"Protest?"
Amy looked down at the crowd in surprise before turning to Clark.
"What are they even protesting about?"
Clark frowned as he observed the mass of people below.
"It's probably because of the enhanced army entering the city. A lot of citizens feel like their autonomy has been taken away. People here are generally straightforward, they are not like other cities where everyone overthinks everything."
Amy tilted her head slightly.
"Straightforward?"
Her eyes scanned the dark, smoke-filled streets below. Gotham never felt straightforward to her. It always carried something heavy beneath the surface, something uneasy and difficult to define.
Her senses were sharper than most people's. She could feel tension in the air, subtle fear, anger, and something close to desperation.
This city was anything but simple.
Down in the streets, the crowd moved forward in waves, banners raised high as they marched toward Gotham City Hall.
"Get out!"
"Homelander is not our hero! We don't need an alien savior!"
"This city belongs to us!"
"No military control! No authoritarian rule! No alien interference in America!"
The chants echoed through the streets as the protest grew louder.
Police units lined the roads, trying to maintain order. Without them, the situation would have already spiraled out of control.
Hidden among the crowd, however, were individuals with darker intentions, waiting for the right moment to escalate things further.
Clark's eyes narrowed slightly as he noticed suspicious movement among the protesters.
"I'm going down to take a look."
Amy didn't hesitate.
"Wait."
Before Clark could stop her, she was already gone.
A flash of lightning.
Her body blurred into motion and she shot down the stairs at super speed.
Clark let out a small breath, unable to follow fast enough.
He frowned as he watched where she disappeared.
This power was unstable. It wasn't meant for someone like Amy, at least not in its current state.
He had seen what happened before, people in Smallville who gained abilities through meteor exposure rarely ended well. Many lost control. Some disappeared entirely. Others ended up locked away.
Clark's expression darkened slightly.
He needed to find a way to take that power away from her before it became dangerous.
---
Down below, behind the protest line, Commissioner Gordon and Harvey Bullock stood observing the situation.
"So what now?" Bullock asked, exhaling smoke from his cigar. "Do we break them up or just sit here and watch it burn itself out?"
Gordon kept his eyes on the crowd.
"Not yet. What happened to your head?"
Bullock adjusted the bandages wrapped around his face.
"Long story. Let's just say I ran into the new so called enhanced soldiers last night."
He took another drag from his cigar.
"Curfew patrol. Caught a couple of young people out late. You know how it is, hormones, bad decisions, usual Gotham stuff."
He exhaled smoke, letting it drift between them.
"Back when I was younger, I'd probably be doing the same thing. Staying out late, chasing girls, wasting time in bars…"
Gordon ignored the rambling and focused on the details.
"Then what happened?"
---
Thirteen hours earlier.
"Curfew is in effect. No movement allowed."
A couple walking down a Gotham street stopped abruptly as a soldier in black tactical armor stepped in front of them.
The emblem on his shoulder marked him as part of the enhanced enforcement unit.
The man frowned.
"What do you mean curfew? I've never heard of that."
Before he could react, the soldier grabbed his arm with inhuman strength.
"You are in violation of presidential curfew protocol. You will comply."
"That's not a real law. You're not even police."
The girlfriend froze, unsure what to do as the man struggled.
The soldier tightened his grip, ignoring resistance.
"Sir!"
A voice came from behind them.
The soldier turned.
A man in a gray trench coat and bowler hat leaned casually against a nearby vehicle.
Harvey Bullock.
"I think you're overreacting," Harvey said. "They're just walking home. No crime committed."
The soldier's visor glowed red.
"You are interfering with federal enforcement. Step aside."
Harvey sighed.
"Relax, buddy. We're on the same side here."
He reached slightly inside his coat.
The soldier reacted instantly.
"Hands where I can see them!"
Harvey froze.
"Seriously? I'm not reaching for a gun. I was just getting my—"
The soldier didn't wait.
He moved forward and kicked Harvey directly in the chest.
Harvey flew backward, smashing through a glass storefront.
CRASH.
He hit the floor hard, coughing violently as pain surged through his body.
Blood trickled from his forehead.
The soldier walked inside without hesitation, stepping through broken glass.
Harvey struggled to breathe.
"You have the right to remain silent…" he muttered through pain. "Everything you say will be used against you…"
The soldier raised his baton.
"You are not law enforcement."
Harvey weakly reached into his coat.
"I was just trying to show you my ID…"
Before he could finish, the baton came down again.
---
Back in the present.
Gordon exhaled slowly as Bullock finished his story.
"Still standing, huh?" Gordon asked.
"Barely," Bullock replied. "But I'm not missing work because of some armored psychopaths."
Gordon looked toward the growing protest in the distance.
"Then get ready. This isn't going to stay peaceful."
---
At Gotham City Hall, the protest had reached its peak.
Amy stood near the edge of the crowd beside Clark, watching everything unfold.
A government spokesperson stood on the steps, shouting through a loudspeaker.
"Disperse immediately! This gathering is unauthorized under emergency law! Failure to comply will result in arrests!"
Behind him stood rows of armored enhanced soldiers, weapons ready.
But the crowd did not move.
Instead, they shouted louder.
Some stepped forward aggressively.
Tension snapped.
A figure stepped out from the crowd.
A young man wearing a golden energy suit.
A glowing ring on his chest pulsed with power.
He rose into the air.
Golden light surrounded him as he hovered above the crowd.
"I represent this city's voice," he declared. "And you will not silence it."
Energy gathered at his chest.
Then he fired.
A beam of destructive light struck the soldiers.
The explosion sent several armored units flying backward.
The ground cracked under the impact.
Chaos erupted instantly.
Amy's eyes widened.
"That's insane…"
Clark's expression hardened.
"No. This has gone too far."
Amy turned to him.
"You're not going to help them?"
Clark shook his head.
"We have to stop him. If Adrian gets involved now, this will get worse."
Before Amy could respond, explosions echoed overhead.
Two figures descended from the sky.
White contrails cut through the air.
Adrian arrived.
Wonder Woman was beside him.
Both landed near the battlefield.
The situation escalated instantly.
Wonder Woman surged forward without hesitation.
"Stop this immediately!"
She charged directly at the flying metahuman.
He redirected his attack toward her.
But she was already gone.
Too fast.
She closed the distance in an instant.
Before he could react, Adrian moved.
He appeared beside the metahuman mid air, grabbed his arm, and twisted it sharply.
A scream tore through the chaos.
The energy blast misfired into the sky.
The metahuman dropped from the air, crashing violently into the ground below, dust exploding outward on impact.
___
Happy New Month