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Chapter 50 - NEXTINSECT
🕑 Added 2025-12-10 17:24:37 +0000 UTCMetropolis
Miles was busy outside the lab.
The exterior was unassuming, looking like an ordinary warehouse, but entering the compound could prove to be a mistake without Morrow’s infiltration bug, and after noting down potential entry points, he and Claire left before arousing suspicion.
The four superheroes were back from their transdimensional adventure, regaling the League with quite the interesting tale. They were checked in the medical wing for anything they might have brought from a post-apocalyptic dimension, but the health bill was clean.
While Thomas worked on his latest creation, Miles had a different matter in mind.
The Philosopher’s Stone is in the possession of Harv Hickman.
It was best to take and destroy it now before Morgaine le Fay could get her hands on it. The situation would be resolved, but it was best not to leave things to chance.
“Why are we stealing from this man?” J’onn did not expect his day to begin by helping Miles with a heist.
“He, in his possession, has an artifact known as the Philosopher's Stone. Familiar with the legend of it?” The Martian was spending time learning about Earth, but the legends and myths weren’t high on his priority list.
“No.”
Miles gave him a rundown on the history of the stone before explaining the problem in their hand. “Now, Morgaine le Fay seeks it, and if she has it, it would be problematic for the whole planet. And seeing as it is an artifact taken from Britain without permission, Harv Hickman cannot raise any legal objections.”
“Very well.”
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It was a simple matter for J’onn to sneak into Hickman’s bedroom in his mansion and take the stone.
The difficult part was the Martian’s interest in the stone.
“The stone can raise the dead.” He revealed, and J’onn raised his eyes from the stone to look at him.
“You know what I'm thinking of.”
“I do. Who in your position would not?” The chance to bring back his dead wife and children was not a temptation many could resist.
J’onn held the stone tighter in his hands. “Then you understand.”
“I understand why you want it, but do you truly think the dead would accept being resurrected like this?” That stopped the Martian, because he could not imagine how his family would react to being torn from their eternal rest.
“I… don’t know.”
“Even then, the stone isn’t that powerful. While it could reshape Earth into something else, creating a biosphere from scratch and resurrecting an entire species is beyond its dangerous but finite power.” Manipulating existing matter to create everything from dust had to be a much easier task.
J’onn looked at the stone in his hand, imagining his wife and children standing next to him, but shook his head, dispelling the intrusive thoughts, and crushed the stone in his hand.
“You are correct. We do not need something this dangerous to fix Mars. We will do it our way, eventually.” His wife and children might be gone, but he still had family and the rest of his kind.
Miles patted the Martian on the shoulder, knowing it wasn’t an easy choice. “I knew you’d make the correct choice. Now if you excuse me, I have more people to warn.”
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New York City
Greenwich Village
Hokus & Pokus Occult Curioso
He didn’t have a way to contact Jason Blood, but Xanadu should be able to call her old friend. Miles had called ahead to request a meeting with both regarding an “urgent matter concerning their past.”
“Miles, welcome.” Nimue was having tea with Jason, who was in deep thought.
“Madame Xanadu, Jason.”
Jason put down his cup. “Miles. Excuse my curtness, but I would prefer if we could get straight to the matter. There is something important happening, and I can’t afford to stay for long.”
Fair enough.
“I have a hunch that we are after the same thing.” He took a seat while Claire watched the outside of the shop.
“Which would be?”
“Morgaine Le Fay.” The name had both friends freeze up before Jason came to his senses.
There was hatred in the man’s tone as his calm demeanor was being challenged by the mention of Morgaine Le Fay. “You know what she is after?”
“She is seeking the Philosopher’s Stone to reconstitute Earth to Camelot as her son’s kingdom.” Miles pulled out photos of the stone, putting them on the table.
“I have located and destroyed the stone, but Morgaine will not stop until she is aware of it.”
“You destroyed it? Are you sure it was the real stone?” Destroying the stone was not an easy task, not because it was particularly durable, but because it was too tempting to not keep.
“Yes.”
Nimue and Jason relaxed, knowing it would put Morgaine’s plans on hold, if not make them entirely implausible without the stone. “Good, good. That is one problem we do not need. I am on Morgaine’s trail, but any help you can give will be appreciated.”
