7 Chapter 7 Batman Arrives

Lobo's eyes widened as what was currently happening was beyond his comprehension, but the panic stemming from his body was an instinctive reaction.

And as the blue aura flooded out of his body and into the arms of the one opposite, his face kept changing as his body experienced massive changes.

He felt it as clear as daytime, as the itching that usually followed whenever his body was broken to this state grew number and number while the pain grew stronger. Less than five seconds later, Lobo was experiencing more pain than he ever thought possible in his life as miserable howls emerged from his vocal cords, escaping through his mouth.

He tried to raise his arms in an attempt to pry the palm around his neck away, but his bones were completely broken, effectively denying him his wish.

Then his voice ceased as the energy to scream left his throat. He..... He couldn't feel the warmth anymore, and whatever of it he had left was slipping away.

What was happening itself was obvious, his healing factor was failing him.

...

POV change.

Although he was unable to see Lobo's internal structure at first, he could feel that his body was undergoing massive changes. His cells were wriggling, being cracked somewhat as seams of blue energy seeped out of them.

His entire DNA code was being changed forcibly as he extracted what made Lobo a Czarnian.

He himself had his eyes widen as countless images flashed in his mind. There and then, he could see it. Lobo's cells, DNA, the genome, going further down towards his molecular structure, further to the atoms of his being.

A euphoric feeling swept over his mind as he felt something slowly increasing in steady leaps.

It was knowledge, knowledge of his true ability. His true capabilities that were currently oh so limited. He already knew what he was capable of years after his consciousness came into existence, this scene in front of him made him feel it even more so.

The energy he was absorbing from Lobo, that was just the tip of the iceberg. He could feel the boundaries and limitations that shrouded him since he created his physical form.

He could feel them, but touching them was almost impossible.

The ecstasy that assaulted him made him frown within his mind, although he knew that this was a result of this physical body secreting dopamine into his brain.

The reaction was a bit, unsettling. He would decide whether to alter that fact later on. For now, he immersed himself in the feeling of what caused that ecstasy.

It was the Limitations placed on his ability being pushed out of its original position. The boundaries, although still, there, were getting wider and wider with each unit of energy Lobo lost.

Lobo currently was no longer chalk white, but was turning black. As soon as the energy that made up his healing factor was completely absorbed, Lobo would die.

Still, did that matter to him?

Hell no!

His initial plan was to see how much energy he could absorb before Lobo's body was pushed to the brink of mortal death.

But now? He could only say three words.

Lobo be damned.

He ignored Lobo's situation, as he felt like he could now do more than he could before. His earlier use of energy could only be considered crude now in his mind.

So much that he couldn't care about Lobo's life or death. Nevertheless, that didn't mean Lobo would die. He was still banned from the afterlife and would exist in soul form even if his body perished.

But someone else didn't think so.

His mind, that was somewhat frowned in the intoxication granted from his solving use of energy, sobered up as he felt the whoosh of wind coming from behind him.

His face lit up in slight annoyance as his body turned ethereal, lobo who was being held by him included as a figure in what looked like ripped red and blue tights assaulted him but was unfortunately not fast enough to achieve his aim.

After all, his Mangekyo Sharingan was always on, leaving him virtually in Flash time levels of thinking.

Who else would it be apart from the man of steel?

He noticed that Clark's goal was to make him free his grip from Lobo's neck. He tried, and he failed.

His eyes widened in incredulity as he started at him, still hoisting his captive by the neck.

"I don't know who you are, and thank you for stopping him, but you have to stop, right this instant".

Superman said with a firm tone. His clothes were still ripped in multiple areas and his cape was torn so bad that it looked like an old rag. Blood was still on his face and body, but other hand that, he looked fine.

No visible cuts or bruises could be seen on his skin.

And his gaze carried determination as if he were giving an order.

Looks like his sunbath had some wonders for him in less than a minute.

Hearing his words, a deep frown etched itself on his face before fading just as fast as it appeared.

