Rain falls like a silver curtain over the wheat fields, the tractor's engine a faint rumble beneath the roar of thunder.
"Both of you, stay in the truck!" Locke's voice cuts through the downpour. He grabs the shotgun from under the seat and leaps out, his figure swallowed instantly by the torrential rain.
"Dad!" Dio starts to follow, but—
"Dio!" Clark's arm shoots out, gripping him tightly. "Don't make trouble for Uncle Locke!"
"Get off me, Clark, you idiot!" Dio snaps, wiping rain from his face. Water streams down his blond hair, mixing with mud as it drips along his clenched jaw.
Besides, in the rearview mirror, that massive figure has already vanished into the swaying wheat, leaving only trampled stalks to mark its path.
"Didn't you see it?" Dio's voice is low, forced through gritted teeth. "That thing… it's not human!"
"Dio—"
BOOM! A clap of thunder drowns out Clark's words, but what grabs their attention is the deafening roar that echoes through the storm—coming from the direction Locke went.
Dio's chest tightens.
"No way!" Taking advantage of Clark's distraction, Dio shoves the door open, icy rain soaking his shirt in seconds. "I'm going after him!"
"Dio!" Clark lunges, grabbing his wrist. "Uncle Locke told us to—"
"Clark!" Dio yanks his arm free, his red eyes blazing dangerously in the stormy night. "That's my dad!"
CRACK! Lightning splits the sky, its pale glow illuminating Dio's furious expression.
In that same moment, another crash rings out, this time with the unmistakable clang of metal.
Dio's breath catches for a second. Maybe it's instinct, or maybe it's the power of his Stand kicking in.
Time freezes.
Raindrops hang suspended in the air, forming a shimmering cage.
Clark blinks, and in that instant, Dio's gone. All he catches is a glimpse of blond hair flashing through the rain in the distance.
If a Stand user were here, they'd see a golden figure carrying a kid, sprinting at breakneck speed.
"How's he so fast?!" Clark mutters, slamming a fist against the seat, thinking it's just his nerves acting up again. Without hesitation, he jumps out of the truck.
His super speed lets him catch up to Dio in no time, but as he reaches out to grab him—
"Don't touch me!" Dio snarls without looking back. "You muscle-headed idiot will just slow me down!"
The two boys face off knee-deep in muddy water, rain streaming down their faces.
BOOM! Another explosion lights up the night, this time with a visible burst of fire.
---
A farmer stands with a shotgun, facing an unknown monster.
This isn't Dragon Ball. This is real life.
Under the shattered metal faceplate, the exposed half of a human face twists in pain. The giant, over six feet tall, has a gaping wound in its right temple, silver liquid oozing from it.
"Hey, buddy," Locke says, his voice low and steady, like he's scolding a deer that wandered into his cornfield. "You're trespassing on my property."
Rain drips off the brim of his cowboy hat, splashing faintly on the shotgun's barrel. His finger rests firmly on the trigger, boots sinking into the muddy wheat field as he sizes up the hulking creature.
But, if he's honest, the silver liquid seeping from the monster's broken skull is giving him the creeps. What the hell kind of cyborg is this? he curses to himself. The odds of a Cybertron reject popping up in Smallville's wheat fields are lower than getting struck by lightning.
"Kill… you…" The metal giant lifts its head slowly. Its left eye, human and cloudy blue, glares out, while its right eye glows with a mechanical red light.
Click! A sharp metallic hum sounds as the creature's right arm morphs, liquid metal writhing into a jagged longsword.
BANG! The shotgun's roar tears through the rain. The bullet hits the creature's chest dead-on, blasting a hole the size of a bowl. Silver liquid sprays out, some splattering Locke's boots and instantly corroding small pits in the leather.
But what's worse—way worse—is that the wound starts healing right before his eyes. The monster lets out an inhuman howl as the liquid metal squirms like a living thing, sealing the damage in seconds.
That familiar feeling hits Locke like a truck. Nanotech? Or… Edman alloy? Where the hell did this high-tech nightmare come from?
He forces himself to stay calm, reasoning it out. If this were real Edman alloy, his old shotgun wouldn't even scratch it. The fact that there's a visible dent in the creature's chest means its metal isn't pure.
BANG! Another shot rips through the storm. The creature's regeneration slows noticeably, and Locke grins.
Gotcha.
He pulls a detonator from his pocket. A farmer carrying some explosives to protect his fields from pests? Totally reasonable. Lighting the fuse, Locke lobs the sparking dynamite in a perfect arc.
"Looks like you're a knockoff, pal," he says.
"Die!" The creature's chest surges, liquid metal boiling into dozens of sharp spikes as it prepares to charge.
But then—BOOM! The detonator explodes on impact, the blast nearly knocking Locke off his feet.
He steadies himself, shielded by the towering form of Star Platinum, its face marked with the word "Invincible." Locke feels a wave of calm wash over him.
Recalling his Stand, Locke peers through the rain. The metal giant, now legless, kneels motionless in the smoke.
Edman alloy? No way that'd break from a detonator, Locke thinks. And who'd waste something that rare on a cyborg knockoff?
"Game over, wannabe Wolverine," Locke says, spitting out muddy water and raising his shotgun to the creature's head.
But before he can fire, a desperate shout cuts through the storm: "Dad!"
Locke turns, stunned, to see Dio sprinting toward him through the rain, Clark trailing behind with a panicked look.
That little punk! I told him to stay put! Locke's face darkens.
Worse, the shout seems to jolt the metal giant back to life. Its lone mechanical eye flares red, and its legs begin to regenerate.
Creak… The creature's head locks onto Dio, its throat emitting a choppy electronic growl: "Kill…"
BANG! Without hesitation, Locke fires his modified shotgun, obliterating the creature's head in a burst of sparks and smoke.
By all logic, that should've ended it.
But this is the world of comics.
Buzz! The headless body lets out an electronic roar. Its right arm's jagged blade splits into three metal whips, lashing toward Dio and Clark with deadly force.
If those hit, the boys are done for.
No more playing around. Locke's eyes harden.
Star Platinum: The World!
Buzz! The whips freeze mid-air, as if their power's been cut.
Time stops in the rain-soaked night.
"Yare yare…" Locke mutters, tipping his cowboy hat lower as he surveys the frozen rain. "One second, huh? That's enough."
The purple giant looms between heaven and earth. Locke points forward, his voice calm but commanding: "Smash it."
"Star Platinum!"