The Not Quite Justice League in... The Bee's Pleas!!!

[stands_for_hope]

[continued from here]

Finishing his article, clearing everything with Keith, those things took time. That was why it took a few hours before Clark was ready to make his usual call to Lois that night. He had worried that he might not make the time window that she cleared every day to talk to him and the others, but he was proud to say that he'd left himself an even half an hour as long as everything was to schedule.

After the fifth time she didn't pick up (didn't so much as text or ping him), it became clear that things were very much off schedule.

Clark made his way back to the main floor where everyone seemed to congregate and headed straight for Tony, holding up the phone to him.

"I know we're all tired and we've certainly had a long day, but... can you find out where Lois's phone is from the number here?"

In all the madness of the day, all the fighting and the close calls and the weakness brought on by the proximity of kryptonite, he'd lost track of her heartbeat. Usually, it was simple enough to pick up over the phone once again, a steady pulse that he could find his way back to once the phonecall had ended.

He couldn't hear her. He couldn't tell where she was. And she wasn't answering her phone. She always answered her phone. He didn't want to think anything was wrong, but he wasn't naive enough to discount something like this. Not after today. Not after they'd pulled out kryptonite weapons.

Comments

[stands_for_hope]

Powergirl raised a very skeptical eyebrow.

"Maybe that you know. Some of our girls would argue that with you, though."

Sand's voice came out of a communicator on her wrist. "The important part, however, is that we should be able to handle things... and we've got Courtney, Jennifer, Maxine, and Jesse on reserve."

He paused, as if to consider for a moment.

"Maybe not Maxine." After all, her epic girlcrush on Courtney (and Kara, to a lesser degree) wasn't any kind of secret.

"Todd?" Kara countered. The silence in answer spoke to how he felt there. Todd was gay, but he had his own issues well outside of that which made his inclusion questionable, not to mention that he served as the main security for the brownstone.

"Let's hope we don't need it. Going silent."

[highaboveyou]

"...Wow, so many people for me to be intimidated by," Keith muttered before leaning forward and touching Eddie's case. "Okay, let's do what we can do. Eddie, give us a probability scan with what information we have, including anything Kitt will give you."

And like that, Eddie started humming, calculating, quiet and intent. It was an odd, almost subaudible, digital sound, and Keith waited patiently.

[stands_for_hope]

Kara looked sideways at Keith and gave him a wicked littles smile.

"If it makes you feel better, Jesse's married and Courtney's got two boys already vying for her affections."

She puffed a piece of her hair out of her way.

"The best I've got going for me is a superpowered stalker."

[highaboveyou]

"Yeah, that's, uh." He laughed once, shaking his head. "All a woman has to do to intimidate me is exist. Eddie, how are we doing?"

"Probability calculation is difficult with so little information. I have only discovered two percent of the possible outcomes."

"Any good outcomes?"

"Yes."

"...At least there's that."

[stands_for_hope]

Clark settled into a seat while they waited for the others to return and for the intel to come in. But he nodded along.

"She's strong. And fierce. And she's going to make them fight for everything they try and get from her."

He closed his eyes and let his head fall into his hands.

"Which is half of why I'm worried."

[highaboveyou]

"Futures are unclear," Eddie said-- but Keith was trying to shush him.

"That's... supposed to be... Ah hell."

[stands_for_hope]

Kara walked over and settled beside Clark, putting her hand gently on his arm. It was clear it was as hard for her to offer him sympathy as it was for him to take it in this instance, but she kept her smile on.

"She sounds like one hell of a woman. Lara would definitely approve."

"You actually... knew my mother?"

She nodded before leaning back into the seat. "I grew up on Krypton. At least for a few years. Then I was sent here."

"I--"

"Unlike you, who were sent as a baby, I'm guessing?"

Clark nodded.

"Well, I'm not sure if the Krypton I know is anything like the one you came from, but... I'm glad, circumstances aside, that we get to figure it out."

He gave her a tired smile as the elevator doors opened.

[kolodnoykovki]

Jim walked in in full armor - but without his goggles and mask just yet. He was bristling with weapons, as ever, his expression having gone flat and cold. He was ready. As much as he knew Steve hated it when he let this side of him, this forced side of him, take over, right now, it was necessary.

[stands_for_hope]

Steve was looking pretty hard-hearted himself, his shoulder squared and his eyes full of war. Diana had eschewed her usual outfit for something that looked distinctly more Amazon, which had Kara raising an eyebrow. It looked... well, it matched some of the old pictures of Hippolyta that she'd seen at the brownstone.

