บท 250: CHAPTER 246
'Is someone trying to nuke Gotham?' he thought, clenching his fists. But as he watched the projectiled objects halt mid air and hover high up in the night sky, a different theory began to form. 'No, this is something else. Maybe the heroes called for backup... but why now?'
Ace's thoughts were interrupted by Gwen's voice again. "It's a squad of robots, Sir."
He could see them now, sleek and purposeful, moving with mechanical precision as they descended into the chaos of the city. They weren't attacking—at least, not in the traditional sense.
Instead, they were rescuing the injured, lifting debris, and guiding panicked civilians to safety. It was a bizarre sight, the cold efficiency of the machines juxtaposed against the raw human emotion of the crisis unfolding below.
Ace's eyes narrowed. "Must be some kind of fail-safe protocol Batman put in place. Probably in case something like this happened—one where they're all at odds and unable to prevent the chaos from spilling over to bystanders or civilians."
But the next response made him pause that thought. "That's not Batman's work, it must be Cyborg's," came the voice of Jason, cutting through the static of the comms like a knife.
Ace's head snapped up, scanning the skies for the familiar red glint of Cyborg's eye. "Now, where is that robot?" he growled, propelling himself higher into the night sky. The city below shrank into a grid of burning streets and frantic movement as he ascended, the roar of the wind in his ears competing with the pounding of his heart.
The robots, now fully deployed, moved like a well-oiled machine, efficiently handling the disaster scene below. Ace's eyes darted from one to the next, looking for any sign of Cyborg, but the mechanical soldiers all looked alike, indistinguishable in their shiny armor.
…..
As Batman dodged a strike from Jamie's fist, he managed to open a line of communication to Cyborg. "You activated the program without field testing it?" Batman's voice was strained, each word laced with frustration and disbelief.
On the other end, Cyborg's response was blunt, unyielding. "I had to. There's no better time to get a live field test than tonight."
Before Batman could respond, Jamie's fist connected with his midsection, forcing a grunt from him as he staggered backward, the air knocked from his lungs. The pain radiated from his gut, but he forced himself to stay focused, raising his arms in defense.
"Head in the game, rodent," Jamie sneered, his voice dripping with contempt as he advanced on Batman.
Jamie followed up with a vicious uppercut that snapped Batman's head back, his vision momentarily going white from the impact. Seizing the advantage, Jamie grabbed Batman by the head, his grip like a vice, and pulled him in close. In one swift, brutal motion, he drove his knee into Batman's solar plexus, the force of the blow sending shockwaves through Batman's body as he dropped to the floor.
….
[Meanwhile]
Ace's eyes narrowed as he hovered silently above the city, scanning the ground below through the ultraviolet visor embedded in his mask. The urban sprawl stretched out beneath him, but Cyborg was nowhere in sight. His thoughts were interrupted by the crackle of his earpiece.
"Gwen, trace the transmission signals from the robots in the sky," Ace instructed, his voice cold and precise. He toggled his visor to night vision mode, straining to catch any movement below.
"Two signals are active: one for transponding and another for command reception," Gwen's voice relayed, her tone steady. "The command signal is from a satellite, while the transponding signal is coming from within the city."
"Track the transponding signal; it's likely Cyborg's," Ace ordered, his focus intensifying. "Batman's too occupied to be issuing orders to a bunch of screws and bolts."
Gwen's voice returned with a bit of urgency, "The transponding signal is coming from a location in the city. I'm sending you the coordinates."
Ace's gloved fingers tapped his visor as he received the coordinates, his expression turning to a determined scowl.
He arrived at the coordinated location and descended rapidly, landing silently behind Cyborg, who was intently working on reattaching a severed arm.
Ace's voice cut through the tension with a sarcastic edge, "A robot army, really?"
Cyborg's head snapped around at the sound, and a shiver of unease ran down his spine. He shook off the unsettling feeling and quickly reacted, creating distance between them. With a few powerful leaps, Cyborg established a safe distance and assumed a defensive stance, frustration etched on his face.
Ace continued, his tone dripping with disdain, "A robot army, huh? I won't even waste my breath listing the number of ways this could go wrong for all of humanity ."
Ignoring Ace's taunts, Cyborg's eyes blazed with determination. Jet propellers flared from his back and feet, propelling him into the air as he prepared to launch a fierce attack on him.
