Chapter 12
The skyline of Metropolis glowed in the firelight, casting long shadows over the crumbling streets. Smoke rose from the latest skirmish between Alexander's forces and Intergang, but the battle below barely held his attention.
His focus was on the god hovering before him.
Superman floated in the air, his cape billowing in the wind, eyes glowing faintly with restrained heat vision. The tension between them was suffocating.
"You're behind this," Superman said, voice like distant thunder.
Alexander smirked. "Perceptive. I thought you'd be busy saving kittens from trees."
Superman didn't answer. Instead, he moved.
Faster than the eye could follow, he shot forward like a missile, fist cocked back—only for the rooftop beneath Alexander to explode.
A contingency mine, placed just minutes ago, triggered the moment Superman entered its proximity. The shockwave rippled outward, sending concrete shards in all directions.
Superman barely flinched as he shot through the smoke, but in that brief moment of delay, Alexander was already gone.
A small drone zipped away from the collapsing rooftop, and Superman's enhanced vision immediately locked onto it, tracking its movements. His eyes glowed red—
BOOM!
The drone detonated midair, unleashing a pulse of red solar energy.
Superman gritted his teeth as the blast temporarily sapped his strength, forcing him to drop a few feet before stabilizing.
Alexander's voice crackled from the city's speaker system.
"Come on, Boy Scout. Did you think I wouldn't prepare for you?"
Superman's eyes narrowed as he scanned the city, his super-hearing filtering through countless voices, sirens, and distant gunfire. Then, he found it. A faint heartbeat—Alexander's.
He moved instantly, streaking through the air in a blur.
Below, deep in one of his hidden strongholds, Alexander smirked as he watched the Kryptonian descend toward his position.
Selina crossed her arms. "You really don't know when to stop poking the bear, do you?"
Alexander finished adjusting his cuffs. "I don't poke bears. I put leashes on them."
A shockwave rocked the building as Superman tore through the roof, landing with a force that cracked the concrete beneath him.
Alexander exhaled, stepping forward as his men raised their weapons. He lifted a hand. "Stand down."
Superman's gaze flicked across the room, noting every potential threat in an instant.
Then, he moved.
Alexander didn't even blink before Superman's hand clamped around his throat, lifting him effortlessly into the air.
Selina's hand twitched toward her whip, but Alexander gave her a subtle glance—stand down.
Superman's grip tightened. "Enough. You're coming with me."
Alexander grinned despite the crushing strength around his neck. "So... what's the plan? Haul me off to the authorities? Throw me in one of your morally questionable black sites?"
Superman's jaw clenched. "You think this is a game?"
"Oh, no, Clark," Alexander whispered. "This is war."
Superman's pupils shrank.
A pulse of kryptonite gas erupted between them.
Superman coughed, his grip loosening just enough for Alexander to slip free. The second his feet hit the ground, he activated his reinforced exo-glove, delivering a brutal shockwave punch to Superman's ribs.
Superman staggered—not from the force, but from the sudden energy discharge coursing through his system.
Selina grabbed Alexander's wrist. "Time to go."
"Agreed."
They stepped back onto a hidden platform as the floor beneath them dropped away, sending them plunging into the underground tunnels beneath Metropolis.
Above, Superman straightened, his vision clearing as the kryptonite effect wore off. His fists clenched as he watched his prey slip away once again.
This wasn't over.
Not by a long shot.