Adrian tightened his grip around General Zod's throat, staring him down as the Kryptonian general burned with fury and a relentless desire to kill.
A strained sound escaped Zod.
He refused to give up. His eyes flared red, and a blast of Heat Vision surged toward Adrian's face, blazing with destructive energy.
Adrian reacted instantly. The moment Zod's eyes ignited, he hurled him upward with brutal force.
A sharp hiss cut through the air.
The Heat Vision sliced horizontally across a nearby skyscraper.
The building split clean in two, releasing a thunderous roar as it began to collapse. Debris rained from the sky alongside the terrified screams of civilians. The Wayne Enterprises sign was severed in half, plunging downward with a deafening crash.
Inside the building, employees watched the godlike battle unfolding outside, never expecting death to arrive so suddenly.
The beam tore through the structure and slammed into the lower floors, sending waves of panic through the remaining occupants.
Jack Chandler, a close associate of Bruce Wayne and head of the branch office, felt the violent tremor beneath his feet. Dust and fragments fell from above as he turned urgently to a nearby employee.
"How many people are still inside?"
Before an answer came, he shook his head and raised his voice.
"Everyone, evacuate now. No exceptions. Anyone still working, drop everything and get out. We leave no one behind."
He grabbed his coat and phone, quickly dialing Bruce Wayne.
"Jack, where are you? Have you left the building?"
Bruce's voice came sharp and urgent the moment the call connected. He was already racing toward Wayne Tower, his eyes fixed on the half-destroyed skyscraper, dread tightening his chest.
"Sorry, boss," Jack said with a faint, strained smile. "Let's hope luck is on our side."
A deafening crash echoed through the line.
Then silence.
"Jack… Jack!"
Bruce's voice broke as he called out, but only the empty tone of a disconnected call answered him.
He lowered the phone slowly, staring at the collapsing tower. Grief hit him hard, forcing him back a step. His fists clenched as he looked toward the sky, toward Zod and Adrian.
Above, Adrian surged upward and drove his fist into Zod, launching him higher into the sky.
The air exploded from the impact.
Zod groaned, his body rocketing upward under the force. Adrian didn't let up. He followed immediately, striking again and again, each punch detonating the air around them.
Under the relentless barrage, Zod's consciousness wavered, pain flashing across his face as he was driven higher into the sky.
A blur of red and blue joined the fight.
Clark Kent flew in at full speed, cape snapping violently in the wind. He intercepted Zod and hurled him back toward Adrian.
The impact thundered through the air.
Adrian met him with another crushing punch, sending Zod crashing into a nearby skyscraper. Glass shattered instantly, cascading down like deadly rain across the streets below.
Without hesitation, Adrian and Clark followed him inside.
Zod vanished into the wreckage.
Adrian's vision sharpened as he searched through the structure. In an instant, he located Zod moving toward Smallville's town center.
On the open ground near the town hall, he spotted a familiar figure.
Rachel.
The little girl wandered anxiously, glancing around as she searched.
"Not here?"
She blinked, scanning the area, clearly looking for her brothers. After a few moments, she sighed and kicked a small stone, frustration written across her face.
Then something moved above.
A figure descended at terrifying speed.
Rachel barely had time to react before Zod appeared in front of her.
He already knew who she was. Lex Luthor's tampered information had made sure of that.
In a flash of super speed, Zod grabbed her.
"Let me go! Let me go!"
She struggled helplessly in his grip, her body trembling in midair.
A second later, Adrian and Clark landed nearby.
"You don't want to do that, Zod," Adrian said coldly, his eyes glowing faintly red. "Let her go, or I will end you."
Zod's expression twisted with rage, tears streaked with blood running down his face.
"You think you understand anything?" he spat. "I was born to restore Krypton. Every step I took was for its future. I walked over the bodies of my people to carry their hope forward."
He glared at Clark.
"Kal-El, your father died for honor. But you stood by and let Krypton fall, never once thinking like one of us."
His grip tightened around Rachel.
"And now I will take everything from you. I will make you feel my pain, every second of your life."
Heat Vision began to gather in his eyes.
Before he could fire, a brilliant beam of golden light slammed into his back.
The Star Scepter.
Adrian controlled it from above, the energy blast striking Zod and forcing him forward. His grip faltered.
Rachel reacted instantly. Her body dissolved into a dark, swirling shadow that reshaped into a black crow, slipping free from his grasp.
Adrian moved like lightning.
His fist slammed into Zod's face, sending him flying hundreds of meters across the ground.
Clark was right behind him.
He grabbed Zod by the collar and drove him into the earth with a furious roar.
The ground shattered beneath them.
Zod struggled to rise, but Clark locked his arm around his throat from behind, refusing to let go. They crashed through the remains of a nearby building, rolling through dust and debris.
Zod staggered upright, but Clark charged again, restraining him.
"You won't hurt my family," Clark said through gritted teeth.
Zod's eyes flickered red again.
In front of him, Rachel, still in crow form, struggled to stay steady in the air while Adrian tried to calm her.
"Never," Zod growled.
His gaze locked onto her.
Heat Vision surged again, firing toward the sky.
"Don't do this!" Clark shouted, tightening his grip with everything he had.
A sharp crack echoed.
The beam stopped instantly.
Zod's body went limp, the red glow fading from his eyes.
He collapsed heavily to the ground.
Clark released him slowly, stepping back in shock. His foot caught on a stone, and he stumbled, dropping to one knee.
He stared at Zod's lifeless body.
Pain filled his eyes.
Despite everything, Zod had been his own kind.
Nearby, Rachel returned to Adrian's arms, her shadow form dissolving back into her small, exhausted body. She clung to him for a moment before falling asleep against his chest.
Adrian held her carefully and walked toward Clark.
The two stood in silence over Zod's body.
In the distance, Arthur Curry, the Sea King, finally emerged from the ruins. He had come to help, but arrived too late, having been buried moments earlier by falling debris from the collapsing buildings.