Getting into LexCorp was a difficult endeavor. The company was on the bleeding edge of security technology, assisted by the remains of the Brainiac Invasion. It was as close to an impenetrable fortress without the armaments.
So it was a good thing there was a back door.
When Batman had sent the Network to investigate Luthor, they had made certain to keep a way in open and secret. It was one thing for Batman himself to get in as he had any number of ways to do it, but to lead in a small team, they needed to make certain all of them could get in without detection.
Green Arrow led that part of the current infiltration. He led their team to the underground parking garage, heading right to an employee entrance. Because of how structured LexCorp shifts were, this time of day no employees would be using the entrance. Overriding the security and putting all feeds on a recorded loop was child's play.
The moment they were inside, they immediately sought cover. Unfortunately, that took a few minutes as they entered a brightly lit corridor that led deep into LexCorp. Arrow continued taking point, leading them into an empty room, one filled with boxes of cleaning supplies. Thankfully, the boxes didn't take up all that much room so they could stand comfortably.
"Alright, what next?" Arrow asked as he leaned his back against the door. He made certain to lock it so they at least had a moment's warning if someone was going to open it.
"Now it's Kid Flash's turn," Batman answered, turning his head to look at the short, goofy speedster. Red Robin was right next to him, doing his best to look at attention. "We're heading to the sub-basement where you retrieved the Amazo database."
"I can take us right there!" the kid chirped. "Heck, I could take us all there in five seconds if you want. Just bam, bam, bam, bam, we're all there!"
Batman held up his hand to silence the boy. While that option was appealing, that was too careless and he didn't have the same trust in the boy as he did Flash to make that all happen. All it took was one misstep and they would have an entire building of security down their throats. No, they needed to play this safe.
"Are there not other security features?" Fire brought up. "And would Luthor not upgrade them if he realized you have broken in so many times?"
That was also another factor. With all of their infiltrations, Luthor no doubt would be increasing the difficulty, which he already had some of the best in the world.
"Which is why we need to be careful," the vigilante replied. Pulling out his palm pilot, he used it to access the building security system. It came up immediately and he began cycling through them.
As it turned out, there was some beefing of physical security. Searching through a few more feeds, a plan began to form in his mind. "Kid Flash, there's a corridor in front of the elevator we need. In the intersecting hallway, there's a conference room that's currently being unused."
"I think I know what you're talking about."
"We'll use your superspeed, but to that room, not the elevator."
"Really?! Seriously?!"
Batman reached out with one hand and grabbed the speedster by the shoulder. "To…that…room. Repeat it."
"Toooooo…thaaaaaaaat…rooooooom," Kid Flash repeated, drawing out his words with a grin on his face. If he was trying to be funny, he was failing. Batman stared at him impassively as a statue. The excited little smile he wore slowly began to fall, his shoulder slumping beneath the vigilante's grasp. "To that room," he said meekly.
"You can take me first so that you know which room to go to." Batman glanced to Arrow, who unlocked the door and cracked it open peering into the hallway.
"You're clear," he whispered before opening the door up more.
Suddenly, Kid Flash grabbed onto the Dark Knight and his entire world blurred. He got the sense of multiple turns before they stopped in the middle of a hallway right next to a door. Kid Flash grabbed the door handle and turned it, opening the door to reveal a room in darkness. "Is this it?" he asked.
Nausea assaulted the man and he had to resist the urge to puke. With an awkward step, he moved through the doorway and turned on a light. Thankfully, it was the conference room he wanted. "Yes," he said quickly. "Bring the others."
Kid Flash was gone in an instant. Batman gagged then, giving into the urge he felt. He didn't throw up, but he really wanted to. Slowly the door swung close next to him, only for it to suddenly jerk back open and there stood Red Robin, a dazed look on his face. The younger vigilante then stumbled forward, ultimately ending up using one hand to press against a wall to keep himself up. He hunched over as his upper body spasmed, no doubt resisting the same nausea Batman had faced.
Again the door began to swing open and then Fire was there. She blinked her eyes before looking to the vigilantes. She took a couple steps to move away from the door even as it began to close again.
And then Green Arrow and Kid Flash were there. Immediately, the archer had a hand slap down over his mouth. "Oh, God," he gasped as he lurched forward. Fire immediately spun around to place her hand on him, helping to steady him. "I feel…like I'm going…to hurl."
"That happens," Kid Flash shrugged. "You get used to it."
"I sort of feel it, but not like this," Fire said, trying to be reassuring.
It probably wasn't a coincidence the people most affected by the sudden acceleration and deceleration were the three people without powers. Though it seemed odd that Fire wasn't as affected since her powers weren't speed based. Maybe her ability to fly helped her adjust to it better. Batman could feel his own nausea improving, so it was likely they needed to take a couple minutes to rest up.
Of course, Kid Flash couldn't wait that long. "So you were right, there was this hallway full of bad guys. Do you want me to take them out? I could, you know, use my speed and run up to them and knock them out, or I could tie them up and leave them in another part of the building, or…"
"Kid," Arrow cut him off. "Just a minute. You may not want to puke, but the rest of us might. Unless you want a bad cleaning bill, just…wait…"
"But waiting is sooooo boring."
"Kid Flash," Red Robin said. "We're waiting, or I promise you, you'll have to figure out how to pay for the dry-cleaning bill."
