Over the past few decades, Metropolis has been described as a city of tomorrow, whether through the Gotham Gazette or Daily Planet. However, with the sun setting over the most significant threats the cities have ever known, you'd think the place had traveled back to the time of an old western. The two parties didn't dare move against the evil bloodlust in the air, silently measuring the other power on itchy trigger fingers.
Each second that passed felt like an eternity a –time frame Omni-man was all too familiar with. Keeping to his Viltrmuite protocol, Nolan gave an ultimatum.
"Give me the location of the Krputonian and I'll spare you and your families lives. This is your first and last warning."
Deathstroke, with his glinted sabers, responded.
"Sorry, but Earth doesn't negotiate with extraterrestrials."
"I wasn't negotiating. I was telling. Now I'm forcing."
Slade immediately rocked in on his twin swords, followed quickly by Livewire's lighting and Heatwave's flames. Each attack never reached its mark, though, as Nolan responded with a simple round of applause. The force behind it was so great it created a shockwave that partially parted the clouds and intersected each attack. With Slade in the blast's epicenter, he spiraled off course, a mistake nearly costing him his life as Omni-man winded up a punch from above.
Slade instinctively tried blocking with his blades, but they barely softened the blow as the Terminator got backhanded to an empty docked ship. Nolan wanted to press further but got interrupted by Livewire, who caught his attention with several lightning blasts. The jolts felt like gnats gnawing against his skin as he charged at her headfirst.
This is precisely what Leslie wanted as she condensed her powers into one bright burst of light! To citizens of Metropolis, it was almost like a second sun went off, but to Omni-man, it was practically a flashbang, befuddling his sense enough for Heatwave and Rough House to do their work. Using her thrusters and Roughouse strength, they formed an unstoppable battery ram that slammed into Nolan.
Another shockwave, loud as thunder, rang out, forcing Omniman to pinball to their joint barrage. The punches didn't do much to Omni-man beyond slight inconvenience, giving Nolan enough time to adapt to the speed. Through a split-second barrel roll, he dodged the umpteenth charge from the duo.
He plucked the two out of the air like chopsticks to a dumpling, adding to their momentum with a pivotal spin faster than any hurricane. In due time, Rory got sent flying, skipping across Metropolis Bay like a stone while easterly trying to steady herself. He left a dazed Roughouse by himself, as the Viltrimute venomously stated.
"My turn."
Omni man returned the intense beatdown tenfold and unleashed a flurry of punches. Albert tried his best to defend, but he was instantly backed into a corner as his armor chipped with each hook. He tried to block a crushing knee from his enemy next, but his gauntlets barely dispersed the damage, bruising his face and spitting up a tooth in one blow.
Rough House's vision then grew blurry, barely staying in the air while Omniman readied a karate chop that would cleave him in two. At that moment, Silver Banshee didn't live up to her namesake and couldn't help but whisper out for her friend.
"Albert."
The Intergang wasn't going out too soon for her, as Slade fired a giant laser from his Katanas. The blast didn't connect but forced the Viltrimute to back away. Realizing who was calling the shots, an annoyed Nolan changed priorities, throwing Rough House to a desperate Silver Banshee.
He then zoomed straight toward the ship's hull, forcing Agent Wilson to backflip away at the last second. It wasn't enough, though, as the steel shrapnel from the slam spread towards him. He tried his best to dodge the attacks, but the shards eventually shredded through his helmet and left arm. In frustration, Slade immediately removed his shattered helmet and tried retreating further into the half-sunken ship.
Only to get grabbed by the throat of Omni-man. Bones started to crack immediately as Slade coughed up blood. Against the seething pain, though, Wilson somehow still kept up his cocky smile.
Superman then looked to the skies, awed and terrified of what else was in the universe. However, his fears were quieted as he looked at the people around him.
"Maybe you are right. But I promise you this. We were ready for you today and we'll be ready for you every time. Because it has me. And I have them."
Omni-Man gave one last steely look before fading into unconsciousness, leaving Superman to ponder what other adventures await him.
"Glad I could get your attention."
Silver Banshee then barreled into the ruined ship, hovering right above the water-logged cabins with one message.
"This is what you get for hurting my friends!"
