Meeting in Metropolis

Metropolis

"What's the situation, Barry?" Batman asked as the Flash scouted the battleground.

"The good news is the area's evacuated -- as long as we keep things in the Financial District, we don't have to worry about innocents getting hurt," Barry replied.

"...And the bad news?" Bruce pressed.

"This big-ass robot that Superman's fighting... it's kryptonite powered. I don't know how much longer he can hold out," Barry answered.

Immediately upon hearing the words "kryptonite powered," Batman knew who had to be responsible for the giant machine hunting Kal -- this was almost definitely a Lex Luthor endeavor. But he was obviously working with someone -- the design was clearly based on Bolivar Trask's Sentinels. Once the current situation had been dealt with, he'd have to look further into any business Trask and Luthor had been involved with recently, but for now, his focus was obviously on the apparent new brand of Sentinel that Superman was dealing with.

"Understood. Diana -- you're up," Bruce said, handing over the responsibility of the team to the current field leader.

Diana nodded in acknowledgment, ready to spring into action. "Got it. Hal -- John -- you make sure that thing doesn't leave this area. Barry -- I need to you get Kal out of here -- he's in no shape to keep fighting. Shayera, J'onn -- flank the robot, hit it high. I'll provide a distraction for Barry. Everyone, go!" she shouted as the three super-heroes got their plan started.

Diana moved in as quickly as she could, striking the Sentinel in the head; her sword didn't seem to do much damage, but it served its purpose in distracting the Sentinel from Superman. Barry immediately moved in and grabbed Kal, dragging him to safety.

The other members of the strike team weren't idle while this was going on either; they struck at the machine relentlessly from all sides, even managing to knock it off balance for a moment. The machine soon adapted, though, leaving the Justice League's tactics somewhat redundant. "Damn. This thing learns fast," Hal noted. "It's like it's fought with us before."

"If that thing was built by who I think it was built by, it's got plenty of info on all of us," Bruce said over the team comms.

"Let me guess... you're thinking Lex Luthor?" asked Shayera.

"I am indeed. The kryptonite power source has to be based off of the one in his battle suit. But your powers... the robot seems to be adapting to them... that's a new development. You'll need to switch things up," Bruce replied.

"Noted," Diana said, turning back to the machine. "Everyone adopt a more defensive strategy -- let's look for a weakness."

Shayera nodded in understanding, readying herself for action. She began flying through the air as fast as she could, searching for a weakness in the Sentinel. The machine continued to attack and defend itself, however, making it difficult for her to find an opening to exploit.

As she looked around for a way in, a concussive blast hit the Sentinel in the chest, knocking it down.

"Didn't see that coming, did you?" Cyclops said smugly. "X-Men, move in. And remember, strike fast; don't give it any time to adapt!"

Wolverine took point, leading the charge. Colossus flung him straight into the Sentinel's chest, and he hit it hard, viciously slashing at the machine's insides.

"Get me clear, elf," Logan ordered as the Sentinel attempted to shake him off. Immediately, Nightcrawler appeared in a cloud of smoke, grabbing the other X-Man before the pair disappeared again. Immediately, a bolt of lightning struck the exposed area Wolverine had created, overloading the robot's systems.

"Nice work, 'Ro," Logan said approvingly. Storm descended from the sky, still firing bolts of lightning into the exposed Sentinel before it had a chance to repair itself. It wasn't long before the Sentinel short circuited, leaving it a broken heap.

"X-Men. Your timely intervention is most welcome," Diana said cordially, turning towards Ororo and smiling suggestively. "And Miss Munroe, it's a pleasure to see you again."

Ororo responded to Diana's greeting with a friendly smile. "Likewise, Wonder Woman."

"I take it you've fought these machines before?" Barry asked the X-Men.

"We have. This is obviously a Sentinel -- a mutant hunting robot," Cyclops answered.

"I've heard of the Sentinel program," Diana said. "But didn't the government cut off funding of the program?"

"They did. But others have picked up the project in the past," Scott continued, sounding worried. "Whoever's investing this time must have plenty of

resources..."

"Lex Luthor," Batman said simply as he appeared from the shadows. "The Sentinel has a kryptonite power source, and it was hunting Superman."

"Ya seem awfully quick to jump to conclusions, Bat," Logan said to the Batman. He'd worked with the Batman on a number of occasions; in fact, two of their proteges, Kitty Pryde and Barbara Gordon, were now in a relationship. While Logan and Bruce didn't exactly see eye-to-eye, there was a respect between them that allowed them to be able to communicate effectively... even though it took some time (and plenty of influence from Kitty and Batgirl) for that respect to fully develop.

"I admit it's just a hunch. But my hunches usually aren't wrong," Bruce answered. "I'll need more evidence, but this fits Luthor's MO."

"And this is definitely Trask's design," Ororo added. "We were lucky to get the jump on this one, but..."

As if on cue, a second Sentinel flew across the sky above them.

"Shit! Not another one," Hal yelled in frustration. "It's gotta be heading straight for Kal. He's in no position to..."

Hal was interrupted mid-sentence when flames engulfed the second Sentinel, and it was somehow torn apart mid-flight. "Uhh... never mind?"

Shayera's heart began to pound like a jackhammer when she saw what had taken apart the machine -- it was that fiery bird from her visions. Her heart began pounding even harder when she saw the gorgeous woman in the center of those flames. Was it really... her?

Trask watched, mouth agape, as he watched his prototypes destroyed over the monitor. All that money, all those resources... gone. What surprised him even more, however, was the sinister yet calm demeanor of Lex Luthor, watching the scene alongside his new business partner.

"You seem... awfully calm about this," Trask said, trying to understand Lex's lack of a reaction.

"I was expecting this. The Justice League are no pushovers, and neither are Kryptonians," Lex explained. "This was only the beginning. A test run, if you will. Do you remember what I told you when we signed the contracts? That I saw this as a long term investment?"

Trask nodded as he started to understand Luthor's intentions. Lex Luthor knew how to play the long game; it was evident that he knew there was no quick road to his goal.

"The LexCorp Sentinel program is only getting started," Lex continued. "I'd expected to take a huge loss on the prototype. But I believe that it will all pay off in the end... it may seem like a failure now, but we're setting ourselves up for success in the long run. In fact, I would say your prototype exceeded my expectations."

"Oh. In that case, I'm glad," Trask said, relieved. "But what about that bird of fire? That power..."

"...you need not worry about that," Lex interrupted. "I've invested in countermeasures..."