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With This Ring (Young Justice SI) (Thread Fourteen)

If that's what you sold them, they've got a few priestesses of Demeter, so…"

She raises her eyebrows. "They could make them fertile?"

okay, that's fucking interesting man

The SUV's engine dies and the robot accelerates hard.

oof. just when i thought this farm scene was going to be a nothingburger. so is it the AI auto-attacking Kryptonians, is it a genuine malfunction, is it outside hacking, or is it LexCorp wanting a new baseline of Match?
 
I wonder what if MitchMatch just lets her get hurt?
Lex probably won't be expecting that.
 
The "artificial" Lex Luthor picking a fight with what could be viewed as the "artificial Superman" for no good reason would certainly be on-brand given who it's modeled after.
Well he does try to emulate Lex, so it makes sense that he'd continue the tradition of being a pain in the ass.
 
"I see what you mean. But there are two problems. Firstly, while LexCorp has… Ah, tried to make connections with the magical community, there simply aren't that many magicians in America. Not ones with abilities that can be used on any sort of scale. As far as we can tell, magicians like Giovanni Zatara are actually very unusual, and are just born with far more raw power than most people.
It's a shame the economy and transportation sectors are still so fucked. Because I've said it before and I'll keep saying it, a henge network would probably do wonders when it comes to working around the "not everyone can be an archmage" problem by concentrating and directing ambient magic through a leyline magic to prepared locations. Doesn't matter if your corporate or government wizards don't have as much personal power as the Big Boys if they can just tap into a sufficiently large source of external magic via the almighty power of infrastructure.

The fact that such things also reduce the frequency and severity of violent geological activities like earthquakes and volcanos, and annoy Mercury as well is just using one stone to kill many different birds at once.
 
Working Relationship (part 8)
April 27th, 2013
09:35 EST


Miss Teschmacher frowns at the robot. "No, and neither-"

The robot keeps accelerating, and large saw blades deploy from-

"-is that. Emergency override!"

-hatches on its side.

Oh, right. She's not a superhero or supervillain. She's just a business-

I turn in my seat, grab hold of her, jump out of the SUV with her in my arms and run get out of the robot's-

The robot slams into the SUV, bowling it over onto its side and then onto its roof before the saws bite into the lightweight chassis. Then it slides, the saws alternating between gripping and cutting until they hit the main battery-

BANG!

-which explodes!

-way, and then keep going because that wasn't an electromagnetic pulse so while I don't think LexCorp hardens its agricultural robots it wouldn't have damaged it anyway.

-woman. I look around-. Yeah, the other robot in this field has switched to all-wheel drive and is heading towards us while the one closest to us is trying to pry its saws free.

I could easily get away. They can't fly, and they don't have any anti-air weapons. I mean, I'd get away, but if they had lasers or something they could hurt Miss Teschmacher. And the gates couldn't stop me just smashing through them or jumping over them. I could probably melt these robots with heat vision in a couple of seconds.

But I'm pretending to be human.

"What the hell!"

Miss Teschmacher's arms are wrapped around my neck hard enough that if I was human it would probably hurt. But she's not trying to fight me off or anything, so I guess she's got decent survival instincts.

"Ah, Emergency override! Shut down!"

"The shutdown command is 'shut down'?"

"We don't want to make it hard to remember! This shouldn't-. Enginehead, take manual control!"

"Who?"

Okay, pretending to be human. The ground looks dry, but if they've been rotavating it so it'll probably be fairly loose. The robots weigh more than me, but using all their wheels, the robots have their weight spread more. I should stay on the roads as much as possible.

"Engine-. He's LexCorp's A.I. system. He should be-. Their microphones are off."

"They have microphones?"

CLANGclankclank!

The first robot shakes the SUV off its saws and awkwardly swings around. Second robot coming up on my right as I head back the way we came. Slow down, stop-

"What are you-? Keep going!"

-and wait for it to accelerate more because it's calculating speed and acceleration and it won't commit if it thinks I've got time to dodge.

"I did a training course."

"On getting run over?!"

The second robot deploys its saws. They give it better reach in case I dodge the main chassis. But given how fast it's moving and the structure of the soil-.

