Age of Hope is over

Two red lights come off in the dark alleyway.

"Bruce."

"We cannot allow ourselves to be led by bad goals such as revenge, clark"

The superman slowly came out of the alley, each of his steps seeming to be able to crush anything.

"I'm only aware this time..." Marking a pause, he lowered his head remembering the tortuous memories and then his blushing eyes he looked the batman in the eyes and continued in a tone of anger:

"Only this time he crossed the line!

What do we really accomplish all these years Bruce? I'm mad, sad I don't know when this world went down..."

Bruce Wayne under his secret identity advanced and then stopped a few meters away from his old friend.

"The world has always been dark, and our job is to try to make it liveable.

For Lois, I'm truly sorry, but doing what you intend to do won't make you feel better, it won't come back."

"It is too late for humanity, the world does not want or cannot change, I abandon it, I abandon everything I want only one thing, to annihilate this scum.

Good night Bruce, we'll probably never see each other again."

With these words, Superman, symbol of Hope and Justice, turned around, took a last look at his friend and flew away into the dark night.

"Clark..."

Bruce watched the sky for a few more minutes, a few tears running down his cheeks.

Fortress of Solitude, North Pole.

The disenchanted man, filled with immense sorrow, turned to a corner of the vast room decorated with translucent crystals and walked to a statue representing a demon,

this statue was more than 2 meters high and seemed to come from a distant time of samurai of Shoguns and Honor.

A purple aura escaped, which became more and more dense with each step of Clark.

"My name is Kal-El, the last son of Krypton, protector of the universe; formerly at least..." said he to the statue.

No reaction from the demon, Clark began to expect something fully focused standing.

Finally, after a few minutes, the eyes of the statue started to take life, the dark eyes revealing no emotion or will magically appear.

Clark felt incredible pressure at the time, feeling as if he was plunged into a river full of poor souls forced to suffer eternally, an illusion that dissipated when a monotonous voice was heard.

"I know Kryptonian, I know many things and I feel deep pain in your heart, tell me Kal-El, why did you come to me?"

"I found this statue in one of Lex Luthor's safe houses, my eternal enemy! As soon as I saw it, a promise of unparalleled power was offered to me; I was then not desperate to even consider the offer.

Lex did not hesitate, are you at the origin of his transformation?" Clark asked in a sinking rage.

Two weeks earlier, in a kingdom where time does not matter, which corresponds to what one would imagine of a soul arises, the silver glow stood out well in the expanse of "nothingness" forming that kingdom.

the human soul was that of a teenager, Peter; he felt nothing, saw nothing of his senses working, his thoughts working slowly as if he were very tired.

Suddenly all these senses returned, his old body was floating in nothingness, replacing the previous gleam.

"My name is Agony, what surrounds you is my house and my very form." A monotonous voice was heard. I brought you here to offer you an alternative to what should have awaited your death."

Peter former otaku, particularly obsessed with stories about reincarnation, was jubilant in trying not to get excited like a young child and waited for the rest.

"I propose you to accomplish a mission for me, I will send you, if you accept, to the DC universe; I will entrust you with something that must end in the hands of Superman, I will give you certain powers and let you finally choose

in which body you will transmigrate. What do you say?"

"I accept!" cried just after the teenager totally charmed by what happened to him and the glorious future he imagined.

"Mister Agony, I think Lex Luthor would be a good character for your mission." continued he thinking about the incredible possibilities this choice will offer him. "In which version of DC would I be sent?"

The being replied that the young man knew nothing specific about this universe and wished him a good second life before the nothingness cracked, the young man was no longer there.