Clark was already dressed for the occasion but he gave Jim a hard-to-read look which said, all at once, 'thank you' even as he regretted that his brother had had to pull that part of himself out.

As he stood, Sand reappeared.

"I've been able to narrow it down to three possible installations, given the intelligence I got a look at and the parameters we'd discussed. I also got some solid times that we may be able to check the satellite footage on."

He walked in and typed in the name of a particular base which was situated on the outskirts of the capital city, not terribly far from the border with Qurac.

"But judging by the time that the neighbors saw the attack, as well as the paperwork surrounding transfers and transport at the base, I determined that she's more than likely being held there."

"How did you know when that happened? I didn't think I gave a time."

Sand tilted his mask.

"You're not the only one who can speak Arabic. And I was trained as a detective."

"Be nice, Sandy."

"Sorry, everything comes out harsh in this thing. Fact of the matter is, you've got a base practically made to keep out superheroes with lead coverage, granate, explosive self-defenses, and more than a few HYDRA goons waiting for you with kryptonite-based weaponry. From what I could see, the guns are all energy-based, so if you can avoid the blasts, you should be all right. But you also have to stay away from the guns."

"And Queen Bee? Do you think she's there herself? Will we have to deal with her supposed abilities?" Clark asked, worried that he'd be turned against his brother and his teammates.

"Possible, given it's proximity to the capital, but unlikely if we wait a couple of hours, since she's due to give a press conference tomorrow morning which, for us, would be... two hours."

Clark shook his head.

"No waiting. At least... I won't be waiting. I understand if you would want to wait..."

[kolodnoykovki]

"I'm not waiting," Jim said simply.

While Sand spoke, Eddie pulled up the location and put it up for all to see, zooming in until he could get a clear image - and Jim approached it thoughtfully. "I have enough grenades," he said, "to take out the kryptonite gun sites. If I could get backpack charges, I could get us through the wall. Explosions would trigger their own, leave them defenseless, and my own force field should keep me secure until we're inside."

"And maybe," Tony said, "I could just do a quick fly-by and destroy them with a few blasts. Can't get the wall, though. And maybe we should ask Keith's precognitive computer just what's most likely."

Keith looked chagrined. "You weren't supposed to hear that."

[stands_for_hope]

"You've already learned to make a force field with the sunstone?" Kara asked curiously of Jim before shaking it off. There were other concerns.

Clark gave Keith a very tired smile.

"We all make it our business to hear. Surprises, as you can see, are no one's friend around here."

Clark breathed in deep but Kara was the one to speak.

"If you take out the guns, Clark and I should be able to make short work of the walls."

"But the problem is knowing what's safe to blow," Steve pointed out. "We don't know where she is, we can't go throwing explosives around. I'd say she was probably deep within the base here, but we honestly don't know what they're trying to do here; we can only guess."

"So do we try stealth?" Clark asked, looking to Jim. That was his area.

[highaboveyou]

It was Eddie who interrupted. "I have obtained structural blueprints," he said. "In roughly two minutes, I will be able to access the installation's security cameras."

Keith looked proud. "Quantum computers," he sighed. "Don'cha love it."

"I would be offended," Kitt interrupted, "but I'm a bit busy keeping my driver apprised. It doesn't take a quantum computer to do that sort of infiltration."

"You are correct," Eddie allowed. "One minute, twenty seconds. I can inform you all that it is most likely that this is the correct location, and though there will be significant resistance, the location can be breached with the correct tactics. Unfortunately, I cannot be certain of the correct tactics. Thirty seconds."

[stands_for_hope]

"Anything which you can provide would be appreciated," Diana said gently, still viewing the AI like a child more than anything.

"If you see Lois. Anything you can find of her, please. Just knowing she's alive still..." Clark said quickly.

[highaboveyou]

And like that, the windows and screens around the room bloomed. Layouts, cameras highlighted, and then views of the hallways, panning back and forth. And as he assayed each, he said, "Camera C-5."

That view highlighted - and there was Lois.

Jim didn't look. He was busy looking at the blueprints, at the other cameras, memorising routes, layouts. While he could, and would, walk in and shoot everything that moved, he wanted to know how many to expect on the way.

[stands_for_hope]

Lois, on the screen, was screaming at some unseen person on the other side of the door. She looked scuffed up and she was holding her arm in a way that said it was either broken or sprained, but that wasn't stopping her from railing at her captors and throwing a middle finger towards the slots in the door.