I turn and sprint for the gate, careful to keep it to 'fast human' speed. I mean, most people don't know exactly where the line is between what's possible for a really fit human and what isn't. Bridal carrying an adult woman while running away from truck-sized robots? I should be breathing hard by now. And I can't fake that, because kryptonians can hyperventilate. But she's almost certainly not going to notice.

"No. Escaping Mom's enemies."

Behind us, the robot-. Their wheels have independent drive? I didn't realise-. It slews around a lot quicker than I thought it would, but it still loses speed and slides sideways as it turns too quickly. And better yet, the first robot loses line of sight… Darn it. It doesn't stop coming, but it does slow down and turn… It turns to cut us off if we can't get through the closest gate and I have to run for the next closest one.

"Ah, okay, sorry. Are you alright..? Carrying me?"

"You're not that heavy. Is there anything else that can shut them down?"

"Ah-h… There's an override in the main facility…"

"Is there one on the robot?"

"No, because if something went wrong approaching it would be dangerous!"

I glance back as the second robot gets fully onto the road and pours on the speed.

"Yeah, I think you're right!"

"Their cameras should still work!"

The robot right behind me accelerates to about thirty miles an hour, faster than a human can run without super powers. Looks like that's as fast as it can go, but it's still gaining on us.

"Can it lip read?"

"No, but it can read text!"

"I mean, great, but how does that help?"

She goes quiet as I reach the gate and she slams the emergency release button. The robot heading for us isn't slowing down. A full-on impact… The gate isn't that tough, but the robot isn't armoured. I think the gate would go down, but the robot would still get damaged.

The gate doesn't open, and it doesn't open as she rattles it.

"It's not opening!"

"I noticed. You got any idea? Because the best I've got is we let the robot ram the gate and then rush through before it recovers."

She thinks for a moment as the robot barrels towards us.

"You got a notebook?"

"No, you said no recording devices. Wait, would that work?"

"If the camera weren't working then it wouldn't go anywhere. It's the same interpretation program for written words and physical objects. Without it, they.. just don't work." … "Can you boost me over the gate?"

I look up… The gate's pretty tall and it's got those curved over spikes to stop people climbing up. "I don't think so. And I definitely can't stop the robot ramming the gate, knocking you off and killing you."

"Fuuuck!" She takes a breath. "So, what, dodge again?"

"It's the best idea I've got."

I guess I could… Come out and swear her to secrecy, but while I want to help my father, I'm not dumb enough to actually trust him.

"Okay, put me down. I'm wearing flats, I can dodge-."

"I get trained by Amazons." Left or right? Camera distribution looks even, no obvious damage. Other robot moving to my right to block the next gate which means left is better. "I can dodge better. Are they networked?"

"They-." She sees how close it's getting. "They aren't designed to communicate with each other, just the central hub!"

Okay, just gotta judge this right… Closer…

"Mitchell!"

Now!

Whir!

CLANGCRUNCH!
 
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I recall an anecdote online about how many women in comics fall over themselves when it comes to Peter Parker, the mythos treating him like Marvel's most eligible bachelor. Obviously the relationships have mutual feelings with mutual attraction, no manipulation from Peter. Continuing on- it is a blessing that Jay Jonah Jameson is a man, rather than an abrasive and loud woman. Because making Peter intimidated and clumsily flirting with his boss would be one heck of a dynamic.

Congrats Mitchel, you might have found your Lois Lane. Enjoy your future rescues. Unfortunately, she is your boss! Have fun, champ!
 
Wait, is he assuming that Teschmacher doesn't know who he really is or that his usage of superpowers would be recorded? Because he can't honestly believe that Lex (and consequently, Lex's trusted subordinates) doesn't know who he is, right?

What exactly is the excuse for having Wonder Woman as adoptive mother, anyway?
 
April 27th, 2013
09:35 EST


Miss Teschmacher frowns at the robot. "No, and neither-"

The robot keeps accelerating, and large saw blades deploy from-

"-is that. Emergency override!"
Vocal override? Good plan, if you can make yourself heard over shit going sideways. Also, saw blades seem a bit excessive for a planting unit. Unless they're for tree-roots or something. Unfortunately, that makes them especially potent against people, too.

-hatches on its side.

Oh, right. She's not a superhero or supervillain. She's just a business-
And no emergency drill could prepare you for something like this, either.

