"Grandpa!" a teenage girl cried out in horror, her eyes wide as she watched her sickly father vanish into the pull of the rift. Her voice cracked, raw and helpless, echoing above the chaos.
Mister Terrific could do nothing more. Forced to retreat, he leapt from the breaking hospital, clutching the few survivors he could carry with his own hands before landing hard on the T-craft.
Mister Terrific turned quickly, bracing himself for the sight of those few he hadn't managed to save being dragged helplessly into the rift. But instead, he froze, stunned by what he saw.
David hovered in midair, his hand forming the infinity seal. Behind him floated everyone who had been moments away from falling into the abyss. Dozens of blue orbs surrounded them, holding their bodies suspended in the air. Each orb pulled the captives into a controlled void—strong enough to restrain them, but not so crushing as to kill. Even so, the unnatural sensation left them pale and nauseated, their bodies sickened by the experience.
"No… my baby."
The weak, heartbroken voice snapped David's attention downward. Among the group he had just saved, his gaze landed on a mother cradling her child tightly against her chest. But the infant was limp, lifeless.
The baby had relied on medical machinery that could no longer function once the hospital was torn apart, and without it, the fragile life had slipped away. The mother wept, her tears soaking the child's still face as she rocked back and forth, her grief piercing through the chaos.
The grieving mother was not alone. Many others who had depended on outside support had also perished, their lives cut short without the machines that sustained them. Others clung to life but were writhing in pain, their conditions worsening by the second.
Wasting no time, David vanished. In the blink of an eye, he reappeared carrying the very machines that kept them alive, but they needed power.
"Whoever doesn't need any machine to survive—quickly, raise your hand!" David shouted, his voice carrying over the chaos. Instantly, those who were still alive but stable, along with those who had only moments left before the end, lifted their hands as best they could.
Without hesitation, David began moving them in waves, teleporting them directly into a hospital, getting them to safety before the rift could claim more lives.
"I'm sorry… I should have focused on saving you all first," David said softly as he lowered the survivors to the ground.
But the mother, still clutching her lifeless baby, shook her head. Tears streamed down her face as she looked at him with grief in her eyes. "This isn't your fault," she whispered, her voice breaking under the weight of sorrow.
David turned his gaze away, his fist tightening at her words. He pushed down the emotions threatening to surface and forced himself to continue, moving on to save more lives as the rift grew wider and more dangerous.
But then his attention was suddenly pulled elsewhere. Through the chaos, Superman came crashing into view, locked in brutal combat with his clone. They burst through a wall with explosive force, rocketing straight toward a group of civilians who were desperately trying to flee.
Superman realized the danger and tried to take the fight into the air, but his clone mirrored his every move. Just like before, it twisted the battle to its advantage, using the fleeing civilians as shields. Superman's pupils shrank in horror, the memory of the events of the movie theater flashing vividly through his mind as history threatened to repeat itself.
"NO!" Superman roared, his voice shaking the air. His fist shot forward in a devastating punch, so fast and powerful that it shattered the sound barrier. The blow unleashed a massive shockwave, a violent ripple that tore through everything in its path, destroying what stood too close.
David reacted instantly. Blue surged around him, pulling his body forward at impossible speed. The force carried him faster than the shockwave itself, allowing him to snatch the civilians with blue and pull them out of danger, saving them all before the destructive wave could reach them.
The clone was sent rocketing backward, its body hurtling straight toward the rift—exactly where Superman had aimed. Exhaustion washed over him as the last of his hidden strength ebbed away. Dropping to his knees, Superman let out a shaky breath, relieved that the nightmare of last time hadn't repeated itself.
"Go stop Luthor. I've got things here," David said firmly.
Superman gave a quick nod, trusting him without hesitation. Together with Mister Terrific, he turned and set off toward Luthor's location, leaving David behind to continue handling the chaos.
As for David, he knew the reason he didn't follow. If he stood face-to-face with Luthor right now, he couldn't trust himself not to give in to the urge to torture him.
Better to wait until the day it could be done legally—because once that happened, not even Superman would be able to argue, and might even support it. Batman, though, would be another matter entirely. His entire philosophy rested on guarding against such lines being crossed, and he would never let it happen unchallenged.
In the end, everything unfolded just as it had in the movie. Part of the reason David had wanted Superman to go was so that he could clear his name to the public once more—and that's exactly what happened. Superman's speech before Luthor was broadcast across the globe, his words reaching every corner of the world.
David, meanwhile, found himself becoming a sensation in his own right. His striking white hair, his sharp features, and, most of all, those piercing blue eyes instantly made him a figure people couldn't stop talking about. His image spread quickly, and he went viral worldwide. Sure, David wasn't handsome, but his unique look more than made up for it.
But for all the attention, one thing was missing. No one ever captured a picture of David smiling. He hadn't smiled once, not today. Seven lives had been lost in the chaos—a small number compared to what could have been, yet still too many. To David, even one innocent life taken was enough to reopen the wound of losing his daughter all over again.
***
"OMG, I just found my crush! Look at him work!"
"How did someone like him just pop out of nowhere? Did you guys see how fast he was? The camera couldn't even keep track."
"Man, he is sad… but it's cool to see him and Superman working together. It's like seeing your two favorite people in the same room."
"Oh, he is about to be interviewed by Lois."
After the chaos of the rift was finally over, the land rift had opened, and came back together, reconnecting what had been split apart. But that didn't mean the city was whole again—the buildings were fractured, unstable, and far from ready to be used. Superman, alongside David, Mister Terrific, and a few heroes, turned his focus toward helping the people rebuild, lifting debris, stabilizing structures, and giving the city some hope of recovery.
That was, until David was interrupted. Lois Lane approached, her presence as sharp and direct as always, a camera crew following close behind. She stepped forward, microphone in hand, and raised it toward him.
"Mind giving us an interview?" Lois asked, her eyes steady as David tilted his head slightly, stretching his neck before letting his gaze fall on the camera.
"Well, sure. What do you guys want to know?" David asked, his tone relaxed as a faint smile tugged at his lips.
"Well, first of all—who are you?" Lois pressed, her own smile polite yet edged with curiosity. "You just appeared out of nowhere, and I haven't even had the chance to thank you for saving Superman from that pocket dimension yesterday."
"Well, I'm the new Superhero, I don't have a name yet," he began evenly. "I only awakened as a meta-human not too long ago. And as for the whole saving Superman thing—it's no biggie. Superman is the best of us. Where would we be without him?"
"Oh? You still believe in Superman, even after the news claimed he came here to conquer the world?" Lois asked, her brow lifting slightly.
"People are quick to forget the good in others," David said with a shrug. "I understand the fear, but Superman is someone who saves everyone—human and animal alike. To lose faith in him is the same as losing faith in hope itself."
"Wow, you really hold Superman in such high regard," Lois replied, her smile widening as she turned the microphone toward the Man of Steel. "Do you have anything to say?"
Superman shifted awkwardly, clearly embarrassed by the praise. His cheeks colored as he glanced away, the sight of the world's strongest man blushing sure to go viral the moment it hit the airwaves.