The clash happened in seconds. Clark slammed his shoulder into the possessed body, driving Barbatos into one of the fortress's central pillars.
BOOOOM
The stone burst into fragments, cracks crawling up the ceiling like black veins. Dust fell in cascading sheets, cloaking the hall in a thick haze.
But Barbatos didn't scream. Didn't flinch. Didn't retreat.
A slow, twisted smile crossed Bruce's face, his eyes consumed by living darkness.
"You still don't understand, Kryptonian. This body isn't mine. It's his. Break bones, tear flesh… none of it matters to me."
The voice echoed in multiple tones, as if several mouths spoke at once inside the same chest.
Clark stepped back, assessing the enemy. His shoulder still vibrated from the impact, but before him stood only Barbatos's mocking expression.
'He doesn't feel pain. He truly doesn't feel pain. Bruce's body is just a puppet.'
Clark gritted his teeth, mind racing. He knew the logic of combat. Even if the entity couldn't feel pain, it still needed to preserve the vessel. Bruce was essential — irreplaceable.
But Barbatos smiled wider, the grin stretching across the shadows, mocking Clark's calculation.
"You still try to reason, Kryptonian. You think this body must be protected, spared. You think there are limits."
Shadows slithered from Bruce's feet, snaking across the floor like living rivers. The air grew heavier, the metallic scent of blood mixing with scorched stone.
"But there are no limits. As long as I'm here, this body is immortal. Bones mend. Flesh reshapes. It's not Bruce who breaks… it's you who wears down."
Clark kept his eyes fixed, but his thoughts burned.
'Immortality… as long as he inhabits the body, Bruce can't die. That changes everything. Crushing him isn't enough. Destruction means nothing.'
His fist clenched, muscles vibrating as if about to explode. The idea flashed through his mind like molten light.
'Then I'll throw him into the Sun and end it all.'
Barbatos tilted his head, the distorted grin widening across Bruce's face, as if he'd read Clark's conclusion before it even formed.
Diana tried to move closer, still bleeding from the earlier strike. Her shield trembled in her hand, sword steady, though her body showed its cuts and exhaustion.
CLANG
She planted her blade into the ground, using it as leverage to advance.
Clark raised his arm immediately, his voice slicing through the hall.
"Fall back. You need to recover."
Diana narrowed her eyes, irritated by the command. Pride burned alongside pain, but her body didn't deny the truth.
Barbatos laughed, his many-toned voice echoing like an ancient taunt.
"Look at that… clearing the nuisance out of the way. Even you know she doesn't belong here."
Diana hated to admit it, but the weight of those words pressed against her. Even her Amazonian strength found its limit before the shadow consuming Bruce.
Clark stepped forward, eyes locked on his foe, gaze burning crimson.
"I just want her to watch while I tear you apart."
The hall trembled at his declaration. Diana stepped back slowly, shield raised in defense, her eyes still burning with the fire of battle. Barbatos spread his arms, serpentine shadows swirling around him like a living veil.
"Then come, Kryptonian. Show me if light can erase what is eternal."
Diana braced her shield against the floor, firm despite the blood streaking her face. Her voice rang clear and strong, filling the heavy air.
"Clark, no matter what that creature says, you're more than he'll ever be. Finish this."
Clark glanced her way for a heartbeat. The weight of the battle didn't break his composure, but her presence cut through him like an invisible blade.
"Thank you, Diana."
He closed his eyes. His body relaxed for a second only to become a conduit for the power pulsing through every cell.
ZZZMMM
Time yielded. The air froze in suspension, dust hanging still, drops of blood trapped midair like molten glass. The once-living shadows stood motionless, petrified serpents of darkness.
Clark opened his eyes. His irises sparked electric blue, lines of energy tracing across his skin in luminous patterns. His heart beat in rhythm with the Speed Force, each pulse expanding the world around him.
He walked forward slowly, his boots crushing fractured stone. Sound no longer existed only absolute silence. Diana was frozen at the edge of motion, sword raised, her expression locked between pain and resolve.
Clark stopped in front of her. His face softened for an instant. He didn't touch her, but his presence was enough.
'She trusts me. That's what matters.'
He turned toward Barbatos. Bruce's body stood still, frozen in its distorted grin. Solidified shadows like glass claws rose around him.
Clark rolled his shoulders. Energy crackled in short bursts blue and gold flickering around him.
'This ends here.'
He vanished in an invisible blur, breaking the stagnation.
WHOOOOSH
The frozen hall warped into formless blur before his speed. Every grain of dust hung still, every fragment suspended like shattered glass. Clark surged forward in a straight line, fist raised, electric energy rippling around him.
ZZZMMM
The blow targeted the enemy's chest. The gathered force could tear stone, steel, and flesh in a single strike. But when the punch landed, it met no resistance.
SHHHHH
Bruce's body wasn't solid. The shadows rippled like liquid veils, letting the blow pass through harmlessly. Space distorted in black circles, absorbing the force before it could connect.
Clark slid backward, stopping on the cracked floor. The ground split into deep fissures beneath his boots. The hall remained frozen, but Barbatos stayed untouched still, within the stillness.
'Impossible… even inside the Speed Force, he's untouchable.'
He reset his stance and struck again. His left fist cut the air at impossible speed.
WHAM
Nothing. The void devoured the blow.
He tried with his knee an upward strike.
CRACK
Stone shattered beneath him, but Barbatos stood unharmed.
Clark felt the pressure mounting. The shadows pulsed even in frozen time, existing on a layer beyond reality. Nothing he did mattered.
'This doesn't make sense. Not even the Speed Force reaches him… He doesn't belong to this world. It's like he isn't really here.'
His breathing quickened. Energy still flared around his body, but disappointment weighed heavier than exhaustion.
'All this power… all this speed… and I still can't touch him. So what's the point?'
He stepped back, gaze fixed on the motionless figure before him. The silence of suspended time mocked his helplessness.
'If even the Speed Force can't give me an edge, how do I throw this into the Sun?'
Clark's jaw tightened as he pressed his palm against Bruce's chest. Muscles vibrated, electric arcs pulsing along his arm, every cell igniting. The impact should have pierced flesh, bone, and soul.
ZZZZMMM
But nothing happened. Resistance was an illusion like punching black water. His hand passed through, but didn't destroy. The body wouldn't yield.
He yanked his arm back, frustration etched into every fiber. The stone beneath his feet shattered with the motion.
KRRRSHHH
As his fist withdrew, something broke the logic of frozen time. Bruce's fingers moved. Slow. Precise. Wrapped in darkness.
The hand seized Clark's wrist.
CLACK
The contact rang out like steel against steel. The Kryptonian's arm was trapped in the stillness as if the entity had ignored the Speed Force itself.
Clark lifted his gaze, shock contained. Bruce's face was no longer frozen as it should be. His lips moved. Skin stretched.
A smile formed.
Slow. Twisted. Dark.
The kind of smile that shouldn't exist in a world where time had stopped.
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