Talia followed Adrian's line of sight and quickly located Damian standing in the distance.
The rain and darkness had obscured her vision earlier, and her attention had been fixed on Adrian and Hal Jordan. Even though Damian had been close, she had completely overlooked him.
Now that she saw him, shock surged through her, followed immediately by overwhelming relief.
He was alive.
Emotion filled her eyes as she ignored everything else and ran toward him. Without hesitation, she pulled Damian into a tight embrace, holding him as if unwilling to let go. Damian remained stiff at first, still processing everything, but did not resist.
Nearby, Clark had already approached Adrian. He stood silently, rain soaking through his hair and clothes, his expression heavy with conflicting emotions.
Around them, the ruined battlefield stretched endlessly. Broken structures and shattered ground lay under the dim night sky, the steady drizzle amplifying the sense of desolation.
Hal Jordan lay unconscious not far away, his face smeared with blood and dirt.
Despite the victory, Clark felt no sense of triumph.
He understood the cost. It was not just Coast City. The war between the Green Lantern Corps and the Sinestro Corps had devastated multiple cities across the world. Countless lives had been lost. Heroes and soldiers alike had fallen, reduced to nothing in the chaos.
A trace of sorrow appeared in his eyes.
Adrian noticed.
"What is it?" Adrian asked, his tone indifferent. "Feeling sentimental about what you see?"
Clark shook his head.
"No," he replied quietly. "I just feel like this war has no real winner."
Adrian let out a faint scoff.
"Winner?" he said. "If you think you're responsible for those deaths, or if you feel guilt for them, then you're mistaken. The one who burns down the granary feels nothing. Only the creatures inside panic as if the world is ending."
Clark fell silent, unable to respond.
Adrian's gaze drifted toward the mist hanging low in the rain.
"As long as war exists, there will always be winners and losers," he said. "I have no intention of being the latter."
His voice carried quiet certainty, without regret or hesitation.
Clark wiped the rain from his face.
"What are you going to do with Hal Jordan?" he asked.
Adrian paused briefly.
"I'll kill him," he said plainly.
Eliminating threats was his standard approach. He had no reason to leave danger unresolved.
"No. You can't."
The voice came from behind.
Sinestro stood there, having approached without drawing attention. His yellow uniform was torn and soaked in mud, his face marked by blood and exhaustion. He looked barely able to stand.
Adrian turned, mildly surprised.
"You're still standing?"
He had expected Sinestro to be incapacitated after his battle with Hal.
"You cannot kill Hal Jordan," Sinestro said, clutching his chest. His breathing was strained, his injury severe.
Adrian let out a quiet chuckle.
"That's ironic," he said. "His greatest enemy is now begging for his life. If Hal could hear you, he would be amazed."
His expression hardened.
"Why should I listen to you, Sinestro?"
Anger flared in Sinestro's eyes.
"We are allies," he said.
"Are we?" Adrian replied, shaking his head. "I assumed that was just convenient language."
In an instant, Adrian closed the distance between them. He grabbed Sinestro by the collar and slammed him to the ground.
The impact sent mud splashing outward.
Sinestro groaned, pain flashing across his face, but he still glared defiantly.
Adrian looked down at him, his gaze sharp.
"There's fear in your eyes," he said. "Faint, but it's there. For someone who commands fear, that's quite the contradiction."
Sinestro stiffened.
Adrian's words struck the truth he had tried to ignore.
When Adrian had worn the Yellow Lantern Ring, something about his presence had unsettled even him. It was not the same fear he felt when facing Hal under Parallax's influence. This was different, something deeper and more unsettling.
It felt like confronting something beyond understanding.
Adrian released him and straightened.
"Don't assume I'm unaware of your actions behind my back," he said. "I simply choose not to care most of the time. So let's drop the idea of being allies."
He paused briefly.
"You and I both know that isn't what this is."
Sinestro pushed himself up slightly, wiping mud from his face.
"Then call it collaboration," he said hoarsely. "Ganthet is still alive. The Green Lantern Corps can recover. Balance must be maintained. The Sinestro Corps exists to counter them. Hal is essential to that balance."
Adrian regarded him with mild interest.
"Essential how?"
"His existence disrupts equilibrium," Sinestro replied. "Alive, he holds far greater value than dead."
Adrian said nothing. He simply turned his attention back to Hal.
At that moment, Talia returned, supporting Damian at her side. Her injured shoulder made movement difficult, and she leaned slightly on him for balance.
Her gaze settled on Adrian, complicated and guarded.
"Can we leave?" she asked.
"Yes," Adrian replied. "But remember what I told you."
Talia's brows tightened.
"You will never succeed," she said quietly.
"Perhaps," Adrian answered. "But you won't be the one to stop me."
Damian looked between them, conflicted. After a brief hesitation, he gathered his courage and stepped forward.
"Homelander," he said, "can I join you?"
