Inside the abandoned factory, countless arcs of electricity surrounded Barry's body, crackling and sparking. The pure white electrical light was so intense it illuminated every dark corner of the ruined building, casting harsh shadows that danced and flickered with each surge of power.
Bruce's Incinerator ring had completely run dry—there wasn't a single drop of energy left in it. The most he could do now was use his suit's built-in power cells to activate the energy rapier's spatial distortion capabilities for basic defense. As for actually hurting the demon? That was completely off the table until he could recharge.
Right now, all offensive capability rested squarely on Barry's shoulders. And honestly, that wasn't the worst situation to be in. Bruce had seen what Barry could do—that massive lightning column he'd unleashed during their last demon fight had been seriously impressive in terms of raw destructive power.
As if reading Bruce's thoughts, Barry immediately went into action. In an instant, he transformed himself into a living storm of electrical current, moving so fast he became a blur of white lightning that surrounded and entangled the demon from every angle simultaneously.
When facing an opponent this dangerous, Barry knew better than to hold anything back or test the waters. He was going all-out from the first second, using his most powerful combat techniques to overwhelm the creature before it could adapt or counterattack.
The electrical current, amplified and purified by the power of Barry's Incinerator ring, formed itself into a cage structure around the demon. Bars of solid lightning boxed the creature in from all sides, above and below.
The demon's only option was to attack—to try and force its way out of the lightning prison through sheer violent effort.
However, the cage Barry had created possessed truly amazing defensive capabilities. No matter how viciously the demon threw itself against the barriers, no matter how hard it slashed with its claws or rammed with its body, it simply couldn't break through. It couldn't escape.
The only result of its struggles was a constant crackling and sizzling sound as its body impacted the electrified bars over and over. Aside from that noise and the smell of burning demon flesh, nothing changed. The creature remained trapped inside Barry's creation, unable to find any weakness or gap to exploit.
BOOM~
Suddenly, a blinding flash of pure white light erupted inside the factory. It was accompanied by a thunderous roar so loud it shook the walls. When the light faded a second later, there was a massive hole blasted clean through one side of the abandoned building's wall.
When everyone's vision finally recovered from the flash, they could see a long road of molten, glowing lava burned into the concrete floor. At the far end of that scorched path, the demon was pinned to the ground by a spear made entirely of crackling lightning.
The lightning spear—fully charged with divine power from the Incinerator ring—had punched straight through the demon's abdomen and nailed it to the floor like a butterfly pinned to a collection board.
Countless arcs of electricity continued to spray and spark from the spear, causing the demon's entire body to convulse and twitch uncontrollably. Burns and scorch marks covered every inch of its body, smoke rising from dozens of wounds. The lightning spear was doing devastating damage to it with every passing second.
"I guess superpowers really do have the advantage, huh?" Bruce muttered, watching Barry pin down the demon so easily when he and Selina had nearly died fighting it.
He couldn't help but feel a bit of professional envy. He and Selina were just normal humans at the end of the day. Sure, they'd both mastered the Zenuri Void School techniques that Moon had taught them, and yes, they'd become far more capable than ordinary people through brutal training and discipline.
But the power they could currently access and wield still didn't compare to what someone with actual superpowers could do. That was just the reality of the situation.
Still, Bruce wasn't particularly worried or discouraged by that fact. Superpowered individuals might have stronger foundations and higher baseline capabilities than normal humans, but everyone had weaknesses. As long as he identified and understood those vulnerabilities, Bruce was confident he could find ways to defeat even the most powerful opponents.
As for right now, though? He had to admit that regardless of how or why Barry had gained his abilities, becoming a metahuman with super-speed had given him an incredibly high power floor. There was a baseline level of capability that came with those abilities that Bruce simply couldn't match no matter how hard he trained or how much he prepared.
That was something he'd never be able to replicate through pure skill and preparation. And that was okay. He'd work with what he had.
The three of them walked out of the factory and approached the demon that Barry had driven into the ground. Even though the creature was clearly imprisoned and struggling helplessly, they all stayed alert and kept their guards up.
After all, what had happened in Central City before had taught them a very important lesson: never assume a demon is truly beaten until it's been completely destroyed or exiled. These things could pull off surprising comebacks if you got careless.
The demon nailed to the ground was struggling desperately, its claws scraping against the concrete as it tried to pull itself free. But the lightning spear was like a railway spike driven through it—immovable and unyielding. All the demon could do was thrash randomly and accomplish nothing.
"Draw the magic circle," Bruce said decisively. "Let's exile this thing."
After getting Constantine's detailed explanation about how the exile circles worked, everyone's first instinct when dealing with demons had shifted. Instead of trying to kill them outright, they'd attempt to exile them back to their home dimensions whenever possible.
