The metallic echo of Diana's sword still vibrated in the air when the hall sank into silence. Blood trickled through the cracks in the fractured floor, mixing with the smoke of the torches that flickered after the destruction.
Clark fixed his gaze on the Amazon. Her shield was stained red, her blade still dripping remnants of battle, but her eyes shone with the same resolve. The last assassin had fallen, and the League of Shadows was exterminated.
He drew a deep breath, his eyes beginning to glow red. He was preparing to scan through the sanctuary with x-ray vision, trace every corridor, every chamber, find Bruce before it was too late.
But there was no time.
From the rubble of the side corridor, a shadow rose. The dark cowl covered part of his face, but there was no mistaking the identity. A firm body, a controlled stance, a gaze cold as ice.
Bruce Wayne was there.
The silence broke when his voice echoed, calm and laden with challenge.
"You impressed me, Kryptonian."
The words resounded through the empty hall like a sentence. His tone carried no surprise, no anger, only certainty. Bruce's presence was as solid as the mountain around them.
Clark furrowed his brow, his eyes fixed on the man who should have been hidden in another wing of the fortress.
'He knows I'm Kryptonian.'
'At least he doesn't know I'm reincarnated.'
Clark's voice came out firm, without hesitation.
"Bruce Wayne, we finally meet face to face."
Diana stepped half a pace forward, shield still raised, blade reflecting the trembling torchlight. Her eyes didn't blink at the sight of the new enemy.
Bruce lifted his face slightly, and the air in the hall seemed to grow heavy. The voice that came out of his mouth did not belong to him alone.
"I am not Bruce. I am Barbatos. I am using my herald's body to speak with you."
Clark's eyes stayed locked, his face hardened. His voice cut through the silence with cold sharpness.
"And what do you want with Bruce… and with the crystals?"
Bruce tilted his head slightly. His tone was laced with scorn, as if the question were irrelevant.
"We won't talk about him. Let's talk about you."
Clark frowned.
'I don't like where this is going.'
Barbatos stepped forward. The echo of his movement reverberated through the hall like restrained thunder. Shadows seemed to follow him, sliding along the floor like living chains.
"Don't you see, Kryptonian? You were born to be more than a guardian. The strength you hold… the speed… the mind that sees beyond. All of it would be wasted in a world that will never understand you."
Clark stood unmoving, eyes burning red, but still silent.
Barbatos raised his hand, and the torches' flames faltered, smothered by an invisible veil. The air thickened, heavy, as if each breath were a burden.
"Join me. I do not offer you submission. I offer dominion. With me, you won't be just a stranger in a small world. You'll be the new axis of a remade creation."
His voice seemed multiplied, a distorted chorus of ancient echoes, every word dripping with temptation.
Clark clenched his fists. The heat in his eyes intensified, but he still didn't answer.
Diana stepped forward without hesitation, shield raised, her gaze blazing with fury.
"Save your breath, creature. Clark is not someone who bends to shadows."
Her presence shattered the weight of the offer. Her words struck like a blade slicing through invisible veils.
"He is a man of worth. His strength isn't in conquering worlds… but in choosing to fight for them."
The hall fell silent again. Even the shadows seemed to hesitate before the Amazon's firm voice.
Barbatos turned his eyes to her. A slow smile curved Bruce's lips, but there was nothing human in it.
"You speak for him… because you fear the choice he might make."
Diana did not flinch. Her shield gleamed in the faint light, her sword steady in hand.
"No. I speak because I know him. Clark Kent is not yours. He never will be."
Clark finally drew a deep breath. The red glow faded slowly, but his gaze stayed icy.
'She said exactly what I didn't need to say out loud.'
He lifted his face, eyes sparking red again, his voice like steel.
"My girlfriend already said what I was going to say."
Bruce exhaled slowly, the grave sound echoing like an ancient lament.
"What a waste of potential."
The shadows burst from the floor, alive, like ravenous arms. They clamped around Clark's ankles and shot upward fast along his legs, tightening like iron chains.
SHHHHH
His body was yanked violently. The stones under his feet cracked with sharp snaps, fractures radiating outward in circles.
