The DC World was also buzzing with excitement.
"Isn't that Gotham City?"
"Oh! That looks like Batman."
"Who's live-streaming this?"
Meanwhile, Lex Luthor, seeing the Bat-Signal light up in the sky, sneered to himself and sprang into action. He had his pre-arranged subordinates successfully capture Clark's mother, Martha. Then, he took Superman's reporter girlfriend, Lois Lane, hostage and instructed his men to bring her to him.
Luthor dragged Lois to the top floor of a skyscraper, a sinister smile on his lips. He knew the most effective way to make Superman appear was to target his loved ones.
"Lois, come and enjoy the view," Luthor said, yanking Lois's wrist and dragging her to the edge of the rooftop.
Terrified, Lois struggled desperately. "Stop! Let me go!" Her screams echoed in the high altitude, but they were futile.
Alex Carter, on another tall building in the distance, observed everything. If Superman didn't arrive in time as he did in the movie, she would have to intervene.
"Superman! Come see me!" Luthor laughed wildly as he pushed Lois off the rooftop.
Confident that this would force Superman to appear, he watched as Lois plummeted. Just as she was falling, a red and blue figure descended like a meteor from the sky, catching her effortlessly. It was Clark Kent—Superman!
"His speed has improved a bit, a natural talent, but still not as fast as me," Alex thought, satisfied that Superman had saved the day.
"Goddess Alex, I'm here," Tony Stark said, landing gracefully beside Alex in his Iron Man suit.
"My Lord! Your subordinate is at your command at any time," Faora declared, flying over quickly and giving Alex a Kryptonian salute.
"Master, we're here too," Blue Fire announced, having transformed into airplane mode and landed on the rooftop with Selina and Natasha.
"Let's observe the situation first. It looks like Batman and Superman are about to have a one-on-one fight. The big BOSS hasn't shown up yet," Alex said, her eyes catching a glimpse of Wonder Woman Diana watching the battle from a nearby building.
Diana, curious about Alex, met her gaze and was startled when Alex suddenly appeared beside her.
"Come here!" Alex said, whisking Diana to the top floor of another building with her lightning speed.
"You...?" Diana looked around, seeing several others present.
"Don't be nervous; we're all on the same side," Alex reassured her with a smile. "Watching the battle is important; we can chat later."
Diana took a deep breath, calming herself, and nodded to the others in greeting. They all turned their curious gazes to the distance.
"I can't hear what they're saying!" Selina expressed regret.
"Watch the live broadcast!" Blue Fire projected a large screen in mid-air, showing Superman Clark.
After Clark saved Lois, he quickly flew back to the rooftop, hovering steadily, his eyes glowing with intensity as he glared at Lex Luthor.
"I won't hurt you, but I will send you to prison. You should be grateful!" Clark said, suppressing his urge to attack Luthor.
Luthor's arm trembled slightly, but he stood confidently, knowing he had a trump card.
"What I want to say is about your holier-than-thou attitude. You act like a God, but when I was a child, no God saved me from my dad's fists and the Abomination. I've known since I was little that no one is omnipotent, and you're no exception. There's no such thing as a God in this world," Luthor declared.
He continued, "I want people to know you're a liar, and I want the world to see when your hands are stained with blood!"
"What have you done?" Clark felt a chill and slowly approached Luthor.
"Tonight, people will see through you, because you, my friend, have an appointment to keep."
In the distance, Alex mused, "Superman has such patience; if it were me, I would have acted already."
"This guy is bullying an honest man!" Tony said.
Clark looked at Luthor, confused. "An appointment with whom? Why should I listen to you?"
"Over there, after two years of brewing, his anger has reached its peak," Luthor said, pointing to the Bat-Signal in the sky. "Now you must fight him, God versus mortal, Kryptonian son against Gotham Bat, until death!"
Clark was annoyed by the absurdity of it all. He had always disliked conflict. "You think I'll fight him for your sake?"
Luthor shook his head arrogantly. "That's right, I believe you will fight for that special lady in your life."
When Luthor mentioned his family as leverage, Clark's anger flared. "She's very safe on the ground, but what about you?"
"You could kill me, but I'm not talking about your girlfriend Lois. I'm talking about the most important woman in every boy's life—his mother!"
Clark took an angry step forward.
"Uh oh!" Luthor quickly produced photos of Martha, who had been kidnapped. "Martha, Martha, Martha."
Clark's expression changed, and he stopped.
Luthor triumphantly pocketed the photos. "The mother of a flying demon must be a witch. What's the punishment for a witch again?"
Luthor approached Clark, his face close. "Of course, to be burned to death by fire!" He scattered the photos on the ground.
Clark picked up the photos, seeing his bound mother, despair washing over him. He looked up at Luthor, his eyes reddening with heat vision ready to strike.
"Where is she!!!?"
"I don't know either; I didn't let my subordinates tell me."
Luthor wagged his finger arrogantly in front of Clark's reddened eyes. "If you kill me, your mother will die. If you fly away, she will also die. But if you kill that Bat, Martha will be safe."
Clark, squatting on the ground, heard this, his eyes retracting as he lowered his head.
"Yes, that's it, very good!" Luthor smiled, patting Clark's head. "Now even a God will have to yield to my will."
---
Read Extra Chapter Visit My Patreon
patreon.com/Lempil
patreon.com/Lempil