The Watchtower's alarms blared like a thousand angry gods screaming in unison. Red emergency lights bathed the halls in a hellish glow, casting long, jagged shadows as the entire station shuddered. Ishmaart Shankar, who had been casually leaning against a console while trying to negotiate a "sample exchange" with Green Lantern, nearly bit his tongue as the floor lurched beneath him. The Mother Box—the one the League had just transported to the HQ for study—had woken up. And it was pissed.
"Bhen ke lode, yeh kya ho raha hai?!"
The Mother Box's voice, a deep, resonant hum that vibrated in their bones, echoed through the halls, but it wasn't speaking. It was screaming. The walls flickered with veins of blue energy, pulsing like a living thing. Then, the drones activated.
Not the friendly, helpful League drones. No, these were the old ones—the ones designed for war. Sleek, black, and armed to the teeth, they detached from the walls and ceilings, their optical sensors glowing a menacing red. They didn't just lock onto the Mother Box. They locked onto Rubina.
And by extension, Ishmaart.
Rubina moved before the first shot was even fired.
One second, she was standing beside Ishmaart, her posture relaxed but alert. The next, she was a blur of black and white, her YoRHa sword materializing in her hand as she sliced the first drone in half mid-air. The two pieces clattered to the ground, sparks flying. Ishmaart didn't even have time to blink before the next wave came.
"Baap re, yeh toh puri film ka climax lag raha hai!"
A bullet whizzed past his ear, close enough that he felt the heat of it. Rubina's free hand shot out, grabbed his collar, and yanked him behind a console just as the wall behind them exploded in a shower of sparks and shrapnel. Ishmaart hit the ground hard, his breath knocked out of him.
"Chal, Rubina, aaj toh maut ka tamasha ho ga!"
Rubina didn't respond. She was too busy calculating trajectories, her blindfolded eyes darting as she tracked every drone, every bullet, every shift in the battlefield. She leaped, her sword flashing in an arc of blue energy as she carved through three more drones in a single motion. The precision was terrifying. The drones didn't stand a chance.
But the Mother Box wasn't done.
The walls rippled, the metal bending like it was made of clay as the Mother Box rewrote the Watchtower's structure. Corridors twisted, doors sealed shut, and suddenly, the armory—filled with the League's most dangerous tech—was wide open.
And the drones? They weren't just shooting anymore. They were evolving.
Green Lantern was the first to react.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," Hal Jordan muttered, his ring flaring to life as he constructed a massive, glowing green shield around himself and the civilians—aka, Ishmaart and Rubina. A drone slammed into the shield, the impact sending a shockwave through the air. Hal didn't even flinch. Instead, he flipped the drone off with his free hand.
"Yeah, eat that, you glorified Roomba," he sneered, before blasting the drone into scrap with a green energy fist.
Cyborg, meanwhile, had transformed.
His body shifted, limbs reshaping into cannons, missile launchers, and rapid-fire turrets. His chest plate split open, revealing a glowing core as he unleashed a barrage of firepower into the swarm of drones. The Watchtower shuddered under the assault, the air filling with the deafening roar of gunfire and the screech of metal.
"Alright, you metal bastards! Let's see how you like this!" Vic shouted, his voice half-drowned out by the explosions rocking the hallway.
Wonder Woman and Supergirl were back-to-back, their bodies moving in perfect sync as they deflected bullets with their bracelets and smashed drones with brutal efficiency. Every time a bullet ricocheted off Kara's skin, her suit rippled, the fabric straining against the impact. Diana's golden lasso whipped out, slicing through a drone's core before she spun, her skirt flaring as she kicked another drone clear across the room.
Ishmaart, who had been peeking over the console, nearly choked on his own spit.
"Bhai, yeh toh real life ka Baywatch ho raha hai yahan pe!"
Batman and Robin were already moving.
They didn't have time for heroics. While the others were holding the line, they were sneaking through the vents, making their way to the core power grid. If they could cut the power to the drones without shutting down life support in the holding cells, they might just stop this before it got worse.
"We've got ninety seconds before the backup generators kick in," Batman growled, his fingers flying over the control panel. "Robin, watch the hall."
"On it," Damian replied, crouching low, his staff at the ready.
