The moment the crowd heard that Adrian killed Irene, chaos erupted.
Gasps and terrified shouts filled the ballroom as students stared at Adrian with shock and fury.
Before anyone could process what was happening, several girls from the sorority, some of whom were vampires, rushed toward Adrian with feral looks in their eyes.
The first girl launched herself forward, rage burning in her expression as she swung at Adrian's head.
Adrian did not flinch. With a single, effortless motion he met her attack. His backhand caught her chin and slammed her body forcefully against the nearby wall.
Crash!
The impact cracked marble and splintered stone. Her spine snapped with a chilling crunch, and her lifeless body slid to the floor in a heavy thud.
Another vampire leapt at Adrian, but he extended a hand to block her strike without hesitation. Her supernatural speed and strength were nothing compared to Adrian's controlled power.
He seized her dress at the chest, then slammed her to the marble floor with brutal precision.
Crack!
The floor shattered where she landed. Dust and stone fragments erupted into the air.
She did not move again.
A third girl, seeing her companions fall, hesitated in fear.
That pause was all Adrian needed.
With a single precise punch he sent her flying backward at terrifying speed. She crashed into the crowd, bodies tumbling as terrified students were struck.
Screams rose in all directions as people ran for the exits. No one had ever seen anything like this — a man so deadly, so cold and powerful, right in the middle of a party.
Betty grabbed her friend's hand, pulling her toward the exit as their hearts pounded with terror.
Thump, thump, thump!
They sprinted toward the broken floor, breathless and panicked.
Bang!
A worse horror struck them — the ballroom doors slammed shut on their own.
No matter how hard the frightened students pounded on the metal doors, they did not budge. Screams of desperation mixed with curses as panic spread like wildfire.
A few boys, trembling with fear, charged at Adrian, intending to stop him, but he dismissed them with a single slap that sent them flying across the floor.
Thud!
Adrian landed in front of the fleeing group like an unstoppable force. The remaining students trembled, paralyzed by fear.
Many covered their faces and whispered prayers.
Betty stood at the front, staring at Adrian's back with wide, disbelieving eyes.
Then something unbelievable happened.
The body of Irene, whom Adrian had killed moments ago, rose shakily from the ground.
Crack!
She snapped her own neck back into place as though life had returned to her.
"Is the heart really the only fatal weakness?" Adrian said quietly.
Before Irene could react further, crimson heat vision lit up his eyes and flared outward.
Her revived body ignited instantly with a painful scream.
Flames engulfed her, spreading rapidly through the room and setting nearby decorations ablaze.
Smoke began to fill the ballroom.
Students who had found their way to the second‑floor windows began breaking glass with chairs and shouting down to others.
"You can jump from here and survive! Go!"
With terror in their eyes, students began leaping out of the windows into the grass below.
Betty, dust‑soaked and trembling, struggled to her feet. She pulled her dress up and sprinted toward the stairwell.
Her breath came in ragged gasps as she climbed, bleeding and exhausted, until she finally reached a second‑floor window.
Before she jumped, she glanced back at Adrian standing below amid smoke and flames.
"Maybe everyone was wrong," Betty whispered as she leapt, "Maybe Adrian Kent isn't trying to hurt us… maybe he's trying to save us."
Thud!
She hit the ground and lay there in stunned silence, her mind racing with disbelief.
The students who survived stood outside in shock and terror, staring at the sorority house in the night.
Inside, Adrian turned away from what remained of Irene's ashes.
Vampires were known for their ability to regenerate, but this was unexpected even by myth.
His eyes narrowed as he observed the remaining vampires struggling to rise from the ground in the distance.
They would not pose an immediate threat.
Adrian left them where they were.
The next day, news of the horrifying incident at Metropolis University spread across the campus like wildfire.
Most students refused to believe the stories of violence and terror that came from people who had escaped. The police inspected the sorority house and found no bodies, so the case was ultimately classified as a disappearance.
Since Adrian was wearing a Batman mask during the events, no one suspected his true identity. Although Betty had recognized him, for reasons unknown she and her roommate did not report that to the authorities.
—
Confrontation in the Park
Before long, Adrian found himself being confronted in a quiet park behind the school.
Green Lantern and Supergirl Kara, both known from the future and allied with the Justice Society, stood there with serious expressions.
"Did you kill those students?" Kara asked Adrian without hesitation, her blue eyes fierce.
Her tone was accusatory, but beneath it was a genuine concern for human life.
Adrian looked at her without flinching.
"You always show up as soon as something happens," he said coldly.
Kara tilted her head slightly, guarded but not backing down.
"I know you enrolled at Metropolis University," she said, "and with something like this happening near you…I can't think of anyone else who could act without regard for so many lives."
Green Lantern muttered from the side, "I may be mistaken, but she thinks of herself as your older sister, not just someone who cares."
Adrian paused, then responded to Kara in a blunt tone.
"Funny," he said. "By that logic, my own parents would probably call me the same."
He didn't bother hiding his irritation.
Kara's expression softened a little, but her next question was just as direct.
"Why did you kill those students?"
"I do not owe you an explanation," Adrian said flatly, turning to leave.
"If you want answers, investigate with your team," he added without looking back.
Then he paused.
"Oh, and by the way…"
He turned and glanced at them with a jaded look.
"Where is Wonder Woman?"
Kara and Hal exchanged uneasy glances.
"She has her own matters she must attend to," Kara said carefully.
Adrian nodded and began to walk away.
"Wait, Adrian!"
Kara called after him, voice firm with urgency.
She stepped forward, meeting his gaze directly. Although she was shorter, Kara's presence was strong and unwavering.
After a moment, she reached up, wrapped her arms around him, and suddenly kissed him.
Adrian's eyes widened in surprise. He had never expected Supergirl to be so bold.
Salty warmth flooded his senses as he felt her tongue brush against his lips.
But then he tasted something unexpected — blood.
He pushed her away instantly, eyes cold.
"What did you do?" he asked, voice icy.
"You saw it," Kara said, a grim smile on her face as she stuck out her tongue, which was wounded and bleeding.
"I forgot to tell you, Adrian…I'm a vampire now. And with our shared blood exchange, you're infected too."
Adrian stared at her, unblinking.
Green Lantern shrugged beside her.
"To be precise," he said, "it's a vampire virus. We're all infected now. Sorry we tricked you."
A sudden wave of dizziness hit Adrian.
A warning blared from inside him:
Host genetic template in crisis, unknown entity detected, foreign body invasion… searching for resistance template…
---