The speedster blinked his eyes. "Pay? But…I don't have any money."
"Then consider this your warning before you have that problem."
So they waited, even as Kid Flash seemed to vibrate where he stood out of impatience. Thankfully, the three vigilantes got over their respective nauseousness and got down to business. "I'll take lead," Batman said as he moved next to the door. "There's a group of guards coming up."
"Which we need to deal with," Kid Flash was quick to remind. "So I was thinking I could—"
Red Robin reached with one hand to grab the boy by his shoulder. "No running. We have…another option."
"Another…option?" he repeated slowly. "What option?"
"You'll see."
Without waiting, Batman opened the door and led the team down the hallway. Fire was quick to follow him, Kid Flash coming next with Red Robin keeping a firm grip on his shoulder, which left Arrow bringing up the rear, keeping a lookout for surprises. They came up to the intersecting corridor that led to the elevator they wanted, Batman halting their procession just before it. Peering around the corner, he saw several men in security uniforms standing at attention, still as statues.
Reaching to his belt, Batman pulled out a small pellet and knelt down to the ground. He tossed the pellet around the corner and close to the floor so that it rolled rather than bounced across the ground.
"So now what?" Kid Flash hissed.
Fire quickly shushed him, which caused him to frown. The boy was about to complain, but Red Robin clamped his other hand over his mouth.
Several seconds went by before there were soft thuds heard. Peering around the corner, Batman saw the last of the guards collapsing to the floor, victims of the colorless knockout gas. "Ninety seconds," he grunted lowly, keeping an eye on the fallen men.
Kid Flash made muffled sounds beneath Red Robin's hand. "Because we need to wait for the gas to dissipate," the younger vigilante explained, somehow figuring out what his teammate said.
Ninety seconds seemed to crawl by, but eventually they reached it. Standing back up, Batman headed right for the elevator door. He saw the security features Luthor had installed and he was not going to bother going through them, not when they had another option. "Everyone grab onto Kid Flash," he ordered as he looked to the boy. "Phase us through."
The speedster's eyes widened. "I…I've never done that…with another person. I don't know…if I can."
"Now he tells us," Arrow grumbled.
"Then you're about to find out." Batman grabbed onto his shoulder, the others doing the same. "Go."
"Okay," he said with uncertainty before he began to vibrate. Batman felt the sensation go up his arm, but then it became imperceptible. As one, they moved to the elevator door, Kid Flash touching it first before moving through it.
Thankfully, the rest of them did too. It was a weird feeling passing through solid steel, but soon they were in the elevator shaft. Immediately letting go, Batman felt himself dropping downward, his hands grabbing onto the edges of his cape to make a makeshift parachute. Kid Flash ran down the side of the shaft, coming to a stop at its bottom. A moment later, Fire landed with her arms around Red Robin and Green Arrow, setting them down gently.
"That was so crash!" the speeder exclaimed. "I can't believe that worked!"
"Us either," Green Arrow responded. "Now back to business. What's beyond the door?"
Without even pausing, Kid Flash darted to the elevator doors, pressing his hands against it and then his face. He phased through the doors with his head sinking through, pulling it back a moment later. "The coast is clear! Do you—"
Batman and Green Arrow moved up next to the boy, the men getting a hold of the doors. They pulled in opposite directions, each one pulling the sliding doors apart. "Or we could do that," Kid Flash said disappointedly.
Fire hopped out of the shaft followed by Red Robin, the two entering the corridor, Kid Flash joining them a second later. Batman then let go of his door so he could jump out of the shaft, turning around to once again hold the door open. This allowed Arrow to climb out.
Kid Flash then bolted for the doors at the end of the hallway. "We're here," he announced. Earning him several shushes in return. He blatantly ignored them. "Now what?"
"Phase through and open the doors from the opposite side," Batman ordered as he walked up to the boy. Pulling out a small device, he handed it to him. "Use this to override the system if need be."
Kid Flash saluted him before he phased through the doors. Several moments passed before the doors slid open. "Wel—" Kid Flash began to announce.
Batman was immediately in the boy's face, staring down at him. That immediately cut him off. "Stay quiet," he warned him.
"Yes, Sir," the boy squeaked.
Turning his attention away, Batman saw the lab layout. There were a few computer terminals and several tables full of various machine parts. There was a large impact site high on one of the walls.
This was Professor Ivo's lab, but it seemed to be disappointingly empty.
Kid Flash suddenly raised his hand like a schoolboy. With his other hand he pressed his four fingers together, rotating this thumb so that he made a makeshift mouth with it. He began flapping his fingers up and down, indicating he wanted to talk.
"What?" he asked.
"A lot of stuff is missing," Kid Flash immediately said. "I remember there was a lot more here the last time."
Which meant it was moved. Damnit. Eyeing one of the terminals, he went right for it, turning it on. Fortunately, the screen lit up, though it showed a login menu.
Fingers danced across the keyboard, a username and passcode entered—he'd have to thank Zatanna for that. Immediately, the login was accepted, and a desktop appeared. Alright, it was time to go digging.
Black Canary had no problem getting her hands dirty. She did it all of the time in Gotham. However, roles changed and sometimes you found yourself in completely unexpected situations.
