Little Robby had been excited all day, as this was the day that he finally got what he had been asking for; the Superman poseable action figure with heat vision eyes. He couldn't wait to take it to school Monday and show it his friends, who probably had their own toys by now.
As Robby ripped open the package and pulled the action figure out, he smiled as he started pretending like Superman was flying through the air.
"Oh, no, there's Doomsday! I'd better use my heat vision!" Robby said as he pushed the button on the back. The toy's eyes turned red and fired what should have been a harmless light, but instead it burned a hole into the ground. "Whoa."
All over Metropolis, the same thing was happening to every Superman action figure. Real heat vision, and when the Toyman threw the switch, something much deadlier would happen...
The Family of Steel #4
"Countdown"
Written by Tobias Christopher
As Superman started to sink deeper into the lake, he could already feel his strength returning, as well as his other powers. He could hear the cries for help from far away as whatever plot Brainiac had started on Earth was taking affect. But as much as he wanted to help the people in trouble, he could only think of one thing: His little boy, who was helpless against the mechanical monster that now held him prisoner.
Within seconds, Superman burst through the top of the water and flew into the sky, bursting through the chains that held him. The Man of Steel was ready to deliver some justice. Just as he was about to fly off to save the day, he heard a whistle from next to the lake. He looked down and saw his wife Lois looking up at him.
"What are you doing here?" Superman asked as he landed in front of her.
"You think I didn't notice you skydiving into the lake?" Lois asked. "Oh, and by the way, why is our son not on EARTH!?"
"How did you-"
Lois held up her cell phone with the JLA GPS tracker showing Jon's red dot leaving the atmosphere. "I called to check up on the boys after you disappeared and got worried when they didn't answer. Explain. Now."
"Brainiac-"
"That's all I needed to know. We have to get our son back," Lois said as Superman hugged her.
"We will, but first I have to stop whatever Brainiac's unleashed. I need you to go to S.T.A.R. Labs and do something for me. I'll meet you there, then I'm going to stop Brainiac once and for all."
"But what if he's hurting our son?"
"Connor's with him," Superman said. "He'd die before he let anyone hurt Jon."
LexCorp
"Mr. Luthor, we're receiving calls about the Superman action figures," Luthor's assistant said as he walked in. "It seems they're firing real heat vision. And in the last five minutes, we've been getting calls that the toys are becoming... sentient."
Luthor just sat at his desk, his face unemotional.
"Sir, did you hear what I just said?"
"Oh, I heard you," Luthor told him. "But I'm Lex Luthor. And Lex Luthor is always prepared when it comes to anything involving Superman. Or Superman's enemies, as the case would seem. It's time I brought out my own toy. Tell the boys to get the thing I've been funding ready to launch within fifteen minutes."
"What are you going to do, sir?"
"I'm going to save my city and humiliate Superman in the process,"
All over Metropolis, people were running out into the streets, being chased by the Superman action figures that had become sentient and were now using their heat vision to target the children of Metropolis. At his secret warehouse, the Toyman was laughing and clapping his hands in delight at the panic.
"This is so much fun," the Toyman said as he looked at the boy sitting against the wall. "Soon, my son, the city will be ours. You will be the only child left. The perfect child."
"Then can I have a toy?" the boy asked.
"My boy, if our guest shows up, I'll show you the ultimate toy that I give to you upon the Man of Steel's destruction. Speaking of which-"
Superman was flying through the streets, zapping the toys out of the air, being careful not to hit anyone that the toys were targeting.
"There are thousands of them," Superman said to himself. "How am I supposed to stop them?"
"Perhaps you need some help," Luthor said as his shadow appeared over Superman. The Man of Steel looked up to see Luthor in his green and purple armored battlesuit floating over him.
"How do I know that you didn't start this?" Superman asked.
"Because why would I try to take out my biggest source of free money? These children are the future, and the older they get, the more money I get from them," Luthor told him. "And right now it seems like we have a common enemy. Use that superbrain of yours and think of what lunatic would use toys to harm children."
"The Toyman," Superman realized as all of the killer toys started flying in from all over the city, swarming together to form a fifty story Superman robot.
"And it seems like he wants to take you and the children out at the same time," Luthor said as the two flew in and punched the giant robot at the same time. "And fortunately I saw something like this coming."
"How?"
"Because I've lived in this town long enough to know that paranoia pays off. If this were Gotham, I'd fully expect the Joker to rig the toys with his laughing gas. Which is why there's a failsafe."
"What kind of failsafe?"
Luthor tossed Superman a tracker as they avoided the giant robot's punches. "When I give the signal, a small EMP will be set off, which will disable the toys."
"And cause mass havoc across the city."
