***
As every head turned toward the young man, jaws dropped in unison. He'd just hurled Batman aside like a ragdoll—Batman, who clutched a jagged shard of kryptonite, its eerie green glow pulsing faintly in his gauntleted fist. No one could believe their eyes, least of all the other two Kryptonians, Superman and Supergirl, who staggered even from afar, their superhuman strength ebbing like a tide pulled back by that cursed crystal's radiation.
The young man stood there panting, his silver hair slick with sweat, strands plastered to his forehead. Every muscle trembled from the effort, veins bulging along his neck and arms, yet he held himself tall—defiant, unbreakable. Awe flickered in Batman's eyes beneath the cowl, chased swiftly by cold panic. *If kryptonite doesn't work... what will?* The thought sliced through his mind like a batarang, but only for a heartbeat. Then he saw it: the subtle hitch in the young man's breath, the momentary flicker of weakness. *A small dose weakens him. Then I'll bring more.*
Batman melted into the shadows with a swirl of his cape, his voice cutting through the chaos like gravel over steel. "Restrain him! Just a few minutes—hold him down!" The order barked out to the League, sharp and unyielding.
The young man heard it, but it barely registered. *That green fuck,* he seethed inwardly, rage boiling hotter than any heat vision. Everything else faded—heroes, kryptonite, the crumbling street. Only vengeance mattered now.
Huffing ragged breaths that burned his lungs, he lurched forward, each step heavy as lead weights chained to his ankles. His vision blurred at the edges, but every inhale fueled him, sharpening his focus on the fallen Martian sprawled ahead. J'onn J'onzz, their telepathic comrade, lay vulnerable amid the rubble.
"Wait! Stop!" Superman bellowed, his voice cracking with desperation, echoed by Supergirl's frantic cry: "Please, don't do this!" But the young man didn't falter. He raised his right arm, muscles coiling like steel cables, and aimed straight for J'onn's head.
*BOOM!*
The punch landed with cataclysmic force, shattering the street into a yawning crater. Pavement buckled and sprayed outward in a storm of debris. Horror rippled through the heroes—most slumped to their knees, waves of terror crashing over them. "J'onn!" Hawkgirl screamed, her wings flaring instinctively. Green Lantern whispered, "No... not like this," his ring flickering with unsteady light. Their friend, their comrade... gone? For a frozen second, as dust choked the air, numb shock gripped them all.
Superman's x-ray vision pierced the haze first. Supergirl could have looked too, but terror rooted her in place, her hands clenched into fists that drew blood from her palms. Clark exhaled sharply, relief flooding his face like sunlight breaking clouds. "He's... he's okay."
The dust settled fully, revealing the truth. The young man's arm was buried wrist-deep in the crater, pinning what looked like J'onn's body—but the Martian had phased intangible at the last instant, slipping through solid matter like smoke. J'onn emerged from the ground behind the group, unharmed, his green skin glistening. "I... I'm sorry," he murmured to the young man, voice heavy with regret. Then, in a blur, he lunged, clamping a hand to the back of the silver-haired warrior's head.
The invasion hit like psychic lightning. The young man screamed, a guttural roar of violation as alien thoughts clawed into his mind—flashes of his own memories twisted against him. Pain exploded behind his eyes; he dropped to one knee, writhing, sweat pouring as he fought to stay conscious. "Get... out!" he snarled through gritted teeth, fists pounding the ground. J'onn was gentle but relentless, probing to induce unconsciousness, to end the threat without more blood.
"Nooo!" Supergirl lunged forward, tears streaking her face. "J'onn, stop! You're hurting him—he's one of us!" Superman wrapped her in a bear hug, holding her back despite her thrashing. "Kara, we can't. J'onn won't kill he'll only knock him out. We have to let this play out."
"Let me go, Clark! I can talk to him—please, he's in pain!" Her voice broke, raw with helplessness, her super-strength useless against her cousin's unyielding grip.
The others watched in shameful silence. Green Lantern averted his eyes, muttering, "This feels wrong... invading his mind like that." Hawkgirl gripped her mace tighter, jaw set. They knew it was an ethical line crossed—privacy shattered for the greater good—but the young man's fury had nearly ended a life. Powerless against his raw might, they stood frozen, hearts heavy with guilt.
The screams faded to whimpers... then silence. His body slumped. Victory? But in a heartbeat, his hand snapped up, vise-gripping J'onn's wrist. With a surge of defiance, he rocketed upright and slammed his forehead into the Martian's chin—*crack!*—dazing him. An elbow drove into J'onn's gut, folding him double, followed by a brutal left hook that hurled the telepath deep into the earth with a thunderous impact.
Shock rippled outward. "What the—?" Green Lantern yelped. The League surged back into the fray, but hesitantly now—restraint laced with guilt. "Easy, kid," Superman urged softly, hands raised. "We don't want to hurt you. Just stand down." Hawkgirl and Green Lantern, though, held no such mercy. "Enough games!" Hawkgirl snarled, slamming her mace down. Green Lantern's constructs flared: "You're done!" They pinned him to the ground with crushing force.
Rage ignited. The young man unleashed heat vision—blinding crimson beams that melted the pavement beneath him into molten slag, forcing space to rise. He swept the beams wide, scorching the air. Superman intercepted the worst, grunting as it singed his cape: "Kal... he's too strong." Hawkgirl and Lantern reeled back, armor smoking.
He rose again, chest heaving, eyes blazing. The Justice League exchanged grim glances—this was no ordinary foe. His power unnerved them, their shame a chain holding back their full might. "We can't keep pulling punches," Hawkgirl growled, pain etching her voice.
Then, a bat-shaped jet screamed overhead, Batman's voice booming from its speakers like judgment itself: "If a small amount won't work... how about a ton?"
*BOOM.* A colossal green cage plummeted from the sky, kryptonite rods glowing malevolently as it engulfed the young man entirely. Dust billowed. Superman and Supergirl had retreated via comms orders, safe from the radiation. The League exhaled in unison—relief, at last.
*Crack. Thump-thump.* Slam after slam echoed from within. *BOOM!* Heads whipped around. A fist burst through the front, shattering metal and crystal. Green shards rained down.
The Flash shifted tiredly from his previous hits but he stood again he glanced around. Then he spoke,
" Anymore bright glowing green ideas?"
Despair settled like fallout. What now?
***