Clark studied his older brother in silence, unable to understand what had changed in him.
Ever since they parted ways at Gotham City Hall, Clark had seemed determined to stand beside him completely.
"Clark."
Adrian exhaled quietly before speaking. "We both know who caused all of this."
The meaning behind his words was unmistakable.
"I'm not interested in arguing about our different paths anymore," Adrian continued. "But if you still remember where you came from, if Smallville still means anything to you, then stay silent. That would be better for everyone."
He paused before suddenly shifting topics.
"What about your little sidekick, Robin Girl? Why isn't she with you? Aren't you two inseparable these days?"
"She's fine," Clark replied after a brief silence. "The lightning struck us again. The power that separated from me, the power Amy carried, returned to my body."
"Adrian."
Clark drew in a slow breath.
"I can help you through this. Just like before. Back in Smallville, we fought side by side more times than I can count. We destroyed the Court of Owls together, resisted General Zod's invasion together, and stopped Brainiac's vampire conspiracy."
He spoke about the past with visible sincerity.
Clark hated many of Adrian's methods, but he also could not stand by and watch Adrian walk toward destruction.
That contradiction had always torn at him.
He opposed Adrian's actions, yet feared the day Adrian truly died.
It was the same hesitation that slowly drove Batman away from him. Clark constantly drifted between being Adrian's enemy and his brother.
Batman once believed Clark was the only person capable of stopping Adrian. Eventually, however, Bruce realized the truth.
Clark could never defeat Adrian because the first obstacle he needed to overcome was himself.
"I doubt that."
Adrian cut him off without hesitation.
"We're not walking the same road anymore, Clark. I don't trust you."
Clark frowned. "Why?"
"Because any sane person would question someone who changes sides every other day."
Adrian's expression remained steady, though his distrust was obvious.
"You disappear without explanation, then return pretending to be some savior. Then you vanish again and come back standing against your own family. That's how you've always been, Clark. Contradictory."
"That's because we disagree," Clark answered, defending himself. "And your answer to disagreements has always been force. I don't want things to end that way, so sometimes I step back."
"Then keep stepping back."
Adrian cast him a cold glance before preparing to leave the moon.
He bent his knees slightly, then launched upward. Lightning erupted around him as his body transformed into a streak of blue-white energy racing toward Earth.
Clark watched him disappear into the darkness of space.
His lips pressed into a thin line.
Regret surfaced almost immediately.
He had come to help Adrian, yet somehow they ended up arguing again.
Clark knew part of the blame rested with him.
When the Green Lantern Corps arrived earlier, he should have stood beside Adrian immediately instead of hesitating.
But after the battle at Gotham City Hall, he had remained in Coast City, struggling with the aftermath and with his own thoughts.
What exactly was Adrian to him now?
Family?
An enemy?
Or both?
Clark stood on the moon in silence for several minutes before finally looking toward Earth again.
Adrian was already long gone.
Only the massive blue planet remained before him, hanging silently in space.
Clark crouched slightly, then shot forward at tremendous speed toward Earth.
---
Star City, Palm Lake
Palm Lake had once been the ugliest scar on Star City's map.
It was a wasteland filled with poverty, abandoned buildings, and hopeless people waiting for life to grind them into dust.
But the Palm Lake of today no longer resembled the slum it once was.
After months of reconstruction, the district had slowly regained signs of life.
Following Adrian's rise to the presidency, Malcolm Merlyn effectively became the ruler behind Star City's operations. Under his direction, large-scale renovations began across Palm Lake.
Rotting apartment blocks and abandoned factories were demolished or restored. New housing projects rose from the ruins. Public schools and welfare centers funded by city hall opened their doors one after another.
Palm Lake was still far from becoming a prosperous district like the Upper East Side, but at least its residents no longer wandered through life like empty shells.
For the first time in years, people saw a future worth waiting for.
The number of homeless people huddling around burning trash barrels decreased steadily, largely thanks to welfare programs funded through the Merlyn Group.
The unemployed received work opportunities through the docks and factories, while those unable to find jobs received financial assistance from the government.
Even the gangs that once dominated the area had nearly vanished. Former criminals either found employment or disappeared from the streets entirely.
At first, many residents mocked the reforms, believing they were merely another performance staged by the wealthy.
But over time, skepticism faded.
The changes were real.
People could see them with their own eyes.
And because of that, support for President Adrian continued to rise among ordinary citizens.
Everyone knew who was responsible for transforming Palm Lake.
---
Not far from the rebuilt slums stood Star City's wealthy district, a place so different from Palm Lake that it felt like another world entirely.
Inside a luxurious villa, Damian stared upward in amazement as green light streaked across the night sky.
"What's that?"
"Obviously Green Lanterns," the woman beside him replied, her brows furrowing slightly.
