uneBatman's helmet ear had been broken off, and rage flickered in his eyes. His other hand balled into a fist and struck Clark's cheek with precision.
Clark released the broken piece and stepped back. Batman did the same, instantly producing a grappling gun and firing it at him.
Bang!
Dense ropes wrapped around Clark's body, yet he barely noticed. Ordinary humans could never harm him. He was beyond them.
"These are just toys," Clark said, tearing through the ropes effortlessly. "One ear down and you think you can stop me, Batman?"
He moved forward, but a sharp crack sounded beneath his foot. Something encased in metal had been crushed, releasing an invisible ultrasonic wave. Clark's enhanced hearing instantly detected it, his head assaulted by piercing pain as the wave hit his auditory system.
"Ugh!" Clark groaned, stumbling two steps back, clutching his head. The wave ceased after thirty seconds.
Dizziness fading, he lifted his gaze to see gray smoke and dust swirling. Batman had vanished, using the haze as cover.
Whoosh!
Batman swung across a skyscraper wall with a grappling hook, removing the poisoned gas filter from his mouth and surveying the distant city. Even against superhuman opponents like Clark, Batman relied on ingenuity, knowing that enhanced abilities carried vulnerabilities. Ultrasonic waves could incapacitate even a Kryptonian-enhanced body.
Touching his broken ear, Batman's gaze hardened. "Even if he is invincible, I will find a way to punish him."
Morning arrived. Adrian attended Lex Luthor's funeral with his parents. Experiencing a wedding and a funeral for the same person in quick succession was new to him. Though he doubted Lex's demise was genuine, he indulged in observing the ceremony.
He noticed familiar faces: Ms. Atkins, Lana Lang, and the priest officiating both Lex's wedding and now his funeral.
"Hey, Adrian," Lana greeted, her eyes slightly red. Lex had been her friend, and his investments had saved her family's café from closure.
Adrian, holding white chrysanthemums, nodded. Comforting others was never his forte, so he remained silent.
"Lex was a hero; he gave others a chance at life," Lana murmured, stepping closer.
"Perhaps, but stories are often told as others wish them to be seen," Adrian replied casually, uninterested in emotional platitudes.
Dr. Helen arrived, clad in black, but Lionel Luthor immediately barred her.
"I don't want you here. You conspired and caused my son's death, now posing as a philanthropist? I will expose you," Lionel seethed.
"I am a victim too, and I mourn Lex," Helen said calmly.
"Your lies fool no one. Inheriting Lex's fortune doesn't make you a socialite. I will watch you, always."
Helen's expression remained unshaken. She approached the pulpit, delivering her speech with measured precision.
Adrian, seated beside his parents, observed silently. The family drama amused him. Lex's life or death was irrelevant; human folly was far more entertaining.
He noticed a shadow behind a stone pillar: Clark Kent, clad in designer brands and sunglasses, observing the funeral with detached curiosity.
Lana also glimpsed Clark, her eyes widening. "It's him," she whispered. But by the time she blinked, he had vanished.
Clark, now in a secluded road, paused. Despite the red kryptonite ring amplifying his selfish tendencies, Lex's funeral compelled him to pay respects.
"Clark," a voice said.
He turned to see Adrian less than twenty meters away.
Clark tensed. Adrian could close that distance instantly. He might outrun humans, but not his brother.
"Hey, Adrian, how's the farm?" Clark asked.
"Not bad. I hear you're thriving in Metropolis," Adrian replied evenly. "Robbing banks, flaunting wealth, defying the law—certainly enviable days."
Clark exhaled. "You know about it?"
"Yes. Media reports cover everything. Even our parents know. Your physique alone gives you away."
Clark, wearing the red kryptonite ring, bristled. "If you're trying to convince me to return, forget it. Jonathan said we must let go of burdens and start anew. This is my path."
"Is that so?" Adrian said, unsurprised.
Clark nodded. "Yes. No one can change my choices."
Adrian's calm demeanor remained, but his words carried weight. "Good. The world doesn't revolve around one person. Your absence barely caused a stir."
Clark smiled, a mix of relief and mockery. "Wonderful. Jonathan isn't my father, Martha isn't my mother, and you, Adrian, aren't my brother. We walk separate paths, free of interference."
"And you," Clark said coolly, "continue guarding your farm for life."
Clark smirked, turning the scoundrel's charm up a notch. "And Lana?"
Adrian's interest sharpened. Clark's red kryptonite ring enhanced his powers and his chaos, yet Adrian noted the subtle Kryptonian effects: biomagnetic fields, yellow sun cell strengthening, slight green kryptonite repulsion.
Clark waved off the question. "Lana refused to come to Metropolis with me. She's a passerby."
"Scumbag behavior," Adrian muttered, amused but observant.
Clark put on sunglasses and vanished in a gust of wind. Adrian did not pursue. He had marked Clark with the Cosmic Scepter, tracking him at will.
Returning to Lex's funeral, Adrian heard Lana exclaim, "I saw him!"
"Yes, it was Clark," Adrian confirmed. "But he's gone. People like him only stop when they hit a wall."
He approached Jonathan and Martha, only to meet Lionel. "You must be Adrian," Lionel said, extending a hand.
"I am. Have we met before?" Adrian asked coldly.
"Probably not, but Lex spoke highly of you. He called you a genius."
Adrian's lips curved in a faint, knowing smile.