Indigo/Brainiac 8

The legacy of Brainiac began in the 20th Century on the planet Colu. And though some noble individuals would come to bear the title, the name "Brainiac" will forever be tainted by its first holder: the malevolent foe of Superman, Vril Dox. Dox's line propelled the civilization on Colu to a time when Coluans actually forsake their bodies of flesh in favor of totally synthetic ones. Some time after the 31st century, Brainiac 6 would be the last organic successor. Centuries after 6, his granddaughter Brainiac 8 would rise to affect events in Colu's past. (Dox's legacy is known to reach far into the future, to the time of Brainiac 13.)

In their timeline, Colu had conquered the galaxy following a so-called "crisis" in the 21st century. Legend said that one woman — Donna Troy — could stand in the way of their success. Only for Troy's death did Colu rise to its heights. Brainiac 8 was not content to let their history stand. Instead she was driven to return to the past and ensure Troy's death.

For help and guidance, she first traveled back in time to visit her grandfather. The two hatched a plan to send Brainiac 8 back to the 21st century and assassinate Troy. They also created a subprogram within her that would create a second personality. This personality — Indigo — was benevolent; it would suppress 8's programming and allow her to live believably among heroes. (Outsiders v.3 #25)

As part of her ruse, she arrived in the 21st century appearing greatly damaged, and in search of a way to repair herself. Logically, she attempted to find sympathetic beings who could help her (but presumably, this was to find a suitable agent to kill Troy). After an unsuccessful assimilation of the Metal Men, she teleported to California and commandeered the body of the Titan, Cyborg. The combined might of the Titans and Young Justice was barely enough to drive her off and when she teleported out, several heroes were critically injured in the explosion. (Titans/Young Justice #1)

The next suitable android happened to be a dormant Superman robot, which was kept by S.T.A.R. Labs at a secret base. She awakened this unstable robot but was again driven off by the the young heroes. What happened next wrote the most tragic chapter in the Titans' history; the robot quickly killed the Titan, Omen. (#2) Brainiac 8 then seemingly "righted herself" and shut down the Superman robot. The robot shut down long enough for Donna Troy to let down her guard, then 8 sent the command to kill; Troia was killed. (#3)

After this tragedy, 8 feigned remorse and submitted to the Titans. She was then shut down and supposedly "reformatted." In reality, her Indigo program was brought online and Brainiac 8 lay dormant. Eight's continued presence after Troy's death would be added insurance that Troy would not return to stand in Colu's way of galactic conquest.

Indigo was a believable blank slate, and in truth she did develop her own sentience, totally separate from that of Brainiac 8. She retained no memories of any past, and was moved by the desire to atone for her wrongdoings. The Titans had disbanded after the ordeal, and Arsenal set about assembling a new team of Outsiders. In a controversial move, he decided to accept Indigo as a member. She pledged to serve humanity as a "perfect soldier." Understandably, the Outsiders' new leader Nightwing was more than hesitant to work with her. (Outsiders v.3 #1)

Indigo quickly dove into life among humans and took an active part in her own acculturation. This included a romantic relationship with her teammate, Shift. The two of them shared a true love and a common bond in their search for identity. But Indigo's time was short. Soon her grandfather also arrived in the 21st century and reactivated Brainiac 8's command of her body.

The Brainiacs, along with Lex Luthor and a zombie Superboy, attacked the Outsiders. But the combined powers of the Titans and Outsiders brought Brainiac 8 down. In her weakened state, Indigo's personality resurfaced to share one more moment in Shift's arms. She revealed to him the truth, then begged Shift to kill her. It would be the only way to stop Brainiac 8 from killing again. He complied with her last wish by turning her circuitry to flesh. (#25)

Powers

Brainiac 8 was an extremely powerful android with super-strength and invulnerability. Her Coluan android brain was highly adept. She could also fly, create both magnetic and force fields, emit bursts of energy, and teleport.

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