The corridors were dark, lit only by the eerie blue glow of the Mother Box's energy. The air smelled like ozone and burning metal. Somewhere in the distance, they could hear Cyborg's cannons roaring, Green Lantern's curses, and the distinct ping of bullets ricocheting off Amazonian bracelets.
Batman's fingers froze as the screen in front of him flashed red.
"Damn it." The Mother Box had locked them out.
Robin's eyes narrowed. "We could always—"
"No," Batman cut him off. "We are not blowing up the Watchtower."
"I wasn't going to suggest that," Damian said, though the gleam in his eyes said otherwise.
Batman yanked a device from his belt—a portable EMP. "*This'll buy us time. But we need to move. *Now.**"
Rubina was a storm.
She moved like liquid death, her sword a blurred line of silver as she dismantled drones with surgical precision. But the Mother Box wasn't just controlling the drones. It was learning. It had adapted to her speed, her patterns. It started predicting her moves.
A drone lunged at her from behind. Rubina twisted, her sword cleaving it in two, but another slammed into her side, sending her skidding across the floor. She rolled, coming up in a crouch, but the drones were everywhere.
Ishmaart screamed.
"RUBINA!"
She turned, just in time to see a massive drone—twice her size—barreling toward Ishmaart, its plasma cannon charging.
She moved.
In the span of a single breath, Rubina crossed the distance, tackling Ishmaart out of the way as the plasma blast seared the air where he'd been standing. The heat singed her sleeve, the fabric smoldering as she hit the ground, Ishmaart crashing into her.
"Chal, Tujhe aaj marna nahi hai!"
Ishmaart groaned, pushing himself up. "Aajto main nahi marunga, par TU TO GYA BETA!! RUBINA!"
Rubina didn't answer. She was already back on her feet, her sword humming as she charged the massive drone.
The Mother Box wasn't happy.
The walls trembled as the AI's voice boomed, distorted and furious.
// INTRUDER DETECTED. FOREIGN ENERGY SIGNATURES. ELIMINATE. //
Ishmaart grinned.
"Arre, sun le, behen ke laude," he shouted, flipping the Mother Box off with both hands. "Tere baap ka system hai kya? Teri ma ki chudi pe lagaya hua AI hai kya yeh?!"
The drones hesitated.
Even the Mother Box seemed to pause, its energy flickering like it was processing the insult.
Rubina didn't waste the opening.
Her sword flashed, and the massive drone's core exploded in a shower of sparks. She didn't stop. She kept moving, a whirlwind of destruction, her hair flying, her breath steady, her focus absolute.
Ishmaart watched, his heart pounding, his mouth dry.
"Yeh meri biwi hai," he muttered, a wild, proud grin splitting his face. "Meri Real Wali biwi hai."
The EMP went off.
The lights died. The drones dropped. The **Mother Box let out a final, furious pulse before going dark.
Silence.
Then, groans.
Green Lantern pushed himself up, his ring flickering back to life. "*Well. That was *fun.**" He cracked his neck, then grinned at Ishmaart. "You've got a mouth on you, kid."
Ishmaart grinned back, dusting himself off. "Arre, bhai, galli ka baccha hoon. Gaali toh mere khoon mein hai."
Wonder Woman stepped forward, her chest heaving from the fight, her golden bracelets gleaming. She looked at Rubina—really looked—and then nodded, just once.
"You fight well," she said, her voice warm. "Both of you."
Rubina bowed her head. "Thank you."
Superman landed beside them, his cape billowing. He looked around at the wreckage, then at Batman, who was emerging from the shadows, Robin at his side.
"We need to talk," Batman said, his voice low.
Ishmaart sighed. "Arre, Batman-sahab, Thik hai let's talk! kya baat karni hai?."
Batman's eyes narrowed. "That Mother Box reacted to you. Both of you."
Ishmaart shrugged. "Toh? Maybe Humari Multiversal hone ke waje se hoga. Hum toh multiversal trader hain."
Green Lantern snorted. "Yeah, and I'm the King of Oa."
Batman ignored him. "We're running a full scan."
Ishmaart grinned. "Bilkul, sahab. Par ek baat—" He leaned in, his voice dropping. "Agar aap log sample chahiye… toh main arrange kar sakta hoon."
Batman stared.
Superman sighed.
And somewhere in the darkened corridors of the Watchtower, the Mother Box hummed, just once, like it was laughing.