Bab 45: Chapter 45 Illusion
"Ugh!" Bruce's eyes snapped back to reality. The surroundings were the same as he last saw it before Tsukyuomi.
But Bruce didn't register any of it. He only felt his vision darken immediately as soon as he returned from the Tsukyuomi space.
Like a deflated balloon, Batman's body seemed to lose all strength and fell from his "invisible support".
Thud! The body fell to the ground with a small thud. Amari watched him fall blankly.
"And that wraps up tonight's turn of events". Despite saying that, the ball of destruction rotating on his hand gave off no signs of dissipating.
"Unless of course, the Man Of Steel has something to say about it. Do you, Mr. Kent".
Amari twisted his neck slightly to make a popping sound. In the eyes of a normal person, his words seemed to be directed at the wind.
However, less than a moment passed, and a figure appeared on the roof at lightning speed. The blurry silhouette faded and what was revealed was the well-built, muscular figure of a man, with his upper body completely naked.
Wearing loose fitting pants, black hair, blue eyes and chiseled features.
Clark looked at Amari with narrowed eyes. His gaze drifted between Bruce's fallen body to Amari's face to the ball of destruction rotating within his palm.
Amari examined the Man Of Tomorrow, who looked in better shape than a recovery patient checking out of the hospital just after stepping out of the Watchtowers Med Bay.
The frown on his face clearly showcased his current mood.
"What did you do to him?" Clark asked grimly. If not for the fact that he could still hear Bruce's heartbeat, although beating irregularly but still beating, only God knows how Clark would react at the moment.
"Tortured him mentally". Amari responded plainly.
Clark's eyes widened before he clenched his fists. Still, the Man Of Steel didn't make a move.
"What you've done....." Clark was interrupted mid-sentence.
"Was all their fault". Amari said apathetically.
"You said it yourself, they were under control".
"I missed the part where that's my problem".
Clark's frown deepened. Green arrow barely had time to put him up to speed concerning all that was happening when he woke up. As soon as he realized what Bruce had taken the League to do, he immediately knew that something was wrong.
And so, Clark rushed over. As could be inferred from the fact that he wasn't even wearing his Super Suit. Still, though, his arrival was a bit late.
He only made it in time to listen to Batman and Amari's conversation. The fact that the league had been mind controlled bothered him a lot but the result of this..... Altercation left Superman noticeably surprised.
The senses of a kryptonian under yellow sun for almost thirty years were powerful. Even while speaking with Amari, he could hear green lantern and the others being rescued by other league members.
Although Clark had a deep feeling that The Deviant was powerful, he didn't expect it to reach this level. Shazam was strong, and he had Hal and Martian Manhunter alongside Zatara.
Their comprehensive abilities combined would give even him a slight headache.
Still, just because they were his teammates and friends, Clark wouldn't cover up for them when they were in the wrong. The actions of Batman and the others were too much, and it was normal for Amari to retaliate.
But still, what he had done was too severe.
He clearly knew that they were under control and not doing it in their right minds. Still, the hand he laid was heavy.
"You went too far". Clark said after a while of silence.
"I have my principles. They irritated me, and it's ok that I didn't kill them". The apathetic tone that seemed to regard lives as street cabbage was particularly grating in Clark's ears.
For a while, Superman didn't know what to do. From Amari's tone, his impression of this outsider who was quite.... brutal wasn't good.
But did that matter? Currently, Clark only knew the general knowledge. The full inns and outs of the matter hadn't been fully uncovered yet. Plus, the main point laid in the fact that the League started all this.
With arched brows which quickly settled, Clark took two steps forward, bent down and picked up Batman's unconscious body.
Clark, who wanted to say a few words before leaving, had his frown reemerge on his face when he took a look at Amari's right hand.
"Aren't you going to put that thing away". Clark's gaze rested intently on the rotating ball of compressed energy. He had already used his enhanced vision to see past the outer appearance and peer into what's inside.
Clark had one word. Chaos.
What could be seen on the outside was just a dark red swirling ball that gave off an ominous aura. What Clark could see was violent, chaotic, a mishmash of destructive energy contained and compressed into something more dangerous than it could be.