This approach helped avoid unexpected complications or transformations the demons might pull off as a last resort. Of course, people like Clark with his overwhelming Kryptonian strength, or Diana with her divine blood and god-tier combat abilities, didn't necessarily need to bother with the circles.
After all, compared to most demons, those two were on such a different power level that these creatures were basically just unusually tough punching bags. They could handle demons the old-fashioned way without much risk.
"Got it!" Barry said with a nod.
He vanished from his position next to the other two in an instant. In a crackling flash of white lightning, Barry became a blur of motion. Within seconds, a huge magical circle that completely encompassed the pinned demon had been drawn on the ground around it.
Perhaps because of the residual lightning energy coating Barry's entire body, or maybe because he'd drawn it so precisely—whatever the reason, the exile magic circle lit up the instant he finished the last symbol.
A sphere of bright light condensed and formed at the very center of the magic circle. The sphere began pulling at everything around it like a black hole, creating powerful gravitational traction. The entire area around the circle looked distorted and warped, reality itself bending inward toward that point of concentrated power.
The demon's body began stretching under the pull of that light sphere. Its flesh and limbs twisted grotesquely as they were drawn toward the sphere, spiraling inward in an increasingly violent vortex.
The sight genuinely shocked all three observers. They'd originally assumed that the exile circle would simply open a portal and dump the demon back into hell. They hadn't expected it to work like this—literally tearing the demon apart and pulling it piece by piece into another dimension.
"NO!!!" the demon screamed, genuine terror in its inhuman voice.
Its body was being steadily sucked into the light sphere, which filled the creature with primal horror. It struggled with absolutely everything it had, desperately trying to break free from the inexorable pull.
However, the suction force of the light sphere far exceeded anything the demon's physical strength could resist. No matter how hard it fought, it couldn't stop its body from being drawn inward. Even the concrete floor it was desperately clawing at crumbled and shattered under the intense gravitational forces, giving it nothing solid to anchor itself to.
After a few more moments of futile struggling, accompanied by a final brilliant flash of light, the demon vanished completely along with the glowing sphere. Both simply ceased to exist in this reality.
"No wonder Constantine said this method lets us fight demons way above our normal weight class," Bruce said quietly, having watched the entire exile process from start to finish. "I don't think any demon could resist that kind of suction once the circle activates."
He'd watched with his own analytical eyes as the demon's body was pulled into that sphere of light. It hadn't just been teleported away—it had been torn apart at a molecular level, transformed into countless fragments that poured into the dimensional gateway like water down a drain.
And now, looking down at their feet, there was nothing left except the empty magic circle drawn on the concrete. Not a single trace of demon remained. No blood, no scales, no evidence it had ever existed.
"Looks like everyone's safe!" a familiar voice called out from above.
They all looked up to see Clark, wearing his Kryptonian battle suit, descending from the sky. He touched down gently in front of the group, his red cape settling around his shoulders.
He'd flown over at maximum speed the moment Barry's signal had disappeared, genuinely worried that the team had encountered something catastrophically dangerous. But from what he could see now, everyone seemed perfectly fine. A bit roughed up maybe, but alive and functional.
"Oh! Superman!" Barry exclaimed excitedly.
In a flash of movement, Barry appeared right next to Clark, practically vibrating with enthusiasm.
Compared to Bruce, who was already world-famous as Batman and had been operating for years, all the other costumed vigilantes—including Clark—were relative newcomers to the superhero scene. But in the public consciousness and media coverage, Clark was universally recognized as the one who possessed the most overwhelming power.
That reputation wasn't unearned. After all, the world engine that had threatened to terraform the entire planet—something that every military and government on Earth had been completely helpless against—had been as fragile as wet tissue paper when Clark fought it.
Of course, there was one other person who'd displayed strength comparable to or possibly even greater than Clark's during that crisis.
Unfortunately, despite extensive efforts, no one had been able to locate that mysterious individual since then. They'd simply vanished after the battle ended.
Therefore, everyone including Barry genuinely believed that Clark was the single most powerful living being on the planet right now.
And that was exactly why Barry was so excited to finally meet him properly. As the Flash, Barry's speed was legitimately incredible—possibly unmatched in pure velocity. But Superman's speed wasn't that much slower, and Clark's overall combat capabilities far exceeded Barry's own.
At the very least, Barry couldn't replicate Superman's combination of devastating super-strength, seemingly invincible defensive durability, flight capability, and those laser beams that shot from his eyes. Clark was basically a one-man army wrapped in a cape.
