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Chapter 308: Justice Cutie League
On the Street.
Piercing sirens shattered the tranquility, and the dense sound of gunfire and explosions opened the prelude to the city's symphony. A heavily armed mecha legion appeared out of thin air. The large mecha at its head had a steel body that glinted with a cold light, its mechanical arms swinging like giant dragons, kicking up a gale with every move. The dark red glow in its mechanical eyes made it look like a wild beast searching for prey.
It was a fairly advanced mecha formation. Most of them were machines, and only the one in the lead contained a pilot, or something akin to a pilot.
John Corben, the man who was supposed to be the supervillain "Metallo" in the original history.
He was modified by Lex Luthor and obtained a metal body, driven by a Kryptonite heart in his chest, which made him one of Superman's greatest arch-nemeses. But now, the Zero-Type Mecha that was supposed to become his modified body had been swiped by Orin Vale back when it was still at General Lane's camp, along with the piece of Kryptonite that should have served as his power source.
Thus, Metallo was erased from history. But with the shift in the timeline, John Corben still underwent a modification as if fated, only without Metallo's metal shell and without the Kryptonite heart. Instead, he had become this completely different thing.
Now, his body had been modified to become one with the mecha he wore. He had become a half-human, half-machine being, and all the mecha beside him were his subordinates. With a single thought, a mere whim, he could command all these mecha to do his bidding.
He alone was an army.
This unprecedented power made John Corben incredibly arrogant. For a time, he even felt invincible, certain that he could finally get his revenge on Superman. So, after mastering this power, he immediately led his vast army out in full force...
...and decided to rob a bank to celebrate.
After all, he was originally just a minor character. Even with this sudden power, his ambitions hadn't expanded. Robbing a bank was the most evil and grandest plan he could think of.
The mecha henchmen dispersed, stuffing cash, gold bars, and jewelry into their bodies indiscriminately. The more John watched, the more satisfied he became. Fantasizing about becoming rich overnight, loaded with wealth, and reaching the pinnacle of his life, he couldn't help but roar with heroic laughter.
Halfway through his laugh, he suddenly noticed one of his mecha had smashed the window of a small convenience store nearby with a single punch. Its massive mechanical arm reached through the shattered window, and under the baffled gaze of the trembling convenience store owner, it grabbed a huge pile of sandwiches and was about to stuff them into its body.
John's eyes widened. "You! Yes, you, don't look away. What the hell are you doing? Who told you to rob that? What are we going to do with so many sandwiches?"
The mecha slowly turned its head, its mechanical hand scratching its head in confusion.
Then, it took the sandwiches out of its body and placed them back on the shelf, one by one.
"You... forget it." John facepalmed and muttered unhappily, "There must be a problem with the neural calibration. I'll have to get them to check it when I get back, and also tune up the brains of these hunks of iron. Sometimes, their stupidity is just infuriating."
Just then, a sharp, piercing screech of brakes was heard. Turning his head, he saw a yellow taxi skidding onto the ruined street, a trail of sparks in its wake. The car door swung open, and the Justice League's Trinity—Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman—got out one by one. They stood majestically before John's mecha army, their capes fluttering behind them.
John: "?"
His brain short-circuited for a moment.
These guys... came in a taxi?
What is this, the Justice Cutie League???
There was no other way. Although the three of them already believed they were the amnesiac Trinity of the Justice League, they still couldn't remember anything, including how to use their abilities or their fighting techniques.
However, upon seeing the mecha army rampaging on television, despite their memory loss, the three of them still felt the call of their mission as superheroes. So, they immediately hailed a taxi and rushed over as fast as they could.
The taxi driver let them out, made a U-turn at light speed, floored the gas, and fled for his life without looking back.
To have been willing to drive them to such a dangerous place, he must have been paid a hefty tip.
"Hah, the details don't matter." John, still immersed in the arrogance from his newfound abilities, bellowed, "Perfect timing! I was just looking to settle the score with you, Superman! My loyal mecha, take them down!"
The various mecha all dropped what they were doing, turned their guns, and a barrage of lasers and live ammunition swept towards them.
Superman instinctively covered his head and crouched down, but soon discovered that a hail of bullets passing over his body did nothing at all. A heavy cannon shell, powerful enough to pierce a tank's armor, exploded on his face, but other than a soaring fireball and a cloud of rolling black smoke, it had no effect whatsoever.
"Oh, right, I'm Superman!" He regained some of his confidence. "Everyone, watch this! I can handle this!"