Silver Banshee then let loose the sharpest scream of her life, releasing a primal shout that rebounded off the echoed halls. It's here where the location proves paramount as the sound blast traveled right through Nolan's ear at such a high frequency he couldn't help but clutch his ears in pain. Slade immediately bolted out of there off sheer adrenaline while screaming to the others.
"Hit 'em with everything you've got now!"
While Banshee kept Nolan pinned, Heatwave and LiveWire got to work, charging up their powers and gadgets for one blast. The air around them both started growing hot and ionized, swirling around the two in a spinning cloud—one that was instantly dispersed in the form of a gigantic mass of superheated plasma. In sheer panic, Sliver Banshee retreated, but even she wasn't fast enough to avoid the sheer brunt of the blast as it melted through the ruined hull of the ship like a knife through butter.
The entire tanker was eventually consumed in a massive explosion that the whole city bore witness to. Whether it be first responders, civilians still hurt from Omni-man's arrival, the planet, or even Amanda Waller on her monitor, everyone stood frozen in awe—except two people, who ran towards the continuing chaos without caution.
"Lois, can you please slow the heck down?! Going into the giant laser is not a good idea.
"How about you get faster, Jimmy!? You told me to sit this one out till Clark needs us, and that's now."
"We don't even know if that's Clark?!"
"True, but if I learned anything from this past year, Clark will surely show up whenever there's something strange in Metropolis."
"And if Clark isn't there?"
"Then we do what we always do and report the situation. No matter what."
Jimmy gave out a nervous sigh.
"How did I know you were going to say that?"
Back to the battle, the remainder of Task Force X tried to recollect themselves and regroup—a task easier said than done. Leslie and Rory's combined blasts had created a geyser worth of steam that would put even Old Faithful to shame, creating a thick smokescreen that made their communications screwy.
"Task Force X responds! Is everyone still in one piece?
Rough House and Sliver Banshee looked frazzled and banged up. Livewire and Heatwave faired better, but they still barely maintained their flight as sweat furrowed their brows. Still, the group couldn't help but keep their high spirits.
"We're good, Black Ops. Can't say the same for Omni-man, though," she said with a coy smile.
"I know this would be in bad taste. But I can say that guy is cooked."
The bad pun made Livewire's serious demeanor immediately crack, as she started to float away while laughing her ass off slowly.
"Cooked?! Really?! That was the best you could come up with?"
Heatwave gave out a warm blush as she replied.
"Guess you're right about th-"
Livewire's statement was cut short as, in one fell swoop, a burgundy blur lopped off her left hand. Shock overtook the rest of Task Force X like a plague, stunning them into silence as they saw Livewire's arm fall beneath the waves from above. Like mere ants, the five combatants felt forced to look up as they saw a bruised Omni-man who loomed menacingly over them all with his light blue eyes.
Omni-man tried finishing what he started without saying a word, zooming toward Livewire to behead her in one swipe. The time she then slowed down for the seasoned criminal, staring death in the face and not relenting to the very end. When Nolan's foot was only seconds away from her face, she turned herself into pure energy, instantly dispersing in a cloud of sparks before materializing elsewhere.
Blue lighting trails shot straight through Nolan, but he didn't even pay it any mind, instead going after the weakest link. Realizing what was about to happen, Roughouse immediately moved instinctively, moving Sliver Banshee out of the way and floating towards Omni-man.
"NOOOOO!" Siobhan screamed out.
Unfortunately, her howl didn't save her, as RoughHouse got immediately bisected. Blood, guts, and broken machinery splattered across Metropolis Bay like a reddened rain. Fury cloaked Sliver Banshee as she immediately tried to move in, only to get her deathly decision interrupted by a Slade barely holding on for dear life.
Against Nolan's skin, his blade might as well have been against a wetting stone, barely nicking his suit between his tired breaths. Adrenaline and military protocol were the only things keeping him alive as he struggled to call Waller.
"Plan A has become a bust, Waller. We need Plan B immediately! Repeat: We need Plan," he got interrupted as he saw Viltrumite's menacing shadow cast itself over him. "Oh shit."