I turn in my seat, grab hold of her, jump out of the SUV with her in my arms and run get out of the robot's-

The robot slams into the SUV, bowling it over onto its side and then onto its roof before the saws bite into the lightweight chassis. Then it slides, the saws alternating between gripping and cutting until they hit the main battery-
Electric vehicle, so that's probably a lithium-ion battery in there. And they are not known for stability when...

BANG!

-which explodes!
...Breached. Seriously, Look up lithium-Ion batteries cooking off on your video site of choice. They are way too energetic. Unfortunately, they're also the best option we have until someone develops somethign cheaper, more efficient or both...

-way, and then keep going because that wasn't an electromagnetic pulse so while I don't think LexCorp hardens its agricultural robots it wouldn't have damaged it anyway.

I look around-. Yeah, the other robot in this field has switched to all-wheel drive and is heading towards us while the one closest to us is trying to pry its saws free.
Definitely not a single freak malfunction. The SUV going dark suggested it, but this confirms it. Someone is out to get either Mitchell or Eve.

I could easily get away. They can't fly, and they don't have any anti-air weapons. I mean, I'd get away, but if they had lasers or something they could hurt Miss Teschmacher. And the gates couldn't stop me just smashing through them or jumping over them. I could probably melt these robots with heat vision in a couple of seconds.
And any one of those options would blow your admittedly-loose cover. Rendering this whole exercise pointless.

But I'm pretending to be human.

"What the hell!"
OF course, you are a fairly fit young man, and trained by Amazons. So going a little beyond the norm is manageable.

Miss Teschmacher's arms are wrapped around my neck hard enough that if I was human it would probably hurt. But she's not trying to fight me off or anything, so I guess she's got decent survival instincts.

"Ah, Emergency override! Shut down!"
Pretty much instinct, yes.

"The shutdown command is 'shut down'?"

"We don't want to make it hard to remember! This shouldn't-. Enginehead, take manual control!"
...I have the feeling Enginehead is in manual control.

"Who?"

Okay, pretending to be human. The ground looks dry, but if they've been rotavating it so it'll probably be fairly loose. The robots weigh more than me, but using all their wheels, the robots have their weight spread more. I should stay on the roads as much as possible.
Yeah, it's not likely that you would trip, and a moment of flight would compensate for it, but... Undercover.

"Engine-. He's LexCorp's A.I. system. He should be-. Their microphones are off."

"They have microphones?"
Presumably as some part of their sensor network. Vocal commands, at the least.

CLANGclankclank!

The first robot shakes the SUV off its saws and awkwardly swings around. Second robot coming up on my right as I head back the way we came. Slow down, stop-
Depending on how they steer, last-second dodges could be effective. As long as you keep out of the way of those saws while you do so.

"What are you-? Keep going!"

-and wait for it to accelerate more because it's calculating speed and acceleration and it won't commit if it thinks I've got time to dodge.
Heh. All that training paying off.

"I did a training course."

"On getting run over?!"

The second robot deploys its saws. They give it better reach in case I dodge the main chassis. But given how fast it's moving and the structure of the soil-.
So much for that paddock, if nothing else.

I turn and sprint for the gate, careful to keep it to 'fast human' speed. I mean, most people don't know exactly where the line is between what's possible for a really fit human and what isn't. Bridal carrying an adult woman while running away from truck-sized robots? I should be breathing hard by now. And I can't fake that, because kryptonians can hyperventilate. But she's almost certainly not going to notice.
Though I imagine the amounts of air needed to induce that state are far larger. Worst case, blame any discrepancies on Amazon training. ;)

"No. Escaping Mom's enemies."

Behind us, the robot-. Their wheels have independent drive? I didn't realise-. It slews around a lot quicker than I thought it would, but it still loses speed and slides sideways as it turns too quickly. And better yet, the first robot loses line of sight… Darn it. It doesn't stop coming, but it does slow down and turn… It turns to cut us off if we can't get through the closest gate and I have to run for the next closest one.
Definitely being controlled by someone. A complex tactical move like that is probably not in their basic coding.

"Ah, okay, sorry. Are you alright..? Carrying me?"

"You're not that heavy. Is there anything else that can shut them down?"
Heh. Inadvertent compliment, though I doubt she'll remember it.

"Ah-h… There's an override in the main facility…"

"Is there one on the robot?"
...Do you want to try and reach it past the saws?