With that, he stood up, took a running start of a few steps, then leaped into the air in a Superman-punch pose, muttering what sounded like a spell: "Fly~"
And then, with a splat, he landed face-first on the ground.
Two nearby mecha rushed forward, pinned him to the ground, and began to pummel him with fists and feet. Superman curled into a ball, covering his head. It looked as if he was being beaten into a corner, yet after a flurry of punches, the two mecha bizarrely discovered that their own fists seemed to be the ones getting wrecked...
"Superman!" Wonder Woman shouted. "Don't worry, I'm coming to help you!"
Saying this, she took the rope from her waist, swung it twice in the air, and threw it forward with all her might.
She had clearly been aiming for the mecha that was beating up Superman, but unfortunately, her method seemed a bit off. The Lasso of Truth snagged on her wrist and somehow wrapped around her own body, rolling down from top to bottom to bind her completely.
"Ah, by the gods, this stupid rope." Wonder Woman, tied up tightly from head to toe, complained in annoyance, "How did I ever use this stupid thing to catch people?"
Batman tried throwing a Batarang at a mecha, but it had neither accuracy nor force, and the throw missed by a country mile.
However, even though it missed, the Batarang unfortunately seemed to have attracted some unwanted attention. Several mecha charged forward menacingly, chasing Batman all over the place.
"This is insane," he muttered while running. "I don't have any powers; I'm just a regular person dressed as a bat. How am I supposed to fight these things?"
At this moment, a mecha also locked onto Wonder Woman. The Amazon was still struggling with the Lasso of Truth binding her. Seeing disaster approaching, she had to give up struggling for now, turning and hopping away like a flea.
"We've completely forgotten how to fight... By the way, your belt! Doesn't your belt have a lot of powerful gadgets in it?"
"But I have no idea what any of these do!"
As he ran, Batman started pulling gadgets from his utility belt and throwing them behind him, scattering them everywhere.
Suddenly, the pursuing mecha stepped on one of the small gadgets he had thrown. With a *boom*, a violent explosion erupted. The burst of fire and powerful impact instantly destroyed the mecha. Even Batman himself was caught in the aftershock and sent rolling a good distance away.
He picked himself up, clutching his head. Looking at the huge mecha behind him, now blown to debris, he raised an eyebrow.
"Uh... okay, that works too."
(end of chapter)
On the Street.
Piercing sirens shattered the tranquility, and the dense sound of gunfire and explosions opened the prelude to the city's symphony. A heavily armed mecha legion appeared out of thin air. The large mecha at its head had a steel body that glinted with a cold light, its mechanical arms swinging like giant dragons, kicking up a gale with every move. The dark red glow in its mechanical eyes made it look like a wild beast searching for prey.
It was a fairly advanced mecha formation. Most of them were machines, and only the one in the lead contained a pilot, or something akin to a pilot.
John Corben, the man who was supposed to be the supervillain "Metallo" in the original history.
He was modified by Lex Luthor and obtained a metal body, driven by a Kryptonite heart in his chest, which made him one of Superman's greatest arch-nemeses. But now, the Zero-Type Mecha that was supposed to become his modified body had been swiped by Orin Vale back when it was still at General Lane's camp, along with the piece of Kryptonite that should have served as his power source.
Thus, Metallo was erased from history. But with the shift in the timeline, John Corben still underwent a modification as if fated, only without Metallo's metal shell and without the Kryptonite heart. Instead, he had become this completely different thing.
Now, his body had been modified to become one with the mecha he wore. He had become a half-human, half-machine being, and all the mecha beside him were his subordinates. With a single thought, a mere whim, he could command all these mecha to do his bidding.
He alone was an army.
This unprecedented power made John Corben incredibly arrogant. For a time, he even felt invincible, certain that he could finally get his revenge on Superman. So, after mastering this power, he immediately led his vast army out in full force...
...and decided to rob a bank to celebrate.
After all, he was originally just a minor character. Even with this sudden power, his ambitions hadn't expanded. Robbing a bank was the most evil and grandest plan he could think of.
The mecha henchmen dispersed, stuffing cash, gold bars, and jewelry into their bodies indiscriminately. The more John watched, the more satisfied he became. Fantasizing about becoming rich overnight, loaded with wealth, and reaching the pinnacle of his life, he couldn't help but roar with heroic laughter.
Halfway through his laugh, he suddenly noticed one of his mecha had smashed the window of a small convenience store nearby with a single punch. Its massive mechanical arm reached through the shattered window, and under the baffled gaze of the trembling convenience store owner, it grabbed a huge pile of sandwiches and was about to stuff them into its body.
