[Third Person Pov]
"Sol, I need you to report the incident involving the overpass and suspend any more trains from passing through until it's thoroughly checked and secured," Clark added, his voice steady as he continued to look over the structure. He didn't rush the inspection. Even though he trusted his own work, he still moved carefully along the length of the repaired section, eyes tracing every line and joint. Caution wasn't something he ignored, especially not when people's lives depended on it.
Clark then raised a hand and slowly ran his fingers across the sections he had welded back together under his own supervision, feeling for any inconsistencies, any weakness that might not be visible at a glance.
"What do you think, Kal-El?" Sol inquired, its tone neutral but expectant.
Clark paused briefly before answering, his gaze sharpening as he focused on the damage more closely. "The incisions were too clean. There's no way this is an accident. It was deliberately cut," he said, his expression tightening into a hard glare. "Sol, you know what to do."
Sol responded immediately, without hesitation. "Commencing detection for any alien life-force."
Far off in the distance, perched atop a telephone pole, a little girl stood watching. Her golden blonde hair was styled into neat pigtails, and she wore a gothic black dress that contrasted sharply against her pale skin. Her red eyes, cold and unreadable, narrowed slightly as she observed the scene unfolding ahead of her.
'That was a quick response… too quick,' she thought, analyzing the situation with quiet focus.
Her attention snapped inward as the space around her suddenly shifted. The sky above darkened unnaturally, turning pitch black in an instant as the environment distorted and folded in on itself.
"An Empty Space," she murmured under her breath, her voice low as she looked around at the void surrounding her.
"Alien life-force detected," Sol stated, its voice carrying with mechanical precision.
"I've been found," she muttered, a faint shiver running down her spine as she felt it—an overwhelming presence locking onto her.
Far away, Clark slowly turned his head in her direction, his eyes glowing red as they fixed onto her exact position despite the distance between them.
In the next instant, he vanished.
She felt it immediately. A suffocating presence materialized behind her, heavy and inescapable.
Reacting on instinct, she spun around and leapt off the pole. As she moved, her golden hair shifted and transformed, the pigtails extending outward and reshaping into large, blade-like constructs meant for cutting.
Before she could create distance, a hand clamped tightly around her neck. The force behind it stopped her completely, cutting off her movement as a choking sound escaped her throat.
"You wanted my attention, right? Now you've got it… but just know you aren't going to like it very much."
She grunted, struggling against the grip as pressure built around her throat. Her transformed pigtails lashed out immediately, the blade-like extensions slicing toward Clark's neck with lethal intent.
Instead of cutting through, they struck him with a harsh metallic sound. Sparks burst outward on contact, scattering briefly through the air before fading.
"Wha—" she started, disbelief flashing across her face as the realization set in. A cold sweat began to form along her back.
"Cute," Clark said, a faint grin forming as he looked at her. "Now my turn."
Before she could react further, Clark drove his fist straight into her stomach.
The impact forced a gagging sound from her as the air was knocked out of her lungs. For a brief moment, her thoughts went completely blank. Her body was launched backward at high speed, tearing through the air before slamming directly into the overpass he had just repaired.
The structure gave way under the force, breaking apart into chunks of concrete and metal as debris scattered in every direction.
Her awareness snapped back as she tumbled through the wreckage. She twisted midair and forced her body into a controlled flip before landing, her feet hitting the ground as she slid backward to stabilize herself.
Clark appeared in front of her again almost instantly.
Her expression hardened as sharp claws formed over her fingers. Without hesitation, she lunged forward, closing the distance and unleashing a rapid series of strikes. Each movement was fast, deliberate, and aimed directly at his vital points.
Clark didn't retreat. With minimal movement, he deflected every attack, his hands moving just enough to knock each strike off course.
He activated his heat vision, red beams flashing toward her.
She reacted just as quickly, her body shifting with practiced precision as she dodged. The beams missed her by inches and carved a glowing line across the ground behind her, the surface heating and splitting under the intensity.
White wings suddenly spread from her back, extending outward as she pushed off the ground and took to the air.
Clark followed immediately, launching himself upward after her as the fight carried into the sky.
They collided in the sky again before either of them could gain distance, their movements snapping from one point to another so quickly that the air itself cracked in their wake. Each exchange lasted only an instant before it flowed into the next, their bodies blurring as they cut across the empty expanse of the darkened dimension.
She adapted faster than most opponents Clark had ever faced. The nanobots that made up her body reconfigured with precision, forming weapons mid-motion without any delay.
Her right arm extended outward and unraveled into a thick, segmented chain, the end of it expanding into a massive spiked ball. She swung it in a wide arc, the weapon cutting through the air with enough force to distort it.
Clark didn't dodge. He reached out and caught the chain just before the arc could complete, his grip tightening as the spikes scraped against his palm and forearm. The impact sent a shock through the air, but he held firm.
Before he could pull her in, the chain dissolved in his grasp. The nanobots scattered and reformed instantly.
Her arm reshaped into a long, curved scythe, the blade forming with a sharp metallic edge that gleamed faintly even in the dark. She stepped in and swung it low, the motion clean and efficient, aimed directly at his torso.
Clark shifted his weight midair, rotating his body just enough for the blade to pass by him. He felt the edge brush against his suit, but it didn't slow him.
The scythe collapsed again and expanded into something heavier. A massive hammer formed over her arm, dense and solid, and she brought it down toward him with both speed and weight behind it.
Clark raised his arm and met it directly. The hammer struck his forearm with a deep, resonant impact that echoed outward, a ripple forming in the air around them.
