Chapter 11: The War in the Shadows

The Himalayan facility burned behind them, the thick smoke rising into the night sky. The League of Shadows had escaped, their secrets buried beneath the wreckage. But Clark wasn't focused on that.

His heart was still pounding.

He had felt it.

For the first time in years, he had moved faster than any normal human could. It wasn't much—nothing compared to what he had been before—but it was undeniable. His powers were returning.

Batman pulled his cape around himself, glancing back at the smoldering ruins. "Talia won't stop. She'll rebuild elsewhere."

Clark nodded, still staring at his hands. "We slowed her down, but we didn't stop her."

Batman turned to him, his eyes narrowing. "You felt something, didn't you?"

Clark hesitated. He could lie. He could ignore it. But Bruce knew him too well.

"Yeah," Clark admitted. "I'm getting stronger."

"How fast?"

"I don't know." Clark exhaled, looking up at the sky. The red sun still burned above them, a constant reminder of his weakened state. "But I can feel it."

Batman crossed his arms. "That changes things."

Clark frowned. "How?"

Batman's expression was unreadable. "You've spent years building a world that doesn't rely on Superman. What happens when he comes back?"

Clark had no answer for that.

The League Strikes Back

Back in Washington, inside a hidden war room beneath the Pentagon, General Eiling stood before a classified intelligence board, his face grim. Across from him, Amanda Waller tapped her fingers against the desk impatiently.

"We lost the serum," Eiling said.

Waller didn't react. "We'll get it back."

"You don't get it," Eiling snapped. "This isn't just about the serum. The League of Shadows just declared war."

He motioned toward a live feed on the screen. Surveillance footage from a military base in Eastern Europe played. The bodies of American soldiers were scattered across the ground, their armor shattered, their weapons useless. And in the center of the carnage stood a single warrior—one of Talia's assassins—his veins glowing with the enhanced serum.

"We're looking at an army of super-soldiers," Eiling muttered. "And we have nothing to stop them."

Waller leaned forward. "We still have Clark Kent."

Eiling scoffed. "Kent isn't Superman anymore."

Waller's lips curled into a knowing smirk. "Are you sure?"

Talia's Endgame

Deep in a hidden fortress in the Middle East, Talia al Ghul watched her newest warrior kneel before her. The serum had worked. His body was stronger, faster, deadlier than any normal human.

But he was just the beginning.

Talia turned to a large containment chamber at the center of the room. Inside, a figure lay unconscious, hooked to dozens of tubes. His body twitched as the serum coursed through his veins.

A perfect soldier.

A weapon.

Talia's vision was coming to life. The League of Shadows would no longer operate in the shadows. They would bring their order to the world—through force.

And when the time was right…

She would face Clark Kent again.

The Awakening

At sunrise, Clark stood alone on the balcony of the White House, staring out over the city. His body still ached from the battle, but beneath the pain, there was something else.

A spark.

A quiet hum of energy building inside him.

He closed his eyes.

For years, he had lived as a man. Felt pain. Felt weakness. Now, slowly but surely, the impossible was happening.

He was coming back.

And the world would soon know it.

TO BE CONTINUED…