For a brief moment, Shin was genuinely tempted by the idea of brainwashing, but he quickly shook his head.
His standards were not so low. Brainwashing was unreliable, a tactic built on unstable ground. Even if it succeeded, a person of strong will could eventually turn against him. Worse, a figure like Kara might break free at the most crucial moment and deal a devastating blow.
Besides, this was not the Supergirl from the comics with years of character development and extraordinary feats. This was the version from the films. Her power, though formidable, did not compare to the narrative legends of the comics. What use was a half-measure of strength when he already commanded armies and gods?
"Enough. Let her out. I have no need of your brainwashing," Shin ordered, his voice sharp.
DeSaad quickly obeyed, lowering the immense machine and initiating a series of commands. The chamber hissed as the locks released, and the pod's heavy door swung open. A dazed blonde girl emerged, her eyes fluttering with confusion. Slowly, clarity returned to her gaze.
"Where… is this? What happened? I… remember!" Kara's expression hardened as memory rushed back. Fury sparked within her, and without hesitation, she lashed out. Her fist collided with DeSaad, hurling him across the chamber.
Though her blow struck true, DeSaad was far from defenseless. His strength, honed through centuries, rivaled that of Steppenwolf. Kara, still recovering from stasis and weakened by her recent ordeal, was nowhere near Superman's level. The attack dazed him, but left no lasting damage.
Clever as ever, DeSaad did not fully defend himself. He allowed the hit to land, feigning weakness. He knew that resisting now would only draw Shin's ire. Better to take the strike and survive than provoke the wrath of his new master.
Shin made no move to intervene. He understood the nature of Apokolips. Its people feared only strength, not justice, not compassion. They were predators who bowed only to greater predators. Sparing them kindness would never yield loyalty. Authority here was measured in dominance, not mercy.
As long as his fists remained unchallenged, Shin knew they would never resist him.
But Kara did not share his perspective. After striking DeSaad, her sharp eyes turned toward Shin. He sat upon the shattered throne with a relaxed poise, the image of a ruler cloaked in absolute confidence. To her, he looked every bit the final boss she had been taught to fear.
Her jaw clenched. With a cry, she leapt forward and swung her fist directly at him.
Shin extended a single hand, catching her strike with ease. Her pale knuckles pressed against his palm, but his strength dwarfed hers. He pressed down gently, and the pressure forced her toward the floor. Kara gasped, her knees buckling until she was nearly crouched.
"Calm yourself, little girl," Shin said evenly. "I am not your enemy."
Kara, looking no more than eighteen or nineteen in appearance, glared back at him stubbornly. "You don't look any older than me."
Shin's lips curled faintly. In truth, she was not wrong. Kara's body had been preserved in stasis for decades. By Kryptonian measure, she was closer to thirty, yet her suspended growth left her appearing like a teenager. Shin, on the other hand, carried the face of youth. His repeated travels through time and worlds had blurred his actual age, but even counting generously, he could not be much older than twenty-five or twenty-six.
By both appearance and truth, he was likely younger than her.
"Fine," Shin conceded with dry amusement. "You are older than me, Supergirl." He released her hand, allowing her to stand tall again. "Your cousin Clark is my friend. You can trust me."
He gestured to the hall around them. "As for those who captured you, I have already subdued them."
Kara tilted her head, suspicion still lingering. Her voice turned cold. "I do have a cousin… but his name is not Clark."
Shin's expression tightened. A bead of sweat formed at his temple. "That is the name he uses on Earth," he replied quickly.
'Damn it, what was his Kryptonian name again?' Shin thought frantically. 'I know it means hope… Kal-El, that's it. Not Kakarot, that's another story altogether.'
Kara narrowed her eyes. With her enhanced hearing, she could pick up the irregular rhythm of his heartbeat. He was not afraid, only embarrassed.
She considered this. Her cousin had been sent to Earth as an infant. It was plausible that he had not known his birth name. She had no knowledge of the AI left by Jor-El, nor of the trials Clark had faced with General Zod. To her, it was reasonable that he would go by an Earth name, even if he carried no memory of Krypton's tongue.
"Very well," Kara said at last, unclenching her fists. "I will believe you… for now."
The truth was that her decision was not solely based on logic. While trapped within the brainwashing machine, Kara had felt despair like never before. Her mind had been chipped away piece by piece, her thoughts bent, her identity eroded. She had felt herself slipping, helpless, into the abyss. That Shin had freed her from such torment left her with a deep sense of gratitude she could not deny.
Kryptonians were not invulnerable to mental manipulation. Their bodies were unmatched in strength, but their minds were no stronger than most. Compared to ordinary humans, they were resilient, yes. Compared to their physical invulnerability, their mental defenses were frail. The same was true of their resistance to magic: stronger than mortals, yet pitiful compared to their physical durability.
If their mental fortitude matched their flesh, Kara would have resisted brainwashing for eternity. But reality had shown her weakness, and now she felt indebted to her liberator.
Shin, however, cared little for her reasons. He harbored no particular affection for her. As long as she remained compliant, that was enough.
Kara's eyes wandered across the hall. Once, the Apokolips Palace had radiated dread, a fortress of steel and blood. Now it was a ruin. The walls were shattered, the floor scarred by battle. For kilometers, devastation spread like a scar across the land, and even farther away, the signs of destruction lingered.
Seeing this, Kara's suspicion wavered. If Shin truly ruled Apokolips, would he allow the throne world to lie in ruins? No. It was far more likely that he was its conqueror.
DeSaad, battered and silent, rose to his feet. He dared not retaliate against Kara, nor did he dare complain. He stood quietly before Shin, awaiting orders.
Shin studied him for a long moment. Then, with a flick of his wrist, he produced a device from the shadows, a strange machine of alien design. Its surface gleamed with circuits, its interior humming with power.
"DeSaad," Shin said coldly, "this is a mind-uploading technology. You will copy your consciousness into this computer."
The scientist's eyes widened, his face paling at the command.
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