He was no longer siphoning energy from Lobo anymore. Superman's arrival had interrupted him, causing the sensation of expanding boundaries to disappear.

That feeling he had longed for was gone now thanks to the Man Of Steel, causing him to feel deeply annoyed. Absorbing energy from Lobo again wouldn't bring it back. He could feel it.

The man was already close to death and his healing factor was close to being stripped clean. While Lobo would still regenerate from injuries, he could forget about regrowing a severed limb, much less regenerating from a single drop of blood.

His immortality was practically gone as well. Meaning, even if he wasn't killed by someone else, Lobo would still die from old age.

Judging from what he felt, he probably didn't have long to live, either. The only reason why he hadn't died right this instant was, for some peculiar reason, his life force was being overdrawn to make up for his lessened healing factor.

Meaning that after this, Lobo might only have from several months to several years to live. A decade at best, and he would be at the end of the road.

Still, it didn't matter to him, as his soul would be rejected from the afterlife.

The fucker would still find a way to return, as he possessed the ability of soul possession. If he left any drops of blood elsewhere that can regrow a body, he could practically restart his tale of immortality again.

Unless someone found a way to seal his soul in another dimension or use it for a ritual, or just plain erase it from existence.

Could he do that? Yes, he could do all three. Was the cost something he wanted to bear? No, no it wasn't.

His Disintegration couldn't work on soul forms or matter that wasn't solid and liquid.

He didn't know if Kamui could transport a soul to its dimension.

He could erase him with energy, but he certainly wouldn't do that. If his ability to manipulate energy was advanced enough, he could do it with the snap of a finger, with no cost whatsoever.

Thinking of this again, the energy being felt sour, and looked at Superman with a very unfriendly gaze.

Still, even if he was annoyed, his initial plan wasn't to kill lobo.

Beat him to the point of near death? Sure. But kill him? Nah.

Lobo didn't do anything to him that he felt warranted his death, no matter the cost. Hell, he was the one who decided to butt into matters that didn't concern him, and Lobo was good enough to play along.

So he lost any interest when he realized there was no benefit to killing Lobo. The amount of energy he could extract from him wasn't much remaining anyway.

He would probably stay incapacitated for months or years within the little time he had left. He might even die without moving while stuck in a coma.

However, dealing with the Justice league due to a dying man's early death just wasn't worth it.

Despite that, it didn't mean he would just follow Superman's orders. Some things needed to be set straight.

"And what right do you have over me to dictate what I do?" He said with an expressionless face, his arm still not letting go of the blackened lobo who looked deader than a corpse.

Clark slowly grew anxious. If he didn't hear Lobo's faint yet still beating heart, he would have attacked again. Still, he didn't know if that would change anything.

Hearing his words, his eyes widened before narrowing. His face grew serious as he spoke in a solemn tone.

"I can't tell you what to do, but regardless of what he's done, killing isn't the answer. It's just not right".

"But he's killed so many people already, why shouldn't I kill him?"

"Cause it's against the law to kill".

"I don't know if you've noticed, but last time I checked, and he even said it himself, he isn't human to begin with. Is there a law that says killing aliens isn't allowed?"

[.....]

Clark was taken aback. He opened his mouth to respond, but no words were able to escape his lips to further justify his claim.

Technically, there was no law that stated aliens could not be killed. Meaning, the Laws for aliens were practically non-existent.

Lobo wasn't from earth, so Earth's laws didn't apply to him.

Seeing Superman stuck for an answer, his face didn't change, but he continued.

"Isn't it the same as killing animals? There is no law that states animals can't be killed. So anyone can literal carry an animal and stand by the side of the road, raise a knife and cut off its neck. Apart from some disgusted stares, no one would say what was done was wrong, aren't I right?"

"It's not the same. Lobo is different....." Clark started again, but he was cut off.

"It's different? Different because lobo looks human. That's the reason, right?" He said, leaving Clark to stay silent before nodding.

"So animals can be killed, but humanoid looking creatures can't as long as there's a resemblance. That's pretty racist of you, don't you think?" A chuckle escaped his lips as he looked at the Superman with amusement.