"No, because if something went wrong approaching it would be dangerous!"

I glance back as the second robot gets fully onto the road and pours on the speed.
Logical. This is certainly proving that correct.

"Yeah, I think you're right!"

"Their cameras should still work!"
Do they respond to sign-language? Written signage? And would the bots respond even if they could hold up a 'Shut Down!' flag?

The robot right behind me accelerates to about thirty miles an hour, faster than a human can run without super powers. Looks like that's as fast as it can go, but it's still gaining on us.

"Can it lip read?"
So not much faster than, say, a golf-cart. That's still a couple of tons of mass, and waving around sawblades.

"No, but it can read text!"

"I mean, great, but how does that help?"
So holding up a sign would work. Good luck getting a chance to write one.

She goes quiet as I reach the gate and she slams the emergency release button. The robot heading for us isn't slowing down. A full-on impact… The gate isn't that tough, but the robot isn't armoured. I think the gate would go down, but the robot would still get damaged.

The gate doesn't open, and it doesn't open as she rattles it.
Yeah, this is no more malfunction. This is a hit.

"It's not opening!"

"I noticed. You got any idea? Because the best I've got is we let the robot ram the gate and then rush through before it recovers."
Which isn't a great idea, but the alternative is hauling ass around the field with them chasing you like a goddamn Benny Hill finale.

She thinks for a moment as the robot barrels towards us.

"You got a notebook?"
And how fast can you write? :p

"No, you said no recording devices. Wait, would that work?"

"If the camera weren't working then it wouldn't go anywhere. It's the same interpretation program for written words and physical objects. Without it, they.. just don't work." … "Can you boost me over the gate?"
And that still relies on whatever's controlling them not overriding the safety protocols.

I look up… The gate's pretty tall and it's got those curved over spikes to stop people climbing up. "I don't think so. And I definitely can't stop the robot ramming the gate, knocking you off and killing you."

"Fuuuck!" She takes a breath. "So, what, dodge again?"
Just don't freeze up. A big ask for someone who's not in the usual branches of Lexcorp that might see trouble...

"It's the best idea I've got."

I guess I could… Come out and swear her to secrecy, but while I want to help my father, I'm not dumb enough to actually trust him.
He's probably just waiting for you to 'show your true colours' or something, if he's aware of this situation.

"Okay, put me down. I'm wearing flats, I can dodge-."

"I get trained by Amazons." Left or right? Camera distribution looks even, no obvious damage. Other robot moving to my right to block the next gate which means left is better. "I can dodge better. Are they networked?"
Would be bad if one coudl tell the other to head them off.

"They-." She sees how close it's getting. "They aren't designed to communicate with each other, just the central hub!"

Okay, just gotta judge this right… Closer…
Let's not cut it so close Eve loses a few hairs to their blades, anime-style.

If nothing else, he's looking real bad-ass to whoever's in control of the bots...

With any luck, it gets tangled in the gate wreckage...

Mitchell certainly showing his martial training off, even if he has to keep it at peak human level. I imagine whoever's behind this is getting a little frustrated by him not simply busting out the Kryptonian strength and turning the bots into modern art. Let's hope they don't try to escalate, though. There's a fair number of fields between them and the central facility, aren't there?
 
Wait, is he assuming that Teschmacher doesn't know who he really is or that his usage of superpowers would be recorded? Because he can't honestly believe that Lex (and consequently, Lex's trusted subordinates) doesn't know who he is, right?
Lex the supervillain knows who he is. Lex the honest business does not.

As long as Lex doesn't have a legal way to know Mitchel's identity (like, say, using your superpowers while being recorded by several robots), Lex can't act on it.

It's not a complete game-changer, but Lex having proof of his identity does make for some annoying possibilities.
 
I recall an anecdote online about how many women in comics fall over themselves when it comes to Peter Parker, the mythos treating him like Marvel's most eligible bachelor.
It's the one-two punch of him being strong, clever, and capable to activate the monkey-brain, and being adorkable and kind to tug the heartstrings.
Plus wall-crawling really sculpts the glutes.
In one issue an alien he encountered at a party was later able to recognize him in costume by his butt.
 
Wait, is he assuming that Teschmacher doesn't know who he really is or that his usage of superpowers would be recorded? Because he can't honestly believe that Lex (and consequently, Lex's trusted subordinates) doesn't know who he is, right?