Like a hammer of God, Omni-man's fist then slammed down on Agent WIlson's head. In less than a second his head the seasoned mercenary's head exploded into a thick red paste over Banshee's helmet before caving in his body from the neck down. Whatever of his remains were identifiable then rocketed into the water below, leaving a sizeable hole before dispersing into a mess of gurgling bubbles. Leaving the rest
It was a chilling scene Waller bore witness to. Against all of her training and morning mantras, she still couldn't help but despair. Decades of training, and somehow, they were right back where they started, sitting on the sidelines while her comrades sacrificed themselves in the heat of battle. As she saw the situation worsen before her, a part of her wanted to retreat—until she remembered Slade's words.
"Waller, we need orders now. Do we engage or not?"
With those words hanging in the air, Waller gave her command through her comms.
"Ivo, Nimbus, you're up. I'll provide you with a suppressing fire.
She then touched a few keystrokes on a holographic screen, and she was able to unfurl a new interface. In the Metropolis Bay area, the prison convoy, which deployed Task Force X, started to move independently, firing its thrusters and slamming straight toward Omni-man. Unfortunately to the former hero, the attempted blitzkrieg was like a thrown pebble to Omni-man as he caught the hunk of metal. He then scoffed into the ether.
"Is that the best you've got?"
"NOOO, this is."
The warrior then turned around to what may be this suicide squad's last hope.
Before Omni man could even chart where the voice came from, his body felt a sensation that had escaped him for years: exhaustion. Before he knew it, purple veins started to appear on his ruined body like welts, sucking away the very life out of him. Panicly, the alien looked around him till he finally felt the presence by his side. Anthony Ivo, better known to Metroplous as Parasite, appeared out of thin air with the elusive Mist.
Using their tech in conjunction, Parasite's body instantly surged with purple lightning that grew three times his size. With a voracious grin, Ivo clawed even more into Omni-man.
"Ahhh!! That;s the stuff! When Waller told me you were a bigger meal then Big Blue I thought she was
joking. But now that I'm tasting the real thing oooh boy? Deos that taste good."
Screams of pain cut through the air as Parasite evolved to the size of a Grey Hound in seconds. With his haunting laughter getting louder, the Mist started getting nervous.
"Ivo, get together! You're here for one job. Don't you dare start going crazy now?
The gigantic head then turned towards Mist.
"BACK OFF BUDDY!! THIS MEAL IS MINE!"
That momentary distraction was all Omni-man needed as he broke out of his hold and smacked Parasite with the prison ship. While Parasite absorbed the kinetic energy fine enough, Mist wasn't so lucky as he got knocked unconscious as he sailed with Ivo into Metropolis City streets elsewhere. Waller desperately tried stringing together another strategy with their best last hope now miles away.
"Livewire, retrieve Ivo and power him up. Heatwave and Banshee provide covering fire."
No one responded to her orders, though, as she heard panicked screaming from the remainder of Task Force X. As Waller desperately searched for a solution, Superman followed suit, desperately trying to analyze his prison. With increasing panic, he paced across his cage, scared over how much damage Omni-man was doing while he got weaker by the second.
"Waller, please let me out of here! I can help! Please we can comprise here!"
When he didn't hear an answer, he slumped on the floor, staring at the red lights above him.
"Right Superman, like she's just going to just let you out the front door."
"No, she won't. But I will," said an unknown voice.
Superman then sprang up excitedly. He suddenly noticed the room's forcefield started coming down, and the tinted light turned a beautiful yellow. Bit by Bit, Kal-el felt his powers coming back as a holographic Sam Lane appeared beside him.
"General Lane? Why are you-"
"Helping you? Simple. Mandie may currently have me indisposed, but I still command enough of Task.
Force X to know the situation. For better or worse, I would rather you be my enemy than Omni-man's right now. I can't keep this up before Waller notices, so leave now."
They decided to spare any more words the Man of Steel understood before bathed himself in as much solar energy as he could before blurring his way toward the battlefield. While he flew through, Lois and Jimmy stood still, crouching as they tried reporting more of the battle.
"Lois Lane of the Daily Planet reporting live from the Metropolis Bay where we see the various super criminals that have plagued us all last year continue to fall at the hands of Omni-man. While Sliver Banshee, Livewire and Heatwave are continuing to fight their struggles makes a pressing question far too obvious. Where is Superman?"