Superman's lips twitched.

"I'm not racist..... It's not how..." He tried to explain, yet was cut off again.

"So what's the difference? If it's not that, you consider an aliens' life to be above that of an animal because of what? That he looks human. What gives you the right to say his life is more valuable? Isn't that plain racism?

"What if an alien looking like a Lion monster starts attacking a city, you're telling me that it's not allowed to kill it as well?"

Listening to the words thrown at him, Clark was choked. His face carried never before seen speechlessness that he didn't even notice Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen had already arrived at some point within their conversation.

"What the hell is he saying? I'm not racist. This is all just silly. I ain't racist… right? Damn! What am I thinking?"

Clark shook his head to throw away his silly thoughts.

His composure returned as he looked on and said.

"Whether Lobo is alien or not doesn't matter. You're from earth itself, so I can't let you kill him. The law will make sure Lobo gets what he deserves. You personally killing him won't improve things and true justice is everyone's right. Even the worst among us".

Clark said, with an imposing aura. His very being seemed to exude justice and righteousness with his natural charisma that was a great boost to his leadership qualities.

Still, the latter's expression remained unchanged. He looked at Superman who seemed as if he was ready to stop him from doing something gravely wrong and found it even more amusing.

If he were a villain or antihero, he would probably be laughing his guts out at this very moment.

Still, that didn't stop him from speaking.

"And who the hell said I'm from earth to begin with?" His words caught superman off guard, leaving the latter stunned in place.

While Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen had their eyes widened. The camera was rolling, capturing everything they were saying as well as their confrontation for all who were sitting in front of their screens could see.

"You're not human?" Clark couldn't help but ask. Even though he knew there were aliens that had great resemblance to humans, that fact skipped his mind. He always thought that this man was a very stronger metahuman or something along similar lines.

"No, I am not. And Lobo is an Intergalactic bounty Hunter, So technically, the laws of earth have literally no hold over us".

He said with a slight arc up his lips.

"As I said, Lobo is a mercenary who hunts for money. He has annihilated civilizations, torn apart families, and has more enemies across the universe than earth has people who are vegetarians. Did it never cross your mind that I just might be one of them who lost someone dear to his hands, and I'm looking to settle the score?"

"Or do you also want to deny me my chance at revenge to save someone with no relation to you, or your planet and has only tried to kill you and caused more chaos in the time he was here because according to your moral logic, which I by this point find to be extremely absurd, me killing him is not right?" His face still expressionless couldn't hide the amusement in his eyes that seemed as if he had found something interesting.

Clark froze. The kryptonian who had a strong sense of righteousness engraved in his bones was left tongue-tied once again, unable to give a verbal retort.

And so Superman's speechless face would become a trending topic for the next few weeks due to this incident.

"The number of people who have heard of Lobo's name is countless. The number who want him dead are even more so. Neither I nor Lobo are subject to the laws of your planet, so technically in legal qualifications, earthlings have no right to even think about putting a Czarnian on trial. So tell me again, what right do you, Kal-el of krypton, have to judge my actions and decide if they are right or wrong?" The flat tone had a hint of aggression behind it.

Superman could only stay silent as his eyes carried a mixture of complicated emotions. His face seemed hesitant, as if he didn't know what to do.

At that moment, the roar of an engine could be heard firing across Metropolis. Be it him, Superman, Jimmy or Lois Lane, they all raised their heads up to the sky to see a black, bat shaped fighter jet appear from the sky.

The cockpit opened, and a figure could be seen standing from his seat and jumping downwards. His cape connected to his outstretched arms that formed bat - like wings, resembling a paragliding suit.

The figure descended rapidly, fully decked out in a bat suit, his face hidden underneath his cowl.

His landing was silent, and his cape almost covered his entire body as he straightened his posture and stood up.

"But we do have the right". His voice was deep and thick, probably using some kind of voice changer. He moved forward with steady footsteps as he approached them".

Batman arrived.