The sight of it made him more uncomfortable than seeing Bruce in such a state.
If that thing dropped, then one thing was for sure. Gotham city would disappear from the map, and even he couldn't stop it.
"Yeahhhh.... No". Amari shook his head.
"Stop it, or I'll do it for you". Clark said solemnly.
"You can try, but let me assure you that you will fail. In front of this..." He raised his palm to showcase the swirling ball.
"Your invulnerability has no effect. It wouldn't make a difference even if you had Captain Atom and a platoon of green lanterns at your disposal".
Clark was silent for a long time. And Stewart who was flying high above them clenched his fists uneasily.
".... I can't allow you to drop that. With all you've done tonight, I believe you've made your point. But these people have done nothing wrong. They're all innocent". His tone was slightly grave.
Amari didn't reply but raised an eyebrow in silence. The seconds ticked by with neither side uttering a word.
"That I have Superman. That I have". Finally, The Deviant broke the silence.
His words made Clark subconsciously let out a sigh of relief. However, the next words almost made the Man of Steel have a heart attack.
".... Still, I promised Batman that I'd show him the consequences if I'm provoked again. Since he's currently out of commission, let me show you instead". And with that, Amari drew his right hand backwards and with that action, the ball of chaos flew out of his hands towards Gotham center at frightening speed.
"No!" Clark exclaimed with fright and took off faster than he had ever gone before. The rooftop of Wayne Industries was shattered due to the loss of power control.
Clark's figure was faster than a blur, and the body of Batman had been thrown high into the sky at some point for Stewart to take care of.
Clark only had one thought in his mind at that moment. He must stop this rotating ball of destruction at all costs.
He couldn't allow it to explode. He couldn't allow it to destroy a city filled with millions of innocent lives. Clark would sooner have his head cut off by Stepphenwolf before letting such a possibility occur.
He had to do something. Anything that could achieve some result. His Super brain spun at thousands of times the speed a regular human could achieve, and the solution came out.
The man of steel took in a deep breath and expelled the freezing cold air from his lungs as low as it could go. Clark's speed was very fast.
Before the swirling ball could land, he had already arrived before it. But instinct let him know that the whole thing would explode as soon as he laid hands on it.
Contact with the sphere would cause it to immediately go berserk and Clark knew he wouldn't be able to contain the blast with his hands alone. So he opted for the next best thing, freezing it.
Too bad, as soon as his freeze breath came in contact with it, the same result which he tried to avoid took effect.
BOOM!
The dazzling red and pitch-black night was all Clark could see, followed by the rapid deconstruction of everything around him.
His sense that had been honed to the extreme, felt it all. The citizens of Gotham had no time to react. There was no pain, no screams, no yells for help, nothing.
Although it was slower for him, for them, it was but an instant.
At that moment, he felt infinite and endless regret. Why? Why did things have to turn out like this?
These people had done nothing wrong, yet why?
Clark felt it all as the red and black darkness swallowed him up as he was closest to the blast.
And then...
"Kuek-ok!" Clark let out a frightened gasp as light returned to his vision. His senses all returned to him again as he found himself still standing on Wayne Industries roof.
The night was still there, the people were still there, Bruce was still in his arms. All of it was right how it was, as if the destruction had never happened.
The only thing that was different was that Amari was gone.
At that moment where Superman's confusion and mixed emotions were at its peak, the nonchalant voice once again sounded in his ears.
"That is what will happen, Mr. Kent, so I do hope we can get along from now on. And FYI, you guys should really get something to protect yourselves from mind control".
The voice said before returning to silence.
The roof of Wayne Industries, a recently awoken Superman, stood there with a battered Batman in his arms. His expression was extremely grave.
Was that just now an Illusion?
But…. How?
Clark was a bit frightened.
A light breeze blew past as a result of the flapping of wings. Hawkman, who was hiding in the clouds, appeared.
"Are you ok?"
"I'm fine".
"Are we going to let him go?" He asked hesitantly.
"For now, we do nothing". Clark said while shaking his head.
"No matter what happened tonight and how it happened, Bruce was right about one thing. He's very dangerous".
