288 O.M.A.C #288

Old Gotham

Waynetech Labs

The building's security guards couldn't help but scream in terror as a horde of small mechanical primates picked them off one after the other from the shadows.

Each was a former soldier handpicked by the company's chief executive to safeguard the valuable, dangerous, and untested technologies inside the labs.

However, they couldn't do anything against the strange robotic monkeys as they appeared and disappeared at the drop of a hat, taking down one of their numbers.

Though they tried to resist, they eventually all fell, and the strange robots gained control over the labs. Surprisingly, they ignored every valuable within and headed for a box inside the cold storage unit with the letters O.M.A.C on its cover.

...

Gotham

The docks

Civilians fled the scene in terror as the man of steel wreaked havoc on the docks, destroying everything in his sight while spouting nonsense about Metalo and saving the world.

Luckily, he didn't have the time to destroy the entirety of the docks before a shirtless man with a ginger beard appeared, taking to the air and punching Superman with a robotic fist glowing bright green.

"I don't know what has gotten into you, but you're clearly not in control of your actions," The man said, frowning as he watched Superman wipe the blood off his mouth, clearly shaken.

"I usually don't stick my nose where it doesn't belong, but this here is my student's city. I can't let you destroy it while he's away," The man said, pointing his robotic fist at Superman as several hidden gun barrels appeared all over it.

"Kryptonite..." Superman said, seemingly confused at how the man's attack affected him. "You must be working with Metalo!" He angrily said as he charged the man.

"Tell me where he's hiding! Now!" Superman said through gritted teeth as he closed the distance and swung at the man, and the latter easily dodged, swaying to the man of steel's side.

"I can see that you've had some training..." The man said as he punched at Superman's ribs, to which the latter quickly dodged, only to stop in his tracks when the former followed through an elbow to the face.

"But applying martial arts requires a tranquil mind, and yours is in turmoil," The man added, quickly floating back to dodge a wide arm swing from Superman that he saw coming from a mile away.

"Hmm? And I see you're still holding back..." The man thoughtfully said as he dodged another attack. "Perhaps you still have a sliver of self-control...?" He added, but he didn't get to overthink it, as a blue rift appeared next to him, and Grayson walked through it alongside Kara.

He said nothing as he activated the dormant Sentry Drones lying in wait near the docks, instructed them to buy some, and turned to greet the new arrivals with a smile.

"I see you're putting that arm to good use," Grayson said, returning his teacher's smile as he scanned the area and made an educated guess about what happened before he arrived.

"Well, someone had to act while you were away," Richard replied as he turned to the blonde girl floating beside Grayson. "And you must be Kara. Gray spoke highly of you..." He added, beaming as he put on a meaningful expression.

"Oh, he did, did he...?" Kara asked, alternating her gaze between Grayson and his teacher. "What did he say exactly?" She asked, her gaze settling on Richard.

The teacher seemed happy to reply, but Grayson quickly interrupted, clearing his throat. "Let's take care of this sometime today, shall we...?" He said, gesturing towards the man of steel, ripping through his machines.

"I'd like to still have some operative machines by the end of the day..." He concluded, then charged Superman without waiting for a reply from either Kara or Richard.

Richard merely shook his head as he followed suit, with Kara flying behind him. "I don't mean to intrude, but you don't seem too bothered by the current situation..." He asked.

"I am bothered, but this happens more than you think..." Kara replied with a sigh as she and Richard finally closed the distance and joined the fray, promptly attacking Superman.

...

Somewhere in Gotham

"Will you be able to make it work as well...?" Maxwell lord said, his face deathly pale as he turned away from the computer screen and toward professor Ivo as the latter instructed him robots to retrieve the O.M.A.C box.

"No. If this Brother Eye program you speak of is as great as you describe it, then no..." Professor Ivo said. "However, I have already fashioned a powerful host capable of controlling and dispensing the virus, though it will be exclusive to machines..." He added, shaking his head.

"An O.M.A.C Prime, if you will..." The professor concluded with a devious grin.

"It doesn't matter. Once I have my hands on Brother Eye--" Lord said, stopping halfway through his sentence as he violently coughed into his hand, staining it in blood.

"It'll be all over. I'll have an army of super soldiers at my disposal. I'll rid the world of those freaks at last..." He concluded, gritting his bloody teeth in frustration as he wiped his hand with a tissue.

"Whatever you say..." Professor Ivo carelessly said. "Still, your little toy seems to be nearing its limits..." He added with a chuckle as he turned to a computer screen streaming live footage of Superman's battle against Grayson and the others.

"He'll buy enough time. Send this O.M.A.C prime of yours to assist him as soon as it's ready..."

...

Gotham

The docks

"What the fuck is that?!" I exclaimed, ducking under the punch of a strange humanoid robot that suddenly appeared from nowhere. Though confused, I didn't hesitate and retaliated with a fist to the damned thing's torso.

The attack connected and went through the robot's chest, but it felt like my hand was going through something liquid instead of the sensation of hitting something solid I expected.

The hole in the robot's chest started wiggling and liquifying as it engulfed my arm, making it difficult for me to pull back. "First target identified..." The robot spoke in a monotonous voice as it locked eyes with me.

"Termination process initiated," The robot added, pulling its hand back as it turned into a black blade before thrusting it toward my head. Naturally, I didn't stand still as I blew the robot's insides with an energy blast and quickly backed away to dodge.

"I hate fighting people with healing factors..." I grumbled with a scowl as I watched the hole in the robot's chest slowly mend. "This thing is dangerous. You two better keep your distance," I said, dodging another swing of the robot's arm blade as I addressed Richard and Kara.

"I'll make quick work of it, so keep big blue out of my back until then," I concluded as I retrieved the Leviathan's axe from my inventory and engaged the strange machine.

"Got it," Kara said as she blocked a punch from Superman and pushed him toward Richard, who blasted the man of steel to the ground with his Kyrptonite-powered prosthetic.

'Now let's see what the fuck I'm dealing with...' I mused as I closed the distance between the robot and me, touching its shoulder to scan it with my power.

I immediately let go and backed away, my eyes widening at what I had learned from the scan. "Fucking nanomachines..." I cursed, and my expression only grew worse as I noticed the robot spreading bits of itself in the air.

The microscopic nanomachines spread in the air and immediately headed toward my Sentry Drones, and I barely had time to dismiss half of them before they took over the ones that didn't make it.

And to make it all worse, the damned things didn't take over the Sentry Drone's system but spread through my machines' joints and took control of them, meaning I couldn't simply 'hack' them back.

"What do you think you're doing!" I said, gritting my teeth in frustration at getting a taste of my medicine. "No one steals from me, bitch!" I added as I quickly closed the distance and activated my network crash power while touching the robot's shoulder.

It seemed to work, as the robot stiffened, and its arm stopped moving at my touch. However, it suddenly lashed out and punched at me, forcing me to dodge and watch in exasperation as the machine resumed moving as if nothing had happened.

'It definitely worked... but I'm not dealing with one machine...' I mused, silently doing the math. 'Fucking millions of them...' I couldn't help but sigh at the realization.

'I'll need to destroy or shut them all off at once...'

...

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