Faora and Car-Vex moved at the same time, their bodies snapping forward in perfect synchronization as they closed in on Superman from opposite sides. Sand burst beneath their feet with a sharp crack, air tearing around them from the sheer force of their acceleration.
KRRAKKK.
A bolt of lightning split the sky.
It came down fast, striking directly in front of Faora before she could adjust her path. For the briefest moment, even she hesitated.
A hand emerged from the lightning and closed around her throat.
Faora's eyes widened slightly as the grip tightened and lifted her off the ground with effortless force. She threw two hard punches at the man before her, but it was useless against overwhelming power.
Swoosh!
She was hurled across the desert like a rag doll, her body tearing through the air before smashing into the sand far in the distance with a thunderous crash.
Car-Vex stopped mid-charge. Her instincts screamed too late. 'What the hell is he?'
Superman hovered for a second, then a grin spread across his face as he looked at the figure now standing between them.
"Batman?"
The man stood with his back partially turned, a black suit clinging to his frame while arcs of lightning crawled across his body with a sharp zzzt-zzzt. The air around him hummed, vibrating softly as sand lifted and drifted at his feet.
He glanced over his shoulder, completely unfazed.
"Batman," he said with a nod. "I owed him one."
"It's nice to see you, John," Superman exhaled, relief mixing with tension as he floated closer. "But be careful. They are Kryptonian."
John rolled his shoulder once, casually, like he was preparing for something routine instead of a fight against alien warriors. His eyes locked onto Car-Vex, who had already adjusted, her stance lowering as she prepared to strike again.
He blinked.
THWIP.
One moment, he stood beside Superman...
...Next, he was directly in front of her.
Car-Vex's pupils shrank as her mind struggled to process what her eyes were seeing. She raised her guard instantly, muscles tightening.
But it was useless.
A sphere of condensed energy formed in John's palm with a rising whrrr. Layers of motion folded into each other, spinning faster and tighter as wind spiraled around it, dragging sand upward in twisting streams.
The sound deepened.
WHRRRRRR.
The energy compressed further, vibrating with barely contained force.
He drove the Rasengan straight into her stomach.
BOOOOM!
The impact detonated.
A violent shockwave tore outward, ripping through the desert with a roaring KRAAASH. Car-Vex's body folded around the attack before being launched upward like a missile, the force sending her tearing into the sky as a shrinking streak.
Within seconds, she vanished into the clouds.
The wind howled for a moment longer, then began to settle. Sand drifted back to the ground in slow waves.
John lowered his hand and turned his head slightly toward Superman, looking almost bored.
"And?" he asked.
A low hum rolled through the air, deep and unnatural, growing louder with every passing second.
Superman looked up. "More incoming."
The beam came down without warning.
A massive column of pale blue light slammed into the desert a few hundred meters away. Sand vaporized on impact, and a glowing crater carved itself into the earth. Heat rippled outward, distorting the air.
"Of course there's more," John muttered.
Then they started coming out.
Dozens at first.
Then hundreds.
Kryptonian soldiers poured out in tight formation. Some carried advanced energy rifles. Others held massive axes and war hammers, their armor heavier and built for brute force. The rest came barehanded.
They looked organized.
Superman exhaled slowly, his gaze sharpening as he took it all in. "That's a lot."
John rolled his neck once, like someone preparing for a workout he did not feel like doing. "Yeah. This just turned into crowd control." He tapped his earpiece. "Batman, we'll handle things here. Don't interfere and don't let others interfere because, considering the size of this army, I can't guarantee to hold back my power."
"Affirmative. We'll be on standby," Batman's voice came through the earpiece.
The Kryptonians did not wait.
A line of soldiers raised their weapons. Energy flared.
John spoke without even looking at them.
"You girls might as well join in the fun."
KRRAKKK.
Two bolts of lightning slammed into the ground behind them.
When the light cleared, Harley stood there first, her bat resting over her shoulder. Her eyes lit up like she had just been invited to the best party of her life. "Oh, now this is what I'm talkin' about!" she said, spinning the bat once in her hand. "Big scary aliens, giant weapons, dramatic entrance. Y'all really know how to set the mood."
Another flash followed.
Maureen stepped forward. Frost formed along her arms as the temperature around her dropped several degrees. Her eyes moved across the army with quiet focus.
"That's a lot of targets," she said evenly. "Try not to get in my way."
Both Harley and Maureen were in their enhanced form.
A sonic boom cracked overhead.
Kara dropped from the sky and landed beside them in her new suit.
A sharp red V cut dipped across the upper chest before rising toward the shoulders. Over it sat a fitted red jacket that stopped just above the waist. Blue gloves covered the forearms and extended slightly past the wrist. Matching blue boots reached just below the knee with flexible plating layered along the shin and heel. A yellow belt wrapped around the waist.
Sand burst outward under her boots as she straightened and looked toward the army.
She took a breath.
Then she smiled.
"Finally," she said, almost excited. "Some action."
Superman looked at her suit for a brief moment and gave a quick nod. "Nice upgrade."
She grinned. "Told you I wanted my own look."
Harley leaned in slightly, her eyes flicking over Kara's outfit. "Okay, yeah, that's clean. No weird holes. I approve."
Kara shot her a look. "Don't start."
John stepped forward. Lightning flared brighter around him as his presence pushed against the advancing army, like pressure building before a storm.
"Alright," he said with a cold expression. "Let's not drag this out."
Across from them, one of the Kryptonian commanders raised a hand.
The entire army charged.
The ground shook under hundreds of feet, launching forward at once.
Energy weapons fired.
Blasts of light tore through the air.
Axes and hammers swung as the front line closed the distance in seconds.
Superman cracked his knuckles.
"Here we go."
He shot forward first, breaking the line head-on. His fist collided with the nearest soldier and sent him flying back through three others in a chain reaction of impacts.
Kara followed right behind him, moving faster than most of them could track. She weaved through the front line and drove a punch into a soldier's chest, launching him straight into the air before spinning and kicking another across the sand.
"Okay, yeah," she said mid-fight. "This is way better than dummies."
Harley laughed as explosions sparked around her hands. "My turn!"
She snapped her fingers.
BOOM!
A chain of explosive blasts ripped through a cluster of incoming soldiers, throwing them in all directions as fire and shockwaves tore across the battlefield.
"Welcome to the party, space freaks!"
Maureen stepped forward calmly.
The world slowed.
For a brief moment, everything froze.
She moved through the battlefield in silence, her hand brushing against multiple Kryptonians as frost spread instantly across their armor and limbs.
Time snapped back.
CRACK!
Ice detonated across their bodies, locking them in place before shattering outward, killing them on the spot.
John watched the chaos for half a second. Then he vanished.
THWIP.
He reappeared in the middle of the swarm, lightning exploding outward from his body as he moved. He punched the brute before him at full power, splattering his head like an exploding watermelon. One of the soldiers charged at him. He grabbed the guy's throat and smashed him to the ground hard enough to form a crater. Then he stomped his head, killing him instantly.
John flowed from one motion to the next, blending raw power with precision. Ki flared around his strikes. Godspeed, increasing his speed beyond his enhancement. He looked unstoppable.
A soldier swung a massive hammer at him.
John caught it mid-swing, crushed it in his grip, and then drove his fist into the soldier's chest, sending him rocketing backward like a missile.
Superman glanced over mid-fight, a grin breaking through the tension. "You weren't kidding about crowd control."
John didn't even look at him as he dropped another soldier with a backhand strike.
"Just warming up."
---
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