For instance, the blonde vigilante was watching as many of the fights with Luthor's robots as she could, trying to figure out who had the advantage, was it their side, and who would be the most beneficial as reinforcements.
Behind her, she had a few choices. There was the mystery girl, Raven, who had informed her that Captain Atom was handling the robot she was fighting by himself. Not that she doubted the cloaked girl, but she needed to set some eyes on the scene to confirm. It wasn't all that difficult since the brightest fireworks seemed to be centered around the captain.
Yeah, it looked like he was handling it.
There was Beast Boy, who was oohing and ahhing the fights, a literal color commentary. She wasn't seeing an immediate use for him—unfortunately—so he was staying back. There weren't any other Justice League members with her, so there was no one she could confidently send out without worry.
There was a sound of crunching gravel behind her. With a quick glance, she saw the two blonde members of the Titans, Wonder Girl and Terra. The former had a rather annoyed look on her face.
"Hey, how did you do against your robot?" Beast Boy immediately asked them.
"Who cares," Wonder Girl grumbled. "They're being taken care of."
"That bad, huh? Who bailed your butt out?"
"It was Flash," Terra responded. "Which was good, I guess. Tin had superspeed, so another fast guy was maybe a good idea."
Tin? Black Canary wondered where a robot got that name, you know, other than from Oz.
"They're not even fighting!" Wonder Girl blew up. "They're just sitting there talking! It was like watching a therapy session!"
Canary was just going to take the young girl's word on that one. Considering she hadn't seen streaking blurs anywhere, she was willing to say that was one threat being contained, which made for two by her count.
Flashes of green and violet caught her attention and she immediately looked for the source. She spotted Green Lantern going up against a robot firing green and violet beams at him, which he was handling with a shield construct. There was also that Tamaranean, Starfire, flying around, clearly looking for an opening. Canary would keep her eye on that fight for a moment. There was no sense in sending reinforcements if she wasn't certain if it would help.
Then came a loud BOOM! Head jerking, she spotted the face of a nearby building with a gaping hole in it. Keeping her eye on it, she saw another part of the building suddenly burst apart, sending pieces of debris falling to the street below.
Out of the newly formed hole was Superman entangled with a rather large robot. They flew away from the building before arcing downward, crashing right on top of the roof of a lower building.
While she wasn't one to question Superman's abilities, that he appeared to still be fighting his robot was concerning. She didn't even see which Titan he had helped out either.
"You want to work out some frustration?" she called out over her shoulder, getting the Titans' attention. "I need someone to go back up Superman. Any takers?"
"Uhh, no offense, but if Superman is having trouble, why would we be of any help?" Beast Boy asked.
A pretty good question, but clearly someone needed to learn a lesson that strength wasn't everything. "Because if punching something was the way to beat a robot, then Superman should have crushed the one he's fighting already. Now, I have you four with various abilities that could help."
The thinner blonde, Terra, perked her head up. "Hey, I can feel the earth moving."
Floating up in the air, Raven seemed to be watching Superman's fight. "It looks like there's some geokinesis occurring," she confirmed.
"Think you can do something to stop the earth from moving?" Canary questioned.
"I don't know. I could always try."
"Then go, see what you can do." Black Canary glanced up to Raven. "Raven, transport her over there. If you see an opening, use your power on it to see what happens."
The cloaked girl nodded before she called upon her power to transport both her and the small blonde. That just left Beast Boy and Wonder Girl.
"So, where do you want us to go?" the green boy asked.
Canary returned her attention to the battles. Just because she had the option to use the remaining teens didn't mean she had to. There was no point in sending one if they wouldn't change the outcome into their favor, or if they would simply get in the way.
For now, she needed patience.
Once access had been obtained, it hadn't been difficult to find the Amazo database. Since he had already seen what the file looked like, the moment the program opened up and superpowers began being listed, Batman knew he had found it.
Next to him, Red Robin was watching, Green Arrow doing the same on his opposite side. Fire had posted herself by the door to deter intruders. That just left Kid Flash to dart around the room, staring at things before doing the same in another part of the room. So far he hadn't done anything destructive, but that could change in an instant.
Reaching to his belt, Batman pulled out a flash drive and shoved it into a USB port. It took a few moments before a new window appeared, one that held access to the flash drive and a lone program within it. Now came the important part. Fingers danced over the keyboard, the flash drive program becoming highlighted on the screen before a new box opened, revealing a loading cycle.
"So what exactly are you doing?" Arrow asked as he watched patiently.
"Attaching a worm," Batman replied. "This is a database with every power copied by the Amazo robot. This will…take steps to resolving it."
"Nothing a simple delete can't do," the archer remarked.
"I highly doubt this is the only place the database is being kept," Batman returned. "No doubt there are backups somewhere. The worm is going to seek them out and ensure they're unusable as well."
"Good point," Arrow acknowledged. The loading cycle completed then, disappearing from the screen. Batman then closed the database, pausing for a moment before he began to check something else.
It didn't take all that long either. "No wonder Cyborg couldn't access this. It's completely off network," the dark-clad man reported. "It's in a self-contained system so outside sources can't find it."
"As much as I'd like to say that was unique, I really can't," Arrow replied. "My company does the same thing."
"You own a company?" Red Robin asked.