Clark smiled, just a little, and finally remembered how to breath.

Steve walked over and put his hand on Clark's shoulder.

"We'll get her out. Me and Jim are old hands at this kind of thing." And Steve couldn't help but look over at Jim, remembering back, remembering the way his heart had stopped beating when he'd heard that he was performing for 'what was left' of the 107th. He knew exactly how Clark felt... and he was going to do his damndest to fix it. Hopefully before any such horrors could happen to Lois.

Steve turned away from Clark to look at the blueprints, frowning as he planned out the assault with the help of the surveillance cameras.

"Can you get us anything for what's going on outside of the place itself?" Steve asked Keith, and by extension Eddie. Sand answered, however.

"The capital city is to the west wall, desert to the north and east, and the palace itself is to the south. Judging by the cameras, Lois is closest to the south of the compound, the most secure area."

[highaboveyou]

"From what I have seen," Eddie said, "I recommend first eliminating their heavy artillery from the roof, then breaking through the eastern wall. The strike will be anticipated, as they are already expecting countermeasures. If grenades or other charges cannot be used, it is recommended to drop those invulnerable to the Kryptonite onto the roof and let them take out the artillery, then allow those with enhanced strength to break through the wall. At that point, there will be arms fire."

[stands_for_hope]

Steve looked at the plan for another minute before turning to Jim and Diana.

"It sounds good to me. And we're not going to get any more information than that, I expect. If anything else pops up, we'll just have to improvise."

Kara nodded in agreement.

"Sand can be our ace in the hole. He'll lay low unless we need him."

"Can do."

"So," Kara asked the assembled group, "who's flying with who?"

[kolodnoykovki]

"I'm flying with whichever one of you doesn't mind dropping me on a roof," Jim answered. "I want to take out these two." He pointed to the two he was figuring on. "I can get this one by hand, throw a grenade against the second. If Steve is dropped on the opposite corner, then there won't be danger of my grenade hitting him. It should take at most three minutes."

[stands_for_hope]

"Two if you throw me properly," Steve said with a wicked edge to his smile. Most of the hitting people had been taken on by others, and while Steve was many things (including sweet), the kind of business they'd dealt with today got his blood up and running hot, fingers itching to punch someone. Several someones.

"Diana, you take Steve," Clark said, since her aim was almost uncanny, "and I'll take Jim. Kara?"

"I'll fly solo. Sand's got his own transportation."

[kolodnoykovki]

And that was when Jim decided to do something new. Clark had told him about his arm being able to project a beam. When better to give that a try than when he didn't care if it destroyed the surroundings or not? He pulled on his mask and goggles. "Let's go."

[stands_for_hope]

Steve ducked up against Diana's shoulder and Clark opened his arm for Jim. Kara slipped out the window to wait for them, watching with some curiosity and even a little amusement.

[kolodnoykovki]

Jim stepped up, arms taking hold, but head not ducking - after all, he had protection. And he also had time. Time to close his eyes and take a slow breath, time to return to those familiar (and comfortable, and how he hated how comfortable it was) trains of thought. He had a goal. He knew what to do. Nothing would stand in his way on his way to his goal.

Objective set. Mission start.

[stands_for_hope]

Soon enough, Diana was floating out the window with Steve and Clark, clutching him carefully, was following along behind. Coordinates in mind, Clark led the way as they raced across the sky towards the military installation that held Lois. Gradually, the sky turned darker and darker as they crossed the ocean, the timelines, the harsh wind cutting through some of their armor. But they flew regardless, Clark buffering some of it with his cape as Kara moved in front of Diana to break the wind from hacking at Steve.

The stopped just below the clouds, the trip taking roughly ten minutes. Kara, an irritated scrunch of her nose already voicing her displeasure, pointed down.

"Sand was right about the lead. And the kryptonite. Everyone ready?"

[kolodnoykovki]

"Drop me," Jim said, ready for the start of the fight. He was already mentally preparing for how to fall, how to shoot, how to stab-- he was ready for this.

[justakidfrombrklyn]

Clark didn't question. He just did as Jim had said, tossing him pointedly towards one of the guns. Diana shifted Steve's position before launching him at full power towards the other, shield held out in front of him.

Steve, using the shield edge, sliced neatly through the gun, using the friction to slow his descent enough that he could roll off the rest of the force. Then it was just a matter of flinging his shield at the assembled guards (all of them wearing HYDRA black with the tell-tale sigil on the back of their necks).

The attack had started.