What exactly is the excuse for having Wonder Woman as adoptive mother, anyway?

Maybe it's been drilled into him that he should keep his identity a secret, so it's become a habit, even when it isn't necessary.

As for why Wonder Woman would adopt him, well she does do a lot of good work, so adopting an orphan would be something she does.
 
But I'm pretending to be human.
…why? Also, pretending for who? He has to know that LexCorp knows full well who and what he is. Not like 'adopted son of Wonder Woman' is an identity that will avoid scrutiny in the first place.

It's not a complete game-changer, but Lex having proof of his identity does make for some annoying possibilities.
What possibilities? Diana doesn't seem to have any difficulties with people knowing her legal identity.
 
…why? Also, pretending for who? He has to know that LexCorp knows full well who and what he is. Not like 'adopted son of Wonder Woman' is an identity that will avoid scrutiny in the first place.
Lex Luthor also knows who Superman is. The issue is that while LexCorp more or less got away with creating the genomorphs, cloning Superman would get them in a lot more trouble. Not legal trouble, popular perception trouble. Heck, most of their own staff wouldn't accept it. Meanwhile, the Justice League doesn't want to broadcast it in case someone else gets ideas and to allow the boys to have a life. But if he reveals himself, that all changes.
What possibilities? Diana doesn't seem to have any difficulties with people knowing her legal identity.
And neither does the SI. Kal-El on the other hand prefers to keep them separate, and his point of view is the local majority.
 
Not legal trouble, popular perception trouble.

that would be more valid pre-AntiLife, but i have a hard time imagining anyone would care now. they've got much bigger things to worry about than something that happened years ago, pre-Antilife, to a person/company that is now currently helping to rebuild. i do feel the remainder of your points stand though.

for what its worth, i get why Match is holding back. honestly i applaud his ability to cope and maneuver through this, given his awkwardness in so many other scenarios. i'm very curious to hear what the cause is here, and how Match adapts to it. will it affect his perception of Lex, if Lex has something to do with it? will Match's input start to change hearts and minds at LexCorp?
 
Honestly my guess is that this is some cockamamie plan by the AI that Lex didn't technically forbid it from doing, that Lex will be annoyed about when he finds out, but that will yield some sort of data or result that Enginehead can use to argue Lex around to its side.

LexCorp, man. Not even once.
 
that would be more valid pre-AntiLife, but i have a hard time imagining anyone would care now. they've got much bigger things to worry about than something that happened years ago, pre-Antilife, to a person/company that is now currently helping to rebuild

Yes, LexCorp is helping now, but during Anti-Life it was probably crippled and Luthor was in hiding, while Superman was helping people.

People may like Superman now more than ever.

Heck, him showing up probably convinced people not to kill themselves, even if he just stood around.

If this is the case then they're likely not going to like anyone that hurts him.
 
Working Relationship (part 9)
April 27th, 2013
09:38 EST


Gate's down, robot's… Impaled, and the other robot is headed this way. I run back towards the… Burst gate, and-.

"Did it get you? Are you hurt?"

It might have.

"If it did, I can't feel it yet."

Shirt feels like it might be a bit loose, so the blade might have clipped me. I've got a couple of fake blood capsules in case I need to fake an injury, so once I get a moment I can play it off as a flesh wound.

"It hit you with a circular saw! Those things aren't sterile!"

Okay, the robot is weakly trying to free itself. There are gaps between the gate and the fence, but the saw arms are still mobile and easily within range. The robot could be faking… But I don't think so. I dash closer to the rear left corner of the robot's chassis; not right behind in case it can accelerate backwards, but close enough that I can reach the inspection ladder.

Miss Teschmacher pulls herself closer to me. "What are you doing?"

"The hole's not big enough. But if we climb over the robot-."

"Okayokay, that makes sense."

She lets go of my shoulders and grabs the rungs in a death grip, and I take hold of her hips and shove her upwards. It takes her a moment to unclasp her hands, but then she gets her feet on the rungs and nervously climbs up to the top of the robot.

For a moment I think about using heat vision on the saws or something, make it look like they overheated. But this is a LexCorp robot; if anyone's going to be able to tell the difference between an overload and heat vision damage, it's them.