"Bow and arrows cost money, Champ," the Emerald Archer quipped. "Especially the trick ones. I only mention it because Mr. Dark Knight here already knows who I am, so there's little point in being coy."
That was rather kind of the blond man, Batman had to admit. If his identity was known by the archer, he would have said something similar about Wayne Enterprises. His company also had some projects that were kept on a private internet to discourage theft. He should have expected as much from Luthor, if not more so.
However, he could change that by making a back door, something he got to work on. While Luthor most likely had multiple off-grid networks, the vigilante would at least ensure he had access to this one.
Once he had it in place, Batman then had a thought. There was one other thing he wanted—no, needed—to check on. Typing on the keyboard, he did a complete search of the network and even used his newly-created back door to gain access to Luthor's public network, eventually finding what he was looking for.
A new window opened up and a video began to play. It took him a moment to recognize the throne room Superman had holed himself in the future. Apparently Luthor liked viewing this verbal spar before the actual fireworks began.
"Is that…?" Red Robin trailed off.
"Yeah, it's exactly what you think it is," Green Arrow confirmed.
Once more, Batman attached the worm to the footage, and then closed it. He then brought up the security logs Luthor no doubt had in place to record every access to every program and network he had. With a rapid clicking of computer keys, Batman erased each log, making certain to do the same in the recycle bin as well. He then cut off the access between networks and did the same cleanup job.
Then he logged out of the computer. "We're done here," he announced. "Time to leave."
"Umm, guys?" Kid Flash called out.
The men turned their heads to see the speedster standing before a table. It was towards one end of the room, one Batman and the others had largely ignored. "I think you're going to want to look at this," Kid Flash continued.
"Whatever it is, don't touch it," Green Arrow said back before he began to approach the kid. "You don't know…where…it's been…"
The sudden trail-off caught Batman's attention. Following behind the blond vigilante, he soon realized what exactly had both heroes' attention. Lying on the table was the framework of a robot—specifically, it looked just like Amazo. It had the same build as the ten foot tall android, but there were differences.
First, the torso was completely open, revealing the skeletal framework, along with wiring that gave the appearance of veins and arteries. The arms and legs looked more complete by comparison with the external plating in place. However, there were random places that were missing the plating, allowing a visual of the inner workings, gears, and rods that allowed the robot to move.
Lastly came the head. While the neck and lower face, where the mouth would be, were plated over, the upper head resembled a skull. The internal optics were visible, indicating work was still being done on them.
Fire gasped as she was drawn to the scene, covering her mouth with both of her hands. She lowered them slightly so that she didn't muffle, "Is Luthor rebuilding the Amazo robot?"
"Looks like it," Green Arrow confirmed, "which shouldn't be that surprising. Even though we beat it, it was still kicking our collective asses most of the time. I doubt Luthor would give up on it so quickly."
"Should we do something about it?" Red Robin asked.
"Yeah! Yeah, we should!" Kid Flash exclaimed. "We should sabotage it somehow! Like, make it a complete dud! Then no one will ever try to make this thing again!"
While that held merit—in fact, there was a strong urge to do so—the question came in was the how. How did they sabotage a robot as advanced as Amazo? Without the builders—or Luthor—discovering it before activation? And who wasn't to say that the robot itself wouldn't recognize the tampering and attempt to self-repair? They needed to think this though.
Naturally, it was Green Arrow that voiced this. "How do you intend to do that?"
"We could…uhhh…" the boy trailed off. "You know…put a…wrench into it?"
"A wrench is pretty big," Arrow pointed out. "And I'm certain someone will notice it there and just remove it."
"Then what about a computer program? Like that worm thing Batman's using? We could do that!"
"We'd have to make one specific for the robot and that takes time, " Batman pointed out. "And making one from scratch right here is not a good idea."
"But…but…we can't just leave it! We have to do something!"
"And we will," Arrow reassured him. "We just have to have a plan. Now let's go make one and then we'll—"
"I know!" Kid Flash then exclaimed before spinning back around. "I'll just take it apart and put all of the pieces all over the Earth! No way could they rebuild it then!"
Batman and Arrow shared a look. Clearly this kid wasn't going to give up on this. "Kid Flash," the dark-clad vigilante began to order.
"Now how do I pull this guy apart?" Kid Flash mused before he began patting the robot down with his hands, even going so far as to rap his knuckles on a part in the middle of the body.
"Hey! Don't do that!" Arrow shouted.
"Do what?" Kid Flash responded as he turned his head around, still knocking on the robot.
A whirring sound started then, along with gears turning. Every head focused on the incomplete Amazo robot.
"Kid Flash, what did you do?" Red Robin demanded.
"I…uhh…oooops?"
That wasn't very encouraging.
Even less encouraging was the Amazo robot began to move, its upper body rising up.
Superman was getting frustrated. So far, everything he had thrown at Lead had resulted in the same thing: nothing. It didn't make any sense at all. None. However, this hadn't been the first time the odds seemed stacked against him, and so he would continue until something gave.
Air was rushing away with each impact of his fists. Loud claps of sound caused the multitude of windows around to vibrate, some cracking as a result. Lead gave ground, then threw it in defense, or offense, and then the Man of Steel had to deal with the projectiles.