Superman said with a sharp gaze, looking towards the location of the Axiom.
"We've suffered a lot of damage". Hawkman stated.
"Let's discuss it later". Clark replied as he noticed several surveillance blimps heading their way.
"The league will need to give a satisfactory answer to the government for all..... this. For now, let's get out of here".
This whole charade had not gone unnoticed. And they as the key figures would definitely be questioned. Just after waking up from injury, Superman had a lot of paperwork suddenly dropped on his desk.
Metaphorically that is. His literal paperwork back at the daily planet was still waiting for him.
Thinking of this, his mind involuntarily drifted to Lois.
....
Far away in another city, Metropolis.
"Crisis Invasion. Justice League To Blame". Perry read the newspaper in his hand out loud before turning it around and facing the front page at the group of people standing or sitting at the other end of his desk.
These were all Daily Planet key employees.
"I hate it". Perry said as he tossed the newspaper onto his desk with a blank face.
The faces of the staff changed.
Mr. White seemed to realize what they were thinking and corrected himself.
"Not the writing, the writing's fine. Just a crap headline". He said as he fell back on his chair, covering his face with his right hand.
"But chief, that's what the other major newspapers are riding on". A male said.
"Exactly, that's the problem. You wouldn't understand Walter, so don't ask. And don't call me chief". Perry pointed at the bald middle-aged man and said with a serious voice.
"Someone, give me angles. If we want to surpass the rest, we need something fresh. Whatcha got".
Perry stood up, dropped both arms on the table, before pointing at Cat Grant.
The beauty was stunned at first before quickly regaining her composure.
"Um... Superman still refusing to make a statement on the Central City Attack. Is he scared?"
"Love it!" Perry exclaimed. "Scratch that headline a bit and write out this. "Where Is Superman?". You got that?"
".... Um…. Got it chief. But why that?"
"I said, don't call me chief. And for your information, this angle is being completely overlooked". Perry said solemnly.
"All of the United States have been busy tooting the whole invasion incident being the League's fault and President Luthor promising to implement new actions to make sure this thing doesn't happen again. But let's face it, the world's gone to shit anyway, so what possible guarantee could make sure something like this never takes place?"
"Just leave all that aside for a minute. The whole thing has happened and the likes of Wonder Woman has stepped up to make a statement on the issue, but how many people have noticed that up until now, Superman hasn't made a single public appearance?"
His words successfully hit the ears of the working staff.
"Chief, where are you going with this?" Olsen, who was holding a camera, asked with confusion.
"I'm going somewhere, Jimmy. Somewhere the people of America in these troubled times wouldn't even think about. You don't need to think too much, just know that I've gotten a scoop from an anonymous source that is sure to have the papers out of stock by this time tomorrow. Kent, show them what you got". Perry randomly pointed to the side.
But no one answered.
"Great Caesar's ghost. Where the hell is Clark". Perry let out while fuming. His eyes darted from left to right and finally rested on someone.
"Lane, where the hell is Kent?"
"Um..." Lois was taken a bit by surprise but quickly regained her composure and answered quickly.
"Clark's been absent ever since returning from sick leave. Something about investigating a case you sent him on". She replied with a raised eyebrow.
Perry's eyebrows furrowed, before relaxing.
A sigh escaped his lips as he laid back on his chair.
"That kid is like an erratic ghost occasionally. First, he calls in sick and now this...." Muttering slightly, Perry caressed his forehead before turning to look at the staff.
"Let me know as soon as he gets back. And God, so help me he doesn't..... Well, what are you waiting for? Dismissed".
His words fell, and the group quickly scattered out of his office.
Perry watched the leaving figures of his employees. His clear eyes drifted from their departing behinds, back to the computer on his desk.
He clicked on the keyboard a few times and turned open a video.
The one where Superman was in the hands of the Flash, surrounded by league members, bleeding out severely.
He had given this video to Clark when the latter returned from sick leave. After all, Clark was one of his best reporters, and he wrote excellent reports, especially when it concerned the Man Of Steel.
All so Clark could investigate and see if he could get some info on possibly the biggest scoop of the century.
The Death Of Superman.
....
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