While Lois continued her spiel, Jimmy recorded Omni man fighting an enraged Banshee. With both of her friends dead, she was out for blood. Unfortunately for her, Omni-man's wasn't going to be split. He launched straight for her head as the Viltrumute flew past a boogie. With Siobhan's focus tunnel-visioned, the projectile hit her dead on, forcing Sioban to plummet from dozens of feet up. Taking full advantage, Omni-man jetted towards her, ready to rip her apart.
Realizing what was about to happen, Jimmy looked away; Lois looked the horror dead on as she prayed for Clark to appear. Fortunately, her death wouldn't be coming today, as Lois' prayer was answered. Much like how the two first met, Omniman was brushed past a Bluestreak that briefly knocked him out of the sky, and Siobahn was gently placed down to the Metropolis shore in a few seconds.
When Nolan stabilized his flight pattern, his blue eyes connected to see Superman in the flesh. Ironically , Kal-el, though, didn't pay him any mind. With his super senses returning for the first time in hours,
Superman finally has the chance to sense all the carnage that Omni-man unleashes: the people still writhing under his wrath, those who couldn't, and those who are still standing to fight, like Jimmy and Lois, who excitedly cheered on from the sidelines. Blue lighting from Superman's body started to shake the nearby sand.
"How - Why could you do this?!! These were innocent people."
Omni-man responded through his Viltrumite doctrine.
"These were weak people, who didn't know what yo submit to the Empire. A language your people at least understood."
Superman's heart nearly split in half from the statement, wondering how true it was before rationalizing that it didn't matter right now.
"Well right now I'm speaking for me. And I say you will not take my home."
"You don't have a choice in the matter."
The Viltrimute immediately appeared above Superman and slammed his fist down like a lightning bolt over his head. Unlike their last fight, Superman blocked his glove against all odds. A momentary bit of surprise took the both of them until Superman delivered an uppercut, which sent Omni-Man flying into the air again.
The warrior stopped in place on a dime, only to get hit by a roundhouse kick to his blindspot, which sent him near a row of rusted shipping containers. The shockwave was enough to send a dozen of them in midair upon landing, but that didn't stop him from getting up. What stopped him was the large stream of heat vision that kept him pinned, and like in Vegas, the surrounding cargo started to melt into a tiny cauldron of molten steel, slowing down Omni-man's movements.
Because as much as Viltrum would crumple him to admit, he was getting tired from the constant battle. Still, he wouldn't give in, as Omni-man immediately got creative, burrowing deeper than Superman's laser could reach. He tried scanning where he went using his X-ray vision until finding his answer far too late. Using his experience and evasive maneuvers, he flew from beneath the waves and instantly caught Superman by his cape.
The Viltrmuite wrapped it around him, creating another makeshift blindfold as Omni-man went to work. First, a knee to the face, followed up with two fists to his temple to utterly discombobulate. To finish the combo, Omni-man then threw Superman straight into the same set of molten cargo containers. Except now, instead of a makeshift tomb, it was turned into an arena as Omni-man used one of them to swing at Superman like a baseball bat.
Supsringly, the man of steel held firm, blocking the blow with enough strength to crumple the container. He then countered back by stomping the ground, creating a small quake he hoped to stun Omni-man, but the VIltrimuite countered back with a seismic shockwave of his own, sending any potential projectile back at Clark with double the force.
Concrete debris hit Kal-el's chest like a machine gun, buffing him enough for Omni-man to lung forward and close the distance sufficient to put Clark in a chokehold. Superman tried his best to thrash out his grip like a wild bull on the farm, but that only tightened Omni-man's grip. While the gap in power between them had gotten much closer, it still wasn't enough, as Kroptiann's vision started blurring. Any form of burgeoning respect Nolan had for Superman's brief offensive quickly vanished as he applied more pressure.
"All that power and your still too weak to finsh the job. Just like your people all those years ago."
Despite his super senses, Superman's world started fading more by the second, sinking him closer to darkness. Until the two people he meant most in the world pulled him back to the light.
"SUPPPPEEERRRMANNNNN!!!! DONT GIVE UP!!!"
