The Batcave's ambient hum provided familiar background noise as Bruce carefully adjusted the radiation shielding around the kryptonite sample. Even through multiple layers of lead-lined protective gear, he could feel the mineral's unnatural energy. After five years of dealing with Gotham's underworld - mob enforcers, street killers, corrupt officials - this felt like stepping into another world entirely.
"I must say, sir," Alfred's voice carried that particular dry tone that meant he was about to make a point, "when you said you were bringing home a souvenir from Gulmira, I rather expected something more traditional. A lovely carpet perhaps, or some local pottery."
Bruce didn't look up from his work. The scanning electron microscope revealed crystalline structures that shouldn't exist - lattices that seemed to defy conventional physics. After Cobblepot's weapons ring and Falcone's smuggling operations, he'd thought nothing could surprise him anymore. He'd been wrong.
"This isn't like dealing with Zsasz or the Joker, Alfred," Bruce said quietly. "We're talking about power that can hurt Superman. Actually hurt him."
"Indeed." Alfred set down a fresh cup of coffee, perfectly positioned just within Bruce's reach. "Rather a step up from our usual concerns about exploding umbrellas and mob hitmen. Though I must say, the Penguin's latest tantrum seems positively quaint in comparison."
Bruce finally looked up, meeting his oldest friend's gaze. "We have to understand it. What it can do, how it affects technology. After what we saw in Gulmira..."
"Where you played at being one of the superfriends?" Alfred's eyebrow rose slightly. "Quite a change from our usual rooftop discussions with James Gordon about gang activity."
That earned him a look, but Bruce returned to his work. The Kryptonite's radiation signature was unlike anything in his experience, not just the raw power, but the way it seemed to actively interfere with Kryptonian biology. "This is different from anything we've faced. Falcone, Maroni, even the Joker, they're human. This..." He gestured at the readings. "This changes everything."
"As opposed to the perfectly normal business of dressing as a bat to terrify criminals?" Alfred's sigh carried the weight of someone who'd long since accepted the absurdity of his life. "At least the mob's holiday parties were predictable."
Bruce was about to respond when alerts flashed across the Batcomputer's main screen. Summer Gleeson's voice cut through the cave as multiple news feeds activated simultaneously: "Breaking news from Metropolis - LuthorCorp's cybernetic soldier John Corbin, better known as Metallo, has gone rogue. We're getting reports of multiple casualties as he tears through the building's security..."
"This is Angela Chen reporting live for WGBS," another feed broke in, helicopter footage showing the devastation from above. "Federal sources confirm that Agent King Faraday is the sole survivor of the security team assigned to protect Lane. While officials won't comment on why federal agents were guarding the Daily Planet reporter, sources suggest they anticipated Metallo might target those connected to Superman coverage following their earlier battle..."
The feed switched to Cat Grant, her usual poise cracking as she reported from behind military barricades. "Daily Planet special report - after confirming Superman's absence following their Arctic confrontation, Metallo attacked Lois Lane's apartment with extreme force. Eyewitnesses describe him tearing through federal protection like it was paper before taking Lane to LuthorCorp tower, where he's now holding multiple hostages including his ex-wife Sarah and their daughter Amy..."
Security footage showed Metallo in the executive boardroom, his chrome frame still bearing damage from his fight with Superman. The green glow from his chest pulsed erratically, casting sickly shadows across the hostages. Amy Corbin, barely eight years old, clung to her mother while Lois positioned herself protectively near them.
"Still hiding, Superman?" Metallo's voice carried new mechanical distortion, the damage from their battle evident in his vocal processors. "I broke you in the Arctic, now watch me break everything you care about! Your precious reporter, the life you pretend to have..." His artificial features twisted with rage. "Let them see what a real soldier can do!"
"Daddy, please," Amy's voice trembled as she tried to step forward, Sarah holding her back. "You're hurting people. This isn't you..."
"I'm what they made me!" Metallo's response carried static interference, his systems clearly deteriorating. "LuthorCorp, the military, the uncaring government, all of them! They took a wounded soldier and turned him into this!"
The feed cut to an interview with Sarah's sister, Maria, speaking directly to the camera: "John, if you can hear this... I know you're in pain. The man who came home from Kandahar with shrapnel wounds, who had to relearn how to walk, who fought so hard to stay in Amy's life - that man is still in there. Please, let them go. Let your daughter go..."
Linda Park reported from near the military perimeter: "General Samuel Lane, Metallo's former commanding officer and father of hostage Lois Lane, is personally coordinating the response. Sources say Lane discharged Corbin from continued service after his injuries in Kandahar, a decision that..."
The camera caught General Lane's face as he studied building schematics with his team. The professional mask couldn't quite hide his anguish as both commander and father.
Back to Cat, her voice carrying barely controlled emotion: "For those just joining us, Metallo - formerly decorated soldier John Corbin - appears to be suffering severe psychological effects from the kryptonite radiation powering his cybernetic systems. After his brutal fight with Superman in the Arctic left the hero incapacitated, Corbin's behavior has become increasingly erratic..."