"Hi~ Hello there, Flash!" Clark greeted him warmly, smiling with genuine friendliness.
This was actually the first time Clark had gotten to meet and interact with another super-powered individual besides his Godfather. And not just any random metahuman—this was one of their actual team members. The Flash, the guy with legitimate super-speed abilities.
Clark found himself curious about what Barry could really do at full capacity.
"Why are you here?" Bruce asked, though his tone wasn't accusatory—just puzzled.
Although Bruce had mentally prepared dozens of different contingency plans before coming here tonight, Clark showing up hadn't been one of his expected scenarios. After all, Barry had already arrived to provide backup. Clark shouldn't have felt the need to come without anyone specifically calling for his help.
"Flash's signal disappeared too," Clark explained simply. "I figured better safe than sorry, so I came to make sure everyone was okay."
Hearing Clark's explanation, all three of them froze for a moment. Barry looked especially surprised and confused.
He immediately pulled out his communication device and checked the display. According to the readout, his signal link was completely normal. No interruption, no problems at all.
"My signal shows as normal though," Barry said, frowning at his communicator.
"Just a few minutes ago, your signal suddenly vanished from our end," Clark clarified. "That's why I figured I should come check on the situation."
Hearing this, Bruce and Selina also activated their respective communication devices to check their status.
Before, during their fight with the demon, their communicators had been completely dead—no sound, no signal, nothing but silence. But now the devices were actively receiving transmissions again, voices coming through clearly.
"Master Bruce, can you hear me? Master Bruce!" Alfred's worried voice came through immediately.
"I can hear you, Alfred," Bruce responded. "What happened on your end?"
Bruce was genuinely confused now. What the hell had actually happened while they were fighting that demon?
Alfred let out an audible sigh of relief upon getting Bruce's response, then quickly explained the situation as he'd observed it.
"Thank God you're alright. Your signal and Miss Selina's both completely disappeared, and then the Flash's signal vanished right after he rushed in to help. Everything only came back online just now."
"No, it's not that the signals disappeared..." Constantine's distinctive voice suddenly cut into the communication channel.
He'd apparently been listening to the whole conversation and had a pretty good idea of what Bruce and the others had actually encountered. He jumped in to provide clarification before anyone could draw the wrong conclusions.
"Your signals weren't gone—they were blocked," Constantine explained. "You must've encountered a higher-tier demon. The demon force field surrounding that thing interfered with and completely blocked all radio signals in the immediate area."
He went on to elaborate. Demons from hell came in an absolutely staggering variety—thousands of different species and types, each with their own unique characteristics and abilities. They could manifest on Earth through various methods and rituals, and their personal demon force fields could warp and distort reality around them in different ways.
Some particularly powerful demons could literally transform their entire surrounding environment the instant they stepped onto Earth, warping the physical space into whatever conditions were most comfortable or advantageous for them. They could turn a city block into a hellscape just by existing in it.
Bruce and Selina had actually been pretty lucky, all things considered. While Constantine didn't know exactly what species of demon they'd fought, it clearly hadn't been powerful enough to completely reshape reality around itself. The creature had only been strong enough to distort and block radio signals in its vicinity—annoying, but far from the worst-case scenario.
After getting Constantine's explanation, everyone realized there was yet another weird supernatural factor they'd need to account for when fighting demons. It really drove home just how little they understood about these creatures.
Still, it ultimately didn't matter what the specific mechanics had been. The demon had been successfully exiled back to wherever it came from. For the foreseeable future, that particular entity wouldn't be able to respond to summons or return to Earth.
"We managed to capture the demon summoners," Bruce reported to the team over comms. "We only got part of their group, not all of them, but I'm confident we can extract the information we need from these prisoners."
Capturing actual demon summoners alive was a major development for the entire team. If they could interrogate these cultists properly, they could potentially get information about the person or organization running this whole operation.
Once they identified the mastermind behind all these demon summonings, they could completely uproot the threat at its source and finally stop demons from being constantly pulled into their reality. After that, everyone could actually relax a bit.
The group made their way back into the abandoned factory. The demon summoners that Selina had tied up so thoroughly had all regained consciousness while they'd been outside dealing with the demon. Now the cultists were desperately struggling against their restraints, trying to break free from the ropes and escape.
But the moment Bruce and the others walked back into view, all the demon summoners immediately stopped struggling. They simply stared at the four heroes, their expressions unreadable behind their masks.
"Batman, Catwoman, Superman, Flash," one of the demon summoners said, his voice showing recognition. "So you've all united together. How interesting."
The cultist didn't sound particularly surprised that several famous heroes had joined forces. After all, Bruce and the others were all very well-known public figures at this point—it wasn't shocking that they might coordinate their efforts.
