After J'ohn told Shallot this, the man seemed surprised, which was quickly overridden with tenseness as he narrowed his eyes at the Martian. J'ohn knew that if the next thing he said wasn't explaining what he meant, this request of his will end up in a fight.
{I should clarify. I have not meant it in this way. Hear me out. I have a plan to stop this invasion once and for all before it even starts.}
The man didn't say anything and just turned towards the Martian completely. Even though they were deep in the enemy's territory, the Martian had Shallot's full attention.
{Without defeating the Imperium, the one that controls the invaders, this invasion won't stop until one side dies out. Mankind just doesn't have the capabilities to go against them and we eight aren't enough to stop this invasion either.}
The Martian took a second to let that sink in for a second since Shallot needed it if his deepened frown was anything to go by.
{Even with our combined efforts, when their flagship comes, we won't be able to stop them all. So, I want you to play dead. With your telepathic abilities and your ability to fire from afar, you can take the Imperium out before it knows that you are there.
The horde it commands will fall into disarray, and we can just exterminate the rest easily. So, when the Imperium comes down, I give you a signal and with a surprise attack, we can kill him and end this invasion before it starts.}
{…You want me to play dead, so I could sneak attack their leader?} Shallot asked back. Shallot hid his face behind his palm as he muttered, "…Who do you take me for?"
When Shallot looked at J'ohn again, the room's temperature seemed to have sunk a few degrees. A vein on Shallot's forehead was bulging as if it would burst any moment now. His gaze was sharp, staring straight into the soul of the Martian.
"You are strong Martian, and it baffles me how you would struggle against these invaders. Maybe it has something to do with you not being able to instinctually cover your body with ki to protect and enhance your body or you subconsciously imposing limitations on yourself, but I don't need to sneak attack to take these vermin out."
Now it was J'ohn's time to frown as he heard these words. "I don't think you understand what we are up against. I have fought centuries against them-"
Shallot suddenly pointed his index and middle finger towards J'ohn with his palm up. The Martian tensed up before Shallot pointed at the wall behind which was the core of the factory. J'ohn was puzzled at what Shallot wanted to point out.
Shallot didn't say anything as the veins in his arm bulged before he suddenly raised his two fingers and the wall- no not just the wall, everything in the direction he pointed at was replaced with a white-yellowish blinding light.
An instant later the Martian realized what happened and was thrown backward as the shockwave released an air pressure that sent the remaining factory flying.
The Martian was thrown about for a second before he finally turned intangible and avoided the worst of it. He stabilized himself in the air. He turned towards the spot where they had been standing just a few moments ago and found Shallot still standing next to a dozen-meter-wide hole that replaced the core of the factory.
He couldn't help but gulp at the casual destruction that Shallot had caused with a simple gesture. In a manner of seconds, he had turned the factory that used to claim dozens of Martian to overrun into nothing.
It was unlike what he had seen before. When he released that attack which homed in on each invader, it was much more sophisticated and precise. This, this was just pure destruction.
He landed in front of the man and couldn't help but look at him differently than before. Shallot, in particular, chose him for his psychic abilities. That he showed extraordinary firepower from afar was a bonus that made him unexchangeable, but this was just beyond what he had imagined.
"I don't know what we are up against? We aren't enough to stop this invasion? Speak for yourself. I am not going to sneak attack a race that isn't even Raditz level."
J'ohn didn't get what classification Raditz was, but it seemed to be too low for Shallot to recognize.
Shallot then turned around and slowly flew into the air. "If you want to have your backup plan look for someone else. I don't need your help against these weaklings either, so go and look for another team for your schemes."
After saying his piece, he tore through the remaining clouds that hadn't been dispersed by the explosion as he headed towards their second location.
J'ohn looked at the direction Shallot had disappeared for a few more moments as he hesitated on whether to follow him or not.
After a while, he decided that it would be best for Shallot to destroy the other factories that popped up the last dozen minutes. It seemed some factories had been delayed and were now activating all over the planet. It wouldn't hurt to have him destroy them.
Although he now knew he had underestimated Shallot by a lot, J'ohn knew that the man couldn't be everywhere at the same time. They needed to lure the Imperium out. The Imperium needed to be killed, that was the only real chance of winning this war. Shallot was too arrogant to see that.
