Lex Luthor stared at Kara as though he were beholding the most priceless treasure in existence.
Greed and obsession burned in his eyes. To him, the woman holding him in midair wasn't a living being—she was humanity's next step, the key to transcending mortality and seizing godhood itself.
He laughed wildly, repeating, "Good… good… good."
Kara felt nothing but disgust.
This man had no conscience, no soul. There was no point in speaking further. He was already damned.
"Go to hell, Lex Luthor," she said coldly, her eyes glowing crimson as heat vision built behind them.
But before she could release it, Luthor pressed a concealed button in his palm.
A sharp series of mechanical clicks echoed around the room. Hidden panels in the walls snapped open, flooding the space with the light of simulated red sunlight.
In an instant, the room turned into a blazing red inferno.
Kara's heat vision flickered and died. Her cells weakened immediately, her strength draining away. Within seconds, she was no stronger than an ordinary human. Her trembling arms could no longer hold Luthor, and she dropped him, stumbling backward as dread crept into her chest.
She had underestimated him. Even after all her growth, she was still too naïve about human cunning. Her super-intellect only let her control her power with precision—it couldn't shield her from deceit.
Luthor had anticipated everything.
He straightened his clothes and sat back, the warmth in his eyes gone, replaced with cold satisfaction.
Despair gripped Kara. She wasn't Malrick; she couldn't see a way out of this.
Then she remembered him—Malrick.
He had stayed by her side through every step of her revenge. But now he too was caught under the red sunlight. Had she dragged him into this trap?
Kara turned quickly, searching for him.
Malrick stood a few paces behind, his expression one of pure disdain as he glared at Luthor. When he noticed her looking, he spoke calmly, "Seems like you could use a little help."
Before Kara could respond, he gently pulled her behind him.
Then he inhaled. Deeply.
The sound that followed wasn't human—it was like the roar of a cosmic storm. He exhaled, and the air erupted from his lungs like a hurricane of energy.
The Red Sun emitters shattered instantly. The walls cracked and peeled away as the furious wind tore through the building, scattering everything into the sky.
Kara shielded her face, unable to open her eyes against the force of it.
When the storm finally calmed, she heard Malrick sigh contentedly.
"Deep breaths really do help relieve stress," he said casually. "I feel much better now."
Kara peeked out and froze.
Moments ago, they had been inside the gleaming White House. Now, nothing remained but ruins. The ground was stripped bare, the earth torn into layers like ripped paper.
As for Luthor—he was still sitting where he had been, untouched in posture but unrecognizable.
His body was gone. All that remained was a skeleton, white and clean, as if every trace of flesh had been erased by the wind.
The hollow sockets seemed to mock them, still wearing that same smug grin.
Malrick rubbed the back of his neck. "My apologies. I only meant to destroy the Red Sun lights and leave Luthor to you. But he was just too disgusting—I might've overdone it."
Kara stared at him, stunned. "You saved me again. I should be the one thanking you."
Then, hesitating, she asked softly, "Malrick… are you really not Rao?"
He smiled. "I already told you, no."
"Then how can you still have power under red sunlight? Only Rao could—"
"Then if you ever meet Rao someday," Malrick interrupted lightly, "you can ask him if he used to be called Malrick."
Before she could respond, his battle suit dissolved back into casual clothes with a faint shimmer of light.
"The White House is gone," he said. "People will be here soon. Let's go."
He clasped Kara's wrist and lifted her effortlessly into the sky.
Luthor's death was more than revenge—it changed everything. The world's balance shifted overnight.
With the architect of chaos gone, Atlantis halted its war against the surface. Luthor had been the one who launched the nuclear strikes that poisoned the ocean. Now that he was gone, the Atlanteans finally had a reason to stop.
And though the Red League's army of Iron Armor soldiers still marched, their technology—based on the original Mark I armor—was crude compared to modern designs. Their strength came not from innovation, but from sheer numbers and stolen resources.
Even Tony Stark would've been horrified to see it.
When Malrick found Tony later in Metropolis, the genius billionaire was busy hacking LexCorp's servers, stealing whatever data he could before the government locked it down.
Tony glanced at the projection before him and groaned. "You actually gave them your first armor design? Seriously? The first armor means something, Malrick!"
Malrick raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong with that? I don't even use armor. What are you looking for anyway?"
"What's wrong? The first armor is history!" Tony shot back. "And I'm checking the data Jarvis pulled from LexCorp."
"You always said rituals don't matter and the future's what counts. Since when are you sentimental?" Malrick teased. "What's so important in those files anyway?"
Their conversation flowed naturally, full of sarcasm and banter—the kind that came only from years of shared chaos.
"Sentimental?" Tony muttered. "That word belongs to Sherry, not me. Anyway, look at this genetic data—Lex was a genius, just like in the comics!"
Malrick smirked. "Sherry kept your first arc reactor, didn't she? You're more sentimental than you think. And yeah, the data's all based on Kara's blood. You could've done it too."
"Hold on," Tony said suddenly, standing up. "I told you to toss that old arc reactor—how did Sherry end up with it? Wait… did you say Kara? You found her? So we're going up against Kryptonians now?"
"Let's talk about Sherry later," Malrick said quickly, motioning to Kara beside him. "Kara Zor-El—Supergirl. And as for fighting Kryptonians… maybe next time."
"Next time?!" Tony looked betrayed. "Don't tell me you alre—"
"I already handled it," Malrick interrupted with a shrug.
Tony's face went pale. "You WHAT?"
______
Advanced chapters are available on patron
Become patrons to gain access
Patreon.com/Zphyr