Whenever this happened, Cyborg would join in and distract Luthor's latest creation with a blast of energy or a sonic burst that distorted the air itself. Lead took it all, but before it could try and dish any of it back to the young man turned cyborg, Superman would redirect attention back to himself.
So far, it had accomplished nothing.
His various visions had been tried, first heat but nothing there. An arctic breath temporarily held it, but robots weren't known for having the same limitations that a human body had. His X-Ray Vision had been…interesting as all he saw was a Lead-shaped black spot. The name should have given that away in retrospect. So it was either lined with or clad in lead itself. That meant he couldn't see the inner workings for a potential weak spot.
After one particularly powerful hit that threw Lead away by several blocks, the Kryptonian did not give chase in preference to catch his breath. This had been perhaps the longest fight he had ever been in, and it was starting to show. He was feeling tired, and there was no kryptonite around to blame for it.
"I'm starting to get low," Cyborg reported loudly, swearing as he examined a gauge on his arm. "I don't know how much longer I can keep up."
It took a moment for Superman to figure out what the Titan was telling him. Cyborg's body was running low on power. Over the years, he had come to learn a lot about robotics, if only because it was for application on how to stop a robot; yet, how such a topic applied to someone like Cyborg gave him ideas on what was possibly going on with the young man. Since every robot he had ever faced was pure mechanical—where Metallo fit he still did not know—how it applied when there was a biological component was nearly beyond him.
But he didn't need to know everything. Obviously there had to be some kind of life support so that the biological parts of Cyborg were kept alive. Everything else his body used was optional and used up only so much. What the cyborg was capable of doing now would come to an end as all power reserves would be used to keep him alive. Damn, he was going to have to keep facing Lead by himself then.
"Fall back. Conserve what you have," the Man of Steel said. "I'll try to see about…"
Loud, sharp cracks interrupted him, and Cyborg's posture changed to help maintain his balance. The earth was shaking, and a building was rising. The Kryptonian's eyes widen as the man-made structure continued to rise up and up, its base held up in the air by a torn-out piece of earth.
Then he heard the cries, the voices of people, and they all came from inside.
Standing vertically, Lead began to turn the building it was levitating until its rooftop was aimed at the pair. There was no more time to think, and so Superman went into action. The world around him blurred as he raced into the building through a window, a fraction of a second later coming out holding two innocent civilians with both of his arms.
He carried them several blocks over, dropping the Metropolis bystanders off, then returned to the building to save others. Countless times he entered and exited, saving everyone he could get his hands on. Had anyone else been watching, they would have seen a blue blur moving into and out of the compromised building that would move some distance away and return, doing it so quickly it was hard to tell what the blue was currently doing.
The only evidence of his actions were the people he scattered about the immediate vicinity, office workers, their managers, and the customers who had the bad fortune of being inside at that moment were all staring in a daze, clothes ruffled as the slowly comprehended what was happening.
The last time Superman returned to the building, he left with a small puppy in hand, leaving it in the hands of a child, and the quickly returning to Cyborg so that Lead would only try to aim where he was and not where the innocent people were. He could still pick up Cyborg if he needed to, and that was the plan, but first, he needed to make sure that building that was about to be thrown was a threat to no one.
Unfortunately, Lead had begun to throw it, and now the multi-storied building was a projectile, massive in size, and heading right for Cyborg. Quickly, he went through his options. Could it catch it? What if the building's structure had been compromised and catching it broke it? Then there would be falling debris and the people below would be in trouble. How about going under it and controlling the trajectory? Would he be fast enough to do so? What—
There was a peculiar intake of air.
—he tackled Cyborg to the rooftop the young man stood on and barely covered one of his ears with a hand. He gave out a warning, the best he was able to, right as a scream tore through the air and struck the thrown building.
The man-made structure's trajectory reversed, and now it was heading in the opposite direction. Concrete and asphalt crumbled, dust clouding it from sight. Yet the scream continued to decimate the structure and breaking it down into smaller and smaller pieces until all that fell were tiny particles that even if they hit anyone would cause no harm.
Slowly, the scream ended, and Superman winced at the loud ringing he heard in one ear. Standing up while rubbing at said ear, he looked around and found Black Canary, breathing hard from how long she had kept up her special power. The Kryptonian nodded to her, then sought out Lead.
"What were you thinking?!" he demanded, gesturing out to the city. "You could have hurt so many people! Is that what you wanted?!"
Lead's mouth opened, but no words came out. While the eyes were lifeless to begin with, they seemed more so now. The jaw rose up slightly, then fell again, repeating over and over. "I…" finally, something was said. "I…I am…help people."
Cyborg groaned as he rubbed his own ears. Through a cracked open eye, the young man observed the robot, then commented, "I think you might have fried a circuit."
Anger might be clouding his mind, but Cyborg's words cut through it and suddenly he found another way to attack this menace. Hitting and superstrength had done nothing. Going for its programming, on the other hand, was another option, and hacking might not be needed. So far, the robot understood human speech, it could hear, so that meant it could also listen.
Maybe going after the circuitry instead of the body was the way to go.
"Help people?" he exclaimed incredulously, using the last words he had heard uttered from Lead. "You put them in danger! You would have killed them? How is threatening their lives supposed to help them?!"
There were no words, but they were striking the target. Good. Lead wasn't throwing rocks or trying to attack. Superman didn't know what the robot's programming was, but now he had an in.