So, if Shallot wasn't willing to go with his plan, he had to find someone else that would and there was only one man that the Invaders wouldn't find weird to hear about his death.
He had to seek out Batman.
…
The Martian tanked the shot instead of Diana. The weapons were almost tailored for Martian physiology after all these years of war, which was why it almost killed him instantly if it weren't for his psychic prowess. He was stunned and fell on his knees.
"J'ohn!" The invaders were about to finish the job when a shield passed through their heads, killing them instantly. The shield bounced off the wall and was again caught by the Amazon.
Black liquids flooded some platforms as the tubes were destroyed by the near explosions.
"Get him out!" Batman shouted as he threw several Batarangs to distract the invaders, while the Amazon carried the Martian to the exit.
An invader saw this and directly went to the controls and commanded the door to be closed, however, the two made it outside just in time. Batman, equipped with his grappling gun was almost able to catch up to them but was ultimately too slow.
The door was closed, and Batman disappeared behind it which was followed by several explosions. Diana's eyes widened as she saw this and immediately put the Martian back on the ground before attempting to go back inside but was directly stopped by J'ohn.
He grasped her shoulder as he told her, "Wait. There is nothing more we could do for him!"
Diana turned towards him in shock, "You don't mean he is-"
"Gone." He told her solemnly as the whole plant was continuously wrecked by increasingly worse explosions.
"We have to get out of here. Now!"
Several more explosions wrecked the place as the two searched for a way out. They had to leave quickly before the entire factory would end up in a huge explosion. As they turned at a corner away from the shots of the invaders, they were confronted with a wall.
Diana, however, didn't stop as she took her shield in front of her as she accelerated and used it to ram against the wall, breaking through several walls in the process until Diana landed in the meadow where the factory was located on.
She looked back and saw J'ohn follow her outside. Diana's hands clenched her hands as she continued to look at the factory before the entire plant turned scraps as explosions wrecked it.
She watched on for a few seconds before she turned towards J'ohn who held up his hand to his temple as he closed his eyes.
"We have to leave now. Superman and Hawkgirl had been captured. I can only sense them weakly, but we have to get them out before their flagship arrives."
Diana nodded with determination as she followed J'ohn towards Detroit where the factory was located that Superman and Hawkgirl had targeted.
They flew silently before Diana realized something, "Where is Shallot? Is he…?"
J'ohn denied it with a shake of his head which made her sigh out in relief. "No. We decided to split up since Shallot was… capable enough to take on the rest of the factories on his own. We split up to increase our efficiency. He is currently in Europe, cleaning up a factory that had sprung up in Italy."
"Oh... Did you inform him of Superman's and Hawkgirl's situation? We could need his support."
"…No. I can't reach him. He… he is closed off, but he is doing fine."
"I see. Then we will have to do without him."
…
J'ohn and Diana looked down at a burning city as they waited for the other two.
"Perhaps Mother was right about Mankind. They are nothing but untamed savages." Diana said as she looked at someone breaking the glass of a store to loot it.
"Do not judge them too harshly. They act out of fear." He said as he looked at the two men who looked like they were from a biker gang, trying to help move the rubble of a broken façade.
"Hey! There are two kids trapped under here. Someone, lend us a hand." They called out which fell on deaf ears.
"Will this do?" Suddenly, the rubble was enveloped in green light before it was lifted like it didn't weigh several hundred kilograms.
"Thanks, man!" One of them called as they picked the children up and moved to a safer place.
A moment later the Green Lantern flew up a building and landed next to the princess and Martian duo. Not a second later a red blur ran up the side of the building and arrived next to them too.
"Sorry, we are late. Had to stop and save some civilians on the way." Informed the Green Lantern.
"What did you call us back for?" The flash cut in slightly sped up.
"Superman had been captured. He is trapped somewhere inside there with Hawkgirl." Diana said as she pointed at the factory which seemed to be a magnitude taller than the ones, they had dealt with.
"Woah." Flash looked shocked at the giant factory which was spewing out clouds in mass. A heavy storm with lightning was surrounding the factory as if it came straight out of an apocalyptic movie.
"What about Batman and Shallot?"
"We couldn't reach Shallot, but he is in Europe cleaning up the factories there. As for Batman…" Diana clenched her fist.