“Castle Branek in Merlin’s Arc. The stone was hidden there before it was unearthed right after World War II. You might be able to lay a trap there for Morgaine.” He pulled out more photos, though both were probably aware of the location already.
“That does help, thank you. Nimue, may I…” Jason wanted to ask for her help, as Le Fay was not an enemy to be underestimated, but the sorceress beat him to it.
“You don’t have to ask. We should call John too. With some preparation, we might be able to catch her.”
“Take this communicator in case you need help.” He handed them a League communicator. Forewarned was to be forearmed, but the firepower the League could bring down would always be useful.
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Metropolis
EnviroCorps Robotics Research Center
Thomas O. Morrow had finally succumbed to his age and fallen into a coma, kept in the medical wing of the research center under constant surveillance and the best medical care the money could afford.
Which left Android Thomas as the sole head of the lab.
“Ah, here you are. Come, come, I am sure you will like my latest creation.” Thomas invited them in with enthusiasm. The android typed on the computer and waved at Miles. “Hold out your hand.”
Miles did so, and a small fly landed on his open palm.
“Meet NEXTINSECT, Next-Generation Insectoid Surveillance and Espionage Cybernetic Tracker. Invisible to any known detection systems, able to connect to any digital system with its adaptive programming, short-range scanners of its own, and micro-crystal chips for information storage.” The specs were very impressive, but one thing stuck with him aside from the acronym.
Even by the technology of Morrow, this was something. “Very impressive. My only question is, how did you manage to stuff all of that inside something so small?”
“You may thank your avian friends for that. With their advanced materials science and the knowledge in nanotechnology meeting my genius, it was a simple matter. However, they are extremely expensive for now due to the complexity.” Android or not, Thomas had his creator’s flair for the dramatics and self-assuredness in scientific intellect.
“How much?” This much tech in such a small chassis would mean there was a downside.
Fortunately, it was just money.
“Ninety thousand dollars for one robot.”
Claire whistled. Just twelve of them would cost over a million dollars, more than her yearly salary.
“For now, I want twenty of them. I also noticed they are too silent for their size.” Flies this size would definitely make noise while flying.
“Of course, it is to not draw attention.” Thomas explained, but Miles knew in the wrong place, the silence would, in fact, draw attention.
“Yet someone with an attention to detail, such as Vandal Savage, would easily notice that something is wrong with it. I want this robot to move as naturally as an ordinary fly.” A fly in his hideout would already draw attention, but one that did not make any noise with its size?
Vandal was too good to not realize something was wrong with it.
“There goes all the work I put into making it silent.”
“Fret not, Thomas. While Vandal would notice it, not many else would. Your work will not go to waste.”
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Thomas had modified the fly to make that incessant buzzing sound, and it moved like an actual fly, as the scientist had the robot learn from a real fly.
But no matter how perfect the product was, tests were necessary to see how it held up in the field.
Which is why Miles was using it to infiltrate the Starlabs in Metropolis. They usually had access to Kryptonian genetic material and were sloppy in the security department, resulting in Cadmus infiltrations, stolen samples, and Kryptonian clones.
It was to counter Cadmus and any other organizations that might seek Kryptonian DNA.
The fly was autonomous, and sitting in the comfort of the apartment he had rented, they watched through the lenses of the tiny android. It hid beneath a lab coat’s folded collar, hitching a ride with the scientist. The X-ray did not show anything, and after the scientist passed through the security checkpoints, they had access to the insides of the lab.
So far, so good.
One thing that caught his eye was a rather large woman with glasses and a sour face, with the name tag Dr. Krill.
The mother of Polka-Dot Man and his siblings, a monster obsessed with turning those children into superheroes, killing all except Abner in the process.
Miles did not expect her to exist here since she was solely adapted in the Suicide Squad movie; then again, this universe was just a drop in an infinite ocean.
Anything was possible.
Writing her name on a corner of his mind, Miles ordered the android to access the computer system. Crawling through the ventilation hole of the lab computer before it could be turned on, the fly accessed the PCH equivalent of the era.
The tablet screen shut down for a couple of seconds before the lab computer’s screen was transmitted and they could see everything.
“Voilà.”