Sticks and stones could break bones, but words could short circuit a reasoning artificial intelligence. Time to use them instead of fists.
Green Lantern always made it his policy to try and have some respect for the people he fought. This went back to his days in the Marines, and even before. Everyone had a reason for why they were fighting, and those reasons were just as valid as yours.
Ever since the recent brainwashing where he had become the man who held no such respect for anyone, it only redoubled his efforts to maintain that respect. He didn't like the Star Sapphire that plagued Earth, but he held some respect for her ability to fight since he could never agree with her reasons for her actions. Yellow Lanterns were motivated by their fear, and each one had a different fear, some of which he could understand given time.
Each Lantern, no matter the color, were challenges. They knew how to wield their rings to great effect. This robot, Iron, did not hold a candle to even the worst of the Yellows. The attacks were so predictable. Energy beams, nothing else. For defense, an ever present shield. There was no imagination in any of it, and outside of his time as that alternate, brainwashed, future Lantern, this was the closest John had ever felt to contempt.
He glided through the air, effortlessly dodging the beams, violet in color, all the while keeping his eyes on the green barrier construct. He fired a few beams of his own, testing the strength of the construct. With sharp eyes, he could see how imperfect the shield was, knew what he was going to do about it.
"You're wasting time," he called out to Iron. "This fight is already over. Give it up and call it a day."
"That's tough talk coming from a man that hasn't hit me yet," Iron retorted.
"That's for lack of trying," the Lantern responded. "Last chance. You have no idea the power you wield, but I do. This fight is over, you just don't know it yet."
"I'm just hearing talk," the robot dismissed.
Well, if you talk the talk, you better walk the walk.
Green light fired out from his ring, but it did not form a beam. His aim had been for under the shielded robot, and there his construct took shape. A vice, something you would find in a garage or with a set of tools, stood out among the Metropolis architecture, the construct's clamps coming down on either side of Iron.
It barely took any concentration of will to begin putting the pressure on, the vice's clamps crushing against the barrier. Little by little, he began to up the concentration and increase the force he was placing on the shield. Much to his disappointment, Iron's defensive construct lost its spherical shape, becoming oblong, and then cracking.
A robot with the power of a ring, two if you counted Star Sapphire, and this was the best it could do. Let it not be said that a living's being's will held no power.
Not even blinking, Green Lantern watched as Iron's shield shattered, pieces of the construct flying every which way until disintegrating into nothing. The vice construct's clamps were firmly holding onto the robot's body, giving John the clearest look he had had of Iron so far. Why a dark blue color for something that was normally gray, he did not know and did not care. Much of Iron's body was hidden by his own construct, but that didn't mean much.
The robot then began to struggle, putting both of its hands on the inner walls of the clamps. The Lantern could already feel the amount of resistance being applied to his construct, and so he retaliated with concentrating harder.
The strength of the resistance only grew stronger, though, and so he decided to preempt whatever escape was planned. He swung his arm to a side, and the construct followed. The side of a building was where it crashed first, and with a wince and internal apology to Superman, the Lantern reversed and swung the other way.
He did this again and again, slamming any visible portion of Iron there was into whatever surface was around and available. Bringing his arm back, he dismissed the vice construct, leaving the robot hovering in the air. Then he punched out, forming a fist-shaped construct that slammed into the robot and sent it flying off.
With narrowed eyes, John took off after his opponent. He needed to be sure this robot was dismantled first so that it was no longer a threat.
Amazo sat up straight, its legs stretched out in front of it, forming an L with its body. It stared straight ahead, pausing so that its operational systems fully activated.
That was a saving grace if there ever was one.
"Fire, Kid Flash, out!" Batman barked as he stormed up to the latter. Grabbing onto the boy's shoulder, he pulled him backwards so that he could move in front of him, blocking him off from Amazo. He didn't know what this latest version's capabilities were, but he definitely did not want to find out the hard way that it could copy powers and immediately get Kid Flash's.
"Out? What do you mean out?!" Kid Flash shouted behind him. "I can stop this guy in—"
"That's enough!" Red Robin interrupted, suddenly at his friend's side and grabbing his shoulder. "You need to leave before Amazo copies your powers again. If that happens, none of us will be able to stop it."
"That's what I'm saying! I can stop this thing in two seconds flat! So let me—"
Green Arrow suddenly moved next to the young man. He had pulled out one of his trick arrows and held it in front of Kid Flash's face. The boy was startled by this long enough for a gas to suddenly spray him in the face. "Waaaahhh?" he drawled as he began to wobble on his feet, almost toppling over.
Thankfully, Fire was there to catch him. "You got him?" Arrow asked the green-haired woman. "I don't think the gas will last very long."
"We will see," Fire responded as she wrapped her arms underneath Kid Flash's arms.
"Whatever you have to do, make certain neither of you comes in this room," Batman ordered. "If Amazo gets either of your powers, it's over. Now go!"
The vigilante didn't watch as Fire took to the air and flew Kid Flash towards the lab's door. He only heard the wind she left in her wake.
By then, Green Arrow had drawn out his bow, notching an arrow to the bowstring. "You think it doesn't have its powers?" the blond man questioned. "There is that database after all."
