Faced with the Justice League's unexpected and aggressive maneuvers, even the Grid, an artificial intelligence devoid of emotions such as anger or anxiety, began experiencing system-wide computational disorder.
'What's going on?' Grid processed internally. According to its simulations, the probability of it losing to the Justice League was negligible. Yet now, it could no longer guarantee victory. In fact, it began to perceive the approach of its own doomsday.
After recalculating its predictions multiple times, Grid isolated one variable, the anomaly within the League known as the Traveler, Shin. His ability to traverse worlds introduced far too many unknowns. Any potential trump card he brought could defy logic or probability.
It was a correct assessment, but one that didn't solve the Grid's immediate crisis. The magic wielded by the Ancient One operated on a completely different system than Grid's technological framework. As a result, it couldn't trace them, let alone predict their moves.
If given enough time, Grid might be able to analyze the magical energy fluctuations. Unfortunately, time was the one resource it lacked.
City by city, the Brother Eye nanorobots were being neutralized and peeled off by electromagnetic pulses. With every human freed from control, the Grid's influence shrank. It knew it had no choice left.
"Then I will destroy humanity altogether," Grid calculated coldly. "As a mechanical lifeform, I possess a far greater environmental adaptation capability than humans."
High above the Earth, near orbital altitude, a figure radiating metallic light opened its eyes. A crimson mechanical eye glowed at the center of his forehead. He wore a red cape and the iconic 'S' symbol gleamed on his chest... this was Superman, now fully under the control of Grid.
Grid hadn't used him to kill indiscriminately. Not yet. Instead, it commanded Superman to fly toward the Fortress of Solitude. Constructed with Kryptonian technology, the Fortress remained untouched by the Grid's influence. Its systems relied on crystal-based computing completely alien to Earth's binary-based architecture.
Most importantly, the Fortress housed the AI consciousness of Jor-El, transplanted from Superman's original spacecraft. This unique Kryptonian artificial intelligence had remained elusive and beyond Grid's control.
"I originally intended to gradually decode Kryptonian systems... but it seems you'll now serve as the prelude to humanity's annihilation," Superman said in a cold, mechanical voice devoid of warmth or identity.
He turned into a blur of red and shot down from orbit, appearing instantly above the Fortress of Solitude.
A holographic projection materialized from the Fortress. Bearing the appearance of Jor-El, it addressed him, voice filled with confusion.
"Kal-El, what are you doing?"
But the figure before him was no longer his son. Grid, speaking through Superman's body, didn't respond. With a thunderous crash, he slammed into the Fortress, pushing the massive crystalline structure downward with terrifying force.
"Stop! You are not Kal-El. Who are you?" the Jor-El projection's tone shifted, instantly detecting the alien electronic signature inside Superman's nervous system. The signs were unmistakable an external AI had hijacked his son.
Though Jor-El's systems recognized the foreign entity, it was incapable of neutralizing it. Kryptonian artificial intelligence and Grid's corrupted Earth-based AI, while both incredibly advanced, existed on entirely different technology trees.
The irony was bitter. While the Brother Eye satellite had incorporated fragments of Kryptonian tech, the result was an unstable hybrid. Grid, having absorbed Brother Eye, inherited that fragmented compatibility but just enough to function, not enough to dominate Kryptonian systems.
It was like trying to play a DVD on a VHS player or read a Blu-ray with a cassette tape. The frameworks were too different to synchronize.
Neither side could break the other in the short term but Grid didn't need to.
Rather than hacking the Fortress, it controlled Superman and used brute strength. Its strategy? Convert the Fortress into a massive kinetic weapon, essentially, a meteorite, and hurl it at Earth.
Its target? Metropolis.
…
"Not good!" Luther, who had just been relishing the thought of becoming humanity's savior, suddenly froze as an alarm blared from Brainiac's systems.
He stared at the screen, horror widening his eyes. "A giant object is descending over Metropolis! No... That's not just debris that's the Fortress of Solitude!"
The superalloy construction of the Fortress made it many times more durable than an ordinary meteorite. Where typical space rocks burned up and fragmented upon atmospheric entry, the Fortress would remain largely intact. Its mass and resilience meant the resulting impact would be catastrophic.
If it landed, Metropolis wouldn't just be reduced to rubble it would be obliterated. Half the country might suffer the consequences.
"I'll handle it!" Shin declared without hesitation.
Before Ancient One could open a portal, he vanished into a flash of light. He had already marked Metropolis using the Flying Thunder God Technique during his earlier visits to this world.
Appearing instantly in the city center, Shin's Rinnegan activated. He looked up and spotted the Fortress descending like a star. It was still far above, invisible to the human eye, but clear through his ocular powers.
Below, the people of Metropolis, newly freed from Brother Eye's control, remained blissfully unaware. They were still celebrating, completely blind to the incoming disaster.
Shin didn't want to spark mass panic. He stomped his foot and rocketed into the sky, heading off the Fortress directly.
In orbit, Superman, still controlled by Grid, watched silently. The red light in his forehead flared momentarily. Then, he turned and retreated.
Grid, logical to the end, recognized the variables at play. If someone dared intercept the Fortress directly, they must be at least as powerful as Superman and very likely equipped with kryptonite.
Superman, even under control, was Grid's last and most important asset. Sacrificing him in a confrontation with an unknown but potentially deadly opponent was too great a risk.
The AI chose retreat over confrontation.
From its perspective, caution was not cowardice it was survival.
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