[Third Person Pov]
The ruined room had become a shattered battlefield, with broken ceilings, scorched walls, and debris scattered everywhere. Clark lay in the crater for only a moment before his eyes snapped upward, locking onto the floating figure beside Cranis.
'That's not fucking Ultraman,' Clark thought, a flash of disbelief and confusion crossing his mind. 'That's freaking Metro Man. What the fuck is up with this universe? Where the did I reincarnate?!'
Without wasting another second, Clark planted both hands firmly on the cracked floor above his shoulders and kicked upward with explosive power. The motion launched him smoothly and violently toward his opponent. His knee connected squarely under Ultraman's chin with devastating force.
**BOOM!**
A thunderous shockwave erupted from the point of impact, ripping through the entire room like a bomb detonation. Every wall gained deep lines of fractures that spiderwebbed outward instantly. Furniture was hurled aside while loose rubble from the ceiling showered around them. The force sent Ultraman rocketing upward through the already-damaged ceiling, carving out yet another gaping pathway through the upper floors just as Clark had done earlier.
The same shockwave caught Cranis completely off guard. The tyrant was lifted off his feet and sent tumbling wildly across the destroyed office space, crashing through overturned tables and broken chairs before slamming into a far corner.
Clark descended slowly back to the ground, landing with casual grace. He brushed dust and debris from his shoulders with the back of his hand, his expression calm but cold.
"If there's one thing I don't like," he said evenly, rubbing a hand over where he was hit earlier "it's being made a fool."
His glowing red eyes shifted sharply toward Cranis, who was sprawled on the floor. The tyrant scrambled backward on his hands and knees, eyes wide with terror.
"Where was I?" Clark asked, voice low and menacing as he took a deliberate step forward. "Oh, that's right. I was about to incinerate your ass."
Cranis crawled desperately away, one hand outstretched in panic. "W-wait! Wait—!"
Clark pumped his right fist once like he was striking a match. Flames suddenly ignited across his knuckles with a sharp *whoosh*, burning bright and hot. He scoffed, the corner of his mouth curling.
"Sorry. Perhaps if I was wearing blue, I would've listened."
Cranis continued crawling backward frantically, his ceremonial crown damaged and his face drenched in sweat. Clark sucked the flames from his fist into his mouth in one fluid motion. The outside of his cheeks glowed intensely from the contained inferno as he drew in a massive breath through his nose, his chest expanding powerfully.
Cranis screamed at the top of his lungs, voice cracking with raw fear. "SAVE ME!"
High above the planet, Ultraman crashed hard against the atmospheric dome. The impact was far more violent than Clark's earlier collision, sending powerful ripples spreading across the entire energy shield like waves on a pond. Ultraman braced both legs firmly against the barrier, muscles bulging, then kicked off with tremendous force.
The world slowed down around him as he accelerated to super speed. He streaked back through the ruptures his body had created, descending like a black-and-silver meteor. In his slowed perception, he saw Clark clearly — Superman's silhouette glowed as he exhaled a ferocious torrent of super-heated flames, the fire twisting and roaring forward in the vivid image of a mighty dragon breathing death upon its enemy.
Despite everything moving in extreme slow motion for Ultraman, Clark's eyes tracked his descent with supernatural calm and precision, following him at full speed.
Ultraman rushed forward, positioning himself protectively in front of Cranis just in time. He took a deep breath and unleashed a colossal frost breath. The two opposing forces collided like tidal waves — Clark's roaring flames against Ultraman's freezing gale. They met in the middle of the room with a high-tide explosion of elemental fury. Fire and ice erupted violently outward, layering the walls, floor, and ceiling in alternating patches of scorching flames and thick frost.
Through the dense fog of steam and smoke, Ultraman charged forward, parting it with raw power as he threw a heavy punch toward what he believed was Clark's silhouette. His fist only met empty air and a swirling cloud of red Sunstone sand—Clark had used his cape as a diversion.
Ultraman spun around in momentary confusion, scanning the ruined space.
Clark phased up silently from the floor directly behind him, eyes blazing with power, fist cocked low at his waist and ready to deliver a devastating uppercut. As the punch rocketed forward towards his spine, Ultraman whirled and met it head-on with a powerful headbutt. The collision stopped the blow's momentum dead. A sharp crack echoed through the room.
Clark's eyes widened slightly in surprise. A thin trickle of blood ran down Ultraman's forehead from the gash, yet his expression remained completely indifferent.
Both warriors narrowed their eyes at the same moment.
Then they dissolved into a fast and furious melee.
They moved at super speed around the ruined office, their bodies little more than blurs of red-gold and black-silver. Every punch, block, and kick generated powerful shockwaves that further demolished what remained of the penthouse. The air itself cracked with the force of their exchanges.
Cranis had dragged himself into a far corner, one hand clutching his pounding heart as he gasped for air. He tried desperately to follow the two god-like figures with his eyes but failed completely. Each thunderous impact sent vibrations through the floor and his bones. His eyes trembled with mounting fear as he watched the exchange.
'They're not mortals… No mortal is capable of moving that fast or generating such strength… They're… they're gods.'
Clark fought with disciplined precision, utilizing his advanced Kryptonian martial arts to block and redirect Ultraman's immense strength back at him. Unlike on the ground, the open space in the air allowed him limitless freedom of movement. He leaned all the way forward, planking horizontally in mid-air to dodge a vicious elbow strike and a simultaneous blast of heat vision. When Ultraman tried to follow up with a crushing knee, Clark stopped the attack with one hand, using the leverage to execute a fluid rotating flip. His boot connected squarely with Ultraman's face, sending the Metro Man's lookalike tumbling violently across the ruined floor.
Ultraman spat a mouthful of blood to the side. His muscles coiled visibly, tightening with raw power. Then he launched forward, leaving a visible ring of compressed air behind him. He tackled Clark with savage force, driving both of them straight through the outer wall in a shower of debris.
The sudden breach caused powerful winds to rush into the room, whipping violently against Cranis's hair. The tyrant nearly suffered a heart attack from the close call. Shaking, he brought a trembling wrist to his mouth and activated a hidden communicator.
"Bring me Weapon X," he rasped, voice filled with desperation. "Now!"
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