trans_9 | Like 31st Century Fanfic Really... [open]

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Like 31st Century Fanfic Really... [open]

A battle raged above a barren world, the odds against the two heroes fighting side-by-side in the thick of it all, but they both refused to give up; there was simply too much at stake for that.

"Keep fighting, we’re winning!" One hero declared. He looked a little like an older version of Kon-El, but with some slightly different facial features and a different costume.

Brainy turned to say something in return, but his eyes focussed instead on the cannon levelled at Superman’s back and primed to fire.

"Look out!" But he could see that the warning wasn’t going to be enough, so threw himself desperately forward, managing to shove Superman clear as the weapon fired and hit him full force, ripping open his side and exposing the circuitry within. As he spiralled out of control and fell to the lifeless rock below, he could only watch as Superman quickly finished off the last of the enemy’s forces and rushed to his side.

"Hold still! You’re going to be fine," Superman insisted, clutching the Coluan boy’s hand tightly. It felt real and warm to Brainy’s sensors, and he gasped weakly, playing up his injuries.

"No Superman, I’m too—" a break for another gasped breath "—it’s too... late for me..."

"Don’t say that! I won’t leave you here!"

"You have to! I can’t go—" GASP. And a weak, pathetic cough. "—You have to save the... universe... Please..."

Superman’s eyes began to tear up. "I’ll never forget your sacrifice, Brainy," he said. "No matter what happens, you’ll always be a hero in my mind."

"Super—" Brainy tried to say, but he coughed again and, with a final sigh, went limp in the hero’s arms as the music swelled to a crescendo and—

Someone was in the room with him. The moment he realised, Brainiac 5 sat up and snapped out an order – "Stacy, end simulation" – mentally cursing that he hadn’t picked up on the intrusion sooner. Trying to act like he hadn’t just been involved in that simulation, he picked himself up off the ground and turned to face the new arrival.

[[if you’re curious, this is all completely canon, so feel free to wander in and comment as you see fit!]]

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The moment the seat appeared, he knew this wasn't something to be taken lightly. In a way it was better, it meant his counterpart was willing to trust him and right now that meant a lot to Brainy. A moment later there was a matching chair for himself and he settled into it as he listened.

It wasn't what he expect to hear, but then he wasn't exactly certain what he was expecting in the first place. "You... were happy he died?" he asked uncertainly. "Why?"

This is the part he's not sure how to explain.

"Throughout my childhood, they had been my main points of humanoid contact. Neither of them had been particularly...kind."

Edited 2009-09-25 14:28 (UTC)

It didn't help that Brainy's version of Colu and Coluans was entirely different as well. He had to remind himself of what he knew of other humanoid species and how they raised their children, not to mention important developmental periods, to see how that might be a problem for his counterpart.

"I... think I understand," he said hesitantly. "You didn't like either of them, so you didn't care about their wellbeing. And if they hadn't been in your way, it might have even made things easier for you." He didn't like to say it so plainly, but he was nearly certain that was how it worked.

"Whereas on my Colu, it's normal to be raised with minimal contact. Emotions are almost non-existent."

"I was raised in what were most likely identical conditions. Complete solitude, barring the attentions of my robot caregivers. They didn't have complex AIs, however--only rudimentary ones, with just the necessary protocols to do their work. After a time, I no longer needed them."

He is mammalian. There are plenty of experiments on the effects of raising mammals in complete isolation.

"And then there were the Councilmen, who made sure that I never forgot what a danger I was to others. Very few let me forget that I was a Brainiac."

He didn't like where this conversation was going in one way. His counterpart's experiences were so similar, often painfully so, to his own... But in another way he was also more than aware that there weren't likely to be any other people on board the ship who he could talk about this with. Not so honestly at any rate.

"So while my people wanted me to forget about my desire to become more human, to integrate myself completely into Coluan society so they could control me, yours sought to keep you separate?" He sighed. "I'm beginning to wonder if it would be possible for any version of us to be accepted by anyone other than the Legion..."

"That brings me to the entire purpose of this promulgation about my childhood--which, I must add, is something I'm not usually eager to divulge information about," Brainy says, raising an eyebrow slightly. "Barring backlash from a few incidents that were indeed my own personal responsibility, in my universe, I'm well known for my actions while serving in the Legion. I rarely take much notice of public opinion regarding me, and the times I have, it certainly wasn't the most positive, but the majority of individuals seem to...to set me apart from my forebears, and judge me based on the merits of my own character and actions, just as they do the other Legionnaires. The name 'Brainiac 5' does not have the same connotations that the name 'Brainiac' does. In fact, Colu is the only world where I'm not regarded as a hero, due to my exile and the actions I took that caused it."

