Adrian braced himself against the residual shockwave from Green Lantern's ring, his gaze icy and unrelenting.
"On the contrary," he said with a cold smile, "I should thank you. But now, Hal, you can drag your broken body to your death."
He stepped forward, pushing against the green energy beam with nothing but his forearm.
The evolution granted by the Doomsday template wasn't just sheer power — it was adaptation. His body now absorbed and endured energy that once would have staggered him. Ignoring the pain, Adrian advanced.
Hal's eyes widened with disbelief.
"This is impossible," he sputtered, "You should obey my commands, you and Supergirl turned you into us!"
Hal had assumed that by sharing their infected blood, they had created a loyal new ally — a fearsome vampire superhuman without restraint.
"No one can command me!" Adrian growled.
He surged forward, deflecting the green laser effortlessly, sending it spinning off into the distance.
Green Lantern reacted instantly, conjuring a massive mechanized construct with the ring — a machine equipped with a rotating pile driver aimed straight at Adrian.
With a thunderous impact, the construct struck Adrian and forced him back two steps.
Adrian's aura flared. With barely a pause, he seized the spinning pile driver with both hands and snapped it like dry twigs. Then he balled his fist and obliterated the rest of the construct in a single strike.
Kara, now recovered, leapt in to assist — but Adrian met her with overwhelming force. She was sent flying backward so fast her body crashed into a bronze statue in the park, shattering it instantly.
Kara groaned, clutching her ribs.
Hal, trapped within a glowing sphere of his own creation, watched in growing regret.
He had thought turning Adrian into a vampire would produce a powerful ally. Instead, they had created a monster.
With a roar, Adrian's punch burst through the green protective sphere, sending Hal rolling violently across the ground.
Boom!
The second strike tore the shield apart completely. When the dust settled, Adrian had Hal pinned, grabbing his neck and slamming him repeatedly into the ground like a ragdoll.
Thump, thump, thump…
Hal barely breathed.
Releasing him to the earth, his body trembling and bloodied, Adrian shook his head.
"Vampire Green Lantern? Still pitifully weak."
Turning his gaze toward Kara, who struggled to rise, he walked toward her slowly.
"I'm not interested in vampire disputes," Adrian said, voice low and dangerous, "But I don't like being dragged into them. Kara, tell me what is really going on."
Kara gasped for breath, fear and uncertainty flickering in her eyes.
"This isn't the end," she said, trembling slightly. "You won't be able to stop what is meant to happen. You are one of us now, chosen, and you are destined to join our cause."
Adrian sneered.
"You're wrong," he said, "I will never be like you flying rats. The old you is gone. Now you are nothing but a corpse wearing Kara's face."
He bent down, seized her neck, and lifted her into the air.
"I can smell it on you, Kara. You aren't the same."
A pulse of red flared in his eyes.
Suddenly, a beam of golden energy struck him from behind, forming a binding prison around him. It wrapped him in brilliant, unyielding light that drained strength from anyone trapped inside.
Nearby, Green Lantern struggled to stand, looking at Adrian with wary confidence.
"This is something I got from an alien race," Hal wheezed. "You won't escape it easily."
Adrian raised an eyebrow.
"Is that so?"
Then he punched the golden barrier with a ferocious, single‑minded blow.
Boom!
The space trembled.
Again and again he struck.
Cracks spiderwebbed across the once‑indestructible light prison until it began to crack and falter.
Hal stared in stunned disbelief as the light prison wavered under Adrian's assault.
"This… what are you?" Hal breathed.
Adrian's fist shattered the golden prison completely.
Before Hal could react, Adrian was beside him, grabbing his neck once more.
Green Lantern's body dissolved into a chaotic swarm of bats — fleeing, scattering, trying to escape.
Adrian didn't let them vanish. With a flash of crimson heat vision, he burned them down.
Green Lantern's neck broke. Adrian was ready to strike again.
But Supergirl, using her vampiric boost of speed, seized the moment to flee.
Adrian watched her go as she disappeared into the night, unsettling thoughts stirring within him.
Evolution, he pondered, or manipulation?
If transformation was strength, then what did that make him?
—
Night — Gotham City
Meanwhile, far from Metropolis, Bruce Wayne lay in the dark, eyes burning with pain.
"Severe spinal trauma, almost severed," Selina Kyle said quietly as she leaned over him, pouring water into his trembling hand.
"Damn," Bruce admitted through clenched teeth, his back screaming with every slight movement.
Selina's voice was firm but compassionate.
"You and Alfred both warned me," she said, "But I kept focusing on gangsters and petty crimes. Bane… he isn't just another thug. He endures pain better than almost anyone. He lives in the darkness — he breeds in it."
Bruce's eyes glinted with fire.
"Even now," he said through pain, "I won't let Gotham fall. Bane didn't just break my body — he intended to break my spirit, make me watch the city crumble."
Selina considered his words with quiet admiration.
"Still," she said, "the ones who deserve punishment aren't just criminals — it's the corrupt system that thrives on lies, exploitation, false hope. Those capitalists who preach success while oppressing the weak."
Bruce considered her perspective.
"I hear you," he said with a wry smile, "But for now, Gotham must stand. I cannot let it fall."
Just then Alfred entered, holding a letter.
"Someone requested I give this to you," Alfred said softly.
Bruce took it, eyes narrowing.
"Who was it?"
---