KRRRAAACK
Clark dug his heels into the ground, the weight of his power straining against the darkness. His fists trembled, not from weakness, but from pure rage. Heat swelled in his eyes, ready to turn the shadowy veil to ashes.
'You won't break me. Not today, not ever.'
But then Barbatos's voice did not come from Bruce's mouth. It echoed inside Clark's mind, multiplied, dissonant, like thousands of whispers speaking at once.
"You're already mine. That fury… that isolation… that world that never understood you. I can give you purpose. I can give you place."
Clark ground his teeth, his muscles vibrating with resistance. Blood hammered in his ears like anvils on iron.
Diana advanced steadily, shield raised, sword ready to cut through the gap. Her voice rang clear, defying the darkness.
"Clark doesn't need to hear anything from you. I told you already, he is a man of worth."
Barbatos's smile widened on Bruce's face, distorted by something inhuman.
"Then let's see if he remains worthy when he loses you."
The shadows rose in a spiral. Black, twisted arms erupted from the floor, wrapped in thick smoke. Instead of grasping, they hurled themselves at Diana like living projectiles.
WHOOOSH
The impact slammed into her shield with supernatural force, the energy of darkness vibrating like thunder.
BOOOM
Diana was thrown back as if struck by an invisible cannon. Her shield spun with her in the air, her blade slipped from her hand for an instant, sparking against stone as it scraped.
KRRRSHHH
Her body smashed through two weakened columns, the sound of breaking rock filled the hall, dust and fragments cascading down.
THUMP
She hit the wall with brutal force. Stone caved in a few inches, cracks spidering around the impact. Air burst from her lungs in a harsh gasp, and for a moment her body hung still amid the dust.
Clark clenched his teeth. The dry sound reverberated in his bones, every muscle screaming to react.
"Diana!"
His shout echoed through the hall, brimming with contained fury.
She moved. First an arm, then her shield still strapped to her wrist. Metal scraped the wall as she pushed herself up, standing slowly but without surrender.
Blood streamed from a cut on her forehead, mixing with sweat, but her eyes stayed unwavering. The fire of determination had not gone out.
Barbatos raised his hand again, as if testing a toy. Shadow wavered between his fingers like serpents poised to strike again.
"You are strong, Kryptonian. But even the purest strength breaks when it loses what it seeks to protect."
Clark didn't move. His burning gaze stayed locked on Diana's body, fallen between dust and shattered stone.
'If I lose her now…'
The thought seared like molten iron through his chest.
'No matter how much strength I hold, how much speed I command. If Diana dies before me, none of it will matter.'
Rage erupted inside him, pure and uncontrollable. His muscles shook, not from pain, but fury. The air around him warped, vibrating with the Speed Force mingling with the solar fire pulsing in his eyes.
ZZZMMM
The entire hall seemed to retract under his presence. The ground split under his feet, the torches' flames extinguished at once, crushed by the weight of his wrath.
But before he could advance, a metallic sound echoed.
CLANG
Diana pushed against the shield embedded in the stone, rising slowly. Blood dripped down her brow, her breathing ragged, but her eyes still carried the unbreakable blaze of war.
With effort, she reclaimed her fallen sword and steadied her stance. Her trembling posture hardened into defiance.
Barbatos tilted his head, a twisted smile stretching across Bruce's face. Shadows rose from his hands like living blades, ready to strike her again.
"Proud… but fragile. I'll break her before your eyes."
Clark gritted his teeth. Blood thundered like storm in his mind. He still felt the shadows bound around his body, dragging him forward like invisible chains toward the enemy.
And in that moment, he didn't resist.
'That's it. Pull me. The closer I get… the easier it'll be to rip you out of that body.'
WHSSHH
The chains of darkness dragged Clark across the floor, stone splintering into fragments. Dust rose in clouds as he was pulled straight toward Barbatos.
Clark's eyes blazed with incandescent red, but he didn't unleash the heat. He wanted closeness. He wanted impact. He wanted to crush Bruce Wayne — or the monster behind him — with his own hands.
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