He held it there for a moment, then pushed it aside. "interesting power," he muttered, his gaze sharpening as he tracked the constant changes in her form.
She didn't pause. The hammer broke apart into dozens of smaller segments that shot toward him like projectiles, each one reshaping into blades mid-flight.
Clark moved through them, knocking some aside and letting others glance off him as he closed the distance.
He reached back and grabbed hold of his sunstone cape. At his command, the material reacted immediately, hardening and reshaping as it flowed into the form of a greatsword in his hand. The surface of the blade carried a contained glow, heat building along its edge.
Clark swung it in a horizontal arc.
The motion released a burst of fire that expanded outward, a wide wave that rolled through the air and struck her head-on.
The force drove her back, her body flickering as the nanobots adjusted under the heat. She was sent skidding through the sky before stabilizing, the damage repairing almost as quickly as it formed.
Clark didn't give her time to recover. He followed immediately, closing the gap and swinging again. Each strike of the blade released another flash of fire, forcing her to keep moving, to keep adapting just to stay in the fight.
"Who are you?" Clark asked, his voice steady even as he pressed the attack, his sword carving another burning arc toward her.
She didn't respond.
Her expression didn't change, her red eyes fixed on him but empty, like there was nothing behind them.
"Why are you on Earth?" he continued, shifting his grip and bringing the blade down in a vertical strike that detonated against her guard, sending her dropping lower in the sky.
Still no answer.
Clark's eyes narrowed slightly. "You're here for me, aren't you?"
Nothing. No reaction, no hesitation. Just that same dull stare.
She surged forward again, her arms splitting and reshaping into twin scythes this time, both blades crossing toward his neck and midsection in a coordinated strike.
Clark twisted his body between them, the blades passing within inches of him before he countered with a sweeping slash.
The burst of flame from his sword hit her directly and drove her downward.
She crashed into the ground below, the impact cracking the surface of the empty city and sending debris outward in a sharp ring.
Clark followed, descending quickly and landing a short distance away from her.
He inhaled deeply and exhaled, unleashing a stream of freezing air. The temperature around her dropped instantly, layers of ice forming and expanding in jagged formations that locked her in place, climbing up her body and sealing her completely.
For a moment, she was still.
Then the ice split.
Thin lines formed across the frozen surface before it shattered apart. Her arms had already shifted, forming narrow, blade-like edges that cut through the ice with precise, efficient movements. She stepped out of the broken structure without hesitation.
Clark exhaled slowly, watching the fragments fall away. "Of course that wouldn't hold."
She moved again, faster now, closing the distance as her arms reshaped into long, piercing lances.
Clark knocked one aside and caught the other before it could reach him, twisting his body and forcing her off balance. "Sol, analysis. Have you found anything?"
"Two distinct sources of technology detected," Sol responded immediately.
Clark shifted his stance as she recovered, her limbs splitting again into multiple bladed extensions that lashed out at him from different angles. He deflected each strike with controlled movements, never overcommitting. "Go on."
"The first source is her body itself. It is composed entirely of nanobots, enabling her to transform into various weaponized configurations."
She pressed harder, her attacks coming faster now, blades, spikes, and blunt weapons forming and dissolving in rapid succession. Clark continued to intercept them, redirecting each strike just enough to avoid taking the full force.
"The second source is internal," Sol continued. "It is exerting control over a portion of the nanobot network, primarily those surrounding her head. Conclusion: she is under external influence."
Clark's focus sharpened. "So she's being controlled."
"Affirmative."
His gaze flicked toward her face again. The lack of expression, the dullness in her eyes, it lined up.
"Can we break that control?" he asked.
Her response came in the form of another attack. Her hair expanded outward, splitting into multiple large, fist-shaped constructs that surged toward him all at once, each one striking with enough force to crater the ground if they connected.
Clark stepped forward into the barrage instead of retreating.
His fists moved just as fast, meeting each incoming strike head-on. Every impact cracked through the air as he blocked, redirected, and countered, his movements efficient and controlled despite the speed.
"Possible," Sol answered. "Direct physical contact is required to initiate disruption."
Clark's expression settled. "Then let's do it."
He drew in a sharp breath and released a powerful shout.
The sound carried force, striking her directly. Her movements stuttered, just for a moment as she held her ears in pain.
That was enough.
Clark moved instantly. His legs ignited with a burning red glow as he launched forward, closing the distance in an instant and striking her with a heavy blow that sent her flying backward.
She tore through a nearby skyscraper, the structure collapsing as she passed through it, the upper floors folding in as the entire building began to give way.
Clark followed at full speed.
He appeared in front of her before she could recover, twisting his body midair and spinning to build momentum. His fist ignited, heat building rapidly as he completed the motion.
He brought it down with full force.
The impact sent her plummeting straight down, her body cutting through the air like a falling meteor before slamming into the ground. The collision detonated outward, forming a massive crater as debris scattered across the empty city.
Clark slowed as he descended, hovering briefly before lowering himself into the crater.
She lay at the center, her form damaged, parts of her gothic dress burned away, bruising visible along her stomach. Her movements were slower now, her body struggling to stabilize as the nanobots flickered.
Clark stepped forward and reached down, grabbing her by the head and lifting her into the air.
"Sol. Now."
"Initiating disruption."
Arcs of golden energy crackled along Clark's fingers as Sol began to influence the technology with her body.
Her body tensed violently.
Then the scream came.
A sharp, piercing shriek tore from her throat as the external control began to break, her entire form convulsing under the strain.
"Ahhhh!!!"
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