"Okay, ah…" She's at the top, so I haul myself up after her. "I don't think I can jump that."

I reach the top myself and then take a moment to look at where the second robot-. Pretty close. And on the other side-.

I think the robot is trying to raise it's arms, but they're designed to cut things on the ground, not to take a swing at technicians standing on its back. It can't reach. And at the front, the gate is bowed around the hardest parts of the robot's interior while all the soft parts got embedded. If we go to the front of the robot and jump, we can sort of slide along the bent upper part of the gate and then jump down. Can't tell exactly how far it will sag, but it shouldn't help the robot get free.

"What's the problem? You can easily-."

"It's going to collapse!"

The other robot-. Out of time! I run forwards, pick her up and put her over my right shoulder-

"Hey!"

-take two steps forwards and jump-

And the moment I touch the gate it starts to collapse, which might not have been a problem if I wasn't putting two people's weight on it. So for a moment I don't, I fly, and then I fly forwards a little so it should look like I slid off before it collapsed. And then I stop flying and drop down onto the road in the next field.

CLANK!

"Ah!"

Whir!

I dash forward, the saw blade coming down just behind me as the partial collapse of the gate gives the robot a little more freedom to move.

"P-p-p-put me d-down."

I glance back as the fully functional robot makes its final approach. And I keep running with her on my shoulder.

"That's not a good idea. Weren't you there when those supervillains attacked LexCorp Headquarters?"

"Yes, and it was terrifying! I just hoped that Mister Luthor had a plan, but even if he does know what's happening communications are clearly compromised and we're at least twenty minutes away for LexCorp Security."

Her hands are on my arm, and I feel her squeeze my bicep.

"No security on-site?"

"It's a farm! We don't-!"

CHUN-CRUNCH!

I don't look back as the second robot smashes into the rear end of the first one-

BANG!

-but I hear it as the front robot flips over with the gate as a fulcrum and lands on its roof, flattening the wreckage of the gate.

"Oh God."

"How's the back robot look?"

"Like it's going to kill us!"

"Is it moving?"

"Ah… It's backing off. Backing off?"

Huh. "It was pretty stupid to try ramming like that. Low gear would have been better, for high power. It could probably have just shoved the other robot out of the way without taking any damage."

"It's accelerating again!"

Crunch-shhhhhhh.

"It shoved the other robot out the way!"

What does she want me to say about that? Ah… "Thank you for letting me know?"

"There's no need to be sarcastic! I think my response is pretty normal!"

I guess not. "Is it damaged? Has it slowed down?"

"The front's crumpled a little. The wheels look fine. It's getting faster!"

If it's drive system isn't damaged then it's going to catch us before we get back to the research buildings. And-. It could do a lot of damage. Most of those buildings don't look all that tough, and there are other people working here. Maybe..? Maybe I can get her inside, smash it up and say that Superman did it?

"What's the evacuation plan?"

"Get out the front door and let security handle it when they get here! We don't-!"

BOOM!

A noise from behind and the ground shakes-.

"Oh."

"What?"

"It exploded."

I jog to a stop and then turn around. The robot-. It looks like it-.

BOOM!

A second missile slams into it and detonates, knocking it sideways and finishing it off. I follow the contrail back and magnify-.

A LexCorp security helicopter. I guess… They were faster than she thought they'd be?
 
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April 27th, 2013
09:38 EST


Gate's down, robot's… Impaled, and the other robot is headed this way. I run back towards the… Burst gate, and-.

"Did it get you? Are you hurt?"

It might have.
Ah, the fun part of pretending to be a squishy human: Remembering to act injured when you get slashed by, say, a giant buzzsaw. Maybe he can claim it didn't catch his skin? Just a really lucky close call...

"If it did, I can't feel it yet."

Shirt feels like it might be a bit lose, so the blade might have clipped me. I've got a couple of fake blood capsules in case I need to fake an injury, so once I get a moment I can play it off as a flesh wound
I don't she's going to buy a delayed bleeding response.

"It hit you with a circular saw! Those things aren't sterile!"

Okay, the robot is weakly trying to free itself. There are gaps between the gate and the fence, but the saw arms are still mobile and easily within range. The robot could be faking… But I don't think so. I dash closer to the rear left corner of the robot's chassis; not right behind in case it can accelerate backwards, but close enough that I can reach the inspection ladder.
Presumably hoping that the saw arms only bend forwards. Which does make sense. Why would it need 360-degree field of cutting?

