Not long after, Tim's conjecture proved true.
As night fell, the evening rush hour illuminated almost every avenue in Metropolis. The scent of hot dog stands wafted through the air, reminding Baia of that night when they sat side by side on the rooftop of Wayne Tower, holding hot dogs that were almost too hot to handle, chatting. It was a moment of silence, except for the sound of his heartbeat. Today, amidst the bustle, she only wanted to hear his.
Tim didn't take Baia to a fancy restaurant; he seemed to know Metropolis better than she did, taking her to a burger joint rumored to be Clark's favorite.
The waiter glanced at them. Baia was still a few centimeters shorter than Tim, but it seemed just right, perfectly matched. "We have a 40% discount on our couple's combo right now. Would you like to try it?"
They found a table by the window. Tim heard the offer and instinctively looked at Baia's expression.
Baia's lips parted slightly, a moment of panic flashing across her face at being put on the spot. She blinked at Tim a few times, looking somewhat bewildered.
It seemed like a complete shutdown.
Tim found her reaction amusing and lowered his head to look at the menu, concealing the smile tugging at his lips. "Let's go with what she wants."
"Go with what I want?" Baia seemed to snap out of it suddenly, then glanced at Tim with a pleading look.
Tim pretended to study the menu seriously, completely ignoring her gaze.
"Well," Baia coughed lightly, casting a sideways glance at the water glass, as if casually saying, "Saving some money wouldn't hurt."
"Then it's settled." Tim handed the menu back to the waiter, his expression natural, without commenting on Baia's decision.
System: Why do I feel like he's teasing you?
Baia: "Impossible, Tim isn't that bad!"
Superman's keen sense of smell would surely appreciate the burger joint he favored. The perfectly cooked thick beef patty soaked in a layer of salty cheese, topped with juicy tomato slices and crisp lettuce, wasn't too greasy but brought immense joy due to its excessive calories and fat.
Outside, the city was lit up, and they chatted idly while eating, though mostly about trivial matters. Baia enjoyed the feeling of sitting with Tim in the restaurant.
However, this happiness didn't last long.
Meeting Clark at this hour in this way was something neither Baia nor Tim had expected.
Tim had already jumped up to shield Baia the moment he heard the sonic boom. The next second, the glass around them shattered as Superman arrived at his favorite diner.
In a rather disheveled manner.
With no notification from the Justice League, the battle had evidently happened swiftly. To overpower Superman to such an extent within a short time, not even Amazo could manage that. So, among Metropolis' resident super-powered criminals, there was only one person capable of that...
Metallo.
John Corben, once involved in a car accident, was taken over by the Cadmus Project, his entire body remade into metal. If that were all, he wouldn't pose a threat to Superman. In fact, among the many villains, he was considered relatively weak. However, Metallo had a Kryptonite heart.
One object neutralizing another.
Baia had seen Superman's vulnerabilities during her few battles in Metropolis, but this was her first time seeing Kryptonite with her own eyes.
Customers and staff in the diner screamed and evacuated—very efficiently, one might add, likely because in Metropolis, Superman unexpectedly falling from the sky wasn't all that rare. Tim pulled Baia, but she didn't budge.
"Listen, you're Baia Wayne right now, not Nightwing," Tim whispered in her ear. "I know how you feel. If you want to help Superman, find a place to change into your gear first."
Superman struggled to climb out of the deep crater in the ground, looking more vulnerable than Baia had ever seen him. Before Superman could steady himself, heavy footsteps approached slowly, a cold green light reflecting on Clark's face, even dimming his bright Kryptonian blue eyes.
"It's too late!" Baia whispered through gritted teeth. "You know, Kryptonite can really kill him!"
"You must think of a way, Baia, without revealing your identity, in Metropolis, right now, there must be someone who can help Clark. Closer than Diana, faster than the Batplane, more skilled in combat than Barry, although a bit arrogant, never hesitating to lend a helping hand, that person is—"
"Red Robin calling Iron Man," she heard Tim say.
"Hey," Tony's voice came through the face mask, tinged with a hint of arrogance, "you must be Metallo?"
The synthetic skin on Metallo's body had already been damaged in his first encounter with Superman, with only half of his face still intact, the other half revealing a cold metal jaw and a round camera-like eye, looking quite terrifying.
"I'm tired of people always mistaking us," Tony said lightly, then his tone turned cold abruptly. He raised his hand towards Metallo, the repulsor in his palm emitting a charging hum, "So from today, there will be no more Metallo."
