Chapter 60: Die Together

Adam Wayne stood amidst the carnage, his face grim as he stared at the red warning lights flashing on his HUD. His prized Fire Bats—custom-engineered to withstand Frozen Man’s technology—had been destroyed in mere seconds. The sensors on the armor sent back one final reading: a catastrophic drop in temperature that rendered the units inoperable.

He clenched his fists. “Skynet, analyze what happened. I want every detail. Activate the remaining units and push them to overload mode if necessary. No more playing nice.”

As Skynet deployed the remaining armor units, Adam moved behind the heavy transport truck, keeping a safe distance. Until he understood what Frozen Man had done, engaging directly would be reckless.

“Initiate a saturation strike. No need for further negotiations,” Adam commanded, his voice cold.

The steel armors raised their weapons in unison. Energy cannons roared, firing blue bolts of plasma into the fog that obscured their target. Explosions rippled through the area, shaking the ground. Entire buildings crumbled under the barrage.

A block away, Commissioner Gordon, watching from a safe distance, felt the ground tremble beneath his feet. “Jesus Christ, what the hell is going on in there?” He ordered his officers to retreat even further. “Stay back! Let them handle it.”

Back at the scene, the saturation attack ended, leaving a haze of smoke and debris in its wake. Adam’s reinforced units arrived, disembarking from another transport truck like an army of metallic titans.

“Skynet, disperse the fog. I need a clear visual,” Adam ordered.

The armors deployed energy dispersal fans, and within moments, the mist began to clear. What emerged was both awe-inspiring and chilling—a massive semicircular ice shield, glistening under the pale Gotham light. White mist rose from its surface, and the air around it was frigid, distorting light.

Adam’s gaze hardened. “That’s the source of his defense. Skynet, test its integrity with an ionization cannon.”

The ionization weapon fired, striking the ice shield with precision. A dent formed, but within seconds, the shield regenerated, its surface as smooth and impenetrable as before.

Adam frowned. “This thing’s alive, isn’t it? Fine. Bring out the Javelin armor-piercing rounds. Let’s see if it can handle brute force.”

The remaining armors opened their rocket pods, and a barrage of nearly one hundred Javelin rounds soared toward the shield. The impacts were deafening, and explosions lit up the sky. The ice shield cracked under the relentless assault, finally shattering as the Javelins detonated.

When the smoke cleared, Frozen Man stood amidst the ruins. His cryogenic armor was in shambles, revealing his pale, frostbitten skin. Despite his injuries, he clung to a silver-white ice coffin containing a woman’s body.

He coughed violently, blood staining the inside of his broken mask. “Why?” he rasped, his voice weak but defiant. “Why destroy my work? I was creating eternal beauty!”

Adam stepped forward, his armor glinting ominously. “You call this beauty? Over thirty civilians died because of you. You turned a neighborhood into a frozen graveyard. You’re a madman, Victor.”

Frozen Man’s bloodshot eyes glared at Adam. “You think you’re so righteous. But you’re no different from me! You’ll kill me to preserve your twisted version of order.”

Adam raised his palm, blue energy charging at its center. “Maybe you’re right. But at least I’ll make sure no one else suffers because of you.”

Victor let out a maniacal laugh, his voice echoing eerily in the icy ruins. “You think you’ve won? Even if I die, I’ll take you with me!”

White mist began to pour from the gaps in Victor’s damaged armor, spreading rapidly. The temperature plummeted, and frost began forming on Adam’s armor.

“Skynet, get me out of here!” Adam yelled, but his thrusters sputtered. Ice had already frozen the joints and engines of his armor, trapping him in place.

Victor opened the ice coffin, cradling the woman’s corpse in his arms. Tears froze on his face as he whispered, “We’ll be together forever now.”

With a final, deranged laugh, Victor’s body erupted into a massive explosion of white mist. The freezing wave expanded outward, encasing everything in its path in solid ice. Buildings, vehicles, and even the ground itself were consumed, transformed into a crystalline wasteland.

Adam felt the cold seep into his suit, his systems screaming warnings of critical temperature drops. The world around him turned into a blur of white as he fought to stay conscious.

“Skynet… emergency override…,” he managed to mutter before the frost claimed him.

When the explosion finally subsided, the area was silent. Frozen Man was gone, his body shattered into fragments of ice. The only evidence of the battle was the frozen wasteland that had once been a bustling Gotham street—and the lone, ice-covered figure of Adam Wayne, standing motionless in his armor.