"That's what I'm hoping," Batman replied as he reached to his belt. That was when Amazo turned its head towards the remaining vigilantes—and unfortunately towards the escaping Fire.
Pulling out a canister from a pouch on his belt, Batman wasted no time in throwing it right at Amazo's head. The robot didn't move, which allowed the canister to hit it in the face. The canister shattered and a pink, gooey substance erupted from it, spattering over Amazo's face and around its head. More importantly, it completely covered its eyes.
A moment later and the doors to the lab closed, indicating Fire had successfully left. "You know, I wasn't hoping for something more reassuring than you hope this thing isn't completed," Green Arrow responded as he held up his bow, drawing back on the bowstring.
"Considering its outer frame is incomplete, it's a pretty good indication they were still in the programming phase," the dark-clad man pointed out.
That gave the archer pause. "I'll take what I can get then." He then released his arrow, the men watching it fly right out Amazo, hitting it on the shoulder. Unfortunately, it just bounced off of the metal plating, the arrow flipping harmlessly away.
"Don't tell me, the metal is arrow-proof," Arrow muttered.
"Knowing Luthor, he used titanium as the primary armor," Red Robin offered helpfully.
"Of course he did," Green Arrow replied as he pulled out a trick arrow this time, a thin canister at its end. "Let's see how it handles this."
Notching it, he pulled back on the bowstring and then fired the arrow. Hitting it at center mass, an explosion erupted, the force actually pushing the three vigilantes backwards. "Now that was stronger than I expected!" Arrow exclaimed.
As fire gave way to smoke, the smoke dissipated to reveal the incomplete Amazo still sitting on the table unphased. Then it moved its legs, sliding them off the table to dangle over the edge. A hand raised up and grabbed at the sticky pink paste that covered its face, pulling on it. The glue stretched out with the hand, but did not let go of the robot's head.
That's when Red Robin grabbed onto his cape. The cape stiffened before he lunged at the robot, swinging an arm and—along with it—the stiffened cape. The edge of the cape struck the robot's raised arm, a screeching sound as metal scraped against metal rang out. It was grating to the ears, causing them all to wince. Undeterred, Red Robin swung his other arm, trying to slice Amazo's arm off with the sharp edge of his cape again, only to just scrape it once more.
In response, Amazo suddenly kicked up one of its legs, the young vigilante jumping to one side as he exclaimed, "Whoa!" Immediately, he darted away, even as Amazo lowered its leg down. It was still pulling at the sticky paste on its face, stretching it out further and further.
That's when Batman pulled out an explosive shuriken. "Back off!" he warned everyone, even going so far as to pull back himself. Green Arrow and Red Robin did immediately as ordered, backpedaling as fast as possible. Pushing a thumb to the body of the bat-shaped shuriken, a red light flashing in turn, the Dark Knight then threw the shuriken right for Amazo's face. The moment it collided with the paste-covered face, a large explosion detonated, the very force of it throwing the three vigilantes back. Red Robin ended up hitting a sidewall, crying out as he dropped to the floor. Batman and Green Arrow were thrown clear across the room, hitting the far wall as they both grunted in response. Thankfully, they both landed on their feet.
"What the hell was that?!" the Emerald Archer exclaimed.
There was a ringing in Batman's ears despite the ear protection of his cowl—a very unexpected result and one he needed to remedy—but he still heard his comrade's question. "A thick resin designed to subdue a target," he answered.
"What, like glue?"
"Something like that. I also incorporated an explosive element in the event it was used on a metahuman. I wasn't expecting it to be that powerful though."
There was a moment of silence. "I think I need to get me an arrow with that stuff. Care to share?"
Batman would have responded had he not spotted movement. Where Amazo had previously been, there was a large clearing now. Lab equipment that had been near the explosion had been thrown in every which direction, currently piled up against the surrounding walls. The table Amazo had been sitting on laid on the floor in pieces. There were a few fires burning, fueled by what was anyone's guess.
And through the smoke that filled the air, Amazo emerged. Gone was the pasty glue, having been completely consumed in the flames. Aside from singed marks on the face and shoulders, there wasn't much damage to behold. The lenses of Amazo's eyes were cracked, but they did nothing to stop the eerie white glow that emanated from them.
That was not a good thing.
The sound of the internal gears moving filled the air as Amazo moved through the smoke. It had its sights focused right on Batman and Green Arrow, no doubt analyzing them for potential powers. Assuming the scan had ended, Amazo began to pick up its pace, beginning to run right at the two vigilantes.
"Aim for joints and structural weak points," Batman said as he shot his hands to his belt. He didn't hear Arrow respond, only that he edged away from the Dark Knight. Whipping his hands up, Batman began throwing bat-shaped shuriken, his arms pumping up and down as he threw them one at a time. Each one whirled towards the charging Amazo, hitting the robot at various places on its open chest, shoulders, face, and even legs. Each one caused a brief spark from where it collided with the titanium frame, but bounced off harmlessly.
And then Amazo was upon him. As it drew a fist back and then threw it, Batman ducked down, allowing the fist to hit the wall behind him, leaving a large dent in its wake. Immediately, he dove to his right, going into a roll, the robot's head turning to keep him in its view.