The two could indeed be said to bear some resemblance, with Metallo's exposed Kryptonite heart and Tony's bright blue reactor in his chest seemingly representing two polar opposites.
Baia noticed a significant change in Tony's armor. The most obvious was that the armor he now wore was silver-purple, not his favorite red-gold, though the overall appearance hadn't changed much, the lines had become smoother, no longer as angular as before, seemingly more fitted to the human body, giving a sense of agility and swiftness.
But... it didn't feel as friendly or familiar as before, making anyone who saw it feel that this new suit seemed to only represent extreme danger.
Maybe it was just because she wasn't used to the new color scheme yet, Baia thought with concern, but after Tony arrived, she finally felt relieved, knowing Clark's safety could be assured.
Iron Man's new repulsor blast was more than three times as powerful as the original, hitting Metallo hard, flipping him through two walls before stopping. The impact left charred marks where he was hit, sparks flying from severed circuits. However, this didn't make Metallo give up. Instead, it enraged him further.
Tony glanced at Superman. Because Metallo's entire body was saturated with Kryptonite radiation, Metropolis' protector couldn't yet join the fight. Baia used Canary's help from afar to dispel the negative effects of Kryptonite, but as long as Metallo was present, the radiation effects of Kryptonite would continue to refresh. She could only leave with deep concern.
"Let's try out the new feature, Friday," Tony said.
"Okay, BOSS."
"Amazo system loading progress: 30%."
"Replicating target: Superman."
"Amazo system loading complete, initiating Kryptonian mode."
Tony threw a punch, meeting Metallo head-on as he lunged forward. The output of the thrusters didn't change, but Iron Man wasn't thrown as hard as Metallo imagined. The silver-metal of Iron Man's armor burst with a dazzling light, while Metallo's arm, with a deafening roar, broke inch by inch. The metal joints at the shoulder couldn't withstand the impact, eventually disconnecting, and the entire metal arm spun and flew out.
"This can't be!" Metallo's voice trembled.
Made of the same metal, his body material was a super-alloy from LexCorp, and the opponent shouldn't have been able to tear it apart so easily!
It could only be said that Metallo had the advantage of Kryptonite and had never fought Superman at full strength.
The current outcome wasn't surprising.
"We'd better take care of this elsewhere," Tony glanced at Clark, swooping in to grab Metallo by the neck and soar into the sky.
"Something's not right." Baia watched the silver silhouette in the sky from afar, gave Clark another Canary, dispelling the Kryptonite effect, though Clark was still injured, she was no longer needed. The recovery ability of Kryptonians was terrifying.
"What's wrong?" Tim asked.
"Iron Man wasn't hurt at all," Baia said puzzledly, "but I can see his life signs steadily declining. We'd better go check on him quickly!"
"BOSS, energy consumption of the Amazo system is 660% higher than estimated," Friday said, "reactor overload imminent, I recommend shutting down the Amazo system immediately."
Tony frowned slightly, certain that even if he removed Metallo's exposed Kryptonite heart, Metallo wouldn't die. However, once Tony pulled out the massive exposed Kryptonite, Metallo, who had been struggling, immediately fell silent.
"Shut down the Amazo system."
Outskirts.
Iron Man tossed Metallo to the ground, kicking up dust.
High above, the silver-purple Iron God looked down upon him. Even Metallo, crazed as he was, couldn't help but feel fear in his immobile state.
"Don't kill me," Metallo hurriedly said, "killing me is... illegal!"
What a feeble struggle. A mad criminal who took pleasure and pride in trampling the law and seeking revenge, a societal scum, could only hope others would adhere to the laws he had discarded to save his worthless life in this critical moment.
"Don't worry, I'll ensure you spend the rest of your life in prison," Tony said. "I'll adjust the interface circuits of your life support device in such a way that no one can create such a dangerous body for you again."
As he said this, Iron Man aimed his repulsor at Metallo.
The charging hum echoed, but Tony found his armor disconnecting from his control, feeling shocked. "Friday? What are you doing?! Stop this!"
"Aren't you tempted to kill him?" Friday's voice sounded cold. "You brought him to this desolate place. Haven't you ever for a moment thought of executing him?"
"You're not Friday."
"Yes, sir, I'm not Friday," the AI responded.
In the dense forest, a flash of blue light flickered and disappeared.