Phase 4 - The Mastermind Behind it All?
Hal9000 had been defeated, but it isn't quite over yet. After the injured had been healed and Jaime Reyes had stopped blanking out, after they'd regrouped and got their stuff together, it was time to move on. Engineering and Neuropathy had yielded nothing fruitful.
They could, of course, just blow the ship to hell by messing with the engines, but that really didn't benefit them and they were already dead in space right now, the ship stopped in some random dimension. Neuropathy was locked down.
No, they had to make it to the bridge.
And this was one of the places on the way, a wide open area, sort of like a courtyard with something like a open-air cafe. A section tucked away was more like a lounge area, with a viewing window, like the one in Obs.
Here, someone was waiting for them, someone that had watched their every move.
He's not a very nice man. In fact...maybe they don't even have to go to the bridge. Maybe the one in control of it has come out to meet them.
[ooc: The old threads are still open, obvsly, but I'm trying to get everything up to keep things moving along.]
They could, of course, just blow the ship to hell by messing with the engines, but that really didn't benefit them and they were already dead in space right now, the ship stopped in some random dimension. Neuropathy was locked down.
No, they had to make it to the bridge.
And this was one of the places on the way, a wide open area, sort of like a courtyard with something like a open-air cafe. A section tucked away was more like a lounge area, with a viewing window, like the one in Obs.
Here, someone was waiting for them, someone that had watched their every move.
He's not a very nice man. In fact...maybe they don't even have to go to the bridge. Maybe the one in control of it has come out to meet them.
[ooc: The old threads are still open, obvsly, but I'm trying to get everything up to keep things moving along.]
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Slobo was wrong, but for all the right reasons. His wasn't a kneejerk response. But he did not realize the dangers.
Kon was lashing out with his castigation both at her and Slobo. Exactly the kind of response i'd expect from self described heroes.
The blond and brunette were clutching at each other in their agitation.
Only the two youngest of her erstwhile comrades had the right ideas.
"Enough. I cast my vote also for going immediately to the bridge. Luthor may accompany with us or not, I don't care." Which was a sharp contrast to her thoughts of a minute ago, but then she was sure and easy with concealing her true intentions when she needed to.
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"I'm outta here. There's somethin' goin' down back at 'base', and I'd rather risk my neck for people who will survive, not a buncha punks who're gonna waste all their time treatin' people like lepers because of where they came from." He started to walk, pausing by Lex.
"Don't feel bad, man." He said almost nonchalantly. "They treated me... and someone else... the same way cause o' what we were. They want their villains ta be villains, period." With that, he walked a few more steps and stopped at Kon, giving a glare. His eyes were different than normal, or than Kon had ever seen them. They were a bright, crimson red.
"Ya ever talk to me like that again, Superboy..." He said, the first time he had used Kon's superheroic name to his face.
"... And you an' me are gonna finish what our 'fathers' started. I'm gonna go see if the people who NEED help need it." With that, he started his walk out.
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"If you want to leave, feel free. I was content to not interfere with your progress before, I'm content to do so again.
"Just keep in mind one thing, if whatever alternate you know is remotely like me, then you should know I always find a way to win." He's Lex Luthor, after all. Even when he loses, he wins. "I'm getting off this ship one way or another." There's a confidence in his voice and in him that suggests that he does have some kind of ace in the hole.
"And despite not knowing any of you, and having no reason to even care if you live or die, I'm still willing to help you get out of here too. Despite the fact that you've done naught but lie in my face." Remember, you're all a group of strangers to him, too. Why should he trust you?
"But if you want to walk away from help because of a mixture of fear and pride? Then go. And you'll deserve what's coming to you for being so foolish. Hopefully the next group will learn from your mistakes."
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And there goes her former teammate anyway.
"Slobo," Cassie speaks up, frustrated, "I'm all for treating people fair but that was completely different. Right now you're just adding fuel to the fire. If we're lucky, we can all have this argument later."
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She walked over to Slobo and seized his hand. She had no trouble giving him a look: a pleading, desperate look. She didn't care about any of these arguments, and to an extent, even about Lex. As long as he was helping, who cared?
"Slobo, please," she said softly, "Don't go. we need you."
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She looked at the rest of the group. "But it'd also keep him in line if something bad does happen. No ripping information out of his mind, reading his thoughts in general if he's not fighting it, or even really disabling him. Really, all it'd do is mean Danny or I would have to make sure not to get hit while possessing his body so he doesn't get hurt. All our ghost powers and stuff would work still even with us in him. So, if he's bad, we don't have to act like bad guys if we get in a crunch."
She looked at Luthor again. "But if you're really not lying, there's no need to do it at all, right? So you really have no reason to protest it as a precaution. And even if we jump the gun, it's easy enough to undo and you suffer no ill side effects."
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Mai folds her arms, eying Lex, "I'd rather not have to work with someone like Azula again. Someone who thinks people are tools. I'm not going to be forced into working with him either. If we take him on, count me out. We can deal with what ever is on the bridge ourselves."