"The hostage situation began after he attacked Lois Lane's apartment, killing several federal agents before bringing her here." Cat paused, composing herself. "Lois... Ms. Lane was previously injured during their first confrontation at the Daily Planet, but sources say she appears to be protecting Corbin's ex-wife and daughter inside..."
"My word," Alfred breathed, watching the carnage unfold across multiple screens. "And here I thought Mr. Cobblepot's temper tantrums were excessive."
Bruce was already moving, pulling up thermal scans, radiation readings, anything that might give him insight into what they were dealing with. The numbers made his jaw clench - power levels far beyond what they'd encountered in Gulmira.
"This isn't like anything we've seen in Gotham," he muttered, studying how energy pulsed through Metallo's frame in impossible configurations. "Not Falcone's calculated violence, not the Joker's chaos. This is something else entirely."
"Rather makes one nostalgic for simple mob wars, doesn't it?" Alfred mused. "At least Mr. Zsasz had the courtesy to stick to conventional weapons."
Cat Grant's voice trembled slightly as she continued reporting: "We're still awaiting any sign of Superman following their devastating battle in the Arctic. Sources close to the situation suggest the kryptonite radiation may have affected him more severely than initially reported..."
Bruce's eyes narrowed as the monitors showed Metallo nearly throwing Lois through a window, only Amy's scream making him hesitate. "Someone has to stop him, Alfred. The military can't handle this - their weapons are useless against his enhanced frame. And with Superman still recovering..."
"Master Wayne." Alfred's tone carried decades of concern compressed into two words. "This isn't like facing our usual rogues gallery. That thing out there nearly killed someone who can move planets."
"Which is exactly why I have to go." Bruce moved toward the armory, each step purposeful. "Five years ago, we started this to protect the innocent from monsters. Now the monsters have evolved. If we don't evolve with them..."
He began checking equipment - specialized batarangs, grapple modifications, everything that had served him in Gotham's shadows. Each piece felt inadequate against what they were facing, but they were all he had.
"The suit's radiation shielding won't hold for long," Alfred warned. "Even with the modifications we made after studying the samples..."
"It doesn't have to hold forever." Bruce's voice carried quiet certainty. "Just long enough to get those hostages out. To reach whatever's left of the man inside that machine."
"And if you can't reach him? If the John Corbin who loved his daughter is truly gone?"
Bruce's expression hardened as he watched Amy try again to reach her father, only to be held back by her mother. "Then I stop him. Whatever it takes."
"With all due respect," Alfred's voice suggested he was restraining himself from something much sharper, "this is suicide. We've dealt with madmen before, but this? This is beyond anything we've prepared for."
Bruce moved to the Batcomputer, fingers flying across holographic displays as he uploaded building schematics and security protocols. The numbers were bad - Metallo's power levels kept climbing, while structural integrity reports from the LuthorCorp building showed increasing strain.
"I didn't start this to just protect Gotham," he said quietly, beginning pre-flight checks on the Batwing. "When I put on this suit, I made a choice to stand against whatever threatened innocent lives. Even if it's beyond anything we've faced before."
"Sir..." Alfred's voice cracked slightly. "Just... come back. Gotham's rather dull without its Dark Knight."
The Batwing's engines hummed to life, the sound echoing off ancient stone. Bruce did one final equipment check, knowing none of it felt like enough for what he was about to face.
"Whatever happens," Alfred said as Bruce prepared to board, "your parents would be proud. Even if they'd also question your sanity about taking on something this far beyond our experience."
That earned a genuine smile, small but real. "Keep the light on, Alfred. And... thank you. For everything."
"Always, Master Wayne." Alfred stepped back as the canopy began to close. "Though next time, perhaps we could stick to more conventional criminals? I hear the Penguin is planning another delightful arms shipment."
The Batwing rose smoothly, ancient cave doors opening to reveal the storm-dark sky beyond. Five years ago, he'd chosen to become something more than human - a symbol that could strike fear into those who preyed on the innocent. Now that symbol had to evolve, had to prove that humanity could face any threat, even those that could hurt gods.
The storm broke as he approached his target, rain drumming against the canopy like nature's own war drums. Through gaps in the clouds, he could see military units establishing a futile perimeter around LuthorCorp tower. Their weapons were useless against what waited inside - a man turned monster by human ambition and alien power.
But Bruce Wayne had faced monsters before, had learned their weaknesses and fears. Now it was time to see if Batman's shadow could reach beyond Gotham's borders, could stand against threats that belonged more in science fiction than crime reports.
In the cave below, Alfred watched the tracking signal until it vanished into Metropolis's electronic noise. Then he turned to the medical bay, already preparing for what he desperately hoped wouldn't be needed.
"Do try not to die, sir," he murmured to the empty cave. "The paperwork would be absolutely dreadful."