"He acted heroically... to the very end." The Martian added somberly.
"T-the bat is gone…?" Flash looked dumbstruck at the revelation. Flash had known Batman for a while now and he would consider him a friend, someone that he admired, so this was more than a shock to him.
"He was a true warrior." Diana said solemnly as the group looked at the factory.
"We have to save those that we still can." Green Lantern said as he stared at the factory with resolve.
…
They decided to sneak forwards as close as they could get without attracting any attention. It was best to meet as little resistance as they could.
With their powers and the distraction of the military, they got close to it rather quickly. With only a few hundred meters of open field in front of them. There were only a few chunks of overturned ground and former buildings that could possibly give them some cover.
They ducked down behind some ruins as they peeked out to see a tripodal walker guarding the nearby area.
"I can't believe we are doing this again." The Flash looked at his partner, who frowned at him.
"If Superman and Hawkgirl are in there, someone has to rescue them." The Green Lantern looked behind him at the crouching Martian, who blankly stared ahead.
"You are sure that they are still in there, aren't you?" he asked but the Martian remained silent.
"J'ohn?"
"Yes. Your friends are alive, but we must act quickly. The Imperium is coming." The Martian's voice was calm and deep as he revealed a tidbit the others hadn't known about.
"The who?" Flash inquired.
"The Supreme Intelligence that controls this horde, these invaders. We have met before." J'ohn looked at the factory as he fell silent again.
"Can we trust this spacecase?" Flash muttered to the Green Lantern.
"What choices do we have?" John retorted helplessly before stepping forward, addressing the other two.
"Okay, we are going in! Flash, create a diversion. Diana, watch my back."
"You want to rely on an amateur?" She joked with her hands on her hips. The Green Lantern glanced at her before focusing back on the factory.
"Let's move." He said and as soon as he did Flash was already gone. The three quickly crossed the open field through the air as most of the forces, consisting of a tripodal walker and several foot soldiers, stationed to guard the factory had turned towards the Flash.
Fortunately for the three, there was an entry previously made by Superman, which hadn't been fixed yet. So, without hesitating they entered the factory.
They flew through the dark passages with Green Lantern's light shining their way.
"Where are they being held?" John asked J'ohn.
"This way." The Martian said as he turned at a corner before he landed. The other two following his example landed too with Diana at the very back while J'ohn led them through the hallways.
Suddenly a voice called out, "Hope I didn't keep you waiting." Flash said as he stopped next to a Martian, who was about to respond before several voices could be heard speaking in an alien language.
J'ohn gestured the others to stop walking as he peeked around a corner, looking at two guards, who stood in front of what seemed to be a computer as one started tapping on the red surface that changed according to his touches.
"Wait here." J'ohn whispered to the others before his form changed to a white body which was mottled with red and black. He had turned himself into a member of the horde.
He quickly ran towards the two in a panicked voice as he called out to them in their language. One of the two seemed to ask something, which made the Martian point at the corner from which he had emerged.
The two rushed there with their weapons high. Just as they turned at the corner, they saw the three superheroes standing close to the wall. They immediately pointed their weapons at them and said something.
Before they could shoot at them, J'ohn emerged from the ground and phased his arms into the two. When he turned tangible again, the two screamed in agony. He phased his arms out of their bodies again and the two promptly collapsed.
"Come." He calmly called out.
"Is it just me or does he creep you out too?" Flash looked at the two on the ground that was slowly dissolving.
They silently continued to follow his lead deeper inside the factory. Together they were able to remain undiscovered as they instantly took out the other three soldiers standing in their way to their destination.
At some point, the Martian called out again as he looked at a wall, "We are close now." He put his hand on the wall and closed his eyes, "I can sense they are somewhere behind these walls."
He stepped aside and let Diana push against the wall for a few moments. Her heels dug into the ground, but the wall seemed to be of a greater material.
She shook her head. She wouldn't be able to break through without making a lot of noise.
"It is of no use. We have to find another way."
"Stand back." Green Lantern said as he positioned himself at her place. He pointed his ring at the wall and a green concentrated beam shone out, cutting into the wall.
As the Green Lantern cut them an opening, J'ohn looked up through the ceiling.
"We haven't much time left." The Martian said and directly following it was the shaking of the ground as if they were experiencing an earthquake.
