Rat-tat-tat! Rat-tat-tat!
The moment Superman landed, the soldiers opened fire. Bullets struck his body and ricocheted off one after another, failing to cause any damage at all.
Superman looked down at the shooters, then back up. He shook his head at them helplessly and walked toward the deep crater.
"Step aside. Your attacks are useless against me."
Click. Click.
Before long, the soldiers ran out of ammunition. Seeing Superman approach step by step, some panicked and scrambled out of the way. Others threw punches.
Superman's expression didn't change. The fists that connected with his face bent backward at unnatural angles.
"Ahhh—!"
The soldier stumbled back, clutching his fractured wrist and screaming.
Boom!
The damaged building from earlier finally collapsed.
Superman turned his head, frowning with a flicker of self-blame—and then heard the rush of wind.
He turned sideways on instinct. Jack Kadere was already at his side, fist swinging.
"Are you Kryptonian too? You're my kins—"
Superman dodged the punch and started to ask, but suddenly noticed the fist was gone.
No—it had accelerated.
Slap!
Jack Kadere's open palm connected with Superman's face. The force was nothing like the soldiers' useless attacks. Pain shot through Superman's cheek and he flew backward.
The instant he left the ground, something seized his cape. Then he was airborne—not by choice.
Bang!
Jack Kadere grabbed the cape and slammed Superman into the earth.
The ground caved in on impact.
"I never understood why heroes wear capes." Jack Kadere chuckled. "Now I get it. It's convenient for enemies to slam you around."
He grabbed the cape, swung Superman up, and smashed him left—then right—then left again.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
(Cue the Hulk/Loki scene)
The surrounding soldiers stood frozen.
Their attacks had been toys to Superman. Now Superman was a toy to him.
Jack Kadere dangled the cape and glanced down at the disheveled Kryptonian. The Justice League's number-one tank wasn't just an empty title.
Bang!
He slammed Superman into the ground one more time.
Releasing the cape, Jack Kadere lifted his foot and flipped Superman onto his back.
"Will you wear red underwear?"
The question was delivered with absolute seriousness.
Superman coughed, looking up at Jack Kadere with a pained, bewildered expression. Why was this happening? Why was this man so obsessed with making him wear red underwear?
"Listen—I don't want to fight you. I just want to know if you're Kryptonian. Are you my kins—"
Boom!
Jack Kadere's eyes flared crimson. Twin beams of high-temperature heat vision blasted straight into Superman's face. Superman jerked his head aside, raised a hand to block the rays, and slowly tried to push them back.
Infinite Superposition—Double!
The heat vision that had been inching away suddenly intensified. Superman's palm slammed against his own mouth, pinned there by the force. He couldn't move it.
Superman was getting angry.
His muscles tensed, straining against his suit. Power gathered throughout his body. His own eyes began to glow red, heat vision building—
Jack Kadere raised a finger.
Zzzzt!
Azure lightning struck Superman directly. A muffled groan escaped him as the strength he'd gathered scattered and dissipated.
"Will you wear red trunks or not!"
" Will you wear red trunks or not!"
Jack Kadere shouted the question while maintaining the heat vision.
"Not talking? Stubborn, huh? Let's see how long you can hold out!"
The electric current battered Superman relentlessly, making him tremble and convulse.
" Will you wear red trunks or not!"
" Will you wear red trunks or not!"
Jack Kadere repeated the same question over and over. If Superman's mouth hadn't been blocked by his own hand, he would have cursed the man out.
Ask, ask, ask—fucking let me speak!
His eyes burned with fury. Enduring the pain, he focused, trying to release his heat vision. But Jack Kadere seemed to do it on purpose.
The current usually held at a single intensity—painful, but gradually tolerable. But the moment Superman's eyes started to glow red, Jack Kadere would spike the voltage. The unpredictable fluctuations made it impossible to concentrate.
" Will you wear red trunks or not!" Jack Kadere demanded again.
"Um..." A nearby soldier spoke up timidly. "His mouth is blocked. He can't speak."
Jack Kadere turned his head.
The heat vision swept across and struck the soldier instantly.
Boom!
The man flew backward. When he landed, a thick charred smell rose from his body.
"Mouthy," Jack Kadere muttered.
He started to turn back—but Superman seized the opening. With a thunderous bang, he launched himself into the sky.
Jack Kadere withdrew the heat vision and looked up.
"Fine." Superman's sharp features hardened into a solemn expression. He was furious. "You want to fight? Then I'll get serious."
It didn't matter anymore whether this person was a fellow Kryptonian or not. He'd had enough.
You want to fight? Then I'll fight.
Superman drew a deep breath, glaring down at Jack Kadere. His fists clenched. A sonic boom erupted behind him, and he shot toward the ground like a missile.
His speed was blinding. A scorching wake of superheated air trailed his body.
In the span of a heartbeat, he was right in front of Jack Kadere.
"Suddenly got tired of fighting," Jack Kadere muttered.
He waved his hand. Seismic energy tore open a wormhole directly in Superman's path.
Swish.
Superman plunged through—and emerged above a tall building behind Jack Kadere. Before he could react, he was already plummeting straight down.
Bang, bang, bang!
His body punched through the roof. Explosions rippled through the structure floor by floor, fire bursting outward. The building collapsed instantly.
"Run!"
"Move it!"
The soldiers who had been regrouping nearby saw the tower tilting toward them and scattered in panic.
Rumble!
The building slammed into the ground. Smoke and dust billowed into the air.
"This just got complicated."
Amanda Waller emerged from a distance, watching the destruction with a grimace. Evacuating one city block had already pushed the limits of her authority. Now? Two or three blocks were affected. Multiple high-rises had collapsed. Countless structures were damaged.
This was no longer a situation she could control.
Bang!
Superman burst from the rubble and charged at Jack Kadere again, his expression grim.
This time he was cautious. He kept his eyes locked on Jack Kadere, determined not to get caught off-guard again.
Closer. Closer. He was almost there—
Darkness swallowed him. His body lost control, momentum bleeding away.
"I said—I'm tired of fighting!"
Jack Kadere raised his fist and brought it down on Superman's head as the Kryptonian drifted helplessly forward.
Infinite Superposition—Tenfold!
BANG!
Superman slammed into the earth. His head buried itself deep in the ground.
He didn't move.
---
Lemme take this chance to thank everyone who's helped us make it to the Popular rankings. It's like money, one can never have enough or say no to more.
Also, a special shout-out to everyone who gives stones, I get at least 5 at week's end, I'm truly grateful.