Location: Watchtower – Command Deck
Elias was walking out.
He had his mission: Sector 666, the forbidden Vault, the whispers of power left buried by dead Lanterns and discarded gods.
But before the doors could part — they slammed shut.
And then a red and blue blur landed behind him like a meteor.
Superman.
This wasn't farm-boy Clark.
This was Kal-El, son of Krypton. Eyes glowing. Chest heaving. No smile. No mercy.
"I warned you," Kal said, voice thunderous.
Elias didn't turn. "You should've hit me the first time, Boy Scout. It'd have saved you the embarrassment."
Superman blurred.
Elias flew backward like a ragdoll through titanium glass.
He smashed into the adjacent corridor, cratering the floor, ribs groaning under the pressure of that first real punch. The Watchtower shook.
Blood dripped from his lip.
The taste of iron only widened his grin.
"Oh," Elias said, coughing. "So Daddy finally came off his pedestal."
Superman was there again. No banter. No warning.
The second punch folded Elias like paper.
He flew through three walls, bounced off a reactor core shield, and slammed to the deck, skidding fifty feet.
[System Damage: 32% Integrity Loss]
[Warning: Kryptonian Velocity Impact Detected – Kinetic Threshold Exceeded]
Elias laughed through the blood.
"That all you got, sun-boy?"
Kal didn't answer.
He grabbed Elias by the throat — not gently.
Lifted him off the floor and slammed him against the hull.
"You crossed every line. You insulted every member of this team. You abused power you don't understand. You slapped people who've saved this planet more times than you've drawn breath."
"You forgot threatened to burn your fortress down," Elias coughed. "That one was personal."
CRACK.
Kal's fist landed again — straight into Elias's sternum. The Omega mark pulsed — then dimmed.
[System Staggered – Recharge Required]
"You're not a god," Kal growled. "You're a scared man with a death wish."
Elias spit blood.
"Scared? No. I'm annoyed. Mostly at your overinflated ego and that dumb curl on your forehead."
Kal's grip tightened.
Elias's vision blurred, edges dimming.
"You think you're above everything. Justice. Law. Limits."
"I am."
Superman slammed him through the floor — a free fall into the Watchtower's engine level.
They crashed through energy conduits, support beams, gravity stabilizers.
At the bottom, Elias lay broken, coughing, skin split open.
Kal floated down, silent, calm, terrible.
"You don't get to decide who lives and dies."
Elias dragged himself to one knee.
"I decide who regrets living."
Kal's eyes blazed.
Then the heat vision hit.
Point-blank.
Elias screamed — agony, fire, raw destruction dancing across his chest. His body convulsed.
[System Alert: Omega Barrier Breach – Internal Core Compromised]
His Omega tattoo burned so hot it bled light.
Kal cut the beam.
Elias slumped, gasping, smoke rising off his skin.
"Still breathing?" Kal asked quietly.
Elias coughed… and smiled again.
"You're the one bleeding."
Kal glanced down.
Blood dripped from his palm — from a burn along his knuckles.
Elias's blood was now laced with raw Omega energy.
Kal stepped back, uncertain for a moment.
"You're changing," he said.
Elias wiped his mouth.
"I'm evolving."
[System Status: 68% Critical Damage]
[Omega Regrowth – Engaged]
[Passive Acquired: Kryptonian Combat Adaptation – Strength Scaling in Future Encounters]
Elias stood up, bones cracking into place.
"You had your moment, Kal. I let you have it. You needed to feel in control."
Kal frowned. "You LET me?"
"You don't get it. Pain's the only language I'm fluent in."
He limped forward.
Then pointed a finger in Kal's face.
"The next time you hit me, make sure I don't get back up. Because if I do? I'm redecorating Kansas with your spine."
Kal stared.
Elias's grin widened, wicked and smug.
"Now get out of my way."
Kal didn't move.
But he didn't stop him either.
Elias limped to the teleport pad, bleeding, broken, smiling like a devil who just learned he could bleed fire.
[Teleportation Activated – Destination: Sector 666]
[System Rebooting During Transit…]
[Warning: Tracing Unknown Signal Attached to Coordinates]
As he dissolved into light, Elias whispered:
"Time to dig up some real demons…"