The Green Lantern ignored it as he continued cutting a circular hole into the wall, big enough for them to step through.
After finishing, he pushed the wall, making it fall inside and revealing Superman and Hawkgirl handing upside down from the ceiling. A sort of mucus was pulsating at their feet and was slowly moving towards their head.
Hawkgirl groaned out in pain, but her eyes remained shut. The group rushed inside to free them until J'ohn suddenly called out, "Wait! Something is not right!"
As if to prove his point, Superman's and Hawkgirl's eyes sprung open, revealing blood-red alien eyes. Green Lantern looked back only to see the wall they had stepped through fuse together again as if it had never been damaged.
"It's a trap!" He called out as several openings surfaced on the walls all around them. As soon as they could be seen a yellow gas was sprayed inside filling the room in under a second.
Diana took several steps towards John, "G-green Lantern, your ring!" She said weakly before collapsing to her knees.
"I-I can't f-focus!"
…
"-hn. J'ohn, wake up!" The Martian dazedly opened his eyes and looked towards the voice calling his name.
"Superman…" He looked at the man in question. Next to him were the others he had gathered, embedded into the wall. The others seemed to be still asleep.
"You shouldn't have risked your lives for us." He said, shaking his head saddened to have them end up in this situation.
"Would you have done less for me?" The Martian retorted.
"Ow. My aching head." The Flash shook his head as if to vanquish his headaches.
"Earth's mightiest heroes. Welcome." An invader said as his body turned from the indistinguishable form to the person who had been advocating the decrease in nuclear warheads and other bombs of mass destruction, as well as intercontinental missiles in general around the globe.
"J. Allen Carter" Superman's eyes widened as he realized that he had been played.
"Unfortunately, the real Carter never returned from Mars." The imposter had a smirk on his face as he looked down on the superhero.
"And you used me to weaken earth's defenses!"
"You were so eager to cooperate. Thanks to you the humans were totally helpless against us."
"It's not over yet." Superman glared at the man, who tapped on the control next to him.
"Wrong again." He smirked as the roof behind him retreated into itself like liquid, revealing a sky darkened by black clouds.
However, the apocalyptic sky wasn't the main attraction point. It was the gigantic ship hovering above them. It was bigger than several cities put together.
The ship released a smaller ship that smoothly entered the factory and hovered above the platform that was in front of the wall they were embedded in.
The group of alien soldiers turned towards the ship and kneeled down as they called out in a fanatic voice, "All hail, the Imperium!"
The small ship opened a hole at the bottom of it and a bulbous, purple-black body with multiple tentacles slowly floated out of the ship and towards them.
The Imperium ignored the other heroes and directly headed towards the Martian.
"J'ohn J'onnz. It has been a long time." The Imperium said with a seemingly echo in his voice. The wall on which the Martian was bound suddenly raised itself closer to the Imperium as if it was an arm before releasing him on the platform and snapping back to place.
To prevent the Martian from fleeing or trying to do something or just to make him feel pain, two guards on the side shocked the Martian with lightning rods.
J'ohn screamed out in pain as his form warped back towards his original green Martian form before collapsing powerlessly onto the ground.
"Much better. You have defied us for centuries, but this is where you belong."
{I will never bow before you or any of your kind!} J'ohn's telepathic voice called out with such strength behind it that even the others, to which the message wasn't directed towards, were able to hear it. He slowly stood up on shaky legs as he looked towards the Imperium with hatred.
"Then I will personally see to finish what should have been accomplished long ago. The elimination of the last Martian." The Imperium's tentacles started to dig into the Martian's wrists and into flesh, making him scream again.
The tentacles could be seen just underneath his skin as it wriggled through his arm and through his torso as it headed towards the Martian's brain. The Imperium pulled the Martian into its own body, immerging his body completely.
The insides of the alien were flashing with lightning and the distorted shape of the Martian could be seen as the screams could be heard inside of the Imperium.
"Let go of him, you filthy-" Superman shouted as he tried to exert his strength but found it lacking.
"Yield to us J'ohn J'onnz. Accept this truth. After all these years you have finally lost… Y-you are hiding something! A secret deep in the recess of your mind. Is this another of your Martian tricks?!"
The Martian with ridicule in his voice, {Do. I. Sense. Fear?!}
"What are you hiding??"