Talia al Ghul looked toward the distant horizon with concern.
The battle in Coast City had clearly spread farther than expected.
Since arriving in Star City from Nanda Parbat several days earlier, Talia and Damian had been staying in the city while temporarily delaying the League of Assassins' plans.
The conflict between the Green Lantern Corps and Homelander had started in the morning and still had not ended by nightfall.
That alone showed how terrifying the battle truly was.
---
In the next room, Ra's al Ghul stood quietly by the window.
Green light reflected faintly across his weathered face.
He understood exactly what he was witnessing.
The battle between the Green Lantern Corps and Adrian had reached a scale beyond ordinary imagination.
"Is this truly Eric Kent's power?" Ra's murmured. "The power to move planets with a single gesture."
He had personally witnessed Adrian stopping a massive celestial body from crashing into Earth.
The sight still lingered in his mind like a divine revelation.
Ra's slowly removed his dark golden robe, allowing it to fall to the floor. Beneath it, his black combat attire emphasized the strength hidden beneath his aging appearance.
His gaze shifted toward the darkness beyond the city.
"So Oliver Queen is really dead?"
Regret flickered in his eyes.
Even now, he struggled to accept that the man he once viewed as a perfect weapon had vanished completely.
Oliver Queen had possessed remarkable potential.
The brutality he displayed surviving on Lian Yu, his relentless battles against mercenaries, and the willpower that kept him alive through impossible conditions all impressed Ra's deeply.
If circumstances had been different, Ra's would have personally shaped Oliver into one of the League's greatest blades.
Unfortunately, Bruce Wayne's betrayal and Batman's destruction of the Nanda Parbat base forced him to redirect his attention toward Europe, where the League still maintained significant influence.
He needed to restore fear.
Restore authority.
Restore the myth surrounding the Demon's Head.
"It is easy for men to become gods in the eyes of others," Ra's said softly. "What is difficult is remaining above them."
Cold wind swept through the open window as he stared into the night.
"For centuries, humanity has feared the unknown. They worship miracles because they do not wish to face truth."
His voice deepened.
"Millions of years ago, the first ape that created fire separated itself from ordinary beasts. Thousands of years ago, a Nazarene gathered followers and became the Son of God after death. Humanity has always preferred legends over reality."
Ra's smiled faintly.
"And I understood that."
His eyes narrowed.
"That is why they feared me. Why they worshipped me."
But tonight, uncertainty lingered in his mind.
Adrian's existence challenged everything he had built.
A man with overwhelming power did not need deception or mythology.
He simply existed.
Ra's turned toward Palm Lake again.
He originally intended to destroy Star City just as he once planned to destroy Gotham. Malcolm Merlyn had been chosen to carry out that plan.
Yet Malcolm betrayed him.
Years earlier, Malcolm had already pledged loyalty to Adrian and exposed the League's secrets.
That betrayal shattered everything.
Now Star City, instead of collapsing into ruin, was slowly changing under Adrian's rule.
Even Palm Lake was recovering.
For the first time in centuries, Ra's felt uncertainty creeping into his convictions.
"No."
His voice hardened.
"My cause cannot allow doubt."
He forced himself to steady his breathing.
"I understand miracles better than anyone. Resurrection, fear, faith, all of them are tools."
Madness briefly flashed in his eyes.
"I am a god."
His voice dropped lower.
"And even Eric Kent cannot stop me."
---
"Mother."
Damian looked toward Talia with unconcealed curiosity.
"Have you met Homelander before?"
Compared to Batman, Damian found Adrian far more fascinating.
Batman hunted criminals only to hand them over to police who eventually released them again.
Damian hated that weakness.
Violence should answer violence.
That was why he admired Adrian.
A man who could fly, burn enemies with his eyes, and show no mercy to criminals felt far more worthy of respect.
"Of course I've met him," Talia replied evenly. "More than once."
Damian's eyes brightened.
"What kind of person is he?"
Talia remained silent for several seconds.
Then she crouched slightly and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Do you really want to know?"
Damian stiffened immediately.
He could already sense her mood worsening.
Still, curiosity overcame caution.
"Yes… I do."
Talia's expression darkened.
"He's an asshole," she said coldly. "And if you ever become like him, it would be a disaster."
Her thoughts drifted back to Gotham Harbor.
That night remained burned into her memory.
Her carefully prepared operation had been destroyed by Superman and Homelander.
Superman behaved like a villain, while Adrian appeared righteous as the two tore through the docks in a devastating battle.
Yet what angered her most was not the destruction.
It was Adrian's complete indifference toward her.
The dismissive look in his eyes still filled her with irritation whenever she remembered it.
Talia al Ghul had always been proud.
And pride was not something she allowed others to trample on.
===
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