Miss Teschmacher pulls herself closer to me. "What are you doing?"

"The hole's not big enough. But if we climb over the robot-."
Unless she wants to try and squeeze past the saw-arms.

"Okayokay, that makes sense."

She lets go of my shoulders and grabs the rungs in a death grip, and I take hold of her hips and shove her upwards. It takes her a moment to unclasp her hands, but then she gets her feet on the runs and nervously climbs up to the top of the robot.
Good show, Eve. No heroes to come save you out here, aside from the handsome Amazon boy.

For a moment I think about using heat vision on the saws or something, make it look like they overheated. But this is a LexCorp robot; if anyone's going to be able to tell the difference between an overload and heat vision damage, it's them.

"Okay, ah…" She's at the top, so I haul myself up after her. "I don't think I can jump that."
I assume it's like a ten-foot-drop tot he ground. A bit more than most people are willing to take without something soft to land on.

I reach the top myself and then take a moment to look at where the second robot-. Pretty close. And on the other side-.

I think the robot is trying to raise it's arms, but they're designed to cut things on the ground, not to take a swing at technicians standing on its back. It can't reach. And at the front, the gate is bowed around the hardest parts of the robot's interior while all the soft parts got embedded. If we go to the front of the robot and jump, we can sort of slide along the bent upper part of the gate and then jump down. Can't tell exactly how far it will sag, but it shouldn't help the robot get free.
And if it could talk, it would probably be swearing its' vocoder off at the gate, them, the world in general. I can just picture the frustrated revving it's doing.

"What's the problem? You can easily-."

"It's going to collapse!"
Means you'll be jumping down either way. Better to do it with some control of your fall...

The other robot-. Out of time! I run forwards, pick her up and put her over my right shoulder-

"Hey!"

-take two steps forwards and jump-
Yeah, this won't even be much trouble for him.

And the moment I touch the gate it starts to collapse, which might not have been a problem if I wasn't putting two people's weight on it. So for a moment I don't, I fly, and then I fly forwards a little so it should look like I slid off before it collapsed. And then I stop flying and drop down onto the road in the next field.
Though I suspect anyone looking closely will notice the slightly janky way he went along...

So much story in one exclamation and two sound effects.

I dash forward, the saw blade coming down just behind me as the partial collapse of the gate gives the robot a little more freedom to move.

"P-p-p-put me d-down."
You do realise how dangerous your current situation is at this moment, Eve? Let the Amazon Prince carry your butt.

I glance back as the fully functional robot makes its final approach. And I keep running with her on my shoulder.

"That's not a good idea. Weren't you there when those supervillains attacked LexCorp Headquarters?"
After all, that fence is only so strong. One determined rush from the other bot...

"Yes, and it was terrifying! I just hoped that Mister Luthor had a plan, but even if he does know what's happening communications are clearly compromised and we're at least twenty minutes away for LexCorp Security."

Her hands are on my arm, and I feel her squeeze my bicep.
Ah. A little trauma there, I see...

"No security on-site?"

"It's a farm! We don't-!"
Good point. Let's hope the response team sets a new record for rushing over, then.

CHUN-CRUNCH!

I don't look back as the second robot smashes into the rear end of the first one-
Oh, my. </takei> But seriously, The seems unlikely to move it. guess they don't have many options, though.

BANG!

-but I hear it as the front robot flips over with the gate as a fulcrum and lands on its roof, flattening the wreckage of the gate.
Good thing you guys got out of there, then.

"Oh God."

"How's the back robot look?"

"Like it's going to kill us!"
Yes, we established that a few chapters back. 😏 Anything pertinent now?

"Is it moving?"

"Ah… It's backing off. Backing off?"
...Ah, it's getting a lunger run-up.

Huh. "It was pretty stupid to try ramming like that. Low gear would have been better, for high power. It could probably have just shoved the other robot out of the way without taking any damage."

"It's accelerating again!"
And ramping the other bot in three... Two...
Crunch-shhhhhhh.

"It shoved the other robot out the way!"
...That works too.

What does she want me to say about that? Ah… "Thank you for letting me know?"

