In a small town on the outskirts of Metropolis, it was quiet and peaceful until a burning object tore through the sky and slammed into the center of the town, crashing into the middle of a busy road. The impact sent a shockwave through nearby windows and flipped cars into the air.
For a brief moment, there was silence.
Then something moved in the center of the burning crater.
As the flames died down, an eight-foot-tall monstrosity in a green suit with gold plating on its joints and back slowly stood up.
A roaring sound was heard in the sky as another burning meteor passed overhead, its trajectory heading toward the outskirts of the town. It crashed into the woods with a dull thud.
There was silence for a while as the figure just stood there while people started filming.
Then police sirens were heard as a convoy of police vehicles and ambulances rushed into the scene.
The noise seemed to agitate the figure.
It clutched its ears before letting out a primal roar that ruptured the eardrums of nearby people.
It then jumped out of the crater, grabbed a minivan, and threw it at the incoming police cars.
Some swerved out of the way. Others were struck, causing explosions.
The ones that managed to evade pulled over as police officers disembarked with assault rifles and opened fire without hesitation.
Their weapons did nothing.The bullets shattered on contact.
The figure calmly raised its hands forward and sharply clapped them together, creating a powerful shockwave.
The road shattered as the force surged forward, reducing the police officers to a blood mist. Their cars were shredded into pieces as the shockwave continued, leveling a few buildings.
The creature then turned toward the shocked onlookers, who were frozen in fear and charged forward as screams echoed through the town.
In just a matter of minutes, most of the town was in ruins. Burning vehicles littered the streets, buildings toppled, and corpses lay scattered across the road,most of them unrecognizable.
The creature still wasn't done.
A middle-aged man stood frozen in its path, paralyzed with fear after witnessing the massacre. He stumbled backward until he hit a wall.
"No… please, I have a daughter-"
He didn't get to finish as the creature struck him with a backhand, reducing him to a bloody smear against the wall.
A short distance away, hidden behind a car, the man's daughter watched.
Tears streamed down her face as she peeked over the edge, her body trembling at the sight as the creature turned its head towards her direction.
She quickly pulled back, trying to stay quiet.
The creature stopped and listened closely,Its enhanced hearing caught the sound of her heartbeat.
It began walking in her direction and grabbed the car she was hiding behind and tossed it aside.
She stared up at the hulking monster, frozen in fear, as it reached out its hand to crush her when two red beams struck its chest, sending it skidding back before crashing into a truck and causing an explosion.
He hovered for a moment, surveying the area. A frown formed on his face at the sight of the destruction.
He descended and landed on the road.
"Run," he said. "It's not safe here."
The girl nodded, wiping away her tears before running off.
Behind him, the burning rubble shifted.
The creature emerged,its suit now burned away.
It roared,its voice strong enough to douse the surrounding flames.
"I don't know what hole you crawled out of or where you came from," he said, "but I'm sending you back."
Then they both charged towards each other.
Boom.
The ground erupted beneath them as they locked hands, each trying to overpower the other.
Superman's eyes widened,he was being pushed back.
He gritted his teeth, trying to hold his ground when the creature's eyes began to glow.
A blast of heat vision fired point-blank, striking him and sending him flying through multiple buildings before crashing into a sixth.
He shook his head, dazed. Blood seeped from his nose as he touched it, confirming it but the creature was already on ti him again.
It grabbed him by the legs with one hand and slammed him into the ground like a ragdoll, then swung him twice before throwing him toward Metropolis.
The creature bent its knees and leapt after him.
Meanwhile in Starling City,
Max sat watching TV in his house alone since Tera was still in Gotham, which was a rarity for him because he found the shows aired there boring. But boredom had gotten to him to the point where he just chose to watch it while sipping on a bottle of whiskey.
As he took another shot, he shook his head and picked up the bottle, starting to read the ingredients because it was hitting all the right spots.
His peace was interrupted when the show suddenly switched to breaking news. It showed the famous number one reporter which was none other than Louis Lane with a headline that read:
"Doomsday Attacks Metropolis."
The broadcast then cut to a live feed of a bleeding Superman clashing with Doomsday below.
"…So the time has come, huh," Max muttered as he placed the bottle aside, ready to go assist Superman.
Before he could move, a small tremor shook his house. The windows rattled as the whiskey bottle fell from the table and shattered.
Max frowned and walked over to the window, only to see smoke rising in the distant skyscrapers.
Wasting no time, he walked out of the house and took off into the sky. In a matter of seconds, he arrived at the source.
There, in the middle of the city, was an impact site, flames still burning around what seemed to be a strange rock.
People had already gathered.
Some started taking pictures of him, already associating him with the incident, while others ran away in fear. After all, to them, he was still a bad guy because of the Bell Reeve incident.
Max ignored them and continued observing the strange rock.
It started cracking.
Then,Boom.
The rock exploded into pieces, revealing none other than Doomsday.
"…So there's more than one," Max thought.
The creature began scanning the area and was about to go on a rampage when Max fired a small ki blast at it, causing a minor explosion.
People panicked even more and fled.
From the flames, Doomsday emerged unharmed, now stripped of his suit. It let out a primal roar before jumping toward Max.
Without hesitation, Max activated the Seventh Gate.
With a simple backhand,he sent Doomsday flying through multiple skyscrapers.
Before the creature could recover mid-air, Max caught up to it, tackled it, and flew away from the city toward the mountains.
Once there, he threw Doomsday upward and delivered a powerful punch that sent it crashing into the mountains below.
The impact was so powerful it could still be felt back in the city.
Max followed up by launching several ki blasts, completely obliterating the mountain.
Then he hovered in silence, watching with a neutral expression.
The rubble shifted.
Max's expression turned serious.
Suddenly as the debris exploded outward.
Doomsday emerged.
Its eyes and mouth glowed red as it roared into the sky. Lightning arced across its body as its spikes lengthened and its frame grew slightly larger.
With one final roar, it unleashed a powerful energy surge.
Max raised his arm to shield his eyes as the bright wave washed over him and surged toward the city, frying electronics in its path.
When it subsided, Max lowered his arm and observed the changes in Doomsday's body.
He understood what had happened.
It had become stronger by evolving from taking serious damage.
The way things were looking, this wasn't going to be as simple as he thought after all he didn't know how many more of them were out there.
But then again…
A faint smirk formed on his face.
This presented an opportunity to grow his strength and he would make sure to relish it.
End of Chapter
You can read up to 10+ chapters at Patreon.com/Darkerknight.