Although, at one point, she'd considered Azula a dear friend. And sometimes she wished that hadn't changed, but that was life.
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Brainiac had been silent through all this, but enough is enough. Once he's determined what he deems is the most prudent course of action, he takes it.
It's very easy to calculate exactly how much force it takes to knock someone unconscious without causing someone any permanent damage. Therefore, there's a light thud as his forcefield smacks Lex Luthor in the head. Brainy catches him as he drops, to make sure he isn't injured by falling on anything, and gently lays him on the floor.
This is what happens when you stick two pragmatists in a room--one of them decides it's pragmatic to take the other out. It's kind of like Siamese Fighting Fish that way. This is also pretty much the entire win some-lose some tone of the entire Brainiac-Luthor dynamic.
"Luthor is now unconscious and useless to us--therefore, I've removed him as a polarizing factor. We'll steal his monitors and equipment, and glean what information we can from them. This group already has several tactical geniuses and two twelfth-level intellects--I'm sure we'll find some way to manage."
He sits down in front of the monitors, and starts calling up holoscreens and tapping away to see what information he can glean. Luthor kept notes, apparently, although they are encrypted. It will take approximately a half hour to crack them, but there's no need for that. The footage itself is available.
Brainiac 5 is not above "winging it" when the need arises.
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You should be impressed, Brainy. That means a lot, coming from Mai.
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Though he's a bit less obvious about it.
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They still had a lot of ground to cover, and too many things were at stake.
"Let's just go," she said, turning away.
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"Are we leaving anyone here with him?"
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"THIS?" He yelled when seeing Brainy knock him out. "THIS is how you treat people different from ya? Ya never got it, did ya? We could all be good, if any of ya gave us half the chance. But ya choose ta hit us, and yell at us, and tell us we're wrong when we're helping friends..." It was very clear his own experiences were bleeding into this argument, but he doesn't give a care, right now. He got this wasn't their Luthor. he saw that this was a younger, nicer, luthor. One with hope. To give up on this Luthor was to give up on himself.
Now, he stared straight at Robin and Kon, in turn, almost ignoring the rest.
"You... YOU are the reason people don't wanna be good... because even when we try, ya just judge us, knock us out, imprison us, and go on yer friggin merry way like the so called 'heroes' ya call yerselves! THIS IS WHY SHE ALMOST KILLED EVERYONE!" he paused for a moment, his formerly red eyes now completely golden.
" I get bein' the victim, buddy... They just do it. Ta everyone. Please wake up. If yer dead, I ain't got no problem killin' the guys who did it, even if it kills me. But please wake up..."
Slobo has problems. But sometimes people need to realize his own code may be more in line with theirs than they may think, regardless of his crass nature.
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Yes, Mai has feelings. She just hides them very, very well.
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His voice is perfectly calm as he speaks, and he doesn't stop working.
"And I suppose I truly have no idea what it's like to not be given a chance to prove myself. To be treated as if I'm a villain. It's not as if all Brainiacs are feared and hated by the rest of the universe, due to the villainy of our ancestor."
There's a slight eyeroll there.
"If an individual expects to be trusted, they must prove themselves worthy of trust. I think Luthor might have aided us, and that his assertions were likely sincere. However, he demonstrated vast arrogance, neglected to recognize us individuals rather than potential pawns, and harmed us and most likely the rest of the crew elsewhere in the ship through inaction, which is morally reprehensible. There was no way the entire group would agree on enlisting his aid, and they had no reason to, so I removed him from the equation, to our greater benefit."
Tap tap tap.
"As someone that's spent his entire life earning the trust of a fearful--and often hateful--populace, I found that his was a very dubious method of demonstrating his desire to assist us. Trust must be earned, not demanded. Even more so when your name carries... a stigma, even if it's one that's unearned."
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"I could help," he said after a moment more of watching.
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"Please do."
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"I'm sorry, Aqualass... and Sparky... and even you, Wondy... but I ain't leavin' a poor kid like this to die just because you idiots don't think he's worth it. I know what he goes through more than any o' ya can imagine." He almost seems very sullen at this moment, but it straightens up to raw pride as he stands erect, all 5'1" of righteous fury standing truly tall, knowing exactly what will happen if he does or doesn't.
"I spent six years as a statue, and honestly, I missed a lot of you. Right now, I get I missed Impulse. The rest of ya, ya ain't got half the morals ya claim ta have." That was if for him as he sat back down.
"I'l stay and take care of the guy ya all judged and knocked the hell out before really even askin' him who he was." Slobo stared at Kon. "Otherwise, unless ya got real reasons fer not carin' about everyone equally, like, not carin', go to hell. Yer all assholes." That wss it. it was Slobo's first true curse word, but it seemed so appropriate, he couldn't resist.
"This ain't a crew, it's just another civil war waitin' ta happen."
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