Which left it completely blind to Green Arrow as he leapt into the fray. Planting one foot on the floor, he leaned to one side so that he could kick with his other foot, kicking the side of Amazo's knee. The archer winced from the blow, but thankfully the knee reacted accordingly and buckled, causing Amazo to drop down to one knee. Hefting up his bow as he dropped his extended leg down, he then swung his weapon to hit Amazo's neck, just below the chin. Because the robot was off-balance, it actually bent over before falling onto its back.
Quickly, the Emerald Archer pulled out a trick arrow and notched it, aiming point blank at Amazo. "Ice to see you again," he quipped before he fired the arrow, the canister at its end detonating and creating a cloud of blue mist to flood all over the robot. Ice formed on its body, encasing most of its torso.
Batman raised an eyebrow. "Ice puns? Really?"
Green Arrow shrugged his shoulders. "I thought it was fitting."
The sound of cracking ice caused both men to jerk their attention back to Amazo. The ice that had formed on the robot was breaking, then without warning, one of its arms broke free, sweeping Green Arrow's feet out from underneath him. "Whoa!" the blond man yelped as he dropped to the floor, landing on his back.
Amazo then pushed itself up, finally shattering the sheen of ice on it. With its other arm, it swung it up, twisting its body towards Arrow so that it could slam its raised fist down on him. Seeing it coming, the archer rolled to one side, just escaping as the fist crashed down on the floor, denting it much like it had the wall previously.
Undeterred by the miss, Amazo forced itself onto its feet, standing above Arrow as he scrambled to get onto his hands and knees. The robot began reaching down for the archer, at least until a whirling projectile suddenly flew by and struck the arm. Whether it was due to aim, or luck, the projectile ended up hitting the part of the arm where there was no plating to protect it. It took Batman a moment to realize it was a birdarang and one of its sharp wings somehow stuck into moveable gears.
This stopped Amazo from performing fine motor movements, at least with that arm. No longer could it bend the elbow, or even flex its fingers. Amazo seemed to recognize this and stopped reaching for Green Arrow. Its shoulder rotated, raising up the arm in the air, but when it tried to bend the elbow, it could not.
And that gave Batman an idea.
"Aim for the open areas of its body!" he shouted as he pulled out his own shuriken. If they could jam up the internal mechanisms, they could stop Amazo from moving. Unleashing a flurry of shruiken, he sent them flying towards the various gaps in the robot's armor.
A few of the bat-shaped shuriken didn't find their mark. Much like the first ones he had thrown, they struck the armored plating and bounced off harmlessly. Others struck true, however. One managed to wedge itself in the lower abdomen, where the hips became the leg. There was a screeching sound as metal scraped against metal, Amazo's left leg unable to move. A few more dug into the skeletal framework of the torso, preventing the robot from bending and twisting.
Red Robin suddenly sent in his own barrage of birdarangs, having much of the same luck as the Dark Knight. Whereas many bounced off harmlessly, some found a way to lodge into the visible gears. One had gotten into the open plating of Amazo's bicep, stopping the arm from being of any use.
However, it quickly became apparent that this was only a temporary solution. Even from where he stood, Batman could see the bat and bird-shaped shurikens were slowly twisting as Amazo fought to break them, its mechanical strength slowly crumpling them until they wouldn't stop him for long. It was a matter of time and pressure; time which was clearly in short supply due to the incredible pressure the robot could create.
By then, Green Arrow was on his feet, scampering a short distance away between him and the robot. However, he now had his bow up, two arrows notched as he took aim horizontally. The blond man didn't even quip as he fired the arrows, sending them straight into Amazo's eyes.
Amazo's head jerked back. The arrows pierced right through the eyes and even ended up sliding out the back of its head. Immediately, the robot went still as a statue.
"Who here thinks the main processing system was built into its head?" Green Arrow asked after a moment. "Cause I think I managed to hit it with those arrows."
"We can only hope you did," Red Robin responded.
There was a moment of silence. "Hey, Bats?"
"Yeah?" the vigilante.
"Do you have anymore of that explosive glue stuff?"
"Why?"
"Because if we can cram it into all the nooks and crannies of this thing, maybe we can blow it to pieces."
Silence again.
"It's worth a shot."
Right on time as always, the Boy Scout and the Justice League could set your watch with their arrival. So far, the Metal Men were holding their own, but it was a stalemate. Here and there, there were edging outs in favor of the League, and by that point Luthor had seen enough.
Tapping at his keyboard, he sent out the command for the Metal Men to return. Data would need to be retrieved, diagnostics run, and of course, analyzing everything to see how these new weapons could be improved. In this regard, the League provided so much valuable data and he couldn't wait for Magnus to get to work.
On his monitors, the mogul could see the Metal Men withdrawing, breaking off their fights, or distracting the various League members to make good their escapes. No pursuit, but then again, by now, they all should suspect that these newest weapons were heading here. Think of him what they wanted, none of them would be willing to put his employees at risk.
While this was taking place, a check up on Ivo was needed. While the Metal Men were proving their potential, he had not been resting on his laurels. The next Amazo model was still under development and with whatever sway he held over the professor, he was trying to push its completion to arrive sooner.
The alleged, incoming alien invasion had not slipped his mind, and he wanted to be able to have something to show for all the money he put into creating that android. When everything inevitably came to a head, he would be ready and able to lay his cards on the table.
So naturally, that was when he received the alert.