Earth's Last Defence [DEFENDERS OF EARTH BOOK IV]

Prologue

It was cold.
As the mechanical door opened, Batman felt the cold, even through his suit. The guard on his left pulled a lever, and the chamber lit up. Lined across both walls were cryo-crypts, each containing a dangerous Metahuman, all collected from a LexCorp research silo in the Arctic.
"Now, uh... Batman?" The guard said, "These Metahumans were only recently put into these crypts, so any faults could result in us locking down this entire corridor, so..."
"I'm not here for any of these." Batman replied. "I'm here for the one below."
"Oh... uh, we don't let him see anyone... like, ever."
"I helped put him here." Batman said sternly.
"I... of course, sir." The guard gave in, and pressed a button on his communicator. "Yeah, control? Open up the gateway to the big guy. Yeah, you know... why? It's... it's Batman. He wants to see him." After a short pause he looked up. "Standard procedure for prisoners on lockdown- stay at least 5 feet away from the... I want to say glass, but I'd be lying."
"He's powerless, is he not?"
"Well, yes, but..."
"Open the gateway, please." Batman finished, walking down the corridor. The guard held up a hand, but faltered, and withdrew it. He pulled another lever, and a passageway at the end of the corridor opened up. Batman walked to it, and down the steps. He entered another chamber, this one not cold, but instead lit with a bright red. There were two transparent cells on either side of him- both containing a Parademon each, both with their wings clipped, and Batman heard them growling at him. The only two surviving Parademons from the Invasion of New York almost a year ago.
Further down the chamber, right ahead, was another transparent cell glowing with a bright red- but this one with an even brighter red.
He approached the cell to see the prisoner with his back to him. His black containment suit glowed with a purple light, his green skin almost completely covered save for his head. The prisoner turned to him, and frowned. His face was badly scarred from burns and his own torture device used against him all that time ago.
"Brainiac." Batman glared at him.
"You killed almost my entire invasion force, you killed my leader, and you tried to kill me." Brainiac snarled. "For a man who apparently is very... against killing, you seemed to flourish in your share of bloodshed that day."
"Your invasion force had no control over what they were doing, I'm sure. And even so, there was no alternative. Your leader's apparent death has nothing to do with me. And I knew you would survive the blast." Batman corrected.
"You might as well have killed me. These generators block any abilities I had before. This cage, made for me. I should be flattered, but instead I'm irritated."
"You got too confident. You made mistakes."
"Which shall not happen again."
"Because you're not getting out of here."
"We shall see." Brainiac smiled. "Did you come here to gloat? Almost a year too late, I'm afraid."
"I came to ask something." Batman said. "Something's coming. You're not the only threat out there."
"No, I am not." Brainiac confirmed. "And the defeat of my fleet drew some unwanted attention to your planet, I'm sure."
"Yes. You know what's coming?"
"I know who has eyes on your planet. I know who would be very interested in it." Brainiac replied, pacing up and down his cell.
"Who, then?" Batman asked.
"And I would tell you this why?"
"Because if you don't, I'll make sure we arrange for your execution. We found out what hurt you that day on the invasion- with enough research, we could find out what kills you. Then you'll be known to all your interstellar friends as not only the being that led his army into an invasion that should've been easy but lost to a couple of humans, but also the being that was imprisoned by an inferior species for a year and then killed by them. You may be a living supercomputer, but you still have an ego."
"You wouldn't let me get executed." Brainiac narrowed his eyes.
"After what you did, I could make an exception." Batman said. After a few moments, Brainiac glared at him and turned his back to him.
"Fine. You want to know about the threat?" Brainiac said. "They're called the Sinestro Corps. They're coming- soon. You can prepare all you wish, but it won't be enough. Luck may have guided you before, but not now. Not with them. Not with Sinestro."
"Anything else?" Batman said grimly.
"One thing." Brainiac replied, turning back to him. "Freeing your HellSpawn was both a smart move, and an incredibly stupid one. He can be both your greatest ally and your greatest burden."
Batman glared at him once more, and turned to leave.