166 CHAPTER 164

He's Baccccckkkk!!!

I was completely occupied with my Industrial Training stuff that I had barely enough time to type. Well my supervisor cut me some slack for the week, and now I'm back on track.

Let's skip the theatrics and get on with the chapter, shall we.

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The night sky over Smallville resembled a terrifying yet mesmerizing masterpiece, a canvas filled with lava rocks hurtling through the atmosphere like meteors, their fiery impact causing destruction among the hapless houses and buildings.

With a mere raise of my hand, I halted these hurtling rocks in their tracks and pulled them back toward the volcano's surface. A sudden gust of wind, forming a horizontal mini-tornado, came at me, but I effortlessly reversed it, making it vanish into the air. Superman's quick spin had created that vacuum, an attempt to turn my own tricks against me but failed.

"Now, where were we? I was in the middle of taking you down," he declared with an unsettling confidence. "I'm a little busy right now so hold on, I'll be right with you." I added 

"Oh, boy," I muttered under my breath, realizing I had to stop the volcanic eruption at its core. I sped back into the volcano and placed my hand upon the scalding lava.

Lava, essentially molten rock superheated beyond its melting point, could potentially be transmuted if I reversed its molecular structure by altering its temperature. I aimed to quell the eruption, bringing the volcano back to its dormant state as though it were all a mere illusion or a nightmare for the people of Smallville.

Superman, fixated on defeating me, had abandoned his hometown in jeopardy. Lex had truly fucked up his mind and issued orders to eliminate me. Who the fuck remains in Smallville anyway? It was a veritable disaster magnet, an endless cycle of calamities, it's always one thing after another.

Superman hovered above the volcano, his eyes fixated on me, the god-like being surveying a pesky human. He awaited my next move, seeking an advantage. None of his attacks had succeeded so far, and he was doubtless concocting a plan to overcome me.

I had no time to waste; I needed to conclude this swiftly and put Lex's champion back in his place, beneath my foot, where he belonged, as he continued to lose his humanity, behaving more like a pure-blooded Kryptonian. Like that guy from the movie, I think his name was Zod or something. 

I cooled the lava, transforming the searing red magma into condensed, dark rocks. Those already airborne I redirected, targeting Superman.

"Enough with your childish games!" he roared as the molten rocks bombarded him.

He zigzagged through the air at blinding speed, a blur for the human eye, but not for me. He darted in from behind, and I braced myself, fortifying my defenses, anticipating he would use that momentum to try breaching my protective field. But I was wrong.

Superman, in a sudden stop, suspended himself in midair just in the nick of time, grabbing me from behind as we zipped into the atmosphere, heading towards space.

"Shit, my curiosity led me here. I could've evaded him, but I wanted to test whether he could hit me. And now I'm in space, unable to breathe while he's charging up from the sun," I pondered, gazing at the radiant sun. It was my first time in space, after all.

Superman employed his freeze breath, even more potent in the vacuum of space, forming a dense, sturdy ice around me. Assisted by the sun's power, his icy prison was impenetrable. I couldn't breathe, and I couldn't move, but I had a plan. For half a minute, I let him believe he had won, savoring a moment of victory.

The smirk on his lips vanished as he watched the ice crack. It shattered, and he unleashed his laser beams, targeting my chest. Yet, they deflected off me, prompting him to dodge his own attack, his inability to discern my weakness a source of frustration.

It was time to stop playing nice; he was proving unworthy as an opponent since he couldn't make me bleed.

"With your power, you could join me and Lex in reshaping this world for the better. But instead, you choose to resist and stand out like a sore thumb," he calmly suggested.

"Damn, Lex has really messed with your brain," I retorted. I created an air bubble around my head like an astronaut, using the ice from earlier but it only provided me with limited oxygen. My time was running out, but I had an ace up my sleeve.

"The world is already messed up as it is; there's no need to let Lex take control of humanity," I countered, reaching for a tool I knew would be handy.

"When a body is infected with a disease so infectious it could corrupt the entire system, the doctor cuts it off. You're an infection to the world Lex seeks to create, a potential carrier of your ideals that could inspire citizens to rebel against his new world order."

"Damn, that's a first. I've been called many things, but 'infection' is a new one," I said as I equipped a kryptonite brass knuckle around my hand.

"If this is all a joke to you, then just die already!" he yelled, launching at me. Just as he was about to make contact, I pulled out the kryptonite brass knuckle and landed a solid punch on his jaw.

The surprise on his face was priceless. "Time to bring you down from your high horse, boy scout. No hard feelings," I quipped as I gripped him by the neck, delivering a relentless barrage of punches as we descended to Earth, following our previous path.

We broke through the edge of outer space, bodies ablaze as we entered the planet's thermosphere. I continued my unrelenting assault, relentless in my onslaught. We crashed through a mountain, not far from the previously erupted volcano, with Superman's face coated in blood.

Surrounded by military personnel, many of them undoubtedly loyal to Lex, I continued my assault, one punch accompanied by another. The kryptonite glowed through my bloodied fist. They were at a loss, not knowing how to stop me when even the Man of Steel had failed to do so.

I delivered Superman's final blow, rendering him unconscious. A voice from a helicopter urged, "Keep your hands behind your head and move away from him slowly."

I held Superman by the neck, raising him above the ground. Reporters converged on the scene, eager to capture exclusive images and live video for their various media outlets.

I turned to one of the cameras, addressing the audience with Superman's blood staining my hands. "It's not his fault that he's turned against the heroes and aligned with Lex Luthor. Nor is it his fault that he's slowly losing touch with the empathy he once had for humanity. The heroes have been framed, and any hero who remains free, unaffected, must have been brainwashed to serve as obedient puppets."

The officers, some of them, lowered their weapons as they listened to my words. I hoped fervently that this was being broadcast live. I must have looked cool on camera with Superman bleeding in my hands.

"One last thing, don't get me wrong. I'm not a fan of the heroes, nor do I agree with their skewed philosophy, but I believe this world would be far worse without their constant vigilance. Consider how you turned on those with bounties on their heads as criminals, even though their sole intention was to make this country a safer place for you all."

A few moments passed, then I added, "Ask yourselves if the heroes have ever caused harm to you. They put their lives on the line daily to protect you, yet you label them as criminals. All they ever aimed to do was make this country safer."

As I concluded, I released Superman's unconscious body to the ground. I ascended from the scene, ready to depart, when something suddenly hurtled toward me at breakneck speed. At first, I dismissed it as a missile, launched in a desperate attempt to take me down. However, it was a grievous error to underestimate it.

Before I could react, a solid punch connected with my jaw. I felt a sensation I hadn't experienced in a long time—pain. I steadied myself in midair as I reached into my mask, glancing at my bloodied hand. My lip was bleeding.

"It's my…It's my blood," I realized with astonishment, my eyes filled with surprise. "Exhilarating," I muttered, sensing the pulsation of my own blood. It was the feeling of both pain and anger, a wonderful reminder of my humanity.

"I don't know if you've been turned into a puppet or not, but you've just earned a one-way ticket to share an ambulance with Superman as you head to the hospital," I warned, my crimson pupils glowing ominously as I hovered in the air, looking down at the unfortunate soul cladded in black and with a yellow glowing lightning crest on his chest. It was none other than the infamous Black Adam.