"There's no need to be sarcastic! I think my response is pretty normal!"
Hey, it's better than melting into a weepy puddle of fear-piss.

I guess not. "Is it damaged? Has it slowed down?"

"The front's crumpled a little. The wheels look fine. It's getting faster!"
...Time to reconsider the 'playing human' plan, Mitchell.

If it's drive system isn't damaged then it's going to catch us before we get back to the research buildings. And-. It could do a lot of damage. Most of those buildings don't look all that tough, and there are other people working here. Maybe..? Maybe I can get her inside, smash it up and say that Superman did it?
...And then flew away? Good luck getting folks to believe that about him.

"What's the evacuation plan?"

"Get out the front door and let security handle it when they get here! We don't-!"
...And if every other bot in the facility is also going nuts? What then?

BOOM!

A noise from behind and the ground shakes-.

"Oh."
Don't tell me, the problem solved itself?

"What?"

"It exploded."

I jog to a stop and then turn around. The robot-. It looks like it-.
Boy, those electric batteries are volatile, aren't they? 😏

BOOM!

A second missile slams into it and detonates, knocking it sideways and finishing it off. I follow the contrail back and magnify-.

A LexCorp security helicopter. I guess… They were faster than she thought they'd be?
Or they were already lurking nearby as part of some plan...

That's a convenient rescue. Either these guys set a world record, or they were already here and loaded for robots. Which adds more weight to the 'this was a setup' theory. Someone is going to have some explaining to do once the dust settles. On the upside, this could be a good way to get a face-to-face with Lex as a 'keep quiet' payoff...

Shirt feels like it might be a bit lose...
Shirt feels like it might be a bit loose...
...so once I get a moment I can play it off as a flesh wound
Missing Full Stop.
...but then she gets her feet on the runs...
...but then she gets her feet on the rungs...
 
That's a convenient rescue. Either these guys set a world record, or they were already here and loaded for robots. Which adds more weight to the 'this was a setup' theory. Someone is going to have some explaining to do once the dust settles. On the upside, this could be a good way to get a face-to-face with Lex as a 'keep quiet' payoff...
On the other hand, having security armed with attack helicopters is exactly the sort of thing Lex would do; both because he likes having his own private army and because in the DC-verse, sometimes your security force does in fact need attack helicopters.
 
"The plan required that we have precise control of the drainage and microbial content of the soil. The first thing that was produced here was the topsoil that now covers the farm."

"It hit you with a circular saw! Those things aren't sterile!"
Not after destroying their SUV anyway. I wouldn't be surprised if they were when they first deployed. This being a comic book setting, they might even have an internal sterilization function not only for the tools, but also for the wheels for when they go between fields. I know that in present day agriculture farmers have run into issues around lax equipment control regarding soil and contaminant transfer, or leaks, when utility companies or their contractors need to service/install lines, pipes, or other equipment that runs through their land. There are plans and procedures for access and containment that preserve the conditions needed for their food safety certification that the farmers send to the utilities to have on file, but the workers on the ground don't always receive them or follow them. This can get very expensive as soil remediation is not cheap, let alone crop waste if you aren't allowed to sell it.
 
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I'm 80% sure this was the AI taking a poke at Match to see what happens. Just as a narrative thing, given how Zoat has taken care to remind us it exists at multiple points in this arc.
 
I seriously don't get it. Everybody present knows that Michael Kent is March, Luther grew him in a fucking tube.

What is this in service of?
'luthor can't act against him unless he's open about it.'
Well that's very much not true, is it? Luthor acts behind the scenes all the time.
 
I seriously don't get it. Everybody present knows that Michael Kent is March, Luther grew him in a fucking tube.

What is this in service of?
'luthor can't act against him unless he's open about it.'
Well that's very much not true, is it? Luthor acts behind the scenes all the time.
It sounds like Eve just doesn't know for some reason even though she's in a position where she absolutely should.
 
I seriously don't get it. Everybody present knows that Michael Kent is March, Luther grew him in a fucking tube.

What is this in service of?
'luthor can't act against him unless he's open about it.'
Well that's very much not true, is it? Luthor acts behind the scenes all the time.
Mr Flaherty also doesn't know that, though I appreciate you were being hyperbolic.

Mitchell may well be incorrect in his assessment of Lex's risk/reward calculation.
 
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