What seemed to surprise him more was that this specific group had worked together to come here tonight, to this particular location.
"Tell us your purpose," Bruce demanded, his voice hard and commanding. "And tell us who's running your organization."
Bruce knew perfectly well that there had to be other people—more important people—behind these demon summoners. The ones they'd captured here were just fanatical foot soldiers and cannon fodder.
"Batman, you and Catwoman are nothing but prey to us!" the cultist suddenly screamed, his voice rising to a manic pitch. "Feel the fear of death! Embrace it! EMBRACE IT!"
The man didn't answer Bruce's question at all. Instead, he just started shouting fanatically, his voice cracking with zealous madness. The other cultists around him immediately joined in, all of them screaming and ranting like lunatics.
Bzzzzt—
A sharp crackling sound accompanied a burst of electrical discharge. All the screaming cultists suddenly rolled their eyes back, their bodies convulsing as electricity coursed through them. Then they all collapsed, unconscious.
Everyone turned to look at the source. Barry stood there with a somewhat sheepish smirk on his face, small sparks still dancing between his fingers.
"I figured they weren't exactly good people," Barry said with a casual shrug. "And asking nicely wasn't going to get us anything useful anyway."
Despite being pretty young compared to the others, Barry had seen plenty of police procedurals and crime dramas on TV. These fanatical cultist types were always portrayed the same way in those shows—they never revealed information easily no matter what you did.
Given their fanatical attitude and obvious indoctrination, the most likely outcome of a traditional interrogation would be them biting down on poison capsules hidden in their teeth or something similar. Then the team would be left with nothing but corpses and no leads.
Right now, they were counting on extracting information directly from these people's minds or through other methods. If the cultists killed themselves, finding the mastermind would become exponentially more difficult.
"Leave them to me," Bruce said calmly, shaking his head slightly. "I have methods that will make them tell us the truth."
He reached down and picked up two of the unconscious demon summoners, slinging them over his shoulders like sacks of potatoes before walking toward the factory exit.
Seeing this, the others quickly moved to help. They grabbed the remaining unconscious cultists and dragged them outside the building.
"Someone needs to clean up the traces inside the factory," Bruce noted. "After that, we're ready to leave."
"I'll handle it," Clark volunteered immediately. "You guys head back first."
He lifted off the ground and flew up to get a better angle on the factory. Then his eyes began to glow bright red as he activated his heat vision, focusing the beams on the abandoned structure below.
Clark deliberately didn't concentrate the heat vision into cutting beams. Instead, he let it spread out more broadly, making it look almost like twin jets of flame washing over the battle-damaged areas inside the factory.
The intense heat burned away all evidence of their fight—scorch marks, demon blood, broken concrete, everything. Within minutes, all traces of the battle had been thoroughly incinerated until there wasn't even residue left.
By the time Clark finished his cleanup work, Alfred had remotely piloted the Batfighter back to their location. Bruce and Selina boarded the aircraft along with their unconscious prisoners, securing the cultists in the cargo area.
"We'll say goodbye here then," Bruce said, addressing Clark and Barry. "If I get any useful information about the mastermind from these prisoners, I'll let everyone know immediately."
With that, the Batfighter's engines roared to life. The aircraft lifted smoothly into the air and shot off toward Gotham City, quickly disappearing into the distance.
After watching the fighter plane vanish from sight, Barry turned to Clark with a friendly wave.
"Good working with you, Superman! Catch you later!"
Then he disappeared in a burst of brilliant white lightning, streaking back toward Central City faster than the eye could follow.
"Godfather was right," Clark murmured to himself, floating in the air and watching the spot where Barry had vanished. "There really are many more superhumans in this world than I realized."
The power levels of metahumans might not always match his own Kryptonian abilities, but they were still individuals who'd mastered power far beyond normal human limitations. Each of them was unique, with their own specific capabilities and potential.
Clark felt certain that in the future he'd encounter many more super-powered individuals. He'd get to witness all kinds of different abilities and powers he couldn't even imagine yet.
As for whether some of those metahumans might use their powers for evil, attacking and hurting innocent people? Clark didn't feel particularly worried about that possibility.
Setting aside Bruce and the organizational structure he'd built to unite everyone, Clark's own constantly improving strength was already sufficient to face down most opponents who might threaten people. He had confidence in his ability to protect the innocent.
And he also had complete faith in his Godfather. If Clark ever encountered an opponent he genuinely couldn't match—someone who could actually beat him in a fight—the Godfather would definitely be able to defeat them completely.
As long as his Godfather was around, Earth would never have to worry about its safety. Clark truly believed that with his whole heart.