Chapter 83: Machine Frenzy
"Kal-El, the last son of Krypton. Kara Zor-El, the last daughter of Krypton. My name is 'Brainiac.' A collector, and a conqueror."
Although Brainiac said so, the word "last" was a bit of an exaggeration. Perhaps he could only be considered the true "last son" when the character of Superman was first created. However, as the stories progressed, all of Superman's various relatives came back to life one after another. In the end, they even brought out an entire Kryptonian city—oh, and even their cats and dogs.
Old Bu rattled off the names of Superman and Supergirl as if reciting a menu, but he faltered when his gaze swept over Orin Vale. Only after a moment did he speak in a deep voice.
"You... you have once again exceeded my expectations. I still haven't been able to find matching data in the databases of any known galaxy. Your life form is also vastly different from any known species in the database; an energy-based being, yet you can freely transform into a powerful physical entity."
The eyes of the skull on the interface flickered, as if showing interest.
"I originally came here just for Earth and the Kryptonians. But now, you are becoming my primary target."
"I'd say I'm honored." As Orin Vale spoke, Pal had already begun trying to trace the signal again. "In that case, why don't you come here in person? Then we can have a proper chat about this."
"There is no need for that," Brainiac said calmly. "We will meet eventually, but not now."
After a pause, the light in the skull's eyes went out, and his voice seemed to deepen slightly.
"Humans are indeed unreliable. I knew I couldn't trust their simple brain structures to be capable of completing any task... But it doesn't matter. You discovered my communications with Lex Luthor and disrupted my plans. This merely forces me to make adjustments to my original plan, such as accelerating the schedule slightly."
Orin Vale abruptly raised his palm and blasted a shot to his right. The chest of a black skeletal robot was blown open, sending metal fragments and electric sparks flying. The robot's eyes went dark, and its body tilted before crashing to the ground.
But that was just the beginning.
More and more green lights lit up, and the black armor glinted with a chilling light. Skeletal machines emerged from all directions, surrounding the three of them.
"World Collection... activate."
The screen went dark.
All the robots took a step forward in unison, raising the energy cannons mounted on their arms, and mumbled the same words indistinctly but in perfect unison.
"Collection... Archiving..."
"Collection... Archiving..."
This same scene was playing out not just at LexCorp, but all across Metropolis.
A rumbling sound threw a factory into complete chaos. Giant mechanical arms began to operate frantically, and all the metal equipment seemed to come alive, coordinating their rotations and movements with astonishing efficiency to assemble themselves.
"The equipment is out of control! It isn't responding..."
The workers ran back and forth through the factory in a panic.
"Shut down the power!"
"We tried, it's no use!" the Operator shouted in despair. "These things are acting like they're alive; the cables have already been unplugged..."
"What are they assembling? Aren't we supposed to be making subway cars?"
Black skeletal robot bodies took shape one after another, crawling off the assembly line. They looked around coldly, scanned, then locked onto their targets and raised their energy cannons.
"Collection... Archiving..."
At the same time, at General Lane's base.
"The machine army is out of control? What do you mean, out of control!?"
General Lane yelled at the top of his lungs amidst the blaring red alarms.
"Then get control back, cut the power, or just blow up those damned machines! Do what you experts are supposed to do!"
"We've tried everything, sir."
The expert in the white lab coat watched the monitor, his face pale and beaded with sweat as military robot soldiers stormed out of the armory.
"We did our best, but we've been locked out of the system..."
"Locked out by who?" General Lane roared.
Before the expert could speak, the culprit revealed itself.
All the equipment shut down at once; the lights and screens all went black. But half a second later, the screens lit up again, displaying a skull in the center of the interface.
"Archiving... Collection... Your world belongs to Brainiac."
*Boom!*
Back at LexCorp, a giant fireball shot into the sky, its light illuminating the entire dark industrial district. The blast wave carried bricks, glass, and metal debris, scattering them with the hot air current. The building's walls trembled violently, and a huge fissure was blasted open in the ground.
A red-and-silver armored figure shot into the sky with a trail of fire, followed by a string of black robots.
Superman also burst up to the surface, entangled with three to five skeletal machines. He tore an oncoming machine in half with his bare hands as if it were paper, while simultaneously kicking the head off another. The torn edges of the metal shell shrieked sharply as it ripped apart, and exposed parts and circuits clattered to the ground.
He grabbed two pieces of debris and threw them, smashing into a flying machine in mid-air and causing it to explode into a fireball. Three other robots tried to charge forward shoulder-to-shoulder, but two beams of incredibly powerful Heat Vision swept out like fiery blades, cutting them all in half at the waist.
At this moment, Kara had also changed into her classic Supergirl uniform for the first time, though compared to the classic version, she had added an eye mask like Robin's.
She punched through one machine, then shot forward with a sonic boom, destroying several more in her path.
An alien laser beam struck her back, making her stumble. Kara grunted, but after steadying herself, she turned her head and unleashed a blast of Freeze Breath. The frigid air instantly turned several machines behind her into ice sculptures. Kara darted aside, and the robots immediately shattered into dust.
"The people in the city need help." Superman's ears twitched as a flood of cries for help and alarms washed over him.
Orin Vale swept through the air, his palms tapping in quick succession, firing Light Energy Cannons that blew two robots apart.
"Sir, a large-scale anomaly has been detected... coming from underground in Metropolis!"
*Rumble...*
Soon, they saw it. Everyone in the city saw it.
A giant tower-like object with a metal shell, like a slumbering beast awakening from a dream, rose from the ground. It was like a colossal iron vine extending upwards, piercing the sky of Metropolis.
The streets trembled violently, like ravines torn open by demonic claws. Skyscrapers collapsed like building blocks. The hum of the giant tower as it emerged was like an alien horn, standing coldly over the city as if declaring the authority it had seized.
"It looks like three iron towers have emerged from three different locations in Metropolis, Sir," said Pal. "They all have strong Brainiac signal reactions. It seems the enemy intends to establish a beachhead."
"Noticed... Tell me something I don't know," Orin Vale said.
"The anti-Brainiac radar is detecting a strong signal reaction from outside the atmosphere... A large, unidentified flying object is approaching."
"It's his spaceship!"
Kara's face filled with terror, as if she were recalling the nightmare from Krypton's past.
"Brainiac's spaceship, he's here... just like that day!"
"A particle convergence has been detected outside the atmosphere, with a powerful, anomalous energy signature. A comparison with the Kryptonian database found a match," Pal continued. "It's the signature for 'Miniaturization Energy,' Sir."
Orin Vale nodded, indicating he understood.
"...He wants to put Metropolis in one of his bottles."
(end of chapter)