…
As Cyborg rocketed toward Ace, the sudden twist of his body was meant to surprise his opponent, but Ace's reflexes were swift. In a blur of motion, Ace grabbed Cyborg by the leg, halting his advance. The maneuver forced Cyborg to retract his jet boosters and pivot, aiming a powerful kick at Ace's face.
The kick connected, but Ace's defenses were formidable. Cyborg's leg rebounded off Ace's form with no effect. Ace seized the opportunity, spinning Cyborg through the air and slamming him into the side of a nearby garage. The crash sent debris scattering, and Ace followed the impact with purposeful strides.
Moments later, Cyborg emerged from the rubble, his determination unwavering. Mid-air, he swiftly reattached his severed arm, which transformed into a massive cannon. The cannon's red plasma glow intensified as he aimed directly at Ace. The point-blank blast surged forth with ferocious intensity, seemingly destined for a direct hit.
…
At a construction site and away from the prying eyes of the public, Jamie appeared to have the upper hand in his fight with Batman.
"Not used to having your ass handed over to you right?" Jamie taunted as he looked down at Batman who took a deep breath as he wiped off the blood on his lip.
"You might have some kind of special training and intelligence which makes you able to hold your own against meta-humans. But the bottom line is that you're just a man who probably has some kind of childhood trauma, hiding his fears and insecurities behind a mask." He kicked Batman across the space. He crashed against some metals and took a dive to avoid a falling metal beam.
"Now you instill fear in the hearts and minds of evil doers as you beat the living hell out of them, just so you get some sense of superiority." Jamie grabbed Batman by the fabric of his batsuit and pulled him up a bit, his legs knees barely above ground as his legs leaned back down.
"You are no hero, personally I think you're just a bully. And you know what they say about bullies and insecurities." He headbutt Batman back to the ground, Batman tried to struggle back up but Jamie stomped on his hand and crushed his bones.
"Grrrrh." Batman grunted, trying to hold back the pain, but Jamie appeared to enjoy it so much that he was about doing it again, but was suddenly interrupted.
"You're still dealing with him?" Ace's voice came from up in the air as he descended onto the scene.
"Oh, Ace. I see you're done with your fair share of heroes, but what about those robots?"
"From what I can tell, it seems they are some kind of task force designed to prioritize civilian safety." Ace replied, earning himself a raised brow from Jamie when a smoke bomb suddenly went off in their midst, obscuring their vision.
"Not so fast, Batsy." Ace remarked as he instantly cleared the air with a gust of wind, revealing Batman who he held with a telekinetic grip.
"Haven't you guys seen movies where incorporating artificial intelligence into robots and giving them a vast network such as this always takes a wrong turn for humanity?" Ace asked, so sure this step the heroes had taken would definitely end up bad even though that was never their intention.
But his question was met with nothing but total silence from Batman.
"Why is he so weak? I never knew Batman could end up in such a pitiful state in a one on one fight." Ace asked, turning to Jamie for answers as it was unlike the fearsome Bat to be seen in such a state.
"Oh, that's probably my doing. I am able to steal the strength of others. That's what happened to the bird boy over there." He gestured to the unconscious Night Wing at a corner.
"That explains the weirdness I felt during our fight, apart from neutralizing my powers." Ace muttered. "Wait, should you be telling this to someone who you have unfinished business with and would eventually continue to fight?"
"It doesn't matter if you know my tricks or not, what matters is how I use and utilize them against you." Jamie replied.
"True, you served me a good piece of entertainment tonight." Ace said, then thought to himself how he had already made arrangements to send Jamie over to a prison in Venezuela which was known to a few as White Prison.
"Anyway I am done here, this isn't my mess so, adios." Jamie tucked his hands in his jacket pockets and walked away, not before giving Batman one more glance as he took off into the night.
Ace turned to the powerless hero he had frozen mid-air.
"You know why I haven't killed any of you heroes so far?" Ace asked, getting nothing but an angry glare from Batman in response as he tried his possible best to regain control of his body.
"It's because none of you are worth the trouble, and this messed up world needs the heroes. Even though you yourself have so much blood on your hands. Not that I am judging or anything, sometimes we have to get our hands dirty for our convictions, no matter how selfish they might be."
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