He takes a deep breath and finally gets to the point.

"Early on, I learned to tone out the droning, inane voices of all those individuals that insisted they already knew my true character, that spoke to me and spoke of me as if I were doomed to follow in the footsteps of my forebears. I decided that ultimately, I would be the one to decide if I were a villain or a hero or an individual that lay anywhere on the spectrum in between. After that, with the acceptance, encouragement--and trust--of the Legion, the rest just...fell into place."

Looking over at his counterpart, his gaze is unwavering, just as his security in the knowledge of his identity is. For all he's a grumpy, antisocial, socially retarded arrogant jerkface, he's one that knows he's a hero, even in the face of all his mistakes.

"While Superman is certainly a heroic and remarkable individual, you don't him need to tell you that you're a hero. You don't need anyone to."

Edited 2009-09-26 15:27 (UTC)

He wanted to believe it was as simple as his counterpart said, but part of it jumped out at him more than the rest.

...in my universe, I'm well known for my actions while serving in the Legion.

And what would he be known for in his universe? Considering what had been happening before he found himself waking up in Stacy's pod chambers, he doubted it would be anything good. And hadn't Kell-El said the same when they'd first met?

"Thank you," he said, "but I don't believe it's that easy for me. Not anymore." He rose from his chair and paced away from his counterpart, as though the distance made things easier to say. "Before I came here I... did something. Something unforgivable."

"Did you break the oath?"

It's an easy guess. There's one very specific thing the Legion doesn't do. It's grounds for turning in your ring. Either killing someone on purpose, or killing someone by inaction.

He flinched. He could argue that he hadn't been entirely himself, he'd been under his ancestor's influence and everything in his head had been such a mess he still wasn't sure when exactly he'd stopped being himself and started being Brainiac but...

They felt like they were just excuses.

Wordlessly he turned, removing his flight ring and offering it to his counterpart.

Edited 2009-09-27 05:05 (UTC)

Brainy looks at it for a moment, but doesn't touch it, instead looking back up at the other Brainiac.

Then he asks, quite matter-of-factly:

"What were the mind-altering conditions that were in effect at the time?"

"I..." Brainiac 5 hesitated. "It's hard to explain. My programming was undermined and..."

He almost didn't continue, but if he couldn't tell his own counterpart, than who could he? "And I was taken over by my ancestor. Brainiac 1.0."

He didn't withdraw the ring the entire time he spoke.

The expression is one of consternation, and he reaches out his hand to...

Close Brainiac's hand over his ring again.

"Then it wasn't you that made that decision, was it."

They'd taken Livewire back as a Legionnaire upon his return, despite his killing of Element Lad, but that's because what matters is the spirit of the law, not the letter.

"You obviously feel a tremendous amount of guilt and shame over the incident, and above all else, you were mentally compromised. As unbelievable as that concept is, that still is possible for a Brainiac."

"I don't feel like I deserve it," he said, and suddenly it was important that he make his counterpart understand exactly what he did. "You don't understand. When he was in control... I digitised entire planets, enslaved Colu and--"

He opened his hand and stared at the small gold ring sitting there. "The Legion tried to stop me. And I did the same to them. If it hadn't been for Superman, maybe I wouldn't be here at all."

"That you feel such guilt--don't you think that's somewhat telling? Are the individuals in our family lines particularly known for feeling remorse?"

Edited 2009-09-27 05:38 (UTC)

"If feeling guilty was enough to absolve a crime, then there'd be a lot less people in Takron-Galtos," he said bitterly. Nonetheless, he slid the ring back into its normal place.

"I just feel as though I should do something to make up for everything I did." If he was back in his own dimension, leaving the Legion at least for a while would be the most logical choice, but here his options weren't so apparent.

"You can be a Legionnaire," Brainy tells him. "You can do what a Legionnaire would do and help me find a way to send all the people on this ship home. You can do all you can to protect them."

He was silent for a moment longer, then he nodded. "I'm not sure if it will be enough, but," and he managed a weak smile, "it might be a start. I'll do everything in my power to help out and maybe--"

Brainy's eyes flicked to where he'd been working with his 'training simulation' earlier. "Maybe I won't need anyone else to tell me things I already know either."

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