Superman turned his hazy eyes towards his best friend and girlfriend, a living reminder of what he was fighting for. Their support wasn't alone, though, as he heard the hundreds watching this tiny battle with Clark start to show their support, shouting out his name with increasing vigor. To the hero, it was all the second wind he needed as he pushed Nolan back with an electric blue-infused fist.
"You're right. I am weak. But trust me Omni-man. I'm not alone. Not anymore."
Superman's words carried more power than any blow thrown that day, and Amanda Waller continued looking at the scene, realizing what she needed to do.
"Task Force X what is your status?"
"Rory and Siobahn are still kicking, and I have Ivo right here, ready to recharge his life," Livewire said with unsteady breaths.
"Good, because right now i'm giving you a new mission. Help out Superman at all costs."
For a brief second, the criminals were shocked at Waller's relenting and the turn of the tables. Still, almost all of them fell in line, except for Ivo.
"I don't care who I fight at this point. So long as I get a good meal."
Task Force X splintered off again as Sliver Banshee gave out a monumental encore between the two aliens' slugfest.
"Hey, Omni-man. Kyle and Alberto send their regards!
Using the mightiest shout so far, Banshee blasted Omni-man so hard that it created a yards-long crater on Earth. At first, the Viltrimute tried to walk it off like every other wound, only to notice his ears bleeding so profusely he was left unbalanced. He was so unbalanced he couldn't protect himself from a flying roundhouse kick, which throttled the enemy straight into the docs. In retaliation, Omniman tried to counter Superman's next punch, only to get signed by a fire bloom straight to his eyes, the curtsey of Heatwave.
Superman then delivers a more powerful punch than the last, this time cracking his nose and blurring his vision. The Man of Steel was mystified over the development briefly, but Rory gave him a thumbs up. That signal was all he needed as, In perfect sync, the two flew around Omni-man, bathing him in heart vision and flames, respectively. While their separate attacks failed repeatedly, their joint attack began to burn away at Omni-man's skin and suit. Still, he persisted, trying his best to power on with whatever waning stamina he had left. Only to be met with thundering words that took everyone's attention.
"OMNI-MAN!!!! WE'RE NOT DONE!"
History repeated as Parasite rose from the Metropolis city skyscrapers as a massive kaiju. The sunset-saturated sky adopted a thick purple hue, showing Ivo's enormous frame as he unfurled his crane-sized tendrils. Omni-man attempted to dodge their grasp, but he might have been fishing in a barrel with Superman and Heatwave's lasers pinning him.
Once Nolan got into Ivo's clutches, the same draining he felt from before multiplied a thousandfold. His planet-shaking strength evaporated before his eyes, sucking away both his resolve and power until nothing remained. A fate parasite salivated over in his increased madness.
"MORE, MORE!!!! GIVE ME EVERYTHING YOU GOT!!!"
Omni-Man let out a genuine scream of pain for the first time in the entire battle. The toll of his wounds got the better of him as he started to fade up physically.
"Good riddance," Heatwave said cynically.
Deep down, Superman wanted to agree with her, to let the man who hurt thousands perish into the ether. Fortunately for Omni-Man, though, Superman is a hero who always does what's needed. So, in one final burst of blue energy, the Last Son of Krypton sailed off in a final burst, breaking through Parsite's entire suit to save Omni-Man and stop the Parasite like he did last time.
Like when he first came to Earth, Superman awkwardly crashed back down to Earth with his two enemies in hand. For a few tense minutes, the people of Metrpolise looked at the 3, wondering if the nightmare was finally over. Only to find their answer when Superman raises a fist to a crowd that grows electric. An exhausted Lois and Jimmy looked at their friend with pride. Considering the day they all had, it would've been a pitch-perfect ending had Clark not something between the cheers and Ivo's defeated ramblings.
"You should kill me when you had the chance."
Superman looked toward Nolan's husk of a body.
"Because I'm not going to stop. It may take a year, decade, or even a century from now, but my people will come to this planet. And they won't be as kind as me.'
The statement turned Superman's blood cold as he remembered all the carnage unleashed that day. But as he sees the crowd cheer over his victory, with Jimmy and Lois catching up to them he says.
"If that's the case. We'll be ready. Simple as that."
With that, Superman joined the crowd, knowing there will be more harrowing adventures to come.