The subspace phase transmitter built into the fly basically made the signals exist half a nanometer out of normal phase, which meant it did not interact with sensors and transmitted everything to the paired device in their hand. The devices had to be close to each other, but he had a workaround for that as well.
He downloaded Dr. Krill’s files, which did include her research on “cures for possible interdimensional viruses.”
She had to be sent to the nearest mental hospital or the cemetery.
“Here, access this system through the signal.” Miles handed the tablet to Zalika, who was watching them curiously from the backseat.
“Isn’t this illegal?” Zalika asked while feeling her technopathy settle into the tablet.
“Believe me, we are doing Starlabs a great favor. Their security is abhorrent.”
The technopath scrunched her face. “Weird. It’s like the signal’s there and I can see it, but interacting with it is difficult. Like it’s a ghost that I can barely touch.”
“It is just out of phase. I want you to be familiar with it, because the idea behind it will create a ghost network around the planet.” A network of signals out of phase with the current world would be undetectable while operating in plain sight.
It was the perfect surveillance method.
One that was unknown and could not be detected.
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Discussing the finer details with Thomas, it all boiled down to the matter of money. The NEXTINSECTs were expensive, but to create a network around the world, with long distance relay modules in each city connected to a satellite, would be an endeavor worth billions.
Possibly tens of billions.
For now, the targets would be the United States, Russia, China, and the EU, mostly on parts that concerned world security and any possible plots against the Justice League and metahumans in general.
But his first target was an enemy more dangerous than the powers of this world.
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Miles pressed the button, and the NEXTINSECT took off, flying to the ventilation system. It was too small for organics to infiltrate, but for a fly, it was a simple matter, except for the sensors.
The tiny machine was on silent mode for now as it was out of sight, but if Vandal ever saw it, it would disengage, acting like a real fly.
Morrow’s systems held up, however, and the fly navigated safely, searching for the time machine. A laser grid stopped the fly’s advance, and the android landed, folding its wings and flattening its body before crawling through an opening. That grid wasn’t the last one, and it slowed the fly’s advancement quite a bit.
Eventually, it made its way out of the ventilation shaft, searching for cameras, blind spots, and most importantly, any sign of where the time machine could be located.
Miles waited for a while for any sign, but no one came out of the doors in the hallway. Giving the NEXTINSECT its new orders, Miles decided to search each of the four rooms one by one.
The first one was a bedroom, most likely Vandal Savage’s, and the second one was a supply room with several machines and advanced parts.
The third door led to the security room, and from there, Miles could access the cameras. Sending the android in, Zalika accessed the closed system through the link, hacking the cameras, sensors, and scanners to ensure there was no chance left to detect the android, while being extremely careful.
Vandal wasn’t an ordinary enemy after all.
Behind the final door, stairs led deep down into the underground, and if he had to hide a time machine somewhere, it would be there.
Moving cautiously down the dimly lit stairs, the android stood before a heavy metal door, with no opening to enter inside. Even if it wasn’t the time machine, Vandal must have something important here.
Putting the Android in standby mode to save energy, it was time to be patient now.
Hours dragged on, with no sign of anyone coming out until the sun had set, and the android woke up as the door opened.
This Vandal Savage wasn’t like the Justice League Animated Vandal but the Young Justice one.
Taller, with three scars on his face, Vandal had the looks of an ancient and brutal Cro-Magnon warrior rather than the suave mastermind style.
The android quickly took off before the door could be closed and barely made it inside. The force of the door closing had sent it stumbling through the air, but the NEXTINSECT righted itself, scanning the room.
It was large and well lighted, with a hole in the middle surrounded by futuristic machinery.
He had found it.
The android flew straight to the computer at the other side of the room, which was open and in the middle of calculations for something. The NEXTINSECT entered inside, finding the PCH, and he handed the tablet to Zalika again.
She would take as much as possible, the programming, the schematics, and everything related to the time machine, which would then be handed to Michael Holt.
Unfortunately, they had to stop as the door opened and someone came in.
“There you are.” The voice wasn’t Vandal’s, but Miles hovered his finger over the self-destruct button in case he had tripped a hidden security system.
Which wasn’t the case, as whatever the man came in for, it wasn’t because they were discovered.
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Icy Hot
Finally creating his information network
