Inside a grand manor located in the heart of Metropolis, Adrian stood at the head of a long hall, calmly addressing his subordinates.
Bart, Jenna, and the Wonder Twins stood before him.
Since Adrian had seized power from the President and gradually brought the entire nation under his control, Bart had followed him without hesitation. Though he had been uncertain at first, he quickly settled into a simple mindset: if Adrian moved, he would follow. That decision erased any lingering doubt and gave him clarity.
The Wonder Twins, being alien in origin, held little attachment to Earth's politics. Adrian had saved their lives, and that alone was enough for their loyalty.
Jenna, however, was different.
The Green Lantern stood slightly apart, her expression troubled, her thoughts clearly elsewhere. The conflict within her was written plainly across her face.
Adrian noticed.
He frowned faintly but said nothing about it. Instead, he turned his attention to Bart.
"Bart, I have a task for you. Go to Coast City and find a man named Hal Jordan."
Adrian had already calculated the timing. If things aligned with what he knew, Hal Jordan would soon come into contact with the power that would define him. Adrian had no intention of overlooking such a valuable asset.
A faint, almost amused thought crossed his mind.
He had once thrown Hal off a bridge to force him to learn how to fly. A harsh lesson, but effective. Adrian wondered if Hal remembered it as training or as attempted murder.
Either way, it had worked.
His gaze shifted again, this time toward the Wonder Twins and Jenna.
Jena, as always, was easily distracted by anything of value. Her mood was noticeably sour. The reason was simple. Zan had secretly taken her money the night before and spent it on Lego minifigures from shops across the city.
When he developed that obsession, no one knew.
"Ah, a task?" Jena perked up suddenly, her expression brightening. "Does that mean I get paid now? I mean, technically all the US dollars belong to you anyway."
Adrian looked at her, unimpressed.
"No."
Jena stuck out her tongue, her short hair bouncing as she turned away. "You don't have to sound so serious about it."
Adrian ignored her reaction and continued.
"Jenna, Jena, Zan. Head to the laboratory in Star City. I need you to locate someone named Victor Stone."
His tone sharpened slightly.
"Bring enough people. Do not underestimate the situation."
Zan nodded immediately. "Understood."
Jena gave a reluctant nod, while Jenna followed a moment later, though her hesitation remained.
Far away, in the Nevada desert, an abandoned military drone facility had quietly come back to life.
Inside its underground control room, a group of soldiers operated advanced drone systems. The facility had escaped Adrian's control, one of the few remaining blind spots.
"The updraft is stable. Target confirmed. Preparing missile launch."
The pilot's voice carried tension as he reported.
Behind him, a commanding officer narrowed his eyes. "Target confirmed. Proceed with the attack."
The operator hesitated, staring at the screen.
The target was deep within Metropolis. A direct strike would cause massive destruction.
"Sir… are we really doing this?"
"If we don't act, we never win," the officer replied coldly. "This new depleted uranium payload might be enough to kill him."
There was no further room for doubt.
"Launch."
The operator swallowed and pressed the button.
Silence followed.
"What happened?" the officer demanded.
The operator's hands trembled. "Sir… the missile didn't hit."
"What do you mean it didn't hit?"
"It never reached the target. It was intercepted immediately after launch. The system isn't malfunctioning. Something… something stopped it."
High above the sky, Adrian hovered effortlessly, his cape shifting in the wind.
A faint glow faded from his eyes.
The missile had been destroyed the instant it entered the air. The drone itself followed seconds later, torn apart by precise beams of heat vision.
Without hesitation, Adrian accelerated toward the source.
Moments later, he arrived above the hidden base.
With a single sweeping motion of his gaze, the facility was cut cleanly in half. The underground structure erupted into flames, collapsing into itself as fire consumed everything inside.
Adrian watched without emotion.
Then he turned and left.
Elsewhere, a military helicopter cut through the sky, heading toward Kansas.
Inside, heavily armed soldiers sat alongside a few metahumans. Among them were Anna and Ivanna, sisters who had once uncovered a Kryptonian ship.
Anna leaned forward, her voice uncertain. "So what exactly is the plan to deal with him? There's no way a group like ours can take him down."
The officer shook his head. "We're not trying to kill him."
The helicopter passed over Metropolis without stopping, continuing toward Smallville.
"We have intelligence. His hometown lies between Smallville and Blue Valley. If we control that area, we control him."
Ivanna frowned as she looked down at the land below. "You're suggesting we detain entire towns? That's tens of thousands of people."
"No," a new voice interrupted.
The sisters turned.
A woman stood where a soldier had been moments ago.
Her appearance was unsettling. She wore deep red garments, her pale face framed by fiery hair. In her hands rested an ancient book, its surface etched with strange markings.
"You don't need to control them," she continued, her voice sharp and low. "You only need to isolate them."
Anna's eyes narrowed. "Who are you?"
The woman smiled faintly. "You may call me the Fairytale Queen. For now, we are allies."
Her presence alone carried a suffocating weight.
"I can reshape the area," she said. "Turn it into something out of a story. A forest no one can enter or leave. Those inside remain trapped. Those outside are kept away."
She lifted the book slightly.
"If necessary, I can even bind every person within its pages."
The implication was clear.
Ivanna exchanged a glance with Anna, unease settling in.
"This is the first time I'll attempt something on this scale," the Fairytale Queen added. "There may be… complications. Your role is to ensure nothing interferes while I complete the spell."
Anna exhaled slowly. "You better be right about this. If he finds out, we won't survive it."
The woman's smile deepened, cold and certain.
"Magic is older than him. Stronger than him. He is powerful, yes, but he is not beyond nature."