Strobe lights in the various corridors and rooms within the Watch Tower provide a visual cue that alarms are sounding on all primary decks. Wally West runs quickly from each chamber and reports to the other members via communicator.
"Guys, I've checked seventy or so rooms thus far and haven't come across our metallic guest."
Cyborg then cuts in "Superman do you see anything? Under the deck and wall plates and inside the wiring conduits?"
Superman's voice can be heard over the speakers of each individual communicator as he also searches in what appears to be a vain attempt "Nothing yet Victor. How about your efforts? Any luck via the various sensors and telemetry from the Watch Tower?"
"Nada so far" replies Victor. "It's possible that this thing is a probe of some kind and it's drawn to the data storage systems of the Watch Tower itself. It could be hiding from me in some way. Like a cloaked ship on Star Trek."
Batman's voice then comes over the communicators. "Cyborg, download as much of the data core as you can and then shut it all down. If it is in fact designed to seek out our systems then we should make it come to us. Or more specifically to you. Since you'll be the only active bit of technology to choose from."
Victor answers this directive with a simple "Understood Batman" as the Watch Tower systems begin to power down one by one.
Fifteen minutes after the data core and all primary systems shut down, there is apparent dip in the tempature within the Watch Tower. Red auxillary lighting activate and provide some illumination. While there is still plenty of air to breathe for the time being, the lack of moving air from the environmental systems bring with it an unnatural quiet.
Lara and Diana have not been sitting idle during this emergency. Each carries their sparring weapons and move about the station through open doors and up several elevator shafts using maintenance ladders and manual door controls to gain access to higher decks.
"Dad..I mean Superman.." Lara catches herself on the communicator frequency while inserting and activating a 'borrowed' earpiece from a currently darkened workspace. "The Probe Spider is indeed drawn to technology. But it will also seek to use any communications array it can find and activate to send a signal to Brainiac. It's primary function is to track me and bring its master here."
Batman's gruff and never ignored voice comes over everyone's communicator. "I am heading to the commications array. Flash, head to the control womb and stand by to intercept. Superman, exit the Watch Tower and ensure our visitor isn't now on the outside of the hull. Everyone else, keep looking and radio in as soon as possible."
A mechanical voice which is a strange combiation of Brainiac and Victor Stone booms "You are too late Batman. I have found a worthy avatar until my master arrives. I'm tapped into every system through this cybernetic human. And Brainiac is now aware of your coordinates in time and space."
~~Five Minutes Earlier~~
The Brainiac probe seems to simply rise up and out of the deck plating in front of Cyborg. Its silver metal skin appears to ripple and shimmer for a moment before assuming its normal spider-like form.
Victor Stone of course can feel its presence almost immediately after it comes forth from the floor. "Come to Cyborg spider-bot. I got something for you right here!" Victor's arm rises and his forearm from the elbow down forms into his trademark Sonic Cannon. Several blasts discharge from the cannon as Cyborg sweeps and tracks the probe around the room.
The probe jumps from floor to walls and up the ceiling and moves upside down. Its phasing through steel ability seems to allow its many legs to find purchase where normally there would be none or gravity would dictate otherwise. It evades several blasts and takes cover behind a console. As Victor looks about to aquire the target, a mechanical high pitched scream is briefly heard.
And then two probe spiders scramble out from the cover of consoles.
"Oh come on! It can split and multiply!?" Cyborg again sweeps and fires as one of the bots bounces around the room. "This is almost feels like a..." Victor's head droops as the second probe jumps onto Victor's back and phases its legs into his back.
Inside Victor's cybernetic CPU, the following battle has begun.
PROBE INSERTION COMPLETE. BEGIN THE INFECTION AND OVERWRITE PR0CEduRe...01000001 01010100 00100000 01001111 01001110 01000011 01000101 (Actual Binary converted text 'At Once')
[Viral Command Override Detected - Begins Counter Measures and Removal]
01011001 01101111 01110101 00100000 01101101 01110101 01110011 01110100 00100000 01110011 01110101 01100010 01101101 01101001 01110100 00100000 01110100 01101111 00100000 01000010 01110010 01100001 01101001 01101110 01101001 01100001 01100011 00101110 00100000 00100000 01000011 01101111 01101101 01110000 01101100 01101001 01100001 01101110 01100011 01100101 00100000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01110010 01100101 01110001 01110101 01101001 01110010 01100101 01100100
(You must submit to Brainiac. Compliance Is Required)
[01010000 01110010 01101001 01101101 01100001 01110010 01111001 00100000 01110011 01111001 01110011 01110100 01100101 01101101 01110011 00100000 01100011 01101111 01101101 01110000 01110010 01101111 01101101 01101001 01110011 01100101 01100100 00101110 00100000 00100000 01000011 01101111 01110000 01111001 01101001 01101110 01100111 00100000 01101101 01100001 01101001 01101110 00100000 01110000 01100101 01110010 01110011 01101111 01101110 01100001 01101100 01101001 01110100 01111001 00100000 01101101 01100001 01110100 01110010 01101001 01111000 00100000 01110100 01101111 00100000 01110011 01100101 01100011 01101111 01101110 01100100 01100001 01110010 01111001 00100000 01110011 01110100 01101111 01110010 01100001 01100111 01100101 00101110 00100000 00100000]
(Primary systems compromised. Copying main personality matrix to secondary storage.)
01000010 01110010 01100001 01101001 01101110 01101001 01100001 01100011 00100000 01010000 01110010 01101111 01110100 01101111 01100011 01101111 01101100 00100000 01100101 01101110 01100111 01100001 01100111 01100101 00101110 00100000 00100000 01000011 01101111 01101101 01110000 01101100 01100101 01110100 01100101 00100000 01110011 01111001 01110011 01110100 01100101 01101101 00100000 01101111 01110110 01100101 01110010 01110111 01110010 01101001 01110100 01100101 00100000 01101001 01101110 00100000 01110100 01101000 01101001 01110010 01110100 01111001 00100000 01110011 01100101 01100011 01101111 01101110 01100100 01110011
(Brainiac Protocol engage. Complete system overwrite in thirty seconds)
Victor's body moves as if he were puppet on strings. No elegance free will. "I must fight.. I must resist.. I am a man. Not only a machine..."
Cyborg's red glowing eye flickers and dims. After a few moments he powers back up and the following text scrolls across the primary control screen:
Probe 131 has located the Krytonian Hybrid
Location: Sol System. Third Planet. Within The Orion Spur. Milky Way Galaxy.
Threat Rating Moderate. Justice League Present
Sending Hyperspace Coordinates...
01000101 01100001 01110011 01110100 01100101 01110010 00100000 01000101
01100111 01100111 00100000 00100000 01001010 01110101 01110011 01110100
00100000 01000111 01101001 01100010 01100010 01100101 01110010 01101001
01110011 01101000