"Now! Do it now!" The Martian suddenly called out with strength that made one question his agony just a moment ago.
In response to his words, an explosion took out the wall of the core holding the crystal in red liquid that distributed said liquid all over the place.
"Batman?" Flash called out in surprise.
"It can't be!" Diana was shocked to see him still alive. Batman stuck a device into the container, turning the red liquid blue quickly.
"I mentally shielded him, so he couldn't be detected!" The Martian said as he struggled to get out of the Imperium
"What have you done?" The imposter astronaut asked Batman horrified.
"I reversed the Ion charge." Batman simply said. The entire once red system was slowly turning blue as Batman's device worked its charm.
"The crystal, destroy it!" The Imperium panicked and pointed towards the crystal next to Batman. Batman swung out of the way with his grappling gun as the shots rained down on his position in an attempt to destroy the shield, but it was ineffective.
"I-it's shielded!"
After the entire liquid was converted, the factory stopped producing clouds and instead shot out a blueish beam straight up into the clouds. The light beam directly dispersed the clouds and reversed the process, brightening the sky up as a result.
The invaders looked in shock as the sky cleared up and the first few that were touched by the sunlight were dissolving almost instantly. Their skin was bubbling up like blisters before popping as their entire body was slowly being liquid.
The Imperium seemed to be able to hold on in the sun for longer, but it had lost concentration far enough to let the Martian escape his insides. The Imperium and the other invaders escaped to the shadow of the ship.
Just as the Martian grabbed hold of the tentacles of the Imperium and dragged him into the light a roar followed by the noise of an energy beam that seemed to be far away sounded out drowning out the screams of the dissolving invaders and the sound of machines around them.
The Imperium used this momentarily distraction to slap the Martian away and hid underneath his ship, he was about to enter it to escape to their flagship, but he froze up as looked to the side of a small hole in the wall acting as their window.
The Imperium and the other invaders as well as the heroes who helped each other out of their confinement were silent as they looked at the gigantic flagship being pushed upwards by a giant beam.
The flagship gained in speed turning the top red from fire as it was pushed through the atmosphere. It gained some distance to the earth before a bright light blinded them all.
After the light vanished only pieces of the once-great flagship that would have been the main force to invade the planet rained down on the earth. Most of the smaller pieces didn't reach the ground as they burned up in the atmosphere.
Before they could come out of their stupor, the desperate Imperium finally climbed into his small ship and flew into the sky as he ignored the pleads of his horde. He didn't want to know what happened to the flagship or what weapon they used, and he didn't want to stay to find out.
The rest of the horde tried to hide in the shadow of the factory's hull while trying to kill the now free heroes, but their numbers quickly dwindled when the heroes turned their protection, the factory's walls into Swiss cheese, and with it the majority of the invaders into liquid on the ground.
With his ship, the Imperium was about to escape but was quickly stopped by Diana's lasso that hooked around the rear. With a shot of the onboard weapon, Diana had to let go but she had given Hawkgirl enough to slam her mace into the cockpit.
Her strike released lightning that crawled across the surface of the ship, burning some circuits in the process. With a tug, Diana slammed the ship into the factory, creating a chain explosion.
Superman found some hostages and with the help of Flash and Green Lantern, they were able to bring them out to safety before the entire factory blew up.
They gathered outside with the unconscious hostages safe inside the Green Lantern's light.
"Phew. This certainly wasn't how I imagined my afternoon to go." The Flash said as he pretended to wipe off nonexistent sweat.
"I wonder what happened to their flagship." Hawkgirl said as she watched some of the bigger pieces landed beside them.
"Why are you dawdling around here, didn't you see that giant ass ship?? Good thing I blew it up, otherwise who knows what would have happened if they had landed and spread out." A voice called out to them. They turned towards the figure that was hovering towards them.
"You blew up their ship??" The Flash asked incredulously. The others were surprised as well. The explosion left a deep impression on them.
"Eh, yes? Anyway, there are more factories still running. I have cleaned up Europe and Asia. According to the news, there is only one factory in the north of Africa which was already destroyed. So, only America is left. Come on, stop wasting time. Let's go!"
They speechlessly stared at Shallot for a moment before they shared a look. Superman just shrugged, causing the others to quickly distribute the remaining locations before separating.