Adrian glanced at him, momentarily surprised.
"Join me?"
"I want to fight like you," Damian said eagerly. "Against those who threaten Earth. You've always been someone I look up to."
"Enough, Damian," Talia snapped sharply. "We are leaving. Now."
Adrian's expression softened slightly as he studied the boy.
"You can," he said. "But first, you must prove yourself."
Damian's eyes lit up.
"How?"
"Kill Batman," Adrian said without hesitation.
The words hit like a shockwave.
Talia's eyes widened, disbelief and alarm overtaking her expression.
Did he know?
Her thoughts spiraled. The possibility unsettled her more than anything else.
She turned toward Damian, her heart tightening as she saw him actually considering it.
Before the tension could escalate further, Adrian turned away.
A sonic boom split the air.
A Kryptonian woman descended from the sky, landing nearby. She wore a black uniform, her posture confident and composed.
She gave Adrian a brief nod.
She had been engaged in battle at the Metropolis government building earlier.
"Take Hal," Adrian instructed.
She moved without hesitation.
Adrian stepped forward, preparing to leave. He paused briefly and looked at Clark.
"Are you coming?"
Clark hesitated, then nodded.
He had made his decision.
The war was over.
In a single night, Adrian had claimed victory in a conflict that spanned the planet.
In the aftermath, resistance across Earth collapsed rapidly. After witnessing the scale of Adrian's power, especially his battle against the Green Lantern Corps that nearly shattered the moon, few dared to oppose him any longer.
Across the world, celebrations erupted.
Crowds filled the streets, voices rising in unison.
"Long live the President!"
People embraced, cheered, and celebrated survival. The victory over the alien forces filled the planet with overwhelming relief and excitement.
Heroes across the globe looked to the sky. Diana, Bart, the Flash, the Wonder Twins, the Amazons of Themyscira, and Atlanteans led by Arthur Curry all witnessed the same sight.
Green Lanterns falling from the sky.
Hal Jordan crashing back to Earth.
And Adrian descending from above, returning from the battlefield beyond the atmosphere.
The cheers that followed echoed across the world.
For a long time, that energy did not fade.
Humanity had come to understand Adrian's significance.
Yet Adrian himself showed little interest in the reaction.
At that moment, he received a call from Bart.
After listening, he remained silent for a brief moment.
"Except for the Air Force colonel," Adrian said, "kill the rest."
The order referred to the captured former U.S. President and his group.
Hours earlier, deep underground, inside a secure facility modeled after the Oval Office, the former President sat in growing panic.
One communication line after another went silent.
His allies, leaders of resistance forces scattered across different regions, had all disappeared.
"What is happening?" he shouted into the phone. "Why can't I hear anything?"
The last voices he heard were filled with terror.
"We lost."
"They're here."
"We can't fight him."
Then silence.
The final line disconnected.
His strength left him as he collapsed into his chair.
It was over.
The door opened quietly.
A young Air Force colonel entered.
The former President recognized him vaguely but could not recall his name.
"Is there something so urgent that you couldn't knock?" he demanded weakly.
The officer said nothing.
He closed the door, locked it, and drew his pistol.
The President understood immediately.
"You're tired, Mr. President," the officer said coldly. "It's time to rest."
A gunshot echoed.
His life ended there, not at the hands of his enemies, but by one of his own.
Back in the present, Bart stood outside the room, his expression conflicted.
The colonel had already surrendered.
Behind him, the remaining members of the former President's team waited under guard.
Bart hesitated for a long time before giving the order.
Armed soldiers entered.
Gunfire followed.
Bart closed his eyes, unable to settle the unease within him.
"Still struggling with it?" Jena asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"I just think… maybe they should have faced trial," Bart said. "They deserved punishment, but also a chance to speak."
"Adrian wouldn't agree," Jena replied. "He doesn't believe in that."
Bart sighed.
"It feels like we're heading somewhere we can't turn back from."
Jena tilted her head slightly.
"Maybe," she said. "But we chose this path."
Bart said nothing more.
Far away, in Liverpool, England, the rain continued to fall.
John Constantine walked alone through the empty streets, his trench coat soaked, a cigarette glowing faintly in the darkness.
This was where he had been hiding from Adrian.
"I took every precaution," Constantine muttered. "Layers of protection, even beyond what the White House could manage. And yet…"
He looked ahead.
A destroyed wall lay in ruins, and within it, the body of a red-skinned Green Lantern.
"I didn't account for an alien dropping out of the sky."
He crouched beside the corpse, examining it.
"A real one too," he said quietly. "A cosmic cop."
Nearby, two human bodies lay buried beneath
debris.
Constantine sighed, glancing at the wreckage.
"More than two people lived here," he murmured.
As he stood, a small figure emerged from the rubble.
A young girl, covered in dirt and blood, crawled forward.
"John," she said weakly, recognizing him. "My mom and Steve went to get chips… have you seen them?"