"Only for 60 seconds, which should be long enough for you to track down the Toyman and put an end to this. After that, the city's power will be restored."
"And why should I trust you, Luthor?"
"Because you have no other choice. The children of this city are in peril, and only I have the power to incapacitate the toys. You either obey my plan, or you watch the children die and we both lose. While I would love to watch this thing rip you apart, I hate the thought of losing innocent future taxpayers more. The EMP will be set off in ten seconds. I'll distract this thing, you go. Move!"
"We're going to talk about you knowing about the Toyman's plan later," Superman said as he flew off.
"Yes, Superman, fly off to save the day where no one can watch," Luthor smirked as he looked at his watch. He looked around to make sure everyone was watching and recording. "Have to time this just right."
As the EMP was set off, Luthor flew in to punch the robot. Just as the EMP reached it, the robot shattered into its various thousand actions figures, raining all over the street. The crowd remained silent as Luthor landed.
"Fear not, Lex Luthor has saved the city of Metropolis once again while the Man of Steel runs off with his cape between his legs."
Superman burst through the wall of the warehouse, seeing the Toyman standing at the computer console.
"You cheated!" the Toyman shouted. "No fair, you had help!"
Flying across the room in a blur, Superman grabbed the villain by the collar, lifting him up into the air with his hand, while slamming his fist into the console with the other.
"No more games, Toyman!" Superman shouted. "You're going back to jail for a long time!"
"No, don't take my daddy!" the boy shouted as he rushed over and grabbed Superman by the cape. "You can't take him!"
"Sorry, son, I have to-" Superman looked down at the boy and quickly dropped the Toyman. "No- it can't be. You're supposed to be-"
The Toyman took the chance to reach into his pocket and toss a silly putty egg at him. The egg bounced off his chest and exploded as the silly putty quickly expanded, wrapping itself around Superman.
"Come along, boy, leave the horrible man alone to play with my super silly putty," the Toyman said as he grabbed the boy by the hand and dragged him away.
Seconds after the silly putty had completely engulfed Superman, he started spinning as fast as he could, sending the gunk flying off and destroying everything in sight. By the time he was freed, the Toyman and his son were gone. He was going to give chase, but then he remembered-
"Jon! This isn't over, Toyman!"
After destroying the console so the Toyman couldn't use it anymore, Superman flew through the roof and headed towards S.T.A.R. Labs.
S.T.A.R. Labs
"Though there were over a dozen injuries, there were no fatalities. This is what people are starting to call one of the oddest publicity stunts in history. Lex Luthor had this to say."
"LexCorp apologizes for this publicity stunt and of course will pay for all damages and medical costs. We are entirely grateful that were no casualties and we hope you will still continue to buy our fine products. The heat vision action feature on the Superman toys will, of course, be removed and the toys replaced free of charge with less dangerous models."
"The city is of course grateful to Lex Luthor for stepping in and taking responsibility, but people are still asking: Where was Superman during this attack?"
"Can you believe that?" Lois asked as she shut off the t.v. "Luthor's using this to his advantage. A ton of free publicity and he still gets to cash in on Superman's name."
"I'm not concerned about any of that right now," Superman said as he arrived. "Is the ship ready?"
"It's been ready," Lois told him. "And so am I."
"What?" Superman asked as he saw Lois getting into a flight suit.
"Our baby is trapped on that monster's ship," Lois told him. "I want a piece of that guy myself. You're taking me with you, and I'm not taking no for an answer."
"No?"
"I'm not taking it as a question either,"
"But-"
"You have two choices: Either deal with Brainiac and save our son alone, or you deal with me when you come home."
"Well, let's get going, our boy is waiting," Superman said, fearing Lois's wrath more than any of his villains.
Later, in the Toyman's secret underground lair hidden in the sewers
"Well, my boy, it looks like the EMP didn't affect you," Toyman said as he examined Adam's back, where a plate was open, revealing a series of complicated electronics. "The shell that acts as your skin, thanks to using the last of those nanites, protects you from any kind of electronic interference, making you the perfect robotic toy child."
"When can I be a real boy like you said?" Adam asked as Toyman closed the plate.
"Someday," Toyman told him. "But not just yet. We have much work to do, my son. Much work. But I promise you, someday you'll be real. Now get your shirt on and go to your quarters. It's time for rest."
Adam grabbed his sweatshirt and headed to his empty room as the Toyman headed to the closet and opened it, seeing rows upon rows of older models of the same robotic boy, none of them having worked out as well as the current version. Of course, Toyman had no intention of keeping his promise to Adam. He would build the ultimate toy, one that would ensure the destruction of Superman.
"One step closer to the perfect toy..."
To Be Continued...
