Dodging another swing from Kal-El, Vahl-Or pushed him backwards, sending him several dozen meters.
At this point, he wasn't even angry anymore. He was just tired.
Kal-El wore a black variant to his outfit, one made for absorbing more solar energy. Not very efficient, but-
He dodged another swing from the Amazon. Did she just forget about their general No-Kill rule? He doubted he was anywhere near the threat to their planet Brainiac was.
And he was caught by all three Lanterns. He was too distracted today. When was the last time he had slept? It felt like years. Probably longer.
"That's... huff... enough. You're coming to the Watchtower for questioning."
"Questioning, Kal-El? For what?"
"To see if you're really who you say you are."
/3rd Person POV/
To everyone's surprise, the armored man (the synthesized voice alteration had stopped working) just laughed.
"You really are pathetic, aren't you? You just can't accept that you messed up! That you let dozens of people who needed your help die in a Rao-forsaken bottle! And instead of helping them now that you know their plight or even telling your allies what this is about, you want to delude yourself that everything is fine. That you're able to save everyone. You'd rather believe I'm a liar than accept the idea that you could screw up so badly that you let Kryptonians die under your watch!"
"Shut up."
Despite the fact they couldn't see his face, everyone knew he was looking Superman straight in the eyes.
"You're no better than Luthor."
Something in Superman snapped for a moment.
/POV Shift/
That last line had meant to be hurtful. He had seen Kal-El's files on the man while trying to distract from anger and knew his thoughts on the bald human.
He had expected the punch. He hadn't expected the strength put into it.
It didn't hurt, no. What it did was shatter the construct bindings of 3 Lanterns and send him straight to the bottom of the ocean in a bright flash.
He saw the remains of his helmet, and several other fragments of his armor floating above him. Lava was seeping past him from how deep he had gone.
That was nearly all of Kal-El's solar power sent into a single punch.
'He tried to kill me.'
The last remnants of 7 days of anger rose through shock and exhaustion. His eyes burned. His lips turned purple from the cold passing them.
/POV Shift/
Clark Kent kneeled on the formerly icy ground, more so from shock than the exhaustion that threatened to take him.
The flash of light, the melted pieces of armor, the sheer lack of power he felt. The ice for 50 meters had melted. Had that really just happened? Did he just kill him?
The Justice League was too shocked to move from where they stood. Both from the accusations and the result.
Which is why it took a second to realize they were encased in ice from the neck down.
Superman looked up as Vahl-Or crashed upwards through the ice, 60 meters from him.
His helmet and gauntlets were gone. Everyone could see the glowing red eyes, the hypothermia-purple lips...
And the shining gold skin.
"What on-"
"ENOUGH!"
And Vahl-Or, Kryptonian Prime, rocketed straight towards Superman.