John's eyes widened. "You! Yes, you, don't look away. What the hell are you doing? Who told you to rob that? What are we going to do with so many sandwiches?"
The mecha slowly turned its head, its mechanical hand scratching its head in confusion.
Then, it took the sandwiches out of its body and placed them back on the shelf, one by one.
"You... forget it." John facepalmed and muttered unhappily, "There must be a problem with the neural calibration. I'll have to get them to check it when I get back, and also tune up the brains of these hunks of iron. Sometimes, their stupidity is just infuriating."
Just then, a sharp, piercing screech of brakes was heard. Turning his head, he saw a yellow taxi skidding onto the ruined street, a trail of sparks in its wake. The car door swung open, and the Justice League's Trinity—Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman—got out one by one. They stood majestically before John's mecha army, their capes fluttering behind them.
John: "?"
His brain short-circuited for a moment.
These guys... came in a taxi?
What is this, the Justice Cutie League???
There was no other way. Although the three of them already believed they were the amnesiac Trinity of the Justice League, they still couldn't remember anything, including how to use their abilities or their fighting techniques.
However, upon seeing the mecha army rampaging on television, despite their memory loss, the three of them still felt the call of their mission as superheroes. So, they immediately hailed a taxi and rushed over as fast as they could.
The taxi driver let them out, made a U-turn at light speed, floored the gas, and fled for his life without looking back.
To have been willing to drive them to such a dangerous place, he must have been paid a hefty tip.
"Hah, the details don't matter." John, still immersed in the arrogance from his newfound abilities, bellowed, "Perfect timing! I was just looking to settle the score with you, Superman! My loyal mecha, take them down!"
The various mecha all dropped what they were doing, turned their guns, and a barrage of lasers and live ammunition swept towards them.
Superman instinctively covered his head and crouched down, but soon discovered that a hail of bullets passing over his body did nothing at all. A heavy cannon shell, powerful enough to pierce a tank's armor, exploded on his face, but other than a soaring fireball and a cloud of rolling black smoke, it had no effect whatsoever.
"Oh, right, I'm Superman!" He regained some of his confidence. "Everyone, watch this! I can handle this!"
With that, he stood up, took a running start of a few steps, then leaped into the air in a Superman-punch pose, muttering what sounded like a spell: "Fly~"
And then, with a splat, he landed face-first on the ground.
Two nearby mecha rushed forward, pinned him to the ground, and began to pummel him with fists and feet. Superman curled into a ball, covering his head. It looked as if he was being beaten into a corner, yet after a flurry of punches, the two mecha bizarrely discovered that their own fists seemed to be the ones getting wrecked...
"Superman!" Wonder Woman shouted. "Don't worry, I'm coming to help you!"
Saying this, she took the rope from her waist, swung it twice in the air, and threw it forward with all her might.
She had clearly been aiming for the mecha that was beating up Superman, but unfortunately, her method seemed a bit off. The Lasso of Truth snagged on her wrist and somehow wrapped around her own body, rolling down from top to bottom to bind her completely.
"Ah, by the gods, this stupid rope." Wonder Woman, tied up tightly from head to toe, complained in annoyance, "How did I ever use this stupid thing to catch people?"
Batman tried throwing a Batarang at a mecha, but it had neither accuracy nor force, and the throw missed by a country mile.
However, even though it missed, the Batarang unfortunately seemed to have attracted some unwanted attention. Several mecha charged forward menacingly, chasing Batman all over the place.
"This is insane," he muttered while running. "I don't have any powers; I'm just a regular person dressed as a bat. How am I supposed to fight these things?"
At this moment, a mecha also locked onto Wonder Woman. The Amazon was still struggling with the Lasso of Truth binding her. Seeing disaster approaching, she had to give up struggling for now, turning and hopping away like a flea.
"We've completely forgotten how to fight... By the way, your belt! Doesn't your belt have a lot of powerful gadgets in it?"
"But I have no idea what any of these do!"
As he ran, Batman started pulling gadgets from his utility belt and throwing them behind him, scattering them everywhere.
Suddenly, the pursuing mecha stepped on one of the small gadgets he had thrown. With a *boom*, a violent explosion erupted. The burst of fire and powerful impact instantly destroyed the mecha. Even Batman himself was caught in the aftershock and sent rolling a good distance away.
He picked himself up, clutching his head. Looking at the huge mecha behind him, now blown to debris, he raised an eyebrow.
"Uh... okay, that works too."
(end of chapter)
