the monitor screen. A screen showed the picture of Superman, whose limbs were restrained in four directions with Nth Metal.
Since there was no red sun, his body had healed itself to a certain extent. Although he was unconscious, at least he wouldn't bleed to death.
"I hope you have no extra thoughts, Mericrozz. The Kryptonian is mine". Seeing her gaze, Arkin issued a warning with a threatening tone.
"That is still to be decided. We will contact The Chamber members once we leave this star sector". Mericrozz responded indifferently.
"It is rather unfortunate, but that will not be happening". The cute voice of a little Loli suddenly sounded throughout the Monitor room.
The thrusters of the ship that were propelling them thousands of miles per second powered suddenly powered down, leaving them motionless in deep space.
"Who was that?" Arkin growled in outrage.
"Here!" A projection of a red AI suddenly appeared on the screen of the ship. The aliens who were piloting re ship suddenly jumped back in alarm.
"We've been hacked". Looking at the virtual projection of the Red Queen, Arkin said solemnly. All the ship's operations had been taking control of.
Meanwhile, back on Earth. In a special place on the outskirts of Gotham.
Amari sat in his comfy lounge chair, the same one represented in the mindscape earlier. He wasn't idle, however, as a bowl of popcorn was right beside him, which prompted him to pick one from time to time.
The look of enjoyment and amusement was rare to come by for him.
"Is it time, Master?" The AI Loli asked in an excited tone.
"Wait for it". Amari said with a smile. To be frank, the actions of the government reducing the amount of control the Red Queen had access to was redundant.
Not to mention that he had no interest in something as meaningless as taking over the world, even if he did, there was nothing they could do to stop him.
The moment the AI was connected to a computer, the whole world had become his playground. They just didn't know it yet.
"And..." Amari said with a long drawl.
Then with a smile on his lips.
".....now".
On the spaceship.
"It was a pleasure to meet you, but by my master's orders.... You are all going to die here".
Mericrozz suddenly felt a chill go down her spine. She instinctively activated density shifting and drilled into the floor.
And then.....
BOOM!
The spaceship exploded.
....